"Crack... crack..."
A crisp sound, like ice crystals breaking, rang out abruptly.
The raging torrent of deep-purple flame seemed to have been paused the instant it touched that wave of cold.
Then, starting at the very front of the flames, it froze inch by inch!
A layer of deep-blue ice spread over the purplish-red flames, and then they shattered with a roar!
There was no earth-shaking explosion, only ice crystals scattering through the air, refracting eerie, dazzling light across the street, where the flames had yet to die out completely.
In the space of a single breath, the Phoenix Fire Line, powerful enough to leave even a Soul Ancestor badly burned, vanished without a trace.
As though it had never appeared.
"This... this is impossible!"
The smug look on Ma Hongjun's face froze, replaced by utter shock and disbelief.
A storm raged in his heart.
"A domain? No! He hasn't even released his Martial Soul!"
"What the hell is that? My Phoenix Fire... my Phoenix Fire was frozen solid in an instant?"
He couldn't understand what was happening before him.
His Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul was renowned for its flames, among the finest on the Douluo Continent. They rivaled Ultimate Fire and ranked among the hottest flames of all!
How could mere cold freeze them?
Could this be the legendary... Absolute Zero, said to be capable of freezing even time?
Not far away, the gentle smile on Xue Qinghe's face—she had been watching the fight as though it were a show—had frozen too.
So powerful!
Genuine surprise and wariness showed in her deep eyes.
This boy named Lan was a complete monster.
He could freeze and shatter even the Phoenix Fire, so domineering and unmatched, as if it were nothing...
Worse still, that cold seemed to pierce flesh, ignore Soul Power defenses, and reach straight into a person's soul.
Even she, watching from a distance, couldn't help shivering. She felt her very soul tremble.
What domineering water, ice, and darkness attributes!
Just where had this kid come from?
"Hiss..."
The Purple-Armored Scorpion-Tailed Girl shuddered as the sudden cold washed over her, instinctively wrapping her arms around herself.
Yet there was not the slightest hint of fear on her lovely face.
Instead, a strange light shimmered in her bright eyes.
She gazed at the boy's back as if she were looking at a god walking among mortals.
So powerful!
Her master was so powerful!
The Purple-Armored Scorpion-Tailed Girl trembled all over from the cold, yet the corners of her mouth kept lifting into an adoring smile.
She abruptly turned and fixed Ma Hongjun, whose face was still frozen in shock, with the gaze one would give a dead man.
"My master is the Abyss."
"When you gaze into the Abyss, the Abyss gazes back at you."
Her voice was clear, yet held the same bone-deep chill as that cold.
"Chubby, you're dead!"
Her stare made Ma Hongjun's scalp prickle. Furious and rattled, he knew he'd run into a tough opponent. He couldn't hold anything back now.
He roared, and his Soul Power surged once more.
"Second Soul Skill, Phoenix Bathing in Fire!"
"First Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"
A scorching orange-red ring rose from beneath his feet and instantly enveloped him, making him look like a bird of fire.
Then he opened his mouth and spat.
Another torrent of deep-purple flame roared forth.
Boosted by his second Soul Skill, this Phoenix Fire Line was more than twice as powerful and hot as the last one!
A wave of scorching heat swept down the street.
The ornamental trees along either side withered, burst into flame, and turned to charcoal under the terrible heat without even touching the fire.
Not even a Soul Ancestor at level forty would dare take this attack head-on.
Yet Lan still didn't release his Martial Soul.
He didn't even pause. Step by step, he walked toward the sea of raging flames, unhurried.
His footsteps made no sound.
The eerie scene played out again.
The raging flames seemed to strike an invisible chasm before that figure.
The firelight stalled, then froze inch by inch, turning into deep-blue ice sculptures before silently scattering into a shower of glittering shards.
From beginning to end, the flames never came within three feet of Lan.
"Wonderful!"
The Purple-Armored Scorpion-Tailed Girl was so happy she nearly jumped for joy. Her scorpion tail swished excitedly behind her.
"Before the deep sea, these flames aren't even ashes!"
"What Evil Fire Phoenix? He's not fit to fetch my master's shoes!"
Not far away, Xue Qinghe watched Lan's back, her eyes filled with the most complicated emotions.
So powerful.
The thought surfaced again, but this time it came with an inexplicable ache.
Her soul seemed to tremble.
Not from fear, but from a stirring deep in her blood—a sorrow she couldn't put into words.
What have you... been through?
Why is my soul crying for you?
Without realizing it, Xue Qinghe clenched her hand. An impulse welled up inside her: to go forward, embrace the boy, and soothe the loneliness and wounds that seemed to have been with him since birth.
"Damn it!"
Ma Hongjun's heart sank to the very bottom.
All his pride, all his trump cards, seemed like a joke before this boy.
Fear had completely taken over his heart.
He hardened his resolve, his face set with determination, and drove his Soul Power to its limit.
A pair of magnificent flaming wings suddenly unfurled behind him.
"Third Soul Skill, Phoenix Wings Soaring!"
"Kid, take this!"
He delivered the threat with a show of great bravado, as though ready to fight to the death.
But the next moment, he beat his flaming wings hard and turned tail, fleeing instead of charging at Lan!
He shot away like an arrow loosed from its bow.
Things are getting dicey! Time to scram!
He couldn't win. Run fast and go back for help!
That was what Ma Hongjun truly had in mind.
"..."
Xue Qinghe was speechless.
She'd thought the chubby kid was finally about to show his true strength. He'd spent all that time gathering power, only to turn around and run?
"Shameless, just as expected."
The Purple-Armored Scorpion-Tailed Girl curled her lip in disdain.
Just then, Lan, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke again.
"Trying to run?"
"Too late!"
The instant the words fell, Ma Hongjun felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head.
It wasn't cold caused by Soul Power, but the shudder that came from deep in his soul when a natural predator locked onto him.
Every roll of fat on his body trembled.
Run!
The thought screamed through his mind, but his body seemed frozen. Even beating his wings had become impossibly difficult.
"Ahhh!"
In desperation, Ma Hongjun whipped around. Forgetting all about how to use his Soul Skills properly, he opened his mouth and spat out a mass of raging flames!
But it was useless.
That figure seemed to have shattered space, ignoring the distance between them.
In a single step, Lan crossed from the other end of the street and appeared before him.
One pale, slender hand, wreathed in a faint, deep-blue chill, settled lightly on the mass of Phoenix Fire.
Hiss—
The raging flames vanished into nothingness without so much as a ripple.
Lan lifted his eyes and regarded him calmly, as though he were looking at... prey.
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