External Soul Bone: Snow Wind Ice Wings, Light of the Polar Night

"Xue Mingqing!"

Ning Yurong let out a sharp cry, her eyes narrowing as she sprinted toward the flying figure of Xue Mingqing, desperate to catch him before he hit the ground.

Yes, in her eyes, Xue Mingqing looked as if he were on the verge of death from his grievous wounds.

But what of Xue Mingqing?

Clutching the jagged wound on his chest, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, he performed a mid-air flip!

A second before hitting the ground, he drove his broken sword into the earth, carving a long trench that bled off the brunt of the momentum. Finally—

He came to a halt right in front of the rushing Ning Yurong.

Dropping to one knee, Xue Mingqing's body trembled as he tried to push himself up using the broken blade as a crutch.

Yet, his body and the sword alike seemed to have reached their limit; the moment he exerted force—

The remaining half of the blade shattered with a crisp, ringing snap.

It disintegrated in an instant, scattering into countless specks of snow carried by a gentle breeze.

As his martial soul, Snow Sword, vanished, Xue Mingqing could no longer suppress the injuries within.

With a violent heave, a mouthful of hot blood sprayed out, splattering the ground before him.

"Cough, cough, cough...!"

Supporting himself with both hands, Xue Mingqing vomited blood in great, ragged gulps!

"Xue Mingqing, are... are you alright...?"

Seeing this, Ning Yurong could no longer maintain her detached, ethereal composure. She knelt down to steady him.

Her eyes turned red, hot, crystalline tears welling up within them. With trembling hands, she retrieved a green pill from her storage soul tool.

Her fingers shook as she held the medicine, her voice thick with the onset of tears.

"Quick, take this..."

Feeling Ning Yurong's entire body shivering, Xue Mingqing didn't stand on ceremony; he opened his mouth and swallowed the pill.

It melted upon contact, the pure medicinal power surging into his limbs and bones.

It didn't even require soul power to refine; it took effect immediately, mending his body.

The most affected area, the gash on his chest, began to knit together as flesh rapidly regenerated.

Noticing this, Xue Mingqing raised an eyebrow.

Such an exquisite pill...

This little girl's status was likely far higher than he had anticipated.

Closing his eyes, Xue Mingqing pushed other thoughts aside.

Clutching his chest, he stood up and gazed toward the dark domain that was gradually dissipating across from him.

There, standing the size of a large yellow dog, was a pitch-black fox with four eyes.

It was the true form of the Four-Eyed Demon Fox!

Seeing this, a trace of mockery gradually appeared on Xue Mingqing's pale face.

"To be wounded by a mere one-ring soul master like me... it seems you aren't much after all."

As he spoke, Xue Mingqing glanced at the demon fox's tail.

There was a faint, barely perceptible nick there. Though it hadn't bled, it had indeed wounded the Four-Eyed Demon Fox.

Sensing this, the chill in the Four-Eyed Demon Fox's eyes deepened...

It would torture this human to death to satisfy the hatred in its heart!

With a ferocious snarl, the Four-Eyed Demon Fox stepped toward Xue Mingqing, the cold glint on its sharp claws growing more lethal with every stride...

Gritting his teeth, Xue Mingqing's expression tightened; that last strike had drained every ounce of his soul power.

He had no strength left to resist!

Clutching his chest, Xue Mingqing remained outwardly calm and unyielding, but inside his mental sea, he was in a state of total panic.

Save me, save me, save me! Teacher, help!

Listening to Xue Mingqing's incessant pleas for help, Feng Qingyang calmly picked at his ear, looking unimpressed as he replied indifferently.

"Steady yourself. This old man knows what he's doing. I will act when the time is right."

Hearing this, Xue Mingqing closed his eyes and let out a long, heavy breath.

He knew it, he just knew it!

Although they hadn't spent much time together, Xue Mingqing had already realized that Feng Qingyang was a total sadist who lived for his own amusement!

He wouldn't lift a finger unless he was pushed to his absolute limit, which was exactly why he had gambled everything on that final strike!

He had done it to put on a show for Feng Qingyang, hoping to goad him into action.

But who could have guessed that even now, with his back against the wall, this old geezer still wouldn't move!

Taking a deep breath, Xue Mingqing opened his eyes. He looked at the Four-Eyed Demon Fox now closing in, ready to spit some trash talk to draw even more aggro.

Yet, those words caught in his throat before he could even use them; he froze!

Because—

Ning Yurong was actually trembling as she walked right between him and the Four-Eyed Demon Fox!

Seeing this, Xue Mingqing frowned, unable to fathom what Ning Yurong was trying to do.

And Ning Yurong?

She stood before the Four-Eyed Demon Fox, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, as if she had made a decision.

Under the gaze of six eyes—four from the beast and two from the man—all filled with confusion.

She spoke.

"I know you can understand human speech, so..."

At this, she bit her lip, then opened a pair of crimson eyes, misted with tears yet unwavering, and stared fixedly into the eyes of the Four-Eyed Demon Fox.

"This all started because of me... kill me... and leave, would you...?"

Hearing this, both Xue Mingqing and the Four-Eyed Demon Fox were stunned.

Upon hearing Ning Yurong's words, the former's pupils shook in disbelief.

As for the latter, once it realized what was happening, its four eyes filled with cold, mocking amusement.

As a ten-thousand-year soul beast, it had long since gained intelligence and could understand human speech, but—

Precisely because it understood, it found the situation all the more amusing...

It glanced at Xue Mingqing, the mockery in its eyes barely contained.

This man wanted to protect this woman, so—

If it killed her right in front of him, wouldn't that make him suffer even more?

Thinking it, it acted. The Four-Eyed Demon Fox suddenly raised its claw, intending to strike Ning Yurong's body and kill her first!

Seeing this, Xue Mingqing's pupils shrank to pinpricks!

"Stop right there!!!"

With a fierce roar, a gust of breeze happened to sweep across Xue Mingqing's body at that very moment.

It actually restored a sliver of mobility to his soul-power-depleted frame!

He stood up, his body wreathed in a gentle breeze, moving so fast he left afterimages in his wake.

Reaching out, he grabbed Ning Yurong by the wrist and, with a sudden burst of strength, pulled her into his arms without a word of protest!

The speed was so great that even the Four-Eyed Demon Fox didn't have time to react!

Once it did, the Four-Eyed Demon Fox's pupils constricted; it instinctively sensed that something had slipped out of its control.

How could it still care about playing around?

A flash of blood-red light ignited in its four eyes, and its sharp fox claws tore through the air, dragging a lethal afterimage as it lunged at the pair, swearing to slaughter them both right there!

Feeling that terrifying strike sweeping toward him, Xue Mingqing's expression turned icy!

Clutching the utterly shocked Ning Yurong to his chest, Xue Mingqing kicked off the ground and retreated.

At the same time, he roared in his mind!

"Teacher, help me!!!"

Deep within his spiritual sea, Feng Qingyang, who had been sitting with his chin in his hand, let out a low chuckle.

"Finally... I've been waiting for this moment..."

He raised a hand and pointed a finger.

In an instant!

A vast, majestic surge of soul power transformed into a domineering, fierce gale, pouring entirely into Xue Mingqing's body!

However, this gale force did not grant Xue Mingqing strength; instead...

It surged into the mysterious rune that had long lain dormant on his back!

Crack—!

A sound like something shattering echoed out, and the mysterious rune on Xue Mingqing's back, now flooded with the power of the gale, instantly fractured!

The next second—

Two magnificent, crystalline snow-wings unfurled from Xue Mingqing's back!

The moment those crystalline wings spread, all the information regarding them and how to use them flooded into Xue Mingqing's mind!

Holding Ning Yurong, Xue Mingqing's expression grew even colder. He looked at the Four-Eyed Demon Fox, whose beastly face now wore a look of human-like shock, and let out a thunderous roar!

"Light... of the Polar Night!!!!!"