Shui Bing'er's Fury!

"You... almost... hurt... Xiaochun!!!"

Every word was laden with monstrous killing intent. The name "Xiaochun" in particular carried the weight of a thousand tons.

To her, Ning Xiaochun's safety now outweighed everything else, including those two precious spirit rings.

"I want you dead!"

Before the words had even faded, Shui Bing'er struck! She wasted no time on pleasantries; with a slight lift of her jade hand, she pointed at the red-haired youth.

"First Spirit Skill: Ice Seal!"

Hum!

An icy blue ring of light centered on her fingertip expanded instantly. Wherever it passed, the air froze and vegetation turned to frost!

A frigid chill, far purer and more overbearing than the ice wall from moments ago, swept toward the red-haired youth like an invisible tidal wave of ice.

This was no simple control move; it contained the full, evolved power of Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix spirit, fueled by her unbridled rage! She intended to freeze this fellow who dared threaten Ning Xiaochun's safety into an ice sculpture.

The red-haired youth clearly hadn't expected this cold, beautiful blue-haired girl to strike with such ruthless decisiveness, nor had he anticipated the sheer power of her ice attribute!

The encroaching chill was so intense that even he, a possessor of the Flame Lord spirit, felt a bone-deep cold, causing the surging flame spirit power within him to stutter.

"You're courting death!" Yan was both shocked and furious. As a member of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, when had he ever been treated with such contempt? He roared, and his two yellow and one purple spirit rings flared with brilliant light!

"First Spirit Skill, Hell Magma Rush!"

He thrust his arms forward, and violent flame spirit power erupted, transforming into a scorching crimson torrent that seemed to flow with molten lava, crashing headlong into Shui Bing'er's Ice Seal ring!

He was confident that with his top-tier fire spirit, a mere Ice Seal would be shattered in an instant.

However, the next scene made Yan's pupils shrink, his face twisting into an expression of utter disbelief!

The crimson magma torrent and the icy blue ring collided with a thunderous impact!

The expected melting of the ice never occurred. Instead, the moment his scorching "Hell Magma Rush" touched the Ice Seal ring, its speed plummeted, and a thick shell of ice rapidly formed over its surface!

After less than a second of stalemate, the entire torrent of magma was frozen solid in mid-air, forming a twisted, grotesque sculpture of frozen flame!

"What?!" Yan gasped. His fire was the top-tier flame of the Flame Lord!

How could it be so easily frozen by an ice-attribute spirit skill of the same rank?! What level was this blue-haired girl's ice?

The Ice Seal ring merely paused for a heartbeat. After freezing the magma torrent, it continued toward Yan with undiminished momentum! The biting cold made the hair on Yan's body stand on end!

"Second Spirit Skill, Granite Rock!"

In this moment of crisis, Yan dared not be arrogant any longer and instantly activated his defensive spirit skill. His skin turned a ghostly gray, as if covered in a layer of hard granite, drastically increasing his defense.

At the same time, he stomped hard on the ground and retreated rapidly, attempting to escape the range of the Ice Seal.

Crack! Crack!

The Ice Seal ring ultimately grazed his body. Despite the defense of Granite Rock, Yan felt his limbs instantly stiffen and go numb. His movements slowed, and a thick layer of frost rapidly coated his skin. He felt as if he were wearing a suit of ice armor, the cold piercing straight to his marrow!

He stumbled as he retreated, nearly falling, and the look he cast at Shui Bing'er was now filled with shock and deep-seated wariness.

This girl—what powerful ice! What terrifying strength.

"Stop!"

"Stop!"

Just as Shui Bing'er's eyes turned icy and her spirit power surged again, preparing to launch an even stronger attack, and as Dugu Yan sneered while releasing her Jade Phosphorus Serpent Emperor poison mist to coordinate the assault, two urgent shouts rang out from the forest.

A golden figure and a pink figure moved with lightning speed, appearing in the clearing in an instant to stand before the disheveled Yan.

The newcomers were a man and a woman. The man had a slender build, his handsome face carrying a hint of evil, with short golden hair and sharp eyes. A pair of massive moon blades were strapped to his back—it was Xie Yue.

The woman had a graceful figure, long pink hair, and a beautiful, alluring face. Her eyes held a natural charm—it was Hu Liena.

The three members of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation were finally gathered!

Xie Yue and Hu Liena clearly saw what had just transpired, and their faces were etched with suspicion.

All three of them had broken through to level forty this year and had come to the Sunset Forest to hunt for their fourth spirit rings. They had been a step behind while Yan chased the Flame Lion that suited him, never expecting this to happen.

Xie Yue's gaze swept quickly over the scene—the two charred thousand-year spirit beast corpses and their rings on the ground, the disheveled and frost-covered Yan, and the three youths opposite them.

When his gaze landed on Shui Bing'er and he felt that pure, biting chill, a trace of gravity flashed in his eyes.

Seeing Dugu Yan's eerie green eyes and the phantom of the Jade Phosphorus Serpent Emperor behind her, and then Ning Xiaochun, who was being shielded by the two girls and appeared to be the youngest, blinking his large eyes at them, he quickly made his assessment.

"Young lady, please calm your anger."

Xie Yue stepped forward, blocking Yan, and cupped his fists toward Shui Bing'er. His tone was polite enough, but his brow carried the natural arrogance of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation.

"My companion was pursuing a spirit beast and accidentally injured your targets, destroying the spirit rings you were preparing, and nearly harming this little brother as well. It was truly an unintentional mistake. I apologize to you all on his behalf."

He paused, glanced at the charred spirit beast corpses on the ground, and continued:

"As for the loss of these spirit beasts... how about this? We will help you hunt two more of the same or equivalent thousand-year spirit beasts as compensation. Let us consider this matter settled, how about that?"

Xie Yue felt he had shown enough sincerity. After all, Yan was at fault first, and offering two thousand-year spirit beasts was more than fair. They were the Golden Generation of Spirit Hall; they weren't people who could be extorted by just anyone.

Yan had caught his breath by now and used his spirit power to disperse the ice on his body, though his face remained pale.

Hearing Xie Yue's words, he felt a surge of resentment, but he knew he was in the wrong, and Shui Bing'er's strength made him wary. He crossed his arms and snorted, saying nothing more, though his haughty expression clearly showed he didn't take "almost hurting someone" very seriously.

Ning Xiaochun recognized the identities of these three people at once—the Spirit Hall Golden Generation: Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan. They were Tang San's formidable rivals in the early stages of the original work.

With deep backgrounds, exceptional talent, and arrogant dispositions, they were clearly protected by experts from Spirit Hall lurking in the shadows, judging by their posture.

Under normal circumstances, adhering to his principles of "avoiding unnecessary trouble" and "developing steadily without making enemies," Ning Xiaochun might have taken the out offered by Xie Yue. After all, Spirit Hall was at the height of its power, and there was no benefit in offending them.

But!

That fireball from just a moment ago had been real, and it had nearly slammed right into him!

If not for Shui Bing'er's quick reaction in blocking it with her body and an ice wall, he, Ning Xiaochun, might already be a charred corpse!

For someone like Ning Xiaochun, who had "fear of death" carved into his very bones, this was an absolute taboo—a touch-me-not scale! Threatening his life meant a blood feud! He didn't care if they were the Golden Generation or Spirit Hall!

An unprecedented surge of rage and lingering fear churned within Ning Xiaochun's heart. His small face tightened, and his eyes turned cold.