Heavenly Ice Wu Zhangkong

With nowhere to evade and nowhere to hide!

At the critical moment, a chilling light surged in Wu Zhangkong's eyes. He held nothing back any longer.

Silver-white and icy-blue light suddenly swept across his body. Pieces of crystalline armor, as though carved from dark ice, rapidly covered him—chestplate, shoulder guards, and armguards taking shape one after another.

Fine icy patterns shimmered across the armor, while a pair of icy-blue wings unfurled behind his back.

Two-Word Battle Armor—Heavenly Ice, equipped!

At that instant, Wu Zhangkong's aura soared. The cold around him grew so dense it seemed impossible to disperse, frost spread wildly across the ground, and snow filled the entire isolated space.

Empowered by the Battle Armor, the Spatial Imprisonment around him was instantly shattered by overwhelming force, and his Soul Power began flowing smoothly again.

With a flick of his wrist, the Skyfrost Sword blazed with cold light. The Battle Armor's power fused perfectly with his ice-element Soul Power as his sixth soul skill erupted.

"Frost Condensation!"

A vast icy mist instantly swept through the isolated space. The frost filling the sky formed a sturdy barrier and collided head-on with the dense barrage of spatial blades.

Crisp clanging rang out without end. The invisible spatial blades struck the ice shield, only to be blocked and dissolved by the frost. Even the few that slipped through could hardly pierce the Heavenly Ice Battle Armor's defenses.

Wu Zhangkong moved. His Battle Armor's light wings gave a slight flap, multiplying his speed severalfold. He turned into an icy-blue streak of light and charged straight at Xiling with sword in hand.

"Xiling, regardless of how this match ends, you have already won."

His tone remained cool, but his approval was undisguised. The Skyfrost Sword carried the Battle Armor-enhanced force of extreme cold.

"Third Soul Skill, Skyfrost Slash!"

With one slash, frost light stretched for miles as it shot directly toward Xiling.

Xiling's gaze narrowed slightly, and he did not dare let his guard down. "First Soul Skill, Spatial Folding!"

As his words fell, the space before Xiling abruptly twisted into layers upon layers, like a canvas being kneaded at will, enveloping the devastating frost light entirely.

The dazzling freezing slash struck the folded space. There was no violent collision as expected; instead, its power was continuously weakened and broken apart by the distortion of countless spatial layers. More than half of the frost light was forcibly swallowed.

That was the terrifying aspect of Spatial Folding. It did not resist attacks head-on, but used the power of space to distort, redirect, and neutralize all offensives. It was an ultimate defensive technique!

However, the Battle Armor-enhanced Skyfrost Slash was simply too powerful. The folded layers of space shattered one after another, and powerful freezing energy still surged toward Xiling.

Xiling instantly teleported, barely dodging the attack with Spatial Displacement. The ground beneath him was immediately frozen, leaving behind a deep sword mark.

The two faced each other once more. Wu Zhangkong wore the Heavenly Ice Battle Armor, his icy-blue eyes cold and imposing, every bit the demeanor of an expert.

Spatial fluctuations swirled around Xiling, his Purple-Gold Soul Ring shining brilliantly, while his expression remained calm.

The students outside the arena had already erupted into a frenzy, crying out in shock.

"What is that armor Teacher Wu is wearing? It looks so cool!"

"Student Xiling... no, Brother Ling is so strong! He can actually fight Teacher Wu to this extent!!"

Xie Xie's mouth hung open, his face filled with disbelief. He knew Xiling was strong, but he had never imagined he was this strong!

Just yesterday, he had confidently declared that he would surpass Xiling. But with the strength Xiling had shown now, was that really something he could surpass?

Everyone's eyes were glued to the arena, admiration nearly overflowing from their gazes. That included little Tang Wulin as well.

Wu Zhangkong gripped the Skyfrost Sword, the cold around him drawing inward as he looked at Xiling gravely. "Are you still going to continue?"

Xiling chuckled softly. The power of space around him slowly subsided as he voluntarily dispersed the isolated battle space.

"Teacher, your strength is formidable. I concede."

After that battle, he had consumed nearly seventy percent of his Soul Power. Though he still had one move he had not revealed, he still had no chance against Wu Zhangkong, whose strength had skyrocketed after equipping his Battle Armor. He might as well concede cleanly.

In any case, he had already achieved his goal. He had figured out roughly where his strength stood—normally, he was at the level of a Soul Emperor, and if he went all out, he could reach the level of a high-ranking Soul Emperor.

That was an utterly terrifying figure. After all, he was only level thirty-one!

Wu Zhangkong slowly dismissed his Battle Armor, and the cold around him gradually receded. Looking at the white-haired youth before him, even his cool expression could not conceal the amazement in his eyes.

"You won this battle. If I had not used my Battle Armor, it would have been difficult for me to defeat you."

It was only a brief sentence, yet it was the highest affirmation he could give Xiling. Even his normally indifferent aura softened somewhat.

Throughout his decades of cultivation, he had never seen a level thirty-one Soul Elder who could rely solely on his own strength, without external aid, to contend with a six-ringed Soul Emperor.

Even the number one person of the present age, Yun Ming, the Qingtian Douluo and master of the Sea God Pavilion, probably could not have done that at this age, right?

Hearing such praise from the aloof male idol, Xiling felt a little pleased with himself. Of course, only a little.

Then Wu Zhangkong continued, "After fighting you, I have gained a certain understanding of your Martial Soul."

"Your Martial Soul has a spatial attribute, and your combat methods lean toward assault and control. Why did you say yesterday that you belonged to the all-round system?"

"Well..." Xiling grinned. "That's because I can do what the other five systems besides the food system can do."

"Oh?" Wu Zhangkong raised an eyebrow. "For example?"

"For example, defense. As long as I take out the opponent, my teammates will not get hurt."

Xiling flashed a grin, looking utterly serious without the slightest hint of a joke.

"What about the support system?"

"If all the enemies are killed, no one can threaten my teammates. They can naturally fight without restraint. That is the ultimate support."

Wu Zhangkong's eye twitched. He finally understood—so long as the enemies were killed immediately and every threat was ended, he would be fulfilling the role of every system.

It made so much sense that he could not even refute it.

In the end, Wu Zhangkong said nothing more. Instead, he lifted his gaze and swept it over the students, who were still immersed in the battle and had yet to come back to their senses.

"Did you all see that clearly? This is the gap between you and a true genius."

"Other than Xiling, do you know what impression you give me?"

"Rotten wood cannot be carved! No wonder you were assigned to Class Five. You truly are all worthless."

"However, even if you are scrap iron, I will forge you into steel through a hundred refinements!"

"You all saw Tang Wulin's match just now! His Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, a universally acknowledged useless Martial Soul, yet he fought until the very end!"

"Given your current condition, starting tomorrow, our class will undergo special physical training in the mornings and study theoretical knowledge in the afternoons."

"That is all for this morning's lesson. Go back and think about it. Dismissed!"

This was the first time Wu Zhangkong had spoken so much. There was no intention of lecturing them; he was merely stating the facts.

"Xiling, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, the three of you, come with me." After saying that, Wu Zhangkong turned and headed toward the teaching building.

The three who had been called exchanged glances. Xie Xie and Tang Wulin hurried over to Xiling's side.

Xie Xie asked curiously, "Are we getting rewards? I heard that matches held at the academy usually come with rewards!"

"Brother Ling, you're the champion, and Teacher Wu is a Soul Emperor. I wonder what kind of reward he'll give us."

Xiling looked at the expectant Xie Xie, the corner of his mouth curling upward. In a deliberately mysterious tone, he said, "You'll find out soon enough. Your reward definitely won't disappoint you."

Hearing Xiling say that only made Xie Xie look forward to it even more.

"By the way, Brother Ling, how do you cultivate? We're clearly the same age, so why are you so strong?"

Xiling's steps paused slightly. He glanced at the curiosity-filled Xie Xie and Tang Wulin beside him, who was listening intently with pure eyes, then smiled faintly. "Of course, through persistence and hard work."