Snow Demon Vajra

"Your hands are so cold, and you still have the energy to chat?"

A warm current seemed to flow through Shui Bing'er's heart.

She didn't pull her hand away. She merely lowered her head and said, "Thanks."

The two of them sat at the cave entrance holding hands like that until Shui Bing'er's fingers had completely warmed up.

Neither of them spoke again, but neither let go.

The next morning, Xue Wu crawled out of her bedding wrapped in a blanket, rubbed her eyes, and found that it was already bright outside the cave.

A small pot rested over the campfire, bubbling away and giving off steam.

Shui Qinghan sat nearby organizing their packs. Seeing Xue Wu awake, she nodded at her. "Awake?"

"Why didn't you wake me for watch? I clearly said you should wake me when it was my turn."

"You were sleeping so soundly." Wu Changkong poured her a cup of hot water and handed it over. "Have some hot water first."

Xue Wu took the cup, still looking guilty. "But you should've woken me anyway. We agreed on two hours each, but you two kept watch all night while I slept through the whole thing. That doesn't feel right."

As she spoke, Shui Bing'er walked in from outside the cave and brushed the snow off her shoulders. "The weather outside isn't great either. The wind and snow are pretty heavy."

Shui Qinghan glanced outside. "It's fine. It's nothing to us Soul Masters. Finish organizing the packs, then get ready to leave."

"Yes, Dean," the three replied in unison.

The four sat around the campfire, eating compressed flatbread and jerky with hot water.

The rations had frozen hard in the low temperatures and needed to soak in hot water for a while before they could be bitten through.

After breakfast, Xue Wu quickly helped everyone pack up the sleeping bags and charcoal ashes. Wu Changkong doused the fire with water to prevent it from reigniting, while Shui Bing'er repacked the supplies in their storage Soul Tools and confirmed they still had plenty of rations and firewood.

The whole cleanup took less than fifteen minutes. The four were soon packed and ready to set off again.

Just then, Shui Qinghan's expression abruptly changed. She raised a hand to signal everyone to stop.

"Careful."

The moment she spoke, the ground began to tremble faintly as heavy footsteps approached from afar.

"A soul beast is coming."

The four immediately rushed out of the cave, only to see a huge white figure walking toward them through the valley.

The creature stood a full four meters tall, its body covered in thick white fur. Its two powerful arms hung below its knees, and each fist was as large as a millstone.

It stopped in front of the cave. Seeing four humans emerge, it threw back its head and roared, pounding its chest with both fists.

"That size... it's a ten-thousand-year Snow Demon Vajra," Wu Changkong said in surprise.

Snow Demon Vajras were famously savage creatures of the Far North Glacier.

Their hides were tough, their bodies sturdy, and their strength absurdly great. With ten thousand years of cultivation, they could clash head-on with twenty-thousand-year soul beasts without falling behind.

But while heaven had given them bodies of iron, it hadn't given them working brains. They were the very definition of brawn over brains.

Looking at the four-meter-tall Snow Demon Vajra, Shui Qinghan said calmly, "It's just right for you. This is training. I'll assist you from the side, but you'll handle the main attack yourselves."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Snow Demon Vajra roared and charged at the four on its thick legs.

Xue Wu struck first. Snowforged Silken Dance appeared in her palm as her first and third Soul Rings lit up simultaneously.

Immediately afterward, Dark Cloud rapidly gathered above the vajra's head. A blizzard of goose-feather snow poured down, and the temperature plunged sharply once more.

Against an ordinary soul beast, this double suppression would reduce its speed by at least thirty percent.

But the Snow Demon Vajra didn't care in the slightest. Its charge didn't slow at all. Instead, it was enraged further and let out another earthshaking roar.

"Bing'er, control it while I attack." Wu Changkong had already summoned his Skyfrost Sword Martial Soul.

"Alright."

Shui Bing'er's Soul Rings lit up, and the phantom of an Ice Phoenix spread its wings behind her.

Her first soul skill, Ice Seal, activated. Freezing air suddenly surged up from beneath the vajra's feet, encasing everything below its waist in a thick layer of ice.

The Snow Demon Vajra's movements abruptly stalled as it was frozen in place, unable to move.

Seizing that instant, Wu Changkong's second Soul Ring lit up.

A hazy white mist rose around him and rapidly spread outward from its center, engulfing dozens of meters around the Snow Demon Vajra.

Second soul skill, Frost Mist.

Within the icy mist, an enemy's attack speed and movement speed were greatly reduced, ice-element erosion continued without end, and the power of Wu Changkong's own ice attacks doubled.

Then, his third Soul Ring lit up.

The Skyfrost Sword blazed with light. A gigantic icy-blue sword aura tore through the air, carrying a piercing howl as it slashed down at the Snow Demon Vajra's head.

"Third soul skill, Skyfrost Slash."

The Snow Demon Vajra roared toward the sky. The muscles in its arms swelled explosively, veins bulging one after another as it forcibly broke free of Shui Bing'er's Ice Seal.

It neither dodged nor retreated. Swinging its millstone-sized fist, it launched a Vajra Fist directly at the enormous sword aura.

Boom!

The sword aura and fist collided in midair, and the violent shockwave blasted the surrounding snow away.

A deep bloody gash was cut into the Snow Demon Vajra's fist by the sword aura, yet it didn't budge an inch.

Wu Changkong's sword aura, meanwhile, was shattered by that punch.

Shui Qinghan watched from the flank. Even she couldn't help saying in amazement, "Just how powerful is Changkong's sword aura?"

"A Soul Elder went head-to-head with a ten-thousand-year Snow Demon Vajra, and neither gained the upper hand."

The Snow Demon Vajra lowered its head to look at the sword scar on its fist, then looked up at the white-haired youth who wasn't even as tall as its leg. Its eyes slowly turned red.

It let out a furious roar toward the sky. Its muscles swelled once more, and a layer of scarlet bloodlight shone beneath its white fur.

Innate skill, Blood Rage.

In its Blood Rage state, the Snow Demon Vajra's eyes turned crimson as both its strength and speed surged.

It suddenly kicked off the ground with both legs. Its massive body actually leaped into the air, its two enormous fists clasped together as they smashed down toward Wu Changkong's head.

"Get out of the way!"

Wu Changkong's footwork shifted. Using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, he drifted away like a phantom.

Boom!

A massive crater was smashed into the snow. Snow and frozen earth erupted into the air, and the entire ground trembled.

If that blow had landed on a person, even a Soul Ancestor would be finished on the spot, let alone a Soul Elder.

The Snow Demon Vajra pulled its fist from the crater, turned to lock onto Wu Changkong, and charged again.

Wu Changkong didn't retreat. His eyes turned purple.

The mental attack of Purple Demon Eyes struck directly into the Snow Demon Vajra's mind. Its huge charging body suddenly stiffened, and it clutched its head with both forepaws, letting out a pained howl. It staggered several meters before barely steadying itself.

Shui Qinghan's gaze sharpened. "Huh? Did Changkong's eyes just turn purple?"

"Bing'er, Xue Wu, Martial Soul Fusion Skill!" Catching the gap while the Snow Demon Vajra was stunned, Wu Changkong turned and shouted at the two girls.

Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu exchanged a glance, then ran toward each other at the same time.

The two embraced tightly as the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul merged with a snowflake, icy-blue and silver-white light intertwining around them.