Level Forty-Five

Bing Yekong reacted swiftly, raising the Frostsky Sword before him to block. Yet the tremendous force still knocked him back several steps, leaving his palm numb. He shook out his hand, ready to attack again, when he caught sight of Shui Bing'er from the corner of his eye.

At some point, Shui Bing'er had circled around to Ice Phoenix's rear flank.

A spear formed from Ultimate Ice condensed in her hand, aimed at the vulnerable point where Ice Phoenix's neck joined its body. One yellow and two purple Soul Rings lit up beneath her feet.

"Now!"

Bing Yekong shouted, slashing the Frostsky Sword downward. A massive sword aura dozens of meters long roared forth, cleaving straight toward Ice Phoenix's head. Forced to raise its head to defend itself, Ice Phoenix exposed its vulnerable neck.

A sharp glint flashed through Shui Bing'er's eyes. The ice spear left her hand, turning into a streak of icy-blue light that pierced precisely through Ice Phoenix's neck.

Ice Phoenix let out a mournful cry. Its enormous body convulsed violently several times as its life force rapidly drained away. Its magnificent icy-blue feathers gradually lost their luster, and its massive body crashed onto the ice-covered rocks, sending shards of ice flying everywhere.

A pitch-black Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring slowly rose from its corpse.

Shui Bing'er hurried over. Bing Yekong had already sheathed the Frostsky Sword and gave her a nod. "Sit down and begin absorbing it. I'll stand guard for you."

Shui Bing'er took a deep breath and sat cross-legged before Ice Phoenix's corpse, circulating her soul power to draw the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring toward her. The black Soul Ring slowly descended and settled around her body.

The instant the soul power entered her body, Shui Bing'er's brows furrowed tightly. The soul power contained within a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring was incomparably more immense than that of hundred-year or Thousand-Year Soul Rings. Even with her Ultimate Ice foundation, she still felt waves of swelling pain in her meridians.

Bing Yekong sat down behind her and pressed both palms against her back. His Ultimate Ice soul power flowed into her body and began merging with hers. The two strains of Ultimate Ice, sharing the same origin, came together, instantly relieving more than half the pressure within Shui Bing'er. Under Bing Yekong's guidance, the violent soul power gradually became docile.

But the true challenge was still ahead.

Within Shui Bing'er's Sea of Spirit, Ice Phoenix's lingering soul had already taken shape. Letting out an enraged shriek, it lunged toward her spiritual form. Shui Bing'er's spiritual form condensed into the shape of an Ice Phoenix, confronting Ice Phoenix's lingering soul.

Though Ice Phoenix's lingering soul retained only a shred of consciousness, it had once been a ten-thousand-year soul beast, and its remaining will was still formidable. It spread its wings and charged fiercely at Shui Bing'er's spiritual form with unparalleled savagery.

Shui Bing'er's spiritual form collided with it. Their spiritual powers clashed violently in midair, and a wave of intense dizziness swept over her. Her spiritual form nearly shattered from the impact.

Just then, an icy-blue radiance lit up from the depths of her Sea of Spirit.

Bing Yekong's spiritual form arrived with a sword in hand. The Frostsky Sword shone with biting cold light, its Ultimate Ice sword intent dyeing the entire Sea of Spirit in a frigid blue glow. He strode before Shui Bing'er's spiritual form and blocked Ice Phoenix's lingering soul.

"Your opponent is me."

Bing Yekong's sword intent erupted in an instant. Cold light blazed from the Frostsky Sword as sword aura infused with Ultimate Ice and the Dragon King's pressure swept out like a storm, slashing head-on toward Ice Phoenix's lingering soul. Sensing that irresistible pressure, Ice Phoenix's lingering soul let out a terrified shriek and tried to flee, but it was already too late.

A streak of sword aura pierced precisely through its core.

Ice Phoenix's lingering soul let out a shrill wail, then cracked apart like shattered ice, turning into specks of light that dissipated throughout Shui Bing'er's Sea of Spirit.

Shui Bing'er felt as though something in her mind had shattered with a bang. Immediately afterward, an incomparably cool power poured into her Sea of Spirit, rapidly repairing every corner injured by the earlier shock. Her consciousness gradually cleared, and the Soul Ring's power began deeply merging with her martial soul.

Time passed second by second.

Bing Yekong withdrew his hands and slowly opened his eyes. He could sense the soul power within Shui Bing'er rising at an astonishing rate, as the power of Ice Phoenix's Soul Ring was being perfectly absorbed by her.

Finally, just as Yang Wudi finished his sixth pouch of dry tobacco, Shui Bing'er's aura suddenly surged.

Level forty-four. Level forty-five.

Her soul power stabilized firmly at level forty-five.

Shui Bing'er opened her eyes. The Ultimate Ice soul power around her surged like a tide for an instant before all of it withdrew into her body. She raised her hand, gathering an ice crystal in her palm. Its appearance was completely different from before; at its core, a phantom of a phoenix could vaguely be seen spreading its wings in flight.

"It worked." Shui Bing'er looked at the ice crystal in her palm, a brilliant smile blooming across her lips. "My fourth soul skill... is very powerful."

Bing Yekong rose to his feet, stretching his somewhat stiff body as he smiled. "We can test it slowly on the way back. Let's leave first. Staying around the smell of blood too long will invite trouble."

Yang Wudi tucked his tobacco pouch into his belt, stood up, and brushed the ice chips from his knees. "Let's go, let's go. These old bones of mine are about to freeze apart."

Shui Bing'er stood and walked over to Bing Yekong. Then, suddenly, she reached out and gently took his hand.

Bing Yekong looked down at her, then at their clasped hands. He did not pull away, merely tightening his grip in silence.

The wind and snow still filled the sky. The three figures gradually faded into the distance across the snowfield, soon vanishing into the endless white world.

Shui Bing'er glanced back at Ice Phoenix's remains and silently offered a word of thanks. Then she turned around and followed Bing Yekong's footsteps onto the path home.

After returning from the Far North, life resumed its usual rhythm.

During the day, Shui Bing'er attended classes at Tianshui Academy as usual, and at night she returned to cultivate alongside Bing Yekong. Yang Wudi spent every day in the alchemy room tinkering with his bottles and jars. Whenever the mood struck him, he would drag Dugu Bo into a fight, collapsing the rockery in the backyard twice before Shui Qingrou smilingly "invited" them outside the city to spar.

Everything continued advancing in an orderly fashion.

That night, the darkness was as usual, and moonlight flowed like silk. Bing Yekong came to Shui Bing'er's room as he always did. The two sat cross-legged facing each other, palms pressed together, their soul power flowing naturally as they soon entered that familiar, harmonious state of cultivation.

Ultimate Ice soul power formed a complete circuit between them, circulating again and again. Each cycle was more rounded and smooth than the last. Shui Bing'er's mind intertwined with Bing Yekong's, and the thin connection within their Sea of Spirit had already grown several times thicker than before, like two vines Entanglement together, no longer able to be separated.

With his eyes closed, Bing Yekong felt the wondrous sensation brought by their mingling soul power. Just as he prepared to guide it through the next cycle, an unusual sensation suddenly rose from the depths of his dantian. It was like a stone dropped into a still lake, with ripples spreading outward in widening circles.

He abruptly opened his eyes.