Ice Phoenix Strike

Almost at the same moment, Shui Bing'er opened her eyes as well. Their gazes met in midair, and both saw the same shock and realization in each other's eyes.

"You felt it?" Bing Yekong's voice carried barely restrained excitement.

Shui Bing'er nodded, her voice trembling slightly. "My Martial Soul... is calling to yours."

No further words were needed. Bing Yekong sprang to his feet, grabbed Shui Bing'er's hand, and ran outside. "Come with me! To the training grounds!"

Shui Bing'er stumbled after him as he pulled her from the room. The night wind rushed toward them, scattering the thin sweat across their foreheads.

Moonlight spilled over the Shui Family's corridors and courtyards, turning the bluestone paths as though they had been coated in silver frost. They crossed the courtyard, passed through the small gate leading to the rear yard, and raced straight toward the training grounds deep within the Shui Family estate, a place rarely used under normal circumstances.

The training grounds were not large, but their surroundings had been reinforced with refined steel and granite, enough to withstand the aftershocks of battles below the Soul King level. A row of Soul Power-reinforced training dummies stood in the center, meant for the family's younger generation to practice their soul skills on.

Bing Yekong released Shui Bing'er's hand, took two steps forward, then turned to face her. Moonlight fell through the open dome above the training grounds, enveloping them both. The surroundings were so quiet that they could hear only each other's heartbeats.

"Sister Bing'er, do you trust me?"

Shui Bing'er looked at his earnest expression and nodded without the slightest hesitation. "I do."

"Good." Bing Yekong took a deep breath and extended his hand. "Give me all of your Soul Power. Don't think about anything. Just follow my guidance."

Shui Bing'er stepped forward and placed both her hands in Bing Yekong's palms. Their four hands pressed tightly together. The two streams of Ultimate Ice Soul Power began to merge wildly the instant they made contact, faster and more violently than ever before. Bing Yekong's Soul Power surged like a roaring river, while Shui Bing'er's flowed like a boat drifting downstream, following his guidance into the depths of their bodies without the slightest resistance.

That strange sensation grew stronger and stronger. Bing Yekong could clearly feel his two Martial Souls—the Tianshuang Sword and the Ice Dragon King—trembling violently within him, as if something were about to break free from its seal.

At the same time, the phantom of an Ice Phoenix emerged behind Shui Bing'er beyond her control. The icy-blue phoenix raised its head and cried out, its call clear, yearning, and full of longing.

"It's here."

Bing Yekong gave a low shout. He abruptly mobilized all the Soul Power within his body and poured it madly into the Tianshuang Sword Martial Soul. At the same time, Shui Bing'er's Soul Power, like a river finally finding its destination, also gathered toward the Tianshuang Sword.

The two streams of Soul Power collided violently upon the blade of the Tianshuang Sword.

In that instant, the Tianshuang Sword erupted with a brilliance unlike anything before. A pillar of icy-blue light shot into the sky, illuminating the entire training grounds as brightly as day.

Bing Yekong and Shui Bing'er's figures gradually blurred and dissolved within the light, turning into two clusters of icy-blue specks. Then they intertwined, spun, and merged.

A phantom of an entirely icy-blue phoenix flew from the Tianshuang Sword. After circling once, it plunged fiercely into the pillar of light.

The pillar abruptly contracted.

A blue-haired man stepped out of the light.

He looked to be in his early twenties. His features were seventy percent similar to Bing Yekong's, yet carried some of Shui Bing'er's gentleness and cold clarity.

A cascade of icy-blue hair flowed down his back like a waterfall formed from snow and ice. He wore a long white robe, its sleeves fluttering softly. Faint ice mist coiled around him, and as he stood there, he resembled an immortal lord of frost descended from the heavens, untouched by even a speck of mortal dust.

He held a Tianshuang Sword in his hand. Its blade shimmered with flowing light and radiated a biting cold that pierced to the bone. Around him, an entirely icy-blue phoenix slowly circled, each beat of its wings sending countless fine ice crystals drifting down like fragments of stars.

"Ice Phoenix... Strike."

The immortal lord spoke. It was the overlapping voice of two people—Bing Yekong's clear voice and Shui Bing'er's gentle one—echoing throughout the training grounds at once.

He stepped forward, slowly raised the sword in his right hand, then swung it down at the training dummy ahead.

The swing appeared casual, yet it made the entire training grounds tremble. The Ice Phoenix circling him gave a clear cry, transforming into a streak of icy-blue light that attached itself to the Tianshuang Sword and fused with its blade.

Immediately afterward, an enormous sword aura formed from Ultimate Ice and the power of the Phoenix howled forth. The icy-blue sword light slashed down like a crescent moon.

Time seemed to freeze before that sword aura.

The sword aura struck the training dummy with perfect precision, then exploded the instant it made contact. Icy-blue energy surged in all directions like a burst dam, unstoppable as it swept across the entire training grounds.

The refined steel walls were as fragile as paper before Ultimate Ice. They instantly filled with cracks before shattering with a thunderous crash. The granite floor beneath their feet was frozen, cracked, and gouged inward. Stone fragments and dust were hurled into the air by the aftermath, scattering across the entire courtyard.

The deafening roar continued for dozens of breaths before gradually fading.

When the dust settled, the training grounds that had once been sturdy and secure had become a field of ruins.

More than half the walls had collapsed. The ground had been forcibly gouged three feet deep, with shattered stones and twisted steel strewn everywhere. Only where the training dummy had stood remained a massive pit several zhang deep, its walls coated in thick ice that reflected the moonlight with a ghostly blue chill.

The two figures separated from the light once more.

Bing Yekong staggered, but Shui Bing'er quickly caught and supported him. They looked at each other, seeing the same shock and disbelief in each other's eyes.

"We... did it?" Shui Bing'er's voice was distant, as though she had yet to recover from that wondrous state.

Bing Yekong steadied himself and looked at the ruins before him. The corners of his mouth slowly rose, the smile widening and widening until he finally broke into a broad grin.

"Martial Soul Fusion Skill!" He grabbed Shui Bing'er's hand, his voice rising with excitement. "Sister Bing'er! We have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"

Shui Bing'er was tugged hard enough to sway twice. Seeing his animated expression, she could not help laughing along with him. She nodded heavily. "Mm! We do!"

Just as they were immersed in overwhelming joy, hurried footsteps sounded in the distance. Shui Qingrou's voice rang out first. "What happened?! Who caused such a huge commotion over at the training grounds?!"

Yang Wudi's booming voice followed close behind. "Such powerful ice-element fluctuations! This old man was startled awake from halfway across the courtyard!"

Then Dugu Bo's lazy voice drifted over as well. "Half of this old man's poison miasma was scattered by the shockwave... Who did this?"