The sword aura was not the fastest, but it came without warning, like a strike that had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
As the sword aura sliced through the air, it left behind a crystalline trail of frost. The high-temperature battlefield was cleaved apart by that line of ice, and the moisture in the air instantly condensed into shards of ice that filled the sky.
Gui Mei's expression shifted slightly. He had no choice but to withdraw his outstretched claw and flick the ice-blue sword aura with a bent finger.
"Clang!"
A crisp metallic collision rang out. The sword aura shattered, turning into ice crystals that scattered through the air.
Yet Gui Mei was forced back a step by that strike, displaced three feet from his ambush position.
Bing Yekong landed between Tang San and Gui Mei, holding the Tianshuang Sword across his body. All six Soul Rings lit up together, and the final red Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring bloomed amid the ice crystals with an enchanting yet solemn glow.
Yue Guan narrowed his eyes.
"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?" The easy smile in his voice vanished for an instant, replaced by undisguised astonishment. He stared carefully at the slowly rotating red ring beneath Bing Yekong's feet, then swept his gaze over his Soul Ring configuration: yellow, purple, purple, black, black, red.
A young man of around fifteen, a level sixty-six Soul Emperor, with a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring as his sixth ring.
Yue Guan's gaze sharpened.
"You're the one from Skywater Academy..." He seemed to search his memories. After a moment, he gave a soft "Oh." "The Shui Family's adopted son, with the Tianshuang Sword Martial Soul. I thought the rumors were exaggerated. So you really did obtain a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring."
Gui Mei landed soundlessly where the