The next morning.
The Xiao Clan's training ground.
Xiao Yan had just finished a round of cultivation when he heard the hurried footsteps of a Xiao Clan guard outside.
"Young master, people from the Ling Clan are here."
Xiao Yan turned the sweat on his hands into ice crystals and dispersed them. "Who's here?" he asked calmly.
"The Ling Clan head is here, with a few guards, but the one leading them seems to be a young woman."
Xiao Yan paused, then handed a towel to the maid beside him. "Where are they now?"
"They're already in the hall. The clan head is receiving them. Head Steward Zhong sent me to find you..."
"All right, I'll go now."
Xiao Yan nodded slightly, his expression unchanged.
Those who came with good intentions did not come like this; those who came like this had no good intentions.
Let me see what this genius of the Shrek Inner Court is made of.
Soon, the guard led Xiao Yan to the clan's reception hall.
The atmosphere in the hall was thick with the smell of gunpowder. Though the two sides were not yet as incompatible as fire and water, they were not far from it.
"Clan head, young master Xiao Yan is here!"
At the guard's announcement, everyone turned toward the entrance.
Xiao Yan stood in the doorway, dressed in a close-fitting black outfit.
He already had sword-like brows, starry eyes, and handsome features. After merging with the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress in succession, he had gained an aloof, frosty bearing that spoke of a complete transformation. Even the sunlight paled beside him.
Every gaze was captivated by him.
One glance was nearly enough to make Ling Luochеn fall for him. A few almost imperceptible wisps of Evil Fire stirred within her, making her flare up for no apparent reason. "You're Xiao Yan?"
Ling Luochеn's voice rang out coldly.
"I don't change my given name when I walk or my surname when I sit. I'm Xiao Yan of the Xiao Clan!" Xiao Yan shot back without ceremony. "And what kind of old scallion are you?"
"You sharp-tongued brat! Do you know who she is?"
"She's an outstanding Inner Academy disciple of Shrek Academy! She's also the favored daughter of heaven of our Ling Clan. Compared to us, you're nothing but a mayfly trying to outshine the bright moon!"
Before Ling Luochеn could speak, the Ling Clan head jumped in with an overbearing air.
Ling Luochеn had wanted to stop him, but Xiao Yan's repeated talk of old scallions had greatly displeased her. Whatever the truth was, she was going to teach this little bastard a proper lesson!
Even if he was handsome!
You've made your big sister unhappy. Let's see how I beat you to tears!
You're the old scallion! Your whole family are old scallions!
"I originally wanted the truth, but that doesn't matter anymore."
Ling Luochеn's expression turned cold. She rose and took a step toward Xiao Yan, releasing the strength of a level fifty-one Soul King.
"On the Douluo Continent, strength reigns supreme. If I say you're wrong, then you're wrong. Do you accept that or not?"
Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow. "You want to fight?"
"That's right."
"As long as you can defeat me," Ling Luochеn said coldly, "I won't interfere in the feud between your Xiao Clan and the Ling Clan branch any longer."
Xiao Yan looked at her and suddenly laughed.
"Ridiculous!"
"Ridiculous? Xiao Yan, do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you? Do you think a Soul Douluo can keep you safe?!"
Ling Luochеn questioned him sharply. A biting chill surrounded her, and cold surged in her eyes.
She carried a seventh-rank ice crystal protection Soul Tool. Even if she killed Xiao Yan, she could still withdraw safely.
Even if Xiao Zhan, a Soul Douluo, wanted to protect Xiao Yan, he would have to pay a painful price.
"You came to demand an accounting without knowing right from wrong. Do you take my Xiao Clan for something made of clay?"
Xiao Yan's voice was calm, but an ice-blue flame flickered faintly in his pitch-black eyes.
"We'll fight at the training ground, to determine not only who's stronger, but who lives and who dies!"
"Yan'er!"
Seeing events heading in an uncontrollable direction, Xiao Zhan immediately spoke up to stop him.
"Father, don't worry. I know what I'm doing," Xiao Yan explained to Xiao Zhan.
Xiao Zhan wasn't worried about Xiao Yan's safety. He was worried about Ling Luochеn's life!
If a Shrek Inner Court student really died in his home, he would have no choice but to pack up and run.
Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Xiao Zhan finally relaxed. At least Ling Luochеn's life would be spared.
Ling Luochеn couldn't be bothered with everyone's reactions. She left them with just two words.
"Lead on!"
The Xiao Clan's training ground covered a full three hundred square meters.
Two figures stood on opposite sides.
Xiao Yan summoned his Martial Soul, the Heavy Xuan Ruler. Its pitch-black surface gleamed deeply beneath the sunlight. "Level forty-five Battle Soul Master, Xiao Yan!"
"Level fifty-one Battle Soul Master, Ling Luochеn!"
Ling Luochеn raised her right hand, and ice-blue Soul Power gathered in her palm.
"Then let me see what you're capable of, to dare be so arrogant!"
As her words fell, Soul Rings appeared one after another beneath Ling Luochеn's feet: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black!
In an instant, a cold presence spread rapidly in every direction, and the temperature of the training ground plummeted.
"Playing with ice against me?"
Xiao Yan tightened his grip on the Heavy Xuan Ruler, a faint smile curving his lips.
Four Soul Rings lit up beneath his feet in succession: yellow, purple, black, black!
"I hope your strength can match your confidence."
The next moment, Xiao Yan shot forward like a bolt of black lightning, charging straight at Ling Luochеn!
"First Soul Skill, Mountain Suppression!"
His first Soul Skill came from a Purple Rock Dragon Lion more than five hundred and eighty years old. As he charged it, it steadily increased the weight of the Heavy Xuan Ruler before he brought it down in a strike.
It could be used in close combat or unleashed as a fan-shaped Soul Power shock wave, striking everything within three meters ahead!
"First Soul Skill, Staff of Ice!"
Almost at the same instant, an ice-blue staff formed in Ling Luochеn's hand. A cold light flashed at its tip, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet.
A pillar of ice so thick it would take three people to encircle it erupted from the ground in an instant, blocking Xiao Yan's charge.
"Boom!!!"
A muffled boom rang out.
The Heavy Xuan Ruler in Xiao Yan's hand crashed down, its pitch-black length carrying an oppressive weight. Its tremendous force smashed the ice pillar into shards that scattered like snow across the sky!
How is that possible!
Ling Luochеn's heart tightened. That terrifying force was even greater than that of a Body Sect disciple who specialized in strength!
Fortunately, Ling Luochеn had good combat instincts and reacted quickly!
"Fourth Soul Skill, Ice Mist Nether Cold!"
Ice-blue Soul Power spread rapidly along her staff. Seeing Xiao Yan's Soul Ring Configuration, Ling Luochеn did not dare be careless. Her Soul Power erupted, and the fourth Soul Ring beneath her feet lit up!
Hum!
A vast expanse of ice mist appeared out of thin air. A terrifying cold current spread in every direction from Ling Luochеn, instantly covering the entire training ground.
The white mist churned, and Ling Luochеn's figure vanished into it like falling snow.
The true terror of Ice Mist Nether Cold lay not only in its constant interference with an opponent's senses. Anyone caught in the mist would also have their Soul Power continually eroded by cold Qi, greatly impairing both their reaction speed and the circulation of their Soul Power!
Unfortunately, the target of this move was Xiao Yan.
Against other Soul Masters of the same level, or even one level higher, it could have worked wonders.
But against Xiao Yan, whose Third Martial Soul was the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, it was undoubtedly like brandishing a great blade before Guan Gong!
In Xiao Yan's eyes, even though Ling Luochеn's figure was hidden within the ice mist, she still could not escape his senses.
That was because his mastery of the ice attribute was like that of an emperor, giving him an innate advantage over all ice attributes.
Xiao Yan stood where he was, sensing the cold closing in on him. Instead, a smile appeared on his lips.
The next moment, Bone White Flame poured from his hand.
Bone Spirit Cold Flame!
The instant the flame appeared, it climbed onto the Heavy Xuan Ruler, winding around it like a dancing spirit snake.
At the same time, the air around Xiao Yan abruptly congealed. His entire body radiated a scorching heat and a sinister cold that intertwined deep in the marrow, a purity far surpassing Ultimate Ice!
The ice mist around him was clearly still churning, yet it no longer dared approach him.
Ling Luochеn's expression finally changed.
"What is that?"
She could clearly sense an extremely special power contained within the Bone White Flame.
That power was completely different from her ice-attribute Soul Power, yet it possessed a chill that made her heart tremble!
And what she found hardest to accept was that her fourth Soul Skill, Ice Mist Nether Cold, had been neutralized so simply!