The Chill of Victory

A brilliant flash of teleportation illuminated the vast arena of Jia-Domain, Zone Two, as two figures shimmered into existence. Fang Duoduo, a formidable talent among the disciples of the Jia-Domain, had ascended to this stage through a potent blend of ferocity and an unyielding will. Beyond her inherent diligence and thirst for knowledge, she had devoted years to abstaining from worldly desires for the sake of her cultivation, fostering a pristine Dao Heart and achieving astonishing leaps in her progress. Indeed, she was one of the rare disciples who had successfully reached the Foundation Establishment stage within a mere month of entering the Hall of Clarity.

In this tense moment, her lips were drawn into a tight line, her longsword humming with infused spiritual energy. The blade’s tip pulsed with a fierce, cold light, ready to strike. Her aura surged around her, a clear sign that she had unleashed her entire cultivation base, poised in a state of utmost readiness. Confronting Qiu Yue, a figure of formidable renown and profound background, Fang Duoduo harbored no illusion of slackening her guard.

Across from her, however, stood Qiu Yue. Qiu Yue had not even deigned to assume a defensive or offensive posture. She simply stood at ease in the arena’s heart, her vibrantly colored silk gown a stark, almost jarring contrast against the grim, dark green hues of her surroundings. Yet, it lent her an unsettling, almost demonic allure. Her face bore the saccharine smile Lin Mo knew intimately, a smile so sweet it seemed to drip with honey. Yet, her eyes were unsettlingly vacant, like two abyssal, frigid tarns, sending shivers down one’s spine.

Still, she did not glance at her opponent, Fang Duoduo. Instead, she subtly tilted her head, rose onto the balls of her feet, and her gaze, seemingly piercing through the multitude, settled with unnerving precision upon Lin Mo. Once more, she offered Lin Mo a smile.

‘Please enlighten me!’ Fang Duoduo, forcing down the tremor in her heart, let out a sharp cry and launched her attack. Her form was a blur, swift as lightning, and her sword light transformed into a shimmering ribbon, thrusting directly at Qiu Yue’s vital point! The attack was blindingly fast, its angle devilishly cunning. Even with her cultivation suppressed, her Qi Condensation stage movement techniques and combat skills were pushed to their absolute zenith, faintly imbued with the raw power characteristic of Foundation Establishment.

It was at this precise moment that a chilling realization struck Lin Mo: why was it Fang Duoduo whose cultivation had been suppressed? Hovering above their battle stage, inscribed in spiritual energy, were the names and cultivation realms of both contestants. To Lin Mo’s utter bewilderment, Qiu Yue’s realm was displayed as Qi Condensation Stage Nine.

‘How could this be?!’

‘Hadn’t she already achieved Foundation Establishment?!’

‘Could Qing You’s favoritism and manipulation truly extend to this degree?!’

Meanwhile, the unfolding battle on the arena…

Confronted by such a lightning-fast strike, Qiu Yue didn’t even deign to blink. With an air of utter nonchalance, she simply raised her right hand. Her gesture was graceful and effortless, akin to idly plucking a leaf from a garden branch. No torrential burst of spiritual energy erupted, nor were there any dazzling displays of light and shadow. Instead, an inexplicable, deathly chill permeated the air!

Fang Duoduo’s lightning-swift form abruptly seized up! To her horror, she realized that her piercing sword strike, imbued with the entirety of her spiritual energy, had, while still a meter from Qiu Yue, crashed into an invisible, impossibly viscous wall of water. It felt undeniably like water, yet possessed a terrifying, almost glue-like viscosity!

The frigid essence within this watery barrier, however, did not simply freeze her body. Instead, it infiltrated her meridians in a far more sinister fashion, permeating them in an instant!

Her spiritual energy! Even her very will!

‘This… this is Profound Yin Qi?’

‘Is Qiu Yue also relying on Profound Yin Qi?’

Lin Mo’s shock was profound and immediate. Furthermore, Lin Mo could discern almost imperceptible, delicate threads now weaving into Fang Duoduo’s body.

Meanwhile, on the arena itself!

Fang Duoduo felt as if she were not wielding a sword brimming with power, but rather a cumbersome, decaying piece of timber. The spiritual energy within her body felt as if it were ensnared and tugged by countless cold, slick threads, instantly becoming sluggish and chaotic, utterly incapable of circulating according to her cultivation methods. Even more terrifyingly, a colossal wave of fear and debilitating weakness, originating from the very depths of her spirit, surged over her. She felt as though her consciousness itself was on the verge of being frozen and consumed by that pervasive, dark cold.

Agh…

Fang Duoduo groaned, her entire body convulsing violently even before her sword technique could make contact. Her right hand, clutching the sword, felt as if it were caught in the crushing grip of an unseen behemoth; the web between her thumb and forefinger tore, and blood instantly drenched the hilt.

She reeled as if struck by a colossal blow, her body arching uncontrollably. Drained of all strength, she found even standing an arduous task, her face instantly paling to the color of parchment as large beads of cold sweat trickled down her brow.

It was only then that Qiu Yue’s hand truly extended. Her movement remained deceptively slow, her fingertips imbued with a careless grace as she gently pointed towards Fang Duoduo’s glabella. No earth-shattering power accompanied the gesture, nor was there any vast leakage of spiritual energy. Yet, the instant her fingertip shifted, the temperature across the entire Jia-Domain, Zone Two arena plummeted dramatically! No frost crystallized, yet an aura of decay and desolate stillness, potent enough to make one’s soul tremble, permeated the space. It was as if the very air itself was emitting a silent, mournful cry.

Every spectating disciple, regardless of their proximity to the arena, simultaneously felt their chests constrict, as if an invisible, frigid giant hand had seized their hearts. Those with even slightly weaker cultivation found their souls swaying, their consciousness blurring, as if they were being dragged into a frigid, inescapable bog.

‘This… what terrifying power is this?!’

‘I… I cannot sense her releasing any spiritual energy! How is she achieving this?’

No one knew the answer. No one could articulate it. Gasps of alarm, after a moment of profound silence, spread like a contagion, imbued with deep dread and astonishment.

Qiu Yue’s fingertip halted a mere inch from Fang Duoduo’s glabella. There was no physical contact.

Nevertheless, Fang Duoduo reeled as if violently struck by an invisible iceberg!

‘Pfft—’ She violently expelled a torrent of blood, her entire body collapsing limply like a marionette whose strings had been severed. Like a broken ragdoll, she was sent uncontrollably flying backward!

Her body arced through the air in a pathetic trajectory, and her blood, chilled by the sudden drop in temperature, had no time to fall in streams. Instead, it congealed mid-flight into grotesque shards of dark red ice.

Thud—CRACK!

Fang Duoduo crashed heavily onto the unyielding ground at the arena’s edge, the sheer force of the impact shattering the stone slab beneath her. She lay curled, her body wracked by violent, uncontrollable spasms. Her eyes rolled back, and her face was utterly devoid of color. Only the blood gushing from her mouth and nose rapidly congealed, emitting a pungent, metallic stench.

The spiritual energy that had once surged around her now flickered and dwindled like a dying candle in a gale, almost completely vanishing. Her life force, too, was rapidly fading, a clear testament to the grievous internal injuries and profound spiritual shock she had sustained.

The Host, witnessing this, was immediately thrown into a state of panic! Her figure materialized above the arena almost the instant Fang Duoduo was flung backward. Swiftly, she extended her hand, and a soft, warm yellow light enveloped Fang Duoduo, simultaneously shielding her heart meridians and dispelling the tenacious, cold death qi that clung within her body.

The Host’s expression was etched with profound solemnity, her gaze fixed upon Qiu Yue, filled with both intense scrutiny and an unspoken, chilling wariness.

‘Jia-Domain, Zone Two, Qiu Yue is victorious!’

The Host’s voice, heavy with gravity, formally declared the outcome.

The entire engagement, from Fang Duoduo’s initial strike to her being critically wounded and flung away, had transpired in the span of merely two or three breaths.

Qiu Yue had not even shifted a single step! Only after the declaration of victory did she slowly retract her finger. She still wore that serenely chilling smile, as though her recent actions had been nothing more than casually flicking a speck of dust from her shoulder.

Then, her gaze once more drifted towards the viewing platform. This time, her gaze, like a needle forged in ten thousand years of profound ice, pierced through the intervening distance, locking with chilling precision onto Lin Mo, who stood at the very front of the throng.

That stare seemed to silently convey a single, unnerving question: ‘Do you still believe you can defeat me?’