Chapter 81: Cold Star Returns
–Sea Concubine Palace, Sea Dou Hall
Covered in shimmering water droplets, a purple, crystalline, icy elemental figure slowly rose, floating before the Water Element Commander.
Its form was similar to the Ice Soul Cold Star that had appeared before, but its crystalline surface lacked the mysterious, nebula-like patterns.
Its graceful, feminine form, though somewhat crudely rendered in bulky ice crystals, was still apparent.
[Low-rank Spirit Beast – Ice Spirit]
Ice Spirits and Water Elements were closely related species, frequently appearing together in water-related myths and legends, like recurring characters in a textbook.
Their forms and appearances were also very similar, one a flowing, liquid water spirit, the other a solid, crystalline ice being.
This strange combination of a Water Element Commander and an Ice Spirit almost perfectly matched the Ice Shield Palace’s intelligence report, which was ridiculous.
Even the Cold Court Saintess Candidate was stunned. She had simply casually mocked the Ice Shield Palace’s inaccurate report, not expecting to actually draw it out.
Compared to the hundred-meter-long sea dragon, both the Water Element Commander and the Ice Spirit were pathetically weak, dwarfed in both size and aura.
However, no one in the audience believed the Water Swallowing Cloud would win.
“This must be some kind of technique of the Variant Water Emperor.”
“It looks a bit like the tenth-ranked water-type Saint-rank, the Twin Tides.”
“No, no, no, it’s probably a fake body formed from a scale of the Azure Sky Sea Dragon.”
“Ice Soul Cold Star, go!!!”
All sorts of wild speculations filled the arena, but no one believed the Water Swallowing Cloud would win.
After all, appearances could be deceiving. Even discounting the shock of the Ice Spirit’s appearance and analyzing the situation objectively… why was it standing so calmly before the high-rank Water Swallowing Cloud?!
The Sorrowful Saintess summoning her spirit beasts meant she had accepted the challenge!
“Water Swallowing Cloud!”
Whoosh—!!!
As the Cold Court girl shouted, massive whirlpools erupted around the giant sea dragon.
Two enormous discs of water appeared behind the dragon, swirling and colliding, expanding until they enveloped the entire Sea Dou Hall.
The next second, the hundred-meter-long Water Swallowing Cloud coiled and spun, creating a massive, violent waterspout.
The air around the waterspout distorted and tore, the arena tiles disintegrating upon contact, vanishing into the destructive torrent.
[Battle Technique – Splitting Sea Double Shear]
The Water Swallowing Cloud was a common, purely biological, offensive spirit beast, its power straightforward and overwhelming, its spirit energy surging through the Sea Dou Hall.
As expected of the Cold Court’s chief Saintess Candidate. This terrifying power was on a completely different level from the previous skirmishes between Hong Tao and Lei Ji.
The terrifying waterspout, carrying a destructive torrent, crashed down on the seemingly helpless Water Element Commander and Ice Spirit.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
Just as the two pitiful elemental figures were about to be crushed, a wave of freezing purple energy erupted.
The purple ice rapidly engulfed the water, freezing all the water spirit energy in the arena, including the Water Swallowing Cloud.
The Ice Spirit, its expression unchanged, a purple snowflake pattern floating behind it, radiated an intense chill.
[Battle Technique – Ice Binding Contract]
Crack!
Crack, crack, crack—
However, the ice lasted less than a second, shattering under the force of the raging torrent.
Such a meager amount of ice, trying to freeze the power capable of splitting the sea… It was pathetically insignificant.
A low-rank Ice Spirit couldn’t possibly defeat a high-rank Water Swallowing Cloud…
Swish—
Just as the Water Swallowing Cloud was about to break free, another layer of purple ice enveloped it, freezing it once more.
Then, something even stranger happened. The color of the ice deepened, the purple patterns becoming more vibrant.
Flash, flash, flash, flash, flash—
Flash, flash, flash, flash, flash—
Like a computer infected with a virus, pop-up windows appearing endlessly, the layers of purple ice rapidly multiplied, stacking on top of each other, dozens of layers forming in the blink of an eye.
Freezing, layering, freezing, layering, freezing, layering, freezing again, layering again…
It was as if the Ice Spirit had unleashed hundreds of Ice Binding Contracts in an instant, the thickness of the purple ice increasing exponentially, sealing away all detection, all auras, all existence, all life.
[Pseudo-Death Tribulation]
The Sea Concubine Palace higher-ups and other powerful figures observing from the shadows encountered an icy barrier, their spirit energy repelled.
In the box above, the Six Concubines stared intently at the vacant-eyed, blue-haired girl. She sat calmly, her posture elegant, showing no reaction whatsoever.
Heh, no wonder she hadn’t reacted from the beginning. Even if she revealed her Saint-rank spirit beast in public, no one would be able to sense it!
They could forcefully penetrate the barrier with their spirit energy, but that would interfere with her mind and soul, turning the 1v1 duel between Gong Lianyue and the Cold Court girl into something else entirely.
“If the Ice Spirit blocks everything like this, how can I command it?”
Meanwhile, Gong Lianyue was slightly puzzled and anxious, unsure of how the battle was progressing.
Within the freezing, purple ice, the solidified layers flowed like water, forming a sea of purple stars.
As the ice turned to liquid, the Water Swallowing Cloud regained its mobility, looking around in confusion.
The graceful Ice Spirit floated forward unsteadily, then suddenly collapsed to the ground, motionless, as if it had fallen apart.
A flicker of… regret? appeared in the Water Element Commander’s dull eyes, unseen by anyone.
It had intended to use the Water Swallowing Cloud’s power to shatter the ice around its core, but its plan had been easily seen through.
As the Ice Spirit lay motionless on the ground, its back suddenly burst open, a massive, purple crystalline arm erupting from its core.
At the same time, the icy eye on the wrist of the ferocious, purple arm widened, a crazed smile appearing.
[Trying to escape? There’s… no… escape.]
Chapter 82: Miniature Death Tribulation
–Sea Concubine Palace, Sea Dou Hall
A massive purple sphere, enveloped in swirling icy clouds, dominated the center of the arena, its interior hidden from view, the state of the battle unknown.
Hundreds of layers of ice overlapped, the concentrated icy spirit energy reaching an inconceivable density, causing the surrounding purple barrier to shimmer like a thin film of water, murky and indistinct.
Within this mysterious, star-filled ocean, the massive crystalline arms sprouting from the Ice Spirit’s back twitched and writhed grotesquely.
“Escape… escaping…?”
Frozen within the purple ocean, the Water Swallowing Cloud sent out a confused, garbled mental message.
High-rank spirit beasts weren’t stupid. It knew the words weren’t directed at it, but at the simple-minded water giant.
Due to the limited range of their connection, usually no more than a hundred meters, spirit beasts could only retreat into their Spirit Master’s soul core. And since they shared the same origin, the concept of “escaping” made no sense.
Ignoring the massive, scale-covered sea dragon, the Ice Spirit turned its attention to the seemingly oblivious Water Element Commander.
Although just a low-rank spirit beast, the massive hand swaying behind it was unsettling, radiating a terrifying aura.
Crack!!
The purple hand twitched, pulling its body forward, reaching for the Water Element Commander.
The docile, vacant-eyed Water Element Commander didn’t react, passively allowing the domineering, cloud-patterned, deep purple crystalline hand to grasp it.
A flicker of… annoyance? appeared in its dull eyes.
As the Water Swallowing Cloud watched in confusion, the purple hand tightened, squeezing the Water Element Commander’s watery form like a wet rag, finally closing around its frost-covered life core.
The Water Element Commander, larger and higher-ranked, remained motionless before the Ice Spirit, offering no resistance!
Within the Crystal Chamber inside the Water Element Commander’s core, a thick layer of purple ice gradually enveloped the frosty white core within, freezing it solid.
Gong Lianyue had actually placed the Frost Snow Woman’s core inside the Water Element? How reckless…
With that threat neutralized, the Ice Spirit turned its attention to the Water Swallowing Cloud.
A high-rank Water Swallowing Cloud! Such a powerful and terrifying creature! Far too dangerous for a pitiful, low-rank spirit beast like itself and the Water Element!
If something went wrong and its core was damaged… It had to kill it, quickly…
Crack!
The crystalline hand’s erratic movements stopped, the icy eye on its wrist widening downwards in a terrifying arc, a furious, displeased expression appearing.
Unlike the playful, mocking upward tilt, this downward widening was ferocious and menacing.
A faint purple light, like a shimmering star, flickered.
On the tip of one of the massive, star-patterned fingers, a small, translucent purple sphere materialized, radiating a faint starlight.
Instantly, all the spirit energy within the icy prison converged upon the sphere, causing it to expand rapidly.
The swirling icy mist surrounding it intensified, the air growing colder, the expanding purple star looming larger and larger in the Water Swallowing Cloud’s eyes.
[Miniature Death Tribulation]
Boom!! A powerful shockwave reverberated through both the icy prison and Gong Lianyue’s mind, her face turning pale, a sudden chill running through her.
What had the Ice Spirit done? Why was her spirit energy suddenly depleted?
As a Dual Soul Body, her spirit energy reserves were twice that of others at the same level, comparable even to a newly advanced Dead Sea Stage Spirit Master.
Even the Ice Spirit’s repeated use of Ice Binding Contract hadn’t consumed much of her energy. After all, it was just a Dawn and Dusk Stage, low-rank Ice Spirit…
And yet, this bottom-of-the-food-chain spirit beast had instantly drained her dry.
Had it used Ice Binding Contract a thousand times in an instant?
In the private box, the blue-haired, teardrop-eyed girl’s usually cold face was pale. Seeing her exhausted state, the Six Concubines didn’t comment.
This weakened state was the price of maintaining a Saint-rank spirit beast. They were all too familiar with it.
No wonder the Sorrowful Saintess had bought so many restorative elixirs recently…