NOVPUBMei Changsu, an inner sect disciple with immortal realm cultivation, was standing straight, a hand to his back, and his chest puffed out as if he were putting on airs of a master. n𝚘𝚟𝚙u𝚋.co𝚖
On the other hand, Shang Jiao was quite stiff and nervous. She clenched her fists and opened them again, a few times as she stared at her opponent.
"Junior Sister, you have come a long way in the competition, and for someone who came from the mortal realm, it is truly commendable, but you can't proceed further. From here on out, your opponents are much stronger, both in cultivation and skill. You know that, too." Mei Changsu said, his hand conjuring an ice sword. "No one will look down upon you even if you give up."
Shang Jiao took a deep breath and shut her eyes for a moment. Her icy wings erupted from her back, and a halberd appeared in her hands. Going into her battle stance, she spoke aloud. "Senior Brother, I await your guidance."
"Alright then. I'll finish it quickly." Mei Changsu let out a smile, raising the sword. With a swing, an arc of energy flew toward Shang Jiao, freezing everything in its path.
Shang Jiao flapped her wings to fly high above the battle platform and charged at him, swinging the halberd.
Right when it almost reached him, Mei Changsu's sword slightly moved, blocking the halberd's blade.
At the slightest touch of his icy sword, the blade of Shang Jiao's earth-grade divine weapon halberd started freezing rapidly. Shang Jiao swiftly flew away a bit and stared down at him.
"It looks like close combat is useless." The 18-year-old furrowed her brows. She let go of the halberd, let it fall to the ground with a thud. She then summoned the staff, a semi-divine one she had been using for her whole life.
Pouring half of her ether energy into the staff, she chanted an incantation.
"By the breath of ice and the whisper of snow, Tengliu, goddess of winter's woe, From frozen skies and glacial deep, Let the ancient frost-wyrm wake from sleep! Winds of the tundra, rage and cry, Wings of rime shall crack the sky! By storm and frost, by sacred decree, Rise, Iceborn Dragon, and fight for me!"
Mei Changsu patiently waited until she finished her incantation as if he wasn't worried in the least.
But when her spell finished, his facial expression changed as a giant dragon flew out of her.
"No way… how could an ascendant realm (10-circle/demigod) unleash a spell of a transcendant realm?" Mei Changsu's eyes turned serious.
The elders of the clan also couldn't help but be taken aback by the spell.
Standing atop the whiskered, limbless ice dragon, Shang Jiao raised the staff once again. "Go…"
The ice dragon opens its mouth, its mere breath releases a concentrated beam of ice, striking Mei Changsu head-on. In an instant, his entire body was frozen in ice.
However, that only lasted a couple of seconds before it shattered from within.
As soon as he freed himself, Mei Changsu raised the sword and swung it horizontally, attacking the dragon.
The dragon breathed out the icy beam once again. The arc of energy collided with. However, it continued to slice through the beam and almost reach the mouth of the dragon.
"Baixuefang."
With an utterance of its name, the ice dragon consumed Shang Jiao's ether energy and increased its intensity.
The surge of power from the ice dragon lit up the sky in frosty brilliance. Snow flurries danced across the battlefield, crystallizing the air around them, freezing the entire battlefield. The spectators held their breath, many eyes widening.
Mei Changsu, nevertheless, was more prepared this time. He protected himself with a barrier.
With his eyes narrowed, fixed on her, he muttered. "Alright. I have vastly underestimated this girl. Lan Gengxin's granddaughter is just as monstrous as her brother." The sheen of frost over his robes cracked and fell away as his body pulsed with a thick aura. A jade-blue mark flickered on his forehead as he further muttered. "You've earned my seriousness."
Mei Changsu raised his hand skyward. Clouds gathered at once, churning in silence. The sun vanished behind a dome of ice-laced mist. A low hum echoed across the field as if the world were holding its breath.
"Ice Severing Heaven Art, Third Style: Snowfall Mourning Lotus."
Dozens of lotuses bloomed in the sky, each petal gleaming with killing intent. They descended slowly, almost beautifully, until one landed on the dragon's flank.
BOOM.
The explosion of frost sent a shockwave that fractured the stone platform below. Several other lotuses rained down in quick succession, exploding around the dragon. Shang Jiao's mount roared in pain but held firm, flaring its wings to shield her.
From behind the translucent shield of icy wings, Shang Jiao clenched her staff tightly.
"Don't falter now, Baixuefang…" she whispered.
Then, with a defiant cry, she channeled more ether into the dragon. Its scales shimmered brighter, refracting every falling lotus like prisms.
"Baixuefang, spiral upward!"
The dragon spun into the air in a powerful corkscrew motion, scattering the descending lotuses. Shang Jiao took the chance. She leapt into the sky, her staff held horizontally.
"Heaven's Frozen Gaze!" she shouted.
What looks like a simple icicle, absolute cold aimed directly at Mei Changsu's chest, while consuming her remaining ether energy in the process.
The elder disciples stood up from their seats. "Another transcendent-level spell?"
Mei Changsu crossed his arms before him, sensing its power. A shield of pure ice bloomed outward, but the icicle pierced it like paper, striking him square in the torso and sending him skidding backward across the platform.
Dust and frost burst into the air, silence filling the battlefield for a moment.
Shang Jiao landed on one knee, panting. Her wings flickered. The dragon behind her flickered as well, its body turning translucent. She had completely exhausted her ether energy reserves.
But from the mist, a low chuckle escaped.
"That was well done, Junior Sister."
Mei Changsu walked forward, clothes torn, blood at the corner of his mouth, but his presence, his cultivation, now felt even heavier. "I underestimated you again and again." He smiled, raising the sword. "But you reached your limits already. You lost."
Shang Jiao, who was panting in heavy breaths, growled. "No… the battle isn't over yet."
Mei Changsu raised the sword before turning it upside down with a reverse grip. "No, it is over."
He spun around, releasing spiral mist along his path, which took the shape of a serpent as it was released toward her. She was about to get up, but the attack reached her faster.
The serpent coiled around her, trapping her tightly. The staff fell to the ground, and she stood there like a statue, unable to move.
Mei Changsu looked at her and said. "I told you. The battle is over."
Shang Jiao growled again in anger. "And I told you, it isn't over yet."
"Raaaa…"
As a roar, almost that of a distorted tone, escaped her, a blinding flash of light enveloped her for a few seconds.
And when the flash disappeared, in her place, there was a beast, an icy winged horse, pure as white jade.
"Blizzard Pegasus?"
"Blizzard Pega…"
The entire arena was frozen in deep silence.
