The second Yasuo Huozhong traced another graceful arc through the void, striking directly at Chao Shu, who was being hurled toward Xu Xiaoshou.
Battles were like this—small details could decide victory or defeat.
Xu Xiaoshou's physical body was stronger than his opponent's, and he was farther from the storm's epicenter, so he regained control of his body first and launched a preemptive strike!
It was like a death god's scythe at the threshold, aimed straight for Chao Shu's face.
Chao Shu's body was already mangled and bloody from the previous Yasuo Huozhong—if he couldn't block this one...
He twisted forcefully in midair, forming a hand seal as his cheeks puffed up like a balloon, and he exhaled violently.
Ice Dragon Breath!
"Ha—"
A pinpoint of chill appeared first, followed by a surging frost.
An illusory Ice Dragon shadow materialized in the void, spreading out like a shockwave of glittering ice particles that instantly cooled the entire arena's air.
The speeding Yasuo Huozhong was as if caught by a giant's hand, halted dead in its tracks.
Not only that, the erupting ice particles layered upon it, weakening its energy until it was completely ground away!
"Crap!"
Xu Xiaoshou's eyes widened in shock—it had been blocked!
No, it was normal for this guy to block it; he didn't seem like a fool at all!
The glittering ice particles rushed in like crashing waves, with the "Ice Crystal Barrier" at Xu Xiaoshou's back, leaving him nowhere to escape.
But who could be confident they'd survive this onslaught?
Even "Reverse Shock" wouldn't help!
The four styles of sword techniques flashed through his mind: net, deflect, reverse, draw...
No good—it was impossible to break through this widespread, indiscriminate damage!
Small Fireball Technique...
That wouldn't work either—too late, and way too close!
As the frost closed in, Xu Xiaoshou had a sudden inspiration in the crisis and pulled out the small bathtub that Sang Lao had given him earlier, flipping it over himself in an instant.
A true hero knows when to yield and when to stand firm!
Bang bang bang...
Wave after wave of frost battered him. Xu Xiaoshou braced one hand against the top of the bathtub and summoned a Yasuo Huozhong with the other to ward off the cold.
"Damn, this is way too cold!"
The Dan Ding was a conductor of temperature, and it channeled the chill from above straight down—talk about a trap!
Though the frost hadn't hit his body directly, the force slamming into the small bathtub was intense.
For the first time, Xu Xiaoshou experienced the agony of a passive ability.
One "Reverse Shock" left his hand numb!
He couldn't let go, though—if he did, he might get smashed straight into the ground.
Crack crack crack...
The extreme sensations of ice and fire, combined with the repeated impacts from "Reverse Shock," made Xu Xiaoshou shake like a leaf, his face turning from green to purple.
"Under attack, passive value increased."
"Under attack, passive value increased."
Thankfully, Sang Lao had given him this turtle shell; otherwise, he'd have been done for right here.
What a steal!
As he suspected, the Dan Ding from the "Jin Zhao lineage"...
Was made for fighting!
Xu Xiaoshou struggled to keep his mind clear, but it was getting harder and harder.
"Hasn't this guy's attack stopped yet? How does he have that much lung capacity?!" he gritted his teeth.
The chill seeping in from his palm was nearly freezing his entire brain—he was holding on purely by willpower!
The Ice Dragon Breath lasted a full ten-plus breaths without stopping. Xu Xiaoshou's body had almost turned into an ice sculpture, with only the hand holding the Yasuo Huozhong retaining a hint of flesh color.
Even "Everlasting Vitality" was completely suppressed, only recovering at an excruciatingly slow rate.
And that was just from indirect cold exposure...
"It's over!"
Xu Xiaoshou felt his mind slipping, his consciousness fading.
In Chao Shu's gaze, half of the "Ice Crystal Barrier" was already filled with ice, and in his spiritual sense, Xu Xiaoshou's life force and aura had vanished entirely.
No one could survive this near-master-level spiritual technique, not even someone with an innate physical body!
What's more, to maximize the output, Chao Shu had extended it by half the time, draining almost all his Ling Yuan in the process.
Xu Xiaoshou was surely dead!
"I didn't expect a mere Lian Ling ninth realm cultivator to be this troublesome..."
Only then did Chao Shu have a moment to pull out a few pills from the void and swallow them, focusing on healing the scorched and flayed flesh on his body.
As the intense pain hit, Chao Shu's focus wavered slightly...
In that instant!
A spark of life ignited within the ice like a blazing fire, instantly spreading; a surging sword intent burst forth like a wild horse, shattering the ice!
It was like a starburst of light erupting, cracks forming on the ice surface. Chao Shu didn't even time to see the sword energy before a sharp pain tore through his left arm, sending half his body flying with blood gushing like a fountain!
"Ah—"
He let out a piercing scream, his mind completely shattered by this sudden attack!
Xu Xiaoshou—wasn't dead?!
How could he have survived that terrifying onslaught? And if he did, how could he still have such fighting strength left?
Even if he had some strength remaining, how had he pierced through the ice and pinpointed Chao Shu's position so accurately?
Panic filled Chao Shu's eyes—this guy...
Boom!!
Before he could think further, a thunderous explosion came from above. After the sword energy ripped through, the "Ice Crystal Barrier" could no longer hold, webbed with cracks before shattering completely.
Outside, Yuan Tou had been waiting anxiously and watched in shock as the barrier below broke apart, with a streak of white sword light shooting out rapidly...
He was the only one who could clearly see this attack—not because he was powerful, but because he was far from the battlefield.
Following it came a heart-wrenching scream...
"Impossible!"
That voice was unmistakably Chao Shu's.
He was one of the top thirty-three in the inner academy! How could he be screaming in agony from a one-on-one fight with some outer academy Lian Ling ninth realm nobody?
Yuan Tou's pupils contracted violently.
Originally, with him keeping watch and the "Ice Crystal Barrier" enclosing the area, the battle hadn't drawn any spectators. But after this scream, that was no longer possible!
What was even more terrifying was that the battle's outcome seemed to have completely flipped!
"This..."
In the entire Tian Sang Ling Palace, probably only Xiao Qixiu, who had seen Xu Xiaoshou fight many times, would know...
This guy might seem absurd and unreliable, but in crucial moments, he always seized the opportunity and turned the tables!
Chao Shu would never realize that Xu Xiaoshou had let his life force dwindle to the last thread, yet still used his "perception" to lock onto him.
The moment Chao Shu lost focus, Xu Xiaoshou directly absorbed a Yasuo Huozhong along with ten Lian Ling Pills, regaining control of his body while using the intense pain to suppress his senses temporarily, delivering that astonishing sword strike...
Drug-fueled sword draw style!
This sword had once severed a willow branch and cut through water, angrily slicing off Feng Kong's arm; now, it shattered the ice and severed Chao Shu's arm as well.
Aside from Mo Mo, who had been on guard that day, no one had ever recovered from the speed of this sword.
He was a man who was ruthless to himself and even more so to his enemies!
Xu Xiaoshou suppressed his body's pain and tried to mimic that day by striking again, but found his arm immobile.
Glancing down, he saw that even his feet were stuck in the solid ice.
The surrounding ice blocks hadn't melted away after being cleaved; instead, they seemed to come alive, with icy tendrils snaking over and binding him in place.
"Damn it!"
"Another crowd control?"
He looked up to see a blood-soaked figure in the void, his face twisted in rage, forcibly freezing half of his own body while forming a seal with one hand!
"Holy crap, you're still not giving up?"
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