Chapter 227: Heaven's Favor on Xia Qingyue

Ling Wugou was initially startled, then quickly moved forward to check Xiao Kuanglei's condition. After a brief examination, he breathed a sigh of relief. His hand moved swiftly, sealing all of Xiao Kuanglei's wounds. Then he directly announced, "Xiao Kuanglei has temporarily lost the ability to move. Xia Qingyue of Ice Cloud Immortal Palace wins and advances to tomorrow's top four battles!"

All six members of the Xiao Sect had risen, their faces filled with astonishment. Xiao Juetian soared into the air, pouncing onto the Sword Discourse Platform like an angry eagle. After his profound energy swept over Xiao Kuanglei's injuries, his expression changed once more.

There were over thirty wounds, none of them deep. He knew very well why Xiao Kuanglei's thirty-plus wounds had suddenly burst open — such occurrences were quite normal when facing a disciple from Ice Cloud Immortal Palace. What surprised him was that Xiao Kuanglei had apparently been completely unaware of them beforehand. But even more astonishing than the wounds themselves was the chilling energy beneath them, which had sealed off most of Xiao Kuanglei's meridians. He had no idea when this chilling energy had entered Xiao Kuanglei's meridians, only that it had suddenly erupted just now. Otherwise, even under profound energy suppression, Xiao Kuanglei wouldn't have bled so profusely from such wounds.

Xiao Juetian gave Xia Qingyue a deep look and said in a low voice, "I had thought Ice Cloud Immortal Palace wouldn't have any more outstanding performances in this ranking battle. It seems I was mistaken. To be able to plant so much chilling energy inside Lei'er without him realizing it, your Ice Cloud Art must be at least at the fifth level... It's a good thing Lei'er didn't reveal his Startling Dust Sword; otherwise, he would have lost even more disgracefully!"

Xiao Juetian's voice was very low, so low that only Xia Qingyue could hear it. After speaking, he took the stiffened Xiao Kuanglei and left the Sword Discourse Platform.

Today's matches were accompanied by one surprise after another. The final match of the top eight battles once again ended with an unforeseen outcome.

"What exactly happened? Why did Xiao Kuanglei suddenly collapse? The profound energy glow obscured everything before, so we saw nothing."

"Xiao Kuanglei must have been injured by Xia Qingyue's ultimate move. The force of their clash was too intense, and the Ice Cloud Art from Ice Cloud Immortal Palace can instantly freeze wounds, so Xiao Kuanglei probably didn't even realize he'd been hit by so many swords... That's likely what happened, right?"

The spectators buzzed with discussion. They could explain Xiao Kuanglei's wounds suddenly bursting open, but his sudden, rigid collapse left them utterly bewildered. On the main platform, Ling Yuefeng slightly frowned and said, "It seems this seventeen-year-old girl is far less simple than she appears. Yun'er, you should be thankful she is only seventeen this year. If she were your age, she could be a formidable opponent capable of matching you."

Ling Yun remained silent.

With the top eight battles concluded, the schedule for tomorrow's top four battles was quickly displayed on the central profound stone.

First Match: Yun Che of the Azure Cloud Royal Family vs. Ling Jie of Heavenly Sword Villa.

Second Match: Ling Yun of Heavenly Sword Villa vs. Xia Qingyue of Ice Cloud Immortal Palace.

"Wow! Brother-in-law and sister actually both made it into the top four! This is too... too amazing!" Looking at the names on the profound stone, Xia Yuanba was so excited he could barely speak. He had come to Heavenly Sword Villa with Yun Che filled with joy, merely out of the same yearning for the ranking battle as other profound practitioners. He had absolutely never imagined that his sister and brother-in-law would become two of the main figures in this ranking battle. To have his two closest relatives break into the top four among the most elite young profound practitioners in the Azure Cloud Empire—that joy, pride, and sense of honor were so intense they were almost indescribable.

"Huh? Brother-in-law, why do you have such a serious look on your face? Aren't you happy?" Seeing that Yun Che was not excited but instead calm and solemn, Xia Yuanba asked curiously.

Yun Che shook his head, then smiled faintly. "No, I just didn't expect Qingyue to be so strong."

"Hehe, I didn't either," Xia Yuanba said, clenching his fists, his eyes sparkling. "If Father knew how strong sister is now, he'd be overjoyed. If Mother knew..." As he said "Mother," Xia Yuanba's voice faltered, and his gaze involuntarily dimmed. He quietly mumbled, "...she would also be very relieved."

Yun Che didn't notice the unusual tone in the latter half of Xia Yuanba's sentence. He settled his thoughts and asked in his mind, "Jasmine, what exactly are the 'Ice Snow Glazed Heart' and 'Nine Profound Exquisite Body' you mentioned earlier? And how did you discern them?"

"...I hadn't paid attention before, but when she used a fraction of her true power just now, it didn't escape my sight. However, a low-level power plane like this wouldn't know the concepts of the 'Ice Snow Glazed Heart' and 'Nine Profound Exquisite Body.' She herself wouldn't know either; at most, she would just be aware that some aspects of herself are different from others."

Yun Che: "..."

"Since you want to know, I can tell you." Jasmine's voice was tender and ethereal, like flowing spring water, yet she deliberately adopted the tone of a superior elder: "The 'Ice Snow Glazed Heart' is a unique spiritual sea. Those who possess it have a temperament as pure and clean as ice and snow. As they mature, they will gain unparalleled comprehension abilities and increasingly potent soul power. At her current age, the abilities of the Ice Snow Glazed Heart are only beginning to manifest, showing exceptionally high comprehension and memory. Everything she sees, no matter how minute, will be instantly memorized and indelibly etched into her spiritual sea, never to be forgotten. As the Ice Snow Glazed Heart's abilities gradually emerge, she will be able to perceive good and evil, sense danger, easily uncover various profound mysteries, and even peer into the hearts of all living beings."

"Individuals possessing the Ice Snow Glazed Heart are typically supreme and sacred beings in any plane, transcendent existences. Even Divine Kings and Divine Sovereigns would absolutely not dare to provoke them, because legend has it that those with an Ice Snow Glazed Heart are favored by the Heavenly Dao. Those who harm them will incur the wrath of the Heavenly Dao," Jasmine described indifferently.

Yun Che's brow twitched several times, then he weakly asked, "This... are you sure she really possesses this kind of... uh, this Heavenly Dao-favored attribute you're talking about?"

"Hmph! You naturally won't believe something beyond your comprehension, and I'm too lazy to explain it to you. Anyway, in this plane, her Ice Snow Glazed Heart can't truly develop. However, as for the 'Nine Profound Exquisite Body' she possesses..." Jasmine's tone suddenly became strange: "...it's best not to let anyone who understands the concept of the 'Nine Profound Exquisite Body' discover it. Otherwise, heh... she'll never know peace in this lifetime."

"Hm? Why?"

"The 'Exquisite' in 'Nine Profound Exquisite Body' refers to an 'Exquisite World,' meaning there exists a 'small world' within her body! Do you understand what that implies? It means she can possess boundless, endless power! Any power her physical body cannot withstand can be stored within this 'Exquisite World.' This way, no matter what profound art she cultivates, she will not be limited by profound energy levels or her body's capacity. For example, her sect's profound art, 'Ice Cloud Art,' Chu Yuechan is half-step Emperor Profound, and her Ice Cloud Art cultivation is at the sixth level, unable to advance further, most likely because the seventh level requires at least Emperor Profound Realm profound energy. But for someone with the 'Nine Profound Exquisite Body,' as long as she wishes, she could cultivate to the seventh level even at the Elementary Profound Realm! Coupled with the extremely high comprehension brought by the 'Ice Snow Glazed Heart,' I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if her current Ice Cloud Art cultivation surpasses Chu Yuechan's."

From Jasmine, Yun Che had encountered one incredible profound art after another, and constantly heard entirely unfamiliar, even seemingly distant and illusory concepts. This time, the shock to Yun Che was undoubtedly the greatest and most direct... because these concepts, which completely defied understanding, appeared on his nominal wife.

"...An Exquisite World? Such a thing can exist within a human body?" Yun Che whispered, lost in thought. He had heard that profound energy, when cultivated to an extremely high realm, could allow one to open their own small world, but he had never heard that a small world could actually exist *inside* a person's body.

"If she truly possesses the 'Nine Profound Exquisite Body' you speak of, then that's her unique talent, unrelated to anyone else. But why do you say that if it's discovered, she might never know peace for the rest of her life?" Yun Che questioned.

"Because individuals with the 'Nine Profound Exquisite Body' are the absolute finest cultivation cauldrons in this world. Especially for someone who obtains her virgin yin essence, a 'small exquisite world' will be generated in their Dantian through the blending of yin and yang..."

The Xia family, to which Xia Qingyue and Xia Yuanba belonged, had been merchants for generations. Their father, Xia Hongyi, was an honest, upright businessman who highly valued integrity and loyalty. So why did his two children... Yuanba possessed what Jasmine called the "Overlord's Profound Veins," and Xia Qingyue had the even more mysterious "Glazed Heart" and "Exquisite Body" that Jasmine spoke of?

If Jasmine's judgment wasn't mistaken, then Xia Hongyi was truly blessed by the heavens to an extreme degree. According to Jasmine, both the Overlord's Profound Veins and the Glazed Heart and Exquisite Body were exceedingly rare existences.

And their mother...

Yun Che had no concept of Xia Yuanba and Xia Qingyue's mother, as he had never met her; she seemed to have passed away when they were young.

Yun Che walked silently along a small path in Heavenly Sword Villa, deep in thought. Night had begun to fall, and there weren't many people outside. Occasionally, he encountered a few sect disciples who would stop and watch him from a distance with gazes of awe. Most of these individuals had openly mocked him during the profound energy test on the first day of the ranking battle, but now, they could only look up to him with admiration... Top four in the ranking battle—this was a height they wouldn't even dare to dream of.

Yun Che arrived in front of the courtyard where Ice Cloud Immortal Palace was located. The courtyard gate was wide open, but the inside and outside of the courtyard seemed like two different worlds. Outside, a warm breeze gently wafted, while inside, bone-chilling cold air circulated, drifting out with the movement of the air.

Yun Che did not step inside the courtyard. He took a breath and said, "Yun Che, disciple of Azure Cloud Profound Palace, requests an audience with Immortal Ice Chan. I wish to express my gratitude in person for her assistance today."