Chapter 243: Husband and Wife Battle (IV)

The suddenly erupted Burning Star Demonic Lotus not only easily engulfed Xia Qingyue's ice lotus but also enveloped Xia Qingyue herself. The unexpected searing heat caused a slight change in Xia Qingyue's expression. Her ice spirits suddenly surged, forming an extremely powerful ice barrier. The Ice Phoenix Snowfloss Sash also quickly danced, sweeping away all incoming Phoenix flames, while she rapidly retreated.

By the time the Burning Star Demonic Lotus completely extinguished, Xia Qingyue had been forced back over thirty yards.

Yun Che did not launch an uninterrupted barrage as before. He gazed at Xia Qingyue, his brow furrowed, and said, "I'll say it again: use your full power. The person I want to defeat is you at your full strength, not you as you are now!"

Yun Che's swift initial attack, the might of his heavy sword, and the flames erupting from him left Xia Qingyue both astonished and somewhat unprepared. In their few clashes, she found herself subtly at a disadvantage. Looking at Yun Che's eyes at that moment, she discerned a deep-seated pride, not an inherent arrogance, but one directed solely at himself.

That look told her that if she didn't unleash her full power, he would offer not mercy, but humiliation.

Xia Qingyue's chest gently rose and fell. She closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again, a faint, cold voice escaping her lips: "As you wish..."

Cold winds swirled. The ice spirits around Xia Qingyue fluttered chaotically, causing her body to slowly float upward, her toes lifting from the ground. She hung suspended there, only her long white skirt gently brushing the floor. Her arms slowly spread open, and her long hair draped over her shoulders, along with her white robes, began to dance gracefully.

The ice spirits danced faster and faster, and the surrounding temperature plummeted at an astonishing rate. Just then, a sudden blue light erupted from Xia Qingyue, accompanied by a biting cold vortex that enveloped the entire Sword Discussion Arena.

"Ah!!"

"This... this... this is..."

The sudden flash of blue light sharply stung Yun Che's eyes, causing him to instinctively close them. He immediately opened them again, but the moment his gaze fell upon Xia Qingyue once more, he froze in astonishment.

The cold wind subsided and vanished, yet her white robes continued to dance as if in a breeze. The thin veil on Xia Qingyue's face had disappeared, carried away by the earlier profound energy storm, revealing an ethereal beauty that could eclipse the heavens and shame the sun and moon. However, her eyes had undergone a drastic transformation: they were now a complete ice-blue, like sapphires shimmering with brilliant cold light. Her ink-black long hair was gone, replaced by strands of ice-blue hair that swayed without wind. Even her eyebrows and eyelashes had transformed into flawless, crystalline ice-blue, radiating a chilling glow.

The ice spirits floating around her also underwent a dramatic change. Previously, each ice spirit was small as a diamond; now, they had transformed into sparkling stars. Surrounded by countless stars, Xia Qingyue appeared like a snow fairy, born of ice and snow, untouched by any trace of the mundane world.

"Ice... Ice Cloud Seventh Realm... Ice Body Jade Bones..."

Ling Yuefeng, the Master of Heavenly Sword Villa and the current top overlord of the Azure Cloud Empire, found his voice stuttering. Looking at Xia Qingyue, who had transformed into an ice-snow fairy, the shock in his heart was beyond description. He wondered how many more surprises and astonishments this seventeen-year-old girl would unleash before she was done.

The Ice Cloud Seventh Realm... that was a supreme realm only achieved by Lin Yuxian, the current Palace Master of Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, whose profound strength reached the third level of the Emperor Profound Realm!

Genius, prodigy, monstrous, freak... At this moment, in Ling Yuefeng's mind, even all these words combined were insufficient to describe Xia Qingyue.

Ling Yun, beside him, trembled violently, speechless with shock. Though he had suffered a crushing defeat yesterday, he believed he had only lost due to the appearance of an unexpected domain. If not for that domain which defied profound energy laws, he was confident he could have surpassed Xia Qingyue in terms of profound art strength and overall combat power. After all, his Sword Spirit Clone had completely suppressed Xia Qingyue yesterday.

But now, in his shock, he realized that yesterday, Xia Qingyue had not used her full profound art capabilities. The profound energy aura Xia Qingyue was now emitting was far, far stronger than even her peak from yesterday, so powerful that even if he deployed his Sword Spirit Clone, he would barely be able to contend with it.

"Hmm? What's going on?" Chu Yuechan frowned, puzzled. "Why would Qingyue reveal her trump card? To defeat Yun Che, circulating the Ice Cloud Art to the fifth stage would have been perfectly sufficient."

"Junior Sister Xia isn't one to act impulsively. She must have her reasons. But since she's used the Ice Cloud Seventh Realm, the match should be over very soon," Shui Wushuang said calmly.

There are countless profound arts in the world, and the higher one's cultivation level, the more one realizes how many bizarre and perception-defying profound arts can exist. Ling Yun's "Sword Spirit Clone" seemed incredible to those who first witnessed it, but Xia Qingyue's activation of the Ice Cloud Seventh Realm had actually caused a monumental physical transformation.

The change in aura was even more immense, more than twice as strong as before. A chilling pressure enveloped Yun Che's body and soul, as heavy as a ten-thousand-year-old iceberg, piercing to the bone.

"Haaah... Argh!!"

Yun Che let out a roar, and the Phoenix flames on his body ignited furiously, crimson fire leaping several yards high, shattering the icy pressure. Inside him, three drops of Phoenix flame burned wildly, the flames imbued with Phoenix majesty spreading through every meridian and every drop of his blood.

In terms of raw power, Yun Che's profound fire was definitively no match for Xia Qingyue's Ice Cloud, and the difference was significant. However, Yun Che's fire was no ordinary profound fire; it was Phoenix Flame, sourced from three drops of Phoenix blood! On a conceptual level, it undoubtedly overpowered the Ice Cloud. The Divine Phoenix Sect, with just the first four stages of the World Ode of the Phoenix, dominated the world, becoming the imperial sect of a nation and the foremost power outside the Four Sacred Grounds on the Profound Sky Continent. Naturally, the Ice Cloud Art of Ice Cloud Immortal Palace could not compare.

Therefore, even though its raw power was far inferior to Xia Qingyue's, it still barely qualified for confrontation.

Cold winds and scorching winds continuously clashed, creating tearing roars. Bathed in flames, Yun Che's long hair whipped about, and his clothes flapped. His gaze was sharp as lightning, and with both hands, he slowly pointed the terrifying, dark gray heavy sword forward. Combined with his upright posture, he stood there like a majestic mountain overlooking the world. Even when facing Xia Qingyue, whose aura had surged dramatically, he showed not a hint of timidity.

This mere aura and courage instinctively instilled a sense of awe in onlookers.

In terms of aura, people saw Ling Yun as a future grandmaster whom the world would look up to and revere; Xia Qingyue was like an ethereal immortal, transcendent and detached from the mundane world; and Yun Che... he was a peerless overlord who shook the mortal realm!

Just then, a cold light flashed in Yun Che's eyes, and the rocks beneath his feet exploded.

"Buzz!!"

As the air violently trembled, Yun Che made his move. The Dragon Fault carved out a massive gray crescent, pushing layers of spatial ripples as it slammed towards the awe-inspiring Xia Qingyue.

This time, facing Yun Che's attack, Xia Qingyue chose not to retreat. Her right hand slowly extended, her palm seemingly transformed into white jade, so luminous and smooth it was hard to believe it belonged to a young girl. With this subtle movement, the Ice Phoenix Snowfloss Sash shot out like lightning, striking directly at the Dragon Fault like a kiss of death.

Boom!!

Like a clap of thunder, the rocks beneath their feet were instantly pulverized into dust, then swept upwards by a torrent of profound energy. Amidst the scattering ice crystals and flames, Yun Che was instantly sent flying, his back scraping across the arena surface for over ten yards before he abruptly slammed the Dragon Fault into the ground, halting his momentum. Xia Qingyue, however, merely swayed slightly, and even the star-like ice spirits around her remained perfectly aligned.

This was the first time in the ranking battles that Yun Che was at a disadvantage in a direct clash with his heavy sword!

In the previous match, he hadn't even used Dragon Fault, but rather Overlord. He hadn't unleashed his full power, nor had he activated Burning Heart or Phoenix flames, yet Ling Jie dared not clash head-on with him. But against Xia Qingyue, who was at her full strength, even Yun Che, also at full strength, found himself completely outmatched in what was usually his most advantageous direct confrontation.

True Profound Realm Level 10 versus Earth Profound Realm Level 3... there were two entire major realm bottlenecks separating them!

"Try to take this sword strike from me again..."

Under his powerful defense, he had suffered virtually no injury despite the setback. He leaped up from the ground with a loud roar, soaring high as the Phoenix flame-wrapped Dragon Fault once again slammed down, generating an air current far more formidable than before.

"Overlord's Fury!!"

This sword strike was incredibly majestic; even distant spectators felt as if a mountain were crashing down on Xia Qingyue. However, just as Dragon Fault was about to reach Xia Qingyue, Yun Che's body suddenly stiffened, his movements abruptly slowing. Streaks of chilling air, like indestructible, pervasive steel needles, pierced through the Phoenix flames, striking Yun Che's body surface and meridians, causing a momentary numbness. Although these streaks were immediately expelled by the Phoenix flames in the next instant, a single moment was often enough to be fatal.

Bang!!!

Before Dragon Fault could fully descend, the Ice Phoenix Snowfloss Sash flew in like a nimble snake, sweeping Yun Che's waist with a "thwack," causing him to grunt as he was sent spinning high into the air, over ten yards up.

"Alas, the gap is just too wide. There's no need for this match to continue. Ten Yun Ches couldn't defeat Xia Qingyue."

"Yun Che's performance has been astonishing. It's not that Yun Che is weak; it's that Xia Qingyue is truly terrifying. We have no idea how Ice Cloud Immortal Palace cultivated such a disciple."

Seeing Yun Che's second offensive also end in crushing defeat, while Xia Qingyue opposite him hadn't even moved her feet, the onlookers sighed. But just then, Yun Che, who had clearly been swept high into the air by the Ice Phoenix Snowfloss Sash and completely lost his balance, suddenly defied all logic and plummeted towards Xia Qingyue.

"Phoenix Wing Extinction!"

When a person is sent flying by immense force, they have no leverage and can barely regain balance. Yet, Yun Che, in a state of complete imbalance, suddenly launched an attack. Moreover, his plummeting speed was incredibly fast; in an instant, he had reached Xia Qingyue and heavily collided with the unprepared girl. Behind him, a pair of phoenix wings solidified from flames glowed with scorching might.

Boom!!

A large burst of flames exploded. This unexpected strike finally shattered Xia Qingyue's ice crystal defense, sending her flying far back. Yun Che flipped backward, forcibly swallowing the surge of blood that had reached his throat. Before he could regain his footing, Dragon Fault was already sweeping up massive fiery silhouettes in its dance.

"Phoenix Break!"

Streaks of phoenix-shaped flames, imbued with the heavy sword's dominance, flew successively towards Xia Qingyue. Xia Qingyue, still unbalanced from the Phoenix Wing Extinction, was immediately engulfed in a dense barrage of dozens of Phoenix Breaks. The chaotic, explosive firelight completely submerged her.

However, these flames did not last long, extinguishing amidst a sudden flash of blue light. Following the blue light, a massive ice crystal phoenix burst forth, shattering two incoming Phoenix Breaks. Without losing momentum, it then slammed heavily into Yun Che's chest.

*Pfft...*

Yun Che spat out a jet of blood mid-air, falling ten yards away. The Phoenix flames on his body extinguished, and his chest clothes were completely shredded, replaced by a thick layer of ice. Beneath the ice were wounds that had been frozen before they could even burst open.

"Ugh..."

Yun Che turned over, rising expressionlessly with the support of his heavy sword, a trickle of blood slowly flowing from the corner of his mouth. Opposite him, Xia Qingyue's face was like white snow, her eyes like blue crystals, and her white robes gently fluttered. Far from being injured, not a speck of dust had touched her.