Chapter 956: Cold Ice Bloodthirsty Wolf

"A quarter of an hour? Is it that long?" Mu Xue muttered softly to herself. Although she had never participated in the Snow Hall's assessment, she had heard quite a bit about it during her many years in the Ice Phoenix Divine Sect.

"That's not important," Mu Sushan said with a smile. "Perhaps you should consider why he specifically asked you that question just now."

"Huh?" Mu Xue looked puzzled.

"The Blizzard Realm assessment is quite physically demanding," Mu Sushan said slowly. "Most profound practitioners, whether they passed or not, are usually panting heavily after the Blizzard Realm closes. Yet Yun Che, with his Monarch Profound Realm cultivation, not only made it into the top thousand but also appeared perfectly normal, hardly out of breath... Heh heh, this young man brought back from the lower realm by the Ice Cloud Palace Master is indeed remarkable. Who knows what surprises he might bring later."

"Ah?" Mu Xue became even more bewildered.

Yun Che stepped into the profound formation and immediately spotted Feng Mo, who was also there. Not only had Feng Mo passed the second assessment, but his ranking seemed quite high. Sensing Yun Che's gaze, Feng Mo looked up at him, displaying a rather strange expression.

"The final assessment... try not to die too quickly in the Ice Profound Realm!"

As Ji Hanfeng's voice faded, a blue light shot up from the profound formation, completely engulfing all the assessors within it.

The world around Yun Che instantly turned icy blue. He then felt a shift in his surroundings; all sensations vanished in an instant. When the light suddenly dissipated, a space constructed entirely of ice crystals appeared before his eyes.

This was the world of the Ice Profound Realm!

This space was independent, enclosed, and exceptionally small, less than a hundred zhang in length, width, and height. Its boundaries and edges were visible at a glance. The world was sealed by ice layers formed from extremely high-level ice profound energy, reflecting a bone-chilling light.

Just as Yun Che clearly saw his surroundings, a cold flash appeared before him, quickly revealing the shadow of a beast about ten feet long... Its entire body was snow-white, its claws like sharp blades, and its eyes blood-red. It was an ice wolf radiating a bloodthirsty aura!

Yun Che was familiar with ice wolves, as they were common in the Ice Extremity Snow Region. However, the one before him seemed to surpass all the ice wolves in the Ice Extremity Snow Region combined. The aura it emitted was clearly far more terrifying than even Feng Xue'er's or Xia Qingyue's.

This was a terrifying profound beast possessing divine power, with strength comparable to profound practitioners in the early stages of the Divine Origin Realm!

The instant the ice wolf appeared, it let out a bloodthirsty roar and suddenly pounced on him. Yun Che was a projection, and this ice wolf was also a projection. It had no emotions; its sole purpose was to tear apart any living being before it, allowing not even a moment's respite.

"Purgatory!!"

A profound beast possessing divine power was certainly not something Yun Che could withstand in his normal state. His Evil God Realm instantly activated, and his profound energy surged. Yet, he still didn't dare to meet the attack head-on, instead using Star God Broken Shadow for a swift teleportation.

*Rip!*

The ice wolf's pounce missed. Its front paws had barely touched the ground when it turned like lightning, pouncing towards Yun Che again. At the same time, the temperature in the Ice Profound Realm suddenly dropped, and countless ice spikes materialized in the air, piercing towards Yun Che with incredibly sharp whistling sounds.

Wh... what!?

The ice wolf's speed startled Yun Che. He ducked low and instantly teleported again, skimming along the ground, flashing past the ice wolf and instantly swapping positions with it. However, in this confined space, ice spikes had become ubiquitous. Yun Che let out a low roar, his profound energy erupting to shatter all the incoming ice spikes. But the moment his energy fully dissipated, over a dozen ice spikes still penetrated the lingering force, fiercely impaling his body.

*Thump, thump, thump, thump...*

Given the strength of Yun Che's body, it was truly difficult to injure him. But what attacked him at that moment was divine power, transcending the level of the Azure Cloud Continent. Blood immediately splattered from his chest and back. The sharp pain made Yun Che frown. He punched his own chest, and instantly, all the barbs embedded in his body were shaken out, shattering into ice powder.

What a terrifying profound beast... It is a profound beast from the God Realm, after all.

The ice wolf, having missed its second pounce, had already turned again. Its snow-white body flew forward, and before it even got close, its claws tore through the air, instantly manifesting an ice blade larger than its own body, which swept horizontally towards Yun Che.

"Senior Sushan, what exactly is in this final assessment... the Ice Profound Realm?" Mu Xue asked Mu Sushan.

"Oh? Are you only starting to worry about him now?" Mu Sushan said with a half-smile.

"I couldn't care less about him," Mu Xue said, tilting her nose slightly. "I'm just curious."

"It's the Chilling Ice Howler Wolf," Mu Sushan replied.

"Chilling Ice Howler Wolf... a Divine Cloud Realm level one profound beast?" Mu Xue gasped softly.

"That's right, and not just one," Mu Sushan explained. "After entering the Ice Profound Realm, assessors will first face one Chilling Ice Howler Wolf. After a certain period, more will appear, but not just one at a time. It will be two, then three, then four... each time, one more will appear."

"Most participants in the Snow Hall assessment are profound practitioners who have just entered the Divine Origin Realm. The best among those who pass the second assessment can easily handle one Chilling Ice Howler Wolf. Facing two simultaneously becomes tricky, three is perilous, and four is exceedingly difficult. Moreover, each wave of Chilling Ice Howler Wolves appears at fixed intervals. For example, the third wave will spawn three wolves at once. If those three aren't killed before the fourth wave appears, then after the fourth wave, the assessor will face seven wolves simultaneously... Heh heh, the outcome, of course, will be certain death."

"The Chilling Ice Howler Wolf... although its body is relatively fragile, its attack power is almost the strongest among profound beasts of the same level, and it possesses extreme ferocity. Yun Che, he... he..." Mu Xue began to stammer, "He'll definitely be torn to shreds instantly."

"Ah!!!!"

No sooner had Mu Xue's voice faded than a scream rang out. A figure was flung from the profound formation, crashing heavily onto the ground.

The first profound practitioner to "die" in the Ice Profound Realm was ejected.

"Hmph, trash," Ji Hanfeng, who was overseeing the assessment, scoffed disdainfully.

"Ah... Yun Che!!" Mu Xue instinctively cried out, rushing towards the figure. With Yun Che's mere Monarch Profound Realm Level Five profound energy, the only possible outcome against the brutal and terrifying Chilling Ice Howler Wolf was instant shredding. The first person to die under the Chilling Ice Howler Wolf's claws could only be him.

But she stopped before she even got close, her icy eyes wide... because the figure lying on the ground was not Yun Che.

"Hm?" On the other side, Ji Hanfeng also frowned deeply.

The first assessor ejected from the profound formation slumped to the ground, his face deathly pale, still not recovered from the terror of "death." He had clearly seen himself being torn to shreds by the Chilling Ice Howler Wolf in the Ice Profound Realm.

*Bang!!*

The ice blade sliced through Yun Che's phantom image, then heavily struck the ice wall behind, embedding itself directly into it.

All of the ice wolf's terrifying attacks were evaded by Yun Che using Star God Broken Shadow. However, he knew very well that given the ice wolf's dreadful speed and the narrowness of the space, it was unwise to simply circle around it. He had to take the initiative and attack.

This time, the ice wolf didn't pounce forward. Instead, it opened its maw wide, spewing forth a blast of chilling air. A dense icy mist quickly permeated the Ice Profound Realm, and the already frigid space's temperature plummeted at an astonishing speed.

Chilling air!?

Yun Che's eyes flashed. He actually charged towards the ice wolf like lightning, directly into the icy mist.

The chilling air spewed by the ice wolf could instantly freeze even an Emperor to an ice sculpture with a slight touch. As the cold spread, everything in the entire Ice Profound Realm would be frozen.

But it would have absolutely no effect on Yun Che.

Yun Che hadn't dared to meet its power, sharp claws, ice spikes, or ice blades head-on. However, using chilling air against Yun Che was an act of extreme folly.

The ice wolf, exposed while releasing its chilling air, left a huge opening. Yun Che charged directly to its side, condensed his profound energy, and slammed a fist into its body.

Ji Hanfeng had personally stated that weapons could not be used in the Ice Profound Realm. However, Hong'er might be an exception... because she wasn't fundamentally a weapon but a special existence linked to his soul and will. He didn't even attempt to summon Hong'er, because he disdained "cheating."

Under Yun Che's powerful strike, the ice wolf let out a wretched howl, flew sideways, and slammed heavily against the ice wall, causing the entire space to tremble slightly. Yun Che looked at his fist, which had just delivered the heavy blow to the ice wolf, and a flicker of astonishment crossed his eyes... because with that punch, he had clearly felt the ice wolf's bones fracturing.

The ice wolf's attacks were exceptionally terrifying; each one made him feel suffocated. Yet, its body didn't seem to be as tough.

The ice wolf stood up, but a slight tremor ran through its body, proving that Yun Che's sensation of breaking bones was not an illusion. Yun Che's gaze sharpened, shifting from cautious to dangerous, and he actively charged towards the ice wolf.

"Hiss... Roar!!"

The injured ice wolf's malevolence surged. Bloodthirsty ferocity gleamed in its wolf eyes. It roared furiously, leaping dozens of zhang, and charged towards Yun Che amidst a cold, violent surge of air. More than half of the Ice Profound Realm was instantly swept into a disastrous ice storm.

Yun Che also leaped up simultaneously, meeting it head-on. As he drew near, his figure flickered, appearing like a phantom above the ice wolf. Using his hand as a sword, he struck straight down.

"Falling Moon Sinking Star!!"

*Bang!!*

*Crack!!*

With a heavy thud, Yun Che's palm, imbued with his full power, slammed onto the ice wolf's back. What followed was a clear, deafening sound of something shattering.

Yun Che's power was immense. With this single strike, the ice wolf's spine was directly shattered into multiple segments. It let out a miserable howl, slammed heavily onto the ground, and after continuous rolling, collapsed like a heap of mud, unable to stand again. Soon after, it slowly vanished in a blue light.

Yun Che slowly descended, let out a small breath, shook his slightly aching palm, and murmured, "That's all there is to it."

"However, this is just the beginning. To pass, I'll have to last for at least a quarter of an hour or more, and it's bound to get increasingly difficult later," Yun Che muttered to himself. "I should try to conserve some energy."

On the Profound Sky Continent, after Xuanyuan Wentian's soul was utterly destroyed, there was no longer anyone who possessed divine power. Therefore, although Yun Che rapidly grew stronger afterward, he had no reference point to measure his level of strength.

Even when he fought Xuanyuan Wentian, he hadn't known what level his power had reached—after all, he was completely unaware of the "Seven Divine Profound Realms" at that time.

So, it wasn't that the Chilling Ice Howler Wolf was "nothing special"; rather, Yun Che was unaware that, unbeknownst to him, he had quietly reached a realm far beyond his own expectations...