Jing Hongchen stood at the center, signaling for both contestants to step forward.
Face to face, Snow Lady could clearly feel the sharp killing intent emanating from Chen Zifeng—though he was doing his utmost to suppress his aura.
This killing intent was the natural rhythm of the law of slaughter, cultivated spontaneously from the countless heads and torsos Chen Zifeng had severed from male and female students of other academies.
Jing Hongchen spoke in a deep voice: “The match is about to begin.
Both of you are quite strong.
If an accident occurs during the battle, I may not be able to intervene in time.
But I remind you: this is merely a match.
Human life comes only once, and you are all geniuses—your lives are even more precious.
Please cherish each other’s lives.”
Hearing Jing Hongchen’s voice, a savage grin spread across Chen Zifeng’s face.
“Old dog Hongchen, what trash are you spouting?”
Jing Hongchen did not seem provoked.
He said, “Both parties, state your names.
Pingfan Alliance goes first.”
“Pingfan Alliance, Snow Lady!”
“Shrek Academy, Chen Zifeng!”
After Snow Lady stated her name, Chen Zifeng also announced his.
Even before the battle began, a thick smell of gunpowder hung between them.
From below the stage, watching the spirited young man on the platform and the valiant Snow Lady, Huo Yuhao secretly transmitted a message for Snow Lady to be careful.
In Huo Yuhao’s previous life, the Tang family had been able to have Chen Zifeng crippled by a Soul King’s explosion in a humiliating fashion.
Now that the world’s格局 had changed to this extent, the Tang family could just as easily elevate Chen Zifeng to unprecedented heights.
Thunder and rain, favor and disfavor—all are Tang’s grace!
Such was the law of this world.
“Mm, excellent!
You wretch, you’ve finally appeared before me.
According to intelligence, your previous matches were quite impressive.
Not bad!
What a pity that such talent didn’t join my Shrek Academy—you already have a death wish.”
Chen Zifeng declared, “Today, I represent the Sea God’s love and righteousness in eliminating you, this evil woman.”
“Truly unexpected—the Sun Moon Empire, which has accomplished so little in soul master cultivation, actually has such a figure.
What would happen if you were allowed to grow?”
“Though I cannot let you live, I’ll still allow you to go back and bring a few of those protective soul tools that you Sun Moon dogs excel at—provided you kowtow to me three times right now.”
Without giving Snow Lady a chance to respond, Chen Zifeng spat out every arrogant word he could think of in one breath.
He didn’t even look at Snow Lady—his gaze was fixed on the Divine Maiden in the Haotian Sect’s direction in the stands.
To the lofty members of Shrek Academy, among all the breathing beings present, aside from the daughter of the god above gods, everyone else was nothing more than breathing clay statues.
This was the passive skill of Shrek members: Eyes Above the Top!
“Finished with your barking?
You’re quite different from those before you—your mouth is far too venomous.
I wonder if your strength is also different from theirs—not so weak.”
Facing Chen Zifeng’s verbal intimidation, Snow Lady remained unafraid.
She was merely puzzled as to why the human world produced such strange creatures.
“Wretch, I was originally inclined to spare your life out of consideration for the Sea God’s love for all living things.
But you refused.
You will die a most miserable death!” Seeing that Snow Lady was not intimidated, Chen Zifeng felt as if oil were boiling in his heart.
Chen Zifeng moved, darting out like a flash of lightning.
His figure flickered and vanished from the spot, reappearing behind Snow Lady in the next instant.
At that moment, Chen Zifeng raised his hand, and a blue-gray beam shot toward Snow Lady’s rear.
From the stands, Huo Yuhao noticed that the Soul-Chasing Sword in Chen Zifeng’s hand had undergone a mutation.
Chen Zifeng was already envisioning Snow Lady’s embarrassing state of losing control of her bowels.
This was a tactic he had frequently employed in matches against female students from other academies like Yu Mengdi.
As the blue-gray beam sped toward her, Snow Lady swayed her body, transforming into a sky-blue streak of light as she dodged to the side.
Simultaneously, her bare hand directly grasped Chen Zifeng’s wrist—the one holding the sword.
“Ah—” As Snow Lady twisted, Chen Zifeng cried out in pain from his wrist.
The hand she held immediately went limp, and his other hand swiftly took the sword, swinging its blade to force Snow Lady back.
Though he had been bested in a single exchange, Chen Zifeng did not lose his composure.
In the second instant, his body had already appeared above Snow Lady’s head.
Too fast!
Huo Yuhao couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly from the stands.
Such strength was remarkable even among six-ring Soul Emperors.
This time, Chen Zifeng gripped the sword hilt with both hands and slashed down at Snow Lady’s crown.
With the right edge to shake the soul and the reverse edge to claim life, the sword in Chen Zifeng’s hand had already killed 154 people from other academies in repayment for Shrek Academy’s grace of teaching.
“As long as I kill this wretch, Shrek Academy will have one less great enemy in the future,” Chen Zifeng thought.
But as Chen Zifeng thought this, he discovered that Snow Lady had vanished from before him.
A chill ran through him as he realized that a bare hand was now pressed against his waist.
Emperor’s Palm—Great Cold Without Snow!
Then Chen Zifeng’s body was hurled like a cannonball, crashing heavily against the edge of the arena stage.
Debris scattered, and a massive crater three zhang in diameter appeared.
Jing Hongchen, who was observing the match, furrowed his brows.
Snow Lady, acting alone, had been able to inflict such damage on the arena floor made of special materials—truly beyond his expectations.
“I lost?
After all the effort and pain I put in to get this far, I just lose like this?” Chen Zifeng’s face was filled with unwillingness as he glared venomously at Snow Lady.
“Is this my fate?
What kind of fate is this?
I still have to defeat Huo Yuhao, still have to defend Shrek’s ten-thousand-year glory!” At this last thought, he roared inwardly.
With this realization, Chen Zifeng’s eyes suddenly blazed with light.
“Then let’s see—whether you’ll become my stepping stone, or whether I’ll defend Shrek’s glory!”
In the next moment, he retrieved from a storage soul tool the Acacia Heartbroken Red, the Marvelous and Unworldly Chrysanthemum…
and devoured these immortal herbs whole like a starving man.
These were rewards he had earned over these days by performing diligently before the Divine Maiden.
Without yet knowing how to properly use these immortal herbs, Chen Zifeng wolfed them down.
Though his soul power fluctuations rapidly surged, his body itself began aging at an astonishing rate.
Chen Zifeng’s once-handsome face was immediately covered in wrinkles, yet his eyes became exceptionally bright.
The sharp sword in his hand—his martial soul, the Soul-Chasing Sword—released red lightning!
This was the final transformation of his martial soul, evolving into the Soul-Exterminating Sword!
The characteristic of this martial soul was: for every soul destroyed, its cultivation would increase.
Just as the immortal herbs had elevated the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda martial soul to the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda ten thousand years ago, Chen Zifeng’s martial soul quality had been elevated, now standing at the pinnacle of the martial soul world.
Sensing Chen Zifeng’s transformation, Huo Yuhao in the stands immediately understood what he was doing.
First consuming numerous immortal herbs, then burning both his flesh and soul, Chen Zifeng unleashed his final strike!
Soon, Chen Zifeng’s eyes turned entirely blood-red.
His face consumed by fanaticism, he let out a long howl to the heavens: “The Sea God is supreme!”
Then his entire being transformed into a blood-red blade, slashing toward Snow Lady.
At that same moment, large patches of snowflakes descended from the sky.
“How is this possible?” Discovering that Snow Lady’s figure had vanished into those snowflakes, Chen Zifeng was shocked beyond measure.
He could not understand how this girl could escape the spiritual lock of his current state and conceal her form.
In the stands, Xuan Zi and the others were all frozen in place.
This was a complete domain—a domain that normally only a Rank 9 Titled Douluo could manifest.
How could Snow Lady, who was not even a five-ring Soul King, possibly wield it?
But Snow Lady had indeed done it!
Snow Dance Extreme Ice Domain!
This was a snow-and-ice ability Huo Yuhao had comprehended from the ice attribute in his previous life, later elevated to a divine skill upon reaching the divine realm.
In this life, Huo Yuhao had given it to Snow Lady as her trump card.
“Your current state won’t last long, will it?” Just as Chen Zifeng was about to burn himself out and was forced to exit his Soul-Exterminating Sword true form, he felt a chill at the back of his head.
Chen Zifeng was hurled off the arena stage.
The intense cold and the backlash from the medicinal power within him caused him to lose consciousness, and he soiled himself.