The ground shuddered as the Minotaur slammed its hooves against the floor, its monstrous bellow rattling the vaulted ceiling. The air itself vibrated with every thundering step, shaking loose fragments of dust and light from the glowing pyramid above.
==================
[Ding…. Level 90 Transformed Minotaur. Result of consuming the Beast Transformation Pill. Unstable mutation.]
Strength +200%
defense +150%
intelligence — lost
[Soul permanently corrupted.]
==================
Yun Che tilted his head lazily, brushing off a stray particle of dust from his coat. "To think that pill really works… and turns people into this?" he mused, his voice cool and detached in Mihawk's calm tone. "I'll admit, Wu Clan has outdone themselves. Though the design's sloppy."
Jasmine floated beside him with arms crossed, red eyes narrowing as she scanned the monstrous form. "Tell me about it. You said your world had something similar, didn't you?"
"Yeah," he said, eyes still locked on the beast. "They made it in the form of fruit. They called it Smile."
"Smile?" Jasmine repeated, incredulous. "Who in the seven heavens names a cursed fruit Smile?"
Yun Che smirked slightly. "Irony, I suppose. The ones who ate it… lost the ability to feel sadness. Or happiness. All they could do was laugh."He gave a small shrug, sliding his thumb along Yoru's blade. "Anyway, that thing and this pill? Same principle. Power without control."
Jasmine sighed, clearly wanting no part in the chaos that was about to unfold. "Tch. I've seen enough ugly transformations for one day. I'll be in the inner world. Call me when you're done showing off."
With that, she dissolved into a soft crimson shimmer, retreating back into his consciousness.
The Minotaur stomped once, its monstrous frame towering nearly twenty feet above him. Thick fur matted with blackened veins stretched over rippling muscle; steam vented from its nostrils in heavy bursts. Its once-human eyes were now burning orbs of crimson hate, fixed solely on the swordsman below.
And in its hand — the stone axe, carved directly from one of the Moon Empress's own statues, large enough to split mountains. The creature gripped it as easily as a child holding a stick.
Yun Che tilted his head up slightly, watching the veins along its arms pulse like molten rivers of rage. His voice was calm — even bored."Damn… the Wu Clan wasn't exaggerating. If they mass-produce this thing, the continent's going to drown in monsters."
The Minotaur didn't wait for conversation. It charged.
The first swing came like a thunderclap. The air itself screamed as the axe carved a shockwave through it, splitting the stage in half. The explosion sent cracks racing up the pillars and across the glowing hexagonal tiles.
Yun Che sidestepped — barely a whisper of motion — the swing cleaving nothing but air where he'd been standing a heartbeat before.
He glanced at the shattered floor and sighed. "That's an Isu styled tile and I liked that tile."
ROOOAAARRR!!
The beast lunged again, faster this time. The axe came down in a wild diagonal sweep, then a horizontal slash that would've gutted a lesser man.Yun Che flowed around each strike, Yoru flickering once, twice — every motion too efficient, too precise. The Minotaur's strength was overwhelming, but its movements were predictable, ruled only by instinct and rage.
"For a creature that's lost its mind," he muttered between sidesteps, "you sure swing like someone who hates me personally."
The Minotaur bellowed again, spittle and steam exploding from its jaws. Its next swing connected — not with Yun Che, but the floor.
BOOM!
The entire stage shook violently as cracks spiderwebbed outwards, the sound echoing through the chamber like cannon fire.
He blocked another swing, Yoru ringing with the clash. Sparks flew. The force of impact shoved him back half a step, the stone beneath his boots cracking.
Too strong for a frontal clash, he noted calmly. And yet… too stupid to use that strength efficiently.
He twisted his wrist and slashed upward. A green crescent of condensed sword energy roared from Yoru's blade, slamming into the Minotaur's chest and throwing it across the stage. The beast crashed into a wall of carved stone, burying itself halfway through the surface before roaring back in fury.
Chunks of debris rained from the ceiling, but Yun Che didn't even glance up. His eyes were focused, calculating.He couldn't unleash his full destructive power — not here. Not with the pyramid and pedestal still intact. If this tomb came down, the Apple and the Empress's sarcophagus would be buried forever.
The Minotaur dug its claws into the cracked wall and ripped itself free, muscles flexing like coiled steel. The red glow in its eyes flared brighter.
It charged again, faster this time — a beast with no concern for the ruin it caused.
Yun Che smirked faintly and lowered Yoru's tip to the floor, the edge cutting through the stone like silk.
"Fine," he whispered, golden eyes glinting.
The beast swung its axe down. Yun Che met the blow head-on.
The world exploded.
A shockwave tore through the entire vault, scattering dust and shards of ancient stone. Chu Yueli, high atop the statues, shielded her face as a wall of pressure slammed against her.
When the dust cleared, she saw Yun Che — unmoved, coat whipping behind him, blade raised.
The Minotaur's stone axe? Split clean in half.
The creature looked down at the broken weapon, then up at the swordsman before it.
Yun Che tilted his head slightly, eyes gleaming like polished gold beneath the shadows of his hat. "You'll need a better toy than that."
The Minotaur roared again, louder and angrier than before — and this time, the ground itself began to burn.
Its veins glowed crimson. Energy built inside its core, swelling, boiling — until the air rippled with heat and distortion.
Chu Yueli's heart skipped. "He's— it's gathering power! Mihawk, watch out!"
His eyes sharpened — a predator's gleam in molten gold — as he slammed into the Minotaur and sent the beast careening into the stone wall.
The creature rose, furious and unbroken, charging again. Its white horns glowed like beacons of corruption; it smashed itself repeatedly against the carved masonry, a frenzy more than a strategy. Each impact sent shards of stone skittering across the floor, and every swing of that massive axe threatened to tear the hall apart.
"ROOARRR!" it bellowed, a sound that shook dust from the vaulted ceiling.
Yun Che moved like water around the beast's rage: a step, a pivot, a blade flicked. He leapt over a wild overhead swing and landed a haki-coated kick square into the Minotaur's jaw, sending it staggering back into the wall. As the creature reeled, a system ping echoed inside his mind.
=======================
[Ding… System detected a strand of consciousness attempting to enter the host. Attempt denied.]
=======================
Yun Che froze mid-motion, one hand on Yoru, eyes narrowing. "A strand of consciousness?" he muttered. The notification blinked again.
================
[Ding… Unknown origin. Multiple intrusion attempts detected and blocked.]
================
His mouth went taut. Someone — or something — had tried to burrow into his mind while the Minotaur fought him; the system had stopped it, but the warning left a chill that no armor could hide.
The Minotaur roared and lunged. Yun Che answered with a brutal, bone-deep shove that hurled the beast into a shattered pillar. He didn't have time to chase the intruder's mystery now; the fight demanded him.
From above, Chu Yueli watched, heart in her throat. Each of Yun Che's movements struck her like a lesson: poised, economical, lethal. The Minotaur's strength rivaled the Peak Tyrant Profound Realm, and yet Mihawk toyed with it, turning brutal force into predictable arcs and then slicing the openings it left. She'd wanted to leap down and help — to show she was worth his protection — but his calm, controlled fury told her otherwise. He had this. She would obey his orders.
A shadow moved behind her. The Xiao Clan elder, silent as a predatory breeze, had crept up the stair; his eyes gleamed with covetous calculation. Chu Yueli tightened her grip on her sword and whirled.
"I never thought the Frozen Cloud Asgard's famed beauty would offer itself without a veil," he leered, voice sliding like grease. "Hand over the treasures on those pedestals, and I'll let you keep your pretty face."
She snarled, blade singing free. "You dare—?"
He stepped forward, drawn and eager. "Give them to me, fairy, or I'll enjoy taking them."
"VULGAR!" Her cry cut like ice. She moved before she thought—swift, sure—closing the distance in a blink.
They clashed. Steel rang against steel; the elder's grin didn't even falter as he pressed an ugly advantage, trying to pin her, trying to bait her back toward the central stage where the Minotaur still rampaged. Chu Yueli's training showed in every parry: she kept her balance, every footfall precise, every guard measured. But his provocation wasn't merely lust or greed—he'd hoped to stall her, to lure her into a snare while his allies seized whatever remained. She refused to be bait.
Across the hall, Yun Che watched the elder's approach in the corner of his eye even as he pivoted on the Minotaur's next swing. He felt the ripple of the earlier intrusion still like static against his skin. The system had blocked it — for now. Whoever had tried to worm into him had not been thwarted out of spite; someone had probed. Someone was watching.
The Minotaur roared, gathering its stolen, twisted power. Horns burning, it smashed the floor, sending a fan of cracks toward Yun Che's boots. He met it head-on, and the beast's axe shattered in a flash of stone and flying sparks under the pressure of his strike.
The hall fell into a brief, dangerous hush — the beast reeling, the Xiao Clan elder stumbling back from Chu Yueli's vicious counter, and Yun Che standing with Yoru held like a dark sun over his shoulder. Blood and dust spun through the light; the pyramid above hummed with dormant energy.
Yun Che's golden eyes swept the scene once. He tasted the air: pill-rot, corrupted power, and something far more subtle — the lingering impression of a mind that had reached for his. He smiled, small and dangerous.
Then he moved — not to slaughter, not to burn the tomb to ash, but to end the monster and the immediate threat, to keep the pyramid and the pedestal safe for whatever secrets they still guarded. His blade cut the air; the Minotaur lunged; steel and beast met again, and the great tomb held its breath.
As Yun Che and the Minotaur's battle shook the vault with earth-splitting blows, Chu Yueli fought her own storm of chaos in the shadows of the colossal hall.
Her sword clashed with the Xiao Clan elder's blade again and again — ice meeting steel, frost meeting fire. Neither side yielded an inch. Her strikes, normally cold and measured, now carried raw ferocity. Each swing of her sword was driven by pride, by pain, and by the echo of her sister's name burning in her heart.
But the elder wasn't a fool. He knew her rhythm, her hesitation. The moment she advanced too far, he grinned and snapped his fingers — activating the talisman hidden in his sleeve.
A wave of suppression exploded beneath her feet.
WOOOMMM—
Blue seals crawled across the floor like living serpents, glowing with the same cursed formation that had once crippled her in the arena. The moment the runes ignited, her knees buckled, and her profound energy stuttered — then collapsed.
"N-no…" she gasped, eyes widening as the familiar, suffocating dread wrapped around her like ice. "Not again…"
The elder sneered, his blade lowering as he walked toward her. "Such a shame. The Frozen Cloud Asgard's fairy brought to her knees twice by the same trick. You women were never meant for battle—only to serve men like me."
His words dripped with poison. He reached out a hand toward her face, the smirk twisting into lust. "But perhaps, Fairy Li Yue, I'll forgive you… if you entertain me first."
Her hands trembled — not from fear, but fury. Yet, the seals devoured her profound strength, caging her in the same helplessness that once almost killed her.Her body refused to obey… until something deep within her stirred.
A pulse.Warm. Gentle. Powerful.
Her eyes widened as her frozen veins began to thaw — melting into a flow of light she had never felt before. It wasn't the cold, distant purity of the Frozen Cloud Arts. It was alive, breathing, pulsing like sunlight through snow. A resonance — familiar, divine.
"This energy…" she whispered, trembling. "Elder sister…? No—it's not hers, it's… mine?"
Her body radiated faint glimmers of silver and blue. The formation still held her body down, but her soul felt free — roaring awake with warmth instead of frost. Her shattered Ice Heart, once a cage, was now an open vessel, allowing something new to flow through her.
"I won't… be weak again."
The Xiao elder's shadow fell across her, his perverse grin widening as he crouched before her. "Still struggling? Hmph, it's over—"
CRACK!
A flash of light burst from her fist — pure, crystalline energy wrapped in a faint gold-blue glow. It struck the elder squarely in the jaw with a sound like thunder.
He flew back, smashing into a wall so hard that the impact carved a crater into the stone. Blood spattered across the cracked marble.
For a heartbeat, the entire hall froze.
Chu Yueli stared at her own trembling hand. The icy veins that once ran blue now shimmered faintly white-gold. The same purity. The same warmth. The same glow she had seen only once before — when her sister had revealed her reformed profound energy.
"What is this…?" she whispered, heart pounding. "This… it's the same energy as elder sister's, but… it's mine."
Her breathing steadied. Her eyes hardened. And as she rose to her feet, the runes of the formation began to crack and fade beneath her aura. The suppression lost its hold as if rejecting her new energy altogether.
With one graceful motion, she unsheathed her sword and slashed through the talisman on the floor.
SHHHRIIIKK!
The paper burst apart in a flare of light, and the formation shattered like glass.
Her strength returned instantly — but it felt different. Cleaner. Warmer. As if every vein in her body was rewritten, purged, and reborn.
Her ice heart… shattered, yes — but instead of breaking her, it freed her.
She raised her gaze toward the battling figures below. The hall trembled with every blow from Mihawk and the Minotaur, but her spirit no longer trembled.
"I thought losing my Ice Heart meant losing everything," she murmured softly, clutching her chest. "But… maybe it means I can finally feel again."
Her new profound energy surged — silver frost laced with streaks of luminous gold, swirling around her sword like dawn touching snow.
And as the Xiao Clan elder groaned, dragging himself out of the crater, Chu Yueli stepped forward, her expression serene and unyielding.
Chu Yueli stood amidst the rubble, chest rising and falling with steady rhythm, the glacial aura around her pulsing faintly with a new kind of life. Frost curled across the ground around her feet—not the cold, lifeless kind she once wielded, but a crystalline radiance that shimmered with translucent light, like the surface of a frozen lake reflecting dawn.
Her Ice Heart had shattered.Her foundation, everything her sect had instilled in her since childhood, was supposed to collapse with it.And yet—
Her pulse was calm.Her energy flowed like spring through thawed rivers.
She could feel.
For the first time in years, she could feel.
Fear. Sadness. Anger. Joy. Warmth. Every emotion she had buried behind layers of frost now surged back, vibrant and chaotic—and it should have overwhelmed her. Instead, it fueled her.
She stared at her own hands, the faint glow of the pure energy dancing across her fingers. "This feeling… I've never…" Her voice trembled with awe. "Could this be… rebirth?"
She willed the energy to move—and it obeyed. In her palm, a shard of light formed, reshaping itself into an arrow. But unlike the dull, opaque frost arrows of the Frozen Cloud Asgard, this one shone like polished diamond. It hummed faintly with power, as if alive.
The air around it dropped several degrees, a silent chill that carried both grace and lethality.
"…Elder sister's ice," she whispered. "No… my ice."
She barely had a second to marvel before a low groan echoed from the debris pile. The Xiao Clan elder dragged himself free, face twisted in rage and disbelief, one hand clutching his half-frozen sword.
"Impossible!" he barked, voice echoing off the marble walls. "You're still at the Sky Profound Realm! That punch—no one at your level could—what kind of treasure did you find here, witch?!"
Chu Yueli's eyes, once cool and distant, now burned with calm conviction. "Treasure?" she said coldly, her voice cutting sharper than any sword. "No such treasure."
The elder snarled, trying to mask the tremor in his grip. "You—don't act high and mighty! Everything in this tomb belongs to the Xiao Clan! You—!"
His words were drowned in the sound of shattering ice.
Chu Yueli dashed forward, her robes flaring like wings of frost. The elder barely had time to raise his sword before her crystalized blade struck.
The moment their weapons met—
Crack.His sword froze solid, the frost racing down its length in jagged blue veins.
"What—!?" He barely had time to recoil before the blade splintered, shards of ice exploding outward.
Her sword slid past his defense, stopping at his throat. Her aura pressed against his—so dense, so pure—that his own profound energy wavered, trembling under its weight.
"You call me a fairy," she whispered, her tone like falling snow. "Then kneel before one."
With a flick of her wrist, a surge of crystal frost blasted him backward. He stumbled, skidding across the cracked floor, eyes wide in horror.
Her movements became a blur. Every step of her Frozen Snow Dance Steps carried her through the air like drifting petals. He slashed wildly, desperate, but she was already gone—appearing behind him, beside him, above him, her presence like a cold whisper.
Each dodge, each counter, was perfect—effortless.
The elder's attacks grew more erratic, more panicked, until his final, desperate swing was met with nothing but empty air.
Then—
BAM!
Her fist struck his gut like a hammer wrapped in silk. The impact lifted him off his feet and sent him crashing into the wall with enough force to leave a crater. His sword clattered to the ground beside him, half-frozen, half-shattered.
He slumped, gasping, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth.
The echo of the impact rippled through the hall. Even Yun Che, locked in his duel with the Minotaur, felt the pulse of her energy shift—the same kind of energy he recognized from Xia Qingyue's evolution. His lips curved slightly, a knowing smirk flashing across his face.
So that's it, he thought. Her Ice Heart broke—and she finally awakened her own path.
Down below, Chu Yueli stood tall amidst the lingering frost. Her robes fluttered softly as snowflakes drifted from the air, shimmering like stars. The glow of her newfound profound energy reflected in her eyes—warm, bright, alive.
The elder coughed, dragging himself up, glaring through blood. "You… think you've won? You—"
She raised her hand. A single arrow of crystal ice materialized between her fingers. "I don't think," she said evenly. "I know."
The arrow flew before he could even finish his sentence.
Thwip!
It pierced the wall beside his head, stopping just short of his ear. The frost spread instantly, coating the wall, freezing the very air between them. He froze—not in ice, but in terror.
"Leave," she said coldly, her voice steady, commanding. "Or the next one will not miss."
Chu Yueli exhaled, her breath fogging in the air. The hall was quiet again, save for the distant echoes of Yun Che's battle. She looked down at her hands once more—at the faint, glowing veins of warmth running beneath her skin.
"So this… is what it feels like," she murmured. "To be free of the heart's ice."
Her lips curved in a small, genuine smile. "Elder sister… perhaps I've finally caught up."
Then, her gaze turned toward Yun Che—the swordsman who had pushed her to survive, who had trusted her to find her own strength. Watching him dance with the monstrous Minotaur, she tightened her grip on her sword and whispered softly to herself,
"…and now, it's my turn to protect you."
"This isn't fair. The heavens are unfair. Why did you two have to be the one stronger? We found this tomb and it's our right."
The Xiao Clan elder lay crumpled on the floor, spitting blood and fury. "This isn't fair," he rasped. "The heavens aren't fair. We found this tomb first. It belongs to us!"
Chu Yueli's smile was a slow, cold thing as she sheathed her sword. "Fair?" she said. "You killed for greed, used tricks and betrayals instead of strength. Who's laughing now?" Her voice cut through him like ice.
He ground his teeth, venomous. "You—" He tried to stand, to snatch vengeance from his ruined pride. "I'll kill you and take the treasure—then I'll finish that swordsman."
She didn't flinch. She raised her blade, pointed it at his brow, and for a heartbeat the world held its breath.
Then her hand dropped. She clutched her head, a strangled cry tearing out of her. "My head—" Her face contorted as if someone was clawing at the inside of her skull. Her knees buckled; she sank to the floor, clutching at her temples. The elder's grin widened—he thought he'd won.
But the scream cut off mid-sound. Her eyes, dull and gray a moment ago, flickered gold.
The elder lunged for the finishing blow. The blade flashed— and met resistance. Chu Yueli's right hand closed around the sword as if wrapped in iron. He tried to wrench it free; the hilt wouldn't budge. Then her other hand shot up and seized his throat, lifting him easily off his feet.
Something shifted in the air. Patterns of faint, alien light crawled across her skin—runes that echoed the strange carvings on the pillars. The elder's eyes went wide with terror as a voice poured out of her mouth, layered and not her own: low, ancient, and utterly foreign.
"A woman's body again…" the voice murmured, reverberating with an otherworldly cadence. "At last. A suitable vessel. Her soul is frail—perfect. Years of waiting, and finally—"
The sentence hung in the hall like frost. The elder's scream choked off. Chu Yueli's shoulders rose and fell with a calm that was not hers. The tomb had stopped being simply a vault of old secrets; something had just woken inside it.
"Now… now… what do we have here?"
Her voice dripped with a cold amusement as she slowly lifted her head. Golden eyes flared open—burning like twin suns—as intricate, glowing patterns spread across her arms in futuristic symmetry. Her hair lifted on its own, floating in the air as if the heavens themselves bowed to her presence.
Though their strength was supposedly equal, the elder could feel it—her grip was absolute. His hands clawed helplessly at her wrist, unable to pry it loose.
"Arghhh…! L–let me go… please…" he gasped, his face twisting with terror as her fingers dug deeper into his throat. Never in his life had he imagined Li Yue—timid, reserved Li Yue—could wield such terrifying strength. Yet everything about her now screamed of something inhuman.
"Hmph. Pity."
Her tone was almost mournful, yet her expression remained untouched by mercy. "This world is filled with infinite possibilities. If only she had listened to me… she could've ruled this realm with a single breath. But as for you…"
Her fingers tightened. The air trembled.
The elder's eyes went wide as his body convulsed violently. A faint golden mist began to rise from his skin—his cultivation, his life essence—ripped away and drawn into her like a river pulled into a black hole.
"You… what are… you…" he choked, his words fading as his body shriveled. Within moments, his vitality, his decades of cultivation, his very soul, were gone—leaving behind nothing but an empty husk that crumbled into dust at her feet.
She released the corpse, watching dispassionately as it disintegrated into the air, scattered by the silent wind.
Li Yue—or rather, the being that once wore her face—raised her hand, flexing her fingers as arcs of golden energy danced between them. She smiled faintly, the light reflecting in her eyes.
"Fascinating… Mortals here truly have the strangest ways of attaining power. And yet, with a single life, I've gained this much."
Her expression darkened, twisting into a sneer. "You worthless fool. You thought hiding the device would stop me? I'll find it… even if I must tear this entire tomb apart."
Her gaze turned toward Yun Che and the towering twenty-foot beast still clashing in the distance. Her golden eyes gleamed—cold, calculating, divine.
And then, she began to walk.
================
Yun Che's blade clashed against the Minotaur's colossal axe, the shockwave cracking the floor beneath them. Sparks scattered like lightning in the dark chamber. Yet even in the heat of battle, a ripple in the air caught his attention—a cold, alien energy that sent a chill down his spine.
He frowned.That aura… it's Chu Yueli's—but it's changing…
The moment he turned his head to glance in her direction, the Minotaur roared and swung down its weapon like a thunderbolt.
"Tch—!"
Yun Che flashed to the side, reappearing several meters away as the axe buried itself deep into the stone floor. "Damn, this is getting nowhere." He exhaled, irritation flickering across his eyes. "Jasmine, did you sense that disturbance just now?"
"No… why?"
Her calm voice echoed through his mind.
"I think this tomb has more than meets the eye." His tone grew sharp. "The system detected something—a consciousness—trying to take over me just now. Looks like we're not alone."
"A consciousness? That's impossible… I didn't sense a thing."
"It's real." His eyes narrowed. "And Chu Yueli… something happened to her."
Before Jasmine could respond—
"ROOOOARR!!!"
The Minotaur's howl ripped through the chamber, forcing Yun Che to dodge as a hurricane of debris followed the strike. He grit his teeth, shifting into offense.
"You're testing my patience, beast."
With a blur of motion, Yun Che sidestepped and reappeared within the creature's blind spot. His blade flashed once. The Minotaur's left arm disintegrated into ash, leaving molten air and a fading scream in its wake.
"You could've done that from the start," Jasmine commented dryly as the beast staggered back.
Yun Che smirked. "Where's the fun in that? I wanted to see how much this thing could handle. That pill almost perfected its beast form. Did you see its output? If not for its unstable rage, it could've rivaled a cultivator."
"You and your experiments…" Jasmine sighed. "This habit will get you killed one day."
"You worry too much." He said it with a lazy grin, but his focus never wavered.
The Minotaur lunged again, wild with fury, ignoring its missing arm. Yun Che met it head-on. Sparks ignited as their weapons collided. He slid past the creature's guard, coating his blade with dark, rippling Haki.
"Break."
His sword cleaved through the axe's shaft, sending shards flying. Before the beast could react, Yun Che stabbed Yoru deep into its abdomen and released a pulse of condensed energy through the blade.
BOOM!
The explosion ripped through the beast from within, painting the walls with gore and bone. Its massive frame trembled before collapsing to its knees with a low, dying growl. The air reeked of blood and smoke.
Yun Che sheathed Yoru, stepping onto the slick pool of crimson beneath his boots. "If that pill was the same type that brat used before," he mused, "I might've had a real fight on my hands."
Jasmine appeared beside him, her crimson eyes glancing over the remains. "Good thing it was a low-grade version, huh?"
He smirked faintly, speaking in that calm, razor-edged tone of Mihawk's. "No… a desperate fight is what I wish for."
"You're hopeless," she muttered. "I'll never understand your obsession with stronger opponents."
"At least I have fun." He smiled. "Now, let's claim those experience points—"
But before his blade could move, a figure descended silently from above, landing between him and the dying Minotaur.
The creature's roar cut short.
In an instant, its massive body began to wither—its skin tightening, bones cracking, as a golden light poured from its chest and spiraled into the newcomer's hands. The Minotaur's energy, its very life, was being devoured.
Yun Che's eyes widened as he felt it.That energy… cold, domineering, divine.
And the figure's silhouette—bathed in golden light—slowly lifted her head.
Chu Yueli.
But not the same one he knew.
"What in the…"
Jasmine's words trailed into silence as both she and Yun Che froze. Before their eyes, the Minotaur's immense body was withering—its vitality sucked out like water from a broken dam. In mere seconds, its skin tightened, its roars turned into hollow gasps, and its glowing eyes dimmed into nothingness.
=====================
[Ding… Warning: Lang Long was under the effect of the Beast Transformation Pill when absorbed. Experience points unavailable—host did not deliver the final strike.]
=====================
The system's voice echoed distantly, but Yun Che barely heard it. His focus was locked on the figure emerging from the smoke, her presence rippling across the entire tomb.
Out of the crimson haze walked Chu Yueli.
At least—what appeared to be her.
Silver hair drifted weightlessly around her like strands of celestial silk, shimmering with faint streaks of gold. Her robes, though still those of Frozen Cloud Asgard, now clung to a body radiating divine pressure. Most terrifying of all was her aura—no longer serene and icy, but heavy, ancient, otherworldly.
Yun Che's eyes widened. That energy... It's not human.
He felt it—her power wasn't rising naturally. It was ascending, violently and without restraint.
First Level Emperor Profound… Second… Third… Fourth… Fifth—
The numbers flickered through his mind like alarm bells. In less than ten breaths, she had forcefully jumped four entire realms.
Even Jasmine was speechless. "She… she's absorbing vitality directly? That's forbidden. It goes against the heavens themselves…"
Yun Che clenched his fists, his voice low. "Then it's true… she absorbed the Minotaur's essence—and probably the Xiao Clan elder's too."
A chill ran down his spine. The thought alone was monstrous. But when he looked again, something else caught his eye.
Patterns.
Golden, glowing sigils snaked along Chu Yueli's arms—from her shoulders to the tips of her fingers—visible even beneath her frosted white sleeves. They pulsed softly, like veins of divine circuitry.
Jasmine's eyes narrowed. "Those markings… they're the same as the ones on the pillars here. The same symbols the Apple of Eden showed me… The Isu patterns."
Yun Che's breath hitched. He wanted to deny it—but the truth screamed in front of him. "No… it can't be… unless—"
Then he saw it clearly. The curve of the markings, the symmetrical nodes—each one was etched in his memory.
"It's the mark of the Isu race," he muttered, half in disbelief.
Jasmine turned toward him sharply. "The Isu? But she's human. There's no way—"
"She was human," Yun Che corrected grimly. "Her frost aura is still there, faint but buried beneath… something else. That consciousness I felt earlier—it wasn't a random echo. It was a soul, waiting for a vessel."
The realization made his stomach drop. "And she became the perfect host."
By now, the Minotaur's corpse had crumbled to dust, leaving behind only silence. The air rippled faintly as the woman who once was Chu Yueli lifted her gaze toward them.
Her eyes—once a clear, icy blue—now burned with golden light, the pupils shifting like mechanical irises. The sigils on her arms pulsed in sync with her heartbeat, releasing a low hum that resonated through the walls.
Yun Che instinctively raised his guard, his aura flaring in response.
This wasn't Chu Yueli anymore.
The presence standing before him was far older… far higher.
She smiled—soft, cold, divine.
When she finally spoke, the tone wasn't hers. It carried layers—multiple voices in one, reverberating like a chorus across dimensions.
A voice Yun Che recognized.
The familiarity hit him like lightning. He'd heard it before—deep within the system's archives… or perhaps in a dream too ancient to belong to this world.
And then she said it—
"Ahhh… so delicious."
The woman's voice echoed with a chilling harmony—one voice layered upon another, like several beings speaking through a single throat. "I never imagined such crude methods could grant me this much power. Stronger than I've ever been before."
'Chu Yueli' lifted her hands, admiring the golden circuits glowing across her arms. The sigils pulsed, alive—each rhythm synchronized with her heartbeat. But the words she spoke next were not from this world.
Jasmine flinched, unable to comprehend the strange, resonant syllables. "What language is that? Do you understand a word she's saying?"
Yun Che said nothing. His gaze was hard as steel as he slowly drew Yoru, the blade humming with restrained intent. "Who in the world are you?"
The woman smirked. "Ah… where are my manners?" Her tone dripped with mockery as she continued in the same ethereal tongue. "You lowborn creatures wouldn't grasp our language if eternity itself taught you."
Her eyes flickered gold as she stepped closer. Then, with a casual shift, her words melted into the familiar dialect of this realm.
"You're the mortal from before, aren't you? The one who defeated that beast." Her voice softened into a dangerous curiosity. "To accomplish that, your body must harbor extraordinary potential. Strange… I could not possess you. Even with all my knowledge—infinite knowledge—I cannot comprehend what you are."
Jasmine's brows furrowed. Possess? The word carried divine venom. Even she, with all her cosmic learning, had never heard such a language—nor sensed such a presence.
Yun Che kept his composure, though the truth gnawed inside him. She's referring to the system. But hearing her call it "something" meant his secret was safe… for now.
"Possessed?" he said evenly. "Judging by your appearance, I'd say you've taken control of my friend Yueli's body."
"Yueli?" the being repeated, tilting her head. "So that was the name of this vessel. How quaint. The naming sense of this world truly reeks of barbarism."
Yun Che forced a smirk, though his mind raced. The evidence was clear—Chu Yueli was no longer in control. This was an Isu soul suppressing hers, using her body as a living host. Her true consciousness was likely still there, buried deep… screaming in silence.
But how? The Isu should have vanished eons ago. According to the Moon Empress, only the Pieces of Eden were sent into this world. Unless… one of their souls had survived—waiting, dormant, for a vessel.
Yun Che tightened his grip on Yoru. "I'll ask again. Who are you?"
Inside, excitement flickered beneath his calm façade. He'd met projections of Isu before—but never an active consciousness, never one alive.
The being's eyes narrowed. "A mortal like you lacks the right to know my name."
She raised her right hand—and energy gathered instantly. The air cracked as sparks flared around her fingers, forming radiant orbs of gold.
Yun Che's heart sank. That technique—!
Shooo! Shooo! BOOM! BOOM!
Golden blasts erupted, ripping through the chamber. Stone shattered, light scorched the walls, and shockwaves echoed through the tomb. But Yun Che was already gone—his movements so fast the air seemed to bend around him. He reappeared just beyond the explosion's reach, coat fluttering in the fading glare.
He recognized those shots. Standard Isu energy discharges. In the hands of a pure Isu, they were lethal enough to level fortresses. Now, channeled through a Fifth Level Emperor Profound Realm body, they were even deadlier.
The possessed Chu Yueli fired again, dozens of golden bolts screaming through the air—each one narrowly missing as Yun Che twisted and sidestepped, leaving streaks of distortion behind.
The woman frowned. "Impossible. No mortal should be able to evade these strikes. Your body… it doesn't feel human."
Her golden pupils glowed brighter as she drew Yueli's icy sword, the weapon humming unnaturally under Isu energy. "Let's see how long your defiance lasts."
Yun Che steadied his breathing, his sword raised. He had no illusions now—this was no mere battle of strength. He was facing an ancient being from the dawn of civilization of the other world, one who had fused divine technology with cultivation itself.
"Impressive…"
The golden-eyed being smiled coldly, her voice resonating with two distinct tones—Chu Yueli's delicate voice and something far older, commanding, divine. "Let's see if you can avoid this."
The golden sigils on her arms flared alive, burning like molten veins beneath her skin. Yun Che's instincts screamed. He raised Yoru instantly, Haki flaring as he fortified his stance.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!
A shockwave exploded outward. A golden dome of pure energy erupted from her form, swallowing the arena in an instant. The very air twisted from the force as ancient Isu patterns spiraled across its surface—runes of symmetry and power etched into the light itself.
Yun Che braced, sliding back from the impact as shards of force splintered the ground. His boots scraped against the floor until he came to a halt at the stage's edge, Yoru embedded in the ground to steady him.
Jasmine materialized beside him, her crimson eyes narrowed. "So this… this is the power of the Isu race?"
Yun Che exhaled, eyes locked on the dome still humming at the arena's center. "Yeah. Don't let the elegance fool you. They might've relied on technology—but they were never weak. Every device they made was capable of rewriting the laws of the world."
The golden aura dimmed for a heartbeat—then flared again.
'Chu Yueli' lifted both arms, forming dozens of golden spheres that hovered in the air like miniature suns, each marked with glowing Isu runes.
"Now… block this!"
The orbs fired beams of golden energy in every direction, each one screeching through the air like thunderbolts. Yun Che disappeared in a blur, his Flash Step carrying him through the barrage. Each shot missed by a hair's breadth, the explosions following just behind his wake.
But the orbs didn't stop. They began tracking him.
Yun Che clicked his tongue. "Persistent little toys."
A smirk tugged at his lips. "Let's turn it up a notch."
His form shimmered, splitting into dozens of afterimages that danced across the arena—each one perfectly synchronized. His technique, Broken Shadow Flash, created illusions so tangible they even fooled energy detection.
Swish—Swish—Swish—!
The golden beams tore through the phantoms, vaporizing each mirage as the real Yun Che darted unseen through the chaos.
The being's lips curved upward. "Impressive… far more capable than my previous vessel."
Her words echoed across the battlefield.
"Old vessel?" Yun Che's voice came from multiple directions at once.
"Indeed," she said, almost fondly. "The fool once bore my legacy—my power, my device. I crafted her into perfection. Yet she betrayed me. Sealed me within this tomb… and hid my creation from my reach. Such ingratitude… from a mortal I raised to godhood!" Her tone cracked with divine fury. "But you—you'll make a better vessel. I'll mold you as I did her. Willingly or not!"
Yun Che's eyes narrowed. So the Moon Empress… was her previous host. That meant the Apple of Eden had been hidden—sealed—within this very place.
He clenched Yoru tightly. "So that's it. You're the one the Moon Empress sealed here…"
With a roar, Yun Che's power surged. The ground beneath him shattered as he launched forward, Yoru wrapped in energy dense enough to distort the air.
BOOM!
The golden dome cracked under his strike. Spiderweb fractures spread across its surface, light leaking through each fissure.
"Impossible!" the being hissed, her focus wavering between maintaining the barrier and controlling her orbiting weapons.
"Possible enough," Yun Che muttered coldly. With one final swing, he unleashed a wave of raw destructive force—Yoru cleaved the dome apart, shattering it into shards of golden mist.
The backlash sent her flying, crashing into the edge of the arena.
Yun Che lowered his blade, stepping forward calmly as Jasmine hovered beside him. "Now then…" he said, his tone low and steady. "Mind telling me who you really are?"
The being chuckled weakly, her aura flickering. "Hah… to think a mortal could defy an Isu. How amusing. But in the end, you're still bound by fate."
She lifted her head slowly, her golden eyes narrowing into slits. "No matter how strong you think you are—you exist only to serve us."
Then, with trembling hands, she raised her arms once more. Golden light began to gather again, the air warping as her body burned with power she could barely control.
Her voice deepened, resonating through the ruins of the tomb:
"I will reclaim what was stolen. And I will begin… with you."
She slammed her palm onto the stone, and the arena shuddered as the same golden dome erupted once more, exploding outward and throwing Yun Che off balance. He skidded to the edge of the stage, grit in his teeth as dust and light rained down. The dome sealed her off, humming with Isu sigils that made even the air taste metallic.
As she rose into the air, arms raised, dozens of golden spheres orbiting her like captive suns, she smiled with an almost tender cruelty. "I was only testing you," she said, voice layered and smooth. "You are stronger than I assumed. I used only the might of an 'Emperor' here—yet you still lasted."
Then she flicked her wrist.
Six thin columns of light pierced the ceiling and tore open above Yun Che. Portals—each like a wound in the sky—rippled and spat people onto the stage.
Yun Che stared. His heart tightened.
They were the missing elders: the few who had disappeared from other arenas. Their robes were rags. Their faces were drawn, hollow-eyed, barely clinging to life. Two of them—faces he had seen in his own arena—staggered forward and fell to their knees.
"Dra…cule… Mihawk…" one of them croaked. The name came out like a prayer.
"Please…" another whispered. "Help me…"
Yun Che wanted to move. He wanted to sprint forward and scoop them up, to drag them to safety and rip the enemy apart. But the look in their eyes—burnt-out, emptied—told him the truth. Healing them now might be worse than leaving them be; a botched restoration could leave them broken beyond repair, or worse—leave him vulnerable.
The being looked down on them with a scornful, almost fond patience. "How convenient," she purred. "Primitive mortals always bleed into one another. I had to wait until you were at the brink of death before I could take you. Now that you are here, you will serve as my meal."
With a gesture, she extended her fingers. Golden threads of light lanced from her palm and plunged into the elders' chests. The old men screamed, a terrible chorus of shredding souls. Yun Che lashed out instinctively, but the Isu barrier sealed him off—the dome unbroken and absolute. Each time he struck it, another dome flared into being, unyielding as diamond.
He controlled his options. Trump cards were not viable—too destructive; the tomb could collapse and Chu Yueli might perish in the rubble. Status Recovery was on cooldown for fifteen hours. He had other reserves, but those were last-ditch measures. For now, the only prudent play was to watch, learn, and wait for a chance to strike that wouldn't kill the host.
One by one the elders were reduced to hollow husks. Bones clacked and powdered into the air. She drank each life like water, and with each gulp her cultivation rocketed upward.
"Sixth… Seventh… Eighth… Ninth… Peak…" Yun Che counted silently as her essence climbed the ladder of realms.
"Her breakthrough stops at the Pinnacle of the Emperor Profound Realm," Jasmine murmured, voice tight with contempt and fear. "But don't underestimate this. She's far beyond the brute we fought earlier."
In only minutes the entity had surged from the Peak of the Sky Profound Realm to the Pinnacle of the Emperor Profound Realm. The pressure of her presence rolled over them like a storm. If word of this escaped, the Empire—perhaps the entire continent—would tremble at the news.
Yun Che nodded. "I'm not worrying about raw level," he said quietly. "I'm worried about what she is. The Isu already outrank mortals in every way. If an Isu used cultivator paths… this world would be finished. Luckily, she doesn't possess the Apple of Eden."
Jasmine's eyes snapped to him. "Lucky?" she echoed sharply.
"Listen." Yun Che's voice dropped even lower. "The Apple's true power binds to the Isu. If she had it, we wouldn't just be dealing with a high-level cultivator—we'd be looking at someone who could bend minds, raise armies, or unmake a region. If that happens, I'll have to use my trump cards. I don't want to—but I will."
Jasmine ground her teeth. The sight of bones crumbling to dust made something in her clamp shut. "This is monstrous," she said. "Yun Che, you must stop her. We cannot let something like this walk the outside world."
He inhaled, staring at the place where the elders' ashes drifted. The form that had once been Chu Yueli floated at the center of the glowing sigils, a figure of celestial arrogance. Beneath that arrogance, however, he felt the faint echo of the girl he knew—her soul not extinguished, merely suppressed.
"I won't kill her," Yun Che said at last, voice steady and firm. "If I end her body, that soul will only find another vessel. I can't let innocent blood be spilled for nothing, and I can't feed a predator the thing it craves. I'll find a way to free Yueli without destroying her."
Jasmine's red eyes shimmered with something like hope and dread braided together. "If you fail—"
"I won't," he cut in. Not a boast; a promise. He had a plan forming, one built of patience, timing, and the single truth that pulsed under everything: the presence occupying Chu Yueli's body had used feeding to climb power. Feed it wrong, and it might choke.
For now, he would bide his time. Watch the pattern of its strength, map the seams of its control, and wait for the solitary opening that would let him strike—precise, surgical, and without killing the host.
The tomb hummed. The being gathered light and life, higher and hungrier than ever. Yun Che spread his senses, every nerve ready. The next move would have to be perfect.
Jasmine's voice finally broke through the humming air, edged with frustration."What is her life to you, Yun Che? If you let her live, she'll kill again. If you kill her, at least the world will be safe. You can't have both."
Yun Che's eyes stayed fixed on the golden figure above. "I'll figure something out. I'm not killing her."
Jasmine crossed her arms, crimson eyes narrowing. "You're impossible. You think you can save everyone. But when mercy fails—"
He interrupted softly, "Then I'll make sure it doesn't."(Besides… how would I explain it to Little Fairy?)
Jasmine exhaled in defeat, the tension easing into quiet worry. "If things go beyond control… you know what you have to do."
"I will." He nodded once, firm.
Above them, the energy finally stilled. The transformation was complete.'Chu Yueli' hovered in the air, wrapped in spiraling energy spheres that shimmered with Isu runes. Her aura pulsed with overwhelming might—the half-step into the Tyrant Profound Realm complete.
She looked down at him, golden eyes gleaming with disdain and hunger.
"You will become my next vessel." Her voice carried a metallic echo. "That so-called Moon Empress might have been my previous shell, but you—your body is stronger, more refined. I will tear this place apart to retrieve my device, and when I do, I will reclaim my comrades and bend this entire world beneath our dominion."
Yun Che's gaze darkened. "Comrades… your world. So that's how it is."
His fingers tightened on Yoru's hilt. Enough was enough.There would be no reasoning—only truth to drag from this pretender.
He took a breath. Then, in a voice smooth and cold as midnight steel, he spoke once more—this time in the language of the Isu.
"I'll ask you again," he said evenly. "Who are you?"
The chamber fell utterly still.
Jasmine blinked. "What did you just—? Yun Che, what language was that?"
He didn't answer her. His gaze was locked on the stunned face of the being hovering above.
The golden aura flickered. The entity that wore Chu Yueli's body stared at him with wide, glowing eyes."You… you speak our tongue?"
Her voice trembled for the first time. "Impossible! A mortal? No human could ever—how did you learn the Speech of Eden?!"
Yun Che's tone remained calm. "I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours."
For a moment, silence stretched—then she laughed, cold and sharp like breaking glass."Very well, mortal. Since you are destined to become my vessel, I shall indulge your dying curiosity."
She raised her chin, her voice reverberating across the dome.
"I am one of the Nine Great Warriors—high members of the Isu race of Eden. You may call me… Ares."
Yun Che's eyes narrowed at the name.Ares.The resonance of it sent a chill through him. The arrogance, the certainty—it all fit the pieces he'd learned from the fragments of Isu records.
Then her next words made his blood run cold.
"For too long I have been trapped in this woman's shell. I will not remain in it much longer."
A spark went off in Yun Che's mind. So the soul… is male?