The battlefield was chaos incarnate—gods roaring, lightning crashing, Death Queen cackling as she turned divine armor into modern art via poison.
Then Li Qing raised one hand.
And the world stopped.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
Ice erupted in fractal waves, flash-freezing:
A mid-swing war god's axe
A squadron of charging celestial soldiers
The Death Queen's half-thrown dagger (she looked mildly impressed)
Even sound itself, trapping war cries in crystalline suspension
The result?
A 10,000-piece war sculpture exhibit, titled:
"The Folly of Divinity (And Also That One Guy Mid-Sneeze)."
THE ART CRITICS ARRIVE
Within minutes, interdimensional portals spat out:
A three-eyed being scribbling notes on "transient violence as aesthetic."
A floating orb judging "compositional balance of agony vs. irony."
A bard trying to lick the frozen explosions for "inspiration." (Li Qing froze his tongue to a statue for safety.)
Reviews Were Mixed:
"The emotional depth of this ice-encased war cry speaks to me."
"The Death Queen's dagger placement lacks thematic subtlety."
"Why is there a frozen meatball in the corner?" (Luo Feng: "Snack for later.")
THE AFTERMATH
As the ice thawed (slowly, for dramatic effect):
The war god forgot he was angry and asked for an autograph.
The Death Queen stole a critic's notebook to "correct their notes."
The celestial soldiers, once thawed, demanded union rights.
Li Qing, dusting frost off her sleeves: "Art is warfare by other means."
[New Ability Unlocked: "Aesthetic Absolute Zero"]
[Side Effect: Random bystanders now critique Luo Feng's combat form as "derivative."]
The plush demons opened a souvenir stand selling mini ice replicas.
END OF CHAPTER 72