Yan Yue Qi's face darkened as Yan Wu Chen's Raging Wind Inferno roared toward her. Her Golden Crow Void Flame, weakened by Bing Changkong's assault, struggled to reform in time to block the sneak attack. Yan Wu Chen's savage grin widened—he'd waited for this moment. The Golden Crow Guardian Art usually made ambushing Yan Yue Qi impossible, but now, with the Golden Crow phantom diminished, his chance for a fatal strike had come.
If this hit landed, Yan Yue Qi would be gravely wounded.
Bing Changkong's smirk grew, blocking her path with a taunting glint in his eyes.
Just as Yan Wu Chen's attack closed in, a melodious flute sounded, unheralded, its notes enchanting yet serene, soothing the hearts of all who heard it.
Viu viu…
A gentle spring breeze, laced with boundless spiritual energy, pierced the void, merging with the fading Golden Crow phantom behind Yan Yue Qi.
Fire met wind.
GAY!
The Golden Crow let out a majestic cry, its golden flames surging to cover the heavens, solidifying into a form three times larger than before. Alive with newfound vitality, it glared at the treacherous Yan Wu Chen, its blazing wings sweeping forward with domineering force.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Raging Wind Inferno shattered under the wings' assault. Unrelenting, the Golden Crow extended its fiery claws, lunging at Yan Wu Chen.
"How is this possible?" The sudden turn stunned the crowd, Yan Wu Chen included.
"AAAAH!"
A scream tore through the air as the Golden Crow's claws pierced Yan Wu Chen's chest. Blood sprayed as he stumbled back, agony searing through him. Already flayed from Yan Yue Qi's earlier Thunder Flame Golden Crow Strike self-detonation, this enhanced Golden Crow attack left him critically wounded, writhing in pain.
"Spring Breeze Blessing? Third Sister?" Yan Yue Qi's grim expression transformed into a radiant smile, recognizing the technique that saved her. She turned to the newcomer.
A beauty in flowing white robes, serene eyes gleaming, her veil slightly lifted, stood with the Jade Flower Flute at her lips, its glow illuminating the battlefield.
Deep within those calm eyes, a faint ripple of emotion stirred, unnoticed by all.
Since Lan An gifted her the High-Grade Spirit artifact Jade Flower Flute, Su Mei had only refined it, never used it. Now, its first deployment astonished even her. The flute's notes amplified her techniques' speed and power exponentially, producing such a staggering effect.
Empowered by the Spring Breeze Blessing, the Golden Crow Void Flame roared with newfound vigor, its claws and wings battering Yan Wu Chen into a bloodied heap.
The events unfolded too swiftly, too dangerously. By the time the crowd regained their senses, Yan Wu Chen was coughing blood, barely alive.
"The Hundred Flowers Fairy? When did she arrive?" an onlooker gasped.
Bing Changkong's face twisted in frustration. Yan Yue Qi alone had taxed him; Su Mei's arrival made things far worse.
Su Mei ignored the stares, her gaze soft as she addressed Yan Yue Qi. "We're sisters, bound like leaves on a branch. How could I stand by while you're in danger?"
"Haha, well said! Today, we'll beat this emperor into a mangy dog!" Yan Yue Qi laughed heartily, the Thunder Emperor Scepter roaring as she charged Bing Changkong with a surge of thunder and flame.
The Purple Heart Burning Sky Flame erupted from her, aiming to obliterate the Ice Dominion once more.
Su Mei, like a barefoot immortal treading clouds, raised the Jade Flower Flute again.
Viu viu…
The melody resumed, a mystical breeze merging with the purple flames.
WHOOSH!
The Purple Heart Burning Sky Flame spread rapidly, a faint heartbeat pulsing through space as the violet fire ravaged everything. The Ice Dominion crumbled under its onslaught, evaporating before Bing Changkong's furious gaze.
BOOM!
Bing Changkong's Ice Emperor Fist Art blocked the Thunder Emperor Scepter, his voice thundering at Su Mei. "Hundred Flowers Fairy, dare to cross me? Do you want the Hundred Flowers Sect buried in the abyss?"
Viu viu…
Su Mei ignored him, her flute's notes unwavering, summoning Wood spiritual energy.
The frozen ground sprouted with life—countless saplings burst forth, growing into towering trees that pierced the sky, forming a forest spanning ten thousand miles.
Viu viu…
At Su Mei's will, the trees extended their branches toward the purple flames.
ROAR!
The forest ignited, consumed by the Purple Heart Burning Sky Flame. The blazing spectacle, both beautiful and deadly, eradicated the Ice Dominion entirely.
"The Hundred Flowers Fairy is brilliant! She used Wood to fuel the flames, destroying the Ice Dominion in moments!" an ancient cultivator marveled.
The Purple Heart Burning Sky Flame could counter the Ice Dominion, but it would have taken time. Su Mei's forest accelerated the process to near-instantaneous.
"Damn it!" Bing Changkong's rage boiled over. The Ice Dominion, his most powerful technique from the Emperor's Ice Control Scripture, had consumed immense spiritual energy to create a home-field advantage, only to be dismantled so quickly.
Yan Yue Qi grinned wickedly, slamming the Thunder Emperor Scepter down. Close combat now favored her, the enhanced Golden Crow phantom behind her tripling in ferocity. It didn't just defend—it attacked, its wings and claws relentlessly targeting Bing Changkong.
Su Mei played on, her melody fueling the Golden Crow Void Flame, amplifying its power incrementally.
Bing Changkong struggled, parrying the scepter's earth-shaking blows while dodging the Golden Crow's assaults, falling into a clear disadvantage. The loss of the Ice Dominion crippled his combat strength.
"Inferno Palm!" Yan Di, seeing their savior falter, led the elders in a desperate attack to distract Yan Yue Qi.
"This is Big Sister's fight. Stay out of it!" Su Mei thought, her flute's notes shifting.
Viu viu…
The earth quaked, a massive mountain rising to block the Inferno Palm.
BOOM!
The palm struck, sending dust and debris flying, but the mountain held firm.
"Damn it, her support abilities are terrifying!" Yan Di gritted his teeth. Su Mei's triple spiritual roots—Fire, Wood, and Wind—made her a formidable force.
"Die!" Yan Wu Chen, suppressing his injuries, rose with a final surge of power, tearing space to ambush Su Mei from behind. His Raging Wind Inferno roared, its momentum devastating.
With his Perfect Void Refinement cultivation, a direct hit could spell doom for Su Mei.
"No!" Spectators gasped, unwilling to see such a beauty fall.
Su Mei's face remained calm, as if unaware of the attack, her focus on supporting Yan Yue Qi's battle against Bing Changkong. Her own combat strength was formidable, but against a Fusion Realm expert like Bing Changkong, her support role was more effective.
"This time, no one will stop my sneak attack!" Yan Wu Chen thought venomously, his strike intensifying, shattering space as it neared Su Mei's delicate neck.
"Haha, die!" His bloodied face twisted in glee.
"Thunder Hell Seal!" a cold laugh echoed.
A pair of slender hands appeared behind Yan Wu Chen, conjuring a massive seal of fire and darkness that slammed into his ravaged body.
"No…" Yan Wu Chen's bloodshot eyes widened in terror as his body exploded into gore.
A tiny figure, a miniature Yan Wu Chen—his Nascent Soul—fled from the wreckage, desperate to escape.
Viu viu…
Su Mei's flute sang, vines sprouting from the void, swiftly ensnaring the Nascent Soul.
"Spare me… please!" Yan Wu Chen's Nascent Soul wailed, its cries chilling the crowd.
Silence fell over the battlefield. They knew who had arrived.
Three of the four disciples of the Raging Queen had united. It had been years since they fought together.
"Well done, Third Sister. Without you, Big Sister might've been seriously hurt," Qin Meng Ying said, stepping from the void with a teasing smile toward Yan Yue Qi.
"Big Sister's fighting a Fusion Realm expert without falling. I'm already in awe," Su Mei replied softly, less playful than her sisters, sighing at her own weakness.
Neither spared a glance at Yan Wu Chen's pleading Nascent Soul. His fate rested with Yan Yue Qi.
"Heh, that's because you don't love him!" Qin Meng Ying chuckled, sensing Su Mei's thoughts.
"Pfft, enough from you!" Su Mei huffed, resuming her support for Yan Yue Qi.
Qin Meng Ying shrugged, her Eight Desolations Heavenly Flame flaring as massive cyan wings formed. "Care to bet who can hurt Bing Changkong more?" she taunted Yan Yue Qi, unleashing Thunder Shakes Nine Heavens at Bing Changkong's head.
"How about who kills him?" Yan Yue Qi laughed, her eyes sparkling with joy as she swung the Thunder Emperor Scepter.
GAY!
The Golden Crow, as if cheering its master, clawed furiously at Bing Changkong.
Pfft!
Bing Changkong coughed blood, enraged. These women were using him as a training dummy? When had an emperor of a Ninth-Grade Power endured such humiliation?
"Come on, Third Sister, don't play favorites. Give me some wind!" Qin Meng Ying called playfully.
Su Mei smiled, her flute weaving a breeze that merged with Qin Meng Ying's cyan wings.
ROAR!
The Eight Desolations Heavenly Flame roared, expanding to hundreds of zhang.
"Fly!" Qin Meng Ying laughed, her wings slamming toward Bing Changkong.
"Explode!" Yan Yue Qi struck with the Thunder Emperor Scepter.
Pfft!
Bing Changkong, overwhelmed by their combined assault, took the full brunt of both attacks, spitting blood as he was hurled back.
"You banned the Thunder Fire Mysterious Art?" Qin Meng Ying sneered, her thunder and flame merging before Bing Changkong's bulging eyes.
"The Hundred Faces Fairy mastered it too?" the crowd gasped in shock.
"Thunder Fire Cage!" Qin Meng Ying shouted.
A cage of thunder and flame formed, descending toward Bing Changkong.
"Thunder Flame Golden Crow Strike!" Yan Yue Qi grinned, summoning a Golden Crow to strike once Bing Changkong was trapped.
"You'll never cage me!" Bing Changkong sneered, preparing Ice Flow Shift to escape.
Viu viu…
Su Mei's flute sang, vines sprouting to bind his legs.
"Wretch!" Bing Changkong cursed Su Mei, vowing vengeance against the Hundred Flowers Sect. His ice energy shattered the vines.
But that brief delay was enough. The Thunder Fire Cage descended, trapping him.
"He's caged!" spectators cheered, as if they'd fought themselves.
"Go!" Yan Yue Qi wasted no time, unleashing Thunder Flame Golden Crow Strike. The Golden Crow, forged of dual Strange Flames and lightning, pierced the cage.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
An explosion rivaling a nuclear blast erupted.
"AAAAAH!"
Bing Changkong's scream, heart-wrenching and soul-shattering, chilled the crowd. What could make a Fusion Realm expert cry out like that?
Yan Yue Qi and Su Mei paled, their spiritual energy nearly depleted. Yet they stood tall, refusing to show weakness before such a foe.
Qin Meng Ying, sustained by her Hundred Faces Heavenly Art, shifted faces rapidly, absorbing spiritual energy to remain vibrant.
As the thunder and flame dissipated, Bing Changkong's figure emerged.
His body was unrecognizable—skin charred, bones exposed, one leg mangled. Crawling through the sky, his eyes burned with hatred and madness.
Before the stunned trio, he produced an icy token engraved with "Emperor" and crushed it.
"Hahaha, I'll see you all dead!" Bing Changkong laughed, blood dripping, brimming with confidence.
A black void opened before him, an ancient voice radiating supreme authority. "Hm? Little Kong, what disturbs my secluded cultivation?"
Yan Yue Qi, Su Mei, and Qin Meng Ying's faces sank. The aura was overwhelming—Late Fusion Realm.
"Grandfather, help me! Their combined strength is too much!" Bing Changkong pleaded, his twisted face sneering at the trio.
The crowd swallowed hard. Bing Changkong's grandfather? The emperor two generations prior, a true ancient monster, calling him "Little Kong."
"Oh? Who dares touch my Ice Mysterious Empire? Name them, and I'll exterminate their clans!" the voice boomed, shaking the heavens.
"Yan Yue Qi, Qin Meng Ying, and Su Mei—those three wretches!" Bing Changkong snarled.
Silence.
"What's wrong, Grandfather?" Bing Changkong urged.
A withered, frost-covered hand emerged from the void, its aura trembling the heavens.
"Die, you wretches!" Bing Changkong cackled.
"Get back home!"
His laughter froze as the hand seized his neck, lifting him like a chicken and dragging him into the void.
"Mmph! Mmph!" Bing Changkong struggled, his voice muffled.
"The Ice Mysterious Empire has offended the three beloved disciples of Senior Wu. This old man will personally apologize later!"
The ancient voice echoed, and the void closed.
The crowd stood dumbfounded: "???"