Snow whirled across the sky like a thousand blades, steeped in a chilling, murderous air.
Though the shadow of the Ice Devil Titan King had not yet faded, a new bloodstorm swept across the Extreme North icefield.
Shui Bing'er and her six companions, together with Oscar, searched desperately for Li Zhexian, who had been abducted by the Ice Devil Titan King.
Snow Bear and Ever Frost Rose Mercenary Groups had unexpectedly volunteered to join the rescue.
The Snow Bear group acted out of old friendship—
a gesture that could be called righteous.
But the eagerness of the Ever Frost Rose carried a venomous chill beneath its surface.
Especially now—after the Frost Fang Mercenary Group had been completely annihilated, and the Snow Bear Group had lost more than seventy percent of its members to the Ice Devil Titan.
Yet everyone's hearts were fixed on Li Zhexian's safety, and none thought too deeply about the rest.
When dawn broke,
the Snowbear mercenaries' vigilance finally cracked under exhaustion.
Shhh—!
A cold light suddenly cut through the wind and snow.
"Ahhh!"
Snow Bear's robust body staggered backward, the wound on his chest, which he pressed with his palm, was deep enough to see bone, and hot blood splattered onto the snow.
His eyes bulged with fury, fixed upon the silver-haired woman holding the blade.
"Red Widow—you bitch, you're courting death!"
The leader of the Ever Frost Rose sneered coldly, a bead of blood dripping from her blade's tip.
This woman was something of a legend in the northern mercenary world.
Years ago, her bridal carriage was robbed.
That very night, she became the sixth wife of a mercenary commander.
Ten years of silent endurance—
Then one night, she rose in revolt, slew her husband, and seized his power.
From that day on,
she was called the Red Widow—
and the souls of the men who died under her blade
were said to be more numerous than the ice thorns of the North.
"Snow Bear," she sneered, licking the blood from her knife,
"for someone so old, you've gone soft."
"You deserved to be fed to a Spirit Beast."
At her signal,
over twenty mercenaries of the Ever Frost Rose encircled their foes.
Blades gleamed beneath the cold moonlight,
trapping the remaining Snow Bear mercenaries
and Shui Bing'er's seven girls within a deadly ring.
"Red Widow!" Snow Bear roared, coughing blood.
"Aren't you afraid of Skywater Academy's retaliation if you kill their students?!"
The Red Widow rested her blade against her shoulder and sneered.
"The timid starve, and the bold feast."
"You've grown old and cowardly, Snow Bear."
Shui Bing'er's pale fingers clenched into her palm until they bled.
With Li Zhexian's life still uncertain,
how could she tolerate this madness any longer?
"Enough—get out of our way!"
Her sharp shout startled everyone present—
even her companions, Shui Yue'er and the others,
had rarely seen her lose composure like this.
The Red Widow gave a mocking laugh.
"If there were more eyes watching,
perhaps I'd hesitate to touch a Skywater student."
"But now…"
Her gaze swept over the empty snowfields,
killing intent blazing in her eyes.
"If I bury you all here in the depths of the Extreme North,
who would ever know it was me?"
"When Skywater Academy asks, I'll say—
you were torn apart by Spirit beasts."
"Even the Spirit Hall—"
A piercing cry! split the air, cutting her words short.
The Ice Phoenix's cry.
"Fifth Spirit Ability—Wrath of Winter!"
"Xue Wu! Prepare the Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"
The Red Widow's expression changed slightly.
She hadn't expected these Skywatyer girls to erupt so suddenly.
Boom—!
Boom—!
In the blink of an eye, Spirit Abilities collided, shattering the snowscape.
Scarlet blood splashed across the white expanse like spilled ink.
Fortunately, the lingering aura of the Ice Devil Titan King on everyone kept other Spirit Beasts away from such a fierce confrontation.
After several violent exchanges,
The Snow Bear mercenaries fell one after another.
Shui Bing'er's team of seven was all bloodstained.
The Ever Frost Rose lost several as well.
If the fight continued—
Both sides would perish.
However—
The Red Widow, already blinded by bloodlust,
only grew more feral as the cold wind whipped the scent of blood into the air.
"Kill them all!" she screamed.
"Leave no one alive!"
Blades gleamed amid the blood mist, ready to clash again—
Then, suddenly—
The howling snow fell silent.
Crunch…
Crunch…
The sound of boots pressing into snow.
Clear and crisp, cutting through the whispering wind.
"Who's there?!"
Everyone turned sharply toward the sound.
Through the swirling snow,
some dozens of meters away,
a tall, slender figure loomed—
the hem of his black cloak flapping in the gale.
"Huh?!"
The Red Widow's pupils contracted sharply.
A chill colder than death itself burst open in Red Widow's heart.
The next instant—
Something changed.
The snowflakes drifting around her suddenly froze midair.
Then, with a blinding flash of light, they transformed—
into thousands of razor-sharp ice blades,
each one whistling through the air, splitting even the wind into fine cracks.
Everyone's faces turned pale.
Dozens of meters ahead, the figure in the black cloak seemed to shatter into snow and vanish.
"Retreat! Fall back—now!"
Red Widow's scream tore through the blizzard.
But her command came too late.
Swordlight streaked through the storm like death's own scythe—
each time the cloaked figure reappeared,
each step he took brought forth a burst of blood within five paces.
The mercenaries of the Ever Frost Rose fell one after another,
cut down like wheat before the reaper.
Crimson blood splashed across the pale snow,
blooming like a field of monstrous scarlet plum blossoms.
"You—!"
Red Widow's eyes widened in fury—
But before the words could leave her lips,
the dark figure was already before her.
The sword's edge hovered three inches from her brow.
Pure, instinctive terror exploded within her soul.
She screamed, burning every ounce of her Spirit Power in desperation.
"Seventh Spirit Ability—Martial Soul True Body!"
A gigantic ice rose burst into bloom behind her,
its petals spinning like blades, slicing toward the black-cloaked figure.
Clang—!
A clear, ringing sword cry swept across the frozen plain.
All eyes widened as a streak of blue-gold light carved through the snowstorm.
The ten-meter-tall Ice Rose was sliced cleanly in half.
The backlash of her shattered Martial Soul struck Red Widow like lightning—
she vomited blood, and a flash of searing pain tore across her waist.
A deep sword mark—so deep the bone gleamed beneath—
split her from side to side.
Blood poured out like a waterfall, soaking through her armor.
…
Li Zhexian turned slowly,
the Qinglian Sword angled downward,
its crimson tip dripping blood drop by drop into the snow.
Each droplet sank silently,
leaving no stain upon the immaculate blade.
The survivors—Shui Bing'er and her six teammates, Oscar,
and the remaining Snow Bear mercenaries—
could only stare at the black-cloaked youth before them,
their faces filled with awe and disbelief.
Suddenly, behind him—
Red Widow, lying in her own blood, lurched upright.
Her blood-stained fingers dug deep into the snow,
her torn waist wound splitting wider, gushing anew—
yet she felt no pain, driven by a mercenary's dying madness.
She snatched up the broken blade beside her.
With a feral roar, she lunged at Li Zhexian's back.
"Die!!!"
The shriek of steel slicing through air
mingled with the cries of Shui Bing'er and the others.
"Li Zhexian! Behind you—!"
Li Zhexian didn't even twitch an eyebrow.
Upon the Qinglian Sword,
a snow-gold soul ring shimmered into existence.
"Fifth Spirit Ability—Yazi's Judgment."
A roar like a wrathful divine beast shook the frozen plains.
"ROAR—!"
Red Widow froze in midair,
her body locked by an invisible force.
Before the horrified eyes of all present,
the wound across her waist began to pulse—
blood threads erupted from it in torrents, weaving together madly.
The blood gathered, shaping itself—
into a phantasmal Yazi, the sword-bearing beast of vengeance.
Its blood-red eyes glared wide,
the sword clenched in its maw gleaming with murderous light.
It slashed once across Red Widow's waist—
Then the Yazi's jaws snapped shut.
SHRACK!!!
The wound on her waist exploded open—
as though torn apart from within by an unseen power.
Blood sprayed skyward.
Her body was torn clean in half—
two lifeless halves fell into the crimson snow without another sound.
Li Zhexian's gaze remained calm.
Behind him, the downpour of blood seemed but a meaningless backdrop.
He stepped forward,
approaching the stunned Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, Xue Wu, Oscar, and the others.
In his hand, the Qinglian Sword slowly melted,
turning into a handful of snow-water that trickled away into the ice.
"Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, Xue Wu... long time no see."
His voice was gentle, like the first thawing stream in spring.
It brought the stunned group back to their senses.