The youth flicked his sword fingers and uttered a single word: "Go."
The ice crystal longsword trembled slightly. Without any visible preparation, it transformed into a brilliant blue streak, meeting the three terrifying lightning spears head-on!
Under Yu Chenzi's disbelieving gaze, that brilliant blue streak moved as gracefully as a butterfly flitting through flowers, so fast that even spiritual sense could barely track its trajectory.
It didn't clash directly with the lightning spears. Instead, at the last possible moment, it flashed through the gaps between the three spears!
Then, a scene that left everyone dumbstruck unfolded!
The three imposing lightning spears seemed to be instantly frozen by an invisible cold current, their forward momentum halting abruptly. The violent cyan lightning dancing across their surfaces rapidly dimmed and solidified.
Then, with three soft sounds, all three spears simultaneously broke in half at their centers, the cross-sections smooth as mirrors. They then collapsed into countless ice-blue points of light, silently annihilated!
As if they weren't powerful lightning techniques at all, but three fragile icicles!
"What?!" Yu Chenzi's pupils contracted to pinpoints as he cried out in shock.
His full-powered strike had been so effortlessly neutralized? How was this possible?! What kind of sword was that?! What kind of sword technique?!
The youth still stood suspended in the air. His sword fingers guided once more. The ice crystal longsword traced an elegant arc through the air, hovering before him with its tip pointing at Yu Chenzi from afar, its cold intent locking onto his soul.
"You..." Alarm bells rang wildly in Yu Chenzi's heart as an unprecedented sense of crisis enveloped him.
He no longer dared underestimate his opponent. With a furious roar, the golden core within him spun frantically as vast spiritual energy surged forth. A jade-green treasure armor instantly covered his entire body. Simultaneously, his hands formed seals as he summoned his natal magical treasure.
An ancient copper mirror carved with thunder patterns—the Zhenlei Mirror!
The copper mirror rose into the air, lightning surging across its surface, transforming into a pillar of cyan lightning as thick as a barrel, incomparably condensed, carrying the might to destroy everything as it blasted toward the youth! This was one of his trump cards, far more powerful than the earlier lightning spears!
Facing this even more terrifying strike, a hint of seriousness finally flickered in the youth's eyes.
His joined sword fingers slowly rose. The hovering ice crystal longsword hummed in response, the water-like radiance on its blade flowing faster as an even more vast, even purer frost sword intent soared skyward!
"Sword Three, Frozen Tomb."
The youth's cold voice rang out, devoid of any worldly emotion.
The ice crystal longsword moved.
This time, its speed didn't seem fast at all. Everyone could clearly see the trajectory it carved through the air.
Wherever the blade passed, space itself seemed to freeze, leaving behind a crystalline ice trail.
The sword tip lightly touched the foremost point of the raging cyan lightning pillar.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no blinding light.
That terrifying lightning pillar, powerful enough to destroy mountains, the instant it contacted the sword tip, became covered from end to end in a layer of brilliant blue ice crystals at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The freezing advance was unstoppable, surging backward along the lightning pillar, rushing toward the Zhenlei Mirror behind it!
"No!" Yu Chenzi was scared out of his wits. He could feel his connection to the Zhenlei Mirror being rapidly severed and frozen by a terrifying cold! He tried to recall his treasure, but it was too late!
"Crack..."
The Zhenlei Mirror, along with the lightning pillar it had unleashed, was completely frozen in an instant, transformed into a massive, lifelike ice sculpture, maintaining its attacking posture as it hung suspended in the air.
The lightning on the mirror's surface was completely solidified, without the slightest spiritual fluctuation remaining.
Having his natal magical treasure instantly frozen, Yu Chenzi felt as if struck by a heavy blow. He spat out a large mouthful of blood, his aura instantly weakening, his face pale as paper, his eyes filled with boundless terror and disbelief.
This youth... what kind of monster was he?! Foundation Establishment? Impossible! What Foundation Establishment cultivator could freeze a Golden Core cultivator's natal magical treasure with a single sword strike?!
The youth withdrew his sword fingers, and the ice crystal longsword chimed softly, flying back to his side. Without even glancing at the frozen Zhenlei Mirror, his gaze fell once more on Yu Chenzi, who was suffering backlash and paralyzed with fear.
"Hurting my sister is unforgivable." The youth slowly raised his hand, fingers joined like a sword once more.
Yu Chenzi's soul nearly fled his body. Where would he still harbor any thoughts of revenge?
This young sword cultivator was too terrifying. His sword dao was simply unheard of! If he stayed any longer, death was certain!
"Flee!" Without hesitation, not even caring about his frozen natal magical treasure, he bit down hard on his tongue tip. A mouthful of vital blood mixed with fragments of his golden core essence sprayed out, transforming into a dense blood light that enveloped him.
Blood Escape Technique! A life-saving secret art that damaged one's foundation but offered extreme speed!
The blood light flashed, and Yu Chenzi's figure instantly vanished from the spot, leaving only a venomous and fearful howl echoing above the swamp: "Bai family brat! I, Yu Chenzi, will remember today's grudge! The Zixiao Yu Family will never rest until you're all dead!"
The blood light shot toward the horizon at an incredible speed, becoming a tiny dot in the blink of an eye before disappearing completely.
The youth didn't pursue. He merely glanced indifferently at the direction Yu Chenzi had fled, letting out a cold snort: "Pathetic clown."
With a wave of his hand, the frozen Zhenlei Mirror and cyan lightning pillar ice sculpture rapidly shrank, becoming palm-sized as they fell into his hand. He then casually tucked them into his sleeve.
Having done this, the soaring, piercing sword intent around the youth instantly withdrew without a trace, and he returned to that slightly naive, handsome appearance.
His form flickered as he descended beside the ice-blue sword curtain protecting Bai Qingxue.
The sword curtain dissipated.
The youth quickly walked to Bai Qingxue's side. Seeing her pale face and wounds covering her body, his eyes instantly reddened, his voice choking: "Sister! How are you? I'm sorry, I came too late!"
Bai Qingxue looked at her brother before her—familiar yet somehow different. Her heart was filled with mixed emotions: relief at surviving the disaster, warmth at seeing family, and shock at the astonishing strength her brother had displayed.
She forced a smile, raising her hand to pat her brother's head, but winced as the movement aggravated her injuries: "Wuhen... you've grown up, and become so much stronger."
– Marinien
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