Ma Bingxue and Shen Yuan stood less than ten meters apart, their yin auras fully flared. Yin qi surged like an endless tide, turning the air heavy and biting. Frost crept across space itself.
Both of them raised their right fists.
Blue light gathered instantly, dense yin condensing until their fists looked as if they had been carved from ancient ice. In the next heartbeat, they moved.
Boom—!
Their fists collided.
A deafening sound echoed as a ring of pure yin shockwaves erupted outward. The shockwave spread in all directions, freezing everything within a radius of ten kilometers. Rivers locked into solid ice mid-flow. Forests became brittle statues. Even the air shattered with cracking sounds as frost layered upon frost.
The clash had barely ended when Shen Yuan raised his other fist, his intent clean and merciless.
Ma Bingxue reacted instantly.
She leapt upward in a smooth arc, flipping over Shen Yuan's head. Her robe fluttered as she passed above him, frost scattering like snowflakes—
—but Shen Yuan didn't look surprised.
His foot snapped upward.
A brutal kick shot toward her like a spear.
Ma Bingxue twisted midair and countered with her own kick. Foot met Foot, the collision producing a sharp crack that rippled through the air. The force sent both of them sliding back slightly—
—and in that instant, Shen Yuan's palm shot out.
He grabbed her foot.
His grip was ironclad.
Before Ma Bingxue could react, Shen Yuan twisted his waist and threw her.
Her body became a streak of blue as she smashed into a distant mountain.
Boom!
The peak shattered on impact. The summit collapsed inward as Ma Bingxue vanished into stone and debris. For several seconds, there was only silence, broken by the slow settling of rubble.
Ma Bingxue lay stunned, her senses momentarily disoriented.
Then—
The mountain rumbled.
Cracks spread rapidly across its surface, glowing faintly blue from within. In the next moment, the entire mountain exploded outward.
Ma Bingxue emerged from the debris, her figure walking calmly through falling boulders. An amused smile curved her lips. Her right fist glowed fiercely with yin qi, and the pressure alone emanating from it crushed the remaining fragments of the mountain into dust.
She lifted her gaze.
Shen Yuan was already coming at her.
She shot toward him as well.
Shen Yuan moved to the side, their figures blurring as they began exchanging rapid barrages of fists and kicks. Each strike carried a terrifying force. Their bodies flashed across the sky, colliding, separating, then colliding again.
Below them, the earth suffered.
Mountains flattened under invisible pressure. The earth cracked and sank, forming massive depressions as shockwaves hammered downward again and again.
Ma Bingxue blocked another punch from Shen Yuan—
—and at that exact moment, Shen Yuan smirked.
His right foot snapped forward.
The kick struck her squarely, sending her hurtling downward like a falling star.
Ma Bingxue steadied herself midair just before hitting the ground. Her expression hardened. She raised her hands and began forming seals, movements swift and precise.
Yin qi surged wildly.
The earth trembled as an enormous mountain-shaped seal of yin materialized above her. It was colossal—stretching across the sky, easily rivaling the surrounding mountain ranges.
With another gesture, Ma Bingxue sent it crashing down.
The massive seal descended toward Shen Yuan, slowly.
Then—it accelerated.
In less than a breath of time, the seal slammed down.
BOOM—!
The ground shook violently. Shockwaves rippled outward, crushing everything nearby. Ma Bingxue smirked, then frowned slightly.
'This can't be enough.'
Outside the pocket world, the mortal audience erupted.
Those cheering for Ma Bingxue shouted and laughed in wild ecstasy. Those few supporting Shen Yuan fell silent, their faces pale, as if they themselves had been crushed beneath the seal.
On the energy platform, sect leaders watched closely. Some smirked. Others remained expressionless.
Zhou Xiaosi, seated among Fengyue's delegations, let out a grudging smirk. "Shen Yuan really does have some good tricks," he muttered.
Inside the pocket world, the massive seal suddenly shuddered.
At first, it trembled slowly.
Then violently.
The entire structure began to rise.
Cracks spread across its surface as something beneath it pushed upward.
Ma Bingxue's eyes narrowed.
With a thunderous sound, Shen Yuan emerged from beneath the seal, his arms raised, lifting it. Blood trickled from the corners of his lips, staining his chin.
He looked at her with a smile that was not a smile.
"Damned woman," he muttered.
His arms flexed.
The mountain seal cracked.
Ma Bingxue's eyes widened.
In the next instant, the seal shattered completely, exploding into countless fragments of yin that scattered across the sky.
Shen Yuan shot forward.
A beam of pure yin erupted from his fist, striking Ma Bingxue directly.
However…, nothing happened.
The beam dissipated harmlessly.
Shen Yuan quickly halted fifteen steps away, his brows furrowing deeply.
Ma Bingxue smirked knowingly. "Yin won't work on me," she said calmly. "At least, not your yin qi. If you want to defeat me, you'll need to use something else."
Shen Yuan frowned. He didn't understand why his yin qi was ineffective, he had injured her before. But one thing was clear.
His yin techniques were useless here.
Ma Bingxue raised her right arm.
An overwhelming amount of yin qi gathered around her, swirling violently. Slowly, it took shape, forming a thirty-foot-long dragon of ice.
The dragon roared, its cry echoing across the pocket world, shaking the sky itself.
Shen Yuan stared at it, pondering briefly.
"Explain," he said. "Why can I injure you, yet my yin doesn't affect you?"
Ma Bingxue shrugged casually. "Fine. I will explain, if you can make me bleed."
Shen Yuan smirked faintly. He raised one arm toward the sky, bit his lip, and spat a drop of blood into a cloud above.
The cloud absorbed it.
Instantly, it darkened.
Nearby clouds followed, turning pitch-black as red thunder rumbled within them. The air filled with a peculiar, metallic scent—like blood.
The dark clouds descended, stopping just a few feet above Shen Yuan. In mere breaths, they condensed into the shape of a dragon.
Its eyes and maw glowed with red thunder.
The two dragons eyed each other in silence.
Then Ma Bingxue and Shen Yuan pointed at each other simultaneously.
The dragons rushed forward.
They clashed head-on, maws snapping.
They moved so fast that no mortal—and not even Nirvana cultivators outside, could see them at all.
After several seconds, they stopped, hovering a hundred feet above the ground.
The cloud dragon's body was partially frozen.
The yin dragon's body showed signs of melting.
They roared at each other.
The yin dragon surged forward, condensed yin blazing in its maw.
The cloud dragon responded, red thunder gathering densely in its mouth.
They collided.
The sky seemed to lose all color, turning pale blue and red.
The attacks consumed each other instantly.
BOOM—!
A catastrophic explosion followed.
Shockwaves tore through the heavens, vaporizing clouds into smoke within hundreds of kilometers of range.
Outside, mortals gasped in awe and fear.
Inside the pocket world—
Ma Bingxue's eyes widened.
Shen Yuan had appeared right in front of her.
She had been too focused on the collision.
There was no room to dodge.
Instinctively, she formed an invisible barrier of yin.
Shen Yuan opened his mouth.
"Demonic Roar!"
He roared.
The sound was sickening— it sounded less like a roar and more like a monstrous screech. The force slammed into Ma Bingxue, sending her crashing across multiple mountain ranges.
The surface of thousands of kilometers was ravaged.
Only after several breaths did the roar stop.
Ma Bingxue staggered upright, dusting dirt from her robes. Then she coughed violently, blood spilling from her lips.
Shen Yuan appeared before her.
"I made you bleed," he said calmly. "Time to fulfill your part of the deal."
She smirked and wiped the blood away. "Very well."
She explained. "The Extreme Cold State is very versatile. It has multiple levels. Each higher level is immune to anything a lower level can do—and can affect lower levels freely. Yin immunity exists at all levels."
Shen Yuan listened silently, his expression plain.
After a pause, he asked, "How do you tell the difference?"
"Simple," she replied. "A higher level can see the yin qi and meridians of a lower one."
Shen Yuan's gaze turned inward, a trace of frost in his eyes.
'So that's how it is. In my pursuit of deeper dao comprehension and the Elysian Realm, I neglected the other aspects of my cultivation. A mistake on my part... one that nearly cost me far too many opportunities.'
Ma Bingxue began forming seals again.
Then—
A dull ache struck her head.
Though, she ignored it.
Then a sharp pain pierced her chest, one she couldn't ignore.
She looked down.
A finger-sized hole burned through her chest, filled with jade-colored flames.
She turned around to see who attacked her.
What she saw made her blood run cold.
It was another Shen Yuan who stood behind her.
She turned her head forward—
—and the Shen Yuan she had been fighting began turning into gas.
At that moment, she finally realized that the one she was fighting was in reality an illusion!
The illusion dissolved completely.
Outside, mortals erupted into shocked murmurs.
Some discussed why that Shen Yuan dissolved, some had figured it out, while some were still confused.
"Wait—wait, there's two of him now?! Which one's the real Young Master Shen? Somebody tell me I'm not seeing double, I am not drinking ever again."
"Old Li, pinch me. Tell me you saw two of him too. Tell me one didn't just dissolve in front of the whole damn colosseum."
"Stop panicking, it's clear that the one that woman was fighting was a fake of some kind or why would that Shen Yuan vanish?"
Inside the pocket world, Ma Bingxue struggled to stand.
Shen Yuan's voice was calm. "I stood here the entire time, yet you never sensed me. Such arrogance is truly a rare gift... to me."
Her face twisted in fury, she screamed and lunged—
Shen Yuan raised two fingers.
The flames turned dark blue.
Pain tore through her body, spirit, and soul.
In seconds, Ma Bingxue vanished into nothingness.
There was only silence, everyone stunned. Tang Jiyan and his other teammates, however, weren't too shocked. The teammates of Ma Bingxue were shaking in fear and just stood far away, afraid to aid Ma Bingxue.
A white gate appeared, signaling the end of this match.
Shen Yuan and his teammates walked out first, followed by the teammates of Ma Bingxue.
The crowd stared in stunned silence.
As they left the stage, familiar figures blocked their path.
Zhou Xiaosi, Bai Chen, Yan Bao, Yi An, Liang Mang and Ruo Xiulan.
Zhou Xiaosi spoke first.
"We challenge you to a duel against us. The final match should be worth remembering, no?"
Shen Yuan smirked.
He turned to the World Lord. "Junior asks senior World Lord for permission for this match. However, I won't be fighting alone, Tang Jiyan will fight with me."
The World Lord, Han Bolin laughed. "Granted."
They entered the pocket world once again.
In the elders' chamber, the Spirit Ice Pavilion elder sighed. "Ruthless. Your Twin Soul Sect's disciple, this Shen Yuan is really cunning. He used the power of the devourer's mirage eye to use memories to make that illusion turn into a real entity."
The Twin Soul Sect elder cupped his fists. "Fellow elder is being too kind. A genius indeed, however… this may be where it ends."