The geniuses of the Upper Three Realms watched from a safe distance, their scalps numb with shock.
This Breath of Ice was simply too terrifying. Even though Su Liu’er belonged to the Yao Realm, even her fellow yao were shocked despite themselves.
They might be yao, too, but they weren’t foxes.
Su Liu’er’s Breath of Ice wasn’t just a shock to the gods and demons. It was a shock to yao of other clans, too.
“Are these seriously fellow participants in the Battle of Geniuses? We’re supposed to fight with her? Isn’t that just throwing our lives away?” Someone in the crowd couldn’t help but complain. In truth, Su Liu’er’s Breath of Ice had scared him out of his wits.
The icy wind had chased them thousands of meters away, but even then, whenever the ice picked up even a little, they still had to scoot backwards.
This Breath of Ice made it clear to everyone just who was strong and who was weak.
The weaker participants had no choice but to retreat continuously, while the stronger participants could fend off the worst of the chill. They didn’t need to retreat anywhere near as far.
“Hey, what are those guys even doing here?” Li Hu swung his arms and used his divine power to maintain his body heat. At the same time, he glanced at the shivering group behind them. “Aren’t they just throwing their lives away participating in this event?”
“Who are you to talk?” Jiang Yong glared at him. “That Queen of the Foxes and Holy Maiden are fellow participants in the Battle of Geniuses. The Fox Queen sent you scrambling with a single breath. Compared to them, aren’t we just throwing our lives away too?”
“We might not be able to take first place, but we’re better than most!” Li Hu held onto his optimism and grinned broadly. “But those two really are a bit overly strong. Weren’t they all supposed to be Diviners? But how is that…”
“Diviners go from stage one all the way to peak ninth-stage diviners, you know,” said Murong Xue.
“….”
Anti-Upheaval, the Aspirations Society, the Appearance Association, and the Navigators all rolled their eyes.
They’d thought that, with Jiang Wei on their side, they might stand a fighting chance, but now…
“Isn’t competing a waste of time? The demons and yao must have arranged this on purpose to make the gods look bad. Those two are putting on an act to intimidate the rest of us. Who can stop them now?”
“She’s standing right in front of us,” said Murong Xue, indicating with her lips.
Jiang Yong looked over and saw Liu Qing of the Four Directions Palace. Unlike the others, she’d stopped retreating after the first thousand meters. Blue fire surrounded her, and it was hard to tell at a glance whether it was ice or flames. It formed a barrier, preventing the Breath of Ice from drawing even the slightest bit closer.
“All three of them are monsters.” Li Hu sighed with emotion.
This Battle of Geniuses was a huge shock. He’d thought himself rather talented, but compared to those three….
He was nothing but dregs!
…..
“Now this is what the Breath of Ice is supposed to feel like.” As the tornados appeared, the Holy Maiden nodded despite herself. She waved her hands, and a few black curtains appeared around her.
When the ice bore into the curtains, it seemed to warp through space. it disappeared, then landed hundreds of meters away.
It was then that….
The grinning Holy Maiden’s expression changed abruptly. The black curtains, which she’d only just put up around her, faded.
She frantically grabbed her hair as if she’d gone mad. Her pupils flitted between purple and black, back and forth and back and forth. Without the curtains’ protection, the Breath of Ice took its toll. Ice snaked up her body, gradually thickening around her.
Before long, it had surrounded her completely. The Holy Maiden, now an ice statue, slammed into the dirt.
Even Su Liu’er was startled. From up close, she sensed the change clearly: all of a sudden, the Holy Maiden’s cultivation seemed unstable. It seemed to bob up and down unpredictably.
After encasing the Holy Maiden in ice, Su Liu’er subconsciously withdrew her attack.
“Holy Maiden!” The demon experts, who’d been watching this whole time, instantly rushed over. One of the visiting demon rulers was visibly shaken and furious, but before he could do anything, a yao ruler held him back.
“What’s going on?” Li Hu stared in wide-eyed astonishment. She was fine just a few seconds ago. How did she become an ice sculpture so suddenly? “That Fox Queen is too terrifying! Not even the Holy Maiden is a match for her!”
“No, that’s not it!” Jiang Wei and Ye Zichen shouted simultaneously. “Take a closer look.”
Su Liu’er and the Holy Maiden’s fight now seemed rather anti-climatic. Or rather, the Holy Maiden didn’t seem to live up to her reputation.
She acted all tough, like she could see through everything, but in the end, she’d still become an ice sculpture, hadn’t she?
“Holy Maiden!” A few thousand meters was nothing to a sky supreme; they could traverse it in seconds. The other demons rushed over, only to see that their Holy Maiden had truly frozen into an ice statue.
“She’s really frozen!” Li Hu clucked his tongue.
Su Liu’er landed on the ground as well.
“Queen of the Foxes, are you trying to start a war with the entire demon race? Hurry up and unseal our Holy Maiden! Otherwise, once we report to the Demon Emperor, you’ll bring about your doom. Our demon armies will flatten your entire Yao Realm!” A demon roared in fury. They didn’t dare rashly attempt to break the ice.
No one knew just how cold or pervasive the ice was. What if they damaged the Holy Maiden while trying to free her? What if they cracked her along with the ice, shattering her into ice crystals?
They couldn’t possibly take responsibility for something like that.
“Are you talking to me?” With a single glare, a chill rose in that demon’s heart. He was just about to speak, but he forced the words back down.
However, at that moment….
Crunch.
The ice encasing the Holy Maiden started to crack. The cracks spread, until finally… the ice shattered.
The Holy Maiden laughed and stepped out of the ice. Excitement brimmed in the demons’ eyes, while the yao and gods were stunned.
“What happened?” Su Liu’er asked coolly.
“Just a little accident.” The Holy Maiden chuckled. “Just now, my Little Cutie fought for control of our body, and she was unusually determined. It took me a second to suppress her; she came this close to succeeding.”
“At a time like this…?”
“That’s right. My little cutie wants to take your Breath of Ice as an opportunity to commit suicide! That way, she can drag me down with her. Sometimes, his timid little girl can be quite crazy. Fortunately, all girls have their weaknesses, and I know hers. That’s why I can always seize back control, even if it’s difficult sometimes,” said the Holy Maiden. “That was dangerous, though. If I’d been just a bit later, I might truly have frozen to death.”
Ye Zichen watched from a distance. He’d seized up and frozen in place as he watched the Holy Maiden in disbelief.
Others might not know who her “Little Cutie” was, but he knew.
The one fighting with the Holy Maiden for control of her body was the real Sun Yige!
That meant that Sun Yige wanted to die!
