Teacher Ian exhaled slowly as he angled his blade towards the sky.
A heavy silence fell around him while his aura gathered, condensing with frightening density.
The soldiers nearby instinctively backed away, their skin prickling beneath the pressure.
Then—
BOOM!
His sword fell once more, but this was unlike the previous strike.
A pillar of light erupted from the edge, a cutting storm that howled like thunder, crashing against the barrier with enough force to rattle the very earth.
The do convulsed.
Web-like cracks rippled outward from the impact point, spreading further than before.
The translucent light wavered, flickering as though it might extinguish at any mont.
Even Fang Yuan lifted his gaze, his expression sharpening ever so slightly.
The corner of his robe stirred in the shockwave, though his posture remained straight and calm.
The watching Fang cultivators on Coldwind’s walls whispered in alarm.
"Such power... even the barrier can’t withstand much more..."
Teacher Ian lowered his sword, chest rising with steady breaths.
His face betrayed no arrogance, only grim duty, as if he were chiseling away at an inevitability.
When the shockwaves settled, Fang Yuan’s voice drifted across the field.
Calm, steady, yet carrying a weight that pressed into every ear.
"Your sword," he said, his eyes narrowing on Ian, "is worthy of respect."
"But..." His tone deepened, cold and absolute. "Even the sharpest blade cannot cut through Heaven’s will. You are not strong enough to break what I stand behind."
Teacher Ian lifted his gaze to et Fang Yuan’s.
For the first ti, there was no smugness, no superiority, only the faintest glimr of acknowledgnt in the silence between them.
Then he raised his sword again.
"Stop," the crown prince’s voice rang out, sharp enough to halt Teacher Ian mid-swing.
From the ranks behind him, movent stirred.
A group stepped forward—won, every one of them.
Their skin was as pale as snow, their garnts just as white, and even the air around them seed to chill under their presence.
At the center walked a woman whose beauty was otherworldly and cold, her steps light as drifting frost.
Above her, an attendant shaded her with a pale parasol, while the others followed in perfect, silent formation.
The army that had been jeering only monts ago quieted.
Soldiers shifted uncomfortably, as if the re sight of the procession drew the warmth from their blood.
On the city walls, Fang Yuan’s casual poise vanished. His back straightened, eyes narrowing, his entire fra coiled with alertness.
Every breath, every movent of the pale woman was asured, yet to Fang Yuan they rang like warning bells, this was no ordinary guest.
Qin Hai spread his arms wide, pride dripping from his voice.
"Allow to introduce our honored ally—Sect Leader Xiao Bai, of the Divine Ice Sect."
The woman’s gaze lifted at last, and when her frosted eyes fell upon Fang Yuan, the temperature of the battlefield seed to plumt.
Xiao Bai stepped forward, her pale attendants parting like drifting snowflakes to either side.
Her voice, cool and elegant, carried easily across the battlefield.
"It is an honor," she said, her lips curving in a serene smile, "to finally et the fad genius of the eastern region."
Fang Yuan inclined his head slightly, hands clasped behind his back.
His tone was smooth, respectful, yet edged with quiet vigilance.
"You jest. The honor is mine, to stand before the one spoken of as the strongest cultivator in all of Tharz Kingdom."
On the surface, the exchange was flawless, courteous, yet their eyes told another story.
Xiao Bai’s gaze lingered her gaze on him, her posture graceful yet guarded, her pale fingers brushing the rim of the umbrella above her as if asuring distance and weight.
On the other hand, Fang Yuan’s smile never faltered, but his stance shifted ever so slightly shoulders squared, chin raised a fraction higher while his robes settling against him.
Xiao Bai then smiled, before she asked, "Would you be kind enough to let us in, so that we may have an amicable chat?"
The words floated gently, but both of them knew such a thing would never happen.
Fang Yuan slipped seamlessly into his own role, his expression polite, almost regretful.
"I would love to," he said smoothly, "but sadly I cannot or to be truthful, I lack the ability. You see, this barrier was crafted to keep out fools."
The crowd behind the crown prince bristled at the insult, but Xiao Bai only chuckled,na quiet, chilling sound like breaking ice.
She turned to her attendants with a graceful flick of her sleeve.
"Tell our girls to fall back."
They bowed silently and withdrew, gliding behind the ranks of the royal army.
And then the temperature plumted.
Frost swept across the ground outside the barrier, creeping over steel and leather. Soldiers shivered as their breath turned to mist.
Unlike with Teacher Ian, Fang Yuan did not stand idle this ti. His hand lifted, golden radiance blooming from his palm.
Rings of light, hundreds of them flared into existence and hovered in the air above him.
Golden Shell Armor—Second Form: Bravery.
The orbs floated like a constellation, each ready to descend at a single thought.
anwhile the sky was a magnificent view. With elegant precision, Xiao Bai drew her sword.
Her movents were like flowing snow, refined and unhurried.
In an instant, the gathered cold around her condensed into countless icicles, a frozen storm that rained down upon the barrier.
But Fang Yuan’s hand moved like a conductor’s.
The golden circles shot forward at lightning speed, intercepting each shard that pierced through the do.
The clash of ice and light cracked through the air like thunder, sparks and frost scattering in every direction.
And then, without hesitation, Fang Yuan’s other hand clenched.
Golden Shell Armor—Third Form: Take Back What’s Yours!
The golden circles pulsed and then the energy snapped back, rebounding every shred of damage toward its source, thrice the damage.
The crowd watched in stunned silence as the storm of ice twisted, reversed, and slamd straight into Xiao Bai.
She staggered.
Blood burst from her lips in a sudden, startling spray, staining her white robes crimson.
The gasp that tore from the royal army was deafening.
Even Qin Hai, who had carried himself with smug confidence until now, froze wide-eyed.
Sect Leader Xiao Bai, the one he had believed to be untouchable, nigh invincible was bleeding before his very eyes.
On the other hand, Fang Yuan’s eyes narrowed as he kept staring hard at Xiao Bai.
To the crowd, Sect Leader Xiao Bai still looked wounded, blood blooming across her pale garnts.
Yet to him, standing at the Hollow Spirit Realm, his eyes could see much more than normal.
Beneath the crimson stains, her flesh was knitting itself back together.
Torn skin nded in an instant. Muscles sealed shut as though they had never been cut.
Even the blood, still dripping fresh, felt like nothing more than a curtain concealing the reality underneath.
For the first ti that day, Fang Yuan’s expression lost its lazy composure.
His shoulders straightened, and the faint smile that lingered earlier was gone.
He stood in complete readiness, every thread of his qi coiled tight.
Because unlike the others, he knew..
Sect Leader Xiao Bai had not truly been wounded.
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