Between his brows, a mark shimmered.
A beam of ice-blue aurora burst forth from the mark.
Wherever it passed, space froze in stillness, and countless energies crystallized into ice.
This was Mu Wu's strongest attack—the Ice God's forbidden technique: Light of Ice Punishment.
If the Ice God's Gaze was a formidable control ability, then the Light of Ice Punishment was pure destruction.
To be classified as an Ice God's forbidden technique was proof enough of its power.
The Light of Ice Punishment shot straight toward Ye Xishui.
Frozen in thought, Ye Xishui had no chance of evading the attack.
"Whoosh!"
The Light of Ice Punishment descended from the heavens, crashing directly onto Ye Xishui.
A series of protective light barriers lit up around her, followed by the sound of continuous explosions.
Ye Xishui was sent flying, slamming heavily into the mountains below.
The impact was no less destructive than Xuanzi's previous strike—a massive crater, dozens of meters deep, appeared where she landed. The force of the explosion sent layers of earth flying, toppling countless towering trees.
Dust and debris filled the air, momentarily obscuring the view.
Mu Wu gasped for breath, his aura beginning to waver.
The stronger the technique, the greater the cost.
After using three consecutive Ice God forbidden techniques, Mu Wu's soul power was nearly drained.
Yet he remained vigilant, eyes fixed below.
Just as he was about to disperse the smoke, a figure slowly emerged from the haze.
It was Ye Xishui.
She no longer carried the same elegant and languid demeanor from their first encounter.
Her hair was disheveled, her crimson robe in disarray. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of her lips, and her once-beautiful face was now twisted with cold fury.
She was injured.
Suspended in midair, Ye Xishui's blood-red eyes locked onto Mu Wu with a savage intensity, as if ready to devour him.
"Not bad... You destroyed three of my Rank Nine defensive soul tools and even injured my true body. You've done well."
Her voice was bone-chilling, filled with an unmistakable thirst for blood.
If it weren't for the three soul tools shattering one after another, absorbing the brunt of the damage, she would have suffered severe injuries from the Light of Ice Punishment.
The destruction of three Rank Nine defensive soul tools at once was a testament to the sheer power of Mu Wu's attack.
Even now, the thought of it made Ye Xishui's heart pound.
But that fear quickly turned into seething rage.
"Your attack was impressive... but can you still use it now?"
"As the first person to injure me, a Super Douluo, you should be proud. But… this is as far as you go."
Her voice remained icy, but her aura was rapidly surging.
A metallic clatter echoed as she donned a series of Rank Nine soul tools.
Augmented by their power, her already formidable soul force ascended to new heights.
Mu Wu's expression darkened.
A desperate, all-out attack—yet it hadn't inflicted fatal damage.
The worst had happened.
Soul tools.
An attack meant to be foolproof had been stopped by soul tools.
He had treated Ye Xishui as just another Ultimate Douluo, forgetting that she was also a nearly Rank Ten soul engineer.
When it came to soul tool mastery, even Jing Hongchen was no match for this woman.
For the first time, Mu Wu truly understood why Su Yu, despite his unmatched talent, had chosen to study soul tools.
He had always respected Su Yu but never paid much attention to soul tools himself.
What Rank Nine soul tool could withstand his Baxia True Form?
But now, Mu Wu understood.
In battle, soul tools could be decisive.
Experience was the best teacher.
If he managed to survive this, he would ask the young master for some soul tools to protect himself.
This time, he had suffered a bitter defeat at the hands of soul tools.
Now fully equipped, Ye Xishui's soul force had skyrocketed.
If she had previously been at the pseudo-Demigod level, then at this moment, her power was nearly equivalent to that of a true Demigod.
The fusion of soul tools and martial soul—this was Ye Xishui's true strength.
"It's time to send you on your way!"
Draped in blood-red armor, Ye Xishui unleashed countless crimson beams toward Mu Wu.
The sheer density of attacks blotted out the sky.
Each blood-red beam carried terrifying penetration and corrosion.
Under Ye Xishui's immense soul power, the might of her soul tools was pushed to its peak.
"Baxia True Form!"
Mu Wu once again activated his Baxia True Form, erecting a shield to resist the onslaught.
Ye Xishui sneered and struck with her palm. A tremor ran through Mu Wu's body, causing his blood to churn violently.
Boom!
With a single strike, his shield shattered.
The massive Baxia True Form was sent flying.
Ye Xishui raised a blood-colored sword and slashed downward.
A metallic clang rang out as shards of ice scattered—the Baxia True Form let out a pained wail.
Now, with an aura rivaling a Demigod, Ye Xishui's attacks were utterly overwhelming.
Mu Wu, already at his limit, was struggling desperately to hold on.
He was completely overpowered.
To make matters worse, his soul power was rapidly depleting.
His Ultimate Douluo aura was becoming increasingly unstable.
The time limit for his Ice God forbidden technique—Sublimation—was almost up.
Moments later, Mu Wu's strength plummeted, dropping from Ultimate Douluo to Half-Step Ultimate.
Where he had once barely managed to resist, now the attacks bore down on him like a collapsing mountain.
Boom!
An explosion erupted—Ye Xishui's strike forcibly ended Mu Wu's martial soul true body state.
Mu Wu coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face pale as paper as he was sent hurtling away.
"Hmph. Time to end this for good."
Behind Ye Xishui, a massive metallic cannon materialized.
A thin, dark-red energy beam began to form.
The next moment, the cannon locked onto Mu Wu.
If that beam hit him now, in his defenseless state, severe injury—if not death—was certain.
At the critical moment, a chilling voice echoed from all directions.
"Try touching him, and see what happens."
A wave of bone-chilling frost swept across the battlefield.
The incoming dark-red beam, powerful as it was, began to freeze under the overwhelming cold.
The next moment—
Boom!
The beam shattered, dissolving into countless ice shards.
"Who's there?!"
Ye Xishui's blood-red eyes flickered with vigilance.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Howling winds arose, ice and mist swirling across the sky.
A vast frozen pathway extended from the distant horizon, seemingly endless.
Ye Xishui watched warily.
A moment ago, the path was empty.
Now, a tiny black dot appeared.
The dot grew larger at an astonishing speed.
One second, it was on the horizon—
The next, it was nearly upon them.
A tall figure emerged.
He wore a long blue robe, his flowing white hair accentuating the ice-blue mark on his forehead, shaped like a silhouette of a man.
His cold, arrogant expression hinted at an unapproachable nature.
The soul-freezing chill radiating from him was terrifying beyond measure.
Ye Xishui's face grew grim.
From his aura alone, she knew—
A true Ultimate Douluo.
Someone even stronger than Mu Wu.
The figure stepped off the icy path, arriving in the sky.
With a mere wave of his hand, he pulled Mu Wu into his grasp.
Mu Wu, seeing the newcomer, let out a relieved smile.
"High Priest, you're here…"
The man—Hai Bodong—snorted.
"The young master was worried about your safety and sent me. Looks like he was right."
"Mu Wu, you're getting worse with age. Losing to an old hag like this—you've disgraced the Ice God Palace."
Mu Wu lowered his head, feeling somewhat ashamed, and said, "The High Priest is right. Today's humiliation—once I step into the realm of Ultimate Douluo—I will surely reclaim it."
Mu Wu was confident that once he reached the ultimate level with his complementary Yin-Yang dual soul cores, he would undoubtedly be able to defeat Ye Xishui. Even if Ye Xishui practiced both martial soul and soul tools, it would make no difference. This was his pride.
Hai Bodong shook his head and said indifferently, "Don't talk about the future. If nothing unexpected happens, this woman—she probably won't have a future."
Mu Wu's eyes widened abruptly. Was the High Priest planning to kill her directly?
But after thinking about it, with the High Priest's strength, even if Ye Xishui had some skills, she would hardly be able to make any waves. She might be killed here.
However, Mu Wu had no objections. A deranged lunatic like her—death was the best outcome.
"Go over there and stay put. This has nothing to do with you anymore," Hai Bodong said casually, throwing Mu Wu aside.
Mu Wu nodded and withdrew to a distance. At this moment, he was severely injured and could not indeed intervene in the battle. Moreover, he had absolute confidence in Hai Bodong—there was no one in this world the High Priest could not defeat.
After arranging for Mu Wu, Hai Bodong finally turned to look at Ye Xishui. His cold gaze made Ye Xishui's skin tingle with pain.
"You enjoyed that fight just now, didn't you?" Hai Bodong said indifferently.
Ye Xishui frowned slightly and replied, "He attacked me first, so I merely gave him a small punishment. Now that you're here, I'll give you some face—take him and leave."
The dangerous aura emanating from Hai Bodong made Ye Xishui wary. She did not want to fight him recklessly.
"I will take him, of course," Hai Bodong said. "But before I leave, I want something from you."
"What is it?" Ye Xishui asked with a hint of doubt.
"I want… your head!" Hai Bodong said, staring at Ye Xishui.
"Presumptuous! I was giving you face by letting you take him away, and yet you dare to insult me like this? Do you think my blade has gone dull?" Ye Xishui's tone turned icy, and a murderous aura surged in her eyes.
Although she was wary of Hai Bodong, she was not afraid of him.
As an Ultimate Douluo, Ye Xishui had absolute confidence in herself.
"Hah! So what if I insult you? A useless piece of trash who relies on external forces—you think you're something?" Hai Bodong sneered.
"If you refuse to be sensible, then I'll just take it myself."
With a cold laugh, Hai Bodong struck without hesitation.
He slapped down from midair, and in an instant, it was as if the sky was collapsing. A massive ice palm print shattered the void and came crashing down.
Ye Xishui's expression turned grave as she hastily launched a bloody palm strike.
The ice palm crushed the blood palm effortlessly and continued forward unhindered.
Ye Xishui was startled and quickly activated a soul skill to resist.
Boom!
With a loud impact, Ye Xishui was sent flying like a cannonball from a single slap.
The soul tools covering her body emitted sharp wails under the pressure.
Under Hai Bodong's attack, her entire set of soul tools felt like they were about to be shattered.
Just as Ye Xishui had slapped Mu Wu away without using her martial soul, Hai Bodong had now done the same to her.
The gap in their strength was evident.
"This… How is this possible?"
Ye Xishui's expression changed drastically as if she had just witnessed something inconceivable.
They were both Ultimate Douluo, so why did she feel so powerless against Hai Bodong's attack?
Could the gap between them be this vast?
"Hmph. The world only knows about the 'Ultimate' level but fails to realize that even among Ultimate Douluo, there are different tiers."
"A fool like you wouldn't understand that there's always someone stronger out there."
Hai Bodong was a man of few words and ruthless actions—he immediately unleashed his martial soul.
A figure strikingly similar to him emerged behind him, exuding an aura of extreme cold that changed the color of the sky.
Five black and four red soul rings—an astonishing configuration—were revealed.
Hai Bodong raised his hand, and his sixth soul ring lit up.
In an instant, countless shards of ice formed into blades, swirling violently in a storm.
"Frozen Blade Execution!"
The countless ice blades, carried by the storm, formed a sky-piercing and earth-shattering array of ice blades.
Ye Xishui's expression turned more solemn than ever.
She dared not be careless—her ninth soul ring glowed, and an endless sea of blood surged forth.
Ninth soul skill—Blood Sea Turmoil.
The ice blade array charged into the blood sea, slicing through it.
The extreme cold froze all energy, rapidly turning the surging blood sea into solid ice.
Ye Xishui was shocked. Her beautiful eyes widened with disbelief.
"Ultimate… Ice?"
Such a terrifying cold! Even her blood sea, capable of dissolving anything, was forcibly frozen.
What else could it be but the legendary Ultimate Ice?
She hadn't expected that the man before her was an Ultimate Douluo with an Ultimate Ice martial soul!
A trace of fear arose in Ye Xishui's heart.
The reputation of Ultimate Martial Souls was well-known.
In the past, two great Ultimate Martial Soul masters had shaken the world, their names known to every soul master.
Everyone knew that an Ultimate Martial Soul Douluo was practically invincible.
Training an Ultimate Martial Soul was extremely difficult, but those who succeeded had unparalleled combat power at their level. It was nearly impossible to find an equal opponent.
She never imagined that Hai Bodong possessed Ultimate Ice.
This was one of the worst counters to her martial soul!
In the face of Ultimate Ice, her martial soul would struggle to function.
"Who… exactly are you?"
Ye Xishui couldn't help but ask.
She had fought Mu Wu for so long without even bothering to ask for his name.
She hadn't needed to—no matter who he was, she had planned to kill him anyway.
But now, Ye Xishui felt a hint of panic.
PS: Read atleast 100 advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode