He didn't even pursue her, simply leveling his spear before him and watching her quietly.
There was no triumph in his gaze, no mockery, not even the excitement of battle.
Only a chillingly calm presence.
Su Qingyue suddenly understood.
From start to finish, Lin Yuan had never treated her as a true opponent.
It wasn't contempt or arrogance, but rather—
The enemies he had faced during these ten days were far more terrifying than she was.
Su Qingyue took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, the confusion and hesitation had vanished, replaced by a look of absolute determination.
She swept her left hand across her storage ring.
A pillar of ice-blue light shot into the sky.
As the light dissipated, a sword appeared in Su Qingyue’s hand.
Unlike the Ice Phoenix sword from before, the blade of this sword was more slender, and its entire body was a nearly transparent deep blue.
The ice energy flowing over the blade was so dense it almost turned liquid, and every pulse of its glow sent a bone-chilling cold radiating outward.
Tier 2, A-rank—Icechill Sword.
The moment this sword appeared, the temperature in the entire arena plummeted by at least ten degrees.
In the stands, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched the corner of Su Zhen’s mouth.
This Tier 2 A-rank Icechill Sword was something he had paid a massive price for at a Kyoto auction. He had originally intended to give it to Su Qingyue after she broke through to Tier 2.
But for today’s duel, he had given her the sword ahead of schedule.
An A-rank weapon provided a massive boost to an ability user.
Equipped with this sword, Su Qingyue, at Tier 1, Level 3, could unleash combat power approaching Tier 2.
“That sword...” Qin Ruolan’s brow furrowed slightly as she glanced at Su Zhen.
With her keen eyes, she could naturally tell that such a sword shouldn't appear in a duel between Tier 1 ability users.
But she said nothing—the rules were set by the Su family, and the referee was hired by the Su family. If they didn't follow their own rules, there was no reason for her, an outsider, to interfere.
She was merely curious.
How would the black-haired youth respond?
Lin Yuan looked at the frost-covered Icechill Sword in Su Qingyue’s hand, his expression remaining unchanged.
“A good sword,” he said.
“Lin Yuan.” Su Qingyue gripped the sword with both hands, pointing the tip at him, her voice carrying a tremor she hadn't even noticed.
“I cannot lose this time because the honor of my family is behind me.
If I lose, the honor of the Su family that my mother spent so long building will be destroyed. But even if I win...
I will risk my life to force my father to return your parents' relics to you.”
Hearing this, Lin Yuan simply raised his spear, pointing the tip at Su Qingyue.
“You needn't go that far. I don't believe I will lose!”
His voice was calm, devoid of any emotion.
Su Qingyue no longer hesitated. She pushed off the ground, her entire being turning into a streak of white light as she charged forward.
“I'm sorry!”
The Icechill Sword erupted with a three-meter-long ice-blue sword light. Wherever the blade passed—
A deep trench was plowed into the ground, with thick layers of ice condensing on both sides.
Fine snowflakes drifted through the air, swirling around the sword light to form a miniature blizzard.
The power of this strike was infinitely close to Tier 2.
The audience in the stands held their breath.
Then, they saw Lin Yuan move.
He didn't retreat or dodge; instead, he took a step forward.
As he stepped out, the floor tiles beneath his feet exploded.
Not shattered—exploded.
Debris was sent flying upward by an invisible force, only to be ground into powder by lightning in mid-air.
For the first time, the power of Nine Rounds of Bone Tempering erupted without reservation.
That power rose from the soles of his feet, passing through his calves, knees, thighs, waist, back, shoulders, and arms, finally converging in his hands gripping the spear.
The kinetic chain of his nine-tempered bones locked together perfectly in that moment, concentrating his entire body's strength into a single point.
At the same time, his left index finger twitched slightly.
No one noticed this movement.
Only Lin Yuan knew that at the moment his finger moved, the space around Su Qingyue froze for a thousandth of a second.
It wasn't a true time stop; with his current Tier 1, Level 2 space-time power, he couldn't achieve a real freeze.
He had merely managed to insert a momentary "blank" between her movements.
This split-second blank caused her sword's trajectory to deviate by a hair's breadth.
And Lin Yuan’s spear thrust right through that opening.
Lightning blossomed at the spear tip, more blinding than ever before.
Silver-white arcs spread along the shaft, forming a ring of electricity around him. The air was filled with the scent of ozone and the crackle of current.
“Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens: Third Form, Thunderclap.”
The spear lunged like a dragon.
No feints, no detours, no flashy techniques.
Just the purest strike—a direct thrust.
The spear pierced the very center of the blizzard.
Ice and lightning collided.
BOOM—
A massive storm of energy exploded in the center of the arena.
Ice crystals and lightning shot in all directions. The front-row spectators were pushed back by the shockwave, and some people's hats were blown right off.
Then, a white figure flew backward out of the storm.
It was Su Qingyue.
The Icechill Sword flew from her hand, spinning in the air before stabbing into the ground ten meters away, its ice-blue light rapidly fading.
She slammed heavily onto the ground, sliding three or four meters before coming to a stop.
Her white training uniform was covered in dust, her long hair was disheveled around her, and a trace of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth.
She tried to push herself up, but the moment she moved, a sharp pain shot through her right arm.
It wasn't broken, but the ligaments had been badly strained by the recoil of that last strike.
She gritted her teeth and looked up.
In the center of the storm, Lin Yuan stood with his spear.
A thin layer of frost covered his black clothes, a remnant of that final strike.
A shallow bloody scratch marked his left cheek where an ice crystal had grazed him.
Other than that, he was unharmed.
The tip of his spear stopped three inches in front of Su Qingyue.
He withdrew the spear and took a step back.
“You lost.”
Dead silence filled the arena.
No one spoke, no one cheered, no one even dared to breathe heavily.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the black-haired youth in the arena, their expressions identical—shock, confusion, disbelief, and a hint of hidden fear.
An S-rank ice ability user.
Six Rounds of Bone Tempering.
A Tier 2 A-rank weapon.
Defeated by him in a single head-on strike.
Clean, decisive, and without suspense.
In the stands, Gu Cheng slowly stood up.
He took the unlit cigarette out of his mouth and, for the first time, looked at the black-haired youth with genuine focus.
His gaze had changed; it was no longer lazy or cynical, but sharp.
“This kid.”
He spoke slowly, each word clear.
“Magic City wants him.”
“Bullshit!” Lei Meng jumped up, his chair clattering backward. “National Martial Arts wants him! Nine Rounds of Bone Tempering! Do you understand the concept of nine rounds?!”
“Bone tempering can be trained later, but combat intuition is innate.” Ye Lin’s voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable certainty.
“His combat style is born for actual combat. Shencity Academy is the best fit for him.”
Qin Ruolan didn't speak.
She simply stared at Lin Yuan, her gaze complex.
Rate on N.U.
