"Shield Warrior One!"
Red Flame cried out in alarm.
But something even more terrifying happened—Shield Warrior One's body, which had collapsed on the ground, became transparent and stiff at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The blood, bones, and internal organs inside seemed to be instantly frozen and then forcibly extracted and transformed by some kind of power.
In just two breaths, a perfectly intact human body turned into a semi-transparent ice sculpture with a texture similar to the frost ghost in the river.
Only the frozen expression of terror on his face retained a few human characteristics.
After completing the "transformation," the deep blue ray did not dissipate; instead, it split into a thin stream that flowed back to the fingertips of the frost ghost in the river.
The frost ghost's hollow eye sockets seemed to "light up" for a moment, and the deep blue light flowing inside its body moved slightly faster.
"It is absorbing life and soul to strengthen itself!"
The Old Scholar's voice was trembling uncontrollably.
"Don't let it touch you!"
"Spread out! Use long-range attacks to test it!" Frostblade suppressed the chill in his heart and barked the order.
Almost simultaneously, the archer released his fully drawn bowstring.
An anti-magic arrow wrapped in crimson flames tore through the air, screaming as it flew toward the "head" of the frost ghost.
The frost ghost neither dodged nor avoided it.
The arrow hit with precision, exploding into a ball of scorching fire that enveloped its head.
However, the flames burned for only a second before they were rapidly extinguished and frozen as if doused with liquid nitrogen, finally dispersing as a few wisps of black smoke containing ice crystals.
The frost ghost's head was intact, without even a scorch mark left behind, as if the fire had been a mere illusion.
"Fire immunity? Or energy absorption?" Frostblade's heart sank.
At this time, two assassins had quietly approached the riverbank from the flanks, their poison-coated short blades glinting with a dark green luster as they were suddenly hurled at the frost ghost's torso and "back."
"Ssh! Ssh!"
The cold blades nailed into the frost ghost's semi-transparent body, but they made a dull thud as if stabbing into thick ice.
The blades barely penetrated an inch before they could no longer move forward, and the ice around the tips spread at a visible speed, instantly freezing and encasing the poison-coated metal.
The two short blades hung from the frost ghost's body, becoming two misshapen icicles.
The frost ghost slowly turned its "head," and its hollow eye sockets "looked" at Assassin Two on the right.
Assassin Two's hair stood on end, and he instinctively leaped backward.
Almost the moment his feet left the ground, a deep blue ray thicker than before erupted from the frost ghost's left fingertip, grazing his rolling afterimage and hitting the volcanic rock wall on the opposite bank.
"Crack—"
Centered on the point of impact, the rocks within a one-meter radius instantly turned a deathly pale white, and a thick ice shell with a deep blue glow condensed on the surface.
The rock structure inside the ice shell seemed to have been completely altered, losing all life and temperature.
Assassin Two broke into a cold sweat, for if he had been even a fraction of a second slower, he would have been the one turned into an ice sculpture.
"Physical attacks are weak! Energy attacks are absorbed or frozen!" Frostblade judged quickly. "Don't fight it head-on! Find a chance to cross the river or retreat!"
Before his voice faded, the frost ghost in the river spread its arms, and its lower body, which was still submerged in the milky white water, suddenly jolted.
"Splash—Boom!"
The entire section of the river seemed to be lifted by an invisible force, and a large amount of boiling river water soared into the sky, only to rapidly cool and solidify the moment it left the surface.
It turned into countless sharp ice spikes and prisms, raining down on everyone on the bank like a storm!
The range was so large that it covered almost the entire riverbank area!
"Raise shields! Defend!" Frostblade roared.
The remaining shield warrior, Shield Warrior Two, let out a roar as he held his tower shield high above his head, frantically pouring earthy yellow magic into it.
The surface of the shield expanded and thickened, turning into a massive stone umbrella covering a range of several meters.
The archer and the other assassin quickly hid under the shield.
Red Flame and Frostblade each danced with their blade lights, parrying and shattering the ice spikes flying toward them.
The force of the ice spikes was immense, making a dull "bang bang" sound as they struck the weapons, numbing their arms.
Even worse, a surge of freezing air spread along the weapons, attempting to corrode their arms.
The Old Scholar deployed a thin magic shield, blocking countless ice spikes, his face already as pale as paper.
Meanwhile, Jiang Lin remained quite calm.
【Phantom Step · Shadow Wind】 was deployed, and without any protection, he kept his hands in his pockets.
His body moved like a nimble swift, and with just a few tilts of his torso, he dodged the ice spikes without any danger, not even moving his feet.
Only for a few spikes that were impossible to avoid did he slightly shift his footsteps.
The storm of ice prisms lasted for five full breaths.
Dozens of dents had been hammered into the surface of Shield Warrior Two's tower shield by the ice spikes, and thick white frost had condensed on the edges.
His arms were trembling, and the white mist he exhaled quickly froze on his beard.
Every breath brought a stinging pain to his lungs, as the chill that had invaded his body continued to spread.
Finally, the last batch of ice spikes hit the ground, and the sounds of impact gradually ceased.
Shield Warrior Two fell to his knees with a "thud," and his tower shield hit the rocks with a heavy, muffled sound.
He gasped for air, his face turning blue and purple, clearly at his limit.
"Shield Warrior Two!" The archer hurried to support him, taking out a bottle of fiery red potion and pouring it into his mouth.
As the potion went down his throat, a sickly flush appeared on Shield Warrior Two's face, and a plume of white steam rose from his body, barely dispersing some of the chill, though his eyes remained unfocused.
Frostblade scanned the battlefield, his heart sinking to the bottom.
The frost ghost was still floating in the middle of the river, its deep blue light flowing steadily as if the previous wave of attacks had been done effortlessly.
On their side, one person was dead, one was seriously injured, and the others were in poor condition.
It seemed that except for the boy who was impossibly handsome, everyone else was already struggling.
This frost ghost should be at the 4th-rank, but it was an elite among the 4th-rank, and its racial rank should have reached the commander-tier.
It was an entity capable of taking on many opponents of the same rank.
Furthermore, the opponent's methods of attack and defense were far too bizarre, leaning toward soul-level attacks, which made the fight quite difficult for them.
Even Jiang Lin was not certain he could defeat it.
However, that did not mean he would not try.
An eight-colored longsword condensed in his hand once again.
The eight-colored brilliance, solidified like physical matter, lit up the dark underground riverbank.
In the next moment, his wrist flicked slightly, and three beams of 【Eight-colored Sword Qi】, condensed to the extreme, flew out from his blade, pointing directly at the frost ghost floating in mid-air not far away!
Although the holy art 【Eight Extremities Holy Sword】 was evolved from eight-colored sword qi, it did not ultimately gain the ability to fire holy-art-level sword qi; it could only be used as a close-combat skill.
Of course, 【Eight Extremities Holy Sword】 could also serve as a carrier for eight-colored sword qi, allowing the power of the sword qi to increase significantly.
But Jiang Lin naturally would not reveal his trump card right at the start.
The three beams of sword qi formed a triangle, accurately shooting toward the frost ghost's head, heart, and abdomen as it hovered over the river.
The moment the sword qi pierced the air, a sharp tearing sound rang out, and the water vapor and ice crystals along the path were forcibly pushed aside, forming three vacuum tracks.
The frost ghost seemed to sense the threat, its hollow eye sockets turning toward the direction of the incoming sword qi.
It raised its arms, and a deep blue ice shield half a meter thick quickly condensed in front of it.
The surface of the ice shield was covered with dense frost runes, emitting a chill that could freeze the soul.
However—
"Ssh!"
The moment the first beam of 【Eight-colored Sword Qi】 hit the ice shield, the shield was not as indestructible as expected.
The sword qi collided with the ice shield and dissipated, but several obvious cracks appeared on the ice shield.
"Ssh!"
Jiang Lin's second beam of 【Eight-colored Sword Qi】 followed closely, accurately hitting the densest part of the cracks on the ice shield.
This time, the ice shield could no longer hold on; the cracks spread rapidly like a spider web, and finally, it shattered with a crisp cracking sound!
The third beam of 【Eight-colored Sword Qi】 passed through the ice fragments without any obstruction, stabbing straight into the frost ghost's "chest."
The frost ghost seemed to realize the danger and tried to tilt its body to dodge, but it was still grazed by the sword qi on its semi-transparent body.
The deep blue light fluctuated violently, and the grazed area became noticeably dimmer, even showing signs of tiny ice crystals peeling off.
"It's effective!"
A flash of surprise appeared in Jiang Lin's eyes, but it immediately turned into confusion.
Why were their previous attacks useless, yet his sword qi could easily break its defense?
He did not stop his offensive; he shook the eight-colored longsword in his hand again, and two more beams of sword qi flew out—one aimed directly at the frost ghost's head, and the other blocking its possible retreat.
At the same time, he turned his head to look at Frostblade, Red Flame, and the others, his eyes filled with questioning.
'Your attacks just now were that weak? You couldn't even break its defense??'
Seeing Jiang Lin looking over, they also felt a bit embarrassed.
Their actions just now had been hurried, and as close-combat classes, the two assassins indeed had no methods for long-range attacks.
As for the archer, the fire-element attacks he used were directly neutralized by the opponent, which removed most of the attack power.
But Jiang Lin's three beams of sword qi were fierce and overbearing, focusing on pure overwhelming power.
Furthermore, the eight elements were twisted into a single rope, so there was no need to worry about being countered by the opponent.
The frost ghost was infuriated by Jiang Lin's continuous attacks.
It abandoned everyone else, its hollow eye sockets "staring" intently at Jiang Lin, and its arms suddenly spread out to the sides.
The river surface churned violently, and more milky white water was swept up and solidified, turning into dozens of thick ice spears hovering behind it.
In the next moment, all the ice spears turned simultaneously, their tips pointing at Jiang Lin, and they shot out with a shrill sound of tearing air!
Jiang Lin's expression did not change.
【Phantom Step · Shadow Wind】 was fully operational, and his figure became elusive on the riverbank, like a wisp of light smoke blending into the wind.
The ice spears were as dense as rain, yet they were always dodged by a hair's breadth at the moment they were about to touch his body, or were skillfully parried and shattered by the eight-colored longsword in his hand.
Occasionally, some ice fragments splashed onto his protective suit, but they were instantly neutralized by the constant-temperature runes, failing to penetrate in the slightest.
While dodging, he continued to counterattack with sword qi.
The light of the 【Eight-colored Sword Qi】 constantly lit up within the dark underground space, and every beam accurately hit the key nodes of the frost ghost's body.
The frost ghost tried to block with ice shields, but every time, the speed at which the ice shield shattered was faster than the last.
It tried to counterattack with deep blue rays, but Jiang Lin's movement was too bizarre; the rays always grazed past his afterimages.
Even on the rare occasions they hit, they were mostly canceled out by the holy light naturally flowing over Jiang Lin's body, causing only minor frostbite.
Gradually, the deep blue light inside the frost ghost's body began to flicker unsteadily, and its flow speed slowed down significantly.
More and more fine cracks appeared on its semi-transparent icy body.
"It can't hold on anymore!" The Old Scholar said with a trembling voice.
Frostblade gripped his short sword tightly but did not step forward—he knew that in a battle of this level, his rash interference might instead disrupt Jiang Lin's rhythm.
Red Flame bit her lip, a look of complexity flashing in her eyes.
She finally understood that the golden-haired boy's previous words, "I am confident I can take you all down with me," were by no means a lie.
His strength had likely already surpassed the scope of an ordinary 4th-rank.
The final blow!
Jiang Lin tapped his toe on the rock wall, and his figure soared into the air like a hawk, actually pouncing directly toward the frost ghost on the river!
The frost ghost seemed to realize its desperate situation and let out a silent scream.
All the remaining deep blue light converged frantically into its palms, turning into a beam of deep blue light solidified to the extreme, meeting Jiang Lin!
Jiang Lin neither dodged nor avoided it.
He held the eight-colored longsword high above his head, and the light on the blade surged.
The eight-colored brilliance blended and collapsed, finally turning into a white-gold sword light that was pure to the extreme, as if it could cut through all delusions!
【Eight Extremities Holy Sword】!
"Break!"
The sword light collided with the deep blue light beam.
There was no world-shaking explosion, only a slight crisp sound, like the shattering of glass.
The deep blue light beam was sliced neatly in half, and the sword light continued its momentum, grazing past the frost ghost's body.
Time seemed to stand still for a moment.
In the next moment, the frost ghost's semi-transparent body slowly split apart from the center, and countless beams of fine white-gold light burst from the cracks.
The deep blue light was completely extinguished, and the body, split in two, tilted to the sides like an ice sculpture that had lost its support, finally falling into the milky white river and splashing twice.
The frost ghost was dead.
Jiang Lin landed lightly back on the bank, and the eight-colored longsword in his hand slowly dissipated.
He breathed slightly, and a fine sweat broke out on his forehead—his consumption in the battle just now had not been small.
But immediately afterward, a sudden change occurred!
The ice-blue crystal that had been dormant in his dantian suddenly began to vibrate violently, as if it had been hit by a strong attraction.
Before Jiang Lin could react, the crystal spontaneously emitted a suction force, pulling in a certain "essence" remaining within the frost ghost's remains in the river.
The frost ghost's shattered body rapidly melted and dissipated in the river water, turning into wisps of very faint deep blue light.
As if pulled by an invisible hand, they flew through the air and entered Jiang Lin's chest.
The moment the light wisps entered his body, Jiang Lin shuddered.
A cool but incomparably pure energy surged through his meridians into his dantian and was greedily absorbed by that crystal.
The crystal "grew" a size larger at a speed visible to the naked eye, changing from the size of a grain of rice to about the size of a soybean.
The ice-blue light inside became more solidified, and the flow speed increased slightly.
At the same time, Jiang Lin clearly felt that his "affinity" with the ice elements in the surrounding environment seemed to have increased a bit.
Although he still could not actively call upon the power within the crystal, that vague sense of resonance had noticeably strengthened.
"This crystal... indeed needs to grow by hunting frost ghosts."
Jiang Lin understood in his heart.
He raised his hand, palm up, and with a slight movement of his mind.
A wisp of very faint, almost invisible ice-blue cold air seeped from his palm, and the surrounding air instantly condensed into fine frost flowers.
Although it was still very weak, this was indeed a subtle control over ice power that he had been unable to achieve before.
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