Xuanwu War Sovereign

A powerful aura erupted from Li Zhong as he shot downwards.

Several figures moved to block his path. Their powerful auras formed a pincer formation, locking him in place.

"Senior Brother Li, don’t you forget the sect’s rules," Le Ming’s lazy voice drifted over, now laced with a sharp edge. "During the Trial Stage, no disciple of the Star Sect is permitted to recklessly interfere and disrupt the justice of the trial. Violators will be punished severely!"

"Senior Brother Li, why ruin the goodwill between us over some worthless punk? Besides, it’s not like that brat Qin Feng is guaranteed to pass the trial anyway!" Le Ming urged with a grin. But when he saw Li Zhong’s expression remain utterly frigid, his smile slowly faded. A chill crept onto his lazy features.

"Li Zhong, don’t do this the hard way. We call you Senior Brother Li out of respect. This world ultimately belongs to the strong. The strong make the rules, and the weak obey. If you know what’s good for you, fine. But if you don’t, then don’t blame us for disregarding our bond as fellow disciples!" As he spoke, several more figures flickered into view, flanking Li Zhong.

"Is that so?" Li Zhong sneered. "Do you think you’re Junior Martial Uncle Yuheng’s group, making rules as you please? It’s not your place to be making rules here!" His face was impassive, but the simple, honest look he usually wore sharpened. An incredible aura erupted from him, so powerful it made the very Void tremble.

The experts from Jiaomu Peak couldn’t withstand the pressure of this terrifying aura and were forced back.

"So strong!"

"Li Zhong is always so low-key, yet his Cultivation has reached such a level! He’s probably not any weaker than Senior Sister Ji and the other experts on the Celestial Ranking!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"It’s incredible! Li Zhong is usually so quiet and reserved, but his strength is this tyrannical. With a Cultivation at this level, he’s among the absolute elite of the Inner Sect Disciples. He’s more than qualified to compete for a True Inheritance position!"

The disciples’ eyes flashed with shock, and their faces turned grim.

However, just as the Jiaomu Peak experts braced themselves, thinking Li Zhong was about to attack, his aura suddenly stopped surging. In an instant, Li Zhong retracted it completely, becoming calm once more.

"What’s going on?" they wondered in astonishment.

"Oh no! My Ice and Snow Relic!" The next moment, Le Ming suddenly cried out. He flashed towards Aries Palace, but a figure instantly appeared to block his path.

It was Li Zhong. The anger on his face was gone, replaced by a wide, satisfied grin.

"Junior Brother Le, don’t forget what you just said yourself. The sect’s rules are not to be taken lightly. During the Trial Stage, no disciple of the Star Sect is permitted to recklessly interfere and disrupt the justice of the trial. Violators will be punished severely!"

Li Zhong was throwing Le Ming’s own words right back at him.

"Or perhaps... you think you can beat me?" A tremor ran through Li Zhong as a terrifying aura bore down on them.

Le Ming staggered back several steps, struck by the ferocious aura. His face was ashen as he pointed a trembling finger at Li Zhong, too furious to speak.

...

「Inside Aries Palace」

Seeing the Ice Giant transform, Qin Feng let out a cold laugh.

’Are they done playing by the rules?’ Qin Feng sneered inwardly. Although he didn’t know who was pulling strings behind the scenes, he knew that the only ones capable of such a thing had to be from the All Stars Academy.

Clearly, someone was out to get him.

’But do they really think a mere Ice Giant is enough to deal with me?’ he thought with a cold laugh.

Qin Feng watched as the Ice Giant’s body grew more and more solid. Its aura became increasingly tyrannical, now reaching the peak of the Half-Step Condensing Vein Realm.

The Ancient Ice Giant was a member of an Ancient Race with tyrannical combat power. At this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it an expert at the Condensing Vein Realm.

To defeat it in a direct confrontation, Qin Feng was confident he could, but he would likely have to pay a price.

Fortunately, as strong as this Ice Giant was, Qin Feng could tell with a single glance that it was merely something condensed by a wondrous Profound Array. Its true core was the Ice and Snow Relic at the center of the array.

And when it came to Profound Arrays, Qin Feng, an Array Grandmaster, was no pushover.

Qin Feng’s figure became a phantom, flashing through several spots in Aries Palace. He thrust his sword out a few times, creating faint shadows. A few soft, barely audible sounds were heard.

On the Divine Altar, the Ice Giant’s body, which had been gradually solidifying, instantly froze in place.

The Array Feet were destroyed. The Profound Array was broken!

With a flash, Qin Feng appeared before the Ice Giant. Staring at the human before it, the Giant let out an enraged roar. It struggled with all its might to maintain its form. Having just reawakened its Spiritual Wisdom, it was unwilling to simply vanish.

But with the Profound Array broken and its power dissipating, the Ice Giant was powerless to maintain its icy form. It could only watch helplessly as the gathered cold energy crumbled away like a tower of sand.

The ferocious aura dissipated, becoming nothing more than a gentle breeze.

BANG! A pile of All Stars Tokens burst out from the crumbling Profound Array! With the array’s collapse, the Sixth Palace was utterly destroyed. Normally, defeating the Ice Giant would only yield a single All Stars Token. But because Qin Feng had shattered the entire Aries Palace array at once, all of its All Stars Tokens were released in one go!

At the same time, a round Ice Crystal Treasure Pearl rolled out from the pile of All Stars Tokens.

"Is this the Ice and Snow Relic?" Qin Feng’s eyes lit up as he picked up the Ice Crystal Bead that had fallen from the Array Hub.

The Ice and Snow Relic was translucent and sparkling, emitting a faint luster. It felt cool and smooth to the touch.

The Ice and Snow Relic was a rare Spiritual Object that contained a lifetime’s worth of an Ice Giant’s Ice and Snow Essence. If he could complete its Refinement, it would be a huge boon to his Cultivation.

This kind of Spiritual Object was exceptionally rare. Even at major auctions, it would be considered a treasure of the highest order.

Qin Feng gazed at the Ice and Snow Relic. If he could fully refine it, he was certain he could break through to the Martial Arts Eighth Layer Heaven Realm.

Holding the Ice Crystal Spirit Pearl, a cool sensation spread from his palm. Qin Feng subconsciously activated the Bone Marrow Extraction and Essence Transformation Technique to absorb the Ice and Snow Relic’s Essence.

Thin streams of a cool, pure energy flowed from the Ice and Snow Relic. His Innate Primordial Qi continuously refined this pure Essence, starting to grow stronger.

His Innate Primordial True Qi circulated through his Circulation Meridians. Having already cultivated his Tidal True Qi, he began to refine the Ice and Snow Essence. A ceaseless stream of Ice and Snow Essence Qi flowed like a melting Ice Crystal Yuan Pearl, dissolving into his body. Gush after gush of the cool Ice and Snow Essence was forcibly extracted. It was then refined, compressed, and condensed by his Innate Primordial True Qi, transforming into a surging torrent of Innate Primordial True Qi.

The dense Innate Primordial True Qi formed a tide, crashing through one acupoint after another. With each completed Circulation, it grew slightly more condensed, and the crest of the Tidal True Qi wave rose higher.

Qin Feng’s Cultivation, which had been at the peak of the Early-Innate Stage, instantly broke through into the Mid-Innate Stage.

As the endless stream of Ice and Snow Essence was refined, Qin Feng’s Innate Primordial True Qi grew ever stronger, and he instantly broke through to the Late-Innate Stage.

As the final wisp of Ice and Snow Essence was refined, the Innate Primordial True Qi in Qin Feng’s body condensed to its absolute limit. With a deafening ROAR, a tenth True Qi tide was born from the original nine, creating a ten-wave tide.

The breakthrough felt completely natural. Qin Feng discovered that ever since his Circulation Meridians had absorbed the Innate Purple Qi, their resilience and potential had far surpassed his imagination, as if they held an infinite treasure trove.

They easily withstood the impact of the tyrannical ten-wave Innate Primordial True Qi. There was no strain at all, not even a hint of pain.

As the tenth wave of the Innate Primordial True Qi tide formed, the glow from the Ice and Snow Relic in Qin Feng’s hand dimmed. All the Ice and Snow Essence within it had been completely absorbed, leaving behind only impure energies that could not be refined.

These impurities made up more than sixty percent of the original Ice and Snow Relic.

Qin Feng opened his eyes, and a hint of icy blue light spilled from them. His aura had climbed to a whole new level.

"Martial Arts Seventh Layer Late Stage, a ten-wave tide!"

’The Innate Primordial Qi truly lives up to its name as the greatest of all Martial Arts Foundation Establishment Techniques,’ he thought with a flicker of wonder. ’If anyone else had absorbed this Ice and Snow Relic, their Cultivation would have risen by at least one entire Great Realm!’

Yet he had only managed to condense a tenth wave of Tidal True Qi before consuming all the Ice and Snow Relic’s Essence!

(This is the first Chapter of the day’s release. Two more will follow later.)