Shui Bing'er's cold yet resolute and provocative voice, crisp like icicles striking, clearly echoed through the silent Soul Arena and penetrated the massive, solid ice imprisoning Marco.
In the stands, everyone's hearts leaped to their throats, their gazes fixed intently on the enormous ice block at the center of the Soul Duel Stage, radiating a chilling cold. The spectators in the VIP seats watched with focused expressions. Could the combined Ice Seal attack, executed with the full strength of the five Heaven Water Academy members, truly restrain that unfathomable young man?
Just as Shui Bing'er's voice faded—
Crack…
An extremely faint yet distinctly audible shattering sound abruptly emerged from within the massive ice block!
Immediately after, dense cracks spread rapidly like a spider web, centered around the human silhouette at the core of the ice! Within the fractures, a faint, verdant glow—seemingly brimming with boundless vitality—glimmered through!
Shui Bing'er's ice-blue eyes abruptly contracted!
BOOM—!!!
The next moment, the enormous ice block exploded violently! Countless shards of ice, mixed with piercing cold air, shot out in all directions! At the epicenter of the blast, a searing yet not violent, instead carrying an indescribable, vibrant vitality—Azure Flame surged upward like wildfire in early spring!
Wherever the Azure Flame passed, the remaining solid ice instantly vaporized with a sizzling sound. Thick white steam billowed upward like a mushroom cloud, rapidly spreading to envelop over half of the Soul Duel Stage, obscuring visibility.
The scorching steam clashed intensely with the lingering cold air on the stage, producing a strange sizzling noise, causing the temperature across the entire arena to become highly unstable.
Gasps erupted from the stands as everyone strained their eyes, trying to pierce through the dense mist to see what was happening inside.
As the steam gradually dissipated, the scene on the Soul Duel Stage became clearer.
The previously frozen ground had melted, revealing a charred and cracked surface with wisps of steam still rising. At the center of the explosion, a black figure stood calmly—it was Marco!
Faint Azure Flame wreathed his body like a fiery veil, flickering with a warm and powerful life force, making him appear as a deity of flame. He was completely unharmed, not even a single fold of his clothing was disturbed. The combined attack, potent enough to seal a Soul King, seemed to have merely provided him with a refreshing coolness.
Marco raised his hand and lightly brushed off nonexistent ice particles from his shoulder. A lazy, playful smile curled at the corner of his lips as he looked toward the vigilant Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu opposite him, remarking casually:
"Staying inside was quite cool and comfortable—nice for beating the heat." As he spoke, he rotated his neck, producing a soft click, his demeanor as relaxed as if he had just taken a brief nap.
Shui Bing'er stared at Marco's utterly composed demeanor—he hadn't even fully released his Martial Soul (in her view, the protective flames around him were merely that, not a true Spirit Possession). For the first time, her cool, elegant face revealed unconcealed shock and a hint of... helplessness. Their combined ultimate Ice Seal, fueled by the total Soul Power of five teammates, couldn't even make him take the fight seriously? Just how terrifyingly powerful was this guy?
Marco casually rolled his neck, watching Shui Bing'er with leisurely amusement as he continued in a teasing tone, "Well? Shouldn't warm-ups be over by now? Time to show me something real, don't you think? I've been looking forward to your... Martial Soul Fusion Skill."
Shui Bing'er took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the tempest of emotions within her. She knew words were meaningless in the face of such an overwhelming power gap. Only action could prove their worth and determination now!
Instead of answering Marco, she sharply turned her head and locked eyes with Xue Wu, who had been silently gathering energy beside her. In that instant, their gazes met, and they immediately understood the resolve and synergy in each other's eyes!
The next moment, under the astonished stares of everyone present, Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu simultaneously stepped forward, opened their arms, and embraced each other tightly!
"Bzzz—!"
A Soul Power fluctuation far more powerful and icy than anything before erupted from their closely pressed bodies like a volcano! A dazzling ice-blue light completely engulfed their figures!
Within the radiance, the faint silhouette of a massive Ice Phoenix could be seen unfurling, releasing a clear, melodious cry. The phantom spread its enormous wings, gently yet firmly enveloping Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu within! Their Soul Power, Mental Power, and even life forces began merging in an incredibly profound and seamless fusion!
Powerful energy ripples spread outward like tidal waves, and the temperature on the Soul Duel Stage plummeted at an alarming rate! The originally clear sky above was affected—pure white Snowflakes materialized out of thin air, drifting down in a flurry. What started as a few scattered flakes quickly transformed into a full-blown snowstorm!
"It's coming! The Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"
"Heavens! It can actually alter the weather!"
"It's so cold! I can feel the chill from this far away!"
"Is this Heaven Water Academy's trump card? It's terrifying!"
Gasps and exclamations erupted from the spectator stands as everyone was awestruck by this Domain Momentum that seemed to reshape the world! In the VIP seats, Ning Fengzhi, Bone Douluo, and others rose with grave expressions, intently watching the increasingly brilliant ice-blue light sphere on the stage.
Marco stood in place, the faint Azure Flame around him dispersing the encroaching cold and snowflakes. He made no move to interrupt their Fusion Skill, instead stroking his chin with interest. Observing the perfectly harmonized Soul Power fluctuations emitted during the fusion process, a glimmer of understanding and a hint of... amusement flashed in his eyes.
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill... Ice and Snow Drifting?" he murmured to himself, a barely noticeable curve forming at the corner of his mouth. "As expected, a skill that could force Tang San to use his Eight Spider Lances and External Spirit Bone in the original work, even nearly causing him to fail, truly has some substance. This power is already approaching the Soul Emperor level, isn't it? Even possessing unique characteristics in certain aspects... Tsk, scripted battles indeed."
Just as these thoughts flashed through his mind, the anomaly on the stage reached its peak!
"Screech—!"
A piercing, clear, and drawn-out phoenix cry, as if originating from ancient icy plains, suddenly resounded across the entire sky! The mass of ice-blue light shot upward, soaring straight into the clouds!
The swirling snowflakes seemed to answer a summon at this moment, madly converging toward that luminous sphere! The light in the sky dimmed as if dusk had fallen in the depths of winter!
As the radiance gradually receded, it revealed the entity within. It was an enormous ice-snow phoenix with a wingspan exceeding ten meters! Its entire body was condensed from crystalline ice, each feather vividly lifelike and refracting a frigid gleam. Its massive phoenix eyes held no trace of emotion, only endless coldness and majesty! Spreading its gigantic icy wings, it hovered above the Soul Duel Stage like a deity of ice and snow descending upon the mortal world! It emanated a terrifying pressure that made souls tremble!
The figures of Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu had completely vanished, clearly having fully merged into this colossal ice-snow phoenix.
The icy gaze of the ice-snow phoenix locked onto the small black figure standing on the Soul Duel Stage below, appearing particularly insignificant amidst the blizzard—Marco!
Feeling the substantial cold pressure weighing down on him and the pure destructive will in the ice-snow phoenix's eyes, the laziness and playfulness on Marco's face gradually faded, replaced by a hint of seriousness and... excitement? He licked his somewhat dry lips, the azure flames in his eyes flickering faintly.
"Now this is more like it..." He grinned, the faint azure flames around him beginning to intensify.