The icy wind howled through the valley, stirring snow across the blood-stained battlefield. Shi Tian and Shen Xiaoli stood at the alpha's corpse, the bitter cold wrapping around them like invisible chains, but their blood still burnt hot from the fight.
"This way", Shi Tian said, pointing deeper into the gorge. The path narrowed into a crevice between two frostbitten cliffs.
"Do you feel that?" Shen Xiaoli whispered.
Shi Tian narrowed his eyes. A suffocating pressure seeped through the crevice like invisible fog. It wasn't just the lingering cold from the alpha's domain—this was different. Ancient. Oppressive.
They stepped forward cautiously.
Each footfall crunched softly over untouched frost, and the silence here was unsettling. Even the snowflakes seemed to fall slower.
After fifteen minutes, the crevice opened into an enormous, hollow crater surrounded by jagged ice spires.
At this time, Shi Tian's instinct warned him as he sensed a strong aura ahead. It was much stronger than an alpha ice wolf.
Then the ground trembled.
Ice cracked and rose. At first it looked like a glacier shifting—but then a shape emerged. Tall, wide, and terrifying.
A massive beast took form—its body carved from sapphire ice, tall as a small mountain, with claws like daggers and eyes that burnt with frozen malice. Twin curved horns adorned its head, and its tail lashed the ground, leaving behind craters in the snow.
"A Glacial Tyrant", Shen Xiaoli muttered, her face paling.
Shi Tian clicked his tongue. "A late-stage Spirit King realm beast. Damn…"
Its breath misted the air in torrents, freezing everything within a five-metre radius.
Without hesitation, it roared—an ear-splitting, guttural sound—and charged forward, cracking the ground beneath its thundering steps.
"Sister Xiaoli, I will be in front. I am wearing high-grade armour; it can block blows below the spirit king realm." Shi Tian shouted, launching himself forward.
"Okay, but be careful." Shen Xiaoli nodded as she gripped the sword. Shi Tian attacked from the left while Shen Xiaoli blinked to the right, frost blooming in her wake.
The Glacial Tyrant's claws smashed into the ground where they stood seconds before, sending up a shockwave of ice blades that tore through several ice spires.
Shen Xiaoli didn't wait. From her hands, frost petals formed a flurry of lotus flowers.
"Bloom—Frost Lotus Barrage!"
Dozens of freezing lotus petals shot toward the beast's flank, bursting on impact. But instead of damage, only white marks were left behind. Its hide was unbelievably thick.
"Nothing?!"
Shi Tian circled behind the monster, flames crackling across his spear.
"Let me soften it!"
"Chaotic Spear Art!"
He lunged, his spear a whip of burning chaos, striking the beast's rear. A burst of steam erupted—its ice shell cracked slightly. The tyrant growled, turning its hateful gaze toward him.
That was enough for Shen Xiaoli to strike again.
She leapt into the air, fingers forming seals.
"Frost Chain Binding!"
Ropes of crystal ice wrapped around the beast's left arm, slowing its movement—but only barely. With one jerk, it shattered them, the fragments raining like deadly needles.
"We have to synchronise!" she shouted.
Shi Tian didn't reply. Instead, he smirked.
"On your next bind, hit its legs. I'll go for the head."
With that, he vanished in a blur, jumping high above the beast, his spear spinning.
Shen Xiaoli surged qi into her legs and flashed beneath the beast. Her palm struck the ground.
"Ice Seal Formation—Frozen Coffin!"
Chains of frost burst from the earth, entangling the tyrant's legs. Its movement stalled just for a heartbeat.
That was all Shi Tian needed.
His body twisted mid-air, and the spear, wreathed in grey flame, pierced toward the beast's left eye.
The tyrant roared and reared up—but too slow. The spear struck.
BOOM!
A blast of steam and frost erupted. The beast staggered back, one eye bleeding, face scorched.
It howled, enraged now, frost qi exploding from its core.
"It's going berserk!" Shen Xiaoli yelled.
"Step back!"
The very air froze. Frost needles formed mid-air, slamming in every direction. One scraped her shoulder, slicing her robe open, revealing blood.
"Sister Xiaoli."
Shi Tian's gaze became colder, furious.
"I'll finish it. Hold it just a second longer."
He drew all the Chaos Flame into his dantian, then released it through his meridians. His veins glowed, eyes burning.
This was the trump card.
"CHAOTIC SPEAR ART – Seventh Form!"
The world dimmed. A vortex of grey fire spiralled around him, engulfing the entire basin. Time itself seemed to pause. Shen Xiaoli's eyes widened slightly as she felt the destructive aura released by Shi Tian's attack.
He hurled the spear like a divine comet.
The Glacial Tyrant tried to counter—its massive jaws opening to launch a frost beam—but it was too slow.
The spear pierced straight through its head.
The beast convulsed, then collapsed with a final cry that echoed across the secret realm.
Silence.
Only the sound of falling frost remained.
Shi Tian fell to one knee, panting. Although the chaotic spear art was strong, it consumes too much spiritual energy.
Shen Xiaoli rushed forward and supported him.
"You… idiot. That move could've hurt you!"
"But it worked," he replied with a weak grin.
She rolled her eyes and gently wiped the sweat from his brow. "I told you we should fight together."
He chuckled. "It was not that dangerous. I got injured because I lack fighting experience. And I told you to be behind me."
They looked at the slain Glacial Tyrant. From its chest, a flickering blue crystal floated upward. Shen Xiaoli caught it.
"This… is pure frost qi essence. It can be used in pill refining."
Shi Tian smiled. "Then we give it to Mother; she can refine it." After that, he took out a few spirit qi restoration pills and ate them like a candy. Soon his spiritual energy was restored completely.
Together, they stepped forward, deeper into the valley.