Shock.
Nothing could be more soul-stirring than a colossal entity, so immense that its full form couldn't be discerned up close, suddenly appearing before one's eyes.
Even for Soul Beasts, it was no different.
Although the Ice Empress and the others were accustomed to the Titan Snow Devil King's size, compared to the over-six-hundred-meter-tall Thousand-Hand Buddha Statue at this moment, it seemed like an infant.
Strength couldn't be measured by size alone, but when something grew to a certain magnitude, it inevitably carried power commensurate with its scale.
The Snow Emperor narrowed her crystalline eyes and slowly raised her palm. "Snow Dance Blazing Sun."
A crystal-like snowflake floated behind the Snow Emperor, gradually enlarging as an intense chill radiated from it. The already frigid temperature, unsuitable for human survival, dropped even further.
Even Li Xun, high in the sky, couldn't help but feel a slight discomfort.
"A Domain?"
Sensing this, Li Xun activated his God of Slaughter Domain, while his Eighth Soul Ring and the Titan Snow Devil King's Left Leg Bone simultaneously glowed.
"Strength Amplification, Ice Manipulation, Extreme Cold Spread." Li Xun layered buffs upon himself, one after another.
Facing the Snow Emperor, whose power rivaled that of a Limit Douluo, he dared not be the slightest bit careless.
Although his Martial Soul granted him Ice and Fire Immunity, it had its limits—not due to the potency of the Immortal Herb, but because of his own strength.
Before a vast gap in power, nothing was absolute. Though Li Xun was strong, he still paled in comparison to a Limit Douluo who had undergone a qualitative transformation.
Fortunately, his Eighth Soul Ring had been absorbed from the Titan Snow Devil King. Through the amplification of his Eighth Soul Skill and the Soul Bone, his Martial Soul wouldn't suffer a loss in combat effectiveness under such extreme conditions.
"Buddha Transformation." The buffs were instantly applied, and without any hesitation, Li Xun interlocked his fingers, prompting the True Several Thousand Hands to move in response.
Crack, crack, crack, crack—
By now, a thin layer of frost had formed on the thousand arms behind the giant Buddha. The slightest movement triggered a chain reaction, a series of dense cracks echoing through the air.
Suddenly, thousands of fist shadows, mingled with ice crystals filling the sky, came crashing down. Under the sunlight, they gleamed dazzlingly.
"Great Cold Without Snow."
The Snow Emperor slowly tilted her head back. In that moment, time seemed to slow. The meteoric fists, once close at hand, now moved as sluggishly as snails.
Gathering energy in her left palm, she raised it gradually, pressing it against the enormous fist. Then, energy erupted forth.
Crack, crack, crack, crack—
The fist was instantly frozen into an ice sculpture, with sharp ice spikes sprouting abruptly from its surface. Without pause, the frost spread rapidly, advancing toward the giant Buddha.
Nearby arms were also affected.
The Snow Emperor moved with extreme speed. By the time Li Xun realized what was happening, the ice had already crept over most of the Buddha's arm.
Yet, this didn't faze him.
Manipulating the arms, he squeezed and shattered the frozen limb to prevent his entire Martial Soul from being compromised.
Meanwhile, the sky above the Snow Emperor was completely blotted out by the countless fist shadows.
Boom, boom, boom—
Massive glaciers crumbled under the force of the fists. The perennial solid ice on the ground fractured, sending snow mist billowing and ice shards flying in all directions.
The earth trembled violently. Creatures within a hundred-mile radius were affected, pressing themselves tightly to the ground as they glanced around in terror.
Nearby, Sword Douluo, Ice Empress, and Bing Xiong Wang quickly retreated to a distance to avoid being caught in the battle.
"Xiao Xun has grown stronger than before," Sword Douluo remarked, standing not far from Ice Empress as he gazed up at the colossal Buddha statue.
Bing Xiong Wang hid behind Ice Empress.
As a bear tribe that prided itself on strength, this power-type Soul Beast understood better than anyone the force behind each of those fists.
It felt utterly suppressed in terms of raw power.
"Emperor Sword, Ice Pinnacle Unrivaled."
At that moment, a clear, cold voice pierced through the incessant roaring, reaching everyone's ears.
The originally clear sky suddenly turned overcast, a vortex forming within the clouds as a sharp sword tip emerged into view.
Snow Emperor continuously dodged amidst the barrage of fist shadows, and just as she was about to be struck, a crystalline ice sword materialized in her hand.
With a flick of her sleeve—
A dazzling cold light flashed, instantly severing over twenty massive arms. Seizing the opening, she swiftly flew outward.
It was then that the Emperor Sword within the clouds revealed its true form.
A gigantic sword entirely condensed from ice crystals, its fifty-meter-long blade engraved throughout with seal script, while visible cold energy radiated all around it.
Though slender in appearance, the moment this sword emerged, it imposed immense pressure on Li Xun.
"Rise."
Seeing the colossal sword hurtling toward him with unstoppable force, Li Xun extended his left foot and lightly tapped the Buddha statue. Instantly, hundreds of arms shot upward to intercept.
The remaining arms continued their pursuit of Snow Emperor.
Clang, clang, clang—
Massive fists relentlessly pounded against the giant sword, yet despite its diminutive size, the sword carried unparalleled sharpness.
Arms were torn apart one after another, dismembered limbs plummeted to the ground, and deafening roars echoed incessantly. In the blink of an eye, dozens of arms were destroyed.
Crack—
A fissure appeared on the sword's blade. Though the Emperor Sword was sharp, it was ultimately formed from energy and ice, and under relentless assault, it inevitably sustained damage.
Li Xun's eyes gleamed as another hundred arms surged toward the Emperor Sword.
Snap—
After dozens more arms were destroyed, the Emperor Sword finally shattered, scattering into fragments.
Just then, Snow Emperor escaped the giant Buddha's attack range.
Hovering silently in mid-air, she observed the enormous Buddha, a ripple of emotion flashing in her typically calm gaze.
She hadn't expected that those seemingly fragile arms could become so formidable when their numbers reached a certain threshold.
Though their substance wasn't exceptionally hard, even she wouldn't dare let those meteor-like fists strike her directly.
In their brief exchange, she had destroyed nearly two hundred of the Buddha's arms, but for an opponent commanding over a thousand arms, it had no substantial impact.
Though she hadn't unleashed her full power, the fact that he could withstand her Snow Empress Three Absolutes was already worthy of pride.
As she watched the relentless onslaught of fists, countless thoughts raced through Snow Emperor's mind, analyzing the situation in an instant.
The optimal strategy now was to escape the attack range and gradually whittle down the arms, albeit with some effort.
However, closing in on the human would also present an opportunity for victory.
As the leader of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North Land, even with suppressed strength, her pride disdained winning through evasion.
The ice sword reappeared in her hand, but this time, the energy it contained was far more potent than before.
Several energy vortices suddenly appeared behind her, five Emperor Swords gleaming with cold light. As she swung the ice sword in her hand, they shot toward the sky full of fist shadows.
Meanwhile, she herself soared upward until reaching a certain altitude, watching Li Xun dive down from above.
At this moment, the energy released by the Emperor Swords and Snow Emperor was immense, enough to make even Li Xun feel pressured.
But how could a true strong person retreat in the face of difficulty?
Boom—
The True Several Thousand Hands dissipated into white mist, replaced by a single ice sword.
With a light brush against the Flying Sword,
Two red Spirit Rings beneath Li Xun's feet continuously shimmered as the Flying Sword instantly shot from his hand, tracing a straight path toward Snow Emperor.
This wasn't all. Li Xun's hands formed a rare seal: "Ninja Art, Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.As this Ninjutsu was executed, the Water Chill Sword attacking Snow Emperor split instantly—one becoming two, two becoming four—blinking into hundreds of projectiles.
The first Spirit Ring glowed brightly, his spiritual power firmly locking onto Snow Emperor. The hundreds of Flying Swords seemed drawn, uniformly aligning their tips toward her.
Then they erupted forward.
(End of Chapter)