Chapter 9: Spears Stain the Frozen Lake with Blood, the First Fangs of the Thousand-Machine Umbrella
The air seemed to freeze at that moment, with only the lingering soul power fluctuations on the corpse of the Silver Ice Python reminding everyone of what had just happened.
Ye Feng held a spear, its tip pointing diagonally at the ground, the silvery-white shaft gleaming coldly in the purple moonlight. His eyes were frighteningly calm, completely unlike those of a six-year-old child who had just experienced a life-or-death battle.
"Arrogant?" Ye Feng's lips curled into a mocking smile, the confidence of a strong person. "Whether I'm arrogant or not, you'll soon find out."
The leader of the Snow Demon Sect was named Xue Li, twelve years old, a level thirteen control-type Soul Master, whose Martial Soul was the Extreme Cold Poison Vine. Among the younger generation of the Snow Demon Sect, he was considered a ruthless character, and he was used to bullying the weak.
"Attack! Don't give him a chance to breathe!" Xue Li shouted, and the yellow spirit ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up. "First Spirit Skill - Frost Poison Vines!"
As he activated his soul power, seven or eight purplish-black vines, each as thick as a child's arm, suddenly sprouted from beneath the ice. The vines were covered with sharp barbs, and their tips spewed out pale purple poisonous mist, like a group of venomous snakes that were ready to devour their prey, strangling at Ye Feng from all directions.
At the same time, the disciple standing to Xue Li's left also moved. He was a short boy with a poisoned dagger as his martial soul, clearly an agility-type soul master. Using the vines as cover, he moved like a ghost to Ye Feng's side and rear, his dagger aimed straight for Ye Feng's back.
"Boss, watch out behind you!" Ye Shaotian shouted, trying to rush over to help, but was blocked by another Snow Demon Sect disciple.
"You fatso, your opponent is me!" The disciple's martial spirit was a thick ice shield, which directly blocked Ye Shaotian's path, and he grinned maliciously.
Facing the pincer attack from both the poisonous vines in front and the assassins behind, Ye Feng showed no sign of panic. His mind raced at that moment, countless classic battle scenes from his previous life's "The King's Avatar" flashing through his mind, which he quickly disassembled and reassembled into tactical moves that could be used at this moment.
"Too slow."
Just as the poison vine was about to touch the hem of Ye Feng's clothes, he moved.
Without retreating or dodging, Ye Feng made a move that surprised everyone—charging!
He jerked his spear around, not aiming it at the vines, but instead slamming it hard against the ice beside him.
"Mountain Collapse Strike - Variation!"
Although there was no soul skill enhancement, the weight of the Thousand Manifestations Umbrella in its spear form, combined with the power amplification from Ye Feng's Flowing Silver Ice Python soul ring, allowed this attack to shatter the ice beneath his feet. The flying ice fragments shot out like bullets towards the agility-type soul masters who were attempting a sneak attack from behind.
"What?!" The attacker's vision was obstructed, and he instinctively swung his dagger to block the ice, his body momentarily stopping.
In that split second, Ye Feng used the reaction force to slide to the left, his spear drawing a perfect semicircle in the air.
"Sky Strike!"
The spear's tip struck the first poisonous vine that arrived with deadly accuracy. Ye Feng flicked his wrist, unleashing a burst of skillful force, and actually deflected the poisonous vine towards the attacker behind him.
"Ah!" The attacker couldn't dodge in time and was caught in his companion's poisonous vine. The barbs on it instantly tore through his skin, and the poison entered his body, causing him to let out a painful groan.
"Useless!" Xue Li cursed, forced to control the vines to release his companion, while manipulating the remaining vines to form a large net, attempting to trap Ye Feng to death.
"Your vines are too brittle."
Ye Feng's voice rang out coldly through the poisonous fog.
The first spirit ring shines!
"Dragon Fang!"
The spear, like a dragon emerging from the sea, pierced through the layers of vines with a piercing sound. The high-frequency shockwaves from the spear's tip instantly pulverized the tough plant fibers upon contact with the vines!
This is the characteristic granted by the Silver Ice Python Soul Ring—unbreakable penetrating power!
The spear continued its relentless advance, aimed directly at Xue Li's throat.
Xue Li was shocked. He never expected that his proud control-type soul skill would be so vulnerable in front of this new first soul skill.
"Return to defense!" He desperately mobilized his soul power, trying to recall the vines to protect his body.
But Ye Feng's fighting pace was too fast; it was a "combo" that was beyond the comprehension of Soul Masters of this age.
Just as the dragon tooth pierced Xue Li's protective soul power, Ye Feng twisted his wrist, and instead of stabbing down, he pulled the spear horizontally.
The canopy of the Thousand Machine Umbrella instantly opened halfway behind the spear tip, forming a structure similar to a hook and sickle.
"Circle Stick!"
Ye Feng let out a low shout, using the hook-and-sickle structure to firmly grip Xue Li's neck. Then, he exerted force from his waist, making his whole body spin like a top.
"Get down!"
boom!
Xue Li's frail body was forcefully flung into the air by Ye Feng, leaving a trail of afterimages before crashing heavily onto the ice.
The impact was powerful and heavy. A human-shaped crater was smashed into the ice, and Xue Li spat out a mouthful of blood, instantly collapsing. The Round Dance Staff, a skill that forces a knockdown in the game, was, in the real Douluo Continent, pure violent aesthetics.
"Senior brother!"
The remaining two Snow Demon Sect disciples were terrified. Only ten seconds had passed since they began fighting. Their strongest opponent, Xue Li, had been slammed to the ground like a dead dog.
"No...don't come any closer!" The agility-type Soul Master's hand holding the dagger was trembling. He looked at Ye Feng, who was slowly approaching with a spear in his hand, as if he were seeing a demon who had walked out of hell.
Ye Feng ignored him and turned to look at the other side: "Little Fatty, how long are you going to play?"
Over there, Ye Shaotian was locked in a stalemate with the disciple wielding the shield. Hearing his leader's words, Ye Shaotian glanced at Xue Li lying on the ground, and the cowardice in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a fierce determination.
"Damn turtle shell, I've had enough of you!"
Ye Shaotian roared, and the Frost Sword in his hand shone brightly with blue light. He no longer tried to bypass the shield, but instead gripped the sword with both hands, concentrating all his soul power into the blade.
The "point-to-surface breakthrough" theory taught by Mingyue came to mind.
"Freeze it!"
The Frost Sword slammed into the ice shield, but this time it wasn't deflected. Extreme cold surged wildly into the ice shield along the sword's blade, and the originally sturdy ice shield began to become unstable after being invaded by cold air of different natures.
"Crack..."
The disciple with the shield's expression changed: "What did you do? My martial spirit!"
"Smash it!" Ye Shaotian kicked the ice shield hard.
With a crash, the ice shield, renowned for its absolute defense at the Great Soul Master level, shattered into countless ice shards. The disciple holding the shield was wide open, and before he could react, Ye Shaotian smashed his sword hilt into his forehead, knocking him unconscious.
The battle ended faster than expected.
A deathly silence returned to the frozen lake.
Ye Feng walked up to Xue Li, the tip of his spear gently pressing against Xue Li's Adam's apple. Xue Li's face was covered in blood, his eyes filled with fear and disbelief.
"No...don't kill me..." Xue Li's voice was hoarse, "I am the grandson of the Third Elder of the Snow Demon Sect. If you kill me, the Snow Demon Sect will not let you off..."
"Now you're scared?" Ye Feng looked down at him. "When you were thinking of destroying our martial souls, didn't you think about the consequences?"
Ye Feng is not a bloodthirsty person; after all, he comes from a society governed by the rule of law. But that doesn't mean he's a saint. In this dog-eat-dog world, mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself.
"Hand over your soul tools," Ye Feng said coldly.
Xue Li was taken aback, then a hint of pain flashed in his eyes, but under the threat of the spear, he dared not disobey and tremblingly took off a gray bracelet from his wrist.
"And you two too." Ye Feng looked at the other two disciples who were already terrified.
Soon, the three storage soul tools were in Ye Feng's hands.
"Get lost." Ye Feng sheathed his spear. "This time it's money to buy your lives. If I ever see you targeting people from the Northern Academy again, this spear will pierce your throats."
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Xue Li and the other two felt as if they had been granted a pardon. Supporting each other, they scrambled away from the frozen lake, not daring to look back.
"Boss, are we just going to let them go like that?" Ye Shaotian walked over, somewhat indignant. "They really tried to kill us just now."
Ye Feng watched the three figures leave, his eyes deep: "Killing them is easy, but disposing of their bodies is troublesome. Besides, this is a secret realm. If they have any life marks on them, dying here will directly attract the Snow Demon Sect's crazy retaliation. We are still weak and don't need to get into such trouble for a few pieces of trash."
He brandished the three soul tools in his hand, a sly smile on his face: "Besides, making them survive naked in the secret realm might be more painful than killing them. Let's take a look at our spoils."
The two found a sheltered ice rock and began to take stock of their spoils.
It must be said that the Snow Demon Sect is indeed very wealthy. In addition to a large amount of dry food and fresh water, the three soul tools also contained several bottles of antidote pills, soul-restoring potions, and several pieces of rare ores of good quality.
"I'm rich! I'm rich!" Ye Shaotian grinned foolishly, holding a bottle of Soul-Returning Potion. "This bottle can sell for fifty gold soul coins on the black market in Northern Border City!"
Ye Feng then rummaged through a pile of miscellaneous items and found a sheepskin map.
"This is..." Ye Feng unfolded the map and found that this was not an ordinary map of the secret realm. A hidden route was marked on it with a red line, the end of which pointed to a red dot deep in the secret realm, with the words "Ice Marrow" marked next to it.
"Ice Marrow?" Ye Feng's heart stirred. Ice Marrow is the essence condensed from ten thousand years of ice, a priceless treasure for ice-attribute soul masters. A single drop can cleanse the marrow and improve the quality of one's martial soul.
"It seems this is the real purpose of the Snow Demon Sect." Ye Feng put away the map. "Now that it's in my hands, it belongs to us."
"Take a break, we'll set off in an hour." Ye Feng tossed Ye Shaotian a bottle of pills to restore his strength. "Your first spirit ring isn't settled yet. We're going to venture even deeper into the future."
Ye Shaotian took the pill and looked at Ye Feng's composed profile, feeling a sense of security in his heart.
"Boss, your first soul skill is really amazing. That spear form is practically made for battle."
Ye Feng stroked the Thousand Manifestations Umbrella, which had now transformed back into its umbrella form. He could sense that there were still many unused structures inside the Thousand Manifestations Umbrella; the spear was just the tip of the iceberg.
"This is nothing," Ye Feng said softly. "You'll see something even more terrifying later."
...
An hour later, the two embarked on their journey again.
The deeper one ventures into the hidden realm, the harsher the environment becomes. Gale-force winds whip up snowflakes, reducing visibility to less than ten meters. The snow on the ground is already knee-deep, and every step requires a great deal of energy.
Moreover, the spirit beasts here are getting stronger and stronger.
On their journey, they encountered a pack of two-hundred-year-old ice wolves. One or two would have been manageable, but this pack numbered over twenty. Ye Feng and Ye Shaotian dared not engage in a direct confrontation. Using the gliding function of their Thousand Chance Umbrella, they leaped over an ice cliff, taking advantage of the wind, and barely managed to shake off the pack.
"Boss, look there!"
After crossing a huge iceberg, Ye Shaotian suddenly pointed to a basin in front of him and exclaimed in surprise.
It was a strange forest.
The trees were no longer barren icicles, but real plants, only these trees were crystal clear, as if carved from crystal, their leaves emitting a faint glow. In the center of the forest stood a huge altar, above which floated a bead emitting a soft blue light, seemingly calling out to something.
"That's the place marked on the map, the core area of the Ice God Ruins." Ye Feng looked at the map. "However, it seems that someone got there before us."
Following Ye Feng's gaze, a fierce battle was taking place at the edge of the Crystal Forest.
Two white figures were fighting against a huge mantis-like soul beast.
The mantis was a deep, icy blue, standing a full three meters tall. Its two forearms were like two enormous ice blades, each swing creating a gust of icy wind. Its back had four wings as thin as cicada wings, which emitted a piercing buzzing sound when they vibrated.
"That's... an Ice Blade Mantis around 450 years old!" Ye Feng's eyes flashed with a sharp light. "Little Fatty, your opportunity has arrived!"
The Ice Blade Mantis is a top-tier, high-attack ice-attribute spirit beast, renowned for its terrifying attack power and extreme speed. Its two ice blades are indestructible, making it the ultimate spirit ring choice for sword-type spirit masters!
"But... those are people from the City Lord's Mansion fighting." Ye Shaotian hesitated.
The two people fighting were none other than the son and daughter of Commander Tie of the City Lord's Mansion, Tie Long and Tie Hu, whom they had met once before.
Iron Dragon, a burly man with a black iron shield as his martial spirit, was currently standing in front, desperately trying to withstand the mantis's attacks. His sister, Iron Tiger (though her name sounded masculine, she had a rather heroic appearance), wielded a long sword and kept trying to attack from the side, but the Ice Blade Mantis was too fast, and her attacks were difficult to penetrate.
By this time, both men were wounded, and Iron Dragon's shield was covered with deep knife marks, clearly indicating that they were at their limit.
"They're almost at their limit," Ye Feng calmly analyzed. "Ice Blade Mantises are soul beasts with excellent stamina. Once their prey shows signs of fatigue, they will launch a fatal attack. If we don't intervene, these two siblings will either be dead or crippled."
"Should we save them or not?"
"Save him! Of course I'll save him." Ye Feng stood up, carrying the Thousand Chance Umbrella. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and besides, the City Lord's Mansion has a much better reputation than the Snow Demon Sect. Most importantly... this mantis must be yours."
"Walk!"
Ye Feng spread his body and swooped down the snow slope like an eagle.
"Hold on! Reinforcements are here!"