"I've had this Quick Freeze Pearl for at least two years," Yan Zhen said indifferently, the artifact floating mysteriously and orbiting above his head. His gaze was directed downward at Chen Fei, a cold smile touching the corners of his eyes. "I once thought that only an opponent at the Peak Realm of Qi Refining Sixth Layer would have the right to force my hand. Yet, you are the one exception. So, I am very curious… can you withstand it?"

This Mid-Grade Magical Artifact, the Quick Freeze Pearl, was his greatest trump card.

He was well aware of the terrifying power it possessed. He knew that even a powerhouse at the Peak of Qi Refining Sixth Layer would have to pay the price of serious injury to survive it.

At the thought, the cold glint in his eyes intensified. He waved his hand, his fingers rapidly forming several Seal Gestures aimed at the Quick Freeze Pearl. Instantly, the artifact burst forth with waves of cold brilliance that coalesced in mid-air. The power radiating from it was so immense that it even froze the stones in the surrounding ruins.

Such a display was truly astonishing.

"Kid, are you ready!?" Yan Zhen's mocking question rang out as he flicked his finger.

POOF!

The cold brilliance hovering in mid-air swept out like a tidal wave, howling as it rushed to engulf the area where Chen Fei stood.

In the blink of an eye, the ground it passed over was frozen solid. The sight left the spectators around the main battle platform gaping in astonishment.

The tide of bone-chilling energy had already submerged Chen Fei's position.

So this is the power of a Mid-Grade Magical Artifact? Chen Fei's eyes narrowed as he watched the azure wave, like an avalanche from a great, snowy mountain, roll toward him. His gaze sharpened, and the eighteen strands of Sword Qi of Sanyang True Fire within his body instantly vibrated, erupting with the force of a volcano.

As the Sword Qi of Sanyang True Fire surged, the light from the flames instantly enveloped Chen Fei, forming a protective barrier. Even so, he knew it wasn't enough.

For one, the Sword Qi of Sanyang True Fire he cultivated was an offensive technique, not a defensive one. For another, the might of this Mid-Grade Magical Artifact was truly terrifying. He could smell the scent of death.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE! CRACKLE...

Before he could even formulate a countermeasure, the curtain of light from the Quick Freeze Pearl slammed into his protective barrier of flames. The surface of the barrier rippled as if infected, freezing over at a visible rate. Soon, Chen Fei was completely encased within the ice.

From a distance, the entire area appeared to have been flash-frozen, its contents transformed into a tableau of ice crystals and statues.

Everyone who witnessed this was stunned into silence. Their pupils trembled as chills shot up their spines.

"Hua Lian!"

At that moment, a deep, tangible sonic boom swept out like a storm. In the next instant, the fiercely burning barrier of flames quivered. From afar, countless crimson lines, like intricate patterns, spread out from within the ice, blooming in all directions like a magnificent lotus.

Seeing this, the arrogant expression on Yan Zhen's face vanished, and his eye began to twitch.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

Before he could process what was happening, a deafening roar erupted. A flare of pure flame shot skyward, enveloping the area where Chen Fei had been standing.

The collision between scorching flames and bone-chilling cold produced an impact that felt physically parching. Ripples of force, dozens of feet wide, spread out like shockwaves. The temperature in the air plummeted, turning moisture into hissing steam and making it difficult for the onlookers to breathe. They gasped, struggling for air.

Even the ground of the main battle platform, already in ruins, suffered another devastating blow. Countless tremors shook the arena, making the spectators' hearts pound in their chests.

WHOOSH!

A figure shrouded in searing, hot flames shot out from the collapsing ice sculpture like a missile, accompanied by a deafening roar. This sight made Yan Zhen, who had believed victory was his, turn utterly grim. His face became ashen and hideous.

Clearly, he had never anticipated Chen Fei could fight him to such a standstill. Especially not after he had used his greatest trump card—the Quick Freeze Pearl.

How could this be possible? His opponent was proving unbelievably resilient!

What kind of cultivation technique is that kid practicing? Why is he so formidable that even my Mid-Grade Magical Artifact—the Quick Freeze Pearl—can't suppress him? A look of unwillingness flashed across Yan Zhen's sinister face, his inner turmoil now impossible to conceal.

In recent years, he had been nearly invincible. This was especially true since he became an Inner Sect Disciple of the War Halberd Sect and earned the right to cultivate the lower volume of the "Hundred Battles Heart Sutra," one of the Sect's five Treasures of Mountain Suppression. Aided by his own talent and the Hundred Battles Spiritual Energy, he had swept through all opponents at his level. Yet today, he had accomplished nothing against Chen Fei, a cultivator at the mere Peak of Qi Refining Fifth Layer!

This brat is too strange. I must end this quickly to avoid any future complications or an unexpected misstep... Yan Zhen's eyes flickered violently. He was no longer willing to waste time toying with such a bizarre and troublesome opponent.

With that thought, Yan Zhen stopped hesitating. A fierce gleam flashed in his eyes as he shook his palm, using the Hundred Battles Spiritual Energy to slice a deep gash into his own thumb. Blood dripped from the wound onto the surface of the Quick Freeze Pearl. Instantly, a chilling aura, far more terrifying than before, erupted from it without restraint.

BOOM!

The sheer force of it made everyone's pupils contract sharply. The temperature in the area plummeted to the freezing point, as if snow had begun to fall on a clear day.

The scene was almost too much for the crowd to bear. Their knees felt weak, and their eyes were stung by the biting cold, forcing them to squint or shut them entirely. They watched as the Quick Freeze Pearl's power exploded like an arctic blizzard, raging out from its source to savagely engulf the area where Chen Fei stood.

A gasp of astonishment went through the crowd.

"This... this... They're monsters, aren't they!?"

"It's hard to believe a fight between two men in their twenties or thirties could reach such a terrifying level..."

"It's one thing for Yan Zhen to be this formidable—after all, he's a monster who has returned from that place twice. But that other kid... is he really only in his twenties!?"

...

Around the main battle platform, the elites of the Four Departments of Capital City, both young and old, watched the battlefield with expressions of pure shock. As the Quick Freeze Pearl unleashed its terrible destruction, they couldn't help but feel their scalps tingle with apprehension. The clash was so intense that they suspected even a genuine SSS-level powerhouse would not escape unscathed.

Many of the older generation from the Four Departments of Capital City watched with bitter expressions. The level of this confrontation had completely surpassed their imagination, delivering a heavy blow to their own martial pride.

Among those present, perhaps the most shocked was Liu Chudong, who came from a similar background as Chen Fei and Yan Zhen. He stared intently at the two figures on the crumbling platform, the roiling storm of shock in his heart clearly visible on his face.

With Yan Zhen's current strength, wielding a Mid-Grade Magical Artifact, he might even be stronger than an average senior brother or sister at the Peak of Qi Refining Sixth Layer from my Kunlun Sword Cliff. But that guy... if he were also at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, I doubt even Yan Zhen could suppress him, right?

His mind was consumed by this thought, because the might displayed by Chen Fei—Young Master Chen—was simply too astonishing. He was only at the Peak of Qi Refining Fifth Layer, yet he could battle Yan Zhen, a Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivator with a Mid-Grade Magical Artifact and the Hundred Battles Spiritual Energy, to such a degree. If he were to one day reach the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, or an even higher realm, how terrifying would he become?

Could he actually contend with a Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator then?

At this thought, even Liu Chudong, a disciple of the Kunlun Sword Cliff—one of the Three Supreme Martial Arts Halls—felt his scalp tingle. He immediately dismissed the absurd notion from his mind.

Although the names "Qi Refining Sixth Layer" and "Qi Refining Seventh Layer" sounded similar, the actual gap in power between them was enormous, like an uncrossable chasm.

But while his thoughts were far more complex than those around him, the crowd now looked toward Chen Fei's position with a sense of pity. They could all see that the monstrous Yan Zhen had unleashed his absolute peak strength and played his final trump card.

Things had reached this point; that kid had to be out of tricks. There was no way he could turn this around.

"Bureau Chief Zheng, it seems one misstep has decided the match. It looks like our Celestial Group is victorious after all," Kou Bin said from a high platform nearby, a smirk of relief on his face.

Zheng Weiguo didn't reply. The unconcealed worry on his face betrayed his true state of mind; he was finding it difficult to remain calm. It wasn't about winning or losing. As the lowest-ranked of the Four Departments of Capital City, they didn't value victory as much as outsiders imagined.

No, right now, he was simply worried about Chen Fei. That Yan Zhen truly lived up to the title of "monster" he had carried for so many years.

With this level of power, even some of the SSS-level Elders from the Central Guard Bureau would likely be unable to withstand his attack.

BOOM!

At that exact moment, the Mid-Grade Magical Artifact unleashed its ultimate attack. It exploded like a volcano, sending shockwaves sweeping out in all directions. The core of the attack crashed down on Chen Fei's position like a falling meteorite. A horrifying cold, seemingly capable of freezing a man's very bones to dust, coiled in massive plumes toward the sky.

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