Chapter Thirteen: The Sword's Divided Shadow

Moments later.

A few hundred meters from the island at the center of the lake, on a small crescent-shaped isle, stood four six-year-old children—two boys and two girls—facing each other.

Before the contest began, Xu Zhao remarked, “Hope you don’t mind if we use our soul spirits to fight.”

“Of course not,” Xue Liushuang replied decisively. “After all, soul spirits are an integral part of a soul master's strength.”

Before her words faded, a beam of white light shot out from her body, landing on the ground and transforming into a six-meter-tall bamboo, shimmering icy blue like jade, emanating a chilling aura.

“This is my soul spirit, the six-hundred-year-old Cold Jade Sword Bamboo.”

Weng Daimin, standing nearby, responded by releasing her own soul spirit.

A white light landed, revealing a pristine flower shrouded in thick mist. Its petals, still in bud, swayed gently in the breeze.

“This is my soul spirit, the five-hundred-year-old Snow Mist Flower.”

After they released their soul spirits, their gazes fixed on Xu Zhao and Xu Yucheng.

Without hesitation, Xu Zhao and Xu Yucheng’s soul spirits flared simultaneously beside them.

“This is Xiaoyue, the seven-hundred-year-old mutated silver wolf.”

“Demon Flower Mantis, three hundred years.”

Xue Liushuang’s sharp eyes locked onto Xiaoyue but she addressed Xu Yucheng with a question.

“Your soul spirit is only three hundred years old… It seems you only fully resolved the backlash from the martial soul after absorbing the soul spirit.”

“I told you, you’ll have to beat me to find out,” Xu Yucheng said, raising his right hand. A three-meter-long dark demon scythe instantly took shape, swirling with sinister black-gray energy.

A blue glow enveloped Xue Liushuang’s body. A sharp sword light shattered the air, splitting into two beams before solidifying into a three-foot-long ice-blue sword that landed steadily in her hand.

“I want to know, so pardon me!”

Her wrist flicked, smoothly initiating the opening move of the Splitting Sword Technique, and she called over her shoulder, “Daimin!”

Weng Daimin understood immediately.

Behind her, a snow-shadow martial soul appeared—a silhouette resembling her about seventy to eighty percent, entirely covered in ice and snow.

The snow shadow instantly merged with Weng Daimin’s body!

Stretching her arms, she rose lightly into the air, like a fairy treading on clouds.

At the same time, Xue Liushuang’s entire body radiated a surge of icy blue light, transforming into a swift shadow that shot toward Weng Daimin.

The ice flower flickered, and suddenly the two merged, becoming a blue-haired maiden dressed in a sapphire gown, wielding an ice-blue sword. Her features were a blend of Xue Liushuang and Weng Daimin’s mature appearances, with a white icy halo hovering behind her head.

This was their martial soul fusion technique—the Ice and Snow Goddess!

“Starting off by using your martial soul fusion technique?”

Xu Zhao’s expression tightened. A whirlwind wrapped in fierce flames suddenly erupted around him, spinning violently!

The scorching tornado not only instantly dispelled the surrounding chill but, with thunderous speed, surged directly toward the Snow Mist Flower!

“You?”

The Ice and Snow Goddess was about to unleash the Splitting Sword Technique when she saw Xu Zhao seize the initiative and attack the Snow Mist Flower first. Her heart jolted.

Wind fuels fire, and fire strengthens wind.

The power contained in this fiery tornado startled even those fused by martial souls. Such an attack was far beyond what the five-hundred-year-old Snow Mist Flower could withstand.

Moreover, it was an attack with elemental advantage.

Now, in their fused martial soul state, Weng Daimin could not retract her soul spirit.

With no other option, the Ice and Snow Goddess abruptly halted her assault. The icy figure flickered like a blink of teleportation, intercepting the fiery tornado before the Snow Mist Flower. Her ice sword clashed fiercely against the roaring flames.

“Yucheng!” Xu Zhao shouted urgently.

“Got it!”

Almost at Xu Zhao’s call, Xu Yucheng and his soul spirit, the Demon Flower Mantis, transformed into two blurred shadows, activating “Shadow Stealth” and silently speeding toward the Cold Jade Sword Bamboo!

Midway, the Demon Flower Mantis flapped its wings violently, producing a high-frequency hum. Its forearms crossed suddenly, slicing the air with terrifying cross-shaped blades of energy aimed fiercely at the Cold Jade Sword Bamboo!

At that moment, the Ice and Snow Goddess had just blocked the fiery tornado to protect the Snow Mist Flower. Seeing this sudden change, and in her urgency to help, she overlooked the fact that the Cold Jade Sword Bamboo could withstand attacks from a three-hundred-year-old mantis soul spirit!

“Not good!”

The Ice and Snow Goddess spun her body without hesitation, swinging her ice sword with all her might!

An ice-blue sword beam shot out, striking precisely against the mantis’s cross blades. A thunderous clash erupted mid-air, the energies canceling each other out.

“Got you hooked.”

Xu Zhao smirked at the sight.

Unnoticed, Xu Yucheng had already arrived beside the Snow Mist Flower, his dark demon scythe’s sharp blade pressing against the flower’s slender stem.

“This Snow Mist Flower can be eliminated.”

Since soul spirits take time to recover from injury and this was merely a contest, there was no need for unnecessary harm.

Within the Ice and Snow Goddess, Weng Daimin did not linger in conflict. She decisively communicated with her soul spirit. The white mist surrounding the Snow Mist Flower contracted, and it slowly withdrew to the battlefield’s edge to observe.

Once the Snow Mist Flower retreated, the Ice and Snow Goddess’s icy gaze locked onto the enemies. Her sword danced swiftly, sending two ice-blue sword beams slicing through the air, targeting Xiaoyue and the Demon Flower Mantis respectively.

Xu Yucheng’s eyes narrowed.

The Demon Flower Mantis’s attack was fierce, but its three-hundred-year cultivation was a fatal weakness. It could not withstand this strike alone.

He immediately dodged beside the mantis, gripping his dark demon scythe horizontally, prepared to fight alongside it.

On the other side, Xu Zhao allowed Xiaoyue to fend off the sword beams on its own, while he continued to gather strength to deliver a surprise to Xue Liushuang and the others.

“Let’s deal with the weakest first.”

The Ice and Snow Goddess turned toward Xu Yucheng’s position and rushed forward swiftly.

In their eyes, it was indisputable that Xu Yucheng’s defense was the weakest among the two, regardless of who was stronger.

Not only him, but his soul spirit as well.

The mantis soul beast was notorious for high offense but low defense.

Even the so-called “King of Mantises,” the Demon Flower Mantis, was no exception.

The sword beam attacking Xiaoyue was blocked by a shimmering shield infused with the seven elemental forces of earth, water, fire, wind, light, darkness, and space.

After halting the sword beam, Xiaoyue flapped its wings and attempted to rush to Xu Yucheng’s aid, only to be stopped halfway by the Cold Jade Sword Bamboo’s released icy sword energy.

Blocked ahead, Xiaoyue’s forehead moon pattern slowly brightened. It quickly remembered something, glanced back at its master, but chose to continue using its spiritual power to entangle with the Cold Jade Sword Bamboo.

Xue Liushuang controlled the Ice and Snow Goddess to attack Xu Yucheng but kept part of her focus on Xu Zhao’s movements.

Although she didn’t understand why Xu Zhao had yet to strike, the arrow was already drawn. She had to act.

Sustaining the martial soul fusion technique required continuous energy consumption. However, the higher the martial soul compatibility, the lower the energy drain.

Their Ice and Snow Goddess had an astonishing ninety-one percent compatibility, resulting in very low energy consumption.

Yet, no matter how low the drain, they were still novice soul masters who had only recently awakened their martial souls. Such a small reserve of soul power wouldn’t allow the Ice and Snow Goddess to last long.

Therefore, to win this contest, they had to fight swiftly and decisively.

“No choice. To win, I have to strike harder!”

The icy blue light burst forth again from the Ice and Snow Goddess.

Her sword transformed into a dazzling blur, pushing the Splitting Sword Technique to its peak.

In an instant, countless overlapping sword shadows blurred her true form. The fierce sword light seemed to tear the surrounding air apart.

“Splitting Sword Technique—Sword Shadows Multiplying!”