Chapter 952: Icebound Blood Wolf
"A quarter of an hour? That long?" Mu Xiaolan murmured to herself. Though she had never participated in the Cold Snow Hall's examination, having been in the Bing Huang God Sect for so many years, she had heard some things about it.
"That isn't the important part," Mu Sushan said with a chuckle. "Perhaps you should think about why he specifically asked you that question just now."
"Huh?" Mu Xiaolan looked completely puzzled.
"The Blizzard Realm examination is quite physically demanding," Mu Sushan explained slowly. "Most profound practitioners, whether they passed or failed, emerge from the Blizzard Realm panting heavily. But Yun Che not only broke into the top thousand with his Sovereign Xuan Realm cultivation, his expression was calm as ever, with hardly any signs of heavy breathing... Heh heh, this young man that the Ice Cloud Palace Master brought back from the lower realm is indeed extraordinary. Something surprising might happen later on."
"Ah?" Mu Xiaolan was even more confused.
Yun Che stepped into the profound array and immediately noticed that the person named Feng Mo was also among them. Not only had he passed the second round of examination, his ranking seemed fairly high. Sensing the gaze upon him, Feng Mo looked up at him as well, his expression rather peculiar.
"The final examination... the Ice Profound Realm! Don't die too quickly!"
As Ji Hanfeng's voice fell, a blue light shot up from the profound array, completely engulfing the figures of all examinees within.
The world around Yun Che instantly turned icy blue. Then, he sensed the changes in the surrounding world. All presence of qi vanished in an instant, and when the light suddenly dissipated, a space built of ice crystals appeared before his eyes.
The world of the Ice Profound Realm!
This space was independent and enclosed, and exceptionally narrow—less than a hundred zhang in length, width, and height, with every boundary and edge visible at a glance. What sealed this world was a layer of ice formed by extremely high-level Ice Profound Force, refracting a chilling light that pierced the soul.
Just as Yun Che had taken in his surroundings, a flash of cold light appeared before him, rapidly manifesting the silhouette of a beast about one zhang in length... Its entire body was snow-white, claws like cold blades, eyes like blood—it was unmistakably an ice wolf radiating a bloodthirsty aura!
An ice wolf was nothing special to Yun Che, as they were common in the Ice Extreme Snow Domain. But the one before him—even if every ice wolf in the Ice Extreme Snow Domain were combined, they wouldn't match a single strand of its fur. The aura it released was terrifying, clearly surpassing even Feng Xue'er and Xiao Yaohou.
This was a fearsome profound beast possessing the power of the divine path! Its strength was comparable to an early-stage Divine Origin Realm profound practitioner!
The moment the ice wolf appeared, it let out a bloodthirsty howl and lunged at him. Yun Che was a projection, and so was this ice wolf. It had no emotions; its sole purpose was to tear apart any living being before it, granting the opponent not even a moment to catch its breath.
"Purgatory!!"
A profound beast with the power of the divine path was far beyond what Yun Che could handle in his normal state. He instantly activated the Evil God Realm Gate, causing his profound power to surge, yet he still dared not meet it head-on. Instead, he used Star God Remnant Shadow to quickly dodge.
Rip!
The ice wolf's pounce struck nothing. The moment its front paws touched the ground, it twisted like lightning and lunged at Yun Che again. At the same time, the temperature within the Ice Profound Realm suddenly plummeted. Countless ice spikes materialized in the void, shooting toward Yun Che with a piercing screech.
What... the!?
The ice wolf's speed startled Yun Che. He lowered his body, dodged along the ground using Instant Shadow again, and passed beneath the ice wolf, instantly swapping positions. But in this cramped space, ice spikes had become ubiquitous. With a low shout, Yun Che exploded his profound energy outward, shattering all the ice spikes heading toward him. Yet just as his energy subsided, over a dozen ice spikes pierced through the remnants of his power and stabbed deeply into his body.
Bang, bang, bang, bang...
Given the toughness of Yun Che's body, it was extremely difficult for him to be injured. But what struck him now was divine power beyond the level of the Tian Xuan Continent. Blood splattered across his chest and back. The searing pain made Yun Che frown. He punched himself in the chest, forcing all the embedded spikes out of his body, where they shattered into icy powder.
What a terrifying profound beast... After all, this is a profound beast from the God Realm.
The ice wolf, having missed its second pounce, turned again. Its snow-white body flew forward. Before it even got close, its claws tore through the air, instantly forming a massive ice blade that swept horizontally toward Yun Che.
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"Senior Sushan, what exactly is in the Ice Profound Realm for this final examination?" Mu Xiaolan asked Mu Sushan.
"Oh? Now you're starting to worry about that kid?" Mu Sushan said with a half-smile.
"I can't be bothered to worry about him." Mu Xiaolan wrinkled her nose. "I'm just curious."
"It's the Icebound Blood Wolf," Mu Sushan replied.
"Icebound Blood Wolf... a Divine Spirit Realm Level 1 profound beast?" Mu Xiaolan exclaimed softly.
"Correct, and not just one," Mu Sushan explained. "When an examinee enters the Ice Profound Realm, they first face a single Icebound Blood Wolf. After that, at fixed intervals, more Icebound Blood Wolves appear—no longer just one, but two, three, four... each time, one more."
"Most of those who take the Cold Snow Hall examination are early-stage Divine Origin Realm practitioners. The best who passed the second round can handle a single Icebound Blood Wolf with ease. Two become troublesome, three are extremely dangerous, and four are nearly impossible. Moreover, each wave of Icebound Blood Wolves appears at set times. For example, the third wave produces three Icebound Blood Wolves at once. But if the examinee fails to kill those three before the fourth wave arrives, then when the fourth wave appears, they'll have to face seven at once... Heh heh, the result is inevitably death."
"Icebound Blood Wolves... though their bodies are relatively fragile, their offensive capabilities are among the strongest of profound beasts at the same level. They are also extremely ferocious. Yun Che, he... he..." Mu Xiaolan began to stammer. "He'll be torn to shreds immediately."
"Ah!!!!"
No sooner had Mu Xiaolan spoken than a miserable scream rang out. A figure flew out from the profound array and crashed heavily onto the ground.
The first examinee to die in the Ice Profound Realm was ejected.
"Hmph. Useless," Ji Hanfeng sneered disdainfully as he supervised the examination.
"Ah... Yun Che!" Mu Xiaolan gasped instinctively and rushed toward that figure. With Yun Che's mere Lord Xuan Realm Level 5 profound strength, the only outcome against a ferocious Icebound Blood Wolf was to be torn apart instantly. The first person to die under the Icebound Blood Wolf's claws could only be him.
But before she could get close, she stopped, her icy eyes wide open—because the figure on the ground was not Yun Che.
"Hm?" Ji Hanfeng on the other side also frowned deeply.
The first examinee ejected from the profound array slumped on the ground, his face pale, still not recovered from the terror of "death." In the Ice Profound Realm, he had clearly seen himself torn to pieces by the Icebound Blood Wolf.
.........................
Boom!!
The ice blade sliced through Yun Che's afterimage and struck the ice wall behind him, embedding itself there.
The Icebound Blood Wolf's terrifying attacks were all evaded by Yun Che using Star God Remnant Shadow. But he knew very well that with the wolf's incredible speed and the narrowness of this space, staying on the defensive was far from wise. He had to take the offensive.
This time, the Icebound Blood Wolf didn't lunge forward. Instead, it opened its maw wide and spewed out a blast of cold air. A thick icy mist rapidly spread throughout the Ice Profound Realm. The already freezing space began to drop in temperature at a terrifying rate.
Frost air!?
Yun Che's eyes flickered. He charged straight into the icy mist, streaking like lightning toward the Icebound Blood Wolf.
The frost air spewed by the Icebound Blood Wolf would instantly freeze even an Emperor Lord into an ice sculpture if they touched it. As the mist spread, everything within the Ice Profound Realm would be sealed in ice.
But it absolutely could not affect Yun Che.
Its power, claws, ice spikes, ice blades—Yun Che had dared not meet any of them head-on. But using frost air against him was an incredibly foolish move.
The Icebound Blood Wolf, releasing its frost air, left itself wide open. Yun Che rushed straight to its side, gathered his profound power, and punched it directly in the body.
Weapons were forbidden in the Ice Profound Realm, as Ji Hanfeng had explicitly stated. But Hong'er might be an exception—because she wasn't really a weapon in essence, but a unique entity connected to his soul and will. However, he didn't bother trying to summon her because he disdained "cheating."
Under Yun Che's blow, the Icebound Blood Wolf let out a miserable howl, flew sideways, and slammed heavily into the ice wall, causing the entire small space to tremble slightly. Yun Che looked at his fist, which had just struck the Icebound Blood Wolf's body, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes—because that punch had distinctly made him feel the cracking of the Icebound Blood Wolf's bones.
The Icebound Blood Wolf's attacks were extremely formidable, each one making him feel suffocated. But its body didn't seem to be all that tough.
The Icebound Blood Wolf got up, but its body swayed slightly, proving that Yun Che's feeling of broken bones wasn't an illusion. Yun Che's gaze sharpened, shifting from caution to danger. He took the initiative to charge at the Icebound Blood Wolf.
"Sss... roar!!"
The wounded Icebound Blood Wolf's ferocity surged. Its wolf eyes gleamed with bloodthirsty brutality. It howled angrily, leaped several dozen zhang into the air, and lunged at Yun Che with a surge of icy, violent energy. Half of the Ice Profound Realm was instantly swept into a calamitous ice storm.
Yun Che also leaped up, meeting it head-on. As they closed in, he flickered his shadow and appeared ghostlike above the Icebound Blood Wolf. Using his hand as a sword, he struck down with all his might.
"Falling Moon and Sinking Star!!"
Boom!!
Crack!!
A heavy impact rang out as Yun Che's palm, filled with all his force, smashed onto the Icebound Blood Wolf's back. Immediately after came a crisp, ear-splitting sound of breaking bones.
Yun Che's strength was immense. With this blow, the Icebound Blood Wolf's spine was shattered into several pieces. It let out a miserable howl, crashing heavily to the ground. After a series of rolls, it lay limp like a pile of mud, unable to rise again. Soon, it slowly dissipated in a flash of blue light.
Yun Che landed gently, exhaled slightly, and shook his hand—which stung a little—muttering, "Not so impressive after all."
"But this is only the beginning. To pass, I need to hold out for at least a quarter of an hour. It's bound to get harder." Yun Che said to himself. "Better conserve my energy."
Back on the Tian Xuan Continent, with Xuanyuan Wentian's soul utterly destroyed, there was no one left with the power of the divine path. So, even though Yun Che had grown rapidly afterward, he had lost any benchmark to measure his true strength.
Even when he fought Xuanyuan Wentian, he didn't know what level his own power was at—since, at that time, he was completely unaware of the existence of the "Seven Divine Profound Realms."
Thus, it was absolutely not that the Icebound Blood Wolf was "not so impressive"; rather, Yun Che had no idea that he had, without realizing it, reached a level far beyond his expectations.
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(This chapter ends)