The sky over the Extreme North—
Suddenly lost all color.
Not dimness,
But a far more absolute kind of deprivation.
The frigid wind froze mid-air, the swirling ice dust no longer fell.
Even the eternal blizzard halted into deathly silence; countless snowflakes hung suspended in the air, outlining the shape of the wind yet stripped entirely of movement.
The Evileye Tyrant Emperor became the only being still capable of movement in this frozen world.
Its gigantic eye—over a thousand meters in diameter—
The once-boiling blood-red ferocity in it had been replaced by something far more ancient and unfathomable.
Deep in its pupil,
A vortex reflected the birth and extinction of star-rivers,
Like countless threads of time intertwining, snapping, and reweaving.
A low hum—so deep it felt as though it might tear one's soul apart—echoed in the depths of every living creature's mind.
Then—
Space-time at the center of the enormous eye suddenly collapsed inward.
A beam that defied color definition silently and soundlessly shot out.
Wherever it passed, space groaned under the unbearable strain, exhibiting transparent wrinkles.
Bzzz—!
The beam grazed an eternally frozen ice peak. The peak's summit visibly weathered at a terrifying speed; endless years passed in an instant, the solid ice turning to powder and collapsing violently.
Conversely, its base began to "grow" in reverse. Older glaciers were forcibly "recalled" by time from deep within the earth, extending upward layer by layer.
One birth, one death.
One withering, one flourishing.
Two completely opposite time powers appeared simultaneously.
At the same time—
Within the area shrouded by the beam—
The brilliant sword-light Li Zhexian had just unleashed began reversing like a rewound scene, recondensing and flying back into his sword.
Even the Ice Empress' ultimate ice-Spirit Power, which had just erupted, uncontrollably retreated back into her body as if nothing had ever happened.
Time within this region had been forcibly rewritten and muddled.
"Puh—!"
Li Zhexian vomited a mouthful of blood.
Blood gushed wildly from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.
He had used his time-sword intent to slice his own timeline, returning himself to a state before he had been grievously wounded.
But under the influence of the Evil Emperor's beam—
He was thrown back into his injured state and it was even worse than before.
Li Zhexian clenched his teeth as blood trickled freely from his mouth.
He tried to draw his sword,
To again use time-sword intent to resist the Evil Emperor.
But every time he swung—
Time rewound him back to the instant before he moved.
"This… this is the Evil Emperor's… time power…?"
Li Zhexian's voice trembled and broke.
When the Evil Emperor had challenged the Beast God Di Tian long ago, it was precisely this light of space-time that severely injured Di Tian, leaving him to heal for a thousand years.
Both Li Zhexian and the Evil Emperor wielded time—
But without question…
The Evil Emperor's time power utterly eclipsed his current time sword intent.
"No—!"
The Ice Empress let out a hoarse, tearing scream, eyes bloodshot.
She watched as the rending beam of space-time shot across a hundred miles toward the Snow Empress, who was undergoing her tribulation.
But her entire body was bound, unable to move even an inch—not even to lift a finger.
Li Zhexian's heart trembled violently.
Only now…
Did he truly understand the meaning of an unbridgeable gulf.
The distance between himself and those unfathomable beings who stood atop the mortal world—
Was immeasurable.
Under their despairing, grief-stricken gaze, the light of space-time completely engulfed the Snow Empress, whose aura was already withering.
"Ugh—!"
The Snow Empress let out a suppressed groan.
The surging ultimate ice-snow Spirit Power around her was seized as if by an invisible giant hand clutching her throat, scattering and collapsing at once.
The Empress Sword she had forged with her very soul shattered inch by inch under the beam's erosion.
Her beautiful face instantly turned pale, and the radiant divine light around her slowly faded.
She had failed.
Without Spirit Power or Empress Sword—
There was no longer any possibility of passing the heavenly tribulation.
Her delicate body fell helplessly from the sky,
Like an ice feather snapped by the cold wind.
"Evil Emperor…" Even someone as cold and calm as she was, when she uttered those two words, every syllable overflowed with boundless hatred.
In her dim, grayish ice-blue eyes, the sea of lightning once again gathered above the heavens.
The fifth round of the heavenly tribulation—
Descended with a roar.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!
Ten thousand tons of thunder fell like the collapse of the Ninth Heaven, about to completely engulf her.
The Snow Empress' eyelashes trembled. At last, in despair, she slowly closed her eyes.
…Yet just as her eyes were halfway shut, she caught a glimpse of a faint, golden-glazed sword aura blooming above her.
She snapped her eyes open.
Just in time to see that sword aura shatter with a sharp ring.
A figure in white appeared in its place, standing resolutely before her.
"Li… Zhexian, get out of the way…"
She cried out in urgency—but it was already too late.
The sea of lightning poured down.
Crashing onto the young man's body.
"Uaaaahhh—!"
The veins on Li Zhexian's forehead bulged.
His entire body became a flawless glazed form.
Four-colored spiritual light surged beneath his skin—this was his refined body: the Quadform Glazed Body, capable of resisting and absorbing lightning-attribute power.
But a tribulation of 700,000-years was simply too terrifying.
In just an instant—
He felt as if his entire body were splitting apart.
The shackles of his Spirit Power shattered one after another under the immense impact.
Level 77...
Level 78...
The lightning energy could be absorbed—
But the sheer impact force of the heavenly tribulation could not be negated.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!
Li Zhexian could hold on no longer. He was blasted downward, crashing heavily into the Snow Empress as the two of them were slammed into the icy plains.
Deep snow burst apart.
Ice fragments scattered like mist.
Li Zhexian gritted his teeth, turned over with effort, positioning himself face-to-face with the Snow Empress…
He roared as he slowly, painfully raised both arms.
The Quadform Glazed Body kept cracking open and being repaired by the lightning energy.
Again and again, until it barely reached equilibrium.
The feeling of his body being torn apart also weakened slightly.
"Li… Zhexian…"
Cradled in his arms, the Snow Empress stared blankly at the young man's face so close before her eyes.
Blood dripped endlessly from the corner of his lips, blooming into tragic red flowers upon her pale cheek.
"Don't worry about me…"
Her voice was hoarse, carrying a rare trace of fragility.
"My Spirit Power… my Empress Sword… I can't summon them again anytime soon… This tribulation… I cannot pass it…"
At this moment, a streak of blue blood stained her lips. Her ice-blue and snow-white hair clung to her pale cheek. She was less divine, and far more delicate.
"Senior Snow Empress.…"
Li Zhexian coughed blood with every word he spoke, yet his dark eyes remained unyielding.
"At my Title Douluo grand banquet…
you acted on my behalf…
That kindness… I have not forgotten…"
"The Evil Emperor still lives… the enemy remains…
How can you surrender your will before the battle is over…?"
Right then—
The distant shouts of the Ice Empress and Skydream Ice Worm rang out, filled with panic:
"Sister Xue! Li Zhexian!"
Amid the roaring sea of lightning—
Li Zhexian answered with a strained shout:
"We're fine…"
"The Evil Emperor… after using time power… will fall into weakness…"
"Ice Empress… Brother Tian Meng… hold it off for a moment…"
After speaking,
He looked into the Snow Empress' crystalline ice-blue eyes and said each word clearly and firmly:
"Senior Snow Empress…"
"This junior invites you to become my Spirit Soul..."
"Let us share glory and disgrace in this life, and ascend to the Divine Realm together..."
...
I've started a new Douluo fanfic—check it out if you're interested!
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