"Li Zhexian has succeeded."
On the vast ice plains,
The Snow Empress—connected to Li Zhexian as his Spirit Soul—was the first to sense it. A faint smile lifted her lips.
"After absorbing the Evil Emperor's Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone, I wonder just how strong Li Zhexian will become…"
As her words fell—
The frozen snowflakes suspended throughout the sky began to move again.
But instead of falling downward,
They rose—drifting upward, against time itself,
Returning to the heavens.
Even the flowing aurora above reversed direction,
As if the river of time were rewinding before their eyes.
"This is… the power of time!"
The Ice Empress' pupils contracted sharply.
Time had always been among the most mysterious powers.
It was precisely because the Evil Emperor controlled the power of time that it could secure its position as the second strongest fierce beast.
"I remember—when we fought the Evil Emperor, Li Zhexian seemed to unleash a slash containing time sword intent."
"Now that he's absorbed the Evil Emperor's Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone, that time sword intent must be even more terrifying."
Up in the void—
The boy's silhouette suddenly vanished.
The Ice Empress' heart jolted in alarm.
She immediately lowered her gaze—only to find that Li Zhexian had somehow appeared a dozen meters in front of her.
"You…"
And moreover—
Something about his state was wrong.
His figure looked hazy, as if wrapped in mist.
The distance seemed to be merely ten or so meters—
Yet at times he felt close enough to touch,
and at other times as distant as if thousands of meters away.
Li Zhexian…
Seemed not to be entirely within this time and space.
The Ice Empress narrowed her eyes, then transformed into a streak of icy light, rushing toward him.
The distance vanished in a blink.
She didn't hold back.
She directly used her tail stinger—
A point of extreme cold gleaming with the ultimate ice attribute.
She thrust it viciously at Li Zhexian.
But even then—
Li Zhexian didn't move.
"Hmph!"
Being treated with such nonchalance enraged the Ice Empress. She snorted, and her tail stinger accelerated even further.
Swish—
The moment her stinger struck Li Zhexian, her expression changed drastically—
Her attack felt as if it had passed through nothing.
It went straight through his body—without resistance.
"This is impossible!"
"Are you truly… not in this time-space?!"
Just as her voice trembled in shock—
"Ice Empress…"
A voice echoed from all directions—or rather, from past, present, and future—calling her name.
"—?!"
She couldn't help raising her head.
And then—
She met the boy's eyes.
They were a pair of pupils intertwined with silver-white and scarlet, and within them a phantom of a sword-shaped hourglass rotated slowly.
The Ice Empress felt—
As though her consciousness were pulled out of the current timeline.
She saw her fixed past,
and also the vague, impossible future.
It felt like drifting freely in the river of time—so mesmerizing she almost drowned in it.
But then—
From past, present, and future alike,
Countless sword lights slashed toward her.
The Ice Empress was horrified.
The sword lights hadn't even struck her directly—
Only the lingering aura brushed her.
Yet she felt as though she had endured centuries of torture.
Clink—!
A sound like shattering glass rang beside her ear.
She snapped out of the temporal trance.
"Ugh…"
A muffled groan escaped her as the glow in her blue-green eyes dimmed sharply.
It was the unmistakable sign of spiritual injury.
Her breathing became rapid; she clutched her head with her pincers, enduring a skull-splitting pain. As she looked around, confusion clouded her features.
Just now—
She had drifted through time for what felt like ages.
Yet outside—
Barely an instant had passed.
The snowflake three inches above her head had only just fallen onto her.
"Senior Ice Empress… my apologies."
Facing the white-robed youth before her, the Ice Empress actually took a step back instinctively.
When she finally realized what she'd done,
she clenched her teeth and let out a breath.
The pressure Li Zhexian gave off at this moment was no different from what the Snow Empress had just displayed.
"Congratulations."
At that moment,
the Snow Empress approached. A faint, bright glow colored her exquisite face.
She was now Li Zhexian's Spirit Soul; his becoming stronger naturally benefited her as well.
The Ice Empress frowned and asked:
"Li Zhexian, did you just use two Spirit Abilities?"
"Yes." Li Zhexian nodded with a smile.
Unlike in the original storyline, where Huo Yuhao obtained only the Evil Emperor's spiritual-type Spirit Ability—
what Li Zhexian had gained…
was the far more elusive and mysterious power of time.
The first Spirit Ability from the Spirit Ring was called Instant Eternity.
It could separate him from the current timeline, granting him immunity to all damage and control during that period.
The second Spirit Ability he had not used yet; it was called Twilight Overture.
A strike of the sword accompanied by a song—sending ripples of time outward, causing all enemies within range to suffer accelerated time decay.
The Evil Emperor's Spirit Bone was an external eye-type Spirit Bone.
Its Spirit Bone Ability: Reincarnation Sword Eye.
With a gaze, it drags the enemy's consciousness into a time-space forged of sword intent. In reality, only an instant passes, but within countless interwoven time-spaces, the target must endure endless sword light.
This Spirit Ability was a fusion of time power and spiritual power, directly attacking the opponent's spiritual sea, delivering immense mental damage.
And aside from these three Spirit Abilities…
Li Zhexian's eyes flickered. He brought his fingers together in a sword seal.
A hazy strand of sword-light burst from his fingertips.
Every snowflake it touched followed his will—either rewinding back to the sky or dissolving quietly upon the ground.
His comprehension of time and space had deepened.
As if he were an old fisherman living on the banks of the River of Time, able to scoop up a handful of its waters at will.
"I wonder…"
"How does my strength now compare to that of a Limit Douluo?"
Li Zhexian murmured softly.
A vast Spirit Power surged from his body like a hidden dragon rising from the abyss.
Within a radius of a hundred miles, every snowflake took on a sharp crystalline brilliance, swirling happily around him.
Level 81.
Level 82.
Level 83.
...
Level 87.
After absorbing the Evil Emperor's Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone—
Li Zhexian's Spirit Power had risen to level 87.
...
When Li Zhexian departed the Extreme North,
the Ice Empress, holding the little Yazi, came together with the Titan Snow Demon King to see him and the Snow Empress off.
Amid the boundless curtain of snow,
the Clear Spring Wine Gourd condensed into form.
The Snow Empress raised her head, took a sip of wine, gazed quietly at the Ice Empress and the vast icy plains, then scooped up a handful of Extreme North's snow before turning to leave with Li Zhexian.
"Sigh…"
Within his spiritual sea,
the Skydream Ice Worm let out a regretful sigh.
"What's wrong, Brother Tian Meng?"
"Brother Zhexian…"
Just as he started to speak,
the Skydream Ice Worm glanced nervously at the Snow Empress occupying the center of the spiritual sea and shook his head dully:
"Nothing."
Li Zhexian chuckled.
He more or less understood what Tian Meng was thinking.
But…
Everyone has their own fate. Such things cannot be forced.
A clear whistle rang out. Li Zhexian stepped onto his sword and shot toward the direction of Heaven Dou.
It was precisely because everyone had their own destined path—
that even though he had seen fragments of the future,
he could choose to avoid danger.
But…
There were some things—
worth risking life and death for.
A look of unrestrained ease appeared on the youth's handsome face. His speed suddenly increased by another three points.
In just half a day, the outline of Heaven Dou City appeared in his sight...
...
Drop some POWERSTONES to push the story forward!
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin