Void Cultivation

Chapter 366: Chapter 365- A familiar figure

"You’ve had some time to showcase yourself... Now I think it’s time for this battle to come to a close."

The Frost Angel cultivator spoke in a calm, almost leisurely tone as though he were commenting on the weather rather than ending a life-and-death battle. As the final word left his lips, he casually raised one hand and made a simple palm strike.

His figure suddenly blurred before vanishing from where he stood.

Before anyone could even react, he had already appeared directly in front of the expressionless Sky Mist City disciple.

The seemingly ordinary palm landed squarely on the disciple’s chest.

Bang!

The force behind the strike was anything but ordinary.

A series of sickening cracks echoed through the air as several ribs shattered upon impact. The Sky Mist City disciple was violently launched backward, his body hurtling through the air for dozens of feet before barely managing to regain a hint of balance.

His face instantly turned deathly pale.

A mouthful of blood surged into his throat, but he clenched his teeth tightly and forcibly swallowed it back down.

However, the attack was far from over.

The instant the palm connected, an icy wind suddenly erupted from the Frost Angel cultivator’s hand. It swept forward like a frozen storm, engulfing the retreating disciple and pushing him even farther away.

The disciple’s pupils constricted in alarm.

Before he could stabilize himself, he watched the Frost Angel cultivator slowly raise his other hand and spread open his palm.

Resting at its center was a mysterious black snowflake.

Its six elegant branches were pitch-black, yet their sharp edges glowed with an eerie crimson hue, as though they had been stained by countless drops of fresh blood.

The symbol radiated an indescribable chill.

The very moment it appeared, the surrounding temperature seemed to plummet.

A terrifying sensation instantly spread throughout the Sky Mist disciple’s body.

He felt as though every drop of blood flowing through his veins had frozen solid.

His movements became sluggish.

His breathing slowed.

His spiritual energy could no longer circulate properly.

To his horror, a layer of blue ice rapidly formed around his feet.

It climbed upward at an astonishing speed.

His legs...

His waist...

His chest...

His shoulders...

His neck...

In only a few breaths, the ice had reached his face.

His widened eyes remained frozen with disbelief and unwillingness as the final layer of ice sealed over his head.

Moments later, a lifelike blue ice statue stood where the disciple had once been.

The expression of shock on his face remained perfectly preserved, making the sight all the more unsettling.

Silence descended upon the battlefield.

Everyone watching felt a cold shiver run down their spines.

Many of those who had secretly entertained the thought of challenging the Frost Angel cultivator instinctively took several steps backward.

Their hearts pounded violently.

The Sky Mist disciple had displayed remarkable composure, decisiveness, and battle experience throughout the fight.

Yet all of that had proven meaningless.

The Frost Angel cultivator had ended the battle with what appeared to be a single casual palm strike.

He had not even revealed his Special Brilliance Form.

The gap between them was simply too great.

As though sensing the fearful gazes directed toward him, the Frost Angel cultivator slowly turned around.

A gentle smile appeared on his handsome face.

"Fear not," he said softly. "I didn’t kill him."

His eyes shifted toward a particular direction.

The smile on his face gradually faded.

"But..."

"If he isn’t removed from that ice within the next few minutes..."

"He will most certainly die."

After saying those words, he simply turned around and walked away.

His sky-blue robes fluttered elegantly behind him as the wind gently swept through the streets.

To an outsider who knew nothing of what had just transpired, he would appear to be nothing more than a refined young noble taking an afternoon stroll.

Yet no one present could erase the image of him effortlessly defeating a Foundation Establishment cultivator without even using his true strength.

That scene had been deeply engraved into everyone’s hearts.

Several long moments passed before the crowd finally recovered from their shock.

Without exchanging a single word, the surrounding cultivators hurriedly dispersed.

Not one of them stepped forward to help the frozen disciple.

This was Sky Mist City.

Here, survival came above everything else.

Although the disciple had fought courageously, no one was willing to risk offending the Frost Angel cultivator simply to save a stranger.

It was far better to abandon him to his fate than invite disaster upon themselves.

Soon, the once-crowded battlefield became almost completely deserted.

In the distance, hidden within a narrow alley cast into darkness by the setting sun, a solitary figure silently leaned against the wall.

His face remained concealed beneath layers of shadow.

His indifferent gaze calmly watched everyone flee the scene.

Only after the last cultivator had disappeared did he finally speak.

His voice was soft enough that it barely rose above a whisper.

"Go help him."

The words were directed not toward another person...

But toward his own shadow.

The darkness beneath his feet suddenly rippled.

For the briefest of moments, the shadow remained perfectly still before it slowly nodded in acknowledgment.

A slim, nimble silhouette silently separated itself from the darkness and slipped across the ground like a living phantom.

Without making the slightest sound, it headed toward the frozen Sky Mist City disciple, who remained trapped within the block of ice, his life hanging by a thread.

A few moments later, the forlorn figure finally stepped out from the darkness of the alley.

The dim rays of the setting sun fell upon his face, revealing the appearance that had remained concealed within the shadows.

He was a young man with emerald-green hair that reached just past his ears. His equally green eyes were calm yet incredibly sharp, carrying a gaze that seemed capable of seeing through everything before him. At this moment, those eyes were fixed on the battlefield where the Frost Angel cultivator had unleashed his final attack.

His expression remained unreadable.

He silently observed the thin layer of frost that still covered the cracked ground, as though attempting to understand something hidden within the remnants of the attack.

After a brief moment of silence, his eyes narrowed into a sharp glint.

His mind replayed the Frost Angel cultivator’s final words.

"Fear not, I didn’t kill him."

At first glance, those words had seemed to be directed toward the frightened crowd.

However, the green-haired young man knew otherwise.

Just before speaking, the Frost Angel cultivator had deliberately glanced in his direction.

The message had been meant for him.

He had known someone was watching from the shadows all along.

Yet despite discovering his presence, the Frost Angel cultivator had chosen not to expose him. Instead, he had intentionally left the frozen disciple alive, almost as though he had expected someone to save him.

The green-haired youth lowered his gaze slightly, a thoughtful expression flashing across his face.

"An interesting fellow..." he thought inwardly.

Very few people had ever noticed him once he concealed himself within the darkness.

Yet that Frost Angel cultivator had not only sensed him but had calmly acknowledged his presence without displaying the slightest hostility.

It was both a warning...

And perhaps a test.

Far away, his shadow had already begun helping the Sky Mist City disciple escape from the prison of ice.

The green-haired youth merely watched in silence before slowly turning away.

If Grey had been present at this moment, he would have immediately recognized this mysterious figure.

That was because the young man standing in the alley was none other than Zayne.

Years ago, during the Sky Mist entrance examinations, Grey had crossed paths with him. Although their encounter had been brief, it had been memorable enough that neither of them would easily forget the other.

Since then, much had changed.

The once-quiet and awkward cultivator had grown far stronger than before, and the aura surrounding him had become even more mysterious.

No one could have imagined that the hidden observer who had quietly witnessed the entire battle was actually the same green-haired cultivator Grey had met several years ago.