Chapter 240

Chapter 240: The Bane of the Ice Skin Sword

These two men before me appeared like friendly companions preparing for a sparring session, yet in truth, they bore a feud passed down through innumerable generations!

As Helian Kuang watched Lou Yun grip his sword, a flicker of excitement lit his eyes, for he recognized that Lou Yun, too, was a master swordsman.

Being a warlike man, Helian Kuang felt immense exhilaration whenever facing another skilled swordsman.

"I’ll strike first!"

Following Helian Kuang’s roar, he shot forward like an arrow, sword and body aimed straight at Lou Yun!

This move employed no weapon technique, merely Helian Kuang thrusting the Ice Skin Sword directly. Yet the speed was extraordinary — before his shout faded, the chilling blade tip was already at Lou Yun’s face!

Lou Yun understood Helian Kuang’s thrust as a test of his strength, so he had no intention of dodging.

Feeling the bone-piercing chill radiating from the Ice Skin Sword, Lou Yun actually smiled, for now he finally grasped Chang Xiang’s reason for insisting he use the Dream Emperor Sword!

At this realization, Lou Yun knew this battle against Helian Kuang was virtually assured victory… provided Helian Kuang didn’t employ his magical weapon.

Seeing the smile curl Lou Yun’s lips, Helian Kuang’s heart gave a jolt. He knew both his strength and the might of his Ice Skin Sword. Though seemingly plain, his speed was unmatched, and as the Ice Skin Sword was forged with Eternal Ice, channeling spiritual energy into it unleashed its frigid essence! Under such conditions, hardly any opponent could muster a smile!

For once the Eternal Ice’s chill entered one’s body, weaker cultivators would freeze instantly. Even powerful ones suffered reduced reflexes and speed!

Yet for Lou Yun to smile defiantly — Helian Kuang had never witnessed such defiance. Could Lou Yun be impervious to the chill?

Helian Kuang guessed right. Lou Yun indeed feared no frost. Within him resided the Heavenly Fire Fusang and the heavenly fire storm. Not just Eternal Ice’s chill, but even eons-deeper cold likely couldn’t harm him! Helian Kuang had met his nemesis!

Chang Xiang had directed Lou Yun to use the Dream Emperor Sword instead of Xiang Tian precisely for this reason. Lou Yun’s magical weapon, the Dream Emperor Sword, had absorbed both heavenly fires. Its fiery blade striking the Ice Skin Sword’s frost — the result was predictable!

As for Helian Kuang’s prized speed? Before Lou Yun, it was insignificant. Speed was Lou Yun’s true forte, especially without a magical weapon’s aid — sheer bodily speed.

As the Ice Skin Sword neared him, Lou Yun leisurely lifted the Dream Emperor Sword, blocking casually. Yet, to test Chang Xiang’s theory and his own hunch, he deliberately infused a sliver of Heavenly Fire Fusang into the sword’s body.

The Dream Emperor Sword met the Ice Skin Sword. Sizzle! A cloud of thick smoke billowed skyward. Instantly, Helian Kuang’s face twisted in shock. He hastily withdrew his sword and gaped at it — a black, burnt mark stained the blade!

Helian Kuang stared at the mark for ten full seconds. Then his head snapped up, eyes bulging as he fixed them on Lou Yun!

Lou Yun, too, saw the black stain and felt a pang of guilt. He genuinely liked Helian Kuang, never intending to inflict such damage with just a wisp of heavenly fire.

Under that fierce glare, Lou Yun merely shrugged, waving the Dream Emperor Sword. "My magical weapon specializes in countering ice."

He spoke as a kindness, hoping to dissuade Helian Kuang from risking his Ice Skin Sword further against the Dream Emperor Sword’s inevitable destruction.

Yet Helian Kuang heard only mockery. Rage surged within him. Facts be damned; he refused to sheath the Ice Skin Sword and switch weapons before his peers.

"Counter ice?" Helian Kuang sneered coldly. "Then witness how you counter mine!"

He leapt back several paces, forcefully driving the Ice Skin Sword into the ground. Gripping the hilt with both hands, his glare remained locked on Lou Yun.

High-level rank technique, Ice Spiral: Ice Shatter!

Around where the Ice Skin Sword’s tip pierced the earth, patches of white frost erupted. They raced toward Lou Yun with terrifying speed, swiftly carpeting meters of ground in white ice. Encircled, Lou Yun stood amidst palpable frost; this wasn’t illusory energy formed ice. Real cold radiated as temperatures plummeted.

Though frost closed in relentlessly, engulfing all ground save where he stood, Lou Yun stood calmly, unflinching, that faint smile still present.

Until the ice claimed every patch except his tiny island of earth…

Then Lou Yun clamped both hands on the Dream Emperor Sword’s grip and plunged its tip into his own small foothold!

Lou Yun’s pose now mirrored Helian Kuang’s earlier stance precisely!

Onlookers recoiled in confusion — what was he doing?

Lou Yun answered through action: a red point ignited at the Dream Emperor Sword’s tip. With its appearance, the surrounding ice hissed… and began melting! Fogs of steam coiled upward, the rate of thaw far exceeding that of its spread.

In moments, the ground ice vanished completely. Wispy trails of steam snatched back the fallen temperatures, restoring warmth at shocking speed.

But it didn’t end there. Helian Kuang’s Ice Skin Sword, clenched under his palms, suddenly trembled violently. The force shook his wrists. Startled, Helian Kuang yanked it from the earth…

…revealing its tip, now scorched black for another length.

Lou Yun had merely mimicked Helian Kuang’s move: channeling spiritual energy to activate Fusang Fire belowground, melting ice and simultaneously burning the Ice Skin Sword’s surface.

Helian Kuang’s Ice Shatter aimed to freeze an opponent solid from the feet upward. Yet even if Lou Yun stood idle without the Dream Emperor Sword, that ice couldn’t touch him. Likely, the heavenly fire within him would spontaneously ignite upon contact, vaporizing the frost.

Suddenly, a roar saturated with rage ripped the air.

"AAAH! Spirit Transformation!"

It felt like the heavens shook. Helian Kuang’s robes billowed as if storm-gripped. An appalling force, volcanic in fury, detonated from his core. Rampant spiritual energy cloaked his entire form, blurring his outline like heat haze over burning earth. Only those eyes remained terrifyingly clear — twin ice daggers boring straight into Lou Yun, chilling hearts to stone.

Helian Kuang’s infamy making Helian Tiebi cower stemmed not just from strength, but his berserker temper. Pushed to breaking point, he unleashed his magical weapon. The true terror? One couldn’t see it! Helian Kuang still held only the Ice Skin Sword.

Hearing "Spirit Transformation," Lou Yun’s relaxed mood evaporated swiftly. Against the common weapon Ice Skin Sword, twin heavenly fires gave him fearlessness. But Helian Kuang unleashing his unrevealed magical weapon? Uncertainty gripped Lou Yun’s heart.

To reclaim pride lost on Lou Yun’s blade? Helian Kuang opted for immediate Spirit Transformation — a gamble to end this fight brutally, decisively, without delay.

Spirit Transformation — a unique power only accessible upon reaching the human level as a magical weapons master. Yet unlike the flight capacity of profound-level magical weapons masters…

Before human level, every advancement gifted magical weapons with universal abilities shared by all masters — armor projection, flight, et cetera. But from human level onward, though a magical weapon still gains a new ability, successfully comprehending it depends on the wielder’s enlightenment, spiritual energy control, and even plain luck!

Its essence? Metamorphosis — reshaping the weapon itself to unlock deeper, fuller potential. Post-transformation, a weapon empowers its master five to tenfold!

However, Spirit Transformation devours spiritual energy desperately, limiting its duration severely. Employing it meant Helian Kuang burned all bridges: victory lay solely within this brief, enhanced burst… or defeat.

Lou Yun meticulously studied Helian Kuang’s transformed silhouette before him. Simultaneously, he unleashed his spiritual senses. Though knowing they’d likely discern nothing beneath that spiritual shroud, Lou Yun had no alternative but to try…

For he realized, even amidst this blinding light…

He still couldn’t perceive Helian Kuang’s elusive magical weapon, anywhere — neither in his grip, nor hidden upon his form.