Bing Wang laughed heartily and raised his hands. "The air around you is completely different. You've finally become a worthy opponent. Our battle will be legendary!"
Zhang Yong calmly held his sword. "You really talk too much." Immediately, the Great Sun Flame enveloped the sword, and with blazing, glowing motions, he surged upward.
Instantly, forty individuals in black hoods with a crest on their chests advanced toward the location. These were members of the Sky Claw.
Bing Wang looked at them with contempt. "Scoundrels, don't interfere in my fight!"
Bing Wang spun rapidly, and icy waves erupted around the area, pushing everyone away and creating a hundred-meter diameter combat arena.
Zhang Yong smiled mockingly. "Don't you dare regret doing this!"
He launched himself at Bing Wang at full speed. The difference was clear; his speed had increased.
Bing Wang waved his hand and fired ice arrows at Zhang Yong, aiming directly for his head and vital areas.
Instantly, Zhang Yong's red eyes flashed, and reality seemed to slow down for a moment as he jumped high over the arrows.
The Heavenly Eye ability had improved with his mental energy advancement,allowing him to see things more clearly and slower than before, thus giving him an advantage, but the consumption was greater.
Zhang Yong swung his sword mid-air, and a blazing blade of fire shot toward Bing Wang.
Bing Wang clasped his hands together, and immediately ice shot forth in front of him, forming a shield that instantly surrounded him and blocked the blade. "Good, not bad."
Zhang Yong landed on the ground and looked at Bing Wang with admiration and a forced smile on his face. "You're not bad either, as expected of the Ice Law Body!"
Immediately, the ice in Bing Wang's hand solidified, forming an ice sword. He charged at Zhang Yong with force, a euphoric smile on his face.
Bam!
The swords collided powerfully, but a push from Zhang Yong was enough to send Bing Wang flying back.
Zhang Yong jumped, arching his back mid-air, ready to pounce.
But while Zhang Yong was in the sky, Bing Wang placed his hand on the ground, and a sharp ice spear shot up from below, on the verge of piercing Zhang Yong's abdomen.
At that moment, adrenaline surged fiercely through Zhang Yong's veins. He compressed the air under his foot, pushing his body mid-air, and flipped.
But Bing Wang wasn't about to give Zhang Yong a moment's rest. Ice spears shot out from all directions, all aimed at Zhang Yong.
Zhang Yong compressed the air under his feet multiple times, dodging the spears in the air with extreme speed, and soared higher into the sky.
A large ice spear extended towards the sky, but Zhang Yong compressed the air again and avoided it.
But standing atop that spear was Bing Wang, who immediately moved his hands, and a massive ice sphere formed in mid-air, about to crush Zhang Yong. It was a full fifty meters in diameter. There was no escape for him.
Zhang Yong spread his hands and grabbed the huge sphere with his fingers dug into it.
But the pressure exerted by the sphere was immense. Zhang Yong was immediately pushed downward, his body crashing into the ground, his feet sinking forcefully into the earth, the pressure almost crushing him.
"I didn't think I'd have to use this now."
Immediately, Zhang began to chant:
"Rising slowly above the world, fire erupts from the heart of the sky, Where ash and embers scatter upon the earth, A silence pervaded by brilliant light, Standing above all, igniting the dark universe, The Absolute move of the Great Sun Flame—The Sacred Blaze."
Instantly, sacred yellow flames exploded from Zhang Yong's body and began to rapidly melt the massive ice sphere.
Bing Wang narrowed his eyes cautiously as he watched the sacred flames quickly consume the giant ice sphere.
"This is exciting, you are utterly fascinating! Magnificent! Magnificent!" Bing Wang shouted ecstatically, his hands trembling slightly with excitement.
Zhang Yong looked toward Bing Wang, standing straight, his body surrounded by majestic yellow flames. "Come on, are you scared now? Don't be, we're still having fun."
Bing Wang raised his hand, and a giant ice vortex immediately formed around him, expanding and growing larger, devouring everything in its path. He said in a voice full of majesty, "Since you've shown me what you possess, I won't hold back either."
The ice vortex surged toward Zhang Yong, the cold emanating from it enough to freeze the ground around it and turn the atmosphere into a harsh winter. But Zhang Yong didn't move from his spot. Instead, he raised his sword high—the sacred flame enveloped the blade.
Zhang Yong struck his sword toward the vortex, releasing a massive wave of sacred flame.
The fire collided with the ice vortex, and the battle between fire and ice began to dominate the arena. Heat and cold clashed, and tremendous energy exploded from the collision.
The force of the impact caused an explosion, and both were pushed back by large steps.
Bing Wang wiped the sweat from his brow and sent continuous ice spears toward Zhang Yong.
Zhang Yong rushed toward him, activating the Heavenly Eyes. With the movements slowed in his vision, he struck the ground and began navigating through Bing Wang's spears, stepping from one spear to another. Every spear Zhang Yong stepped on began to melt.
In an instant, he stood before Bing Wang, swung his sword, and his blade literally passed through his head.
Bing Wang's body turned into an ice statue; the head was cut off, but there was no blood.
"I'm over here, you scoundrel!" a voice shouted from above, where Bing Wang was hovering with ice wings in mid-air.
"Heavenly Serpent Sepulcher!" Bing Wang shouted as nine pillars rose from the ground toward the sky behind him, forming into nine serpents of pure ice.
Zhang Yong smiled cruelly, compressed the ground under his foot, and launched himself toward Bing Wang at high speed through the air.
He waved his sword, firing blades of flame toward the serpents, and began cutting.
Immediately, the struck parts of the serpents turned into liquid and began dripping onto the ground.
Instantly, six of the nine serpents melted.
"Come on, come on, come on, show me what you've got!" Immediately, a black aura erupted from Zhang Yong's body and began to mix with the sacred flame covering him. He began cutting relentlessly.
One of the serpents shot from Zhang Yong's blind spot, chomped down on his body, and the serpent rushed forward, smashing into the wall with force.
Under normal circumstances, Zhang Yong could have dodged this using the Heavenly Eyes, but he didn't do it in time.
Amidst the spreading icy dust, Zhang Yong jumped high into the air and rushed rapidly toward Bing Wang.
Bing Wang raised his palm, and a cold blue light shot from his palm as icy waves surged toward Zhang Yong, completely submerging him. The entire area turned into a huge block of ice.
The block fell to the ground, causing the earth to tremble from its heavy weight.
Bing Wang landed quietly on the ground and smiled regretfully. "Unfortunately, this is the limit you can reach. You were a strong opponent, but you... are still weak."
He sighed sadly. It had been a long time since he felt the excitement of a life-or-death fight, and thus his life had felt boring; he couldn't find a worthy opponent.
Bam!
A pillar of white and gold fire shot towards the sky, and burning heat emanated from it clearly and inexplicably.
"Who decided the fight was over?" a loud voice shouted from the ice block as the ice began to melt. "I must admit, if I hadn't broken through to the Peak stage of the Truth realm and couldn't use the Absolute Moves of my Flame, I might be dead."
Bing Wang laughed loudly, stepping forward slightly, admiring Zhang Yong who emerged from the ice. "Truth realm, Peak stage? Good, it's a good thing I let you escape last time. Now this adds some joy. Try to survive my next attack."
With ice spears and blades, heading toward Zhang Yong with destructive speed. The storm's force was enough to destroy the land and turn everything into a frozen void.
But moments before hitting Zhang Yong, the spears and blades shattered into dust, then condensed into endless needles surrounding Zhang Yong in a circular dome.
It was an enclosed space, and he couldn't dodge.
Zhang Yong raised two fingers upward. "Well then, don't miss your target!"
Immediately, Zhang Yong began chanting again:
"In the profound darkness, where nightmares creep and stars die, Where screams vanish into the void, Where light itself dares not appear, In depths without end, The Absolute Motion of the Barren Moon Flame—The Eternal Night."
A pitch-black smoke mixed with silver shadows erupted from Zhang Yong's body, spreading through the air as if it were swallowing the light itself. The aura surrounding him was heavy and majestic, making even the air tremble under the weight of the darkness.
Everything in Bing Wang's sight turned black; he could no longer see.
He lost all connection with reality completely. A faint whispering sound began to echo in his ears, like the screams of tortured souls. He tried to focus, but the darkness was slowly gnawing at his will.
At that moment, Zhang Yong's voice resonated from all directions, his voice deep and majestic in an undeniable way.
"You are now in my domain. You can't see anything, right? Hehe, I'll return your words to you. Try to survive, you fight-loving scoundrel."
Shoop!
A cut appeared on Bing Wang's back from where he least expected it, but he immediately froze it before blood could flow out.
Bing Wang smiled with difficulty, his body covered by a denser icy aura. The ice covering the wound seemed more like armor enveloping his entire body. "Really? Just a childish game. All you're doing is hiding."
Bing Wang raised his hand and unleashed a wide-range ice explosion, trying to shatter the domain of darkness surrounding him. Yet, everything was lost as if swallowed by the void.
Suddenly, slashes of a sword blazing with sacred flame shot out in every direction, targeting Bing Wang's body one after another.
He didn't have enough time to react. Every time he tried to freeze himself as defense, the sacred flame penetrated the ice easily, melting it.
In a moment, Bing Wang raised his hand high and closed his eyes. Cuts began to cover his body, but he didn't resist them. Instead, he gathered his spiritual energy in his palm, created a sharp blade in his hand, and squeezed it with all his might. Instantly, he detonated it and launched it upward.
The force of the blow was enough to create a hole in the ceiling amidst the darkness. "An opportunity!" Ice wings formed behind his back, and he flew out through the opening high into the sky.
But the moment he emerged, Zhang Yong launched at him and stabbed him in the body as they both rushed upward through the air.
Clearly, the sword pierced Bing Wang's abdomen, causing fragments of ice and heat to spread across the sky. Yet, no pain showed on Bing Wang's face; instead, he smiled coldly. But the wound dripped water instead of blood.
But the expression on Bing Wang's face was genuine. "Haha, you are magnificent, a worthy opponent!" He stretched out his hands and grabbed Zhang Yong's hands, preventing him from escaping.
A pillar shot from behind Bing Wang and pierced through both of their bodies simultaneously!
Zhang Yong and Bing Wang were both impaled by the huge ice pillar. The dark aura and sacred flame surrounding Zhang Yong's body clashed with the ice enveloping Bing Wang's body.
Zhang Yong, immersed in sacred flame, narrowed his eyes and smiled bitterly. "Huh? So you want to destroy yourself? Sorry, I won't die."
Zhang Yong placed his hand on the ice, and it immediately melted between the two, and they shot apart. The hole in Bing Wang's abdomen had already frozen over, while blood flowed from the hole in Zhang Yong's abdomen, and he coughed up some blood.
He looked calmly at his blood-covered hand. "Oh, truly nothing is absolute. I wonder if I'll die here without achieving anything. Oh right, I should have been dead long ago."
Zhang Yong raised his gaze toward Bing Wang, smiled calmly, raised two fingers, and began to chant—his final move.
"Hidden in darkness, lost from light, In the darkest nights and brightest days, Golden rays shade the night, And white light overshadows the world, Under the sky and above the earth, None shall escape my gaze, The celestial bodies collide, and the two become one, The Dual Absolute Motion of the Sun and Moon Flame—The Eternal Judgment of Heaven."
Smoke exploded in the sky between the two immediately, but Bing Wang, unexpectedly, could see Zhang Yong clearly. "What is this? The same trick twice? This won't work."
"Unfortunately, that's incorrect."
The sky paused for a moment, as if time itself froze. Then, a golden sun and a silver moon appeared in the sky, rotating in a strange harmony.
The two moved slowly toward each other, began chasing each other in rotation, and the moment they met, light exploded in all directions, filling the arena with a deadly, brilliant radiance.
Bing Wang, who was silently bleeding, raised his head with difficulty to see the light heading toward him, but his eyes showed admiration instead of fear. "Magnificent... I didn't know you possessed such power. But..."
He raised his hand and fired a pale blue light toward the sky, forming a huge ice barrier to block the attack.
The sun and moon advanced toward the ice barrier at an astonishing speed, compressing the air and everything in their path.
The attack collided with the ice barrier. There was no sound; there was only a brilliant light swallowing everything. The ice began to crack, then turned into scattered fragments, before completely melting in the face of the sacred flame and the eternal night.
Bing Wang gritted his teeth; he was never prepared to lose! Not in this life!; He resolutely detonated one of his arms, creating massive amounts of blizzard winds. The winds swept everything, glaciers spread, and the ice layer thickened by thirty meters.
Bam!
The two attacks exploded instantly, and the two were sent flying away. Zhang Yong could no longer compress his energy to stay in the air; he had reached his limit, and the bleeding intensified.
On the other hand, ice formed in place of Bing Wang's arm, creating an artificial ice hand.
Bing Wang's laughter made it clear he was at his limit too. "Hah, forcing me to this extent by destroying my body... you are the first person to make me do this. I am certain, if I let you live longer, you would be a danger."
Plink! Plink! Plink!
A few drops fell on Zhang Yong's shoulder, one after another, rain began to fall.
Bing Wang laughed powerfully. "It seems the heavens have decreed my victory!"
Zhang Yong, who could barely stand, looked quietly at the sky which had begun to rain. The drops flowed down his blood-stained face. In a moment, the water on Zhang Yong's clothes began to freeze, and in an instant, Zhang Yong's body was covered in ice and became an ice statue. As the rain progressed, layer upon layer of ice was added to his body. His consciousness began to sink slowly.
'Use my flame.' A voice appeared in Zhang Yong's mind in his remaining thread of consciousness.
Zhang Yong suddenly opened his eyes and sneered. 'Damn, I'm not some pathetic story's hero for a miracle to happen, hell no.'
Zhang Yong looked toward the corner where a girl stood beside him. Her form was that of an older woman but she looked young, yet her purple hair covered her eyes, and her ears were sharply pointed, her eyes wild and golden. "Don't die, my desperate master."
Zhang Yong tried to open his mouth and curse, but not a muscle could move.
The Flame smiled calmly. "What do you think? Use the Death Qi and feed it to me."
Zhang Yong looked at the girl, unaware of what she was talking about.
The girl raised an eyebrow quietly. "You don't even know what's in your heart, able to control it using the Life and Death Structure. This is good."
The girl's gaze shone when she understood the situation. "Good, why not give me your heart, and I'll use my flame to save you from this predicament. You've already replaced your eyes, so replacing your heart isn't—"
Before the girl could finish her words, Zhang Yong's hand twisted around her neck, and killing intent appeared in his eyes. "Oh, you want to take advantage of me? I can finally move. I refuse your offer."
Zhang Yong raised his other hand, formed a fist, and punched the girl in the face. "You dare ask for my heart? Haha, that's funny. Against your will, you will help me!" Zhang Yong's grip tightened on her neck. "I will subdue you myself, you wench!"
The girl took a deep breath of the cold air. "Without my help, you will die."
Zhang Yong grabbed her by the neck and threw her to the ground. "I don't need your help. I will survive, and if I die? So be it! But you will fall with me! So today, you will submit to me!"
Outside, the block of ice hovered quietly in the air.
Bam!
Purple-black flame shot out from the ice block and everything exploded in the sky. Zhang Yong stood in the sky, his gaze like cold lightning, looking arrogantly at the world!
"To hell with you, and to hell with everything. I will never bow to anyone in this life."
"Forged by darkness, a roar full of wrath manifested from pain, A twisted, cursed vengeance, As the souls whisper, as the silence speaks, Ash shall fall, and the heavens shall kneel, The Absolute Motion of the Demonic Devouring Flame—The Eternal Annihilation."
Massive amounts of purple flame began to spread from his body in all directions, then spread everywhere.
The majestic, rising flame was like a landslide, like a tsunami, like a dragon rolling on the waves, as it crushed toward Bing Wang.
Bing Wang was stunned for a moment and exerted all his power to resist it. All the silver hair on his head stood on end, and icy mist rose from all over his body. Vast numbers of icy waves were sent against the Demonic Flame in an attempt to slow it down even a little.
In the end, he was still suppressed by the flames, trapped and submerged within them.
The uncontrollable Demonic Flame filled the entire area. The Stormwind Mountain, which was once a prosperous place, turned into an endlessly charred land. Even the other members of the Sky Claw couldn't escape its effects and all died!
Zhang Yong immediately began falling from above and crashed forcefully onto the ground. The Demonic Flame still covered him. The flame gathered over his body, and the form of a girl appeared. "You truly deserve to be my master."
Zhang Yong grumbled. "Shut up, your voice is annoying. I won't die. Not yet."
The girl smiled calmly. "That's harsh, even though I'm literally preventing you from dying right now."
Zhang Yong slowly got up from the ground and stood. He raised his hand and immediately swallowed a healing pill. "The pill won't help much, but it will be enough to save my life."
He turned his gaze to the charred earth and couldn't help but feel disappointed. Even after all that suffering, he couldn't get what he came for. But what he gained wasn't little. When he tried the Origin energy-saturated waters in the Dilapidated Demon Valley, his body was nearly destroyed by the reaction, so he didn't force himself to consume it again. The same thing happened again this time. He understood that attempting to use means other than directly using spirit stones would have some adverse effects. Now he had to cool his body and let it stabilize before advancing again.