Wuying followed Xiao Wen's gaze and her eyebrows raised at the sight of numerous statues in the distance. The beasts she had previously eyed were completely frozen, all facing away as if they had tried to escape the danger.
"It seems she simply flew by and no beasts of level five or under could survive her freezing temperatures," Wuying guessed with a nod of approval. "She must have achieved a breakthrough in secret too."
"No wonder she decided to split from our group and only trained with Yi. She must have anticipated a power-up and wanted to surprise us," Xiao Wen commented. "Do you think she also aims to be the leader?"
"We are all strong women with high ambitions. I would be surprised if she didn't want to be at the top," Wuying replied calmly. "The day Xuefeng returns will be interesting."
Xiao Wen pursed her lips. "You don't seem worried."
"Because I know my strength," Wuying replied with a rare smile, but it quickly faded as they explored the icy wasteland. The number of defeated beasts grew rapidly with many of them still alive underneath the crusty layer of ice.
"Isn't that a level seven Ancient Beast that escaped us the other day?" Xiao Wen pointed at one of the victims, a black-skinned humanoid demon with one of its horns cut off. "I guess he didn't stand a chance against an Ice Dom—"
She wasn't able to finish before Wuying raised her arm in the demon's direction and clenched her fist. His body was ripped out of the ice statue and flung in front of them, black blood oozing out of numerous inch-sized holes. He was barely alive, but a squeeze from Wuying's hand sent a shock through his body, seemingly squeezing his heart.
"Cough, cough! Just let me die!" He cried out while spitting blood, only to pause as his hollow eyes fell on Wuying. "Wait, you are not her. You are the little girls that couldn't catch m—"
The demon spat blood as Wuying seemingly squeezed his heart again, just before numerous black spears formed around them. He couldn't even protest before they all impaled him from every direction.
"How did the woman with silver hair catch you? Aren't you a half-specter, half-demon? The Ice Domain shouldn't be a problem for you," Wuying questioned with a piercing gaze.
"And why should I tell you? You are going to kill me anyway," the demon replied while staring back unfazed. "Go on, finish the job so I can finally rest. Dying is still better than living for eternity with a frozen Soul."
"Frozen Soul?" Wuying and Xiao Wen echoed, their eyebrows shooting up simultaneously. It was the first time they heard of Elemental Qi being capable of damaging the Soul.
"Yeah, that crazy woman swallowed me with her Ice Domain and then immobilized my body with some ice spears. I thought I could escape in my specter form but then my Soul started to freeze as soon as it came in contact with the ice," the demon explained in annoyance. "Just kill me before that woman comes back. If my Soul is completely frozen, I won't be able to reincarnate."
Wuying frowned deeply, not expecting Princess Shan to achieve such a massive breakthrough. She thought her upgraded Blood Arts were strong enough to easily secure her one of the top spots, but she wasn't as certain anymore. Unless she aimed to kill Princess Shan right after their duel started, it would be hard to overpower her Ice Domain.
"So, you're saying your Soul froze after you touched her ice in your Soul form. But what about before that? Was your Soul in danger before you tried to escape?" Wuying questioned further. "I assume you also didn't break out of the ice statue to prevent your Soul from freezing."
"The ice on the statue wasn't as dangerous as those Black Ice Spears that you shattered when you pulled me out. If not for them, I could leave as soon as they left," the demon replied. "There is also this—"
His voice was cut off again, this time by a brilliant flash of light that pierced the icy landscape. The ladies' eyes narrowed as an ice spear materialized out of nowhere, rocketing towards them with terrifying speed. Wuying didn't hesitate to jerk the demon into the path of the incoming projectile while Xiao Wen activated her flames, creating a thick barrier around them.
The demon screamed in shock as the spear plunged into his chest and his body froze rapidly. Moments later, it exploded into thousands of small ice fragments that showered the vicinity. The girls didn't have the time to dwell on the eerie beauty of the scene before their surroundings turned into an icy hell.
"She can even spawn an Ice Domain from a distance?" Xiao Wen commented in surprise, her flames doubling in size to combat the cold.
"It's not an active domain until she steps inside her territory," Wuying corrected with a pondering gaze. "But it's still impressive how much Qi she stored inside that spear."
Looking through the misty sky they saw two figures soaring towards them from the distance, their flight smooth and unhurried despite the earlier chaos. Princess Shan and Yi looked unaware of their victim's identity until they stepped into the Ice Domain and their eyes met with their sisters.
"Oh, it's you two," Princess Shan acknowledged with a hint of surprise. All around them, the icy environment melted away as if it had never existed. "I sensed a disruption with my Ice Prison, so I attacked without thinking. Are you two hurt?"
Wuying only rolled her eyes, exposing Princess Shan's shamelessness. "Do you truly expect us to believe you didn't know who you attacked? You just wanted to prevent us from discovering your newfound abilities. After all, that's the main reason you separated from us to train on your own."
Princess Shan arched an eyebrow, pressing her lips into a thin smile. "Would it not be unfair if you learned my secrets before we even had a chance to spar? I believe you'd do the same if I were to spy on your training."
Wuying didn't respond immediately; their matching gazes created an invisible tension in the air. Xiao Wen and Yi only sighed in response as they flew closer to give each other a hug. Wuying and Shan took a moment before joining them.
"Are you two done for today? You must be exhausted after killing so many beasts," Xiao Wen tried to divert the topic while playing with Yi's white hair.
"Don't worry, I barely use any Qi to maintain my Ice Domain, and we had a break just a moment ago. I would be fine even if any of you wanted to spar," Princess Shan assured her, her gaze falling on Wuying. "How was your training? Any recent breakthroughs?"
It was clear she wasn't done with the confrontation, and Wuying gave her exactly what she wanted. "It went well. I actually succeeded in upgrading a few of my Blood Arts and was looking for someone to test my skills. But, before we spar, how about I show you one of them? We happened to discover the power of your Black Ice Spear, so I just want to level the playing field."
"I see…" Princess Shan muttered disappointed. "I will accept your offer then."
Wuying only nodded, a soft smile on her face as she casually cracked her neck. She extended her senses throughout their surroundings, and without even glancing downward, the frozen statues began to shatter. All the beasts that were still alive were ripped from the ice and lifted into the airspace around them.
"Your control has improved greatly," Princess Shan praised with a smile. "But that's not all, right?"
Wuying didn't respond verbally. Instead, she snapped her fingers, triggering a series of explosions. Each beast blew up into a bloody mist that turned the sky crimson. "Just as you have your own Ice Domain, I can control any blood in my vicinity, including the one in your body. If my target doesn't protect themselves adequately, I can make them explode with a snap of my fingers."
"Isn't that an old technique of yours?" Princess Shan commented, sounding skeptical. "What's changed from the past?"
She didn't hesitate to form an invisible Spirit Barrier around her, but that effort failed miserably. Wuying didn't even move before Princess Shan's body froze in place, her blood entirely under Wuying's control. She couldn't even control her Qi which rendered her useless.
"Spirit Barrier is only effective against other Spirit Qi abilities. Unless your Blood Qi surpasses mine in quality, you can't prevent me from controlling your blood," Wuying explained, releasing Princess Shan and absorbing all the blood mist in the air. "I guess we're even now."
Princess Shan rubbed her temples in frustration. "What's the point of sparing now that I know you can kill me any time you want? The only way to defeat you would be the element of surprise or attacking from a distance, neither of which I'm willing to do. I surrender for now."
Wuying's gaze softened as she floated over to give her a hug. "Even though I can beat you in a fair duel, it doesn't mean you're any weaker than me. We're all experts in our respective elements."
"I know, but it's still disheartening," Princess Shan sighed as she returned the hug. "Unless we can master all nine elements like Xuefeng, there will always be someone who can counter our weaknesses. I'm sure even Nuwa could beat you with her Soul Realm."
Wuying's smile twitched as she dismissed the thought. "Let's not jump to conclusions. We'll know for sure when we spar for real."
The girls giggled at her reaction, their amusement quickly interrupted by a disturbance on the horizon. They spotted a flying beast heading their way, carrying the ever-smiling Yiren. Her blonde hair danced in the wind as she circled around them, announcing the news joyfully.
"Xuefeng is back!"