CHAPTER 285: The Weight of Ice and Flame

Chapter 285: The Weight of Ice and Flame

Feeling the oppressive cold of the prison forged from Ultimate Ice, Xian Lin'er hesitated. Though she had come with conviction, a flicker of doubt crept into her heart. Ling Luochen had once been one of Shrek's own. Could there still be a possibility of reconciliation?

"Shrek is indeed responsible for what happened to Master Xuan," she finally said, her voice low, "but putting that aside, don't you bear any responsibility yourself? If you had been stronger, reacted faster… perhaps none of this would've happened."

"Oh? Stronger?" Ling Luochen scoffed, her eyes sharp. "With Shrek's so-called teaching methods? I'd love to be stronger, but when was I ever truly given the chance?"

Her voice turned icy. "My story's simple enough. But what about Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo? Just two years after they enrolled in Shrek, they were tossed into the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest, supposedly under the leadership of a Level 98 team. But they were abandoned—left to survive on their own in a land where Soul Masters at levels 30 or 40 regularly perish. That tragedy never should have happened. And what did you all do about it in the end?"

Xian Lin'er's lips parted to defend Shrek, but the memory surfaced unbidden. She recalled the moment Ning Tian, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo had knelt before Master Xuan, pleading with him not to abandon the academy.

Ling Luochen pressed on coldly. "If I hadn't had talent, I would've ended up just like them."

"There's no point in arguing," Xian Lin'er snapped, fury flaring as she raised her fist. "Since you're determined to betray Shrek, don't blame me!"

She struck the ice prison with her full strength—but instead of shattering, it held firm. Her hand recoiled in pain, frostbite threatening to creep into her bones.

"Impossible!" she gasped. "I'm a Super Douluo—not even a Titled Douluo could withstand that!"

Her gaze fell on Ling Luochen, whose soul rings now glowed clearly—four purple, four black. Eight rings. She had become a Soul Douluo.

"No… you only broke through to six rings four years ago!" Xian Lin'er exclaimed, shocked.

"That's what I mean when I say your teaching methods are worthless. You can't even help students enhance their martial souls, let alone guide them in absorbing higher-level soul rings."

"You've absorbed higher-level soul rings too?"

Ling Luochen's voice was calm and chilling. "My seventh soul ring is a 76,000-year-old Ice Jade Scorpion. Shrek could never have pulled that off."

"Seventy-six thousand years…" Xian Lin'er murmured. Her shock turned to excitement. "Ling Luochen, come back to Shrek. I promise—your ninth soul ring will be a 100,000-year one. You could become an Ultimate Douluo!"

She wasn't exaggerating. Ling Luochen's soul ring progression told the story: her first four rings were around 7,600 years, the fifth over 10,000, the sixth more than 20,000, and the last two were 76,000. The total was over 210,000 years. With just one more 100,000-year ring, she would cross 300,000 total—qualifying her to challenge the rank of Ultimate Douluo. Given the unique nature of the Ultimate Ice, the only factor left was time.

But Ling Luochen only laughed, bitter and cold.

"I've known Shrek too long to fall for pretty promises. In the end, wouldn't I be forced to hand over any soul bone I obtained alone—like that 10,000-year soul bone I earned myself?"

Her eighth soul ring flared. A beam of deep blue light erupted from her hand—Extreme Freezing Ray, her seventy-six-thousand-year soul skill.

"Wife!" Qian Duoduo shouted. In a flash, he threw himself in front of Xian Lin'er, taking the hit.

The ice spread in an instant.

Xian Lin'er cried out, struggling to break the prison again, this time with a ten-thousand-year soul skill. Still, the ice did not yield.

"Why?! This is just a thousand-year soul skill! How is it so resilient?!"

Ling Luochen offered no explanation, but the truth lay in the hidden enhancement: Bai Qingshan's sixth soul skill, Green Bean, had elevated her 7,600-year skill into a 100,000-year one. That, combined with the essence of Ultimate Ice, made the prison nearly impenetrable—even for a Super Douluo.

As Qian Duoduo remained frozen solid, Nana phased into full virtualization. With ghost-like movement, she darted through the crowd, then kicked the ice-encased Qian Duoduo toward a nearby Super Douluo before vanishing once more. In her wake, clones appeared, rallying everyone to gather around Xiao Hongchen.

Xiao Hongchen's seventh soul ring gleamed—Martial Soul True Body activated. His sixth soul ring followed, radiating light. Three-layer Invincible Shields deployed, casting a golden barrier over the group.

Shrek's hearts sank.

Their fears were confirmed when a ghost clone replaced Nana's position just as defenses locked in place. Then, Ling Luochen's torso blazed with brilliant green—the Ice Jade Scorpion soul bone's power: Ice Explosion Technique.

With Qian Duoduo's body as the epicenter, the explosion rivaled a Level 9 fixed soul guide blast, ripping open a massive crater in the Soul Palace.

After the devastation, Shrek's defense-type Titled Douluo and Super Douluo barely survived. But the rest—Soul Douluo and non-defense fighters—were annihilated.

The survivors were in no position to resist. The Soul Palace, untouched by the blast, stood unshaken.

The tide had turned.

"At least… at least Xiao Qiang is gone… so we're not…"

Xian Lin'er, pierced through the chest by Nana's Eight Spider Lances, tried to comfort herself in her final breath.

But then, fire burst forth from Xuanzi's body.

A towering pillar of flame ignited in the center of the battlefield.

And from it… a figure stepped out.

Her final words died on her lips.