172: Chapter 172 Starfire Burns Ice, Light Congeals in an Instant

Global League · Quarter-finals

Before the bloody light of the Nine Palaces Gu Refining Array had completely faded, the quarter-final match list was projected into mid-air by the crystal monument.

When the words "Dragon Country's Murong Wu vs. Polar Bear Country's Andrei" lit up, the hearts of the Dragon Country spectators in the stands sank—no one wanted to see a Dragon Country contestant encounter this Frost Titan in the quarter-finals.

Murong Wu looked at Andrei's three-meter-tall frame. The Star Orbit circulated between her fingertips with increasing urgency, the threads of light nearly burning her own skin.

She knew this would be the toughest battle she had faced since entering the competition.

Andrei's frost Domain could freeze spiritual energy, while her Star Orbit relied precisely on the flow of spiritual energy—much like fire relies on oxygen. Once frozen, it would mean defeat.

"You are strong," Andrei spoke, his voice like the roar of a collapsing glacier. "But, I am stronger."

Murong Wu did not respond. She simply raised her hand and let the Star Orbit disperse.

The sky full of light spots no longer condensed into a shield, but instead transformed into countless tiny threads of light, wandering through the arena like fireflies on a summer night, flickering in and out of existence.

This was a new move she had recently realized—Star Orbit: Firefly, using dispersed light spots to evade large-scale freezing. Each thread of light was as thin as a hair, yet contained a temperature sufficient to burn through rock.

The moment the whistle blew, Andrei stomped his foot.

As that foot fell, the air in the entire arena solidified instantly.

Ice crystals formed on the ground at a speed visible to the naked eye, and frost spread in all directions like a living thing, crawling up the walls, through the air, and onto every suspended thread of light.

Amidst the cracking sounds of freezing, half of the Fireflies were frozen into ice pellets, crumbling into dust as they fell and splashing fine starlight onto the icy surface.

"It's useless." Andrei's ice fist smashed forward with a howl. Wherever the fist's wind passed, the remaining light threads were extinguished in swaths, without even a chance to struggle.

Murong Wu's figure flickered in the ice mist like a feather blown by the wind.

The light spots of Star Orbit: Firefly were constantly being frozen, but new light spots continuously surged from her body—she bit the tip of her tongue, using the pain to force out every last bit of spiritual energy.

She was stalling.

Any spiritual energy Domain has its limits, especially one with such a wide range of coverage.

The longer it was maintained, the greater the consumption, and the more obvious the flaws became. She was waiting, waiting for the moment the Frost King's breathing became erratic.

Fifty exchanges.

Andrei's breathing began to grow heavy, white mist spraying from his mouth and nose, condensing into frost flowers in the frigid air.

At the edge of the frost Domain, that layer of spiritual energy barrier invisible to the naked eye showed a minute loosening.

Among those frozen light threads, a few were actually melting silently.

The melted light spots were no longer cold fireflies, but carried a searing temperature—that was Murong Wu's Natal Starfire hidden within the core of the Fireflies, which had been waiting for this very moment.

"Now!"

A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Murong Wu's eyes, like a comet piercing the night sky.

All the Fireflies turned at the same time, like moths to a flame, converging toward Andrei's joints—knees, elbows, shoulder blades, the weakest gaps in his ice crystal armor.

The scorching light spots burrowed in, exploding into patches of starlight within his body.

Andrei let out a pained roar, and for the first time, there was agony in his voice.

The frost Domain vibrated violently, the speed of his ice fist slowed by half a beat, and the wind from the punch grazed the tips of Murong Wu's hair, shearing off a few strands, but failing to touch her body.

Murong Wu seized this fleeting opportunity—the Star Orbit suddenly condensed, and thousands of Fireflies gathered in her palm, transforming into a dazzling spear of light.

The spear was slender and shimmering with light, its tip burning with the brilliant white of her Natal Starfire.

She threw it.

The light spear tore through the air at a speed difficult for the eye to follow, trailing a burning trajectory as it pierced straight toward Andrei's chest.

There, where the ice crystal armor was thickest, was also the core of the Frost Giant's Bloodline.

*Pfft—*

The sound of the light spear piercing the ice crystals was clearly audible, like a red-hot iron rod being thrust into a snowbank.

The spear tip penetrated the armor and stabbed into the flesh. The scorching starfire spread at the wound, and melted ice water mixed with blood dripped down, splashing tiny pits onto the ice surface.

Andrei's movements suddenly froze.

He looked down at the light spear in his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.

For three hundred years, no one had been able to pierce his ice crystal armor—this seemingly fragile woman had actually done it.

But in the next second, he suddenly looked up.

The frost Domain erupted with unprecedented cold—not the consumption of maintaining a Domain, but a desperate, life-risking outburst.

He poured out all his remaining spiritual energy, and the cold swept out like a physical substance, freezing Murong Wu's figure along with that light spear inside the ice.

The ice layer enveloped her at a visible speed—first her ankles, then her calves, then her waist, chest, and neck.

Murong Wu maintained her spear-throwing posture, solidified within the ice crystals like an ice sculpture. Only her eyes remained open, staring at Andrei through the ice.

"A pity."

Andrei coughed up a mouthful of blood containing ice shards; the blood fell onto the ice, instantly condensing into red ice beads. His massive body slowly knelt down, his knees hitting the ice with a dull thud.

The light spear in his chest shattered inch by inch, turning into a sky full of starlight, falling and extinguishing around him like a miniature meteor shower.

"In the end, you were still a bit short."

He looked up at Murong Wu in the ice, his voice already so weak it seemed to come from far away. "Your star... burned through my ice. But my ice... also froze your light."

The referee's voice rang out in the ice mist, passing through the cold air that had not yet dissipated, clearly reaching everyone's ears:

"Polar Bear Country's Andrei, wins."

In the stands, Su Qing covered her mouth, suppressed sobs escaping from between her fingers.

Chu Yao turned her head away, unable to bear watching any longer. Zhang Wen gripped the sky-splitting startling thunder spear, the spear's body vibrating and humming; his knuckles were white, and veins bulged on his hands.

And Murong Wu, within the ice, closed her eyes.

The last glimmer of the Star Orbit's light silently went out beneath the ice layer.

Other Arenas

Zhang Wen vs. Catherine

Without allies to restrain him, Zhang Wen's Myriad Phenomena Return to Ruin Thunder displayed a terrifying suppressive power.

Catherine's Sound Wave Blades were transformed into harmless wind as soon as they were released, and even her best "Sonic Bomb" was ground into tiny light spots by the Lightning Radiance.

Three moves. When Zhang Wen's spear tip pressed against her throat for the third time, Catherine smiled bitterly and admitted defeat: "Your thunder can even dissolve sound."

Arthur vs. Park Ji-yeon

Shadow arts were like child's play before the Law of space. Arthur didn't even use the star realm battle axe; he just casually tore open a few spatial rifts, causing Park Ji-yeon's shadow Clones to be annihilated within them.

As the last shadow was swallowed by a rift, Park Ji-yeon's face turned ashen: "Your space cannot even accommodate a shadow."

Caesar vs. Corona

The Roman's fists once again displayed crushing explosive power.

As soon as Corona's shadows wrapped around Caesar's arm, they were dispersed by the internal energy on his fist.

"Rome does not kill the weak, but it also does not accept sneak attacks." Caesar's fist smashed into the barrier behind Corona, causing her spiritual energy to collapse. "Surrender, and I will let you keep your dignity." Corona nodded through gritted teeth, though her eyes were full of resentment.

Semi-finalist List

On the crystal monument, four names shone brilliantly:

Dragon Country · Zhang Wen

Eagle Country · Arthur

Rome Country · Caesar

Polar Bear Country · Andrei

As Andrei was carried off the field by medical staff, he was still whispering: "A top four finish isn't bad..."

Zhang Wen looked at his back, then at the arena where Murong Wu was frozen. Within the Lightning Radiance of the sky-splitting startling thunder spear, there was an added touch of cold killing intent.

The war drums for the semi-finals beat exceptionally heavily in the night of the Shattered Archipelago.