338: Chapter 338 Eternal Frost Soul Finger

"Are you worthy?"

Just three words, flat and indifferent, without even a hint of emotional fluctuation.

After Ye Tian finished speaking, he closed his eyes again and continued to regulate his breathing, completely treating Nangong Yu as a mass of annoying yet useless air.

On the platform, it was so quiet that one could hear a needle drop.

Countless gazes swept back and forth between Ye Tian and Nangong Yu.

Anyone could see that Nangong Yu's own aura was still unstable, and his injuries hadn't fully healed.

As for Ye Tian, although his clothes were dirty and his aura was slightly fluctuating, his internal and external calmness—even carrying a hint of weary indifference—made Nangong Yu's provocation look like a clown performing a monologue.

The forced sneer on Nangong Yu's Face instantly froze, then turned a deep shade of liver-purple.

His fingers gripping the Crimson Jade Fan trembled uncontrollably, and his chest heaved violently as a surge of sinister fire, mixed with the shame of his previous crushing defeat, rushed to his head.

He never expected that in front of top experts of the same generation like Bei Minghong and Li Xuanxiao, Ye Tian wouldn't give him any Face at all, stripping away his last shred of dignity!

"You're looking for death!" Nangong Yu squeezed the words through his teeth, his voice trembling with rage as his true essence surged uncontrollably, with faint phantom flames rising.

The Nangong Family disciples behind him also glared with wide eyes, hands on their weapons, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense and explosive.

"Brother Yu."

A cold, flat voice rang out.

The voice wasn't loud, but it strangely pierced through the tense air on the field, as if carrying a magic that could chill one's soul, causing even the fuming Nangong Yu to pause involuntarily.

The speaker was Bei Minghong.

He was still sitting on that red rock, his posture unchanged, except that he had opened his eyes at some unknown moment.

What kind of eyes were those?

His pupils were a rare silver-gray, clear and cold, like the core of ice frozen for tens of thousands of years at the poles; they reflected no colors of the world, only a vast indifference.

When his gaze swept over someone, even if it wasn't directed at them, it felt like a bucket of cold water being poured over their head, making their heart tighten.

He slowly turned his head, his gaze first falling on Nangong Yu. "The Face of your Nangong Family... is losing it once not enough?"

Nangong Yu's Face turned pale instantly, his lips quivered, and he didn't dare to talk back at all. The fire in his belly was extinguished in an instant, and he subconsciously took half a step back, lowering his head, not even daring to glance at Bei Minghong again.

The Nangong Family disciples behind him were even more terrified, not daring to breathe loudly.

Only then did Bei Minghong's gaze turn toward Ye Tian, who was not far away.

The gaze was flat, without scrutiny or hostility, just a pure, downward-looking appraisal.

"You are Ye Tian?" Bei Minghong spoke, his voice still flat and devoid of emotion. "A new true disciple of the Liuli Xuan Sect. Your name is on the bronze thread rank."

Ye Tian also opened his eyes, meeting those silver-gray ones.

The other's gaze was very cold, but he could feel that this coldness wasn't a deliberately projected pressure, but an icy chill emanating from his very bones.

He didn't answer, simply meeting Bei Minghong's gaze calmly.

"Defeated Nangong Yu, killed the Three Fiends of the Youyu Gate, and even beat Zhao Shukuang of the Tianhu Gate," Bei Minghong continued. With each achievement he mentioned, a low gasp sounded from the surroundings.

Many only knew that Ye Tian and Nangong Yu had a grudge, but they hadn't expected him to have done so much in the Secret Realm!

Especially those three from the Youyu Gate; when they joined forces, even an ordinary Zhenwu Ninth Level would find them troublesome! And Zhao Shukuang of the Tianhu Gate was no pushover either!

"Some strength..." The corner of Bei Minghong's mouth twitched, as if he wanted to make an "interested" expression, but in the end, it only turned colder. "However, the True Martial Realm is, in the end, just the True Martial Realm."

He slowly raised his right hand and extended a finger.

"I don't like watching ants clamor." A wisp of grayish-white cold energy flowed slightly at Bei Minghong's fingertip. "If you can take this finger strike, you stay here and wait for the Thunder Hall to open. If you can't... leave!"

Before his voice even faded, he tapped lightly.

A wisp of cold energy as thin as a strand of hair floated toward Ye Tian.

This cold energy didn't fly fast, but everywhere it passed, the air was instantly frozen, leaving only a grayish-white trail that made one's heart hair stand on end.

On the platform, those with lower cultivation felt a stabbing pain in their brains and their blood flow slowing down just by seeing that wisp of cold energy from afar; their Faces turned pale with fear as they retreated repeatedly.

Even people like Li Xuanxiao and the Ghost Girl had their gazes turn solemn.

"It's the Beiming Family's Eternal Silent Frost Soul Finger!" someone cried out in a low, fearful voice.

"I heard this finger technique specifically targets the Divine Soul and freezes one's vitality. If hit, unless one has special means or a much higher cultivation than the caster, a severely damaged Divine Soul would be the least of it!"

"Bei Minghong actually made a move! Is he trying to establish dominance, or is he planning to directly cripple Ye Tian?"

A look of delight appeared on Nangong Yu's Face, as if he had already seen Ye Tian frozen into an ice sculpture with a shattered soul. Zhao Mao also sneered and crossed his arms, waiting to see the joke.

Ye Tian's pupils constricted slightly.

From the moment that grayish-white cold energy appeared, every hair on his body instinctively stood on end, and an unprecedented sense of crisis enveloped his heart.

This wasn't a suppression of power, but something aimed at the very essence of the Divine Soul!

The black tortoise spirit armor shield couldn't block much of this kind of attack, and while the chaos bead could protect his core, this cold energy was too bizarre.

He quickly activated the Illusory Sea Heart Sutra, took half a step forward with his left foot, and gathered Sword Qi with his right hand's fingers. Golden light flowed at his fingertips as he tapped out to meet that wisp of cold energy.

The two met in the air three feet in front of Ye Tian.

Time seemed to stretch at this moment.

The grayish-white cold energy tried to corrode the Sword Qi, while the golden light remained motionless.

Where the two touched, space distorted and light flickered, making those nearby feel half their bodies cold and the other half in stabbing pain.

Ye Tian's Face grew paler, and his sword finger trembled slightly.

He felt as if he had fallen into a ten-thousand-year-old ice cave; not just his body, but even his thoughts were about to be frozen by that terrifying "Eternal Silence."

After three breaths.

With a soft "pfft," that hair-raising wisp of cold energy finally vanished completely.

Ye Tian let out a muffled groan and retreated six steps, a trace of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. His aura weakened instantly, and his Face became as white as paper.

But he still remained standing. Those eyes, though tired, were sharper than before as they looked straight at Bei Minghong.

He blocked it!

Ye Tian had actually taken the "Eternal Silent Frost Soul Finger" of the Sea Transformation First Layer and Beiming Family Young Lord, Bei Minghong, head-on!

Although he paid the price of being injured and spitting blood, he had indeed taken it, and he hadn't fallen, nor had his Divine Soul collapsed!

Everyone on the platform was stunned by this scene.

They had seen people fighting across levels, but standing after taking the Beiming Family's signature soul technique, "Eternal Silent Frost Soul Finger," as a True Martial Realm... this was simply unheard of!

Even the way Li Xuanxiao looked at Ye Tian carried true scrutiny for the first time.

Behind her veil, the Ghost Girl's eyes flickered with an eerie light.

The smile on Nangong Yu's Face froze completely, turning into unbelievable horror.

Zhao Mao also put away his schadenfreude, his Face darkening.

In Bei Minghong's silver-gray eyes, a ripple finally appeared.

He slowly withdrew his finger, the cold energy at the tip dissipating.

He looked at Ye Tian, whose mouth was bloody and aura weak but whose gaze was like a sword, and remained silent for a moment.

"Very good."

He spat out those two words, his voice still flat.

"You are qualified to stay here."

After saying that, he stopped looking at Ye Tian and closed his eyes again.

Ye Tian slowly straightened up, raised his hand to wipe the blood from his mouth, took a Medicinal Pill, and sat cross-legged on the spot to regulate his breathing with his eyes closed.

He didn't speak, nor did he show any joy of winning or lingering fear; he simply handled his injuries calmly.

But everyone knew that after this finger strike, no one would dare treat him as a newcomer who could be bullied at will.

Buzz!

Just then, the Seven-Colored Thunder Light Barrier outside the Chixiao Thunder Hall suddenly emitted a hum!

The barrier covering the hall fluctuated violently, the runes flowing on its surface moving as if alive, and the originally solid barrier began to turn transparent!

"The Restriction is about to open!"

"The Thunder Hall will open its doors soon!"

"Everyone, get ready!"

On the platform, a commotion broke out instantly.

Everyone waiting, no matter what they were doing just now, was invigorated; their eyes fixed heatedly on the fluctuating barrier as the true essence in their bodies began to circulate, and various protective Magic Treasures and weapons lit up with faint glimmers one after another.

Even their breathing became hurried.