92: Chapter 90: Rapid Defeat

"How is this possible?!"

Ma Xiaotao's expression changed slightly, the unease in her heart swelling rapidly.

Yet she still showed no sign of backing down; her second and third spirit rings lit up in succession as she activated Bathing Fire Phoenix and Soaring Phoenix Wings simultaneously!

Her evil fire surged violently, and the fiery wings on her back snapped open as deep crimson flames churned around her like a tide.

"Phoenix Sky Cry Strike!"

The next instant, Ma Xiaotao raised her hand and pointed from afar, the purple light of the fourth spirit ring at her feet exploding!

"Boom!!"

A giant pillar of flame several meters in diameter tore through the air almost instantly, gushing violently toward Lin Yan!

However, at the exact instant that pillar of flame surged forward—

"Clang!"

A clear and resounding clang of clashing metal suddenly exploded!

Immediately following, an ice-blue halberd blade cleaved forcefully into that bursting pillar of roaring flame.

From bottom to top, with unstoppable momentum, it sliced the soaring pillar of flame right down the middle in an instant!

The Extreme Cold Mysterious Ice Fire coating the halberd blade spread rapidly along the slash mark; everywhere it passed, the surging Phoenix evil fire immediately let out ear-piercing sizzles as it was annihilated.

Ma Xiaotao's pupils suddenly shrank.

"This—"

The next moment, Lin Yan moved!

The ice-fire war halberd danced in his hands like a dragon, carrying suffocating Ultimate Ice and Fire power as it pressed down upon Ma Xiaotao like a violent tempest!

"Tiger Stance!"

A horizontal sweep of the halberd came with immense force, like a tiger descending the mountain—domineering and fierce!

The Twelve Forms Halberd Technique was derived from the Twelve Stances Body Forging Art; as the Body Forging Art evolved, this halberd art naturally became even more fierce and lethal.

Hastily, Ma Xiaotao raised her arms to block.

The shield formed from her evil fire barely held against the halberd blade, yet she was still pushed backward repeatedly by the terrifying force, the bluestones beneath her feet cracking and splintering inch by inch.

"Leopard Stance!"

Without pausing its offensive, the halberd's trajectory abruptly shifted from fierce power to blinding speed, lunging like a leopard pouncing on its prey straight toward her chest and abdomen.

The halberd's tip grazed past her waist as wisps of Extreme Cold Mysterious Ice Fire invaded, freezing the evil fire around her into patches of ice-blue frost crystals, the bone-chilling cold penetrating straight to her core.

Too fast!

Too relentless!

Lin Yan's assault was like crashing waves, continuous and unbroken; every halberd strike linked seamlessly into the next as he wielded the Twelve Forms Halberd Technique with effortless mastery.

At times winding like a snake, subtle and treacherous; at times leaping like an ape, nimble and elusive; and at times striking like an eagle soaring through the sky, incomparably swift and powerful.

Every time Ma Xiaotao tried to forcibly pull away and release a Spirit Ability, she was brutally interrupted by an exceptionally tricky halberd strike.

Frustrating, unprecedentedly frustrating!

Facing this relentless, tempest-like onslaught along with the natural suppression from the Ultimate Ice and Fire...

Ma Xiaotao felt both shocked and enraged in her heart, while a deep sense of helplessness began to grow and spread.

In a clash lasting merely a dozen breaths, she had been driven across more than half the martial arena, with the cold stone wall drawing nearer behind her.

She couldn't retreat any further!

"Phoenix Cloud Piercing Strike!"

Gritting her silver teeth, Ma Xiaotao braved taking a halberd strike head-on, using the impact to leap backward.

The fifth spirit ring beneath her feet flared violently, its deep purple light blindingly bright.

A fire Phoenix instantly materialized with a wingspan of nearly a zhang, carrying scorching heat and terrifying explosive power as it hurtled straight at Lin Yan right in front of her!

A blast at near-zero distance—unavoidable!

To this, Lin Yan held his ice-fire war halberd horizontally, and its tip forcefully cleaved into the energy nexus on the fire Phoenix's flank from an impossibly tricky angle!

"Snake Form!"

The Extreme Cold Mysterious Ice Fire wrapped up the halberd blade like a living thing, instantly triggering a dual collapse of internal freezing and melting!

"Sizzle—!"

Amidst an ear-splitting pop, the fiercely imposing fire Phoenix abruptly froze in mid-air.

Then, from the inside out, it shattered and disintegrated inch by inch, turning into a sky full of flaming embers that rained down!

Amidst the scattering embers, Ma Xiaotao's face was illuminated by the fiery glow, revealing an unbelievable paleness.

Her strongest single-target killer move... had actually been dismantled so effortlessly?!

If during Lin Yan's fight against Teacher Zhou Yi the power he displayed left her confident she wouldn't lose to him...

Then standing before Lin Yan once again at this moment, no matter how unwilling she was to admit it, she felt as if she were facing an endlessly high, suffocatingly towering mountain.

Yet even so, she still gritted her teeth tightly, unwilling to concede, unwilling to admit she was inferior to Lin Yan.

However, just as she forced herself to mount another counterattack, Lin Yan's Aura surged again without warning!

An abyssal imperial majesty swept out from him like the sky collapsing, locking onto Ma Xiaotao completely with a domain over all living beings!

Emperor Descends Upon the World!

She only felt a loud "buzz" explode in her mind.

Her Mental Energy felt as if it were gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand; her Soul Power circulation instantly stagnated, and even her breathing slowed by half a beat.

The scattered embers lingering in midair also seemed to be forcefully seized by this terrifying will, freezing motionless as if time itself had paused for a moment.

And during this brief hesitation, Lin Yan's figure closed in like a ghost!

The ice-fire war halberd was raised high, as Extreme Cold Mysterious Ice Fire and the majestic will of Emperor Descends Upon the World wildly intertwined and fused on the blade!

"Bear Stance!"

From top to bottom, it cleaved down forcefully!

As the halberd fell, it carried a weight like a thousand catties!

The twin poles of ice and fire erupted simultaneously on the blade, crashing down with city-destroying power!

"Boom—!!"

A muffled, thunderous roar exploded in the center of the martial arena!

A shockwave weaving heat and frost rippled outward; the bluestone floor ground into powder, kicking up a cloud of dust.

And Ma Xiaotao's figure was instantly launched flying by this wave of terrifying power, drawing an uncontrolled arc through the air like a kite with a broken string.

Right at that moment, Principal Yan Shaozhe, who had been watching intently, flickered and quickly appeared in midair to catch her.

Looking down at Ma Xiaotao, who had blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, Principal Yan Shaozhe checked her briefly and found her injuries were not severe—Lin Yan had clearly held back at the last moment.

Releasing a breath of relief, the lingering complaint in his heart completely dissipated.

At this moment, around the edge of the arena, there was a dead silence.

From the start of the battle to its end, it was simply too fast.

So fast that they almost doubted their own eyes.

In their original perception, although they recognized Lin Yan's strength, subconsciously they still felt Ma Xiaotao—as a top Genius of the Inner Court—would be stronger.

At the very least, it should have been a fierce, evenly matched battle between titans.

After all, although Ma Xiaotao and Teacher Zhou Yi back then were both Spirit Emperors, their combat prowess could by no means be spoken of in the same breath.

They never expected... the battle would be so swift, clean, and devoid of suspense!

Of course, they could not be blamed for thinking this way.

In the end, the only time they had seen Lin Yan fight was that battle against Teacher Zhou Yi.

Back then, as a Spirit Elder, Lin Yan had no Heavenly Flame and his methods were far less varied; facing Ma Xiaotao, the outcome really would have been hard to say.

But now...

In just one short year, Lin Yan's strength had undergone a complete, earth-shattering surge!

Eight months ago, he could already crush a Spirit Saint and blow Teacher Fan Yu to death with a Buddha Wrath Fire Lotus.

Eight months later, having completed the final flaw in his Physical Body, his true combat power had long since stepped forcefully into the Spirit Douluo level!

From Spirit Emperor to Spirit Douluo, there was a gap of two full major Realms.

If he had still dragged out the fight back and forth with her, that would have been bizarre!

...

By the time Principal Yan Shaozhe landed back on the ground with a pale Ma Xiaotao, a healing-system Spirit Douluo waiting nearby quickly stepped forward.

The next second, accompanied by a gentle white light speckled with starlight, Ma Xiaotao's complexion regained its rosiness at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Seeing this scene, Lin Yan's expression remained as calm as usual, without the slightest surprise.

After all, this was merely a spar, so he had naturally held back at the final moment.

Otherwise, if the Extreme Cold Mysterious Ice Fire mixed with the power of Emperor Descends had erupted at full power, Ma Xiaotao wouldn't be alive right now.

Not far away, Ma Xiaotao was entirely oblivious to the injuries rapidly healing inside her body.

Her pair of pink eyes stared fixedly at Lin Yan, her gaze a mixture of stubborn unwillingness, burning shame, and a hint of lingering fear that she herself refused to acknowledge.