The Frost Ice Iron General said, "Ever since the Tianxiong Iron General disappeared, the other two swiftly took over his territory and seized his resources!

"I tried to stop them myself, but I was no match for them alone, so the matter was left unresolved.

"Back then, the Tianxiong Iron General warned me that those two were highly ambitious and that I should always be on my guard. Then, he vanished."

With that, the Frost Ice Iron General finished his story.

Ye Fan asked, "So, what’s your proposal?" He was eager to know what the old general was planning.

The Frost Ice Iron General stated his intentions plainly. "Help me deal with the two Iron Generals. They are definitely connected to this matter!"

"Alright," Ye Fan replied. This was perfectly acceptable, since he had planned to confront the other two Iron Generals anyway. Thus, he agreed on the spot.

"But I must test you," the Frost Ice Iron General then said. "Please forgive my impudence!"

"Why?" Ye Fan asked, confused. Why is this old fool acting so erratically? What’s the point of testing me now?

The Frost Ice Iron General declared, "I need to see if you truly have what it takes to challenge one of them and kill them!"

"Then bring it on!" Ye Fan wasn’t one for idle chatter.

The two were about to clash, but Ye Fan suddenly held up a hand, calling a halt. The Frost Ice Iron General asked, "Why do you hesitate?"

Ye Fan gestured to their surroundings. "Are you sure you want to fight here? If we do, this entire area will be destroyed. Even the Frost Ice Palace could be reduced to rubble."

"Yes, right here!" the Frost Ice Iron General affirmed.

"Then don’t blame me for being discourteous! Pure Yang Divine Fist!" Ye Fan bellowed as a torrent of scorching True Qi erupted, surging straight for the Frost Ice Iron General. I know exactly what he intends. If I am defeated, he will kill me without hesitation. A loss would prove I lack the strength to oppose the other two Iron Generals. For this reason, Ye Fan skipped the pleasantries and immediately unleashed his full power, preparing to crush his opponent.

At that instant, the Frost Ice Iron General made his move. He unleashed the Frost Radiance Fist, sending a relentless wave of Frost Flower Power toward Ye Fan, which instantly froze his Pure Yang Divine Fist solid.

"Is this the extent of your strength?" the Frost Ice Iron General questioned.

"My strength won’t disappoint you!" Ye Fan retorted. With a sharp cry, he shattered the icy seal. His Pure Yang Divine Gang surged toward the Frost Ice Iron General, leaving him stunned. The general roared, and countless ice pillars shot up from the ground in an attempt to block the tyrannical Gang Yuan. It was a futile effort. The moment the Pure Yang Gang Yuan slammed into them, the ice pillars shattered. This was what true, absolute power looked like.

Ye Fan stood before the splintered ice and asked, "Is this qualification enough?"

"It seems it’s still not enough!" the Frost Ice Iron General barked. In response, Ye Fan shot forward, his Pure Yang Divine Fist leading the charge. The Frost Ice Iron General, however, countered calmly, raising an Ice Barrier. When the Pure Yang Divine Fist struck, both forces exploded, showering the area in countless tiny ice crystals descending from the sky.

But in the aftermath, the Frost Ice Iron General stood frozen in place, his face a mask of shock.

A sword’s edge was pressed against his chest.

I’ve lost, he knew.

He said to Ye Fan, "I have been defeated. I never expected you to know swordsmanship." The technique was so powerful that he couldn’t even block it in time. It proved that Ye Fan’s Sword Dao had reached an incredible depth, a level far beyond his own reach.

Ye Fan asked, "Is that enough?"

"Enough," the Frost Ice Iron General conceded. "You took me by surprise. If we had fought in earnest from the start, that one sword strike might have injured me!" Although he found it hard to believe, he had to admit the truth.

Ye Fan then asked, "Do you know of the Wudang Sword Saint?"

"I do. He disappeared around the same time as the rest of us. But before that, he was a Swordsman who dominated the world. Among the four of us, only the Tianxiong Iron General could truly defeat him. Have you met him?" he asked, looking at Ye Fan with curiosity.

"I killed him," Ye Fan stated flatly. "That paranoid, half-human, half-demon old man."

Hearing this, the Frost Ice Iron General was utterly shocked, a sense of fear creeping into his heart. The Wudang Sword Saint, defeated by Ye Fan? It’s too outrageous to be true! And yet, he had killed him. From every indication, Ye Fan was no simple character. No wonder he was so arrogant from the beginning. He truly has the capital to back it up!

"His Sword Dao may be strong," Ye Fan continued, "but his Swordsmanship has more flaws than any other in the world. I can defeat him in under five moves!"

Fear gripped the Frost Ice Iron General’s heart. He had, initially, considered killing Ye Fan. But now he knew that if he had tried, there would have been no escape. This only made him believe more strongly in the Tianxiong Iron General’s prophecy from all those years ago. So, this time, he agreed without hesitation.

"Come on out, little guy!" Ye Fan called out suddenly.

The Frost Ice Knight was perplexed. Is there someone else here?

Just then, a seemingly harmless and adorable little head popped out from within Ye Fan’s robes. It was the Grassland Bear, which had been nestled against him the entire time. Hearing Ye Fan’s summons, the Grassland Bear leaped to the ground and instantly transformed, growing to an immense and terrifying size.

The Frost Ice Iron General completely lost his composure. He didn’t dare to imagine what would have happened had he truly attacked. This Grassland Bear’s combat power is terrifying. Even if I could have dodged Ye Fan’s fatal strike, I definitely couldn’t have avoided this little guy’s attack. This trump card was completely beyond his expectations.

He said to Ye Fan, "So you had another ace up your sleeve."

Ye Fan smiled. "This is my final trump card."

The Frost Ice Iron General didn’t believe that for a second. If it were truly his final move, Ye Fan would have never revealed it. He had to admit, making an enemy of Ye Fan would be a real headache.

In truth, this was far from Ye Fan’s ultimate move. His final technique was to stimulate his Divine Bloodline to its absolute limit and enter a state of Demonization with his Yuanhong Sword. When he unleashed those two techniques, any enemy, no matter how powerful, was doomed to die—though Ye Fan himself would suffer grievous injuries in the process. Of course, Ye Fan would never resort to such a tactic that cost him eight hundred to kill a thousand enemies unless he was truly backed into a corner.

In any case, Ye Fan had achieved his goal: to show the Frost Ice Iron General that he possessed more than enough power to confront the other two Iron Generals.

And so, Ye Fan and the Frost Ice Iron General came to an agreement. While Ye Fan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, the Frost Ice Iron General was secretly breaking out in a cold sweat. If I had truly fought him just now, I would have been utterly defeated. No doubt about it.

The two of them walked out of the palace. "When do we make our move?" Ye Fan asked. This was the most critical question.