Suddenly, he looked toward Qin Ya and thought to himself, ’Perhaps Master Qin can reach that step. After all, he’s still so young and has more time to delve into the Alchemy Dao. It might not be impossible for him to reach the Realm of the Pill King one day.’

Just then, a powerful aura erupted on the battlefield.

Qin Ya was dressed in white robes, though they were now covered in bloody gashes. While he looked terrifying bathed in blood, the wounds were merely superficial.

Otherwise, Yun Loxi would have long since stepped in to stop the fight.

"Huh? What’s Master Qin...?"

Qin Ya stood as straight as a spear, radiating an incredibly powerful aura. His opponent, Feng Langyun, had retreated dozens of yards away, staring with shock and uncertainty at Qin Ya, who stood with his eyes closed in concentration. Feng Langyun’s expression was conflicted. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Damn it, he’s actually having a breakthrough right now."

Feng Langyun looked frustrated. He stared at Qin Ya, wishing he could just take his giant axe and swing it. ’We were right in the middle of a heated battle, and you decide to just have a breakthrough?’

The others walked over, looking at Qin Ya in astonishment.

"As expected of the genius even the Palace Master praised. To have a breakthrough at a time like this, and in the most difficult Great Trend, no less," Lin Hongyu said coolly.

Yun Loxi flew over and hovered in the air. She scanned the surroundings, taking it upon herself to act as Qin Ya’s Dharma Protector. An epiphany regarding a Great Trend was exceptionally rare. If missed, one might never know when the next chance would come—it might not even happen again in a lifetime.

"Sigh, he sure is relaxed. To just start meditating for a breakthrough in the middle of a fight. Isn’t he afraid we’ll just sneak up and knock him out?"

Feng Langyun’s clothes were dyed red with blood and torn to shreds, making him look like a beggar.

"Would you?" Bai Yuyu asked with a faint, cool smile.

"Nah," Feng Langyun chuckled.

"Exactly," Bai Yuyu said, lightly fanning himself with his Jade Fan. "Besides, he dares to do this because he has nothing to fear. With Master Yun here as his Dharma Protector, we couldn’t touch a single hair on his head even if we all attacked together."

"Did you have a satisfying fight?"

Suddenly, an extremely cold voice spoke next to Feng Langyun’s ear.

Without thinking, Feng Langyun replied, "It was awesome! Master Qin’s strength is incredible, so intense. No one’s ever pushed me this far, not even at the Four Sects Exchange Meet. It’s just a shame he had to go and have an epiphany right in the middle of it. Whatever, I’m definitely fighting another three hundred rounds with him later."

After Feng Langyun finished, the cold voice said, "How about I fight you instead?"

"Huh?" Feng Langyun turned his head and saw Lin Hongyu staring at him coldly. Her face was like ice, and her eyes were like daggers. The sight sent a chill down his spine.

The other four members of the Liujie had already backed away more than thirty feet.

Their gazes held a trace of pity.

"Uh... Lin Hongyu, what do you think you’re doing?"

Feng Langyun forced a laugh, then pointed to his numerous injuries. "I’m a wounded man! Look, all this blood! It’s serious!"

As he spoke, he secretly circulated his Thunder Power, forcing more blood from his wounds.

"A wounded man, are you?" Lin Hongyu sneered. Her hands shot out, grabbed Feng Langyun by the shoulders, and viciously threw him dozens of yards.

"I only stole your thunder for a second! Was that really necessary?"

Feng Langyun muttered from the crater he had landed in.

Frost, Flame...

In his epiphany, Qin Ya felt as if he had entered a world made of ice and fire. As far as the eye could see, there was only the purple of the Purple Fire and the silver-white of the Frost.

In this world, Frost and Flame chased each other.

Occasionally, the two would merge, becoming indistinguishable.

From within the Frost, Flame arose; within the Flame, Frost floated.

This magnificent and strange world rapidly deepened Qin Ya’s comprehension of the Ice and Fire Momentum. He felt as if he had transformed into a ball of Ice Flame, drifting between heaven and earth.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, a strange change was occurring around Qin Ya.

Two colors, purple and white, swirled around him.

Then, an intensely powerful chill erupted, spreading out in a fifty-zhang radius and enveloping the Liujie. Ice crystals began to rain down from the sky.

The ground was shrouded in Frost.

Even with the Liujie’s powerful Cultivation, they couldn’t help but feel waves of intense cold. For a split second, they felt as if they were ordinary people, stripped naked and thrown into an Ice and Snow World to be battered by the biting winds.

"What a powerful chill."

Startled, the Liujie immediately circulated their True Essence to dispel the cold.

Suddenly, they were shocked to discover that the circulation of their True Essence had slowed by a full thirty percent. A moment of thought, and their pupils contracted sharply.

"This cold air can actually impede the flow of True Essence."

"If not for our superior strength, any other Martial Artist at the Celestial Essence Realm Perfection stage would probably be completely unable to mobilize their True Essence."

"We should leave this area first."

The Liujie exchanged a look and immediately retreated.

Just then, the situation changed again.

Specks of purple suddenly appeared within the drifting Frost in the sky. The rain of frost instantly turned into a rain of fire. This strange sight didn’t make the Liujie stop and watch; instead, it made them retreat even faster. They could sense the terrifying power hidden within every single drop of Purple Fire.

It was a power that seemed capable of incinerating everything.

A single drop of Purple Fire accidentally landed on Bai Yuyu’s Jade Fan. Not daring to be careless, he immediately threw it away. In an instant, the fan was burned to ash.

After retreating, the Liujie stared at the still-meditating Qin Ya and swallowed hard. Feng Langyun exclaimed, "Jeez, is the Ice and Fire Momentum this terrifying?"

"Normally, the Ice and Fire Momentum shouldn’t be this terrifying. I suspect this already contains a hint of the Mysteries." A trace of shock was visible in Bai Yuyu’s eyes as he spoke. "He’s having an epiphany about the Mysteries?!"

"Good heavens, isn’t that something only an Extraordinary Strong Person can comprehend?"

"Heh, some geniuses are just beyond all reason."

At this, the Liujie couldn’t help but exchange wry smiles. They were often called prodigies by others, but they never thought they would be using the same term to describe a young man like this.

High above, Yun Loxi waved her hand and collected a drop of the Purple Fire.

’This has indeed touched upon the Ice and Fire Mysteries.’

The Mysteries—a power that surpassed the Great Trend.

For Qin Ya to grasp a hint of the Mysteries while still in the Celestial Essence Realm was a display of shocking Talent. Even Yun Loxi, who had witnessed countless miracles from Qin Ya, was thoroughly shaken. ’Just how monstrous is this kid’s Talent?’

Suddenly, the Purple Fire dissipated, and the Frost melted away.

The Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi began to boil. An even more powerful aura surged from Qin Ya’s body. Then, the purple and white colors fused into an ice-blue gas that coiled around him. This gas gradually transformed into a flame.

An ice-blue flame. When it fell to the ground, it didn’t burn. Instead, it condensed into thick frost. Then, that patch of earth turned to ash...

Yes, it turned to ash.

Though it was clearly frozen, it turned to ash as if it had been incinerated.

At that moment, Qin Ya’s eyes snapped open.

As if summoned, the ice-blue flame on his body nimbly shot into his palm, where it slowly bloomed into the shape of a lotus flower.

"I’ll call it... the Ice Flame."