Chapter Sixty-Five: The Escape and the Ice Dragon’s Allegiance

Bang! Bang! Bang! ... Boom!

Gales swirled around Nangong Lingyue, transforming into gusts of wind that spun ceaselessly, fending off every attack from all directions.

With her wind wings unfurled behind her, Nangong Lingyue paid no heed to the countless assaults raining down. Whether they struck her or missed, she ignored them entirely. Her only focus was ferrying Lin Qingyun to safety, dodging only those attacks that might prove fatal, and evading the monstrous creatures that blocked their way—those she could not slay in an instant. Her evasive prowess bordered on the miraculous as she sped toward the passage.

None of the demons and beasts near the portal had anticipated the sudden appearance of humans. Frenzied, they swarmed to the attack.

One after another, Nangong Lingyue sent them flying, yet new onslaughts surged in from every side. Though she wielded a power dozens of times greater than her own, and had briefly felt invincible, she quickly realized that even with the might of the Half-Step Radiant Sun Realm, the endless barrage could engulf her at any moment.

Fortunately, she had approached the passage directly, and fortune favored her that the most formidable demon kings had already departed. Had they remained, escape would have been far less certain.

Desperate, Nangong Lingyue pushed her speed to the utmost, but her adversaries’ madness knew no bounds. The demons and beasts hurled themselves into self-destruction, indifferent to whether their explosions harmed their own kind—sacrifices made solely to halt her advance.

Despite her ability to weave through the throng with Lin Qingyun at her side, their relentless frenzy made it impossible for her to gain any respite.

Luckily, the passage was not far. Yet the sheer number of beasts blanketed the earth, and a direct charge was unthinkable, especially with the unending hail of attacks from every direction.

All this transpired in but a few seconds, though to Nangong Lingyue, it felt as though she endured an eternity.

"Guardian of Wind, Sky-reaching Tempest!"

Having fully unleashed the power her father had bestowed upon her, Nangong Lingyue reached her pinnacle at last.

In an instant, her strength surged past its limits. The oppressive laws of heaven and earth began to descend, but before they could take hold, she erupted forth.

First, she cast a Guardian of Wind upon herself and Lin Qingyun, sheathing them in armor of wind. Then she unleashed the Sky-reaching Tempest, and before their eyes, hundreds of demon beasts and monsters were torn asunder.

At that moment, her speed reached its ultimate zenith. Riding the cleared path the tempest had carved, she surged toward the vortex of the passage.

Had there been a true Radiant Sun Realm power to oppose her, they would have been doomed.

But the demon kings had already plunged into the vortex. Though attacks rained down in numberless profusion, they were scattered and unfocused—not enough to annihilate the tempest she had conjured.

The laws of the world had not yet exerted their full suppressive force; seizing that narrow window, Nangong Lingyue hurtled into the vortex with Lin Qingyun.

Countless demons gave chase, some following them through, but then the vortex began to dissolve.

At the heart of the ruined city, the site of the real combat trial, on the other side of the passage—

As the Desert Wind King, Nangong Aoshi, granted them a brief respite, the Nine-tailed Lynx, the Zhenn, and the Frost Dragon all broke free. The instant they emerged, it was as though fish had returned to the sea, dragons to the abyss.

The little world of the ruins was but a shallow pond to them; they had long since outgrown its confines. Now, at last, they had come to a world vast enough for their ambitions.

Yet in that pivotal moment, they executed their plan, unleashing the ancient sword used in their blood ritual and the formation laid out before.

Especially the formation left behind by Zhuyan—it blazed with light, enveloping them all. It was a short-distance teleportation array. They knew that outside, a being beyond their power lurked; upon emerging, they would have to release their full might—not to fight, but to escape.

"Trap them!"

At that moment, the Desert Wind King, Nangong Aoshi, felt his strength falter. Any peer of his own level would have sensed it: his power was waning. He knew the cause—his daughter had invoked the force he had left behind for her.

Thus, he dared not go all out in attack, focusing instead on ensnaring the last demon kings to emerge, hoping to delay them.

"Wind Rend!"

As he trapped them, he unleashed a slashing wind, intending to annihilate the group within.

Tens of blasts, each as devastating as the peak of the Ascendant Cloud Realm, erupted. Even Nangong Aoshi's Wind Rend was shaken by the shockwaves, but the short-range teleportation array was already activated.

Though incomplete, the demon kings, through blood rites, forced the array to function.

In a flash of light, the five demon kings and dozens of powerful monsters were about to be whisked away.

At that precise instant—just as the vortex collapsed—a sky-piercing tempest burst forth. Nangong Lingyue and Lin Qingyun emerged, battered and bloodied. Even with the Guardian of Wind, and all their defenses, the ceaseless assaults had left them grievously wounded.

"Kill!"

This was the moment Nangong Aoshi had awaited. Seeing them emerge at last, his heart, which had hung in suspense, finally settled. Had Lin Qingyun and his daughter not appeared in time, he would have been forced to make other choices.

Yet as long as the mightiest demon kings had chosen to flee the little world, Nangong Lingyue and Lin Qingyun would have had a chance—even if trapped within, they could have survived a year, awaiting the portal's reopening.

But since they had fought their way out in time, all the better. With a sweep of his hand, he seized them from midair and issued the command for their destruction.

The enemies' methods were indeed frenzied, but the ruined city was already surrounded on all sides—by the army, by the Ministry of Education's elites, by Nangong Lingyue's own forces. At his order, the grand formation activated.

Space trembled, and the demon kings, presumed to have escaped, were forced back from the void, their teleportation having carried them only a few dozen miles. Ringed by countless troops and the array, they were trapped.

The most violent among them tried to break through, certain that as long as they did not face a foe like the Desert Wind King himself, they still had hope.

But they were mistaken. Though the assembled human army was fewer in number than the millions of demon beasts, these were true battle formations—slaughter arrays—not something that could be breached with brute force.

Two demon bird kings, the first to attempt flight for escape, were instantly obliterated.

Among the rest, the Nine-tailed Lynx proved most cunning. While the others vanished with the teleportation array, she shed her skin and severed her tail, leaving her true body still upon the array.

Boom!

As the Wind King moved to save Lin Qingyun and Nangong Lingyue, and the allied armies wrought havoc among the demon kings, the lynx triggered the teleportation array once more.

"Wait for me..."

The Frost Dragon, having just teleported away, sensed her call and attempted to return, but the array, a replica forged by Zhuyan, was shattered.

Zhenn and the other demons struggled, unleashing desperate attacks, but each was met with slaughter by the array.

The Frost Dragon, racing back at full speed, arrived only to find all was lost, and, helpless, was about to be seized by the Desert Wind King.

At that moment, Nangong Aoshi cradled Nangong Lingyue and Lin Qingyun with one arm, and reached for the Frost Dragon with the other.

The dragon, now grown to a hundred meters and radiating cold, was seized by abject terror.

It must be said, whether human or monster, the moment intelligence awakens, some will always prove exceptional. Before the Wind King could strike, the Frost Dragon abruptly shrank.

A hum filled the air—its soul split, a portion flying toward Nangong Lingyue.

It sensed that she was the descendant of this supreme being, and more, that she carried a special ice power within her. Though weak now, her soul contained the essence of pure ice.

"Oh?"

The Wind King, who had intended to kill the dragon and use its corpse for alchemy or forging, paused in surprise at this twist.

"What a beautiful little dragon..." Nangong Lingyue, barely conscious, saw the now-miniature Frost Dragon.

From a hundred-meter beast to a palm-sized dragon, its body shimmering with crystalline ice, it was utterly adorable.

The chill it radiated made her feel an intimate comfort. Especially as the spectral image of the tiny Frost Dragon flew toward her, she was startled—what could this mean?

"My, how quick-witted," Lin Qingyun remarked, observing the Frost Dragon’s desperate choice and noticing Lingyue’s confusion.

"He wants to pledge himself to you, to save his life. It’s up to you," he reminded her, seeing her bewildered by the soul-shadow.

Nangong Aoshi also glanced at Lin Qingyun in surprise. He hadn’t expected the young man’s keen insight—or his composure after so many ordeals.

"Lingyue, you decide. If you think he’s worthy, take him. If not, kill him for his essence," he said, his tone finally relaxed now that his daughter and Lin Qingyun were safe.

As for the others—Zhenn’s futile rampage or the Nine-tailed Lynx’s lucky escape—these were trifles in comparison.

The spectral image of the Frost Dragon’s soul was already fading, its body trembling. He had chosen a path none of the other demon kings dared take, but his fate now rested entirely with her.

"The Frost Dragon’s essence resonates with mine. It will greatly aid my mastery of ice," said Nangong Lingyue, wounded but satisfied.

With her assent, the fragment of the Frost Dragon’s soul melted into her being.