Chapter 51: Ice and Fire Duality

Innate Talent, Angels of Assimilation, in the name of the Divine, transform me!

Having just surged into the energy barrier, Ouyang Xiyue let out a resounding cry.

Behind his seemingly unassuming figure, four wings, shimmering with divine radiance, materialized from thin air.

Though the wings still appeared to be composed of pure energy, their luminescence was blindingly intense.

Even with only a single, person-sized aperture revealing the scene, those observing from outside found the sacred, dazzling light so piercing that they instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes.

Within those fleeting seconds, the very air seemed to thin of its fiery essence, its concentration plummeting at an astonishing, almost alarming, rate.

The already peculiar scene took on an even more unsettling quality.

A palpable sense of alarm spread through the onlookers as they distinctly felt the fire elemental energy plummeting.

More eerily still, ice elemental energy inexplicably began to manifest in the air.

By all logical accounts, with such a potent fire element dominating, any ice magic cast by an ice mage should have been rendered virtually powerless.

Yet…

Why had the fire element diminished with such suddenness?

And how was it being progressively consumed by ice elemental energy, which had materialized from nothing, effectively becoming one with it?

The arena now presented a striking tableau of ‘ice and fire duality.’

In the span of mere seconds, the entire arena was visibly bisected.

One half was dominated by a shimmering wall of ice elemental energy, exhaling a palpable chill and rapidly freezing the ground beneath it.

The other, in stark contrast, pulsed with the oppressive, suffocating heat of fire elemental energy.

As the two formidable elements collided, their clash was visibly manifest, resembling two immensely powerful energies locked in a furious confrontation.

The intense impact of the fire element against its adversary sent forth a vibrant display: one side a translucent, frigid white, exhaling cold, while the other pulsed with a searing, fiery red.

****

Night Xuehui, who had been relentlessly confronting the elemental spirit, was suddenly struck by an unexpected chill.

He instinctively shivered, then scanned his surroundings, his gaze falling upon the distinctive silver hair not far behind him.

‘Ouyang Xiyue? What’s he doing here? Shouldn’t he be doting on his arranged marriage partner right now? How did he end up here? And how did he even find this place? I never mentioned any of this to him…’

Lost in thought, Night Xuehui’s gaze drifted to the singular breach in the barrier, the only point of visibility from the outside.

There, he spotted his younger sister, Night Jia, and in that instant, the mystery of Ouyang Xiyue’s presence unravelled.

“Oh my, oh my, our esteemed Young Master Night, who typically surveys all from above, has truly met his match today! Just look at you, drenched in sweat—tsk, tsk, tsk—and your clothes, now nothing but tattered rags; it’s truly a pitiful sight.”

Even amidst the crisis, Ouyang Xiyue, seizing the rare opportunity to see Night Xuehui in such a dishevelled state, and recalling the times Night Xuehui had mercilessly teased him, wasted no time in returning the favour with a cutting remark.

“Xiao Xi, come forth.

That fellow is yours to handle for now; I need a moment to grasp the full situation.”

With his hands pressed together and eyes still closed, Ouyang Xiyue silently murmured an incantation.

In an instant, an ice-sealed teleportation gate shimmered into existence before him.

The gate then fractured, and from its depths, a creature resembling a majestic tiger stepped out.

The tiger’s entire form pulsed with a white luminescence, a clear manifestation of its energetic state.

Its very essence radiated an extreme cold, emanating an astonishing chill.

As the creature slowly stepped forth, its paws met the ground, already solidified into ice, and in an instant, a fresh, thick layer of frost rapidly enveloped the surface.

“This… what is this? An elemental spirit of ice??” Night Xuehui stammered, his face a mask of utter disbelief and astonishment.

“You actually possess an elemental spirit? No wonder your ice elemental power is so formidable; it all makes sense now.

I truly underestimated you, Ouyang Xiyue; you’ve concealed your true capabilities remarkably well.”

After a fleeting second of surprise, Night Xuehui’s expression settled back into his customary detached demeanor, as though he had seen through all the world’s illusions.

“Hmph, don’t bother with your aloof act in front of me.

I know far better than anyone what you’re truly like in private—nothing more than a lecher.”

Ouyang Xiyue uttered with a sneer, as if addressing a piece of trash.

From the moment they first met, he had never forgotten how Night Xuehui had taken advantage of him, what deeds he had committed.

He remembered every single detail, and a mental tally was still being kept.

‘Just wait until I catch him again, while he still has a breath left in his body, or I’ll simply slap him straight to the afterlife, hmph,’ Ouyang Xiyue grumbled inwardly.

“Heh heh, my dear Sister Xiyue,” Night Xuehui began, a subtle curve to his lips, “shouldn’t you be discussing your wedding date with my sister-in-law right now?

Remember, once you’ve settled on a date, be sure to inform your elder brother here.

I’ll definitely send a congratulatory gift; even if I can’t attend in person, the gift will certainly not be lacking.

Don’t worry, and say hello to my brother-in-law for me, heh heh, tell him I’m very much looking forward to meeting her.”

“Get lost, you utter wretch!

Go to hell!

What ‘sister-in-law’? What ‘wedding date’? What ‘congratulatory gift’? If you’re so eager to marry, go do it yourself, you bastard!

I have no intention of getting married!

And I am absolutely *not* your sister! No, no, definitely not!” Ouyang Xiyue fumed, his voice laced with indignation.

“Marriage? Who’s marrying me? I’ll marry my ass!

And what did your ‘brother’ say? ‘Not’? Ouyang Xiyue, it seems you haven’t been ‘disciplined’ in a while; your skin must be itching for a lesson, isn’t it?

Go on, continue to resist, and I promise to show you the true taste of regret.”

Night Xuehui brushed the clinging ice shards from his clothes, then rose with an utterly expressionless face.

He straightened his attire, casually slid his hands into his pockets, and began to advance slowly toward Ouyang Xiyue.

“Wait! What are you trying to do? Are you going to do something terrible to me again?

No, no, Brother Night Xuehui, I was wrong, alright?

Brother, I was wrong, your little sister knows she was wrong; please let me go, spare me, I won’t dare to do it again!” Ouyang Xiyue’s demeanor executed a sudden, complete 360-degree shift.

Why such a drastic change in his reaction, you ask? Well, with so many spectators, a whole crowd of ‘melon-eaters,’ he certainly didn’t want to be entangled with this guy in front of a dozen people, especially not in front of Night Jia.

‘I’m afraid he’ll use some strange magic on me again, like he did before, and start touching my body.

With so many people around, if word gets out, my reputation might be ruined.’

“Heh heh heh, in this critical moment, I’ll give you three words: I won’t haggle with you for now.

I actually wanted to call you earlier, but you repeatedly made excuses, so I had no choice but to handle this matter myself.

This is a fire elemental spirit we captured a while ago.

Our people have tried many methods; it possesses absolute immunity to fire and, surprisingly, is not afraid of water, which is quite astonishing.

Our final experimental conclusion was that this fellow is afraid of ice.

While the result is a bit surprising, considering that in nature, fire elemental energy is known to suppress ice elemental energy, this creature is precisely the opposite.

Moreover, we don’t have any exceptionally powerful ice mages here.

We invited a rather formidable ice mage before, but even he was helpless, only managing to suppress it for a few minutes before being defeated.

His conclusion was that it could only be subdued by extremely potent, absolute zero ice.

But as you know, finding someone capable of that is incredibly rare, almost impossible.

And conveniently, here you are.

Since certain people kept procrastinating, I had no other choice.

Now that you’re here, I’ll leave it to you.

It’s your time to shine, Ouyang Xiyue.

Just subdue it and trap it.

As for your demands, you can make them freely afterwards.”

Night Xuehui, maintaining his poker face, rattled off a lengthy monologue without any change in expression.

Our Ouyang Xiyue, however, only caught the gist of it: he was needed to confront this fire elemental spirit.

What Ouyang Xiyue found himself pondering was, ‘This is probably the longest sentence Night Xuehui has ever spoken to me in his life, isn’t it?’

Given his personality, it was highly probable, and he hadn’t expected to see him in such a state of urgency.

“Yes, yes, I understand.

I’ll help you resolve it immediately.

I’ll take care of it as quickly as possible.

Give me two minutes—no, one minute.

I’m very fast, but I usually get exhausted afterwards, so remember to apply a compress later.

I’m off!” Ouyang Xiyue declared, his words sounding utterly implausible, then turned, waved his hand, and departed.

Watching Ouyang Xiyue’s dashing retreat, Night Xuehui revealed a subtly gratified, almost maternal smile.

Meanwhile, the onlookers…

“Good heavens, has that young girl gone mad? She actually claims she can handle such a powerful elemental spirit in just one minute!”

“Exactly.

Although he’s demonstrated strength comparable to the elemental spirit, he’s far too arrogant.”

“All of you, shut up!

If you think you’re so capable, then you go!

I believe in Sister Ouyang Xiyue; she wouldn’t boast.

If you don’t like it, then don’t watch; you’re blocking my view!” Night Jia retorted, clearly displeased.

With Young Miss Night having spoken, the others naturally dared not say another word, only able to watch with a dismissive ‘heh heh’ attitude.

“Xiao Xi, come back.

Mommy needs you, alright?

We’ll work together with Mommy to take it down.

Later, Mommy will buy you an elemental crystal!” Ouyang Xiyue called out to Xiao Xi, who was battling the fire elemental spirit in the distance.

Upon hearing his ‘Mommy’s’ call, Xiao Xi immediately spewed a massive ice orb at the fire elemental spirit, then turned and departed.

Xiao Xi swiftly arrived before Ouyang Xiyue.

Ouyang Xiyue displayed a loving smile, much like a mother looking at her child, and gently stroked Xiao Xi’s head.

Suddenly, Xiao Xi rapidly coiled around Ouyang Xiyue’s entire body, forming a translucent aura of true energy, much like a Super Saiyan, appearing incredibly formidable.

“Ah, it’s been a long time since I combined with my little darling.

My master forbade it before because its power was too immense.

Now, combining again, it feels as if all my meridians have been unblocked!

My current realm feels several levels stronger than before!” Ouyang Xiyue cracked his fingers, a smile of profound understanding gracing his lips.