The moment "Ye Yin" turned into ethereal blue ice crystal dust, the extreme cold that froze the soul did not dissipate immediately. Instead, as if possessing life, it permeated and swirled within the dilapidated palace, silently eroding everything.
The searchlight beam of the "Cyrus" submersible, like a stage spotlight, trembled as it illuminated the area where a swift kill had just occurred. Under the light, the ice crystals scattering in the air refracted a bizarre and hazy cerulean glow, shrouding the broken throne and the pale figure curled beneath it in an inauspicious stillness.
Inside the "Cyrus" submersible.
A deathly silence.
The breathing of all the crew members seemed to be frozen along with the ice-blue vertical pupils that suddenly opened and slowly closed. On the screen, "Ye Yin's" life signals and energy reactions plummeted from their peak to absolute zero within a hundredth of a second, disappearing completely. What was that?! That wasn't Norton's fire, nor was it the Platinum Judgment Lu Mingfei had displayed before! It was... extreme cold! Another ancient and terrifying Dragon King's authority, completely different?! The "Fortress" captain's back was instantly soaked in cold sweat. He tightly gripped the edge of the control console, his knuckles turning white from exertion. Fear coiled around his spine like a cold viper. Just now, he had almost ordered a direct assault! "Retreat... Retreat! Immediately! Maximum speed!" His voice was hoarse and distorted with extreme apprehension. "Notify "Alexander" and "Darius", provide cover fire for the rear guard! All units, maximum alert!" The submersible's engines roared like a mournful cry, reversing frantically, attempting to distance themselves from the palace that now appeared more terrifying than hell in their eyes. The searchlight beam swept frantically across the cracks in the palace, finally illuminating the pool of slowly melting cerulean ice crystals on the ground, and within the ice crystals, a trace of faint, eerie black energy (residual Blood of the Shadow Emperor).
Cassell Command Center.
Schneider suddenly stood up from his wheelchair, only to collapse back heavily due to weakness and shock, the wheelchair groaning under the strain. Beneath the metal mask, his extremely suppressed, wheezing breaths could be heard. On the screen, the image of "Ye Yin's" instantaneous annihilation and the fleeting glimpse of the ice-blue vertical pupils were like red-hot irons, branding themselves onto his retinas. Ice... an Ice Serpent Language? Absolute Zero?! This completely overturned everyone's understanding! How could a power diametrically opposed to the King of Bronze and Fire appear in his palace?! "EVA! Analyze! Analyze immediately!" Schneider roared, his voice nearly cracking. "Energy spectrum analysis complete. Confirmed as the manifestation of an ultra-high purity ice authority, with an energy level surpassing any known ice Serpent Language sequence. Its form bears a high degree of similarity to the power of the "Ice King" Nibelungen as recorded, but it is more... aggressive and absolute." EVA's voice was still ethereal, but her speech was extremely rapid. "Hypothesis: The target possesses unknown mutations or... integration of multiple authorities. Extremely dangerous. Recommendation: Avoidance at the highest level." Ice King? Authority integration?! Every word struck Schneider like a heavy hammer, making him dizzy. What exactly happened to Lu Mingfei?! ""Pure Land"" team, retreat to a safe distance immediately! Repeat, retreat immediately!" Schneider roared into the communicator, not daring to let the team members linger for another second. He looked at the seemingly harmless figure still curled up on the screen, and what surged in his heart was not hope, but a deeper chill and fear. What had they unleashed, a Savior, or... a more terrifying monster?
Japan, Genji Heavy Industries.
Tachibana Masamune's teacup slipped from his hand and shattered on the expensive tatami mat, tea splashing everywhere. On the screen in front of him, the signal representing "Ye Yin" had completely disappeared. The extremely blurry fragments of images filled with cerulean coldness that were transmitted back last made him feel a chill all over. "What was that?" he muttered, his face losing its usual composure for the first time, replaced only by shock and disbelief. That was not the power of any known Dragon King in his understanding! "Ice... hehe... it's ice..." Kazama Ryuuryuu looked at the blurry ice-blue light and shadow, trembling with excitement, his eyes flashing with madness. "Brother Lord, look! He's not Norton! He's not any of the known idiots! He's new! He's more perfect!!" Tachibana Masamune ignored his brother's ravings, his face so grim it could drip water. Losing one "Ye Yin" was certainly painful, but what terrified him more was this completely unknown form of power. "Cut off all contact with "Ye Yin" immediately! Erase all traces of him!" he spun around and sternly ordered Sakurai Nanami, "The plan is terminated! All operations targeting the Three Gorges are suspended!" He had to re-evaluate everything! This variable had exceeded his control!
Italy, Underground Bunker.
Pompeii Gattuso stared at the extremely blurry instantaneous images and data intercepted through special channels, falling into a long silence. "Ice... Absolute Zero..." he repeatedly chewed on these words, his eyes flashing with extremely complex emotions – fear, greed, and an almost insane excitement. "Dual authority? Or... evolution?" "Sir, our "Specter" drone captured the scene of the Cassell submersible hastily retreating, and... residual extremely high concentration ice energy within the palace." Alpha's report carried a subtle tremor. "Continue to have the drone lie in wait for observation, but absolutely forbid it from getting close!" Pompei immediately ordered, he was now extremely thankful that he hadn't rashly committed more forces. "Analyze those ice crystal residues! I want to know every characteristic of it!" He walked to the holographic projection, his eyes burning as he looked at the light spot representing Lu Mingfei (or the new Dragon King). "The key... this is the true key to the throne..."
Arctic Ocean, Black Ice Palace.
The blurred outline sitting on the throne, its ice-blue gaze lit up for the fourth time. This time, the gaze was no longer a fleeting glance, but carried a distinct... stare. It "saw" the weak but intrinsically high fluctuation of residual ice authority transmitted across space. 【Same kind... aura?】 【Different origin... fusion...】 【Threat level... corrected.】 【Cleanup procedure sequence... maintained.】 In its cold consciousness, there seemed to be a trace of extremely weak, indescribable... doubt. After a long while, the gaze slowly extinguished. The Ice Palace sank back into deathly silence. But in the shadows beneath the throne, the sound of the chains friction seemed to be a little clearer than before.
Three Gorges Riverbed, "Pure Land" team in a hasty retreat. The "Cyrus" submersible, like a startled torpedo, ascended frantically. It wasn't until they were far from the deadly waters and reached a safe depth that everyone inside collapsed as if drained, gasping for breath, the fear of having survived a disaster still lingering on their faces. "Fortress" looked at the slowly receding silhouette of the silent Dark Gold Palace on the sonar screen, his heart still pounding. He picked up the encrypted communicator, his voice hoarse: "Command Center, "Pure Land" calling. Mission... partially completed. Confirmed the signal source is the target's main body, in an extremely weakened state, but... possessing extremely powerful passive defense mechanisms, manifesting as an unknown, super-high-level Ice Serpent Language that instantly destroyed the unidentified intruder. Our side did not make direct contact with the target. Requesting further instructions." He packaged and sent back the data and footage of "Ye Yin" being instantly killed. The message was sent back to Cassell, and a deathly silence filled the command center. Hope and fear intertwined, pressing down on everyone's hearts like an even heavier stone.
Cassell College, Intensive Care Unit. Chu Zihang lay in a cold medical pod, his body covered with life support and monitoring lines. He was still unconscious, but his brow was furrowed, as if struggling in a nightmare. Deep within his consciousness, in the chaotic darkness caused by the violent impact and severe injuries, a faint, cold connection seemed to be slowly establishing. He felt as if he could see a pair of eyes... A pair of heterochromatic eyes, one left eye molten gold and in pain, the other ice blue and violent... On the life monitor next to the medical pod, the brainwave activity curve suddenly showed a very small, but distinctly different and peculiar wave peak. The nurse on duty did not notice the abnormality, merely recording the data as usual.
Abyss of the Riverbed, Dark Gold Palace. Complete silence descended again. The instantaneous counterattack had exhausted the last bit of strength of this body, even accelerating the dissipation of energy. The newborn Dragon King curled up on the cold ground, his face even paler than before, almost blending into the surrounding dust. His breathing was so weak it was almost imperceptible. Deep within his consciousness, that wisp of Lu Mingfei's consciousness had faded to the point where even his obsession could not be maintained, like embers about to be extinguished. Constantine's consciousness fragments also fell into a deeper slumber, only the instinctual sense of coldness enveloped him. 【——Energy Level: Critical.】 【Consciousness Fusion Ratio: 10.1%……】 【Carrier function about to cease……】 The system prompts were as faint as a mosquito's buzz, finally disappearing completely. It seemed as if everything was about to end. But in the moment before his consciousness completely sank into eternal darkness—that residual, deepest part of Lu Mingfei's soul, his desire for "life," his unwillingness for "tragedy," his persistence for "change"...that tiny flame, never truly extinguished even in the face of despair, flickered fiercely! This flicker, pathetically weak, was like a pebble dropped into an ancient well, creating an imperceptible ripple in this dead, conscious ruin. 【……Connect……】 A fragmented thought, like a sleep-talk, overflowed. In the next moment, the heart of the body, whose energy had been slowly dissipating and was nearly depleted, flickered extremely weakly. Not molten gold, nor ice blue. But an extremely dim, greyish-white light, as if countless colors had been blended and finally returned to chaos. This light flashed and disappeared. But with this flicker, a weak yet incomparably pure energy, different from Dragon Power and different from the Power of Judgment, seemed to be forcibly extracted from the void, like the finest dew, slowly injecting into the nearly withered meridians and consciousness core. 【——Unknown energy injection detected……】 【Source analysis……】 【Error……】 【Unidentifiable……】 【Energy nature: Gentle, inclusive, with strong restorative properties……】 The previously dormant system seemed to be forcibly activated by this bit of energy, issuing intermittent prompts filled with static. 【——Initiating emergency repair……】 【Prioritizing stabilization of consciousness core……】 This peculiar, gentle energy flow, like the best adhesive, began to very slowly mend the almost completely shattered consciousness fusion barrier, nourishing the consciousness fragments of Lu Mingfei and Constantine that were on the verge of dissipation. Although still extremely weak, the irreversible trend of collapse was miraculously delayed by this mysteriously appearing energy! The curled figure, its breathing extremely weak, seemed to have stabilized slightly. Outside the palace, some of the dragon inscriptions that had completely dimmed due to energy depletion also flickered extremely weakly with that chaotic greyish-white light, and then extinguished again. It was as if something deeper, more fundamental, in this absolute deathly stillness, had been nudged open by a sliver by that inextinguishable obsession. The sleeping king, from his own ashes and obsession, drew his first unexpected breath of life. And Chu Zihang in the Cassell medical pod, the peculiar peak on his brainwave monitor, at the same time, synchronously, faintly... twitched once. A subtle connection, unnoticed by anyone, had been established. Awakening, perhaps, would come quietly, in another form.