Soul Emperor Awakening

His opponent was arrogant, but Lin Xuan was even more so! He had never met this Floor Master of the Ice and Snow Tower, but if anyone dared to threaten him, he wouldn’t show the slightest bit of courtesy. Bowing his head to this so-called Floor Master? That was something he was utterly incapable of doing.

From the perspective of someone with a lower Cultivation, or even just thinking about long-term prospects, it was true that one shouldn’t provoke these Floor Masters. Their strength and authority were both considerable, which meant they had access to a correspondingly greater amount of resources.

If this Floor Master gave the word that no one was to challenge Lin Xuan, it was something he could actually enforce. If no opponent dared to fight him, he would have no way to continue ascending. Or worse, he might provoke the Floor Master to come personally, which would be disastrous. It meant that if no one else would challenge him, his only option would be to challenge the Floor Master himself!

Challenging others was purely voluntary; whether to fight or not was up to the individual. If someone didn’t want to be your opponent, there was nothing you could do. The only exception was the Floor Master. If someone wanted to challenge a Floor Master, the fight was mandatory and would take place in a dedicated arena.

Of course, one couldn’t challenge the Floor Master at any time. If they had to face hundreds or thousands of challengers every day, they would be worked to death. Therefore, there was a limit: they were only required to accept a maximum of one challenge per month. Voluntarily accepting more fights was a different matter, but as for compulsory battles, there was only one.

Facing the strongest opponent on the Fourth Layer was no easy matter. This so-called Floor Master wasn’t restricted to the Fourth Layer, either; he could also climb higher. He had only gained this honor by defeating the previous Floor Master of the Fourth Layer. The fact that he had held the position for so long was a clear testament to his immense strength.

Starting from the Fourth Layer of the Ice and Snow Tower, every floor had a corresponding Floor Master, with the exception of the Tenth Layer. The master of the Tenth Layer was considered the City Lord, though calling them the Tower Master was also fine.

Therefore, if Lin Xuan could just defeat this Floor Master, he too could become the Floor Master of the Fourth Layer. How could he not be tempted by that? However, since he had never met this opponent, he couldn’t guarantee he could win.

But not being able to guarantee a win didn’t mean he was afraid!

"Good, good, good!" Xiong Zhou laughed, his voice laced with fury. "I’m afraid you won’t get the chance. You’re going to die right here, so don’t even think about reaching the Fourth Layer!"

"Fine. Shall we head to the arena now, then? I’d like to see just how you plan on killing me," Lin Xuan said, unwilling to waste any more words with him. He had no desire to linger on the Third Layer; he just wanted to climb to the Fourth Layer as quickly as possible so he could find Liu Yue’Er.

"You! Fine, that suits me perfectly!" Xiong Zhou hadn’t expected Lin Xuan to be completely unintimidated by his threats. He snorted coldly and headed toward the arena, attracting the attention of many members of the Demon Race along the way.

What shocked many members of the Demon Race was the appearance of someone from the Demon Fox Race on the Third Layer. News from the First Layer had only just arrived, yet they were already discovering that this Demon Fox had reached the Third Layer. How could they not be astonished?

Upon arriving at the arena, the two of them entered without hesitation. The protective barrier rose up just as before, with no changes. The number of spectators was much smaller than on the floors below, but the total was still quite surprising. It just wasn’t as bustling.

Not every member of the Demon Race could withstand the 700,000 jin of gravity; it took a period of acclimatization to successfully adapt to it.

"They say the Demon Fox Race is supposed to be smarter, but in my eyes, you’re just an idiot. It seems you don’t understand anything, yet you still dare to accept a challenge! Let me teach you what it means to be humble. I hope in your next life, you’ll learn to behave and not be so arrogant!"

Xiong Zhou sneered, swiped one of his bear paws to the side, and a layer of eerie blue flame enveloped his arm, releasing an extreme cold into the surroundings.

This eerie blue flame was precisely the Yulan Sacred Fire. Those who possessed three or more Ice and Snow Badges could already utilize a small portion of it, and its effect in an attack was quite significant. Xiong Zhou, in particular, had more than three and a half Ice and Snow Badges, almost enough for four.

"Do you know what this is? This is the Yulan Sacred Fire! To know how to use this thing here is to be a true King. You’ve just arrived, so you probably don’t know how to use it, do you? And you have so little of it. Soon, I’ll let you experience what a true gap in power feels like!" Xiong Zhou sneered, then stomped on the ground and charged toward Lin Xuan.

Due to the conditions of the Third Layer, an opponent’s strength was at least at the 700,000 jin Level. The Xiong Zhou before him was at least at the 800,000 jin Level. As he charged over, it truly felt as if the earth was shaking and the mountains were swaying; the arena floor trembled with his every step.

Lin Xuan watched him with an expressionless face, a hint of mockery even appearing in his eyes. He was completely unmoved.

Xiong Zhou thought Lin Xuan had been scared stiff. He roared as he closed in, "It’s too late to be scared now!" He swung a palm strike without hesitation, the Yulan Sacred Fire clinging to it flickering slightly, as if ready to devour its opponent.

Just as the blow was about to land, Lin Xuan suddenly moved. He reached out and caught the attack, firmly stopping Xiong Zhou’s strike. He didn’t move an inch under the heavy blow. Despite the huge height difference—his opponent was over two meters tall—the attack had no effect whatsoever.

Xiong Zhou’s pupils constricted. He hadn’t expected his attack to be caught so effortlessly. Still, he laughed heartily and boomed, "You’re courting death! Let the Yulan Sacred Fire freeze you solid!"

The Yulan Sacred Fire on his bear paw surged madly into Lin Xuan’s body. Although the amount wasn’t large, it should have been more than enough to temporarily freeze Lin Xuan’s arm without any issue.

Of course, that was under normal circumstances. But against Lin Xuan, things were not normal. He possessed the Yulan Pearl!

After surging into him, the Yulan Sacred Fire didn’t cause the slightest ripple. Forget freezing his arm, it didn’t even release a single wisp of cold energy.

This scene made Xiong Zhou’s eyes go wide. His already large eyes grew even larger as he stared in complete disbelief that the Yulan Sacred Fire had no effect on Lin Xuan!

"The way to use the Yulan Sacred Fire... you mean like this?" Streaks of eerie blue light flickered in Lin Xuan’s pupils. The Yulan Pearl in his body began to spin wildly, and an incredibly terrifying torrent of Yulan Sacred Fire erupted from his palm, pouring directly into Xiong Zhou’s paw!

In an instant, Xiong Zhou’s paw was frozen solid, the flesh completely dead from the cold. The intense cold and pain made Xiong Zhou scream miserably. He swung his other paw at Lin Xuan, trying to make him let go.

But Lin Xuan was already a step ahead. He slammed a heavy fist into Xiong Zhou’s chest, unleashing a force of one million jin, which was also infused with the Yulan Sacred Fire!

THUD!

Xiong Zhou was sent flying. He tumbled across the ground several times before coming to a stop, unable to move. The assembled demons could all see a layer of frost covering Xiong Zhou’s chest—proof that it was the Yulan Sacred Fire!

At that moment, the entire arena fell silent, stunned by what they had just witnessed.