"Some flames burn the flesh. Others… freeze the soul."
---
The crowd was unusually silent.
Not due to disinterest, but anticipation. The floating names above the obsidian arena had sparked whispers even among the upper sect observers.
> [Round 3 – Match 2]
Ash Nightveil vs. Selene of Frostmirror Gate
A rare pairing.
Two undefeated prodigies. Two elements that should clash by nature—fire and ice.
Ash stepped forward first, robes whispering against the stone floor. His gaze was steady, his breathing calm. The twin Flame Marks on his forearms shimmered—one pulsing crimson, the other glowing faint violet.
Selene entered opposite him, a vision of elegance wrapped in pale blue silks. Her long silver-blue hair flowed behind her like drifting frost. No visible weapon, no exaggerated aura. Just stillness.
But the temperature around her dropped the moment she arrived.
A thin layer of hoarfrost crept across the edges of the ring.
Ash felt it immediately. It wasn't normal ice.
> Soul-ice.
---
Above the arena, Kaelen narrowed his eyes.
"She's already invoking her core essence."
Elias Thorne sat beside him, hands folded behind his back. "She wants to test him. And perhaps… awaken him."
Kaelen's fingers curled slightly.
"She's playing with something dangerous."
---
In the ring, the officiator gave a cautious nod.
"Begin."
---
Selene moved first.
She didn't run. She glided—each step leaving behind a flower of crystalline frost.
Her hand swept upward.
> [Frost Petal Bloom – Initiate Tier]
A dozen sharp-edged petals of ice launched through the air, whirling like razors. They weren't ordinary projectiles—they followed erratic spirals, tracking Ash's heat signature.
Ash sidestepped twice, then ducked low and spun.
> [Flame Serpent Coil – Custom Form]
The serpent of violet fire coiled around his body again, melting the petals mid-air—but each petal exploded into a mist of cold that drained the surrounding warmth.
Selene was already moving again.
Her left hand swept forward, casting a silvery-white arc.
> [Frozen Veil Slash – Initiate Tier]
Ash narrowed his eyes.
He didn't counter it with flame. He leapt into the air, momentum carrying him high above the slash—and then raised his hand.
> [Flame Construct – Initiate: Ember Blade]
A sword of condensed flame materialized. This time, he didn't hesitate.
He dove straight down.
Selene didn't flinch. Her lips parted, and she whispered a phrase no one heard.
A halo of frost erupted around her.
> [Soul-Frost Shell – Unique Variant]
It wasn't physical defense.
Ash's blade passed through her aura—and for a breath of a moment, he felt cold in his soul.
Not his body. Not his spirit. But the core place where his vengeance lived.
He gritted his teeth and twisted his blade mid-air, channeling his inner flame pulse.
> [Violet Ember Surge – Flame Core Disruption Pulse]
Selene's halo cracked slightly.
She stepped back. Ash landed, his blade sizzling with soul-fire.
The two stood apart, breathing slightly harder. The clash hadn't hurt either of them badly—but they both knew that was only the opening exchange.
---
The crowd murmured.
Upper sect elders sat forward.
"She's already invoking Soul-Frost?"
"And he—what was that blade technique?"
"Nightveil has always hidden their true inheritance."
"No... that flame doesn't belong to the Nightveil Clan."
---
Selene extended her hand again.
This time, she didn't cast a simple spell.
Her pupils dimmed slightly, and her aura dropped ten degrees.
A mark pulsed at her collarbone—icy and azure.
> [Flame Mark: Frosted Heart – Fifth Tier]
She was already at the fifth step. Like Jian Rong—but far more refined.
Ash narrowed his eyes.
> Then I'll stop holding back too.
He took a breath—and for the first time, both of his Flame Marks ignited.
Crimson on the right. Violet on the left.
The air shimmered.
---
Selene moved.
So did Ash.
Their clash this time was elemental chaos.
Flame met frost. Heat met cold.
Each technique sparked counter-force.
Selene formed a Frost Halo Spear, long and translucent, and stabbed in smooth arcs. Ash answered with spinning Ember Blades, his footwork twisting around her strikes.
But Selene's soul frost wasn't purely elemental. It invaded every time they clashed. She was trying to break his will with every pulse.
He recognized it.
> This isn't just a fight. This is interrogation.
Ash focused his inner core.
> [Core Tempering Mantra: Phase 1 – Soulbound Focus]
A hum echoed from within him. His essence compressed, centering on a single point in his chest.
Selene's frost wavered.
> "You're resisting my soul probes," she said softly, voice like ice wind.
Ash smirked. "You thought I wouldn't notice?"
She smiled—cold and lovely.
> "I had to know if it was truly you."
For the first time, her words struck him as oddly familiar.
---
In the crowd, Elias Thorne sat upright.
"She knows."
Kaelen snapped his head to the side. "What?"
"She's probing his core memories. Her flame isn't natural. It's... soul-seeking. She might have fragments of an old soul herself."
Kaelen's face darkened. "You said none of the past survived."
"I said none should have. But the Sovereign's enemies prepared contingencies too."
---
Back in the ring, the tempo shifted.
Ash twirled his flame blades—then reversed grip.
Selene cast her spear—then reshaped it mid-flight into chains of frost.
The arena floor cracked.
Ash spun through the chains, each dodge cutting through soul-chilling air. A single graze left a burning cold scar along his ribs.
But as he landed, his twin Flame Marks surged in unison.
> [Flame Construct: Twin-Aspect Dragon Fang]
Two flaming extensions burst from his arms—one crimson, one violet—forming draconic fangs. Not just flame. Soulfire.
Selene's eyes widened.
For the first time, she hesitated.
Ash didn't.
He flashed forward.
One fang swept down, breaking her spear.
The second raked across her Frost Veil.
> CRACK—
The Veil shattered. Her Soul-Frost Shell cracked.
Selene coughed—actual blood, crystalized mid-air.
The officiator raised his hand immediately, about to intervene—
But Selene raised her own first.
"I yield."
The frost melted from the ring.
> [Victory – Ash Nightveil]
---
Silence fell across the arena.
Then...
A slow thunder of applause.
Not from the sects.
Not from the elders.
But from the scattered rogue cultivators, foreign clan heirs, and watchers who recognized something far deeper than simple victory.
Ash Nightveil had dominated a Soul-Frost user without exposing his true cultivation level.
He stepped back without a word, blood cooling, eyes steady.
Selene stood as well, pale but calm.
Before turning to leave, she glanced back once.
"You're not who you were... but you're still him."
Ash's eyes narrowed.
But she was already gone.
---
Later – In the Nightveil Pavilion
Lyra patched the wound on Ash's ribs, her fingers gentle but efficient.
"That frost was meant for your soul," she said softly.
"I know."
"She knows who you are, doesn't she?"
"Maybe."
Lyra looked up at him. "Do you care?"
Ash stared at the rising moon beyond the paper doors.
> "Not yet."
---
Elsewhere – Distant Realm Rift
Deep in a shadow realm, a figure cloaked in void silk knelt before a cracked mirror.
"The Sovereign has survived the Soul-Frost probe," it said.
A second voice—ancient and broken—answered.
"Then he's begun to awaken. Accelerate the Black Veil's descent."
"Yes, master."
"And what of the girl?"
"She remembers fragments."
"Then kill her."
---
End of Chapter 10