The Return of Godkin

Chapter 206: The Eighth Trial (Part-2)

As the temperature continued to plummet, Ray's movements inevitably slowed.

A thin layer of ice spread across the arena floor, making every step treacherous.

His Silverfalls Vine lashed relentlessly at the snow leopard chasing him, yet each whip carried less force than before as his soul power steadily drained away. White mist poured from his mouth with every breath, proof of just how bitter the cold had become.

"Hmph. Let's end this already." A sharp blue glint flashed through the girl's eyes as her third soul ring ignited.

She leaned forward and burst into motion, her right hand reaching out as pale white light wrapped around her body, flooding her limbs with explosive strength. Behind her, the phantom image of a colossal Snow Leopard rose and slashed its claws toward Ray.

Her third soul skill, Snow Leopard Claw, was a thousand-year ability that blended both physical force and spiritual assault.

Anyone struck by it would be seized by intense dizziness for several seconds, their body ravaged by extreme cold that could freeze them solid. Worse still, the skill carried tremendous impact force, enough to send an opponent flying through the air.

At that instant, a flicker of gold flashed through Ray's eyes.

The Silverfalls Vine around him surged upward, then plunged into the frozen ground, stabbing fiercely at both the snow leopard behind him and the descending Snow Leopard Claw.

The leopard absorbed the attack head-on and instantly burst apart into countless snowflakes, while the Snow Leopard Claw collided violently with the Bluesilver Impaling Array.

In the end, the disparity in soul power was impossible to ignore. The impaling array was crushed downward into the icy floor, leaving the Snow Leopard Claw unobstructed as it slammed into Ray.

He thrust out his right fist to meet it, but the impact sent him hurtling backward with a thunderous bang.

Let's see how long you can endure this.

The girl's lips curved into a victorious smile.

She was confident that the bone-chilling cold alone would sap Ray's fighting strength, to say nothing of the dizzying spiritual effect.

The snow leopard that had been destroyed moments earlier dissolved into drifting snowflakes, further lowering the arena's temperature. In her eyes, there was no longer any path left for Ray to resist.

Yet despite being blasted away, Ray did not crash to the ground. A sudden cascade of snow surged upward, completely obscuring his figure from view.

The cold bit deep, but it was nowhere near enough to overwhelm him. Ray willed his bloodline into motion, accelerating his blood flow until heat surged through his limbs, forcibly driving the chill out of his body.

With his bloodline awakened, the freezing temperature lost much of its threat.

He crouched low, then darted sharply to the side, using the snowstorm as cover to widen the distance between himself and his opponent.

As for the dizzying effect of Snow Leopard Claw, it had struck his right arm first. His golden scales absorbed the brunt of the attack, preventing the spiritual disturbance from spreading through his body.

At the same time, his Purple Demon Eyes flared subtly, dispelling what little spiritual influence remained.

On the surface, it appeared as though Ray had been utterly suppressed. In truth, this was a battle of calculation and nerve, one that he was quietly winning. More importantly, he had now identified all three of his opponent's soul skills.

As the snow settled, the scene became clear. Just as the girl was about to call out to Giselle, her expression froze. Ray was standing at the far edge of the arena, upright and composed.

How is this possible? Isn't he frozen by now? Her eyes widened in disbelief.

Ray merely smiled faintly and stood his ground, making no move to attack.

Snorting, the girl pointed at him, sending another wave of snow surging forward. This time, she charged alongside it, her figure slicing through the blizzard like a blade.

As a student of Central Academy, she would not be deterred so easily. She still had strength in reserve.

Silverfalls Vine erupted around Ray and began to spin rapidly, forming a whirling barrier. Even with Purple Demon Eyes, he could not fully see through the dense snowstorm, but the spinning vines deflected attacks from every direction.

The grass shimmered with resilience, stubbornly resisting the blizzard as it wove itself into a massive defensive net.

Ray raised both arms and poured more soul power into his martial soul. As he did, faint golden veins glimmered within the Silverfalls Vine.

Though its origin was still Silverfalls Vine, it had already undergone multiple evolutions. With the support of two thousand-year soul rings, it was more than capable of holding the line for now.

The snow leopard reformed and slammed into the net with a heavy crash, forcing it inward toward Ray. It seemed poised to break through at any moment.

At once, the Silver Impaling Array reappeared, wrapping the leopard in a forest of sharp spikes.

Punctured and stunned, the leopard froze midair. Ray seized the opportunity, using his grass to shield his retreat and open more distance between himself and the beast. Throughout the exchange, the vines around him never stopped spinning, protecting him without pause.

Suddenly, a figure burst forth from the leopard's form, streaking straight toward Ray with blinding speed. It was student number ten herself.

She was too fast to track. Like a bolt of white lightning, she appeared directly in front of him.

In that same instant, golden light erupted from Ray's body. He shot upward as if launched by a spring, while strands of Silverfalls Vine surged forward to bind her.

The girl's pupils contracted in shock.

She had formed the snow leopard precisely to set up this surprise assault, using its speed and presence to suppress his grass. Yet a single strand of golden-tinged Silverfalls Vine had flung Ray into the air before she could strike.

She tried to pursue him, but the swarm of vines rushing to entangle her forced her to evade instead. If she followed him into the air, she would be trapped.

From the very start of the battle, the roles had been clear. She was the hunter, and Ray the fleeing prey. He had been driven into a purely defensive stance, enduring wave after wave of attacks.

Her cultivation was undeniably higher, the gap between three soul rings and two nearly insurmountable. However, as the attacker, her soul power consumption was also greater. With repeated large-scale control skills, she was slowly bleeding herself dry.

After several failed attempts to break through, her thoughts cooled. If this continues, I might actually lose. What an infuriating opponent.

Throughout the fight, Ray circulated his soul power using the Mysterious Heaven Method. Years of practice had refined it into something purer and denser than that of ordinary soul masters, giving him a subtle but crucial edge.

In truth, he disliked drawn-out battles. He was far more comfortable ending fights in decisive bursts of power. Yet for this match, attrition was his only option. His goal was never to win quickly, but to buy time for Violetta. Naturally, his own soul power was draining steadily as well.

His plan had been laid carefully. By fighting first, he would have ample time to recover while his teammates took their turns. With the Mysterious Heaven Method and his relatively small soul power pool, returning to peak condition would not take long.

Snow once again filled the arena as the girl vanished into the storm. Then, as if guided by intent, the snow surged toward Ray in a single overwhelming torrent.

She had adjusted her strategy. You want to drag this out? Fine. Let's see who collapses first. How can you possibly compete with only two soul rings?

Silverfalls Vine spun into a solid screen before Ray, diverting the rushing snow. Icy mist seeped into both his body and his vines, slowly gnawing away at his strength. In this way, the two soul masters continued to grind each other down.

At this stage, both relied primarily on their first soul skills, the most efficient in terms of consumption. The reckless exchanges from earlier were gone, replaced by careful, calculated attrition as each waited for the other to falter.

The girl demonstrated judgement befitting a student of Central Academy.

When her initial flurry of attacks failed to achieve decisive results, she did not grow impatient or reckless. Instead, she shifted into a measured, conservative rhythm, abandoning the desire for a quick victory in favor of steadily wearing Ray down.

Like a cheetah stalking its prey across an endless plain, she circled him patiently, waiting for the moment when exhaustion would finally expose a fatal opening.

Both of them relied almost exclusively on their first soul skills, yet even this restrained exchange rapidly drained their reserves.

Ray's Silverfalls Vine had the advantage of covering a smaller area, but the pervasive cold gnawed at him without pause.

Frost crept along the vines, stiffening their movements, while sharp icicles pushed up from the frozen ground, narrowing his room to maneuver. No matter how intensely he circulated the Mysterious Heaven Method, it could not fully compensate for the inherent gap in soul power between them.

Bit by bit, his defensive perimeter shrank, and the girl's pressure forced him steadily backward, driving him toward the edge of the arena.