It was a normal-looking katana, but those with keen eyes immediately spotted the unusual details.
A four-pointed bronze-colored star adorned the guard, the hilt shimmered in light blue, and the dark blue sheath melted into mist the moment he drew it.
The blade—longer than most Zanpakutō, about 1.4 meters—gleamed with chilling brilliance.
"Let's clear these lotuses."
Yun Che raised the blade high.
Suddenly—threads of ice burst skyward, spiraling into the heavens like silver veins, converging into a line of rotating frost circling Yun Che's body. The air grew heavier, colder, thicker with spiritual pressure.
The blade shimmered—extending, a crescent-shaped blade attaching to the hilt by a long metal chain. The weapon transformed before the crowd's eyes, evolving into its true form.
Then, with a solemn, commanding tone, Yun Che declared:
"Sōten ni zase…(Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens)"
An explosion of cold followed.
From the sword's tip, ice surged—swirling and forming into a colossal shape.
A dragon emerged—its body coiling in the air like a tidal serpent of winter. It was massive, powerful, and breathtaking—crafted entirely of living ice, its red eyes glowing with a ruthless will.
"Hyōrinmaru! (Ice Ring)"
The dragon roared silently, the sound felt more than heard—a pressure so cold it made even profound practitioners in the stands shiver involuntarily.
"An Ice Qilin?!" someone gasped.
The ice lotus storm overhead faltered as the dragon began its rotation around Yun Che—devouring the incoming lotuses, freezing them mid-flight, and shattering them to glittering fragments with a whip of its tail or a gust of freezing wind.
One by one, the once-beautiful lotus blossoms were obliterated—their petals cracking under the weight of superior ice law.
Xia Qingyue staggered back slightly, her domain holding but weakening under the raw primordial force of Hyōrinmaru.
Even Gong Yuxian gritted her teeth.
"A second sword?! No… this one is far more dangerous. It's alive!"
The entire arena was on its feet.
What began as a graceful match of ice arts had evolved into something far beyond comprehension—a confrontation between myth and reality. Floating in midair above the shattered ice petals and fractured ground, Yun Che stood like a sovereign, his white haori fluttering under the cold wind that now belonged to him alone.
Above him, Hyōrinmaru, the legendary Ice , coiled in majestic silence.
Even those who had never seen a divine beast could feel it: the dragon wasn't merely ice—it was winter incarnate.
Xia Yuanba swallowed a mouthful of saliva. His brother-in-law didn't summon the red mane bone snake as he promised. But he summoned a beautiful sword and finally, the Ice !
The air grew dense. Frost climbed up the arena walls. Snow began to fall, unnaturally, only above Yun Che.
Little Fairy, whose entire existence was steeped in Frozen Cloud profound arts, could barely breathe.
"That… that's not just ice. That's not something humans should even be able to wield." she whispered, visibly shaken.
Beside her, Chu Yueli narrowed her eyes, voice low and shaken.
"That's no ordinary sword," she murmured, her face pale. "That's… like a divine-level ice weapon."
Jasmine, silent this whole time, now stood up from her seat, her scarlet eyes wide with disbelief.
"He… summoned Kuroyuki?" she muttered. "No, that dragon—that's the Ice Qilin."
In Jasmine's mind, a storm of realization unfurled.
She had heard of Kuroyuki—the elder sister of Shirayuki, spoken to and she and her sisters are the one who made her Japanese clothing, often mistaken for legend even among Zanpakutos. Jasmine had seen Shirayuki's grace, felt her delicate beauty and elegance when Yun Che had first unveiled her. But this…
This form…
This immense, coiling power in the sky—a dragon of ice with burning red eyes and a presence that pressed even her divine senses—this was Hyōrinmaru.
Kuroyuki's true appearance.
"So this… is her true appearance…" A frozen breath caught in her throat. "Her ice isn't like Shirayuki. It's more powerful than the Ice Qilin."
The words echoed inside her soul like thunder wrapped in snow.
A beast not of this lower realm.
A primordial force, one of the Three Supreme Water Attribute Beasts, alongside the Ice Phoenix from the Realm of the Gods itself.
It is not the true beast of this world, but the Ice of the other world.
And now—on opposite ends of the battlefield—Xia Qingyue, clad in the divine might of the Ice Phoenix God Investiture Canon, and Yun Che, wielding Hyōrinmaru, the living embodiment of the Ice Qilin's wrath and legacy.
A god-beast versus god-beast. A divine inheritance versus divine bond.
"It's a clash of two divine lineages. A battle between the Ice Phoenix... and the Ice Qirin."
The very air began to cry from the tension.
The ice lotus domain cracked—flowers wilting from the sheer pressure of a beast that once reigned in heavens beyond this world.
There was a long, tense silence as Yun Che slowly lowered his blade, its tip aiming directly at Xia Qingyue.
The ice dragon snarled without sound, eyes flaring, breath steaming frost into the air.
"This," Yun Che said quietly, "is her elder sister… Hyōrinmaru."
"And she doesn't like anyone who tried to touch her beloved little sister."
Yun Che watched the frozen battlefield with a faint smile, quietly amused.
What none of the spectators realized—what even Xia Qingyue, despite her divine inheritance, failed to grasp—was that what they were witnessing now was only a fraction of Kuroyuki's true power.
Hyōrinmaru, or Kuroyuki in her manifested dragon form, wasn't just some legendary Zanpakutō spirit. She was a force of natural calamity—a living embodiment of cold in ancient Soul Society. Her Shikai, even in its most basic state, was a phenomenon capable of altering entire landscapes.
"If not for the limiters placed by the System…"
"Her very awakening would've changed the weather within a hundred-li radius."
He still remembered the System's warning back during their training.
======================
[Unrestrained Shikai Activation of Hyourinmaru detected.]
[Result: Immediate terrain freeze. Risk of atmospheric destabilization.]
[Fatality range: 12 kilometers.]
=====================
That was with her Shikai alone. Not Bankai. Not true awakening. Just the first stage of release.
Right now, her divine presence was being heavily suppressed, the limiter drawing on the restraint energy burst that Yun Che had learned from Zangetsu's outburst control method. Without it, the tournament ground would already have been buried beneath glacial storms, frozen lightning, and subzero cyclones. The entire arena will be frozen to death.
If he merged her full power to tally to his Profound Spirit Ki or Sparking Mode, he might freeze the entire Imperial City from here.
"They're lucky," Yun Che mused silently, "to witness Kuroyuki in dragon form… and still be breathing."
Even now, the air crackled faintly with invisible threads of frost. Anyone below Sky Profound Realm would already be coughing blood just from proximity.
But the real danger wasn't just temperature or spectacle.
It was synergy.
Kuroyuki's powers were now augmented tenfold, fused seamlessly with Yun Che's Evolved Profound Spirit Ki. Every breath she exhaled, every movement of her blade-like tail, was amplified beyond conventional limits. That was before he activated Sparking Mode, which is the full power of his body.
"If I didn't suppress her and Shirayuki… this entire continent would already be buried under glacial death. Even if they're suppressed, I might wonder if I happened to freeze someone to death."
Indeed, according to the System, the combined Shikai forms of Shirayuki and Kuroyuki—if fully unleashed—could trigger a continent-wide ice age.
The danger that Soul Society Central Command deemed too dangerous to exist. So, Kuroyuki was executed while her sister lives through another master. In this new world, the sisters reunited, and their true power wielded by him.
Restored back to full power.
No one here knew. Not the elders. Not the disciples. Not even Xia Qingyue.
And Yun Che had no intention of telling them.
Only a handful of people knew this truth—his future wives, Jasmine, and those bound by trust or loyalty like Cang Yue. Everyone else would simply assume he was holding back to be dramatic.
Let them think that, he thought, sheathing the knowledge like a blade.
The truth would only frighten them and would incite greed.
Then his gaze turned serious again, watching Xia Qingyue as she steeled herself to resist Kuroyuki's pressure.
Elsewhere in the audience, disbelief was boiling into awe.
"Another ice sword?!" Cang Yue gasped, eyes wide. "How many of them does he have?"
"Ufuu~," Retsu mused in her mind, replying with a soft laugh,
"They're twin ice types. Rarest among our swords."
Cang Yue's jaw dropped slightly. "Twins?"
"Yes. Shirayuki is the younger sister. Hyōrinmaru, or rather, Kuroyuki, is the elder," Retsu explained gently.
"Both are beautiful, but their personalities? Night and day."
She smiled, continuing like a mother recounting the antics of her daughters.
"Shirayuki is graceful and gentle. If she fights, it's like tossing a snowball. She wins with elegance."
"Her sister though… Kuroyuki? If she fights, she used a chunk of ice. She doesn't care about collateral damage. As long her friends and family are safe."
Cang Yue blinked. "They're that different?"
"Oh, yes," Retsu replied, giggling telepathically.
"Both terrifying. But also, very sweet pair of sisters. They like making clothes… and tea. Especially biscuits."
A chuckle nearly escaped Cang Yue's lips even in the middle of this awe-filled tension.
Back in the arena…
Xia Qingyue stood frozen—not just from the cold, but from realization.
He wielded swords with souls. He was beloved not only by women but by divine weapons, trusted by sentient weapons so rare even in the eyes of Profound Sky Continent.
Her domain, as powerful as it was, now cracked under the spiritual weight of the Ice Qirin watching her like a predator watching a rival.
And then Yun Che moved his foot forward—just slightly.
The dragon growled.
However, Yun Che didn't press his assault.
Instead, he halted, eyes fixed on Xia Qingyue with a faint frown. His voice cut through the lingering cold like a blade of ice:
"Use your full strength. I have no interest in defeating you half-heartedly."
His gaze sharpened.
"Unless… this is your full strength?"
His words struck like thunder beneath the serene tension. Moments ago, the clash between his Hyōrinmaru and Sode no Shirayuki had left Xia Qingyue reeling. In every exchange, she had been the one retreating, her flawless movements subtly disrupted. The sheer speed of his strikes, the divine chill of his blades—it had shaken even her.
Xia Qingyue's breath drew shallow. Her chest rose gently, then fell. Slowly, she closed her eyes.
A heartbeat passed.
Then she opened them—and the air shifted.
A frigid wind began to stir from all four directions, swirling like an awakening beast. The ice spirits encircling her started fluttering violently, answering a silent command. They lifted her, cradled her, and raised her into the air with reverence. Her feet no longer touched the ground—only the hem of her snow-white dress lightly brushed the frost-covered earth.
She spread her arms open like wings.
Her hair lifted, dancing around her like pale threads of moonlight, and her robes swayed as if submerged in an unseen current. The temperature plummeted.
Then it happened.
A luminous blue radiance burst forth from her body—pure, cold, divine.
The entire arena was swept by a spiraling gale of ice, surging outward from her form. Snow and spirit energy coiled together like a celestial storm, cloaking her in divine majesty.
Xia Qingyue's voice echoed—serene, distant, and absolute.
"I shall respond in kind…."
The Sword Discourse Arena was silent—awed.
Even the sky seemed to dim, as the goddess of frost finally revealed her true self.
"Ah…!"
"This—This is…!"
A blinding flash of blue light exploded outward, piercing into Yun Che's eyes like a lance of frozen lightning. He instinctively closed them—his breath catching.
The moment they reopened, he froze in place.
Everything around him fell silent.
The howling winds had ceased, yet Xia Qingyue's snow-white dress continued to flutter as if the world itself bent to her presence. The veil that once hid her face had vanished—swept away by the storm of profound energy.
And what was revealed beneath it…
A visage so breathtaking, so ethereal, it seemed to have descended from beyond the mortal realm.
A face that could eclipse the heavens, humble the stars, and put both sun and moon to shame.
Her eyes—no longer dark, but now radiant sapphires glowing with crystalline light—shone with a profound cold that pierced through space itself. Her flowing black hair had transformed into cascading waves of shimmering ice-blue, each strand glowing faintly like strands of divine silk. Even her eyelashes and brows glittered like carved crystal, sculpted with unearthly precision.
Around her, the ice spirits—once like tiny diamonds—had bloomed into radiant stars. Thousands of them twinkled in the air, orbiting her like a celestial sky brought to earth.
And in the heart of it all, floating above the frost-kissed ground…
Stood Xia Qingyue.
She no longer seemed human.
She was the incarnation of snow and serenity—untouched by time, unsullied by the world.
A snow fairy, reborn.
From the seats above, Gong Yuxian's voice trembled as she clutched her robes in disbelief.
"The Frozen Cloud… Seventh Realm… Ice Body Jade Bones…"
Her heart pounded. In all her years, she had never witnessed such a divine transformation. It eclipsed everything she knew.
"No…" Her voice rose with awe. Shocking the entire Frozen Cloud Asgard. "This is beyond the Seventh Realm."
Her eyes widened further as realization dawned.
"She's merged it… She's merged it with the Frozen End Arts…"
The very air shook.
"And not just that—She's awakened both the Realm of Heavenly Snow Invocation and the Ice Lotus Domain! She's fused them… into one singular form!"
Her words were nearly shouted—her astonishment too great to contain.
The crowd could only stare—silent, breathless.
Below them, amidst the starlit frost, stood a girl who was no longer simply Xia Qingyue.
She was now a force of nature—a goddess of winter, awakened.
Xia Qingyue now hovered like a sovereign of winter—graceful, radiant, untouchable. She was no longer simply a profound practitioner. She had become something more. A presence so ethereal that even the name "Winter Fairy" felt inadequate.
"Arara... If she had used this form against me yesterday, she would've lasted only a few moments," Retsu sighed softly to herself, her tone more observational than arrogant.
Mio twirled her fan lazily, the corners of her mouth curving up with amusement. "Even if she did, you would've countered it, Ret-chan. And Danna-sama would've seen through it, learned it on the spot, and she would've lost her only advantage."
Retsu gave a slight nod, eyes still fixed on the battlefield. "There's that."
Mio giggled. "If it were me, a single black hole would be enough to swallow all her ice."
Retsu didn't argue—just smiled faintly. That kind of confidence was what kept their odd group strangely synchronized, even in a crowd filled with tension.
At the Frozen Cloud Asgard seating zone, Wu Xuexin was quite shocked seeing a junior, younger than her mastered and merged the Frozen Cloud Arts.
"Didn't Sister Wushuang also reach the seventh realm?" Wu Xuexin asked.
Chu Yueli nodded and responded, her tone sharp with contrast. "Her cultivation is rudimentary—even her sixth realm was only passable. She clashed against Unohana Retsu, yes… but this? This is absolute mastery. This is what perfection in ice looks like."
Indeed, Xia Qingyue stood at the heart of a domain transformed.
The lotuses that floated around her were no longer simple manifestations of profound energy—they had evolved into enchanted ice, each petal shining with an arcane brilliance, orbiting her like protective spirits. Her Frozen End Domain pulsed with newfound power, elevated by her awakening. The air itself seemed to crystallize around her presence.
Above the arena, the sky was divided.
One half swirled with the primal storm conjured by Hyourinmaru—an eternal dragon of frost and fury.
The other half bloomed with thousands upon thousands of radiant lotuses, birthed from Xia Qingyue's domain—gentle in beauty, lethal in silence.
The Sword Discourse Arena had split into two elemental kingdoms:
One ruled by the Ice Qilin—fierce, commanding, and ancient.
The other ruled by the Winter Fairy—elegant, transcendent, and divine.
From the eye of his swirling storm, Yun Che smirked.
He could feel them—countless microscopic lotuses, each one an intricate array of needle-fine frost, attempting to penetrate his defenses. They clung to the edges of his aura like dust in a blizzard, probing, searching.
But they could not breach him.
His Zanpakutō-enhanced defenses, fortified by Hyōrinmaru's overwhelming might, rendered their efforts nearly futile.
Yun Che's eyes narrowed.
"Good," Yun Che whispered, his voice low but resolute. "Sode no Shirayuki and Hyōrinmaru… versus the Winter Fairy."
Yun Che's smirk deepened as he raised Hyōrinmaru and swept it toward her with a single commanding motion. A colossal crash followed as the ice dragon's will surged forward. The ground where Xia Qingyue had stood exploded with towering ice shards—each the size of a small building.
But she had already vanished.
In a blink, she reappeared beside him, ethereal as a snowflake on the wind. Her footwork glided across the air itself—Frozen Snow Dance Steps, elevated beyond their origin, now refined with Ice Phoenix might. Each motion blended elegance with devastation. She wasn't just using her techniques—she had fused them, transcended them.
Suddenly, the air shimmered—dozens, no, hundreds of illusory Xia Qingyues bloomed around him in a deadly ballet of mirages. Each clone carried a trace of her profound aura, her will, her intent.
Yun Che's eyes flicked sharply.
"Not bad."
But they weren't fast enough.
Hyōrinmaru stirred.
From its blade, invisible frost extended in an ever-growing radius. The clones shimmered—then froze solid mid-motion. Glass-like cracks spread across their forms before they shattered, snow-like, into the wind.
Even as Frozen End Coffins erupted from the ground around him, trying to entrap him in gleaming pillars of crystalline death, they too began to frost and crumble. Hyōrinmaru's aura consumed everything that dared to approach. Not through speed—but dominance.
He stood calm at the epicenter.
And yet, he watched her—not with arrogance, but with a quiet, admiring caution.
She had grown. Far more than expected.
So she really did master it all… Frozen Cloud Arts mixed with Frozen End Arts. All harmonized under one breath.
But Yun Che had been ready.
Before the match began, he had already anticipated it might reach this level. Under the guise of his initial absolute suppression, he had subtly laid a Kido-based invisible barrier over the entire arena—layered, refined, and self-reinforcing. A standard protective formation wouldn't suffice, not for what he carried.
Not for the awakened twin Ice Zanpakutō, even in their suppressed state.
Not for Xia Qingyue's Ice Phoenix God Investiture Canon, a power that bordered on divine.
Only Kido, ancient and flexible, could contain the sheer force they were about to unleash.
Xia Qingyue flashed before Yun Che in a blur of glacial light, her ribbon slamming into the ground with a crisp crack. A radiant wall of ice erupted instantly—but it didn't last. A blinding azure flare shattered it in the next heartbeat as a colossal ice crystal phoenix exploded forth, wings spread wide in a display of overwhelming might, tearing through the barrier like it was paper.
Without hesitation, Yun Che answered—Hyōrinmaru arced through the air in his hand, summoning an ice qilin with a thunderous roar. The majestic beast launched into the sky, crashing head-on into the incoming phoenix. Mid-air, frost and brilliance collided, erupting into a storm of blinding snow and glacial shards.
But Yun Che's gaze sharpened. More ice phoenixes began forming behind Xia Qingyue—one after another, as if an entire frost-forged legion had been summoned. Still, he remained calm. Hyōrinmaru's draconic form coiled protectively around him, reforming into a spiraling bulwark of ice and wind.
Then, Yun Che moved. He surged forward like a blizzard given form, engaging Xia Qingyue in close-quarters combat. The clash of cold met no resistance—the twin Zanpakutō in his possession, Hyōrinmaru and Sode no Shirayuki, rendered any ice-based suppression meaningless. In this duel of frost, neither could claim elemental advantage.
With practiced ease, Yun Che swung Hyōrinmaru's chained moon blade like a whip, the crescent spinning through the air toward Qingyue. Her lotuses, glowing with ethereal cold, responded in kind—blooming into crystalline shields that elegantly blocked the incoming assault.
Then, Yun Che's right arm darkened—coated in obsidian black. A clear sign of Armament Haki. He lunged in, delivering a powerful punch at close range. But Qingyue's Winter Fairy form shimmered, her entire body becoming an ethereal entity of divine cold. The lotus barrier absorbed the strike. Even the emitted shockwave from the Haki-enhanced attack phased through her without a trace.
Yun Che arched a brow in surprise and amusement. She had done it—despite being from a world with no concept of Haki, Qingyue had instinctively created a form that negated it. "Clever," he muttered under his breath. "Very clever."
But he wasn't done.
In a sudden motion, he flung Hyōrinmaru's moon chain again, this time not to strike, but to entangle. The chain wrapped tightly around one of Qingyue's flowing icy ribbons. With a pulse of Haki coating the metal, it held firm—unable to phase through her this time. The moment their energies clashed and held, Yun Che pulled himself closer, reducing their distance to a few meters from each other.
He smirked, voice low and taunting. "Qingyue… I'll admit it. You're not the only one who knows how to weave art into warfare."
He raised his free hand—and Xia Qingyue's breath hitched. Above him, ten spears materialized from the sky itself, gleaming like divine relics. Each was a marvel of enchanted craftsmanship: a translucent blue spearhead fading into a piercing white-blue tip, radiant with glacial energy. Just beneath the blade, wing-like protrusions flared outward like frozen dragon scales, elegant yet ominous. The long silver shaft shimmered with frost-etched filigree, and a smaller mirrored spike glinted at its end, poised like a predator.
"Did you think Sode no Shirayuki only had three dances?" Yun Che's eyes sparkled with mischief. "She used to, but she's been silently copying the Frozen Cloud Arts. Consider this… her debut."
Xia Qingyue didn't wait. With a commanding wave, her phoenixes surged forward in synchronized flight, their wings trailing frost-fire as they sliced through the air. In response, Yun Che's voice rang out, crisp and powerful: "Sode no Shirayuki, Yon no Mae"
One of the ten spears ignited with power and launched like a comet, its scream a chilling war cry that echoed across the arena.
"Heavenly Aerolite Spear."
It collided with the first phoenix mid-flight—and detonated. The heavens cracked open in a bloom of crystalline brilliance, the shockwave fracturing the air and shaking the very foundation of the Sword Discourse Arena. Then, without pause, the remaining nine spears surged forward—each locking onto a phoenix. Ice met ice. Force met force. Ten frozen phoenixes collided with ten Aerolite Spears in a dazzling, thunderous cascade of destruction. The sky became a storm of glittering frost and collapsing wings.
Amidst the chaos, Xia Qingyue's eyes widened. Her breath caught.
These spears… The icy resonance. The chilling depth. The burst patterns. They weren't just similar—they were identical.
First Realm… Second Realm… No—this isn't a coincidence.
Her heart trembled as realization sank in.
He's copying the Frozen Cloud Arts…
Not just mimicking the surface, but replicating the very essence—amplified through the refined will of a Zanpakutō. Sode no Shirayuki, the Zanpakutō of pure snow, was absorbing and evolving from her own sect's sacred techniques, transforming them into something new… something terrifying.
Yun Che surged forward with Hyōrinmaru once more, his strikes fierce and unrelenting. In response, Xia Qingyue unleashed a wave of ice lotuses, each petal glinting with lethal beauty as they spiraled toward him. Sensing her urgency, Yun Che's smirk deepened. Perfect, he thought. A good moment to test the next dance.
"Sode no Shirayuki," he called out, his voice ringing like a chime of winter steel.
Xia Qingyue's eyes sharpened—she wasn't going to let him complete the technique. She pushed her lotuses faster, and they detonated in mid-air around him, releasing a storm of glacial shards and deadly icicles that rained down like a blizzard of needles. The crowd gasped, many rising to their feet in shock.
Then, Yun Che's voice echoed again through the storm.
"Sode No Shirayuki, Go no Mai (Fifth Dance)."
Time seemed to freeze.
From within the storm of ice, radiant lotuses bloomed—his lotuses. They blossomed in a halo of frost around him, shimmering with otherworldly light. Even Xia Qingyue's breath hitched. Not only her, but every elder and disciple of Frozen Cloud Asgard stared in disbelief. The sea of lotuses that had been her hallmark was now shielding her opponent… and not as a mimicry, but as an evolved technique.
"Heavenly Ice Lotus Invocation," Yun Che said calmly.
The frost lotuses encircling him pulsed gently, creating a barrier of beauty and power. Each one absorbed the surrounding icicles, drawing them in like petals catching snow. These were not just defensive constructs—they were devouring the energy of her attacks and becoming stronger.
And floating behind Yun Che, like a guardian spirit sword, was Sode no Shirayuki—her elegant and serene white sword form, surrounded by blooming lotus flowers that danced with the swirling tail of Hyōrinmaru. Dragon and maiden. Sword and snow.
Two legacies. One harmony. The battlefield had become their garden of frost.
The entire Frozen Cloud Asgard stood frozen—not by the ice filling the arena, but by the sheer disbelief etched into every disciple and elder fairies face. The technique Yun Che had just unleashed… wasn't just similar to theirs. It was theirs—yet impossibly more refined, more powerful, and interwoven with a sword style that no one from their sect could comprehend.
"That's our Heavenly Snow Invocation…" Murong Qianxue whispered, her voice trembling with disbelief.
"No… it's beyond that," Jun Lianqie replied, eyes wide as she stared at the battlefield. "It's… absorbing her attacks. Enhancing itself. It's like it was… reborn through him. None of our arts have ever done this…"
"Then… he copied it?!" Mu Lanyi blurted out, stunned. "Remade our techniques using his ice?!"
Little Fairy's eyes widened in shock. Her rascal… he hadn't just learned the Frozen Cloud Arts—he had duplicated them through his Zanpakutō? The realization struck like thunder. His sword spirit—Sode no Shirayuki—was replicating and evolving their ice techniques mid-battle. If his sword could learn and recreate any ice-based technique… then how many more secrets could it absorb?
She turned to glance at Nezuko—or Yoruko—who sat gleefully watching the match like an adoring fan cheering on her master. That little girl could copy any sword-based technique… and now, her brother's Zanpakutō was doing the same with ice. Was this the true nature of Zanpakutō? Overbearing, sentient, evolving weapons?
If Xia Qingyue was laying down all her cards… then she might have just handed Yun Che the key to defeat her. She already shows the Frozen End Arts and his Zanpakuto may have even started copying it, evolving it and turning it back to their opponent.
None of the Asgardians had realized it until now. All they could do was stare—shock painting every face as the truth slowly unraveled.
Gong Yuxian's lips parted, but no words came out. In all her years, she had seen prodigies rise and fall… but never one who could witness, comprehend, and reforge their sacred techniques in the heat of battle. Her eyes drifted toward the ethereal figure of Sode no Shirayuki, floating behind Yun Che, graceful and cold. Ice lotuses bloomed in unison with Hyōrinmaru's frost, as if the two spirits had been born from the same divine glacier.
"Impossible…" Shui Wushuang murmured, clutching her chest. "How… how can a man outside of our sect wield our legacy so perfectly?"
"A man can't cultivate our arts!" Wu Xuexin cried, her voice cracking.
"No," Little Fairy said softly but firmly. "He didn't cultivate it… He copied it. Recreated it with his own ice."
The declaration sent a ripple of gasps through the entire seating zone. The disciples of Frozen Cloud Asgard—sisters who had trained for years to master their legacy—could only watch, silent and shaken, as Yun Che reshaped that legacy before their very eyes.
A silence swept across the Asgardian crowd, the weight of what they were witnessing settling in like a second winter. Yun Che, the man who once stood outside their traditions, was now standing at the very heart of their techniques—elevating them in ways none of them had ever dared to imagine.
"You copied Frozen Cloud Asgard's techniques?" Xia Qingyue's voice trembled with restrained fury. "It's like you're trampling on our honor!"
Her hand rose, and above Yun Che, a colossal boulder of condensed ice began to take shape—its weight heavy not just with power, but with her pride. Her eyes burned with defiance.
"I'll show you…" she growled. "What happens when you dare defile what we've built!"
With a shout, she released it. The mountain of ice plummeted downward like divine judgment.
But Yun Che only smirked.
He let go of Hyōrinmaru, the great icy dragon sword floating behind him like a guardian spirit. In his grasp, Sode no Shirayuki shimmered back into his hand. The surrounding lotuses—residues of his previous invocation—spiraled inward and fused into the white blade, the frost along its edge growing impossibly dense.
"Roku no Mai… (Sixth Dance)" his voice echoed calmly, cutting through the roar of falling ice.
"Zeroth Aurora—Crescent Moon!"
A radiant arc of shimmering frost exploded from his sword like a frozen crescent moon. It carved upward in a single, majestic slash—a Getsuga made of glacial death—and met the massive boulder mid-fall.
The impact was thunderous.
The sky lit up with an explosion of white and blue as the boulder disintegrated in a cascade of sparkling frost and flying shards. The very air howled as the shockwave blew across the battlefield, leaving behind a crater of silence and swirling snow.
Xia Qingyue staggered back, her eyes wide in disbelief. That massive structure she had summoned from the heart of the ice itself… was erased in a single, elegant stroke.
Yun Che said nothing. He simply stared at her, Sode no Shirayuki at his side, Hyōrinmaru coiled protectively behind.
Little Fairy widened her eyes. He didn't copy it during the tournament. She noticed something with her Haki. Something no one in the Asgard noticed. He copied it, He copied Zeroth Aurora! It means he copied it during their battles because she showed him almost everything during their battle.
"Let's end this…"
Xia Qingyue's voice was barely more than a whisper, but the moment the words fell from her lips, the world around her began to change. Her snow-white hands slowly pressed together in front of her chest, and in that instant, the cold energy across several kilometers surged toward her like a tidal wave. The winds howled, the skies dimmed, and all that frost converged into a single, swirling vortex—a massive whirlpool of frozen cloud forming before her.
Yun Che halted mid-step, his instincts blaring in warning.
He could feel it—the sudden and explosive spike in her aura. The ground trembled under the weight of the energy she gathered. That vortex rapidly condensed, growing brighter, sharper, until with a shattering cry, it morphed into a towering Ice Crystal Phoenix. Its wings unfurled like glaciers cracking open, its cry cutting across the sky with a sound that pierced bone and soul alike. The sheer cold it exuded blanketed the entire arena in an arctic stillness, and even the spectators outside the formation felt their hearts seize from the chill.
Then it moved.
The phoenix faced the heavens and dove with terrifying grace, its body trailing freezing gales capable of crystallizing air and earth alike. The sky screamed as it plummeted, each beat of its wings sending shockwaves of frost that froze the moisture in the air.
"Frozen End, Third Art…" Xia Qingyue gasped, her voice tight with strain. "Storm of Frozen End…"
The world responded.
Around her, the terrain transformed once again. Ice bled across the battlefield like creeping vines. Pillars of frost burst from the earth. Blizzards spun in her wake, and a bone-chilling wind coalesced into a raging storm. Towering boulders of enchanted ice hovered mid-air, circling like judgmental deities. The very arena quaked as her domain, her Winter Fairy Form, and the pinnacle technique of the Frozen End Foundation Realm all merged into one overwhelming force of nature.
Yun Che's eyes narrowed. Even with Hyōrinmaru's presence around him, he could feel the pressure starting to weigh down on his body, and for a moment, even he wondered—
How is she sustaining all of this… simultaneously?
Domain. Frozen End Arts. Winter Fairy Form.
No ordinary disciple could survive this kind of overload. But Xia Qingyue wasn't ordinary.
She was a sovereign of ice.
"The Storm of Frozen End… I never expected to see it here," Jasmine remarked, her voice calm but edged with intrigue.
Retsu turned toward the doll-like figure perched on her shoulder, her tone curious. "You recognize it, Jasmine-san?"
As Jasmine's soul form shimmered into full view, she gave a small nod.
"Somewhat. The Ice Phoenix God Investiture Canon is the core cultivation art of the Snow Song Realm in the Realm of the Gods. During a diplomatic visit from the Star God Realm, I witnessed its use firsthand. I saw the First and Second Arts—the Mirror and the Coffin. But this storm…" she gestured toward the battlefield, "…was something else. It's part of the foundational triad meant to unlock the full potential of the canon."
Retsu's eyes narrowed with renewed interest.
"So she hasn't used the full Investiture Canon yet?"
"Not quite," Jasmine replied. "She's begun, but she's only now reaching the foundation's end." Her voice softened into explanation.
"The First Art—Ice Spirit Frozen End Illusory Mirror—is close-range. It reveals how well the cultivator can channel divine ice through their own being. It's a test of one's self-mastery."
"The Second Art—Frozen End Illusory Coffin—is for control. It seals. It bends the world around the user. If used properly, it could even trap someone at the divine level."
"And the Third…" Jasmine's gaze lifted to the swirling storm above Xia Qingyue, now reshaping the very battlefield.
"The Storm of Frozen End isn't just a domain. It's an awakening. A divine cultivator's domain brought into reality—beyond illusion or projection. It allows her to bend the environment to her will, turning snow, moisture, and even air into weapons of absolute cold."
Retsu tilted her head slightly. "A domain that becomes real… That's a terrifying thought."
"Terrifying to her enemies, yes," Jasmine replied, her eyes flickering toward Yun Che with a knowing gleam.
"But against him? Even reality might not be enough." Jasmine commented. "If he didn't used Shirayuki or Kuroyuki or any Zanpakuto at all. He might have a lot of trouble contending against this woman.
Yun Che stood motionless in the heart of the blizzard, cloaked in snow and howling winds. Within this storm-forged arena—barely three hundred meters wide—the domain belonged to Xia Qingyue alone. Every breath was laced with frost, every step a battle against nature itself.
But Yun Che wasn't fazed.
He raised Hyōrinmaru, its blade gleaming like a shard of the heavens, and with a sweeping motion, unleashed a massive ice dragon. The beast tore through the storm, its scales refracting the swirling snow like crystal mirrors. Every time it collided with one of Qingyue's attacks, it detonated in an explosion of flash-freezing force, freezing not only the target but the very air around it.
Sensing more phoenixes closing in from the flanks, Yun Che leapt into the air, spinning as he conjured multiple ice dragons at once. They roared in unison, crashing toward their targets from every direction, shredding the sky with their icy wrath.
He landed in a crouch, immediately slashing the ground. A tidal wave of frozen energy surged forward, sweeping toward Qingyue like an avalanche, while the chain-blade of Hyōrinmaru lashed outward—its freezing edge coiling like a serpent, locking onto anything it ensnared and turning it to ice.
But even through the chaos, Yun Che's instincts screamed danger.
He narrowed his eyes and activated Eagle Vision—a piercing gaze that cut through mist, shadow, and magic alike. His focus locked onto her silhouette, and he wasted no time, launching another ice dragon straight toward her.
Then the storm parted—and what he saw made his heart skip a beat.
The sky above was littered with thousands—no, countless—icicles, each suspended in mid-air, glinting like fangs of death. They hung above him like a celestial minefield, silent and merciless.
"She used the storm as cover…" he muttered, eyes widening. "Sent decoys… and conjured all these while I was distracted?"
Before he could act, Qingyue raised her hand.
The sky fell.
A rain of crystalline death screamed toward him as the icicles descended in a relentless barrage. Hyōrinmaru moved on instinct, coiling protectively around Yun Che, its massive body becoming a living fortress as the sky itself tried to kill him.
The crowd gasped—frozen in awe, fear, and disbelief.
From the stands, the disciples and elders of Frozen Cloud Asgard leaned forward, barely breathing. This was no longer just a battle of strength—it was a war of minds, wills, and wits.
And neither side was backing down.
It was no mere downpour—it was an all-out onslaught.
The sky screamed as Qingyue unleashed her final storm, commanding it to batter Yun Che with everything she had left. Shards of ice rained like spears, massive chunks of frozen stone hurtled down like meteors. The very storm obeyed her will, compressing into a concentrated cyclone of destruction centered on him.
For a full minute, the arena vanished under a blizzard of devastation. The air howled, the ground trembled, and even the protective barriers around the stage flickered under the sheer force of her assault. It was as if nature itself had risen against Yun Che.
And then—silence.
The final icicle struck, burying itself in the cratered earth. Snow slowly drifted down in its wake like ashes after a wildfire.
Xia Qingyue dropped to one knee, her breath ragged, her limbs trembling. Her once-ethereal form flickered—the Winter Fairy Form she had so proudly held now began to shimmer and waver, its icy glow dimming as exhaustion overtook her.
She clenched her fists, trying to focus her energy, but it was clear—she had given it her all.
Did it work?
A hush fell over the entire arena.
As the storm subsided and the last shards of ice settled, all eyes turned toward the frozen battlefield where Yun Che had stood. What remained was a shattered plain of frost and ruin—scarred earth buried beneath layers of jagged ice, and at its center, a crater so deep it seemed to swallow light.
There was no sign of him.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Whispers turned into murmurs, and murmurs into stunned voices.
"Did… Did he really lose?"
"There's no way anyone could have survived that…"
Members of the Frozen Cloud Asgard stood in stunned silence. Even the top fairies exchanged wide-eyed glances, their expressions caught between awe and disbelief. They had never seen the Third Art of the Frozen End, let alone being unleashed with such overwhelming forces sustained for so long within a conjured domain. The sheer scale of devastation spoke volumes.
From her seat, Little Fairy gripped the edge of her robe, eyes wide and filled with dread. "No… Rascal, you're not that easy to lose…you're not that type"
Mu Lanyi whispered, voice unsteady, "I don't sense his presence. Not even a flicker…"
Jun Lianqie's gaze darted across the battlefield. "Could it be… she really overwhelmed him?"
And then Xia Qingyue, still kneeling, exhaled shakily, her shoulders rising and falling. Her body trembled, her Winter Fairy form continuing to flicker as if fading with her willpower—but even so, the glimmer of victory reflected faintly in her eyes.
In that moment, to all watching—
It truly looked like Yun Che had been defeated.
From the highest seat in the Frozen Cloud Asgard's section, Gong Yuxian sat frozen in place, her expression unreadable beneath her veil of composure. But within her mind, a storm raged.
That was the true form of the Frozen End Third Art… she thought, her eyes locked on the heart of the battlefield where nothing but ruin remained. The Storm of Frozen End, perfectly cast within a sealed domain, empowered by her Winter Fairy form—and she held it for over a full minute.
Even among their sect's most elite, very few had ever successfully performed the third art in actual combat. Fewer still had survived it. It was the pinnacle of their Foundation Realm, and Qingyue had just executed it flawlessly under battle pressure.
Her gaze sharpened.
And yet… Yun Che withstood it head-on. No barriers, no evasive footwork. He fought her ice with his own, met her phoenixes with dragons, and tried to read her moves inside a frozen domain not his own. If he is still alive down there…
She inhaled quietly, then let it out as a long, slow breath.
If he still stands after this… then that boy didn't just learn our Frozen Cloud Arts—he surpassed them. No man outside our sect should have survived that. No one who hasn't trained years under this legacy could have endured Qingyue's assault head-on. But he might have…
It'll be a miracle if he survive.
===================
Across the grandstands, hidden behind veils of forced civility and noble robes, several pairs of eyes burned with restrained satisfaction as the storm raged on.
Ling Yun, sat with his arms crossed beside his father, a faint smirk tugging at the edge of his lips. His gaze never left the battlefield, even as the last shards of ice fell like glass rain. So that's the price of arrogance, Yun Che. All that bravado, and now buried beneath your own element. Frozen by the very art you dared to mimic. Begone! So, I can take the goddesses and Xia Qingyue.
Behind him, a few of his sect members exchanged glances, some whispering, others stifling laughter. Ling Yun said nothing, but inwardly he relished the sight.
From another side of the arena, Fen Juecheng of the Burning Heaven Clan clenched the arm of his seat so tightly, his knuckles turned white—not from worry, but from the anticipation of triumph. He had long loathed Yun Che—ever since the boy had humiliated his clan, shattered their pride, and walked away with Cang Yue, the very woman he once coveted.
Now, watching the aftermath of her ultimate technique consume him, he exhaled in dark satisfaction. "So ends the charade," he muttered under his breath. "Be dead for real this time, you bastard."
Behind him, several members of the Burning Heaven Clan nodded, their faces lit with cruel amusement.
"He's nothing without his arrogance," one said.
"Frozen alive, a fitting death for someone who played with fire for too long," another sneered.
And yet, none of them noticed the glimmer—just the faintest, fleeting flicker—within the heart of the ice-shattered storm.
A flicker… that had not yet been extinguished.
====================
"Yue'er, could it be he might…" Xue Ling's voice trembled with concern, her eyes fixed on the storm-battered arena.
"It could be…" Lin Yueru whispered, swallowing hard. "No one can survive that… Xia Qingyue never went this far with anyone else. Not even close."
"Thousands of icicles…" Jin Mulan's fists clenched as her voice cracked. "You won't lose, right? I… I can't lose you again."
From the spectator stands, Yuanba stood frozen, lips parted. "Aniki… did big sister beat you?" His voice was filled with disbelief. Mai, worried too, placed a hand gently on his arm to steady him.
"Sigh… he's not the type who loses." Cang Yue spoke calmly, arms crossed as she leaned back with unnerving confidence. "We've faced worse. Much worse." Her tone stunned the others, as if she knew something they didn't.
"How long's he planning to nap there?" Mio said with a huff, flicking open her fan.
"As if something like that could kill that guy." Kon scoffed, lazily munching on a cookie. He didn't even glance up.
"Ufufu…" Retsu giggled, serene and composed, while Nemu calmly jotted down more notes in her little book, unfazed by the supposed outcome.
Everyone nearby blinked, stunned by how casual they all were—as if they weren't watching a man crushed beneath a blizzard of divine-level ice.
"Aneki… aren't you worried about him?" Yuanba finally asked Retsu, his voice small.
"Him?" Retsu's tone was light, but there was a subtle edge of pride. "The only thing I ever worry about… are the women trying to steal him away. The rest?" She smiled softly, eyes locked on the frost-covered arena. "He's fine. My faith in him has never wavered. He's not the kind to fall here."
Then her eyes sharpened, pupils dilating ever so slightly as she sensed the shift.
"Ah… he's coming."
Everyone turned, breath catching as a faint glow flickered in the heart of the frozen storm.
==============================
Xia Qingyue remained standing in her flickering Winter Fairy form, her breath steady but her heart… unsettled. She appeared calm—an image of an aloof ice goddess—but her instincts screamed otherwise. Yun Che wasn't someone who fell so easily. Not to this. Not to her.
Then, the ground beneath the storm trembled. A sudden pillar of glacial energy erupted from the center of the arena, shattering the silence with a roar. The frozen mist exploded outward in a shockwave of blue light—and the crowd gasped as something colossal began to rise.
From within the pillar, a massive dragon emerged—ice-born and divine, its serpentine body twisting skyward with unstoppable force. It was the same dragon Yun Che had summoned before… but transformed. Now it had grown several times its original size, adorned with broad, crystalline wings that shimmered with deadly beauty. It had no arms or legs, only a sleek, majestic body like a true Eastern dragon with horns behind its head—and it radiated a crushing aura of refined, controlled devastation.
It had awakened.
Floating above the dragon's spiraling form, a single figure stood tall—Yun Che.
He was perfectly composed. Not a single scratch. No torn fabric, no dust, not even a ripple in his breathing. It was as if Qingyue's storm of death hadn't even touched him. He slowly opened his eyes, cool and unwavering, like a man simply stretching after a nap.
Gasps erupted across the coliseum. The entire Frozen Cloud Asgard was in uproar—disciples stood up in shock, elders leaned forward in disbelief. The expression on Gong Yuxian's face twisted from dignified poise to sheer astonishment. Qingyue's third ultimate Frozen End technique had been brushed aside like a passing breeze.
"He... Impossible…" Murong Qianxue murmured. "No one could survive that."
"The dragon, it changed….," Jun Lianqie added in awe.
Even Ling Yun, seated smugly a moment ago, was frozen in place. His mouth moved, but no sound came out.
Fen Juecheng clenched the edge of his seat, fingers white, lips curled in disbelief. "This… this isn't possible!"
And in the Blue Wind Imperial Family seating zone, Retsu just smiled, her eyes glowing with quiet satisfaction and eyes Yuanba.
"Told you," she whispered.
The battlefield fell into an eerie, reverent silence as Yun Che stood beneath the sky, his voice casual but brimming with intent.
"Kind of overkill if you ask me," he said, rolling his shoulders, the echoes of his voice cutting through the cold air like a blade. Then he looked up, locking eyes with Xia Qingyue—still suspended midair, radiant and ethereal in her Winter Fairy form. "Since you've shown me your Winter Fairy form… Let's top it up a notch."
"Take form."
He raised his hand toward the massive ice dragon hovering above him. Its serpentine body coiled once in the sky, then began to unravel—breaking apart into thousands of crystalline fragments. The shards spiraled down and converged around Yun Che, forming a sphere of glimmering blue ice that enclosed him completely like a cocoon.
The entire crowd held its breath.
Cracks appeared on the surface of the icy sphere. And then, with a hiss of freezing air, it burst open—revealing Yun Che, transformed.
"Bankai."
From Hyōrinmaru, an overwhelming tide of frost exploded forth, flowing across Yun Che's body like living ice. It surged up his right arm, forming into the fierce visage of a dragon's head, jaws open wide and fused around his hand and sword. The weapon itself transformed—its guard now shaped like a radiant eight-pointed star, burning cold with ancient power.
The frost continued to flow—encasing his shoulders, back, and chest in elegant layers of icy armor. Twin wings of pure ice burst from his back with a crystalline roar, stretching wide and majestic. A long, serpentine tail of ice uncoiled behind him, swaying with a deadly grace.
His left arm transformed into an ice-clawed limb, menacing and sleek. The same fate claimed his legs—encased in sculpted frost that ended in talon-like claws.
And floating behind him, like celestial ornaments, appeared three massive flowers made of ice. Each blossom had four glowing purple petals shaped like diamonds—calm, silent, yet thrumming with suppressed power.
"Daiguren Hyōrinmaru," Yun Che spoke with calm conviction. "The Great Crimson Ice Ring."
The temperature dropped further than anyone thought possible. Even the Frozen Cloud Asgard disciples, born and raised in cold, shivered. Xia Qingyue's pupils contracted.
The moment Yun Che's Bankai took form, the world seemed to freeze—not from the cold, but from the sheer awe that gripped everyone's hearts.
The Daiguren Hyōrinmaru stood tall, radiant with a majesty none had ever seen. Ice sculpted like divine armor clung to Yun Che's frame, and the dragon's head encasing his arm seemed alive, its frosted jaws brimming with ancient wrath. His wings shimmered with celestial frost, his tail coiled like a serpent of judgment, and those three floating lotus-shaped flowers spun gently behind him, glowing with purple frostlight.
The entire arena was silent. Not a breath. Not a whisper.
Then—
CRACK.
The barrier set around the arena gave off a subtle, warning groan—as if even the protective formation designed by the elders of major sects was unsure it could contain what had just emerged.
"What kind of transformation is that?!" Mu Lanyi gasped, her hand gripping the railing so tightly her knuckles turned white.
"He fused with the dragon," Jun Lianqie whispered, voice trembling. "The dragon that protected him, I knew something was odd with it."
"Impossible," Chu Yueli murmured, her throat dry. "Our Frozen Cloud Arts… nothing in them could ever reach this."
Even Murong Qianxue, usually composed as still water, was staring with parted lips. "What kind of art is that…? It's… as if the ice spirit has incarnated through him."
Gong Yuxian stood, her composure fractured. "That's not merely a dragon spirit," she said, voice low. "He merged with the dragon and create a form for himself!"
Her voice shook slightly, and her eyes—once full of stern discipline—now brimmed with something she hadn't felt in decades: awe.
Little Fairy—Chu Yuechan—gritted her teeth, her composure cracking for the first time in years. Her voice rang loud in her mind as she mentally shouted at the figure cloaked in wings and ice on the stage:
"Rascal! Why did you activate your Bankai?! Your Shikai alone was more than enough to overpower her! Are you trying to cause my Frozen Cloud Asgard a sect-wide heart crisis?!"
She knew better than anyone what that form represented.
Bankai wasn't just raw strength. It was a revelation—one that struck not at the body, but at the very soul for women of her Asgard.
For the disciples of Frozen Cloud Asgard, whose very foundations were built upon detachment, serenity, and the cultivation of a heart sealed in eternal frost, seeing that form was nothing short of spiritual seduction.
It didn't just inspire awe. It shattered the so-called Ice Heart.
And in its place… it reforged something far more dangerous: a heart that reforged into something greater. Something she and her sister had achieved.
Because Bankai, in Yun Che's hands, wasn't just strength. It was need—a gravity that rewrote the teachings of isolation and coldness into a melody of connection, desire, and heat hidden under the ice.
The heart that centers around the one who reforged it.
Chu Yuechan clenched her fists as the truth clawed at her chest.
She knew the price as she paid it. Her sister paid for it.
If misused…
If Yun Che ever willed it…
He could enslave the entire Frozen Cloud Asgard—not through force, but by becoming the center of their rebuilt hearts. By simply being the source that their broken, reforged souls would orbit. He was already the center of her heart. He was the reason she had thawed, the foundation upon which her new self was built. Just like her sister—whom she saw him as Dracule Mihawk. She was unknowingly bound to him in that old, strange world—needed him too.
That was why she had made him swear.
Swear never to unleash his Bankai in front of the disciples of Frozen Cloud Asgard.
Not unless he was ready for the consequences.
Yet here they were, and it was too late.
Her breath caught in her throat as she slowly looked around, expecting flushed faces, trembling lips, confused stares—any sign of emotional collapse.
But to her surprise...Nothing.
All of her fellow fairies and disciples admire his Bankai.
Jun Lianqie remained motionless, hands folded. Murong Qianxue blinked in awe but showed no signs of disarray. Mu Lanyi's lips were parted, but not in obsession—just curiosity. The Feng Twins were somehow… normal.
Even Gong Yuxian, her adoptive mother and the Asgard Mistress, remained still, watching, studying—but not falling with Nezuko in her arms.
She blinked again. Once. Twice.
Then… a soft, subtle sigh of relief left her lips.
They were safe. For now.
She glanced back toward Yun Che's shining, winged form on the battlefield.
Even if the others weren't pulled in…
She still was. One of the reasons that she became his…. woman.
And that was enough to remind her of the fine line he danced between purity, devotion, empowerment and salvation.
A chuckle drifted into her mind like a breeze stirring snow.
"Don't worry," Yun Che's voice came, calm and smug. "It's suppressed. I'm not releasing it at full power like I did when I fought you. That would've probably frozen the whole mountain range. Not to mention, its raw spiritual power shatter the ice hearts of all Asgardian in this arena. Qingyue included."
There was a pause.
"Unless…" he mused with mock seriousness, "you want me to release its full power? Though, if I do… I'm pretty sure your entire sect is going to chase me down not to punish me—but to force me to mate with them. You could imagine Retsu's reaction if that happens."
Chu Yuechan's face turned bright red. Several disciples around her blinked in concern as she sharply turned away to hide her expression, fuming silently. Shameless rascal…!
High above, still wrapped in the shimmering light of her Winter Fairy form, Xia Qingyue hovered in the air—but her breath caught. For a moment, the air that once obeyed her no longer responded. The storm winds that swirled around her like loyal subjects suddenly paused, as if in reverence of something far greater.
Her heart thudded violently against her ribs.
"What kind of form is this? Did you fuse with the dragon?" she whispered, her voice barely audible, trembling with awe. Her violet eyes, always so calm and resolute, locked onto him—onto Yun Che, now radiating an overwhelming majesty she couldn't describe. The once-familiar pressure of ice—cold, quiet, suffocating—had shifted into something entirely new.
It was transcendent.
He had become ice in its highest form—not as a weapon, but as a celestial truth. Cold, yes—but not lifeless. His form pulsed with power and purpose. Daiguren Hyōrinmaru—the frozen avatar of an ancient dragon—encased him, wings of crystal outstretched, tail whipping slowly behind him. Ice shaped like claws wrapped his limbs; three glowing lotus-like flowers floated behind him, exuding spiritual resonance. He was no longer merely a cultivator. He was a force of nature.
Qingyue tried to speak again, but her words died on her tongue. For the first time, her Winter Fairy form—her divine state of frozen grace—felt fragile. Her advantage, her pride, her divine transformation... paled in comparison to what stood before her now.
Yun Che slowly ascended, rising until he matched her height in the sky, his calm, piercing gaze meeting hers. He didn't speak. He didn't need to. The power that rolled off him in silent waves said everything.
Below, the arena erupted into gasps and chaos.
"DID HE JUST… FUSE WITH A DRAGON?!"
"That's not a technique! That's— That's a divine art!!"
"I've never seen ice like that! It's not even cold… it's… beautiful…"
"Terrifying… he looks like a ice prince…"
Even the air itself seemed to hum.
And still Yun Che hovered, wings spread, his form a hymn of ice and eternity.
Qingyue stared, struggling to maintain her composure—but deep inside, she already knew. The tide of the battle had turned. The one she called husband had become something far beyond her expectations.
==============================
[DING]
============
[Zanpakutō – Hyōrinmaru and Sode No Shirayuki]
[Human Spirit Forms]
Kuroyuki (Hyōrinmaru) Shirayuki (Sode no Shirayuki)]
[Type – Legendary Divine Twin Ice]
[Classification – S-Rank]
[Shikai Forms] [Activation Phrase]
Sode no Shirayuki → Dance Hyōrinmaru → Sit Upon Frozen Heavens
[Bankai Status]
Shirayuki → Awakened (Not Yet Activated)
Hyōrinmaru → Awakened (Daiguren Hyōrinmaru – Great Crimson Ice Ring)
=====================================