Chapter 25: Immune to the Icy Palm, Yet the Target Escapes

Seeing Sun Zheng losing ground in their encounter, Liu Yan taunted him, "If this is the extent of your strength, then leave your life here."

Sun Zheng remained silent; he had nothing to say. Liu Yan, known as the Snow Demon, had entered the Innate Realm fifteen years ago, while Sun Zheng had only broken through in recent years. There was an inherent gap in their strength, and continuing to speak would only shatter his own confidence.

"Die!"

Capitalizing on his superior power and his signature Ice Palm technique, Liu Yan finally seized an opening and struck a palm toward the off-balance Sun Zheng.

"Don't you dare, you scoundrel!"

With a shout, Gao Liang suddenly lunged from the side, his long saber aiming straight for Liu Yan.

Liu Yan was startled. Facing this sudden attack, he realized that if he continued his strike against Sun Zheng, it would be a trade of lives. He immediately turned to parry.

As the three separated, Liu Yan glanced at Gao Liang’s right hand, his voice dropping, "You actually managed to neutralize my Frost Qi so quickly!"

Sun Zheng also looked surprised; he had already prepared himself for the worst.

Gao Liang ignored Liu Yan and looked at Sun Zheng, saying, "Let’s attack together."

"Agreed," Sun Zheng nodded heavily.

Seeing this, Liu Yan, though still surprised that his Frost Qi had been dispelled, remained confident. "What does it matter if there are two of you? You are merely at the early stage of the Innate Realm. I have been at the middle stage for years and have mastered the near-perfect Ice Palm."

The three clashed instantly. Although Liu Yan’s strength and his Ice Palm allowed him to maintain the upper hand, he could not easily defeat Sun Zheng and Gao Liang, who had years of experience fighting in tandem.

Li Dao, meanwhile, was considering how to help them against the Snow Demon when he caught some movement in his peripheral vision.

Not far away, the supply caravan had fallen into chaos due to the attacks led by Shen San and his men. Especially upon seeing that these people were targeting the dowry intended for the wedding alliance, the Great Prince of Tamu grew frantic and ordered, "Guards, hurry and stop these thieves!"

Several guards nodded and charged toward Shen San’s group.

Li Dao’s gaze shifted to the Great Prince of Tamu. Looking back at the Snow Demon, he realized that while the man was formidable, he had a weakness: the Great Prince himself. As the Prince's bodyguard, the Snow Demon would likely suffer grave consequences if anything were to happen to his charge.

Rather than trying to deal with the troublesome Snow Demon, it would be better to capture the leader first. Li Dao did not care much about the previous agreement not to kill the Prince; he merely intended to use the Prince to threaten the Snow Demon. The Snow Demon, however, remained unaware of this, still believing they were assassins sent to kill the Prince.

With that thought, Li Dao pushed off the ground and charged toward the Prince’s guard detail.

The guards around the Great Prince were hyper-vigilant, fearing any mishap. Li Dao’s unmasked approach was quickly spotted.

"An intruder is heading toward the Great Prince! Alert!"

The Great Prince ordered, "Send men to deal with this thief!"

"Yes!"

Five guards on horseback charged at Li Dao.

"Die!" One guard led the way, his saber aiming for Li Dao’s face.

"Well-timed!" Li Dao grabbed his black iron saber and swung it with a violent force.

In an instant, man and horse passed each other. The next second, a figure was sent flying from the saddle, crashing heavily to the ground.

The remaining four guards attacked simultaneously from different angles, aiming for Li Dao’s vital points. In the past, Li Dao might have dodged, but now, he stood his ground, ignoring their strikes. The guards were surprised at how easily their ambush had seemed to proceed, but when their blades hit, they found that the tips only sank slightly into his skin, failing to inflict any real damage.

The four were stunned. Li Dao seized the opening and countered with a horizontal sweep of his black iron saber, imbued with terrifying strength.

*Crack!*

The sound of shattering armor echoed as the four were sent flying, bleeding, into the distance. Shortly after they hit the ground, the system notification chimed:

[Killed four enemies, gained attributes: 3.56]

Four people provided over three attribute points; it seemed these guards were cultivators themselves. The five attackers were effectively neutralized. The one who had been knocked off his horse earlier did not fare well either—even though he had blocked the strike with his armor, the sheer force—at least eight thousand pounds of impact—had crushed his internal organs.

[Killed one enemy, gained attributes: 0.68]

The Great Prince, expecting his guards to easily dispose of a single thief, was now panicked as he watched his men being decimated. Seeing Li Dao approaching, he shouted, "Guards, attack him!"

Ten more guards charged, but within minutes, they too became numbers on Li Dao’s status panel.

The Great Prince could no longer sit still. Watching the intruder close the distance, he screamed toward the distance, "Master Liu, save me!"

On the other side, the Snow Demon Liu Yan was growing more excited as he pushed Sun Zheng and Gao Liang back, envisioning them as ice sculptures. Sun Zheng and Gao Liang were struggling; even combined, they could only resist for so long. The primary threat was Liu Yan’s peerless Ice Palm—even if they dodged the physical strike, the lingering Frost Qi made their limbs grow stiff.

Then, the cry for help rang out: "Master Liu, save me!"

Liu Yan’s expression changed instantly. Looking back, he saw a man closing in on the Prince, surrounded by the corpses of his guards. If he did not intervene, the Prince would surely be captured.

"Despicable!" Liu Yan cursed at Sun Zheng and Gao Liang.

Gao Liang sneered, "You have the nerve to call us despicable? You betrayed your sect and joined the Tamu tribe; why didn't you think it was despicable then?"

"You..."

Regardless, Liu Yan had to rescue the Prince. He was already a wanted man in the Great Qian Dynasty; if anything happened to the Prince under his watch, he would have no place in the Northern Barbarian lands either. He abandoned his attempt to kill Sun Zheng and Gao Liang.

"You lot wait here!"

He turned and dashed toward the Prince. Sun Zheng and Gao Liang were left stunned. "Damn, the Snow Demon is moving—what about him?" Gao Liang shouted, "Careful, Liu Yan is returning!"

Li Dao, enjoying the slaughter, felt a chill of killing intent behind him.

"So, you are the one ruining my plans? Go to hell!"

Li Dao turned to see Liu Yan striking with his Ice Palm. He instinctively raised his saber.

"Ice Palm!" Liu Yan exhaled a massive amount of Frost Qi. The black iron saber was instantly covered in frost, which crept up to Li Dao’s wrist.

*Clang!*

Blade met palm, and ice shards flew everywhere. Li Dao narrowed his eyes; the blow had been blocked by the frost on Liu Yan’s palm. Truly, an Innate warrior was not to be underestimated.

Liu Yan felt his palm ache; he had barely managed to block the strike. He looked at Li Dao’s frozen right hand and sneered, "Ice Palm!" He struck again with his left.

Li Dao frowned and met the palm with his own hand.

*Bang!*

The collision sent shockwaves. Liu Yan felt the immense force—enough to nearly snap his own arm—but he was certain his opponent would be worse off. Indeed, Li Dao’s entire arm was now encased in frost, which began to spread toward his body.

"Die!" Liu Yan grinned.

Just then, two figures lunged at him, forcing him to retract his hand to defend himself. The three retreated dozens of meters away.

"Are you alright?" Gao Liang looked at Li Dao’s frozen arm with concern, knowing well the terror of that Frost Qi.

Liu Yan laughed, "Don't bother hoping. He’s beyond saving."

Gao Liang retorted, "What do you mean? I recovered from it earlier!"

Liu Yan sneered, "That was just your hand. His entire arm is frozen. You used your Innate Qi to resist, but he has no Qi at all!"

"You have no Qi?" Sun Zheng looked at Li Dao in astonishment.

Li Dao nodded, not bothering to hide it. Gao Liang’s face darkened; if that were true, there was indeed no hope.

"Haha, go ahead and die!" Liu Yan mocked.

"Die? What are you talking about?" Li Dao suddenly spoke up.

Liu Yan stopped laughing. "You should feel a chill in your chest, right? My Frost Qi is reaching your heart. Once it enters, not even the gods can save you."

Li Dao frowned, "But my chest doesn't feel cold at all."

"Stop pretending," Liu Yan sneered. "The frost on your arm is my Frost Qi."

"You mean this?" Li Dao lifted his left arm and gave it a shake. With a *crack*, the ice shattered and fell to the ground, revealing a perfectly unharmed arm. "It’s gone. Now what?"

He even wiggled his fingers to prove his point. Liu Yan froze, his expression one of pure disbelief. "How is this possible? You took my Frost Qi head-on!"

Li Dao shrugged, "The facts speak for themselves."

He knew the truth: his skin had undergone a metamorphosis, making it impervious. The tiny amount of Frost Qi that had entered his body was quickly incinerated by his surging blood energy. Combined with his powerful recovery, his arm had healed in the time it took to speak.

He realized his skin had maxed out both physical and magical resistance.

Sun Zheng and Gao Liang were stunned. "You really have no Qi?" Gao Liang asked, unable to believe a flesh-and-blood body could withstand an Innate warrior’s elemental Qi.

Li Dao shook his head, "Isn't it just natural strength, as you said?"

"What kind of 'natural strength' is this?" Gao Liang grumbled.

Sun Zheng asked, "Can you still withstand his Frost Qi?"

"As long as it's not for a prolonged time, I should be fine," Li Dao replied.

Sun Zheng’s eyes lit up. "That's good."

"Perfect," Gao Liang added, "The three of us can work together."

Liu Yan, seeing them regroup, felt a surge of apprehension. His most prized technique was no longer working. Realizing he might not come out of this well, he retreated to the Great Prince’s side.

"Master Liu, why haven't you finished them off?" the Prince asked impatiently.

"Prince, the opponents are troublesome. If I fight at full strength, I cannot guarantee your safety."

The Prince’s face changed. Nothing was more important than his own life. "Then what should we do?"

Liu Yan hesitated, "If you want to continue, I can hold them off, but the outcome is uncertain. If we flee, I am confident I can protect you."

The Prince, fearing that his younger brother would seize the throne and his bride if he died here, made a quick decision. "Master Liu, protect me! Let’s return to the Tamu tribe. I’m abandoning the wedding alliance!"

"Very well," Liu Yan said with feigned righteousness. "I shall sacrifice my life to ensure your safe return!"

"Master Liu!" The Prince was moved.

Liu Yan turned to the guards, "Everyone, abandon the supplies and retreat! Protect the Prince!"

Sun Zheng and Gao Liang stood in confusion as the caravan turned to flee.

"Today, I spare your lives," Liu Yan shouted back. "One day, I will come for your heads!"

He whipped his horse and chased after the Prince’s fleeing party, leaving the two men behind in total bewilderment.

"What was that about?" Gao Liang muttered. "Are we done with the mission?"

They had certainly accomplished their goal: the dowry was lost, the escort was shattered, and the Prince had been forced to flee in disgrace. That was more than enough.