Chapter 468: The Clash of Ice and Shadow |
In the garden pavilion, Guan Tong and Yelanka chatted about recent developments.
Ever since Yelanka dealt with the rebellious forces within her nation, she had been carrying out dual reforms—both internal and external.
Internally, her main focus was integrating the power of Ascendants within the country, promoting young Ascendants to refresh the management hierarchy, and increasing assistance for ordinary citizens trying to pass the Doomsday Rules during the Rule Period.
Externally, she was cooperating closely with the Beixing government, exchanging resources to meet each other’s needs.
Guan Tong listened and felt that Yelanka really had a solid grasp on being an Administrator.
What particularly impressed him was her proactive decision to refresh the internal structure, establishing a decision-making system centered on young people. This ensured that exceptionally talented Ascendants wouldn’t feel overlooked, which in turn made them more loyal to her.
One thing that caught Guan Tong slightly off guard was Yelanka voluntarily bringing up Black Star.
“I know that Black Star, the Ascendant middleman running the underground broker network in Xisiya, is your friend, Teacher,” Yelanka said.
Hearing this, Guan Tong couldn’t help feeling a bit awkward.
She continued, “I know that no nation can completely avoid gray areas. There will always be Ascendants unwilling to serve the government. These people have needs for offline transactions and commissions, so it’s only natural that an underground network forms.
Rather than letting Xisiya’s underground network spiral out of control, it’s better to have your friend, Teacher, as the key node. I trust your judgment, and with you watching over him, I’m confident he won’t engage in any intermediary activities harmful to Xisiya’s citizens.”
Guan Tong was inwardly surprised. Yelanka’s words essentially meant she had no intention of interfering with Black Star’s operations. He nodded seriously and said, “Don’t worry. As long as I’m keeping an eye on Black Star, he won’t act recklessly or harm Xisiya’s official interests.”
Afterward, Guan Tong shared some of his own matters with her and brought up Ye Dang’s situation.
Upon learning the details of the Eden Project, Yelanka furrowed her brow deeply. “Do the Suroma decision-makers really think this won’t push their own Ascendants into opposition?”
“It really does seem like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs,” Guan Tong said. “Even a top-tier Ascendant like Ye Dang can be abandoned and turned into an enemy. That’s hard to imagine in any other country. I have no idea if Bruce and the others have some other plan or if they really believe those war machines can replace Ascendants.”
“I’ll have Xisiya’s intelligence department keep an eye on it too.”
If Bruce and the Senate really had some dangerous, highly secret plan, it would undoubtedly harm all other nations—including Xisiya. As the Administrator, Yelanka had the responsibility to task her country’s intelligence agencies with investigating.
The two then shifted the conversation to Mind Power.
Guan Tong said, “Sigaochin told me over the phone that she feels she can’t keep up with your combat pace anymore, and that the sparring results are getting worse. This has to do with your rapid Mind Power improvement, right?”
In fact, from the moment they met earlier, he had sensed a noticeable change in Yelanka’s aura. He had felt this same sensation before from Shi Jingyi and Adam—the mark of breaking through a Mind Power upper limit of one thousand points and entering the Second Stage of Ascension.
Yelanka nodded. “Ever since I became Administrator—no, to be more precise, since I killed Valeri and pacified the rebellious forces—I’ve noticed my Mind Power upper limit accelerating. At first, it wasn’t obvious, but as time went on, the rate of increase grew faster and faster.”
Guan Tong said, “This should be related to your rising support in Xisiya.”
“Yeah. I didn’t understand the reason before, but this time, the Doomsday Rules’ ‘Dialoguer’ mentioned faith power, and that’s when I figured it out.”
Yelanka clenched her hand and her gaze grew firm. “It’s because the people of Xisiya trust me from the bottom of their hearts that I’m able to gain this power. So I’ve decided to do my best as Administrator while also focusing on personal improvement, making full use of this strength. That way, I can live up to everyone’s trust in me.”
Hearing this, Guan Tong felt deeply moved. Yelanka’s diligent governance had earned the people’s trust, and that trust was being transformed into Mind Power through faith power. This was undoubtedly a mutual journey.
By contrast, celebrities and artists struggled to obtain such power, because appreciating someone’s work was completely different from trusting the creator from the bottom of one’s heart.
For instance, many people might enjoy a movie but only liked the character the actor played. They might not even know the actor’s real name—how could that generate faith power?
“Even if Sigaochin hadn’t said anything, I’ve been wanting to ask for your help several times now, Teacher.” Yelanka looked directly into Guan Tong’s eyes, gathering her courage. “Because I’ve always believed that you are the strongest Ascendant in the world.”
“As for being the strongest... I can’t say for sure. But helping you train is no problem at all.” Guan Tong smiled. “And it’s not just helping you—it benefits me too.”
“Thank you, Teacher.” Yelanka’s face lit up with a smile.
“Yelanka, you don’t have to call me ‘Teacher.’ Just use my name.”
“Just your name... is that okay?”
“I call you by your name, don’t I? It’s friendlier that way. Unless you want me to call you ‘Administrator Konia’?”
“No!” Yelanka shook her head firmly. “Ever since I was elected, so many people have called me Administrator—even Sigaochin... I don’t want you to become like that too, Teacher.”
“That won’t happen. A person’s identity doesn’t make much difference to me. In the end, the person is still the same person.”
“Mm. Then I’ll... just call you by your name, Guan... Guan Tong, Teacher.”
Yelanka’s enunciation had always been overly crisp, and now, trying to say Guan Tong’s name for the first time, it came out even more stilted. After saying it, she tacked on the word “Teacher” again.
Guan Tong laughed. “You’ll get used to it gradually.”
“Mm... then I’ll use this as a transition. Guan Tong, Teacher, shall we go train? I’ll go change clothes.”
“Sure.”
...
On the lawn behind the manor, Yelanka had changed into a sportswear set suitable for combat, with her hair tied up in a band, giving her a clean, sharp look.
Guan Tong stood across from her and said, “Let’s start right away. Don’t hold back—go all out. That way, I can get a full picture of your strength.”
“Alright. Then, Teache... Guan Tong, Teacher, please be careful.”
As soon as Yelanka finished speaking, her expression shifted sharply, and an imposing aura radiated from her.
She slightly opened her palms, and in the next instant, two ice swords emitting a frigid chill materialized in her hands.
Guan Tong had seen her fight before and knew her ability was related to ice and cold. The twin ice swords were her preferred combat style. But unlike before, the moment these ice swords formed, he felt the surrounding temperature drop several degrees—far stronger than before.
“I’m starting!”
With that, Yelanka lunged forward in a single explosive step, swinging both ice swords toward Guan Tong’s neck and chest—an overwhelmingly fierce assault.
Guan Tong manipulated his Shadow into a shield to block in front of him. He keenly noticed that before the ice swords even landed on the shield, just getting close caused ice to start forming on the shadow shield.
What terrifying cold erosion...
Swish! Swish!
The two ice swords struck the shadow shield and sliced through it with almost no resistance.
A high-toughness shadow shield formed by over a hundred points of Mind Power had been broken so easily. These ice swords were imbued with at least two hundred points of Mind Power, maybe even more...
As Guan Tong observed and assessed internally, he continued to manipulate the Shadow into forming new defenses.
Yelanka, meanwhile, kept swinging her swords, slicing through every shadow shield, shadow wall, and shadow pillar that stood in her way.
Her speed grew faster and faster, and she became increasingly excited. It was clear she rarely had the chance to fight at full strength, so now that she had the opportunity, she was performing at her absolute peak.
After defending for a while and gaining an understanding of Yelanka’s offensive patterns, Guan Tong said, “I’m going to counterattack now—let’s test your defense.”
“Mm!”
The massive amounts of Shadow stopped defending and instead transformed into various weapons, attacking Yelanka from all directions.
The highlight was the Shadow coming from behind her. Guan Tong wanted to see how Yelanka would handle an attack from outside her field of vision.
Yelanka flipped her left wrist, tossing the sword upward, and when she caught the hilt again, she was holding it in a reverse grip.
With one ice sword held in a standard grip and the other in a reverse grip, as the shadows attacked from every direction and closed in on her, she spun and swung both swords simultaneously. While protecting her entire body, she also shot out a massive amount of ice crystals from the blades, piercing and destroying the shadows from front, back, left, and right!
“Not bad.” Guan Tong let out an admiring compliment.
A man must be looked at with new eyes after three days of separation. The Yelanka of today was truly far stronger than she had been back at the academy.
“It’s not over yet!” Yelanka’s eyes sharpened, and she pointed her sword tips at Guan Tong. In an instant, the massive swarm of ice crystals obeyed her command and shot toward him.
“Freely controllable released Mind Power attacks? Not bad at all.” Guan Tong was a little surprised. He manipulated his Shadow into a large net, using its toughness and elasticity to catch the ice crystals, then transformed the net into spinning blades that ground them into powder.
Yelanka bit her lip hard, stunned that her proudest attack had been neutralized so easily. She fixed her gaze, intending to concentrate all her remaining strength into a single blow.
“I’m going to make my final strike! Please be ready, Guan Tong, Teacher!”
“Come on. Let me see your limits.”
This time, Guan Tong would no longer underestimate Yelanka. He took off his trench coat and adopted a very serious attitude to face the coming attack.
“This is an ability I realized from watching your battle with Lucifer last time...”
As Yelanka spoke, she crossed the two ice swords, and in an instant, an immense amount of cold rapidly spread from the blades to the surroundings.
The green grass beneath her feet was almost instantly covered in frost, and that frost continued to spread outward from her as the center. The temperature in the air plummeted so fast that in this season approaching summer, Guan Tong actually exhaled a puff of cold mist as he breathed.
“This is... a domain!”
The scene before him shocked Guan Tong deeply. Without a doubt, a frigid domain was forming and expanding rapidly around Yelanka’s crossed ice swords!
Within seconds, Yelanka’s domain had covered him entirely. He could clearly feel an icy chill penetrating his bones and his blood flow slowing drastically. Looking down, the ground beneath his feet had frozen solid, and even layers of frost were beginning to form on his clothes.
Incredible...
Guan Tong marveled from the bottom of his heart.
If his Shadow Domain created a combat advantage by depriving others of their vision, then the freezing domain Yelanka had created used extreme low temperatures to slow down enemies within its range—even freezing them into ice sculptures if exposed long enough.
However, domains consumed Mind Power at a tremendous rate. Could she sustain that level of consumption?
Guan Tong looked at Yelanka. He could maintain his Shadow Domain for long periods thanks to his massive reserve Mind Power—how was Yelanka going to sustain hers?
Sure enough, he noticed that Yelanka’s attack wasn’t over yet. Her domain wasn’t long-lasting; it was setting the stage for the attack to come!
“Guan Tong, Teacher, this is the first time I’m using this move on anyone...” Yelanka’s two ice swords then merged into one, combining into a massive blade that nearly exceeded her own height! Gripping the hilt with both hands, she raised the sword above her head, gathering all her Mind Power and fighting spirit into a single point before releasing it all in a surging torrent.
This is my full-power strike—Blizzard Burial!