Ice Element Domain

Never had they seen someone so utterly shameless!!

When Mo Fan declared that a beauty of celestial grace was his "first wife," that was the only verdict anyone could reach.

"Alright, alright," Teacher Gu Han said. "You're here to win honor for the school, not to bicker over someone before the match has even started."

"I actually thought we had a fighting chance," Teacher Ah Li Jing sighed. "Now it looks like we're about to be thoroughly humiliated."

She had arrived earlier than the other teachers and knew Mu Ningxue's abilities better than anyone. Once Mu Ningxue made her move, there was a real chance their side would simply be crushed.

"You've stared long enough," Song Xia said sharply. "Start thinking about how to deal with them."

Mo Fan and Shen Mingxiao exchanged a glance. Mo Fan made no effort to hide his blatant, unabashed appreciation of Mu Ningxue. Shen Mingxiao, that two-faced charmer, was far more hypocritical — he'd practically lost his soul staring at her, yet kept pretending not to care while fawning over Mu Nujiao.

Mu Nujiao couldn't be bothered sparing either of these soulless men a second glance. Instead, she fixed her gaze on Mu Ningxue — the woman with the stunning silver hair — bracing as though facing a formidable enemy.

From her aura alone, one could sense this woman's power was extraordinary. She hadn't even tried to release her presence, yet the air temperature had already dropped around her — like a spirit of ice and snow, wherever she walked, the cold fragrance emanating from her body permeated everything in her wake.

Mu Nujiao had heard her elders speak of certain exceptional Mages born with astonishing gifts. The captain of the Imperial Capital Magic Academy's team was surely one of them.

"Everyone stay sharp," Song Xia commanded. "She's an Ice Element mage. During the fight, I'll try to hold her down while you deal with the others quickly — then we combine and take her out."

Her perceptive abilities were no less sharp than Mu Nujiao's, and she too could sense that the Ice Element power emanating from Mu Ningxue was unlike anything ordinary.

Fire and ice had always countered each other. As a Fire Element Mage, Song Xia was probably the only one among them who could effectively suppress the other.

"Understood," Shen Mingxiao and Mu Nujiao said simultaneously, nodding.

Mo Fan, meanwhile, was still intently watching his "first wife" Mu Ningxue...

At first, Mo Fan had genuinely been puzzled by Mu Ningxue's supposedly unrivaled talent. He hadn't understood why the people of Bo City had worshipped her so. But now that he'd encountered elemental Spirit Seeds himself, he suddenly grasped just how terrifying she truly was.

*Her ice is probably far more than just a natural Spirit Seed.* Just look — the ground had frozen over with frost the moment she stepped onto the field...

She hadn't cast a single spell, hadn't even deliberately released her Ice Element aura. She had simply walked forward — like an empress of the frozen sky, leaving a domain of ice and snow wherever she passed.

In all his time at Pearl Academy, Mo Fan had never encountered a Mage with a gift like hers.

"Shall I take the lead?" Lu Zhenghe asked Mu Ningxue with a somewhat ingratiating air.

Mu Ningxue gave a slight nod. Her frost-clear eyes swept briefly across the opposing team, pausing for a moment on Mo Fan, a thoughtful look crossing her face.

Seeing Mo Fan among the exchange students had been a genuine surprise. Recalling the astonishing scene of Mo Fan defeating Yu'ang, she found herself wondering what level of cultivation he had reached during his time at Pearl Academy.

More importantly, Mu Ningxue knew what Mo Fan was capable of. She could not allow her team to lose to Pearl Academy — even a draw would be a profound disgrace for the Imperial Capital Magic Academy.

"Ice Vine!"

Mu Ningxue stepped back slightly. Crystalline shards of icy light slid across her pale palms.

She pursed her enchanting lips and breathed out, soft as a whisper.

Frost danced through the air. Shimmering crystalline powder spread across the entire arena, and a bone-deep chill swept away all warmth in an instant.

The ground had been lightly coated with frost before — like a thin veil of ice. But the moment Mu Ningxue unleashed Ice Vine, that frost transformed into something alive: creeping, spreading across every surface like dense ivy...

What had been a sandy, pebble-strewn arena a moment ago was now a vast expanse of rumpled, snow-white ice. Even the water Barrier encasing the entire battlefield showed signs of beginning to freeze.

The abrupt transformation wiped the composure from every watching face.

"Is... is this an Ice Domain?" On the sidelines, Teachers Gu Han, Qiu Yuhua, and Ah Li Jing stood there, dumbfounded.

They had never heard of an elemental Spirit Seed below the advanced tier or Soul Grade possessing a domain.

Domain abilities generally only emerged at the advanced level — the most iconic example being the Shadow Element's Night Sovereign's Dominion. Night Sovereign's Dominion suppressed all magical elements except dark creatures and dark-type abilities, while dramatically amplifying Shadow Element power. Mo Fan had experienced its effects firsthand.

Other elements had their own domain abilities as well.

But elemental Domains were normally the exclusive province of Soul Grade Spirit Seeds. For Mu Ningxue — an Intermediate-Level Mage — to possess one made her all but invincible among peers at the same rank!!

"Damn it," Song Xia said, her face draining of color. "Her domain will completely shut me down."

Her flames were only Ordinary Fire. Against a higher-grade spirit ice, they were outmatched from the start — that much was certain.

And now this woman's Spirit Grade ice came with the even more staggering addition of a Domain. Her Fire Element abilities would be suppressed once again. There was simply no point in fighting.

Song Xia refused to accept it. Gritting her teeth, she was the first to begin Controlling her Fire Element Star Chart.

Her Fire Element cultivation was not far behind Mo Fan's, and she formed the Star Chart with practiced speed. But when she was only halfway through, bone-piercing cold crept up from beneath her feet. Struck by the frost backlash all at once, the connection to her next Star Mote snapped.

Failed!

The Star Chart had collapsed!!

Song Xia's expression darkened further. After practicing it no fewer than a thousand times, how could she possibly fail to form a Star Chart? To her, this was an unbearable humiliation.

"The rest of us should be unaffected," Shen Mingxiao said. He was clearly fighting someone with a Domain for the first time — his expression was as grave as it could be.

Mu Nujiao's brow furrowed as well. Her Plant Element and Wind Element were indeed unaffected by the Ice Element Domain, but Song Xia — their strongest combatant — had been neutralized before the battle had even begun. A bad feeling settled in her chest.

Regardless, they couldn't just retreat.

The Domain only suppressed the Fire Element. The original plan had been to let Song Xia hold Mu Ningxue down while the others dealt with the rest of her team, then combine forces to finish her off...

But now it was clear they would have to strike her down first — together. And there was no telling whether the Ice Element Domain's suppression was limited to Fire Element alone.