Chapter 435: Running Away

White afterimages whistled, and one stream of light after another fell from the firmament.

Finally...

"I concede!"

As Xiao Han's calm words fell, the entire venue was in an uproar, and everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the composed figure in white standing in the center of the battle platform.

"Why did he concede?"

A thick sense of doubt rose in everyone's hearts; judging by Xiao Han's aura, although it appeared slightly withered, it was generally stable, and there was no such thing as him being unable to continue the fight.

Or rather, relying on the strength he had shown in crushing all the contestants this time single-handedly and rampaging through the field, the remaining people were simply not worth worrying about.

And when they refocused their attention on the battle platform, they all sighed in admiration, and a realization dawned upon them.

Nineteen people!

In other words, adding Xiao Han who had walked off the ring, there were only twenty contestants left standing.

There were only twenty spots for the Heavenly Frost Ice Spring, so one could imagine what Xiao Han's goal was.

"Everyone in this Ice God Festival is just a foil for him!"

Someone couldn't help but exclaim, and this sentence made others agree one after another.

The group of geniuses from the Ice Spirit Clan, who should have been the protagonists, were completely incomparable in front of this powerhouse from a lower plane who had suddenly popped up; instead, they became stepping stones for his fame.

Xiao Han had undoubtedly become a powerhouse in the Da Qian World now; when he broke through to that legendary level of Heavenly Sovereign many years later and became famous throughout the Da Qian World, this debut battle of the Ice God Festival, in the eyes of the world, would surely be passed down forever.

Bing Linyan and the others of the Lin Branch, who had been trembling under the stage an hour ago, now had red eyes, and it seemed as if hot tears were overflowing from the corners of their eyes.

Of course, only the Lin Branch was like this; all the other Ice Spirit Clan members looked at Xiao Han askance.

Xiao Han's strength was indeed deeply rooted in people's hearts, but he had climbed up by stepping on the reputations of the entire Ice Spirit Clan's geniuses. If nothing went wrong, once today's battle spread, the Ice Spirit Clan would surely lose face, and the others naturally had no good expressions.

Arriving at the Lin Branch, Xiao Han, surrounded by the ecstatic crowd, had no change in expression; instead, he called Bing Linyan and the other high-ranking members to a secluded place.

"I have completed today's agreement, and I have come specifically to bid farewell to the Clan Leader."

Xiao Han said with a solemn expression, cupping his fists.

Bidding farewell?

"Is Your Excellency Xiao Han in such a hurry? The Heavenly Frost Ice Spring still requires three days before one can enter."

Bing Linyan asked curiously.

The qualifications for the Heavenly Frost Ice Spring did not belong only to the winner; the others of the Lin Branch were the same.

He only cared that Xiao Han, who held great curiosity for the Heavenly Frost Ice Spring, had actually given up the opportunity to personally experience its profoundness.

"Clan Leader Bing, I caused a big scene today; if I don't leave now, will I be able to leave later?"

Xiao Han just said with a slight playfulness, clearly having a profound understanding of the trouble he had caused.

Only after arriving at the Ice Spirit Clan did he realize that, apart from that Ancestor of the Ice Spirit Clan who was in seclusion and ignored worldly affairs, the other party's Clan Leader was also a Heavenly Sovereign.

Although he did not know why the other party had not appeared at the venue of the grand Ice God Festival, Xiao Han did not have the guts to challenge an Ice Spirit Clan Heavenly Sovereign in the heartland of the Ice Spirit Clan.

"I have no more energy left, so I can only wish the Lin Branch good luck."

"In my opinion..."

"You all can only pray for your own good fortune."

Xiao Han's tone was somewhat helpless. In his view, his seizing of the Heavenly Frost Ice Spring spots this time was merely giving the dying Lin Branch a forced breath of life; under the combined suppression of the entire Ice Spirit Clan, it would be difficult for the Lin Branch to hold on for too long.

Hearing these words from Xiao Han, which were so rational they were almost cruel, Bing Linyan also woke up from the joy of Xiao Han's victory, and finally could only say dejectedly:

"For now, we can only take it one step at a time."

Things had reached this point, and he was at his wit's end. The Lin Branch existed by attaching itself to the Ice Spirit Clan; facing the will of the entire Ice Spirit Clan, it was like a lonely boat under the tide, precarious in the wind and rain.

"Then I wish Your Excellency Xiao Han a smooth journey."

As he spoke, he took out a Storage Bracelet, his old face flushing red; the few things in the bracelet were not something he could bring himself to offer in the past.

"This is the greatest reward my Lin Branch can give; I hope Your Excellency Xiao Han will not mind."

"If my Lin Branch survives this great disaster in the future, there will surely be a generous reward."

Xiao Han accepted it without hesitation, and then, under the gaze of Bing Linyan, he turned into a gust of wind and snow and escaped into the void. When others eagerly searched for this place, Xiao Han's figure was already gone.

Looking back for the last time at that vast and boundless world of ice and snow behind him, Xiao Han revealed a look of envy. The Ice Spirit Continent should be the continent with the most abundant ice-attribute spiritual energy in the entire Da Qian World. After this parting, he did not know how long it would take to find such a good place.

"Forget it, I can just transform another continent in the future."

Xiao Han threw everything behind him with a carefree attitude. He made up his mind that this time he must go into seclusion on the Tianye Continent until the moment his strength returned to its peak.

A phantom image appeared, and his figure disappeared again.

Ten days later.

Hearing the news of the Ice God Festival, the Ice Spirit Clan Chief, who had returned to the Ice Spirit Clan from the outside world in a fit of rage, returned to the clan grounds with a gloomy face.

After an emergency assembly, the entire Ice Spirit Clan's three main branches and over twenty sub-branches were all in attendance.

"Good! You all have really brought honor to this Clan Chief!"

Although the Ice Spirit Clan Chief was smiling while speaking, the tone and the gritted-teeth expression made people afraid to even breathe loudly, and the atmosphere in the hall was almost about to solidify into substance.

Seeming to have expected the silence of the clansmen, the Ice Spirit Clan Chief cast his gaze toward the main branch representative who was keeping his head down and saying nothing, his fingers lifting slightly.

"Speak, who modified the rules of the Ice God Festival."

Hearing this, the main branch representative couldn't help but tremble, knowing that something had to be sacrificed this time.

Although they dared to be so unscrupulous because they had received certain hints, was this something that could be said openly?

As a Clan Chief, one could show favoritism or distance toward certain clansmen, but one absolutely could not allow the blatant destruction of the rules that the Ice Spirit Clan had followed for countless years.

This time, it was purely the juniors below who had lost their minds and acted too arrogantly, which was why they had invited this disaster.

Regarding this, the Ice Spirit Clan Chief also had a massive headache; turning a one-on-one ring into a brawl, he really couldn't believe these people were capable of such a thing.

Winning is not honorable, the key is...

You actually lost?!!

Furthermore, this method exposed the suppression of the Lin Branch to the public; how will the world view their Ice Spirit Clan now?

If that traitor from back then is drawn here again, the current Ice Spirit Clan will not be able to stop them.

The "furious" Ice Spirit Clan Leader executed clan rules on the spot against the Ice Spirit Clan Elder who modified the rules, declaring the matter closed.

Not only that, he was even amiable toward the Lin Branch Clan Leader Bing Linyan, explaining that he had been completely unaware; the latter was flattered and hurriedly expressed his obedience to the Clan Leader's instructions, though what both sides were actually thinking, that is unknown.

"Linyan, I wonder where your Lin Branch invited that expert from?"

"You didn't even keep them in the Ice Spirit Clan to sit for a while, so that this Clan Leader could entertain that hero!"

After the pleasantries came the reveal of the true intent; Bing Linyan's heart skipped a beat, and seeing the Ice Spirit Clan Leader's warm expression, he forced a smile and said:

"Reporting to the Clan Leader, the esteemed Xiao Han is a powerhouse from a lower plane whom this subordinate invited through the connection of an old friend."

"Now that the agreement has been fulfilled, he said he had gained some insights and has already left; his whereabouts are unknown."

"Is that so..."

The Ice Spirit Clan Leader responded meaningfully and sighed: "That is a pity, to be unable to befriend such a hero."

This exclamation was indeed from the heart; an Earth Sovereign capable of taking on a hundred is definitely a top-tier prodigy of the Da Qian World.

"But he cannot be used by me..."

The turmoil of the Ice God Festival subsided just like that; the Lin Branch was temporarily spared the crisis of dissolution, and the Ice Spirit Clan seemed to return to how it once was.

However, from then on, a group of Ice Spirit Clan powerhouses suddenly became active in the Da Qian World.

(End of this chapter)