Chapter 22 - Battle at the Sea God Lake

Author's Note: I had previously written that the height of the MC was 1.70m when he was 8 years old. This was my mistake and I apologize for that. He was actually 1,60m in that chapter and I've already fixed that.

I'm also updating mc stats constantly in the auxiliary chapters, so take a look if you want to see all your skills and progress.

Now, let's go to the chapter!

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Mo Xie arrived at the dorm and waited at the entrance for a while until Yuhao arrived with Wang Dong.

When he spotted them, Mo Xie raised a hand in greeting. "Yuhao, you're late. I'm almost tired of waiting for you!"

"Mo Xie, your fight was amazing! Thanks for helping me out earlier." Yuhao thanked him and asked, "Why were you waiting for me outside?"

"I have a deal for you." Mo Xie replied blankly.

"A deal?" Yuhao asked, confused.

Mo Xie nodded and took out the bottle he had received from Xu Sanshi. "Inside this bottle is a pill called Mysterious Water Pill that can improve your body, meridians and spiritual power. If you take it, it can greatly improve your talent and it will be as if your body has been reborn."

Yuhao was stunned and his eyes sparkled with the effects of this pill. However he asked hesitantly, "Mo Xie, if this pill is so good, why don't you take it?"

"It will have no effect on me if I take it. My body is different from other people, so the effects of the pill would be lost on me. However, I believe it will have the best effect on you given your condition." Mo Xie replied calmly.

"What he said is true Yuhao." Wang Dong confirmed and continued: "This pill is very expensive and precious, made with the blood of various water-type spiritual beasts and various rare herbs. Just one pill like this is worth at least 10.000 gold coins."

Yuhao looked at the bottle containing the pill and then at Mo Xie again and hesitated.

Seeing his hesitation, Mo Xie said, "I won't force you. My deal is very simple. One day I will ask you a favor and you will help me with it. I can promise you that you won't be forced to do anything bad and won't cause you any problems or harm. Now it's up to you to decide whether to accept the deal or not." Mo Xie really wished Yuhao would agree. Then he would be able to study the 1,000,000-year-old ring that Yuhao has in the future, which could benefit him immensely.

Yuhao spent a good 5 minutes thinking before agreeing under Wang Dong's strong encouragement.

"Then I accept your offer. I don't know if I can help you, but I'll do my best." Yuhao said with a smile.

"You definitely can!" Mo Xie said happily and continued: "Okay, eat the pill before going to bed. Absorb all its effects for the next 15 days by physical training and meditation and you will get the best results. Tomorrow, when you wake up, you will have a big surprise."

Mo Xie chatted with Yuhao and Wang Dong a little longer before heading back to his room. He thanked Lei Zhi for feeding Xiao Hei before cleaning himself up again and starting to meditate.

The next day.

Mo Xie got up before sunrise and ate something from his storage before heading to the Sea God Lake. He wanted to train with his sword before going to class.

Mo Xie walked across the lake as he brandished his sword. Each step slightly froze the surface of the water, allowing him not to fall into the lake.

His domain spread with him at the center and every sword skill was demonstrated to extreme perfection. However, Mo Xie had a feeling that something wasn't right. Though his domain was powerful, in Old Du's memoirs it was relatively common among swordsmen.

If Mo Xie wanted to create a unique domain, he should modify it according to his comprehension. Just like that, he would create something of his own.

'The Yin-Yang Sword allowed me to understand how to use two opposing forces together, molding them into an even more powerful force.'

'Ice and Fire… Yin and Yang…' Mo Xie was lost in his thoughts, but his movements didn't slow down.

'My sword intent is pure. Because it is pure, it can merge with other elements and create a new type of intention such as the Fire Sword Intent and the Ice Sword Intent. This is only possible because I have a good understanding of these elements.' Mo Xie thought inwardly.

"I must find a way to fuse these elements into my domain, but if I just use them with my body, my spiritual power won't be able to maintain the domain for long in my state." Mo Xie continued to search his memories for ways to solve this problem.

Suddenly Mo Xie's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Arrays! If I can build arrays in my domain, I will not only be able to improve his power but also create something new." In his memories, Mo Xie saw that it was an extremely difficult task, as it was necessary not only to be proficient in arrays, but also to have a high capacity of mental power to create them. He would be using his domain as metal, his spiritual power as support and his mental power as a carving knife.

"It's hard, but if I make it, my combat power will improve by several folds. However, I also need even finer control of my power than my current one. Otherwise, I won't be able to create arrays fast enough in battle. They must be created the moment I release my domain." With that in mind, Mo Xie started to separate several arrays that could be used, not just those of ice and fire, but those of other elements as well. Mo Xie wanted to create a sword domain that had all the elements in the future.

It would be similar to his Heavenly Domain in that aspect, but its potential could be even greater.

'But if I merged them, then…' Mo Xie didn't dare think more. It was simply too frightening.

At that moment, Mo Xie thought he felt something and looked towards the inner courtyard of the academy. With his excellent eyesight, he saw a red dot appear in the mist above the lake.

As the point approached, Mo Xie saw a slender figure dressed in red clothing. Her hair was blood red and she wore a mask showing only her eyes with a strange blood red color. Her aura looked like that of a crazed beast. Just by the flames this figure emitted, Mo Xie recognized it right away.

'This is Ma Xiaotao. I didn't remember that today would be the day she would be controlled by her evil flames.' Mo Xie thought a little amused. He saw this situation as a perfect chance to test the limits of his strength. Ma Xiaotao should be close to Rank 70 at this point.

Mo Xie ran towards her and activated his domain once more when he was 10 meters away from Ma Xiaotao. A gray area spread out and enveloped Ma Xiaotao who had already released her spiritual rings. 2 yellow, 2 purple and 2 black rings appeared and spun around her.

Her first three rings glowed and two wings of fire appeared on her back. The fire element engulfed her and a jet of fire was launched from her mouth towards Mo Xie.

Mo Xie smiled and dodged to the left with an extremely fast movement and made a cut with his sword that was already covered with his sword intent and ultimate ice.

A sword ray was launched towards Ma Xiaotao who used her flames to block his attack. However, having lost all rationality, Ma Xiaotao did not put up many defenses and ended up underestimating this sword.

This was the same move that Mo Xie used in his fight against Xu Sanshi. The moment the attack hit Ma Xiaotao, she felt her body freeze before an explosion happened. Mo Xie didn't even need to use a fire attack, as Ma Xiaotao's flames would act as a catalyst.

Ma Xiaotao backed up a few meters and Mo Xie got in front of her. Using his elemental suppression, Mo Xie cut Ma Xiaotao several times, slowing her movements. However, he failed to deliver a decisive blow. Although his body had practically reached the standard of a Soul Emperor, his spiritual power was still too low to fight Ma Xiaotao who was already close to becoming a Soul Sage.

Suddenly, Ma Xiaotao's fourth ring came up. Mo Xie felt a chill, entering a slow-motion state. Before his eyes, he could see his opponent's movements and react faster than usual. Mo Xie felt the fire elements gather at his feet and he backed up ten meters. Three seconds later, a 5 meter pillar of fire appeared where he had previously been.

"It's not easy…" Mo Xie muttered. A bead of sweat broke out on his face.

Mo Xie condensed his sword intent into 10 swords in his domain and cast them at Ma Xiaotao. He approached again from his side and lashed out with his sword again. However, his sword now carried a mental coercion. It was a perfect fusion of physical attack, mental power and spiritual power.

"Blazing Body Freezing Mind Slash!"

Ma Xiaotao felt her mind freeze, and the flames in her body seemed to submit to the new flames that invaded her body when she used her flame-covered hand to block the attack.

For a moment his eyes seemed to lose focus. Mo Xie didn't miss this opportunity and used his mental shock and hit her a few more times with his ice sword intent. He also condensed some more swords from his intent in his domain and threw them at Ma Xiaotao. He showed no mercy.

Ma Xiaotao felt her mind being hammered before the other attacks arrived. Each of them damaged her natural shield of spiritual power until it shattered into pieces. Mo Xie's Ultimate Ice completely suppressed its flames and the swords condensed by his sword intent penetrated Ma Xiaotao's flesh causing her to cough up blood.

With her movements restricted, Mo Xie placed a hand on her shoulder and transferred his ultimate fire and ice to control Ma Xiaotao's evil flames. Her body trembled at first, but it soon calmed down and she passed out in Mo Xie's arms.

Mo Xie breathed a sigh of relief and deactivated his domain. He carried Ma Xiaotao to the edge of the Sea God Lake and waited for the teachers to arrive.

"I wouldn't be her opponent if she didn't lose control of her mind to the evil flames…" Mo Xie muttered. In his current state, he deduced that he could fight most Soul Kings and win with a bit of trouble, but it was still very difficult to win against Soul Emperors.

As he thought, some figures appeared towards the inner courtyard and arrived where he was. One of them was the teacher who used his martial soul to help his class recover. If Mo Xie remembers correctly, he is called Professor Li and his martial soul was a superior plant-type martial soul, the Tree of Life.