The night in Ping'an Village was one of turbulent upheaval. Fierce explosions echoed without end. Forget people; even the moon had long since hidden behind the clouds. Many creatures in the surrounding forest became collateral damage, dying silently in droves.

There was no comparison between a Rank Two and a Rank Three, but somehow, miraculously, the battle between the Snake and the Flood Dragon had reached an intense stalemate. They were evenly matched.

The ground was torn up, layer by layer, as if a volcano had erupted, spewing magma.

An unknown amount of time passed.

"This is impossible..."

The Snake Flood Dragon, wreathed in a black aura, let out a deep, hoarse cry from high above. It then collided with an immense force, triggering a tremor that shook the earth and sent sand and stones flying.

The Snake Flood Dragon was covered in wounds, dripping with blood. In the distance, a giant Snake Head hovered arrogantly in the air, its pupils radiating an uncanny, cold glint.

'So this is all a Rank Three Creature amounts to.'

After the prolonged battle, Tu Xiao'an discovered that the Rank Three Snake Flood Dragon's power wasn't as great as he had anticipated.

'Could it be that I'm more badass than I even imagined?'

The Snake Flood Dragon crushed a row of houses, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood. Each drop was a perfect, jewel-like crimson.

Celestial Master Zhang felt an unprecedented sense of shame. As a Snake Flood Dragon, he had failed to defeat a mere Rank Two Snake Spirit.

"If I hadn't been seriously injured recently and wasn't limited to fifty percent of my strength, I would have torn you to shreds long ago!"

Gazing at the Purple Gold Snake standing proudly in the air, Celestial Master Zhang spoke, his voice full of resentment.

'Seriously injured?'

Tu Xiao'an chuckled. "Victors are kings, losers are scum. Stop making excuses, Celestial Master. Let's settle this once and for all."

The Purple Gold Snake manifested two phenomena, Thunder and Flame. Its power surged, and it lunged toward the Snake Flood Dragon like a tiger roaring at the heavens, like an eagle striking from the sky.

"A starved camel is still bigger than a horse! You dare act so insolently before your ancestor, you mere Snake Spirit? Die!"

The black-wreathed Snake Flood Dragon began to shimmer all over, coiling like a great dragon. An incredibly terrifying, world-destroying aura erupted from it—the true aura of a Rank Three Creature.

It was enough to suppress everything.

The Snake and the Flood Dragon charged one another again, clashing with sky-shattering, immense power.

From a distance, it looked as if two dragons were locked in combat, unleashing an apocalyptic terror. Two columns of light blazed like twin suns, their brilliant radiance blinding. A massive torrent of Energy erupted forth like a flash flood.

BOOM... BOOM... BOOM...

A sky-shattering roar erupted. In an instant, the world seemed to drain of color as sand and stones were whipped into the air.

Both manifested at thirty meters in length, coiled so tightly it was impossible to tell Snake from Flood Dragon. Both Snake Scales and Flood Dragon Scales were torn and bloodied—a complete wreck.

"I, Tu Xiao'an, this Snake, will slay a Dragon today!"

The Purple Gold Snake's voice was filled with excited fervor. "Who says a snake is inferior to a Dragon? Who says a snake must become a Dragon?"

"Celestial Master, I will show you that achieving enlightenment as a snake is no weaker than a Flood Dragon Transformation!"

Tu Xiao'an's physical strength was no less than the Snake Flood Dragon's. He was fearless.

"Nonsense! I have been in Cultivation for five hundred years! My Flood Dragon Transformation into a true Dragon is inevitable! I will not be defeated!"

The Snake and the Flood Dragon tore at each other's bodies in a frenzy. Flesh and blood flew everywhere. The scene was horrifically gruesome, as if both had gone mad.

But just as they reached the critical moment that would decide the victor, a new presence arrived. In this deep, terrifying night, where no other creature dared approach, a flash of white streaked across the distant sky, swift as a fleeting shadow.

Incredibly, a woman in white appeared above the brawling Snake and Flood Dragon. As radiant as the morning sun piercing through dawn clouds, she stood poised between the two behemoths.

She was peerlessly elegant and as cold as Frost, a deep blue aura swirling around her.

'It's her...'

Tu Xiao'an caught sight of her from the corner of his eye and was stunned.

In the very next instant, a terrible premonition washed over him.

"Thousand Mile Ice Seal!"

The moment the white-robed woman appeared, she spoke in a crisp, pleasant voice, but Killing Intent radiated from her. A power colder than the dead of winter swept over everything.

In an instant, something bizarre occurred. The inextricably tangled Snake and Flood Dragon were abruptly frozen into a giant ice sculpture. The ground around them began to freeze at a visible rate, with a wave of ice spreading in all directions, turning everything it touched solid.

In just a few moments, the entirety of Ping'an Village was frozen solid, as if time itself had stopped.

Not a single living thing remained.

The woman in white stood proudly in the air, her peerless figure exuding an otherworldly elegance with every move. A smile as cold as the dead of winter appeared on her beautiful face—a sinister, chilling smile.

Her beautiful eyes looked down from on high, admiring her masterpiece.

'With a single move, she had frozen the entire area. Best of all, she had trapped both a Rank Three Snake Flood Dragon and a Snake Spirit within her ice.'

'What a magnificent feat this was.'

'The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.'

She was none other than Leng Shuang, Group Two Leader of the Demon Management Bureau.

"Giggle... giggle..."

Leng Shuang laughed in the air, her voice like silver bells—crisp, pleasant, and full of delight.

"'A snake is just a snake. Even one that has gained sentience isn't that clever. In the end, you were just used by me.'"

'It was a dog-eat-dog fight, and she was the one who reaped all the rewards.'

"Now, let me put an end to all this..."

"Ice Shattering!"

A cold, murderous light flickered in her beautiful eyes as she pressed a delicate hand downward.

BANG... BANG... BANG.....

Instantly, a shattering sound dominated the area, as if a colossal piece of glass had fallen from the sky and smashed to smithereens on the ground.

Everything that had been frozen was pulverized. The houses shattered into pieces, as fragile as if they were made of paper.

Immediately after, two muffled, miserable screams shot toward the heavens.

The entwined Snake and Flood Dragon were finally separated, falling to the ground like kites with their strings cut. They were covered in wounds, gushing blood.

If their bodies hadn't been so incredibly tough, they would have been shattered along with everything else.

A moment later, Leng Shuang declared domineeringly, "One snake, one Flood Dragon. You are both my spoils of war, my prey!"

The thirty-meter Snake Flood Dragon lay on the ground, half-dead and grievously injured, unable to get up.

The Purple Gold Snake was in no better shape. It lay motionless, blood streaming from its wounds, without a single trace of an aura.

"Snake Spirit, you're even stronger than I anticipated. Much stronger. I really should thank you."

Leng Shuang cast an indifferent gaze upon the Purple Gold Snake. She truly hadn't expected this Snake Spirit to be able to fight a Rank Three Snake Flood Dragon to a standstill. In fact, if the fight had continued, it even seemed like he had a chance of winning.

It was unimaginable. A Rank Two creature with a chance of defeating a Rank Three... he was simply a monster.

'Too bad. In the end, she was the victor. Why were humans able to stand at the Peak of this world, controlling everything, dominating all?'

'Not only because of their immense power, but also because of their extraordinary intelligence.'

'And sometimes, intelligence is even more important than strength.'

"You've finally shown yourself. I, the Snake King, have been waiting for you for a long time."

Suddenly, the motionless Purple Gold Snake spoke in a mocking tone. Instantly, Killing Intent erupted like a gale, flooding the area with a deadly, cold aura.