Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Hugh's attack completely burned away Waldy's soul.

Hugh stood there catching his breath. The moment the elemental power surged from his body, he could feel his meridians being burned. The burning sensation was different from the temperature of the black flames; it felt like someone was filling his blood vessels with molten lead.

His knees buckled again, but this time he didn't fall. Instead, he used black flames to condense a short staff in his palm, the tip of which barely supported his body against the ground.

He looked down at his hands.

The icy blue light had spread from his wrist to his elbow. As the light flowed under his skin, he could feel a chill penetrating from his bones. His fingers became somewhat stiff in this chill, and his joints made a slight clicking sound when he bent them.

He knew what this meant.

The elements were spiraling out of control faster than he had anticipated.

He probably has about half a day left.

Half a day later, he will either be completely devoured by the elemental power, becoming an unstable body made of pure energy, and then explode at some point, or he will find a way to stabilize the elemental turmoil within his body before that happens.

Neither option is very realistic.

There was nothing in the frigid land that could help him stabilize the elemental surge, and the competition wouldn't give him several days to slowly adjust his condition.

So Hugh made a very simple decision.

Before the elements spiraled out of control, everyone who needed to be beaten was beaten.

He put away his short staff and started walking towards the mountains.

The safe zone continued to shrink over the next few hours.

The rules of the Void Tree do not allow anyone to stay in the same place for a long time. Unhealthy blue mist surges in from all directions, cutting the entire snowfield into a constantly shrinking circular area.

All those who were still alive were forcibly driven towards the center by this force.

The winds in this frigid land are getting stronger, and the participants driven by the poison circle are converging on the same place from all directions.

The mountains in the core area of ​​the extremely cold region.

The mountain range stretches across the center of the snowfield, extending for hundreds of kilometers from east to west. The summit of its highest peak is shrouded in clouds and mist year-round. Looking up from the ground, one can only see the gray-white clouds churning at the peak. Occasionally, a gap opens in the clouds, revealing the dark brown rock walls below and the icicles hanging from them.

Lin Yi arrived at the outer edge of the mountain range in the evening.

He didn't rush into the mountains.

He stood at the edge of a low pine forest on the outskirts of the mountains, watching the dense trees sway in the wind, the icicles hanging from the pine needles colliding with each other and making a crisp tinkling sound.

Just as Lin Yi was observing, a familiar voice suddenly entered his ears.

Lin Yi looked down and found that Bubuwang had appeared at his feet at some point, which meant that Su Xiao should be nearby.

Bubuwang squatted at his feet, twitched its nose a few times towards the mountains, then raised its head to look at Lin Yi, letting out a low whimper.

Lin Yi understood what it meant.

Su Xiao was just a short distance ahead.

From what I can tell, there are two people ahead, not one.

Lin Yi squatted down and reached out to rub Bubuwang's head.

Bubuwang's ears were pressed back, its eyes were narrowed into slits, and its tongue dangled from the corner of its mouth, looking quite content.

"You wait here," Lin Yi said.

Bubuwang's ears perked up immediately, and it made a series of whimpering sounds, as if in protest.

"You stay here. I'll call you if I need you."

The light inside the pine forest was much dimmer than outside. The dense branches wove together overhead into an impenetrable net, cutting the hazy sunlight into countless tiny spots of light that dappled the ground.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of pine needles, which were covered with freshly fallen snow. When you stepped on them, they made a rustling sound that was particularly clear in the quiet pine forest.

Lin Yi's footsteps were very light, almost making no sound.

His body moved among the pine trees, each step landing between the exposed roots, avoiding the creaking twigs and pebbles.

After walking for about ten minutes, we reached the end of the pine forest.

Lin Yi stood in the shade of the last row of pine trees, looking at the open area in front of him.

It was a valley nestled in the mountains, with steep cliffs on both sides. In the middle of the valley flowed a frozen stream, the ice surface gleaming with a dull, silvery-white luster in the hazy light.

Two people were standing on the ice of the stream.

Su Xiao and Hugh.

Su Xiao stood in the middle of the stream, his right hand on the hilt of the Dragon Slayer Sword. The blade of the Dragon Slayer Sword emitted an extremely faint hum in its sheath, like a beast lurking in the shadows growling.

Hugh stood upstream of the stream, about twenty steps away from Su Xiao. His right hand hung at his side, a wisp of black flame burning silently at his fingertips. The tip of the flame twisted in the air, raising the surrounding temperature to an abnormal level.

The ice beneath his feet had begun to melt, and the meltwater flowed down the cracks in the ice, forming a thin stream beneath the ice.

The two people's auras were steadily rising.

Lin Yi could sense the change in that aura. It wasn't a simple matter of releasing or restraining it, but rather like two sharpened blades aiming at each other in the darkness. The killing intent hadn't been released yet, but the tension of their confrontation had already filled the entire valley.

If there were no interference between them, the two sides would likely fight to the death here.

Su Xiao's Dragon Slayer Flash and Azure Steel Shadow Power clashed with Hugh's black flames and spatial magic. The battle between these two would not last long, not because of the large difference in their strength, but because their fighting styles determined that the outcome would be decided in a very short time.

Once Su Xiao's blade is drawn, it will not stop. In particular, the power of the Azure Steel Shadow is a nemesis to spellcasters. Once Su Xiao strikes, Hugh will basically lose half his life.

Although Hugh's black flames were powerful, his body was that of a spellcaster, and close combat was not his forte. Once Su Xiao got close, he would have a hard time protecting himself from the continuous attacks of Dragon Slayer Flash.

However, Hugh's spatial magic gave him a certain degree of self-defense ability in close combat. His ability to teleport allowed him to leave his original position just before Su Xiao's attack arrived, and then reappear behind Su Xiao, launching an attack from a blind spot with black flames.

The key to victory or defeat lies in who makes the first mistake.

If Su Xiao misjudges Hugh's teleportation direction, his knife will land in empty space, and that momentary opening will be enough for Hugh to burn a hole in his back with black flames.

If Hughes's teleportation was even a fraction of a second too late, Su Xiao's sword would strike his body before he could cast his spell, and the annihilation effect of the Azure Steel Shadow power would spread throughout his body, rendering him unable to fight in extreme pain.

Just as their auras reached a critical point, Lin Yi emerged from the shadows of the pine forest. Su Xiao and Hugh noticed his presence almost simultaneously.

The rising energy of the two people stopped at the same moment, like two colliding torrents suddenly being cut off by a dam falling from the sky. The abrupt stop made the air in the entire valley tremble.

Su Xiao released his hand from the hilt of the Dragon Slayer Blade, and the humming sound of the blade disappeared in an instant, as if the lurking beast had closed its eyes again.

The black flames at Hugh's fingertips also went out. He pulled his right hand back into his robe, and the melted ice began to freeze again, making a faint cracking sound.

The two men exchanged a glance, trying to ascertain each other's intentions and make sure the other wouldn't attack the moment their attention was diverted.

After confirming the situation, the two silently concealed their auras within their bodies. The overflowing killing intent quickly receded like the receding tide, and the air in the valley returned to calm.

Lin Yi walked to the center of the valley and stood between Su Xiao and Hugh.

His gaze swept over the two of them. Su Xiao looked unchanged, still expressionless, and her robes were not even stained with much blood.

It wasn't because he didn't fight, but because he could kill without getting blood on himself.

Hugh's condition is much worse.

An irregular hole was burned through the back of his robe, revealing skin covered in blisters and burn marks. His left hand trembled slightly, and the icy blue light at his fingertips was more pronounced than it had been a few days ago.

"Are you two going to have a final showdown here?" Lin Yi asked.

Su Xiao did not answer, but his silence itself was an answer.

Hugh finally spoke, his voice much hoarser than before, as if he were speaking through a thick layer of cotton cloth: "I can't wait any longer, my time is running out."

Lin Yi glanced at him but didn't say anything polite.

Just as Lin Yi was about to step forward and greet Su Xiao, a gust of wind swept through the air, so fast that Lin Yi only had time to see a blurry white figure swooping down from above.

Baha's body sprang up from the tree branch and rushed towards the white figure.

“Bach”.

Su Xiao's voice wasn't loud, but Baha's ears twitched. His body twisted suddenly in mid-air, and his outstretched black wings folded at an extremely unnatural angle, creating air resistance that instantly reduced his speed.

Baha circled once in mid-air, his dark red eyes fixed on the white figure, his gaze full of vigilance.

But his body obediently flew back to above Su Xiao's shoulder.

The white figure slowed down as Su Xiao spoke, transforming from a blurry white streak into a clear human silhouette. It turned slightly at a height of two or three meters above the ground, and its feet landed on the snow with almost no sound.

A white robe, short silver hair, a slender sword at his waist, and a face that always seemed to have a polite smile.

Quan Yu.

Lin Yi observed how Quan Yu landed and formed a general judgment in his mind.

This person has excellent control over his body. There are no unnecessary movements between the high-speed dive and the moment he lands, and his center of gravity remains in a very stable state. This shows that he is not easily disrupted by external forces in combat.

After landing, Quan Yu first looked at Su Xiao, then at Hugh, her gaze lingered on Lin Yi for a moment, then she looked away and nodded to everyone.

"Everyone's here." Quan Yu's tone was very ordinary, like a passerby casually greeting an acquaintance they bumped into on the street.

But the position of his body was very unusual.

He stood at the entrance to the valley, about fifteen steps away from Su Xiao, about twenty steps away from Hugh, and about ten steps away from Lin Yi.

This position wasn't chosen randomly—he has enough distance to react if attacked by anyone; and if attacked simultaneously from different directions, he can use the valley entrance behind him as an escape route.

Su Xiao, Lin Yi, Hugh, Quan Yu.

The remaining four people in the competition finally reunited.

When they gathered last time, they could still test each other, chatting and laughing as they discussed who would come in first and who would come in second, like a group of old friends toasting and drinking at a dinner table.

But this time it's different.

This is the last gathering after the shrinking of the poison circle, the final showdown under the rules of the Void Tree, and a life-or-death situation that everyone has to face after exhausting all their trump cards.

There will be no more of that childish politeness and probing.

They will fight to the death.

The atmosphere in the valley became even more tense after Quan Yu appeared. This tension was not due to the overflow of killing intent; on the contrary, everyone was deliberately suppressing their auras and trying to avoid revealing too much information before the battle began.

But this suppression is itself a silent confrontation.

It's like several drawn swords pressed against their sheaths; as soon as someone lets go, the blades will spring out, and everyone will unleash their deadly moves at the same time.

No one wants to be the one to let go first.

Snowflakes drifted down from the air and piled up between the four people, drawing blurry lines on the ground between them.

Quan Yu's gaze fell on Hugh, and she looked him up and down before she couldn't help but speak.

"Who hit you?"

His tone carried a hint of curiosity, not sarcasm, but a genuine desire to know who could have beaten Hughes to such a state.

Hugh looked down at his tattered robes, then at the icy blue light emanating from his left elbow, and forced a bitter smile.

"The one played by Mondstadt, the one played by the Twins, the one played by Volodymyr. Which version do you want to hear?"

"Waldy?" Quan Yu raised an eyebrow. "You killed him?"

“It was burned,” Hugh corrected. “The soul was burned away.”

"Oh, isn't this Lord Hugh from Arcane Eternal Star?"

Bach's voice wasn't loud, but every word was pronounced very clearly, like sugar-coated poison pills that sounded sweet but could choke you to death once you swallowed them.

"How did you get beaten up like this? Who burned that hole in the back of your robe? Did you burn yourself with your own fire? Your elements are out of control? That's really interesting. A spellcaster from the Arcane Eternal Star can't even control the elements within his own body, yet he still has the nerve to come out and fight with others."

Hugh looked up at Baha, who was perched on a tree branch, his face expressionless except for a slight twitch at the corner of his eye.

Baha scratched at the branch with his claws, making a screeching sound, and continued, "Your hands are practically turning into icicles. In a few hours, you'll be frozen solid, won't you? We'll have to collect your corpse then, what a hassle. Why don't you just quit now and save everyone the trouble?" (End of Chapter)