Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

Mira stood in the midst of the carnage, the ground beneath her littered with the bodies of the fallen cultivators and beasts. She looked around at the destruction she had wrought and couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.

The Nascent Soul Realm cultivators and Rank 7 beasts had been no match for her, and she had dispatched them with ease. Even if she stood there wide open and let them attack her, she doubted they had the strength to do any real damage. They might be able to leave cuts and bruises, but she hardly considered those as injuries in the first place.

Since they had served their purpose, there was no point in keeping them here any longer. Although these people hadn't committed any major offenses against her, Mira didn't feel bad about killing them.

That was just how the world was; a brutal place that could take your life at any moment.

It was the Soul Transformation Realm cultivators and Rank 8 beasts who posed a real challenge. Whether it be their strength, senses, reaction speed, agility, or anything else, they were in a league of their own.

The sound of approaching footsteps caught her attention, and she turned to see Zhou Yuan, sword in hand, charging toward her.

"You won't get away with this!" he shouted, "I'll make sure you don't! A monster like you cannot exist in this world!"

Mira smirked and glanced around at his so-called teammates. While they were visibly irritated, combined with a mixture of awe, fear, and focus, they were mostly indifferent to the situation around them.

If anything, they were probably glad that they didn't have to wipe out the competition themselves.

'It seems that these guys are here for more than just Elenei at this point.' Mira thought, and she couldn't blame them.

She was a fox woman with nine tails, had a giant golden-winged wolf as a beast companion, and a beautiful winged serpent creature wrapped around her neck. Those, combined with her strength and talent…

'They'd have to be completely brain-dead not to understand that I'm a literal walking treasure trove.' Mira thought but hardly bothered to focus her attention on them.

'They're just opportunistic rats who will scurry away once they realize their efforts in seizing my loot are futile.' She could tell that most of them were just waiting for the right time to steal the kill and bounce. Even as Zhou Yuan was giving out orders, they weren't using their full power. Why would they waste all that energy when the competition was still fierce?

Mira had only shown that she could easily kill those in the Nascent Soul Realm; she hadn't shown anything that made them believe she could kill them too. Thus, they used those people as cannon fodder to study Mira's strengths and weaknesses better.

'Still,' Her smirk widened when she glanced at Zhou Yuan, who was charging at her like a raging bull. 'I did manage to catch one useful opponent through all this.'

Zhou Yuan was the only one who seemed to look past the monetary gains he could obtain by subduing her.

Mira watched as Zhou Yuan charged towards her, his sword held high above his head. His courage impressed her, but she knew it was misplaced.

Zhou Yuan swung his sword down towards her, but Mira moved quickly, dodging the blow and striking out with her scythe. The blade sliced through the air and caught Zhou Yuan across the chest, leaving a deep gash in his flesh.

"Urgh!"

Zhou Yuan grunted in pain and stumbled back, his eyes wide with fear and shock. Mira could see the realization dawning on him that he was outmatched, that he was going to die here in the middle of nowhere.

But even as the fear consumed him, Zhou Yuan refused to give up. The images of his disciples, colleagues and loved ones flashed through his mind.

'I have to protect them! I can't allow this monster out into the world! Who knows what sort of chaos she'll bring!' He gritted his teeth as his eyes went bloodshot.

Not wanting to take any more chances, he began to burn his blood essence to give him an extra boost in strength.

He lunged forward once again, his sword flashing in the sunlight.

Mira parried the blow with her scythe, then struck out with her foot, catching Zhou Yuan in the stomach and sending him flying backward.

Zhou Yuan crashed to the ground, gasping for breath, his sword clattering away from him. Mira stepped forward, her scythe held at the ready. Her eyes were calm and collected as if everything was within her grasp.

"Do… Do you seriously think you can take us all at the same time?" Zhou Yuan scoffed, summoning up all the strength he had in his body. He lunged forward once again, his hands reaching out towards her.

"You underestimate the power of us cultivators too much!"

Mira didn't say anything, as there was no need to, and sidestepped his attack, driving her scythe down toward his neck. The blade sliced through the air, but before it could strike home, a blast of energy slammed into Mira's back, sending her sprawling to the ground.

Mira looked up to see one of the Soul Transformation Realm cultivators standing over her, his hands glowing with Qi. He sneered down at her, his eyes filled with contempt.

"It seems I was worried for nothing. You're not nearly as strong as you made yourself out to be," He said, his voice dripping with arrogance.

Mira acted as if she didn't hear his drivel and brushed the dirt off her clothes. The man's face went stiff when he realized that his attack had barely done any damage to Mira. Despite her clothes being partially torn and a nasty bruise on her back, she was in good condition.

'Damn! This Magma Dragon Body technique is amazing! I really will have to thank Kayda the next time I see her.' Mira exclaimed. She had already sensed that the man was behind her but allowed herself to get hit just to test her durability.

She was confident enough in her strength that she knew she wouldn't die from something like that. And, as long as she wouldn't die, then she was fine.

'Still, there's a price to pay for attacking me in the back,' Mira's eyes narrowed as a cold killing intent leaked out of them.

Mira leaped up into the air with her full power, arriving near the man before he could react, and smashed her golden tail into the side of his head!

*Splat!*

His head and one of his shoulders exploded into a bloody mess, killing him on the spot.

"....!!!"

The surroundings seemed to freeze as everyone stared at the man's headless corpse in shock! That was the first death among those in the Soul Transformation Realm, yet Mira made it look so easy!

One has to remember that he wasn't just some random nobody in the Foundation Realm; he was a full-blown Soul Transformation Realm cultivator! He was probably the head of a family or an Elder at a Sect somewhere, yet he died before he could react!

On this Continent, where the highest powers were people in the Divine Sea Realm, the next highest stage most talented people could reach was the Mortal Transformation Realm. However, even those were rare!

So, the Soul Transformation Realm acted as the peak for what the average person could reach.

However, Mira made it look like she had swatted away an annoying fly! While she was only in the Nascent Soul Realm at that!

Many of the cultivators felt chills run down their spines as they could easily imagine themselves in that man's position. He wasn't that much weaker than them!

"Fuck this. I'm out of here!"

"Me too. If you guys want to die, be my guest, but I'm not sticking around any longer."

"Damn! If I had known that it'd be this much trouble to obtain a treasure, I never would've wasted my time."

Many of the people grumbled and flashed away, leaving the area completely.

Mira wanted to stop them, but she noticed that the Unorthodox Faction guy was also about to leave.

'Rhydian, stop that man!' Mira shouted at her beast companion and kicked the ground with her heel, creating a few earth hands from the ground to latch onto his legs.

'On it!' Rhydian replied and flashed toward the man, stomping on him with her massive body.

Unfortunately, that split-second lapse in judgment allowed the other people to escape. However, Mira wasn't too upset by this as she had no grudge against them.

It's just a pity there are so many cowards among those with such a high level of power.' Mira shook her head with a sigh.

'Or maybe, they value their lives more because they've reached that level.'

Whatever the case may be, Mira didn't care. They were still cowards in her eyes and were unworthy to be her stepping stone.

"RAAAHHH! I'll kill you! Even if I have to blow myself up, I'll be sure to take you down with me, you monstrous demon!" Zhou Yuan's maddened yell reached Mira's ears, and her expression changed drastically.