I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

The pulsation of energy blew the two participants to the sides, sending their bodies down a world of pain as they collided with the craters that rose in the air. Jang had the worst of it.

His body was unable to withstand the cold, and ice had begun to creep up his body, starting from the fist that collided with the sword.

Raph, on the other hand, was quite fine; he stopped himself after crashing through a crater, stomping his foot on the ground to stop the momentum. A cold chill exuded out of his lips as he swung his blade to the side.

"Jang! That was merely the introduction! Be ready!"

Jang's expression was a comical revelation of what went through his mind. It was a mix of confusion, embarrassment, and especially anger.

He didn't see why he would struggle so much against someone who had been clearly weaker than him. Had he been hiding it all this while? And what, because of the King? His pride wouldn't let him accept that Raph had fought through so many matches while struggling…but if there was one thing he did notice.

'He never exhibited his skills at once….it was like stages…as if he was showcasing them one at a time'. It was only now that he realized how Raph had only used a skill when necessary or when called for.

"Tch!" He cursed under his breath, raising his arms to the air, his thoughts swirling like a wave. "Why should I care?!" His voice sent a chill in the air as his ki swirled from deep within, absorbing energy from his three diatian.

"4th step of the Imperial Mystic Kang Arts!" The ground shook beneath them as his ki spread deep into the hard soil, a fiery ambiance following its call.

"Imperial Ascent!"

The ground shook and trembled as craters of rocks and stone rose into the air as if gravity was suddenly cut off around the Arena.

Its area of effect was widespread, reaching the walls and pulling up every hard bit of stone into the air, crumbling due to the force as they floated.

Raph wasn't exempted from this sudden anti gravitational pull as he was suddenly yanked from the ground with the large chunks of snow and ice that had formed, crumbling further as it rose into the air due to the might of the force.

A large crater, the diameter of the Arena, was pulled off completely, suctioned into the air like a vacuum, causing a vast depression and a deep gorge.

All this occurred in the span of a few seconds, and Jang floated in the air in all his glory, unperturbed by the crumbling bits of rocks that hovered around his head. His gaze was locked on Raph, a fiery rivalry burning deeply between them.

"This is the end!" He said, his voice deep, as he pulled his hands down, and in an instant, everything fell to the Arena floor.

A loud thud and crumbling sound echoed as sand and hard rock collided with each other, slamming onto the ground in a continuous and superfluous flow, unrelenting in crushing whatever was beneath its weight.

The stands were filled with excitement, and their vibrant cheers were a testament to the boiling adrenaline within them. What now? Does the Jun household have more to show? They did not know, but one thing was clear. Jang meant business, and it was quite entertaining.

Maybe this battle would be remembered for long as one of the most prominent battles amongst the younger generations.

Jang's gaze was once again composed, his eyes flickering below at the Arena ground that had been flipped upside down…literally. It was a mix of hard rocks and sand, with ice and snow peeking out from different angles.

The dust in the air had accumulated so much that the entire Arena had been blinded from the sight of those away from it.

And that was why the sudden appearance of a ball of flames within that dust sparked a tint of curiosity and confusion amongst those that noted it.

'Magic?!' Jang thought when the ball suddenly projected towards him at an incredible speed, but it wasn't fast enough to stop him. With a single motion, he flew away, and the fireball the size of a truck smashed into the Dome, a small explosion erupting due to the collision.

Jang was still startled by the sudden appearance that he had nearly failed to identify more. One after the other, massive fireballs were shot at him, and he kept on flying around the Arena, dodging them one after the other until the dust had finally settled.

Raph was revealed standing on top of a long shard of ice, its diameter the size of a needle, but it wasn't less sturdy than most of the statues that had held strong for years. Surrounding him were four more massive fireballs, and his gaze was locked on Jang. 'How is he using magic?!' His thoughts were twirling widely as he landed on the uneven ground of stones and sands with a loud thud.

His legs dug deeply as he charged at Raph within a second. Raph wasn't a single step too late to retaliate, his fireballs projecting at him as he dodged it while he swung his sword across the air, his blade forming a majestic curve through the air as fist and sword collided once again.

BOOM.

The force of the impact caused waves through the air, their attack fighting for supremacy over the other, in a frantic attempt to gain the upper hand. They suddenly withdrew their attacks at the same time when the force of push became too unbearable, and within a second, collided with their sword and fist once again.

This began to occur continuously, and speedily, the intensity increasing, and the force pushing the air, energy pulsating, and the ground depressing due to the force.

Their gazes were sharp, and the level of their mastery was astounding. There was no one that wasn't left agape; in fact, Jang and Raph were left surprised. 'This excitement, Oh! How long it has been'. Raph's thoughts began to fade ever so slowly, as he no longer needed his thoughts to think of what next to do, or how fast to act, or how much strength he needed to pour.

No, he already forged his body and mind to the hardest of his stage, and though he may have become an 8th star as of recently in this past life, the sensation had never left him once since it was his second time.

His body could instinctively use what felt best and how well it would act. This match was definitely his win. Raph suddenly increased his speed instantaneously as they clashed, gradually like the acceleration of a race car, he began to strike faster, more precise, stronger, and firmer.

Each strike leaving a dent on his opponent, as Jang, for the first time in his life, felt what it meant to be pushed back.

"Me? Jang Kang Lin! Impossible!" But words without action were….mostly futile and hard to believe as Raph suddenly flung him away with so much force that the air had compressed and the ground had literally depressed and shattered, causing bits of dust to fall down.

Jang grunted in pain as he was smashed into the ground, but he had quickly gained footing, stopping his momentum before his body could get to the other side of the Arena. He stomped his foot on the ground and aimed his fist forward.

"9th step of the Raging Dragon Fist! Breaking Point!"

His fist collided with the air, his ki surging like a tsunami as the air was compressed into giant fists filled with wind, propelling itself towards Raph. He did it again and again, increasing the pace and speed of his punches in the air until at least a hundred had been sent in quick succession, overlapping with some and increasing the pressure.

The 9th step of the Raging Dragon Fists was initially an area-of-effect attack, but with higher understanding of Martial Arts, one realizes different ways of applying them to increase their strength. What Jang did now was one of such examples.

Raph drew his sword through the air while his left first and middle finger drew a line across the blade of his two-bladed katana. "Everything is Ice, Cold Stone." His blade suddenly surged with the hissing sound of ice as it coated it firmly, while he spread his aura through it. Find exclusive content at empire

"Aura Blade." Of course, with the 8th star as a Master, it was only natural that the famous Aura Blade was one of the techniques under his belt, though it was something he had gained only recently; he was familiar with the sensation of opening up his aura way and forming such mastery of the blade.

He swung his sword down, slicing through the air, while ice steam followed in its wake as it collided with one of the fists, freezing the bundle of air in an instant and shattering it into bits of ice shards.

Of course, this occurred in that instant his sword collided with the fist, and after destroying one, his body began to move like a well-oiled machine. Slicing and smashing into the fists of wind as it crashed into the ground, the hissing and cracking of ice following his movements, while ice steam trailed the curve of his sword path.

His eyes were a peerless milky white, like two orbs in the shape of the moon, relentless and unphased, with a single goal in mind: CRUSH