Mystical symbols appeared on the walls of the ancient palace. The entire Snow Palace, which had been forged from ice ten thousand years ago, now looked like a brilliant ice sculpture.
The symbols rose into the air and gradually condensed into a huge spell known as the Grand Formation. Onlookers could vaguely see a huge phoenix flying in the sky above the palace as the spell took hold.
The spell had been left behind by the original founder of the palace, and it was powerful enough to defeat anything. Anyone trapped by the spell would be crushed. Now that it was being issued by twelve Earth immortals simultaneously, the power would be unimaginable.
The divine phoenix gave a long, loud call from high in the sky.
The moment it had appeared, a terrifying aura had filled the sky, causing all the plants and birds within ten miles to tremble.
Even the Earth immortals were shocked by its power.
"The Grand Formation has been activated," Samuel shouted, his eyes shining with hatred. "That kid is dead for sure."
He couldn't wait to see Alex being torn to pieces by the divine phoenix.
"If he was an ordinary Earth Immortal, he might lose," Maya said. "But he is the Great One."
She lowered her head and smiled. Alex had already proven his ability to defeat an immortal that only appeared once every few thousand years. A mere spell was never going to be enough to stop him.
Alex wasn't afraid at all. He held Maya with his left hand and clenched his right hand into a fist, tucking his thumb between his middle finger and index finger. A bright gold flame coiled around his body from top to bottom, and then it surged into his body and down his right arm.
His right fist transformed into a seemingly indestructible ball of flame, and then it flew across the sky, turning into a golden rainbow that shook the earth. It leaped into the air and collided with the divine phoenix, and then the sky itself seemed to shatter into a million pieces.
People over hundreds of miles felt their hearts skip a beat. It was as if a nuclear weapon had detonated in the sky above the Snow Palace. The chaos of the explosion and the clouds that followed had created an enormous hole high in the air.
Symbols and sparks exploded on the walls of the palace as if they couldn't stand the power of the blast, and the twelve Earth immortals cried out in unison and retreated rapidly. The divine phoenix shattered, and a brilliant light was unleashed. It turned into a golden pillar that pierced through the sky as it stood in the middle of the palace, dominating everything in its path.
And it had all come from a single punch.
The disciples of the Snow Palace were shocked as the Earth immortals retreated with ugly expressions on their faces. They understood that there was not one among them who would be able to withstand a single punch from Alex. His power was simply too great.
Samuel was terrified, and his entire body was trembling. But Alex wasn't finished.
He flew down from the chaos in the sky and dazzling golden light condensed once again. This time, it formed a ten-foot-wide ball of light behind Alex's back. It looked like a sun that could crush everything.
Everyone believed that with his next punch, the Snow Palace would collapse, and the twelve Earth immortals would be injured, or even killed.
But before he could strike, a voice called out, "Exalted immortal, please hold back."
A dark energy rose from the depths of the palace, and it was more powerful than any energy stream Alex had ever seen.
A woman in a long white dress with fluttering sleeves rose slowly from below the palace. Crystal was the master of the Snow Palace. She looked to be no more than thirty years old, and her skin was as white as snow, without a single blemish.
The most terrifying thing was that her aura was extremely vast. It was even more frightening than Kaden had been. She stood there, and the entire heavens and the earth seemed to have formed into a single entity.
The Earth immortals bowed and greeted her.
Rose heaved a sigh of relief and said, "My lady, this person has trespassed into our palace and killed Red Dawn. We don't know where he's come from, but he's extremely strong."
"There's no need to introduce him," Crystal said. "This is the Great One."
Everyone was stunned.
Unlike Red Dawn, they had heard about Alex. After all, his name had resounded throughout the divine realm. But they thought he should be fighting a life-and-death battle with Kaden at Twisted Mountain, so why was he in the Snow Palace?
"The Great One defeated Kaden with a single punch and has become the strongest man in the world," Crystal said. "So you're no match for him."
Not only the Earth immortals, but all the disciples of the Snow Palace gasped.
The news was like a bomb that blew people's minds. Even Rose didn't know what to make of it. Kaden had been the true master of the divine realm for hundreds of years.
"Exalted one, how have my people offended you?" Crystal asked. "Why did you come here to try to kill me?"
"One of your disciples was torturing my good friend," Alex said. "I will not stand for that, and I demand an explanation."
Alex made a grabbing motion and Samuel was hauled into the air.
"It's not my fault," he shouted frantically. "It was the High sect who wanted to interrogate Maya."
Alex let out a light snort, and with a puff of energy, he turned Samuel into a faint mist, killing him in full view of everyone watching. The immortal warriors looked furious.
Even Crystal frowned. "Oh Great One," she said cautiously. "We respect you as the top warrior in the divine realm, but you cannot go around wantonly killing people in our palace. We are a great sect—one of the seven great sects. Even if our disciples made mistakes, they should be punished by their superiors here. Outsiders have no right to judge."
Even in her anger and frustration, there was a dignified beauty about her.
Her power also caused the clouds in the sky to stir. When she smiled, she created a cool breeze, and when she was angry, the sea turned cold.
That was the power of a supreme celestial being. Ordinary Earth immortals could only watch her from afar and know she would be forever out of reach.
"Hand it over to his superiors?" Alex asked contemptuously. "Maya didn't do anything wrong, so why would you send her to the High sect and jeopardize her soul?"
"It was a joint discussion between the seven great sects," Crystal said. "It was because of the fall of the sect master of the Thunder sect—"
Before she could finish, Alex waved his hand and interrupted her.
"That's not good enough," he said. "If you can't give me a proper explanation, then I'll destroy you and your sect right now!"
As he spoke, his eyes began to burn with flames of fury.
"Do you really want to be my enemy?" Crystal asked. She was infuriated, and thunder rumbled in the sky. The energy from her body was surging, causing the space around her to tremble.
"So what if I'm your enemy?" Alex asked, shrugging. "Do you think you can stop me? If Kaden comes, I might be slightly afraid. But you're nothing. I can defeat you with one hand."