Evan Lin spoke, then waved his hand lightly.
The layers of solid ice that kept forming and breaking in front of him suddenly slowed down, following Evan Lin's movement.
The last rising wall of solid ice instantly shattered, turning into thousands of pale blue icy mist.
Those icy blue mists swirled around Evan Lin. To outsiders, it looked as if a pale blue galaxy was flowing beside him.
"What is he doing?"
Martin Wu looked completely baffled. He couldn't figure out what Evan Lin was trying to do, but he could see that as the ice barriers stopped forming, the previously blocked ice spikes and snowstorm were now sweeping straight toward Evan.
Within the cold-toned Winter Gate, the atmosphere grew even more deadly.
Countless invisible currents of force rampaged through the air, like blades slicing across the scene.
"He must be dropping his qi defenses because he can't hold out any longer, right?"
Grandpa Ju spoke softly, watching Evan Lin inside the Winter Gate, then glancing at Blake Lin, who had just lost his composure a few times.
He noticed that Blake Lin seemed especially focused on everything happening inside the arena today. At least, when he looked over, Blake's gaze had never left the Winter Gate.
Grandpa Ju also noticed that Blake Lin kept holding his teacup, but hadn't taken a sip for a long time.
That made Grandpa Ju feel rather surprised.
"That should be the case."
The Ju family steward nodded at these words and said, "Earlier, Master Lin from Seacrest kept condensing new solid ice barriers as his way to resist the Winter Gate."
"But every new ice barrier he formed had to be condensed using even more qi than the last one."
"Even though only a short time has passed, the number of ice barriers condensed and shattered in that brief span has already exceeded dozens."
"If it were me, I'd probably struggle too—let alone Master Lin from Seacrest."
"I think he's being forced by the Winter Gate to try a new way to resist the snow, ice spikes, and the ever-dropping temperature inside the formation."
"He's seeking change—and seeking survival."
The Ju family steward spoke calmly—this was the most suitable explanation he could give, based on his third-grade Pointing-to-Mystery perspective.
The key point was that, just now, Evan Lin stood there looking perfectly safe, but those solid ice barriers weren't doing any actual damage to the Winter Gate.
Blake Lin could see that Evan Lin was constantly trying to sense the strongest force within the Winter Gate, but the Ju family steward couldn't grasp this.
After all, the Ju family steward only knew about the Four Seasons Grand Array from hearsay—he'd never actually entered it, let alone understood the Winter Gate's true nature.
The Ju family crowd watched from over there—by now, hardly anyone was talking.
Most of them were feeling numb.
Originally, Chase Ju had a chance to replace Allen Ju, but now with Master Lin from Seacrest standing on Allen's side, things were becoming hard to understand.
His strength was simply too overwhelming; now, no one present could be sure whether Allen Ju would be able to regain his status as Third Young Master Ju thanks to Master Lin from Seacrest.
Blake Lin narrowed his eyes, focusing on the deep blue icy mist beside Evan Lin. The mist was actually made up of countless tiny fragments of solid ice. These blue-tinted particles, under the sunlight, refracted a harsh and cold light.
"Is he courting death?"
Blake Lin's voice was calm, his face tinged with confusion. Truth be told, if he himself stepped into the Winter Gate now, he'd probably have to exert real effort to break out.
The most crucial thing was, Blake Lin kept feeling that Master Lin from Seacrest was simply too audacious.
He had the power, but instead of focusing it in one direction, he chose to stand dead center in the Winter Gate, welcoming attacks from every side.
Even though Blake Lin knew Master Lin from Seacrest was testing the formation, he still couldn't wrap his head around it. Did he really have to throw himself onto the razor's edge between life and death just to challenge this array?
"He..."
Logan Lu was just about to say something.
But the moment he opened his mouth, his expression changed drastically—a stream of icy cold swept past him.
The cold current brushed over him, making every hair on his body stand up.
He whipped his head around, disbelief written all over his face.
He was at least dozens of meters from the Winter Gate, and the array's boundary should have acted as a buffer.
This wasn't like the Summer Gate, where the flames could heat up the whole area. The Winter Gate, thanks to its boundary, kept all the icy wind and snow locked inside.
Ever since Master Lin from Seacrest entered the fourth formation, outsiders could see the Winter Gate's terrifying blizzard and ice spikes, but never felt a hint of cold leaking out.
But just now, that blast of cold was all too real.
Logan Lu glanced at the little bit of tea left on the table and suddenly saw a thin layer of frost forming on its surface!
"What the hell is this?"
Logan Lu swallowed, about to ask Blake Lin, but saw Blake wasn't just squinting—he was leaning forward, ready to spring up at any moment.
He looked like he could leap out of his chair at any time.
Was he prepping for battle, just in case?
Logan Lu's mind blanked out, his heart churning with turmoil.
Moments ago, Blake Lin seemed indifferent, but now his whole demeanor had changed!
Not only that, Logan Lu could feel the air around him turn colder after that sudden chill.
On the Ju family side, nobody said a word.
No one around Allen Ju, Selina Wu, Martin Wu, and the others spoke.
Outside the Winter Gate, Nightstar's people instinctively took a step back.
Their faces grew grim, eyes locked onto the Winter Gate.
"Is... is the array barrier about to break?"
His tone was tense, uncertainty coloring his words.
This has never happened before—what's going on today?
Night Autumn coughed, gritting his teeth.
"Madman! He's a total lunatic!"
Night Spring's beautiful eyes widened as she stared at the Winter Gate, her whole body trembling, a chill creeping into her heart. "What did Master Lin from Seacrest do in there?"