“That came later. But what initially drove me to make that decision was the Eternal Ice Soul.”
Loren turned around, his purple eyes fixed on Jiang Lin.
“I was not like you, gaining fragments of the Ice Soul while at a low rank.
“I obtained the complete core of the Eternal Ice Soul just as I had entered the 7th-rank.”
Jiang Lin was taken aback.
“7th-rank... then Master, at that time...”
“I had just passed the god’s assessment to become a 7th-rank powerhouse, only to discover the limitations of divine breakthroughs.
“My upper limit had been locked; no matter how I cultivated, it was impossible to break through to the realm beyond the 9th-rank like those apostles of god.”
Loren’s tone was calm, as if he were recounting someone else’s story.
“After the Eternal Ice Soul core merged into my body, I was astonished to find that it could allow me to ‘reset’ my life level.
“It was not simply a matter of dissipating magic essence, but a true ‘zeroing’ in the literal sense.
“It cleared the shackles the gods had placed within me during my previous breakthroughs, and even purged my original class as a warrior, leaving me as I am now—belonging to none of the seven major human classes.
“At the same time, however, it preserved all my insights into the way of the sword, ensuring my past efforts were not entirely in vain.”
He paused, then continued:
“This process was extremely perilous.
“Dissipating my 7th-rank magic essence meant starting from scratch, reliving the breakthrough of every single rank.
“If I had encountered a danger I couldn't resolve during that time, then death would have been final.
“Furthermore, the enemies I faced back then were already 7th or 8th-rank powerhouses.
“That was the greatest risk I had to face.”
Hearing this, Jiang Lin asked:
“Then Master, did you change your name and hide before you began to dissipate your cultivation and start over?”
Loren shook his head:
“No.
“I first raised my level to the peak of the 7th-rank, killed all the enemies I had at the time, and only then did I begin to dissipate my cultivation.”
Loren’s expression remained devoid of any fluctuation as he spoke, as if he were merely describing a walk he had taken after a meal.
He then continued:
“And the most crucial part is that because of the ‘Eternal Ice Soul,’ I could cultivate to the limit of the human body even at rank-0, which significantly increased the upper limit of every subsequent rank.
“It allowed me to defeat other ordinary adventurers or creatures several ranks above my own at every stage.
“Just like you are now.
“As for why you are also able to reach this level at rank-0, I suspect you must have encountered some fortuitous opportunity of your own.
“Otherwise, relying solely on self-cultivation to reach this point is simply too inconceivable.
“Even with talent at our level, it is very difficult to cultivate that far.”
Jiang Lin was thoughtful:
“Master is right; I did indeed have some other opportunities to achieve what I have today.”
Loren nodded and sat back down:
“Alright, back to your situation. The Eternal Ice Soul in your body is a fragment, not the core.
“It cannot allow you to return and re-cultivate at a high rank as I did, but the help it provides is just as significant.
“The fragment cannot automatically bring you to the limit at every rank, but it can significantly enhance your ice elemental affinity and, once refined, grant you the ability of soul-targeting attacks.
“More importantly, it will grow as you grow, and once it merges with you, it will become a part of your talent.”
He walked to Jiang Lin and extended his right hand:
“Give me your hand.”
Jiang Lin extended his hand as instructed.
Loren’s fingertips rested on his wrist, and a sliver of incredibly fine ice-blue divine sense probed into his body.
A moment later, Loren let go:
“The crystal has reached its limit and can be refined at any time. But before that, I must make the dangers of refinement clear to you.”
He held up three fingers:
“First, the refinement must take place in an extremely cold environment. The temperature here is far from sufficient to trigger the conditions; you must go deeper into the Frostblade Abyss.
“There, you will find the ‘Ice Soul Altar’ left behind by the frost giant tribe. The cold spring at the center of the altar reaches temperatures of two hundred degrees below zero, enough to freeze any living being.
“Second, during the refinement process, the power of the Ice Soul will clash violently with your soul.
“You must protect your heart and mind with sword intent, or your soul will be frozen, and you will become a monster just like the frost ghosts.
“Third, and most importantly:
“Refinement is irreversible. Once you begin, you either succeed or your soul scatters; there is no third path.”
Loren’s purple eyes looked directly at Jiang Lin:
“Have you thought it through?”
Jiang Lin pondered for a moment and asked:
“What does Master think my probability of success is?”
Loren smiled confidently:
“I cannot speak too definitively, but with me here, it is at least ninety-nine percent.”
Hearing his master say this, Jiang Lin stood up immediately and bowed solemnly:
“Please, Master, take me to the Ice Soul Altar.”
Loren nodded slightly:
“Good. Follow me.”
The two left the ruins and continued to head deeper into the Frostblade Abyss.
The further they went, the lower the temperature dropped.
The deep blue aurora in the sky had turned into a nearly ink-black dark blue, flowing as slowly as if it were solidified.
There was no longer ice on the ground; instead, there was exposed rock emitting a faint blue glow.
This was ‘Ice Soul Stone,’ created after being eroded by cold for countless years, and it only formed in the Northern Ice Field.
After walking for about half an hour, a massive ice cavern appeared ahead.
The entrance to the cavern was a hundred meters high, with two thirty-meter-tall statues of frost giants standing on either side.
They held long spears, their faces solemn, as if guarding something.
“This is the Ice Soul Altar.”
Loren said.
Jiang Lin followed him into the ice cavern.
The interior space was even more magnificent than he had imagined.
The dome was a hundred meters high, embedded with countless fist-sized ice soul crystals that emitted a deep blue light, illuminating the entire space as if it were daylight.
In the center was a circular altar with a diameter of over fifty meters.
The altar was carved from a single block of dark blue profound ice, its surface covered in dense, intricate frost-tongue runes.
A deep blue light flowed through the runes, as if they were still in operation.
At the very center of the altar was a circular pool about three meters in diameter.
The pool was filled with a clear liquid, with a faint cold mist floating on the surface.
The liquid appeared an eerie deep blue, and just by looking at it, Jiang Lin felt a tremor in his soul.
“Ice Soul Cold Spring.”
Loren said.
“The temperature is two hundred degrees below zero.
“An ordinary person would die the moment they touched it, but for you, this is the only environment for refining the fragment.”
Jiang Lin took a deep breath and stepped toward the altar.
The moment he stepped into the altar’s range, the frost-tongue runes flared, and the deep blue light surged.
He could clearly feel the concentration of ice elements in the surrounding air rising exponentially, and the moisture in the air quickly condensed into countless fine ice crystals that fell onto his shoulders.
He felt as if his constant-temperature protective suit was about to burn out.
He increased the power output of the suit and actively fed it more magic essence.
“Walk to the edge of the cold spring and sit cross-legged.”
Loren’s voice came from behind, still calm.
Jiang Lin walked to the edge of the cold spring as instructed and sat cross-legged.
The cold surged in from all directions; even with the constant-temperature protective suit running at full capacity, he could still feel the bone-chilling cold penetrating deep into his marrow.
Yet, the ice-blue crystal in his dantian trembled violently at this moment, emitting excited fluctuations as if responding to the call of the cold spring.
“Close your eyes and observe the crystal internally.”
Loren’s voice seemed to be right in his ear.
Jiang Lin closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his body.
In his dantian, the two-fist-sized ice-blue crystal was slowly rotating, its internal deep-blue light flowing like liquid.
He could clearly feel that the crystal was longing for something, a craving so intense it almost felt like it would shatter his body.
“Lead the crystal out from your dantian, move it up along the Ren meridian, and stop at the Shanzhong point.”
Loren’s voice continued.
Jiang Lin operated accordingly.
He carefully guided the crystal with his mind, allowing it to slowly ascend from his dantian.
The moment the crystal moved, a tearing pain swept through his entire body, as if invisible ice blades were slicing through his meridians!
Jiang Lin groaned, sweat instantly seeping from his forehead, only for the sweat to condense into tiny ice beads in the low temperature.
“Hold on.”
Loren’s voice came.
“This is the power of the Ice Soul adapting to your body. Protect your heart and mind, and do not let the pain disturb your will.”
Jiang Lin gritted his teeth, attempting to block out the pain.
The crystal slowly ascended along the Ren meridian, inch by inch.
For every inch it moved, the agonizing pain intensified.
Finally, the crystal arrived at the Shanzhong point.
“Very good.”
Loren continued to guide him.
“Now, force the crystal out of your body and let it make contact with the cold spring.”
Jiang Lin took a deep breath and snapped his eyes open!
He opened his mouth, and a sliver of deep-blue light drifted out; it was the ice-blue crystal.
The crystal hovered before him, rotating slowly, the deep-blue light within surging like a living thing.
Jiang Lin reached out and slowly pushed the crystal toward the cold spring.
The moment the crystal touched the surface of the cold spring—
“Hum!!!”
The entire altar shook violently!
The cold spring suddenly boiled, and countless deep-blue bubbles surged from the bottom of the pool, emitting a heart-stopping chill.
At the same time, as those bubbles touched the crystal, the light on its surface flared violently.
Jiang Lin felt his soul tremble, as if gripped by an invisible icy hand.
“Steady your mind.”
Loren’s voice appeared in Jiang Lin’s ear once more.
“You may see some other images next.”
Jiang Lin gritted his teeth; he felt as if his soul were about to be frozen.
What other images?
Could it be a deathbed flashback?
Such thoughts flickered through Jiang Lin’s mind.
In the cold spring, the crystal was frantically absorbing the essence of the Ice Soul from the water.
It expanded at a visible rate, growing from the size of two fists rapidly, reaching the size of a human head in the blink of an eye.
The deep-blue light within swirled madly like a vortex, each rotation causing Jiang Lin’s soul to quiver.
“It is still lacking.”
Loren’s voice came.
“It needs more Ice Soul essence.”
He raised his hand, and a streak of ice-blue sword qi submerged into the cold spring.
The moment the sword qi touched the spring water, the cold spring boiled to the extreme.
Countless deep-blue bubbles surged out, completely enveloping the crystal.
Jiang Lin felt as if his soul had been cast into an ice cavern!
Extreme cold and agonizing pain struck simultaneously; his vision went dark, and it seemed as if a deathbed flashback were beginning to emerge.
“Ah!!!”
He finally could not help but let out a low roar.
But at the very moment of this roar, the Apostle's Heart and the Demon Lord Seed within him erupted simultaneously!
Three powers were operating at their absolute limit!
Holy light, blood energy, and ice soul—the three powers were frantically intertwining, colliding, and merging within his body!
“Now.”
Loren’s voice entered Jiang Lin’s ears.
Jiang Lin slammed his hands together, and under the guidance of his mind, the head-sized crystal flew back and merged into his brow.
“BOOM!!!”
The entire world seemed to explode!
Jiang Lin’s consciousness was instantly dragged into a void.
There was no up, no down, no left, no right—only endless darkness and cold.
In the darkness, countless deep-blue light spots flickered, each one emitting a heart-stopping chill.
“Where... is this?”
Jiang Lin was somewhat puzzled.
At the same time, he remembered what his master had told him earlier about the “other images” he might see.
Was this what he meant?
Jiang Lin had a sudden realization.
Great, it seems this isn't a deathbed flashback...
Just as Jiang Lin breathed a sigh of relief, he saw a figure suddenly emerge from the darkness ahead.
It was a frost giant, over ten zhang tall, entirely composed of deep-blue cold ice.
He held a massive ice crystal spear, his face solemn, his eyes like two deep-blue lanterns.
“Human... you dare to lay your hands on a holy relic...”
The giant’s voice echoed in the void like a collapsing glacier.
Jiang Lin did not know why he guessed the identity of the person before him:
“Are you... the Ice Soul Guard Captain?”
The giant’s voice carried endless majesty and sorrow:
“I am the guardian of the Eternal Ice Soul, the first-generation Ice Soul Guard Captain, Akanar.
“Human, do you know the price of laying your hands on a holy relic?”
Jiang Lin asked:
“There is a price?”
Akanar replied:
“If you do not pass my trial, you will have your soul scattered instantly.”
Having said that, he slowly raised the ice crystal spear in his hand:
“Then let me see if you have the qualifications to bear the power of the holy relic!”
Before the words were finished, the spear had arrived!
Jiang Lin’s pupils contracted, and his body instinctively leaned backward; the massive ice crystal spear grazed his nose, the cold it brought causing his soul to tremble.
He tried to mobilize the magic essence in his body, but there was no response.
He tried to condense the Eight Extremities Holy Sword, but there was no response.
Even the perception of 【Phantom Step · Shadow Wind】 had vanished without a trace.
At this moment, he was merely an ordinary person with combat instincts.
“Here, you cannot use any of your external tools.”
Akanar’s voice echoed in the void like a collapsing glacier.
“Only the purest ‘you’ has the qualification to face me.”
Before the words were finished, the spear swept across!
Jiang Lin tapped his toes on the ground, his figure retreating rapidly.
Without the support of skills, his speed was several times slower than usual, but every movement of his body was unprecedentedly “real.”
He could clearly feel the contraction of his muscles, the rotation of his bones, and the surge of his blood.
This was the power that belonged purely to the “flesh.”
The spear swept past with a whistling sound, and while Jiang Lin retreated, his right hand fingers slightly gripped, making a movement he had practiced countless times.
The opening stance of 【Basic Swordsmanship】.
Even without a sword, this posture was carved into his bones.
The next moment, a blade, faintly discernible in shape, appeared in his hand.
A flash of approval appeared in Akanar’s eyes:
“Not bad.
“You have actually comprehended sword intent.
“It seems you still have some talent, rather than just being an ordinary person with pure luck.”
Rate on N.U.
