However, his praise ended there.
With that, he stepped forward once more, his spear thrusting out like a venomous dragon with astonishing speed.
This strike had no frills, only the pure, lethal intent of a thousand tempered blows.
Jiang Lin leaned to the side, his right hand fingers held like a sword, precisely tapping the side of the spear shaft.
“Clang!”
The finger-sword collided with the spear shaft, producing a crisp sound like clashing metal.
The immense recoil numbed Jiang Lin’s arm, but he did not retreat. Instead, he leveraged that force to close the distance, his left fist launching from his waist.
【Basic Punching】· Bow Stance Punch!
This punch was simple and unadorned, yet it was the result of him perfectly channeling power from his heels through his waist and hips to his knuckles.
Akanar held his spear horizontally to block, and the fist struck the shaft with a dull thud.
The giant guard’s figure swayed slightly, a flicker of surprise flashing in his eyes:
“You are actually proficient in punching techniques as well?”
Jiang Lin did not answer.
He took a deep breath, feeling the power in his blood boiling.
No skills, no magic essence, no prediction—only the purest form of “combat.”
Akanar raised his spear again, his offensive like a raging storm!
Every strike was simple and direct, yet hidden within were countless variations.
This was the art of a thousand tempered techniques!
Jiang Lin did not retreat but advanced, alternating between finger-sword strikes and punches.
The thrust, hack, sweep, deflect, and tap of 【Basic Swordsmanship】 were executed perfectly with a longsword formed from sword intent!
The punch, pierce, parry, collapse, and hack of 【Basic Punching】 bloomed to their fullest in the close quarters!
This was the first time Jiang Lin had truly fused swordsmanship and punching into one.
The sword moved with lightness, while the fists were powerful and fierce. Two distinct ways of exerting force flowed naturally in his combat, complementing each other.
By rapidly deploying these two basic abilities, Jiang Lin felt his combat capability rising at a terrifying speed...
Akanar’s spear grew faster and faster, but Jiang Lin’s movements became increasingly “slow.”
It was not truly slow; rather, every movement was just right, without a shred of excess.
His perception was heightened to the limit—not the perception of external energy like 【Phantom Step · Shadow Wind】, but an “internal observation” of every inch of muscle, every wisp of breath, and every heartbeat.
He could “hear” the sound of blood rushing through his veins, “feel” every ounce of tension when muscle fibers contracted, and “see” the imperceptible deformation of his bones under stress.
This was the ultimate control at the purely physical level.
It was the instinctual memory he had integrated through countless sessions of training in the dark room after both 【Basic Swordsmanship】 and 【Basic Punching】 reached their limit-broken states.
Akanar suddenly withdrew his spear and took three steps back.
His massive figure stood tall in the void, a mysterious light flashing in his deep blue eyes:
“You have practiced basic swordsmanship and basic punching, and both have reached a remarkably high realm.”
Jiang Lin nodded:
“Yes.”
“But have you ever thought about this?”
Akanar slowly raised his spear, the tip pointing toward Jiang Lin.
“Why is the basic the basic?”
Jiang Lin was startled.
“The basic is not the end, but the beginning.”
Akanar’s voice echoed like a primordial resonance:
“You learn the sword, you learn the fist, you learn all techniques—ultimately, you must transcend their ‘form’ and return to your own ‘path’.
Come, let me see what your path is.”
The spear rose again!
This time, Akanar’s attack was no longer merely fast, accurate, and ruthless. Every strike carried a natural “momentum.”
It was not a skill, but the “intent” that naturally emerges after honing basic techniques to the extreme.
Just like Jiang Lin’s sword intent and fist intent.
But the opponent’s application of “intent” was clearly more proficient.
Jiang Lin’s pupils constricted.
He saw it. He saw the “path” contained in every one of Akanar’s attacks.
It was guardianship.
Guarding the holy relic, guarding the tribe, guarding the Eternal Ice Soul.
Every movement, every exertion of force, spoke of the belief this frost giant had practiced with his entire life.
“My path...”
Countless images flashed through Jiang Lin’s mind.
At the Radiant Junior Magic Academy in Boulder City, his figure waving a wooden sword day after day before he obtained the system...
On the training grounds of the Saint Brilliance Middle Magic Academy, the exhilarating feeling of crushing everyone...
In the underground ice cavern of the Everfrost Wasteland, the desperate battle against seven frost ghosts as a mere mortal...
On the ice terrace of Frostblade Peak, the sudden enlightenment when he pushed the 【Ice Flower Nine Styles】 to its limit and merged with the ice element...
And...
More distant memories.
Himself before crossing over, returning home after overtime, looking at the mortgage that would take twenty years to pay off, eating pre-made delivery meals, feeling that life was entirely bleak...
“I want to see the end of this road!
I want to see the world above the sky!!
I want to know why the gods placed limits on everyone!”
He opened his eyes, his golden irises burning with fighting spirit.
“This is my path!”
Akanar’s spear had reached before his eyes.
Jiang Lin did not retreat, nor did he dodge.
He simply took a step forward, his right hand fingers held like a sword, thrusting straight out.
This strike had no technique, no variation.
It was merely the most basic, simple, and pure thrust.
But the moment this strike was unleashed, a flicker of shock appeared in Akanar’s eyes.
Because in this strike, in the eyes of this young man, he saw countless things.
The persistence of waving a wooden sword through countless days and nights, the courage never to retreat when facing strong enemies, the tenacity to keep moving forward in desperate situations, and the desire for “higher heights.”
This was not the power of any skill, but the “intent” of condensing a lifetime of belief into a single strike.
“Clang!!!”
The finger-sword collided with the spear tip.
Time seemed to stand still for a moment.
The next instant, the ice crystal spear in Akanar’s hand began to shatter inch by inch from the tip.
The fragmented ice crystals drifted in the void, turning into countless deep blue light spots that circled around the two.
Akanar looked down at his empty hands, then looked back up at Jiang Lin.
In those deep blue eyes, there was no anger, no unwillingness—only a complex, almost gratified light.
“Very good.”
His voice became gentler than ever before:
“Human, you are very good. Although the Eternal Ice Soul within you is only a fragment, you are entirely worthy of it.”
His tall figure began to turn ethereal, and countless deep blue light spots drifted out from his body, surging toward Jiang Lin.
“My duty is fulfilled.
From now on, this Eternal Ice Soul and this portion of my soul power are entrusted to you.
May your path lead to that end which no one has ever reached...”
As the words fell, Akanar’s figure completely dissipated.
The void of darkness collapsed at this moment, turning into countless deep blue lights that enveloped Jiang Lin.
On the Ice Soul Altar.
Loren stood with his hands behind his back, his purple eyes fixed on Jiang Lin, who sat cross-legged by the cold spring.
At this moment, Jiang Lin was shrouded in a layer of deep blue light. That light was at times fierce like flame, at others gentle like water, circulating endlessly on his skin.
Suddenly, Jiang Lin opened his left eye, the one not sealed!
In his golden iris, a deep blue light flashed and vanished.
At the same time, in his right eye, which was branded with a sword mark, a faint blue light flowed at the corner.
The frost-tongue runes of the entire altar lit up simultaneously, erupting with unprecedented brilliance!
The cold spring boiled, and countless deep blue bubbles surged out, completely enveloping Jiang Lin.
Inside the bubbles, Jiang Lin felt an unprecedented power surging into his body.
This was the final step of the Eternal Ice Soul fragment!
It was about to fuse completely with Jiang Lin!
The crystal in his dantian had vanished, replaced by a void.
But that power of the ice soul had not disappeared; instead, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, it merged into every inch of his flesh, every wisp of magic essence, and every thread of his soul.
At the same time, a surge of power injected into his body.
He could clearly feel his life level undergoing a qualitative leap.
His level skyrocketed from 24.
Level 25, 26, 27...
It did not stop until it reached level 30.
His physical attributes and mental power surged simultaneously.
His HP skyrocketed from the previous value to 700,000, and his mental power also reached 700,000.
【Level】: 24→30
【HP】: 480,000→700,000
【Mental Power】: 480,000→700,000
This was the limit he could currently bear at the second-tier life level; only one step away from touching the threshold of the third-tier.
But what Jiang Lin cared about most was not the change in these numbers, but the feeling of the fusion.
The Eternal Ice Soul was no longer an independent crystal residing in his body; it had truly become a part of him.
He raised his right hand, his thoughts shifting slightly.
Above his palm, a wisp of deep blue light emerged, rapidly condensing into a hexagonal ice crystal.
It was smaller than his master’s, and its aura was much weaker, but Jiang Lin did not care.
Because it had already completely become a part of him.
Unlike before, there was a faint golden holy light circulating within this ice crystal, the two perfectly blended, inseparable.
This was due to his magic essence within it.
“Soul-targeting attack...”
Jiang Lin muttered to himself.
He could clearly feel that what this ice crystal contained was not only extreme cold, but also a power that could strike directly at the essence of the soul.
If used to attack an enemy, the damage caused would act simultaneously on the flesh and the soul, difficult to heal and difficult to defend against.
More importantly, this power had already completely integrated into his attacks.
He did not even need to deliberately activate it; as long as he attacked, the power of the ice soul would naturally attach itself to his strike.
The deep blue light slowly receded, and Jiang Lin stood up.
The moment he stepped out of the cold spring, his entire aura underwent a subtle change.
His golden hair and golden eyes, which had become warm and holy due to the blessing of the God of Holy Light, now had an additional layer of cold, deep blue halo.
A faint ice-blue luster flowed through his golden hair, like the lingering rhyme of falling aurora.
Deep within his golden eyes, there was a touch of extremely faint ice blue, like an abyss hidden beneath a thousand-year glacier.
That face, already flawless, now added a touch of detached coldness beyond its holy divinity.
Two completely different auras blended within him.
The holiness of the holy light and the aloofness of the ice soul made him look both like a god’s child descended to the mortal world and a swordsman stepping out of the primordial ice fields.
Loren watched him, a complex light flashing in his purple eyes:
“Not bad.”
He walked up to Jiang Lin and tapped lightly on his brow.
An ice-blue light sank in, and a moment later, Loren nodded slightly:
“The fusion is perfect. The Eternal Ice Soul has completely become a part of you. From now on, it is you, and you are it.
Your ice elemental affinity has reached a remarkably high level, and the soul-targeting attack has fully awakened.
What you need to do next is to constantly hone it, so that this power truly becomes yours to use.”
Loren withdrew his hand and stood with his hands behind his back:
“The Eternal Ice Soul is different from ordinary powers.
The moment it merged into your body, it became permanently bound to you.
From this point on, it will grow as you grow and transform as you transform.
You can understand it as a part of your body, like your arm or your eye.
It no longer needs to be mobilized; it is simply there whenever you want to use it.”
Jiang Lin nodded thoughtfully.
He attempted to circulate his magic essence.
Sure enough, the ice soul power and the holy light magic essence were completely fused, inseparable.
Every breath carried the circulation of ice soul power within his meridians.
Every heartbeat carried the resonance of holy light magic essence.
He gripped the air with his right hand, and the Eight Extremities Holy Sword appeared in his palm.
The sword body was different from before.
The white-gold blade remained, but there was a layer of deep blue frost patterns along the edge, and between the eight-colored runes at the hilt, one could faintly see deep blue light surging.
The sword body vibrated gently, and a chill spread silently, freezing even the ice crystals falling on the altar into even finer powder.
“Not bad.”
Loren nodded:
“Your Eight Extremities Holy Sword has fused with the power of the ice soul, and its power has increased by at least fifty percent.”
He paused and continued:
“However, this is only the beginning.
The true strength of the ice soul power lies in its resonance with the soul.
You need to spend time experiencing this feeling until you can use it as you wish in combat.”
Jiang Lin bowed solemnly:
“Thank you for your guidance, Master.”
Loren waved his hand:
“No need to thank me.
Being able to pass the trial of the Ice Soul Guard Captain is your own capability.”
He turned and walked toward the outside of the altar:
“Let’s go, let’s return and rest first.
For the next period, you will consolidate your strength here.”
Returning to the ice crystal villa, it was already late at night.
The aurora flowed across the sky, shrouding Frostblade Peak in a dreamlike blue-purple light.
Jiang Lin sat cross-legged on the ice terrace, closing his eyes to observe internally.
Everything within him had undergone subtle changes.
The holy light magic essence and the ice soul power were completely fused, inseparable.
He could clearly feel that every breath had ice-cold energy circulating in his meridians; every heartbeat had holy light resonating within his body.
More importantly, he sensed the existence of his soul.
It was not a physical entity, but an indescribable intuition.
It was deep within his chest, parallel to his heart yet independent of his physical body.
When he touched his own soul with the ice soul power, a wonderful resonance welled up spontaneously.
He remembered Akanar’s final words.
“May your path lead to that end which no one has ever reached.”
“Path...”
Jiang Lin opened his eyes, the flowing aurora reflected in his golden eyes.
He did not dwell on the word.
What the path was, he did not know.
But he knew that the road he had to walk was still very long.
The second-tier peak was merely the starting point.
Breaking through to the third-tier, the fourth-tier...
Completing the Trial of Blood, participating in the Demon Lord Trial...
One day, he would see for himself where this road actually led.
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