My Arts Evolve When Perfected

[Slaughter Drill x1]

Killed a Seventh Realm of the Bright Soul, gained 80 proficiency points.

Jiang Qiu stared expressionlessly as Iron Power—an arrow piercing his skull—was engulfed in roaring flames and plummeted into the abyss. It was like a single spark swallowed by a bottomless trench, the sound of his fall never reaching them.

Those who repay kindness with malice deserve a terrible death.

Ice Lotus carefully clutched the hem of his pants, her lips pressed tight as she watched the powerful Iron Power fall into the abyss. A brilliant flame flickered to life in her eyes.

’He could even kill the leader of a mercenary squad from North Border City, and he has so many people with him. Jiang Qiu’s status in North Border City must be incredibly high. If... if I can get out of here alive, I hope he’ll take me to North Border City. I’d trade anything for it...’

"Three Race Elders, how about I trade this Storage Necklace for our safe passage out of here?"

Jiang Qiu put away his Black Flood Dragon bow. In his left hand, he clutched the broken necklace, its crude Space Stone glowing with a silver light and wreathed in Fiery Flame Spirit Charm.

’Trapped in this Secret Realm, many of us aren’t accustomed to the Ice Soul Poison. If a fight broke out, we might not be able to withstand their assault and would suffer heavy losses. Leaving safely is the best possible outcome.’

"Heh heh, you think this Ice Palace Secret Realm can be opened and closed at will? COUGH, COUGH—" The Three Race Elders clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood, the murderous intent in his sharp gaze like a blade. "This is the very source from which my clan awakens its spiritual intelligence. Only two types of people can leave here alive."

"Either you possess the pure blood of the North Snow Wolf. Even if you can’t withstand the tempering of the Ice Soul Poison in the first trial, you will be automatically teleported out of the Ice Palace."

"Or your Realm has already broken through to Martial Arts Grandmaster, and you have such a profound understanding of spatial arts that you can find a loophole and slip out on your own."

"Otherwise, you’ll have to pass two levels of trials and completely obtain the Ancient Snow Wolf Emperor’s inheritance. If not, you will all die."

"This is the Ancient Snow Wolf Emperor’s Ice Palace?" Xia Qingxiu, who had been silent until now, looked startled, her slender brows knitting together. "I heard this Secret Realm is supposed to open automatically once every ten years. To think they forced it open outside of its active period!"

In the Northern Wilderness, the bloodlines of most Demon Races are very pure. Every major clan has inherited a portion of the Demon Race’s legacy from a Secret Realm, allowing them to endure through the ages.

The origins of these ruins can be traced back tens of thousands of years to a time before recorded history. It’s said that some experts have used clues from the ancient texts of certain Secret Realms to speculate that Demon King Chen was a reincarnation of a Demon Emperor from that era.

This type of inheritance is often incredibly powerful, and almost no successor has ever been able to pass the trials. Moreover, the resources required to open a Secret Realm are substantial...

TAP. TAP. TAP.

The Three Race Elders shot a cold glance at the necklace in Jiang Qiu’s hand, then led his many clansmen onto the mid-air Unbarred Ice Passage. He ambled toward the large, floating Ice Platform in the center. "Entering this Ice Palace means entering the Wolf Emperor’s trial. After you die, the necklace will fly into my hands on its own."

BUZZ... BUZZ... BUZZ...

Under the Three Race Elders’ control, the Ice Platform, large enough to hold several thousand people, carried them more than twenty meters into the air. They all sat cross-legged and began to slowly absorb the Soul Ice Spirit Charm flowing through the air.

The Soul Ice Spirit Charm in this Ice Palace ruin was incredibly dense. Even after tens of thousands of years, it had not dissipated. The effects on Cultivation were more than a hundred times better than on North Snow Ridge outside.

Unfortunately, the Spirit Charm contained Ice Soul Poison, which not even the North Snow Wolf Clan could completely avoid. Furthermore, the Secret Realm only opened once every ten years, so this was a rare opportunity...

"Something’s wrong. The Soul Ice Spirit Charm here is so thick, I feel like my own Spirit Charm is being worn away."

"I cultivate Soul Ice Spirit Charm, and while I can feel it being absorbed into my body, it seems to be laced with a poison. If I can’t hold out, I’ll turn into an ice sculpture."

Listening to the clamorous discussions below, the corners of the Three Race Elders’ mouth curled up slightly, a trickle of fresh blood seeping out. ’So many talented youths. I’ll use the Ice Palace to grind them down to their deaths. Then, after they die, my clansmen can consume them. It’s sure to improve their strength. My expenditure of Essence Blood to open the Secret Realm will not have been in vain.’

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly began to channel the Soul Ice Spirit Charm.

Down below, the students gathered at the entrance to the Unbarred Ice Passage all had grim expressions. They looked up; many of their Secret Techniques couldn’t be used, and their ranged attacks could not reach the Three Race Elders and his people. Even if they bent their knees and leaped, they couldn’t get very high, as if their shoulders were being crushed by an iceberg.

Jiang Qiu’s left hand, still clutching the Storage Necklace, dropped to his side. He gave the Ice Platform in the air a cold glance before his gaze fell on the Frozen Gate on the far side. ’To pass the trial, we probably have to enter that gate, but the Ice Platform has already been taken...’

"I’ve heard of the Ancient Snow Wolf Emperor’s trials. As long as you can endure the first stage for seven days and seven nights, the path will lead straight to the Frozen Gate, and then into an Ice Spirit Pool." Xia Qing’s expression was grave, his gaze profound. "But even among the North Snow Wolf Clan, only two or three have ever managed to accomplish this, and they were all geniuses on par with a Wolf King..."

"So cold!"

A student suddenly shivered, sat down cross-legged, and began circulating his Cultivation Technique, trying to resist the corrosion of the Ice Soul Poison.

More and more students voluntarily sat down. Even Xia Qing’s face gradually turned pale. He took one last deep look at Jiang Qiu and Ice Lotus by his leg, then pursed his lips and warned, "If you don’t resist the Ice Soul Poison with all your might, you’ll end up frozen solid, trapped in a state of suspended animation, and left at the mercy of others."

In an instant, all nine hundred-plus students were sitting cross-legged on the ground to conserve body heat. They shut their eyes, their facial muscles tensed, as Spirit Charms of various attributes swirled around their bodies.

Only Jiang Qiu remained standing alone at the edge of the abyss. His right hand rested lightly on Ice Lotus’s shoulder, his heart thumping wildly as the Flame within him burned, refining the pure Spirit Charm seeping into him from her body.

He clenched his left fist, the glint of a spear’s tip reflecting in his dark eyes.

’We weren’t the ones who came to steal the Ice Crystal Fruit, yet we’re being punished alongside those bastards from North Border City. The Demon Race of the Northern Wilderness is fundamentally no different from the Demon Race of the Northwest Province—they’re all completely unscrupulous. If I make it out of here alive, I’ll make the North Snow Wolf Clan pay!’

A spark of fury ignited in Jiang Qiu’s chest.

[A wisp of Soul Ice Spirit Charm has been refined.]

[A wisp of Soul Ice Spirit Charm has been refined.]

[...]

Time slowly passed. Little puffs of white vapor escaped Ice Lotus’s lips as she shivered and hugged Jiang Qiu’s waist, like a frozen wolf cub that had found a bonfire.

She could also refine the Soul Ice Spirit Charm, but her Realm and strength were both rather low. Her body was freezing cold; only the side pressed against Jiang Qiu felt a little warm.

’Perhaps it was because of the Ice and Snow Contract, or perhaps it was because the Soul Ice Spirit Charm in the Ice Palace was simply too dense. This was the first time in my life I’ve had the chance to directly absorb such pure Soul Ice Spirit Charm.’ 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

She subconsciously wanted to absorb more, and her absorption rate of the Soul Ice Spirit Charm was higher than anyone else’s. But this left too much of the Ice Soul Poison behind, and her little face grew cold enough to frost over...

"Hooo~"

An unknown amount of time passed. On the Ice Platform, the Three Race Elders let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes to look down. As expected, white frost had formed on most people’s faces—a sign that the Ice Soul Poison had penetrated their blood.

But a few of them were still holding on tenaciously, their faces flushed red.

"They don’t even cultivate Soul Ice Spirit Charm, yet they can hold on this long? What kind of potential do they have?" The Three Race Elders’ brows knitted tightly, a look of astonishment flashing in his eyes. "Could they be peerless prodigies with Sixth Rank Jade Sinews or higher?!"

His grave gaze swept over Xia Qing, Lin Wei, Niu Yao, and Jiang Qiu. He glanced back at the large group of trembling youths from his own clan, and a startling thought struck him like a bolt of lightning: "Could they be that batch of students from the Xia Country’s rookie tournament?!"