My Arts Evolve When Perfected

Entering the two-meter-wide crack in the Frozen Gate, a vast lake of rising frigid mist blocked the path ahead. With a low hum, the Frozen Gate behind them sealed into an Ice Wall, as if the gate that had split down the middle had never existed.

This second level of the Ancient Snow Wolf Emperor’s trial had no exit. Crystalline ice walls surrounded them, and a single step forward led into a pool of icy water. In the pool, over seven hundred members of the North Snow Wolf Clan swam toward the center of the lake, their bodies circulating with Soul Ice Spirit Charm, every one of their faces as cold as ice.

Their gazes were fixed fervently on an ice sculpture of the Wolf Emperor in the center of the lake, their eyes filled with deep yearning. As long as they swam to the foot of the Wolf Emperor’s ice sculpture, they had a chance to obtain the Wolf Emperor’s inheritance...

Watching their swimming figures from a distance, Jiang Qiu took out his Black Flood Dragon bow, intending to shoot. However, he couldn’t muster his Spirit Charm, and even his Qi Blood trembled slightly. The Conical Arrow he fired hit an invisible ice barrier over the lake with a THUD and sank to the bottom.

"Let’s swim over too. It looks like we have to touch that ice sculpture to complete the trial."

After speaking, Jiang Qiu jumped into the water. A bone-chilling cold stripped away at his flesh and bone as if with a butcher’s precision, and his entire body grew numb.

’This water is freezing, but the Soul Ice Spirit Charm is incredibly dense!’

[Soul Ice Spirit Charm Refined x1]

[Soul Ice Spirit Charm Refined x1]

[...]

He didn’t know how long he had been swimming. The cold water was like a hammer forging his body and soul. Jiang Qiu’s eyelids trembled, and his heart rate slowed to a near standstill.

Not far ahead, the members of the North Snow Wolf Clan who had entered the water earlier began to sink, one after another. Their faces were expressionless as ice crystals formed around their outlines, making them look like sculptures slowly descending into the black depths of the lake.

The sound of his own arms stroking through the water faded from his ears, and the warmth in his chest was gradually submerged...

[Soul Ice Spirit Charm Refined x1]

[Soul Ice Spirit Charm Refined x1]

[...]

His consciousness quietly slipped away. The frigid lake rejected Jiang Qiu, an outsider, and his senses plunged into darkness as his limbs stopped moving.

Sinking...

Just as the water’s surface closed over his head, he vaguely felt a pair of small, soft, and warm hands take his right hand, pulling him upward with force.

[Ice and Snow Contract]

Immediately, an endless stream of Soul Ice Spirit Charm flowed from those hands. Like a thousand rivers flowing into the sea, it surged tempestuously through him, instantly breaking through the blockages in his veins. He opened his eyes!

His vertical pupils, blood-red with golden patterns, lit up. They ignited a fire in his heart, warming his blood to resist the cold pressing against his skin.

Deep within his mind, the large egg that had transformed from the Dragon Spirit began to hum and vibrate. It turned into a swirling vortex, voraciously devouring the Spirit Charm pouring in from Ice Lotus’s palms.

[Soul Ice Spirit Charm Refined x1]

[Soul Ice Spirit Charm Refined x1]

[...]

[Fourth Realm of the Bright Soul]

His consciousness restored, Jiang Qiu pulled Ice Lotus’s petite body close and shot forward through the water, his twisting form resembling a Flood Dragon entering the sea.

’Just swim to the center and touch the Wolf Emperor’s ice sculpture, and this trial will be complete!’

[Soul Ice Spirit Charm Refined x1]

[Soul Ice Spirit Charm Refined x1]

[...]

[Fifth Realm of the Bright Soul]

[...]

Over seven hundred members of the North Snow Wolf Clan had turned into ice sculptures and sunk to the bottom. Even the Three Race Elders had closed their eyes, clawing at the bubbling, frigid water as they fell into the bottomless abyss.

There was no one left swimming in front of Jiang Qiu. His eyes reflected only the massive ice sculpture of the Wolf Emperor beneath the icy dome. An endless stream of Spirit Charm transformed into flames, dispelling the chill from his and Ice Lotus’s bodies.

[Bright Soul Ninth Realm]

[100,000/100,000]

TAP.

The moment his palm touched the base of the Wolf Emperor’s ice sculpture, a pain as sharp as a piercing Ice Cone stabbed through Jiang Qiu’s thoughts, and his vision went black.

"The battle for the Great Dao is upon us. I have finally awaited a successor..."

An ancient, weathered voice of an Alien Race echoed from the endless darkness. Deep in his mind, he saw the soul of a massive Wolf Emperor stepping through the snow. It lowered its head, its cold gaze looking down on him. "Since you are a successor, you shall be of use to me."

The words landed like a thousand tons of hail crashing down on Jiang Qiu’s chest. His frail soul body lifted its head, glaring in defiance, and clenched its fists. "You? Worthy?!"

"Hm?" The Wolf Emperor’s icy pupils met Jiang Qiu’s Dragon Eye, and its expression froze. "The aura of Chen? You seized his Dao!"

KRA-CHA—

A massive, red Dragon Egg shattered. A crimson light, like a red sun at noon, burst forth, instantly engulfing the Wolf Emperor’s remnant soul before it could retreat. It threw its head back and howled in rage!

"ROAR—"

A Dragon’s Roar that pierced the darkness instantly shattered the Wolf Emperor’s soul. Jiang Qiu’s soul heated up once more as his Spirit Charm began to fuse with the newly hatched Dragon Spirit.

[Talent Transformation x1]

[Yukong]

[Features: Dragon Dominating Nine Heavens, Stepping on Clouds and Mist]

[Fusion Dharma Aspect]

[Flaming Azure Dragon Dharma Aspect]

[Dao Intent: 0/100]

[Feature 1: Fiery Flame Dragon Body True Form, Supreme over Heaven and Earth]

As time passed, panel after panel of information flashed through Jiang Qiu’s mind, and fragmented memories absorbed from the Wolf Emperor’s disintegrating soul also materialized.

’After the great catastrophe, the Emperors of every race sought survival. They will surely reawaken before the next battle for the Great Dao. Whoever breaks their seal first will seize the advantage...’

’The Human Emperor is dead. It is time for the protagonist of the Great Dao to change.’

Jiang Qiu repeated these two sentences in his mind. A wondrous sense of control welled up from within him, allowing him to perceive the entire situation at the bottom of the Ice Palace’s lake without even opening his eyes.

All the students and the North Snow Race were temporarily turned into ice sculptures, floating in the black abyss, awaiting the end of the trial.

With a single thought, the Secret Realm trembled like ripples on water. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

OMM...

Jiang Qiu opened his eyes. The Wolf Emperor’s ice sculpture had lost its luster, and the water of the deep, icy pool had turned from frigid to merely cool.

He flew out of the lake, holding the unconscious Ice Lotus in his arms. In the blink of an eye, the world transformed. The icy dome melted into white clouds, the crystalline ice walls manifested as a sprawling coniferous forest, and heavy snow buried the icy pool. They had returned to North Snow Ridge.

THUD. THUD. THUD...

The ice sculptures of Lin Wei, Xia Qing, and the other students materialized out of thin air and crashed into the snow, each one as exquisitely detailed as a heavenly masterpiece.

As for the Three Race Elders and the other demons, the ice encasing them melted rapidly after they left the Secret Realm. They shivered a few times but couldn’t snap out of their daze, their eyes vacant and lost, like believers who had lost their faith.

Jiang Qiu casually released his [Soul Ice Spirit Fire] to melt the ice on Lin Wei and the others, awakening their souls. "It’s time to head to North Border City."

"!!!"

Lin Wei and the others came to their senses and stared, dumbfounded, up at Jiang Qiu, who was standing in the air using Yukong. "Jiang Divine, you’ve reached the Dharma Realm?!"

"Yes. Follow me out of North Snow Ridge. The Demon King is back. If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late."

Hearing this, although they all had countless exclamations of amazement bottled up inside, they still chased after Jiang Qiu’s figure, breaking into a run.

With his left arm, Jiang Qiu held Ice Lotus, whose body had also quietly grown a bit larger. Before leaving, he drew the Chuyuan spear with his right hand and narrowed his eyes, looking back at the stunned and lost Three Race Elders and the other demons.

SHOO—

The spear tip shot out like a dragon, and flames flocked to it. A heatwave melted the ice and snow in a hundred-meter radius. In the dull pupils of the Three Race Elders, it was as if a red sun had appeared, searing their eyes and hearts.

BOOM—

A Fire Lotus formed from the flames engulfed the more than seven hundred members of the North Snow Wolf Clan. Those at the Transformation Realm were turned to ash; those at the Spirit Communication Realm were burned to charcoal. Even experts as strong as the Three Race Elders, their Soul Ice Spirit Charm depleted, could not resist and were subsequently annihilated.

[Spear Dao Mastery x1]

[Ancient Martial Spear (Mastery)]

[Mastery Points: 9/10]

[Third Technique: Rainbow Spear Piercing the Sun]

[Features: Momentum like a rainbow piercing the sun; a single thought sends the spear to the heavens.]

Mastery Points came from mastering Spear Skills and from [Weapon Skill Fusion]. Initially, [Soaring Dragon Piercing] gave one Mastery Point, and [Furious Dragon Ascending to Heaven] gave two.

After [Weapon Skill Fusion], both of these values doubled.

And now, using [Rainbow Spear Piercing the Sun] with a single thought granted three Mastery Points.