Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
The entire hall was covered in silverish ice. It was as though it was made entirely of special metals. In this place, a chilling wind was howling and glittering crystals were falling. It was as cold as the two polar caps.
In the middle of the mountain, a location that was isolated from the world, there actually were frightening snowstorms raging that seemed intent to bury all living things!
Lou Cheng subconsciously started circulating his flame force to warm his body. Looking around him, he realised the source of the raging snowstorms were nine separate drawings hanging in different places. They were made of a special material and looked just like cloth or silk and each had a different charm. Some were dark and cold, some were in the form of snow and ice, some were crystal clear while others were a patch of snow white. Together they formed a mystical ice field covered in snow.
With so many items of mysterious and long-lasting charm in the same place, it was indeed easy to cause implications, resulting in leakage and forming a cycle. This was different from having only one item where one could only feel the changes by making direct contact with it... Lou Cheng continued pondering as his vision swept across the area.
At the corresponding locations of the nine drawings, there was an adjacent stone platform with various items placed on it. Some were pages of golden books, some were âCrystal itemsâ, some looked ordinary and some were oozing charm. As for the nine stone platforms, they were like the stars surrounding the transparent cabinet in the middle. In it was the âIce Essence Beadsâ that were formed from the congregated dull blue rays. It was also the real original source of the strange phenomenon of this place!
âDifferent drawings correspond to the visualization of the different unique skills. The stone platforms below them had the word description of its training method, the explanatory diagrams of the moves and the âCharm Experiencesâ left behind by several past physical invulnerability grandmasters. You could combine them for your own understanding. Donât blindly follow the visualization diagram. You might as well not have books if you are going to follow it blindly. Martial arts are accumulated slowly over time.â He Yu explained in a simplified manner. He smiled faintly and continued, âYou can come to this place for three hours a day. Donât push yourself too hard. Donât think that just because you have âEmperor Yan Forceâ that you could withstand the severely harsh environment. Be careful of the chilling charm entering your core as you could get arthritis. These might affect your chances of leaping over the dragon gate and achieving physical invulnerability.â
âThank you, Senior Uncle, for your advice. Your disciple has understood. In that case, Iâll train here from one thirty to four thirty each day.â Lou Cheng knew what he should do and responded with sincerity and respect.
âGreat. When it comes to understanding, itâs a personal thing. Iâll be heading out first.â He Yi pointed to the shimmering drawings and said, âThat is the Enemy Heart Freezing Move. Ice Mirror was a simplified derivative of it... That is Ice Spirit Holy Light, the ancestor of Ice Burning. It also had a matching set of knife moves and sword techniques. You can take a look and try to understand. Even if you have no intention of picking up a weapon, you could also work in your fists and kicks... That is âEternal Ice Wallâ, a purely defensive skill. However teenagers like you have an open mind. Perhaps there are other uses that you might be able to come up with. That is âTitanic Starlit Skies. Absolute Frostâ, one of the two major killer moves of Ice Sect...â
Among the âUnique Skills of Five Sectsâ under Taoism, âThunderâ sect, âFireâ sect, âFightingâ sect and âPlagueâ sect had compressed their related physical invulnerability moves into nine different styles. The later generations had since imitated this system for classification. The first through seventh styles were various physical invulnerability moves for different uses while the eighth and ninth style were the strongest killing move. They were named differently for differentiation. For example, the eighth move of Thunder sect was âThunder from a Clear Sky. Cloudless Thunder Bladeâ, the ninth move of Fire Sect was âNine Rotations of Five Flames, Descend Of The Sunâ, the ninth move of Fighting Sect was âDoomâs Outrage, Punishment Of The Star Palaceâ, the eighth move of Plague Sect was âDemon Spirits Devil, Road To Hellâ and the ninth move of Dark Sect was âDarkness Devouring The Day, Eternal Nightfall Descendsâ.
The eighth and ninth moves of the unique Ice Sectâs Ice Magical Kung Fu were âFrozen World, Eternal Freezeâ and âTitanic Starlit Skies, Absolute Frostâ respectively.
After giving him some directions, He Yi did not delay Lou Chengâs time further. He walked out slowly from this place and closed the heavy door to isolate him from the outside world.
Lou Cheng did some balancing in his mind and took steps towards where the âEnemy Heart Freezing Moveâ was at.
Ice Mirror had become the core of all his martial arts now. It would definitely be the best if he could gain a new understanding and improvement on this skill!
That drawing looked like an engraving of a mirror formed from ice crystals. However upon careful examination, one would realize it was more like a fully functional crystal heart. With the surrounding cold fog contracting and relaxing, it appeared to have come alive and was beating.
Lou Cheng attempted to gain a direct understanding initially. However after not getting anything, he began to carefully read through the descriptions on the stone platform, the explanatory diagrams and the notes made by his grandmasters on their experiences one by one.
After getting an overall sense of the move and gaining a certain level of confidence, he returned to the visualization diagram again. He attempted to enter Solemn Silence again and try to experience it with a calm mind.
Three hours flew by quickly. Lou Cheng, who had his flame force circulating instinctively, woke up from the cold. His body was shivering uncontrollably.
âItâs been a long time since I have had such feelings. No wonder master only gives me three days. Otherwise, I wouldnât be able to take it even if I was here for three hours a day. I probably have to wait for ten days to half a month before I can enter this place again...â Lou Cheng turned his flame force into âEmperor Yanâ to stop shivering and acted like he was okay until He Yi opened the door.
With regard to the Enemy Heart Freezing Move, he was limited by his current level and could understand only an extremely small amount. He could only vaguely understand that it was not only applicable to himself but was also the nemesis of negative emotions. It could even connect with the heavens and the earth and help him to peek at his enemyâs emotions and changes in their muscles to predict their next move in advance. In other words, this could be used to look over his spirit but could also be used to reflect his opponentsâ status.
Based on this, Lou Cheng had initial thoughts about his future training on Ice Mirror.
On the second day, he took a look at Ice Spirit Holy Light. This was a unique skill that could increase the release of Ice Spirit Force. In addition, it could be released without scattering, forming knives and swords. It also had a matching set of moves.
Lou Cheng could not even scratch the surface and wasnât able to increase his force. However he still managed to understand a little about the application techniques with the support of âEncountering Gods In The Void, Self Reflectionâ. As for the knife and sword technique, he had seriously read through them. Combined with the notes from those who came before him, he had some new understandings about the simple changes in it.
On the third day, he found a possible way of improving Ice Armor from the performance of compressed and thickened âEternal Ice Wallâ. As this was purely a defensive move, the relevant details werenât as many. After Lou Cheng had finished his experiences, he still had one and a half hour left.
Since he was free, he walked to the front of the incomplete âTitanic Starlit Skies. Absolute Frostâ. Its background was deep and dark but had several small dots of light in the distance. Juxtaposed to the stars, it brought out the quietness and chill of the starlit skies even more. It was as though there was no longer any temperature and all civilization had become graveyards.
Concentrating his mind and looking at it in details, Lou Cheng discovered that there seemed to be another palm in the visualization palm. It was enveloped in darkness and brought out the feel of eternal silence. It seemed real but also illusory at the same time, making it hard for others to be sure.
After studying for a while, he still did not get anything. Lou Cheng decided to try to understand it from different viewpoints.
âDisregarding that palm, how was the âAbsolute Frostâ in âTitanic Starlit Skiesâ formed? For the boundaryless universe, after moving away from stars, the temperature would drop by a frightening level without a need for other procedures. For me to imitate its martial arts, would I have to completely isolate the heat of the sun from spreading?â Lou Cheng thought aimlessly. He started circulating Ice Spirit force without delay in the name of experimentation.
First, he applied the principles of insulation. Overlapping his force, The external layer would keep some space from the inner layer to stop the heat flow and creating more layers above the core where the temperature was kept low. However, he failed miserably.
Following which, he extended his âForceâ to attempt to lower the temperature. He failed again.
Round after round, the fire pile that Lou Cheng used to get warmth wouldnât exist over a minute. Just like his attempts, it always ended up in failure.
Seeing that there were about ten minutes left, he gave up on trying and stared at the visualization diagram again. The more he looked at it, the more he felt that this was similar to the âSkyâ when he formed his Dan in balance.
âThey looked quite alike...â A thought flashed passed Lou Chengâs mind, and he suddenly got a bold conjecture.
I might not be able to understand the charm of the drawing but I can imitate its state directly!
Letâs see if I can understand something from that!
He immediately attempted it after thinking of it. Lou Cheng gathered his breathing and blood and started to spin the ice and fire within him to achieve a balance. The former was dark and cold while the other was heavy and hot. Together, they maintained the existence of the âStarlit Universeâ.
For others at the Dan Stage, they would have to let it expand at this point to release the Dan Force. However Lou Cheng allowed his consciousness to remain high in the skies to control the contraction of the flame force. His breathing and blood went towards the core and away from the dark edges to create a scene similar to the visualization diagram.
This process was extremely difficult. When he contracted to a certain degree, Lou Cheng would lack the necessary strength to continue maintaining the Dan state that was in balance. He tried it again and again and was met with failure after failure.
Soon his time was up. He suddenly recalled that he could borrow strength from the outside. Therefore he did another Force concentration, contracting his flame force, breathing and mind again.
In the instance when he was closed to his limits, Lou Cheng triggered the Jindan located at his lower abdomen and mobilized some powers from it. The âraysâ collapsed instantly and sunk into the core, away from the darkness and making the âSkyâ just like what was on the visualization diagram.
In this state, the balance was disrupted and could no longer be maintained. Lou Cheng forcibly did a force concentration to make his temperature return to his body while throwing out a cannon punch forward with all the darkness.
There wasnât a loud boom or movement. The space in front of his fist had quietly formed large pieces of light blue ice crystals. It was as though all the air had solidified within it.
Such a strange phenomenon only lasted for a second before disappearing. Lou Chengâs entire body went sore and had no strength left in his legs and arms. Panting profusely while looking at the effects of the previous punch, he felt some sense of happiness arising in his heart.
This strength exceeded the normal âIce Spirit Forceâ by a lot...
I wondered if I could progress slowly and have thirty to forty percent of the effects if I donât borrow strength from the Jindan?
What should I call this move that I have self-created?
At this moment, the heavy metal door moved outwards and opened. He Yi walked in and saw Lou Cheng who was clearly in a bad state. He shook his head and laughed,
âYou donât have to push so hard. This place could be considered yours as well. There will be other opportunities in the future to return. Itâs just a matter of time before you gain something from this place.â
I already gained something... Lou Cheng mumbled to himself. He smiled and replied,
âClan Leader uncle you are right.â
Iâm keeping this a secret first. Iâll try to be able to master the simplified version without relying on Jindan. Then I could let Priest and Ren Li experience it a little in April!