Chapter 025: Things Unknown

(This afternoon at two o’clock, the novel will be featured for the first time in the trial recommendation slot. I eagerly await the collections and clicks from both new and old friends—my heartfelt thanks!)

Zha Shi was never someone who could be judged by ordinary standards. Once he had left, Lin Zhan swiftly regained his composure and set out for the secret realm of the Heroic Pool.

Blue Ice City lay blanketed in snow all year round, knowing no change of seasons. Yet, compared to the world outside, the cave and hot spring of the Heroic Pool secret realm felt very much like spring. The steaming water, shrouded in mist, resembled a realm of immortals. Lin Zhan, stripped down to nothing but self-made shorts, swam back and forth in the hot spring, while the spiritual energy around him was ceaselessly drawn in by the Nine-Star Diagram. The bubbling water matched his own mood—excited yet anxious.

Each time he underwent the hot spring's baptism, it was like a warm-up before refining his qi. After about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, he stepped ashore.

His mind moved with his will, spiritual energy coursed through him, and the droplets on his body evaporated in an instant. He donned his clothes, his vigor and spirit now at their peak, then sat upon a stalagmite of spiritual stone shaped like a lotus platform and began to contemplate the Blazing Fist technique.

All around him lay silence, and he entered a state of ethereal detachment...

That night, Zha Shi moved nimbly, leaping through forests and over hills, finally arriving atop a certain mountain peak. There, he knelt and bowed before a middle-aged man.

This man, clad in ornate robes, wore an air of authority; he was clearly a high-ranking official in the Blazing Ice Mountain sect.

“Father!”

“Yun’er!”

So this was Zha Shi’s father. But why would father and son meet in such a remote, wild place?

“Get up. Sigh, if not for your voice, I wouldn’t recognize you in this appearance...” Yun Mobei, Zha Shi’s father, reached out to help him up, pinching his smooth, handsome face with a look full of fatherly affection.

“Oh, come now, Father, look at how dashing I am now! What’s so bad about it?” Zha Shi spun around carelessly before his father. “This time, you’ll help me lift the seal, won’t you? Blood Phoenix and Qiu Ao will surely seek revenge. If my cultivation remains sealed, I’ll be done for!”

“I’ve heard about it. That Blood Phoenix has just acquired a Spirit-Scent Mouse and will certainly track you down. Although on the surface, their family won’t openly break with ours, among the youths, if something goes wrong in their private duels, there’s really no way to hold them accountable afterward. Very well, I’ll help you undo it.” Yun Mobei made up his mind, cupping a faintly glowing orb of light in one hand and pressing it to the crown of Zha Shi’s head.

The sphere of light broke through Zha Shi’s skull and entered him...

Moments later, Zha Shi moved his limbs and felt the spiritual energy flowing freely through his body. He beamed. “Thank you, Father! You are the best!”

“Sigh, you’re still the same as ever. Remember, if you’re ever in danger, use the jade slip I gave you. I’ll come to your rescue. Don’t just tough it out and let yourself be bullied again like last time!” Yun Mobei tapped his mischievous son on the head.

Zha Shi lowered his head in protest. “That was only because Qiu Ao couldn’t beat me and called for backup...”

Noticing his father’s stern gaze, he stuck out his tongue and quickly changed the subject, “I understand... So, can I go back to the Chrysanthemum Hall?”

After some thought, Yun Mobei replied, “Stay at Chrysanthemum Hall for now, but you can come and go as you please. I’ll give the necessary instructions.”

“Alright, then I’ll take my leave! Heh heh...” Zha Shi cupped his fists in a perfunctory salute and skipped away happily.

“Ah, Yun’er, I haven’t finished speaking—what’s the meaning of bringing that rookie from the Chrysanthemum Hall to your secret training cave... Ah, this child...” Yun Mobei could only shake his head, watching his son’s figure vanish from the mountaintop like a flash of lightning.

The secret cave had been crafted by Yun Mobei himself, utilizing the natural cave and hot spring, and even relocating a spiritual vein there. The result was an environment brimming with spiritual energy, elegant and unique—a sanctuary meant only for his own child. Yet his son, Yun’er, had chosen to share this ideal place of cultivation with an outsider. It was simply incomprehensible.

That rookie boy—he would have to look into his background thoroughly.

Yun Mobei made up his mind.

At that moment, atop the city wall of Blue Ice City, which faced the distant Blazing Ice Mountain, a towering black shadow stood on the highest rooftop. The figure gazed toward Blazing Ice Mountain, and the chill radiating from him was so intense that the sentries below shivered uncontrollably.

This cold was unlike the ordinary ice and snow outside; it was a sense of intimidation that chilled to the core.

And this was merely the shadow's normal state. In times of war, when his fighting spirit surged, the invisible, bone-piercing pressure he exerted would be enough to overwhelm anyone below a certain level of cultivation.

“Wu Jing, do you think this newly emerged Divine Attendant is the one we’re seeking?” The black shadow stood immobile, his tone calm. Though his mouth did not move, his voice carried clearly to the captain of the guards lurking in the shadow of the eaves.

“Reporting, City Lord. According to what we know, this individual is making progress even faster than previous Divine Attendants,” replied Wu Jing, the captain of the guard, from the darkness, bowing respectfully.

“Does that include you, as a former Divine Attendant yourself?”

“Yes, City Lord.”

“Keep a close watch. Report any developments immediately!” With that, the city lord’s shadow leapt, streaking through the night like a shooting star, vanishing deep within the city...

Wu Jing stepped out of the shadows and gazed at the sky, his expression inscrutable.

Lin Zhan had no inkling that he was already under the scrutiny of such powerful figures. At that moment, he was sweating profusely as he practiced his punches in the secret cave.

The Blazing Fist technique had played out countless times in his mind. The first time he made a fist, spiritual energy surged through every part of his body, but the Nine-Star Diagram remained inert.

Hah!

Lin Zhan planted his feet in a horse stance before the icy stone wall of the cave, gathered his spiritual energy, and punched out with full force...

Hiss!

He sucked in a cold breath, bending over and clutching his throbbing fist in pain.

The icy stone wall was not even scratched, but the skin on his knuckles and the back of his hand had been peeled off, oozing red blood.

Only then did the Nine-Star Diagram reluctantly activate, sending spiritual energy swirling over the wound, healing the torn skin in an instant.

Lin Zhan was no longer surprised. He had discovered that the Nine-Star Diagram not only sharpened weapons in others’ hands, but could also heal himself. Together with its ability to store spiritual energy, the diagram was truly a lucky charm.

“Good grief, this ice is even harder than metal!”

Lin Zhan was undeterred. Such a surface was perfect for testing the strength of his Blazing Fist technique.

“The first form of Blazing Fist: Fist Blast!”

This time, he doubled the spiritual power, silently recited the incantation, and instead of holding a horse stance, combined the movement technique of the Wind Step. His fist drew an arc through the air and struck the icy wall fiercely.

Puff!

This time, there was a faint effect; some powdered ice crumbled and drifted down.

Again!

Without comparison, there is no proof.

Had Lin Zhan known that the wall he faced was made of century-old pale blue glacial ice—so tough that not even cultivators at the Human Tier could damage it with bare fists—he would have felt proud of those few scattered ice fragments.