The air smelled like shattered oaths and frozen blood, the sacred training grounds of the Lingjian Sect now a killing floor.
Li Qing stood alone on the Circle of Severance, her:
Frost Veins pulsing like captured lightning
Sword sheathed in permafrost
Former disciples arrayed against her with blades drawn
At the pavilion's peak, her master—Elder Bai, the Frost Tyrant—descended in a whirl of condemning scrolls.
"Last chance, Qing'er." His voice cracked like glaciers calving. "Kill the Eclipse Bearer. Regain your honor."
[System Alert: Harem Member in Mortal Peril]
[Recommended Actions:
Intervene (Die Together)
Watch (Suffer Forever)
Improvise (90% Chance of Disaster)]
Luo Feng's Eclipse Core screamed through their bond.
THE TRIAL
First Movement: The Cutting Wind
Elder Bai attacked without drawing his sword—shearing frost from fingertips
Li Qing parried with her scabbard, ice blooming where blades should meet
"You taught me form," she hissed, "but not why."*
Second Movement: The Thousand Cuts
The elder unleashed his namesake technique—a blizzard of invisible slashes
Li Qing stood motionless, letting the attacks freeze her tears mid-fall
"You never earned this frost."
Third Movement: The Unsealing
When Elder Bai finally drew his sword, the entire sect's accumulated cold rushed forth
Li Qing dropped her blade—and caught the killing strike barehanded
Her blood froze before it could drip
"My turn."
THE AWAKENING
What happened next rewrote sect history:
The Fracture
Li Qing's frost veins shattered—then reformed black as void ice
The disciples' swords exploded into snowflakes
The Revelation
She inhaled—and the entire sect's frost energy ripped free from elders and walls alike
"You borrowed cold." Her voice froze time itself. "I am cold."
The Execution
A single open-palm strike to Elder Bai's chest
His decades of stolen frost burst outward in a dendrite pattern
"This was never yours to wield."
[System Override: TRUE FROST VE UNLOCKED]
[New Designation: Li Qing, the Frost Singularity]
[Warning: Do Not Anger Her (Even More)]
THE AFTERMATH
As the sect collapsed into an avalanche of shame:
The Death Queen applauded from the ruins. "Darling, I might actually respect you now."
Luo Feng's Eclipse Core resonated—its frost strand now singing in harmony with Li Qing's.
And high above, the Pantheon's storm clouds...
Parted.
[New Mission: TEACH LUO FENG PROPER SWORD FORMS]
[Secondary Objective: Try Not to Freeze His Heart (Literally)]
The plush demons began knitting frost-proof scarves.
END OF CHAPTER 63