The days following the revelation in the ice cave became the strangest, most surreal period of Lin Feng's life. His role as a "Walking Spiritual Battery" was accepted with the resignation of a man who has seen too much to be surprised, but not enough to have gone completely mad. The change in Xiao Lan was as subtle as it was seismic. The cold distance of a superior had evaporated, replaced by the focused, relentless intensity of a scholar who had found her life's project.
And Lin Feng was that project.
His "training," as Xiao Lan called it with clinical seriousness, was a series of hair-raising, controlled experiments. They discovered that the duration of their connection was directly proportional to Lin Feng's physical and mental endurance. At first, he could only maintain the flow of chaotic energy for a few seconds before exhaustion and the pain in his meridians left him on the verge of collapse.
"Unacceptable," Xiao Lan declared after their first attempt, as Lin Feng lay on the cave floor, gasping like a fish out of water. "Your body is too fragile a vessel. It's like trying to force a river through a rice straw. Strengthening you is now the top priority."
And so, a new regimen began. Xiao Lan supplied him with low-grade Jade Essence Pills as if they were simple candies, an act that would have caused a riot in the outer disciples' quarters. The pure medicinal energy repaired the damage to his meridians and replenished his vitality at an astonishing rate. Furthermore, she forced him to undergo rigorous physical training. She taught him basic defensive stances and footwork patterns that, according to her, were "fundamental for any cultivator who didn't wish to die stupidly."
Lin Feng, whose only prior exercise had been the "shovel lift" and "beating evasion," discovered to his surprise that he was an abnormally fast learner. Years of having to anticipate his bullies' movements and moving stealthily to steal an extra ration had given him a body awareness and muscle memory that astonished his tutor. What took others weeks to master, he absorbed in days, his body adapting with the desperate efficiency of a true survivor.
"Your cultivation base is nonexistent," she told him one day, after he effortlessly dodged a series of icicles she'd thrown at him as a test, "but your instincts are as sharp as my sword. You are a walking contradiction, Lin Feng."
I'm the product of poor nutrition and excellent workplace harassment, Senior Sister, he thought to himself, but he only nodded, too exhausted to offer a sarcastic reply.
During these training sessions, they developed a strange synergy. They learned to modulate the flow of power between them, to create a smaller but denser flame, or a wider but less annihilating wave. Lin Feng learned to sense Xiao Lan's intentions through their connection, to anticipate how much energy she would need before she even asked for it. They were becoming a single unit, a two-component weapon system. One component was a war goddess in the making. The other was a nervous battery with a biting wit.
One afternoon, after a particularly successful training session in which they had cleanly disintegrated a small glacier blocking a pass, they were resting. Lin Feng chewed on a strip of dried deer jerky, feeling the warm energy of another pill mending his sore muscles. Xiao Lan stood by the edge of a precipice, staring into the distance, but her mind was clearly elsewhere. She was reviewing patterns, analyzing possibilities, with that intensity Lin Feng now knew so well.
Finally, she turned to him. Her jade eyes shone with a calculating light.
"I've completed my analysis," she announced, as if presenting the results of a dissertation. "Over the last week, our combined energy efficiency has increased by a factor of 1200%. Your capacity to channel chaotic energy has gone from 3.7 seconds to a sustained maximum of 48 seconds, with recovery periods reduced by 82%. The variability in our fused flame's power output is now less than 3%, making it predictable and reliable."
Lin Feng stopped chewing. He didn't like the sound of that. It sounded like the preamble to a terrible idea.
"That's… good news, I suppose, Senior Sister," he said cautiously.
"It's paradigm-shifting news," she corrected, her voice flat but laden with unmistakable ambition. "It means a goal that was previously unattainable is now within the realm of calculated possibility."
She took a step toward him, her shadow falling over his.
"We are going to hunt the Glacial Hydra."
The piece of jerky got stuck in Lin Feng's throat. For a moment, the world went silent, save for a sharp ringing in his ears. He blinked, certain he had misheard her. She couldn't have said what he thought she'd said. That was the cultivation world's equivalent of "I've decided it would be fun to go tickle a dragon's nest."
"I'm sorry, Senior Sister," he croaked, once he managed to swallow. "For a moment, the wind made me think you suggested we commit an elaborate and artistic suicide. What were you saying?"
Xiao Lan's expression didn't change. "You heard correctly. We will hunt the Hydra and claim the treasure it guards."
Panic, cold and absolute, seized Lin Feng. This went beyond being a guinea pig. This was being rocket fuel on a mission to a sun no one had ever returned from.
"Senior Sister, with all due respect, that's insane!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Protocol and deference were forgotten in his sudden vision of being simultaneously frozen, crushed, and devoured by multiple giant serpent heads. "You said it yourself! That beast is on par with a Foundation Establishment master! Its regenerative power is legendary! We're two people! Well, one and a half people, with me being the useless half who's only good for carrying the bags and… and being a battery!"
Xiao Lan listened patiently to his objections, letting him vent. When he was finished, his chest heaving, she replied with a logic as cold and cutting as the ice.
"Your objections are based on outdated data, Lin Feng. Let's analyze the new facts. Fact one: my base power, alone, was insufficient. Our combined power is a game-changer. It isn't just stronger; it's conceptually superior. The Hydra's energy is of the Yin and Ice attribute. Our flame is now a fusion of Yang Fire, Purification, and the annihilating essence of your Chaos. It's the perfect antidote."
She continued, dismantling his fears with surgical precision.
"Fact two: its regeneration. That is its greatest weapon. But how does it work? It uses the abundant ice Qi from the environment and its own life force to repair damage. However, our flame doesn't just damage. You've seen it. It annihilates matter. It creates a conceptual void where Qi-based regeneration should fail, or at least be severely inhibited. We can inflict wounds it cannot heal."
Finally, she got to the crux of the matter. Her gaze grew even more intense.
"Fact three: the reward. The beast guards a Thousand-Year Frost Lotus. It's a legendary spiritual plant that can only bloom in places of extreme cold, yet it needs to absorb a trace of pure solar energy for an instant every hundred years. Its duality of extreme Yin and pure Yang is miraculous. For me, consuming that lotus isn't just a power boost. It could allow me to achieve the perfect harmony between the Ice and Fire of my moniker, break through my Foundation Establishment bottleneck, and touch the threshold of the Golden Core Realm. Something that would normally take me a decade of secluded cultivation. The risk, while high, is justified by the potential reward."
Lin Feng was speechless. Her logic was as terrifying as it was impeccable. She had turned his fear into an equation and solved it. And the answer was, apparently, "go poke the giant ice snake."
"And… what exactly would my role be in this… glorified hunting expedition?" he asked, dreading the answer. "Aside from being your portable power source?"
Xiao Lan nodded. "Your role is critical. And twofold. First, you will be my 'battery,' as you put it. You must remain close enough to maintain our connection at all times. Our lives will depend on the stability of our fused power."
She paused, and Lin Feng had the distinct feeling he was going to like the second part even less.
"Second… you will be the bait."
Lin Feng's heart stopped. "The… the bait?"
"The Hydra is an ancient and intelligent creature. It won't leave its lair to face me, a threat it perceives as dangerous. But you…" She looked him up and down. "You are different. You are a first-stage cultivator with a strange, fluctuating aura. To it, you will smell like easy, curious prey. An anomaly it will want to investigate and devour. Your presence will lure it out of its canyon and into the open terrain I've chosen for the battle, where we will have the tactical advantage."
She handed him a small jade talisman that glowed with a protective light. "This is a high-grade Spirit Turtle Shield Talisman. I activated it with my own Qi. It should be able to withstand one, maybe two, of its ice breath attacks before shattering. It will buy you the time I need to get into position and launch our first strike. Don't let it break."
Lin Feng held the talisman. It felt heavy in his hand. Heavy with the weight of his own, very probable death.
Bait. Of course I'm the bait, he thought, a bitter, silent laugh bubbling in his chest. I've been promoted. From fertilizer specialist to porter, to battery, and now, to Premium-Grade Bait with Turtle Shield Included. My career in this sect is truly meteoric.
He knew he had no choice. To say no was to go back to being a nobody, without protection, without resources, and with a secret that could get him killed if it ever came out. Refusal was a slower, but just as certain, death sentence. His life was now inextricably linked to this woman's ambition.
With a sigh that seemed to drag the soul from his body, he nodded. "Understood, Senior Sister. Bait. Battery. Whatever it takes."
A rare spark of approval shone in Xiao Lan's eyes. "Good. Your will to survive, however reluctant, is your greatest asset. Prepare yourself. We leave at dawn."
That night, Lin Feng barely slept. He went over the plan again and again in his mind: his role, the movement patterns, the signals… everything.
At dawn, they met at the edge of the ledge, looking toward the ominous canyon in the distance. The air blowing from it was noticeably colder, charged with an ancient, slumbering power that made the skin crawl. The silence was absolute.
Lin Feng looked at Xiao Lan. She stood straight and serene, her sword on her back, her face a mask of absolute concentration. There was no fear in her. Only a determination as solid as the mountain itself. She was beautiful, terrifying, and completely insane. And he was about to follow her into hell.
With a nod, she began to walk.
Lin Feng followed, the Turtle Talisman clutched in one hand and his shovel in the other, an absurd reminder of his humble beginnings. He was terrified. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to run in the opposite direction.
But as he walked toward the beast's lair, toward almost certain death, a small, strange spark ignited deep within him, alongside the fear. It was something he hadn't felt before. It wasn't joy or courage. It was a dark, twisted anticipation.
For the first time in his life, he wasn't a spectator to the great events of the world. He wasn't shoveling manure while geniuses battled on distant peaks.
He was a part of it.
It was a terrifying promotion, to be sure. But it was a promotion nonetheless.
And as he followed the fire goddess into the heart of winter, Lin Feng couldn't stop a crooked smile from gracing his lips. The game had changed, and he was about to find out if he was good enough to play.