The morning sun climbed slowly over the snowy ridges surrounding Frostridge Village. Its weak warmth slipped across the rooftops, melting the thinnest patches of ice and sending tiny rivulets of water trickling down the wooden walls. The air smelled of fresh frost and pine, sharp enough to sting the nose with every breath.
But despite the peaceful scenery, the village felt tense.
Doors opened only halfway. Curtains shifted. People whispered as Alina Frost walked through the village square with Elder Mira. She did not miss the way some looked at her with awe, and others with fear.
She tried to ignore all of it.After last night, her mind was still a storm.
She had nearly died.
And then—
No. More than that.She had changed.
Alina and Elder Mira reached the open space near the village gate—a small training ground usually used for testing hunting spears and practicing sword swings. Frost still coated the ground from the battle last night, untouched and shimmering.
Alina sat on the smooth flat stone at the center, her heart beating too loudly in her chest.
Elder Mira leaned on her cane, watching her closely.
"Alina," she said softly, "before anything else… are you afraid?"
Alina hesitated."…A little."
"Good," the elder smiled. "Fear means you understand the weight of cultivation. Only fools feel nothing."
Alina managed a small smile back.
The wind blew gently across her face, cold enough to send shivers crawling down her spine. Yet somehow, the cold felt comforting now. Familiar.
A soft, clear sound chimed inside her mind.
Ding.[First Cultivation Mode Activated.][User: Alina Frost.][Guidance Protocol Ready.]
Alina took a deep breath.
Elder Mira stepped back. "Begin when you are ready. I will watch over you."
Alina nodded and closed her eyes.
Immediately, the world dulled—sounds softened, wind faded, and only the rhythmic beating of her own heart remained.
The system's voice echoed gently:
[Step 1: Calm your breath. Empty the mind.]
Alina inhaled deeply.
Her lungs filled with cold air.Her body relaxed.Her shoulders drooped slightly.
In…Out…
Each breath slowed her thoughts.
The memories of the beast, the mark, the icy spear—they drifted away like melting snow.
[Step 2: Activate Frostflow Veins.]
Warmth would have been normal.Heat, perhaps.
But what Alina felt was the opposite.
Cold—gentle, soft, and soothing—spread from her chest outward. It felt like frozen water finally starting to move again after years of stillness.
Her fingers tingled.Her toes numb.Her heartbeat steadied into a calm, slow rhythm.
She opened her eyes slightly.
Thin lines of pale blue light traced across her skin.Veins of frost—delicate as spiderwebs—shimmered beneath the surface.
Elder Mira whispered from behind, voice trembling, "That root… it's awakening beautifully."
Alina closed her eyes again, focusing.
[Step 3: Absorb ambient Qi.]
Suddenly, she felt it.
The air around her wasn't empty. It was alive.
Tiny particles of energy drifted through the world like snowflakes too small for the eye to see. They brushed against her skin, cool and soft.
Alina inhaled.
And the particles flowed toward her—drawn by something inside her chest.
At first, only a few came. Then dozens. Then hundreds.
And then a constant stream.
Like snowfall rushing into her body.
Her breath hitched, but the system spoke calmly:
[You are stable. Continue absorption.]
The frost patterns on her arms brightened. Her hair lifted slightly as Qi flowed around her. Even the ground near her feet glazed over with a thin layer of frost, spreading outward slowly.
Elder Mira took another step back.Her eyes widened.
"So much Qi… at her first try?"
Alina felt the swirling energy settle inside her chest, like cold water pooling in a deep well.
It was… pleasant.
Comfortable.
Like she had finally found something that belonged to her.
[41%…][52%…][66%…][79%…]
Her heartbeat quickened—not from fear, but from excitement.
"Is this what cultivation feels like…?"
Power.Real power.
The thing she had been denied her whole life.
[Step 4: Guide Qi into the dantian.]
The energy shifted downward, gathering in the pit of her abdomen. It swirled slowly at first, then faster, forming a small spiral of cold.
Alina gritted her teeth.Sweat formed on her forehead.
Her body trembled as the Qi pressed against the inner barrier—the invisible wall that made mortals and cultivators different.
She knew this moment from stories.
The Mortal Limit.
The step every cultivator feared.
The system's voice sharpened:
[Warning: User's body is fragile.][Initiating Frostflow Stabilization.]
A wave of soothing cold spread through her limbs, easing the pressure on her veins. Her shaking stopped.
Elder Mira watched, mouth slightly open."That… that's not normal. Someone is helping her internally."
Alina didn't hear her.
Her entire focus was on that barrier—thin, stubborn, waiting to be shattered.
[Step 5: BREAK THE LIMIT.]
A sharp pulse struck her core.
Alina gasped, eyes wide.
Then—
CRACK.
Something inside her broke.
Followed by a rush of icy power that exploded through her body.
A shockwave of frost burst outward.Snowflake patterns spread across the ground.The air turned freezing in an instant.
Elder Mira shielded her eyes as wind blasted past her.
And Alina—Alina rose slightly from the stone as the Frost Mark on her chest glowed through her clothes like a silver star.
Power filled every inch of her body.
The cold didn't bite.It embraced her.
[BREAKTHROUGH COMPLETE.][Cultivation Level: Qi Novice — Stage 1.]
Alina slowly opened her eyes.
They shimmered with a faint blue glow before fading back to normal.
She inhaled shakily.
"I… I broke through."
Tears pricked her eyes.
She had dreamed of this moment.Prayed for it.Begged for it.
And now—it was real.
The system spoke gently:
[Your Frozen Origin Root is awakening.][Your early cultivation speed will be higher than average.][Recommendation: Train consistently.]
Elder Mira hurried to her, eyes filled with awe.
"Alina… child… this is a miracle. That breakthrough… even elders in the sect struggle to produce such frost!"
Alina slowly curled her fingers.
Cold energy answered her call immediately.A small snowflake formed above her palm, spinning silently.
It was delicate.But beautiful.
And powerful.
Alina whispered, "This… is mine?"
Elder Mira nodded."Yes. This is your path."
Alina smiled faintly, her heart swelling with warmth despite the cold flowing through her veins.
But then—
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
A horn echoed from the watchtower.
Loud.Deep.Urgent.
Elder Mira stiffened."That horn is for approaching cultivators…"
A guard sprinted toward them, panting heavily.
"Elder Mira! Someone is coming from the north!"
"Who?" she demanded, gripping her cane tightly.
"The—The Frostblade Sect!" he shouted.
Alina's breath caught.
The strongest ice-affinity sect in the region.
Elder Mira paled."Why would they—?"
The guard swallowed nervously."They said… an overwhelming surge of Ice Qi erupted in this valley. They traced it here."
Then his eyes slowly drifted toward Alina—standing on a circle of frost, her skin glowing faintly with cold energy.
Alina felt her heart stop.
The Frost blade Sect wasn't just coming.
They were coming for her.