Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Going to Snow Mountain Peak

"Good day, Lord Gai."

"May the gods watch over you, my lord."

At the entrance to the snow mountain, two guards knelt on one knee before the young man in fine black clothes, greeting him with a bow.

They were burly men, holding long halberds. Beneath their full, heavy plate armor, they wore thick cotton clothes and a thin wool lining. Over the armor, they wore full-length surcoats emblazoned with a stag’s crest.

[Snow Mountain Guard · Lair (Green/Three Stars)]

[Snow Mountain Guard · Logan (Green/Three Stars)]

Wang Xi withdrew his gaze and gave a slight, smiling nod.

"Thank you for your hard work."

After speaking softly, he stepped onto the icy stone stairs and began his ascent up the mountain.

After he had gone, the two guards finally rose back to their feet.

"Hey, Lair, did you see Lord Gai just now as he started up the mountain?"

Logan prodded the accumulated snow with the butt of his halberd, his voice muffled and trembling from behind his faceplate.

"He didn’t even fasten his Cloak after stepping onto the snow mountain. He’s just wearing a single layer of silk. Isn’t he cold...?"

"I saw." Lair hugged his halberd tighter, his heavy armor creaking as he peered up the mountain path. "Hah! A man of his Lordship’s Physique, how could he possibly be cold!"

"During the ’Night of Bloody Slaughter’ in the middle of last month, the members of the Swordsmen Corps and Warlock Corps who followed Calvin in his rebellion were almost completely wiped out. Their blood stained the flagstones of the Royal Palace red, and the wreckage of the Mechanical Dolls piled higher than the clock tower... And Lord Gai did all of that by himself, with a single sword."

He suddenly lowered his voice and said,

"My cousin is on night duty at the palace. He said that on that night, Lord Gai’s shadow stretched over ten meters long in the moonlight, taking the shape of a Demon Wolf. The Warlock Master’s Fireball Magic was extinguished before it even got close... How could an ordinary person possess such abilities?"

"If you ask me," Logan said, his Adam’s apple bobbing and his voice trembling, "those rumors about the ’Scarlet Warlock’ are probably true. He might even have Demon Wolf blood..."

"SHH! Do you have a death wish?!"

Lair jumped in fright and quickly snapped,

"There’s no ’Scarlet Warlock’! Those are just rumors! From now on, there is only the ’Queen’s Sword’!"

"..."

Logan immediately fell silent.

He turned his head toward the Snow Mountain Peak, where he could faintly make out an azure Ice Crystal Castle, and murmured with emotion,

"In this world, it’s always the strong who are revered."

...

...

It was only early July.

Yet on the mountain, wind and snow raged, whipping and whistling.

The biting wind swept Ice Crystals across the rugged ridges, adding a fresh layer of white to the sparse trees and vegetation.

Wang Xi walked along the steep, icy, and snow-covered path. With every crunching step, pellets of snow seeped into his leather boots.

"Hsss—"

He clenched his teeth, sucking in the frigid air.

The muscles all over his body trembled slightly.

He was using the ’Moonlit Night Breathing Technique’ to regulate his body’s condition, activating his latent heat to maintain his body temperature.

After advancing fifty or sixty meters in one go,

"Huuu—"

he finally exhaled a plume of hot white vapor from the corners of his mouth.

A long time passed like this. As noon approached, Wang Xi finally reached the summit.

The harsh environment of the snow mountain quickly drained one’s stamina. Even with his current Physique, he felt a hint of fatigue.

On an open snowfield a hundred meters away,

stood a castle constructed from azure Ice Crystals.

Its spires pierced the clouds like sharp swords, the Ice Soul at their peaks glittering dazzlingly in the sunlight. The walls were covered in flowing frost patterns, and from the extended dome hung thousands of icicles. A cold mist billowed ceaselessly from the portico.

Wang Xi surveyed it for a moment before walking toward the castle.

As he drew closer, he was surprised to discover what seemed to be an invisible barrier surrounding the castle. The wind and snow could not penetrate it at all, strangely subsiding a hundred meters from the castle walls.

TAP, TAP.

In the silent surroundings, there were only Wang Xi’s footsteps.

He ascended the steps and stood before the double doors of Ice Crystal, which were some eight meters high and five or six meters wide.

"Your Majesty Isabella, Gai Farrell has come for his audience as promised..."

He placed a hand on his chest and bowed.

With a deep RUMBLE, the Ice Crystal doors swung outward on their own.

A wave of mist washed over him, yet Wang Xi didn’t feel cold.

’How magical,’ he thought as he stepped into the castle’s great hall.

It was empty, with only the echo of his footsteps remaining.

The translucent walls had excellent light transmission, making the hall bright and spacious even without any lamps. At the same time, they acted like one-way mirrors; one could see the outside world clearly, but from the outside, one could only see the azure walls.

Just then, a tall, noble figure descended the Ice Crystal spiral staircase barefoot, stopping on the third step from the bottom.

Without any pleasantries or greetings, Isabella lowered her gaze and said bluntly,

"The ’Ice Heart Curse’ is something one is born with. To this day, I have not been able to determine its origin."

She quietly watched the young man.

"But I have discovered that describing it as a ’curse’ isn’t quite appropriate... It’s more like a kind of talent—a talent that ordinary people cannot bear, which is why most meet a tragic end."

"A talent?"

Wang Xi couldn’t help but recall what the Woodland Fairy, Betina, had told him.

She had said that the "Ice Heart Curse" was a double-edged sword, capable of killing its host, but also of forging them into a person of great power.

At the same time, this theory fit perfectly with the allegorical fairy tale described on the title page of the Gospel of Eilos.

’Pass the trial and embark on the pilgrimage.’

"..."

Isabella didn’t elaborate further.

She fell silent for a moment, then said,

"You do not possess any Magic Talent, and your Elemental Affinity is no different from an ordinary person’s. Even if your physical constitution is decent, it is far from enough to withstand the consequences of detonating the curse."

"If you do, you will be frozen into an ice sculpture within ten seconds due to the backflow of Magic Power, and then you will shatter into pieces."

Hearing this, Wang Xi’s expression turned grim.

He knew very well that the Ice and Snow Queen did not joke.

But at the same time, he also captured a key piece of information from her words: Magic Talent!

"Your Majesty Isabella, are you saying that if I had Magic Talent and my Elemental Affinity was high enough, then there would be a chance of success?"

Wang Xi asked in a deep voice.

The Ice and Snow Queen hummed in affirmation and said lightly,

"The reason I define the ’Ice Heart Curse’ as a talent is that it has a strong attraction to Magic Power... Its absorption speed is more than ten times that of an ordinary Caster. If one’s Elemental Affinity is too low, it will result in a backlash."

"I understand now."

Enlightenment dawned on Wang Xi’s face.

Through the Ice and Snow Queen’s explanation, he finally understood the true nature of the "Ice Heart Curse"... It was essentially a heaven-defying constitution. If one was not outstanding enough to match it, the only path was death.

In other words, on a mediocre person, it’s a curse, a Life-taking Talisman... but on a genius, it becomes an unparalleled talent, allowing their cultivation speed to leave everyone else in the dust!

Isabella gazed at him and said,

"So, are you sure you still want to try?"

"Of course," Wang Xi replied affirmatively, not seeming to back down. "But please, Your Majesty, grant me a little time to prepare..."

The Ice and Snow Queen’s expression remained placid.

But a flicker of appreciation flashed in her eyes.

It was an affirmation of the young man’s courage to face certain death and still choose to seek life from it.

"As you wish," Isabella said, then turned and ascended the spiral staircase. Her cool voice drifted down from above, echoing in the great hall. "Just call me when you’re ready."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Wang Xi bowed to the Ice and Snow Queen’s departing figure.

His eyelids slowly lowered.

’Not a genius?’

’Simple. I’ll just draw some cards!’

Wang Xi hadn’t forgotten that after the bloody battle with Calvin and the others that night, he still had over twenty Universal Cards waiting to be drawn in his mind.

The "Warlock Card Pool" was the largest among them.

Including the Card Pool from Warlock Master Bertrand, there were 19 cards in total... He refused to believe that not a single card among them could increase his Elemental Affinity.

Wang Xi simply sat down on the floor.

The great hall of the Ice Crystal Castle was spotless, its hard, cold floor as clean and polished as a mirror.

He thought to himself,

’Kaos, let’s start drawing.’

He focused his mind and first selected the "Swordsman Card Pool."

[600 Energy consumed (2255 remaining)]

A total of six spheres of light—one Deep Green, two Green, and three White—began to spin before flying out one after another.

First, the three White Cards—

[Palace Knight’s Badge], [Charge], and [Ten Thousand Swings].

The [Badge] was silver-plated and inlaid with gold, an exquisite piece, but it was merely a common item symbolizing status and honor, with practically zero utility. It was rated as trash that Polluted the Card Pool.

[Charge] was a Skill Card that could increase his running speed while holding a sword for a short time, but at the cost of significant stamina. Its overall cost-effectiveness was low, making it rather useless. It was rated as the kind of trash that screams, "I’m a super rare item!"

As for [Ten Thousand Swings], it was a single-use Function Card equivalent to swinging a sword ten thousand times, permanently increasing his proficiency with two-handed longswords.

Now *this* card was a true top-tier item.

Wang Xi activated it on the spot.

In the instant the white light flashed, it was as if he had swung his sword ten thousand times. His handling of the Beheading Sword became much more skillful, reaching the level of a long-time veteran...

In layman’s terms, his basic attacks just hit harder now.

As for the two Green Cards—

they were [Cloak Strangling Sword Skill] and [Fiore Elegant Sword]. Luckily, both were Skill Cards, and high-value, top-tier ones at that.

The former focused on the timing of offense and defense and distance control, primarily employing a disarming strategy of "using the sword to bind the sword," combined with a "feint and thrust" to kill the enemy.

The latter focused more on stance, emphasizing the combination of swordsmanship and elegance. It integrated numerous elements of sword-and-dagger coordination, ground-fighting techniques, and locking maneuvers, making the fighting style both aesthetically pleasing and practical in combat.

Wang Xi decisively activated both Swordsmanship Cards.

Now, his basic attacks not only hit harder, but they also looked cooler.

The final card, the Deep Green Card, originated from Court Swordmaster Franz—

"The first strike, to extinguish your fury; the second, to break your arrogance; the third, to ignite your fear... and the final strike, to reap your throat."

The man’s indifferent voice echoed.

[Sword Orchid School Secret Technique (Skill Card)]

[Quality: Deep Green One Star (Upgradeable)]

[A secret school founded by a certain Sword Master. It is world-renowned for its impenetrable defensive sword techniques, the essence of which lies in "overcoming motion with stillness, felling the enemy in a single blow." Legend has it that in his later years, the Sword Master reached an unfathomable realm, once standing through a torrential downpour for an entire night without his robes getting wet, with only his sword being damp.]

[Upon use, you will master the Sword Orchid Secret Skill, allowing you to perfectly parry three attacks (the parry threshold depends on your own Physique and weapon strength). Afterward, you will convert your defensive potential into an offensive stance and deliver a fatal blow. Each use of this Card consumes a large amount of stamina.]

’Sword Orchid Secret Skill?’

’Perfectly parry three attacks, then a charged Defense and Counter!’

A look of delight appeared on Wang Xi’s face.

’Excellent, excellent...!’

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