The sweep of soul power at the Morning Star peak level — power comparable to the Radiant Moon rank — sent the entire Ice World into a frenzy.
The might of the fourth level was something the vast majority of Ice behemoths could not hope to resist. When Leilin's soul power swept over them, all they could do was bury their heads low in submission, hoping not to anger the soul power's master.
But the Morning Star-level power also awakened other presences.
Deep within a castle constructed entirely of ice, the ice radiation had concentrated to its absolute limit. Five-colored streaks of light could even be seen flickering through the air.
"Alvin!"
A cool, clear voice rang out from the void, carrying not a trace of energy, yet causing the surrounding space to tremble faintly.
"Your Majesty, your most loyal servant Alvin is here!"
An elderly man dressed in butler's attire, his hair combed to immaculate perfection, stepped out of the void and knelt toward the source of the voice with an expression of utmost reverence. His eyes glowed with an eerie crimson light.
His skin was unnervingly white, almost translucent, with blue-red blood vessels clearly visible beneath.
"Did you sense it?" the woman's voice continued.
"Yes! An outsider Morning Star has entered your domain!" the old man said respectfully. But to be able to detect the difference in Leilin's soul power, he himself had to be at least a Morning Star-level existence!
"An outsider Morning Star! He is crucial to my 'evolution'! Go! Capture him! Bring him to me!" the woman commanded.
"Your will shall be done!" The old man accepted the order with reverence and withdrew.
Only when he rose could one see that his upper body was human in form, but his lower body was composed of an eerie scorpion-like shape.
After the butler departed, the entire ice castle immediately sprang to life, like a lion startled from its slumber.
"Go! The moment you discover any unfamiliar powerful being, send the signal immediately!"
Butler Alvin stood atop the castle's highest tower, his voice carrying to every corner below.
Under his gaze, massive numbers of Ice Giants — clad in armor and bearing round ice shields and blue spears — let out a collective roar!
Creeeak! The gates of the ice castle swung open. Squad after squad of Ice Giants marched out like human patrol units, vanishing into the swirling snowfall within minutes.
Only Alvin remained, standing alone atop the castle's highest point, his thoughts unreadable.
Leilin knew nothing of what was happening here, but ever since he had released his soul power as a declaration, he had already braced himself. He directed the Ice Jade Scorpion toward the nearest gathering point with the densest life signatures.
The ice caves previously controlled by the
The enormous Ice Jade Scorpion charged across the frozen plains with Leilin on its back. He sat cross-legged atop the creature, occasionally releasing a few Shadow Servants from behind him to gather fruits, plant stems, and other materials.
Right now, Leilin was examining an apple-like fruit, his eyes glowing with a faint light.
"Ding! Unknown fruit detected. Components recorded. Please assign a name!" the Chip reported faithfully.
"Ice Apple! Classify under Ice World — Plant Encyclopedia!" Leilin declared.
"Recorded. Image and component data catalogued! Filed under Ice World database, Plant category!"
"Mm." Leilin nodded, looking at the fruit in his hand — its surface coated in a layer of blue ice. His fingernail swiftly sliced off a small piece and popped it into his mouth.
Like an ice shard — no, even colder than an ice shard — the frigid sensation immediately spread outward.
For an ordinary person, never mind eating it, merely touching it would likely result in freezing to death! But for Leilin, with a Constitution exceeding 100 points, he was already immune to most of the Ice World's dangers. Eating it felt no different from an ordinary person taking a bite of ice cream.
"Not bad! Just a bit too sweet!" Leilin tossed the Ice Apple to the Ice Jade Scorpion below with a somewhat indifferent expression.
"Squee!" The Ice Jade Scorpion let out an excited hiss and swallowed the Ice Apple in one gulp.
After arriving here, the creature seemed to have grown more energetic, and watching this, Leilin fell into thought.
"Given that there were so many third-level watchers and guardians in the passageway before, this Ice Jade Scorpion would never have made it here on its own..."
Leilin looked up, gazing at the Ice World. "And the ice radiation concentration here is even more terrifying. Perhaps after staying here a while longer, this Ice Jade Scorpion could evolve to a higher tier..."
Since this Ice World had been birthed from the bloodline of the Bronze Female Giant, the closer one got to the source of that bloodline, the denser the ice radiation became.
Following this principle, no amount of scheming or concealment would matter.
Moreover, Leilin noticed that the denser the ice radiation, the more Ice creatures congregated — as if forming a protective formation around the source.
"At the source of the ice radiation, I sensed not only a Morning Star, but also an even stranger aura..."
Leilin's brow furrowed. That aura, though faint, had given him an exceptionally dangerous feeling, which was why he hadn't made a rash move.
"They've probably discovered me too. I wonder how they'll respond?"
A faint smile crossed Leilin's lips. At that moment, the massive Ice Jade Scorpion broke through an ice tornado and arrived at the far side of a vast ice canyon.
Within the canyon, enormous ice pillars layered upon one another to form the shape of a fortress. Even some Ice creatures could be seen patrolling along its walls.
"Sentient Ice creatures?" Leilin murmured in surprise, but still urged the Ice Jade Scorpion forward.
"Halt, intruder! Otherwise you will face the combined assault of Offuk Canyon!"
The garrison on the fortress had long since spotted Leilin and shouted the warning.
His extraordinary Constitution granted him powerful eyesight, allowing Leilin to clearly make out the creatures within the canyon.
They were two distinctly different species. The first were giants over three meters tall, with ice-blue skin that had formed into ice-type rune patterns, further covered in a layer of white frost.
These giants had rugged, angular features — their harsh lines imbuing them with a strong masculine aura, brimming with male biological characteristics.
The second type were ethereal Snow Elves, bearing translucent wings and slender frames. Dense ice-type energy particles gathered around them like small whirlwinds.
Most of these Snow Elves were quite beautiful, and appeared to all be female.
"Could this be sexual dimorphism within the same race? The Ice Giants are male, extremely powerful in physical strength and defense, while the Snow Elves are female, specializing in ice-type wizardry?"
Leilin instantly formed this hypothesis. Furthermore, he could understand the language they spoke — a variant of the Ancient Byron Language.
It seemed the Ice World had been significantly influenced by the
"I am an outsider wizard! I wish to see your leader!"
Leilin brought the Ice Jade Scorpion to a halt before the fortress and spoke slowly. His voice, though not loud, carried unnaturally far.
A commotion broke out on the fortress, and several Ice Giants ran down.
Leilin waited quietly, though in truth he was using the Chip to scan these sentient Ice creatures for information and data.
"Ice Giant (Unnamed). Strength: 50.9. Agility: 10.1. Constitution: 40.1. Spirit: 80. Talents: 1. Ice Skin — The Ice Giant's skin possesses extremely high resistance to cold radiation and can even generate natural wizard runes, making it a key material for crafting certain ice-type magical artifacts! 2. Ice Reconstitution — The extraordinary Constitution grants Ice Giants terrifying recovery ability, which is further amplified by two energy levels within the Ice World, enabling even limb regeneration!"
"Snow Elf (Unnamed). Strength: 10.3. Agility: 37.6. Constitution: 20.5. Spirit: 157.3. Mana: 157. Talents: 1. Ice Affinity — Snow Elves possess an innate affinity for ice-type energy particles, which can develop into innate ice-type wizard spells as they advance in rank. 2. Ice Whirlwind — The dense ice-type energy particles grant Snow Elves exceptional defense, automatically generating an ice whirlwind barrier with an effect similar to a wizard's Ring of Fire Repulsion."
Having sampled just two individuals, the Chip immediately displayed the targets' specific data. The current Chip was capable of even窃取 data from Morning Star-level wizards without their knowledge — let alone these first and second-level Ice species, who could never detect it.
"As expected, these two species with such stark differences are actually just the two poles of a single race!"
Leilin marveled inwardly. Nature's artistry, and the mysteries and grandeur of other worlds, filled him with an intense desire to explore.
The fortress didn't keep him waiting long. Within mere minutes, the great ice gates on both sides groaned open, and squad after squad of Ice Knights rode forth on towering Ice beasts.
These knights were all Ice Giants, and their mounts came in various shapes and forms — wolves, bears, leopards, and more — but each was coated in blue ice, like enormous ice sculptures, now growling low at Leilin.
At the center of these knights, a multitude of Snow Elves wreathed in dense ice-type energy particles guarded a two-headed figure.
The two-headed figure looked at Leilin, clearly showing a hint of apprehension in its eyes, but still spread its arms wide: "I am the leader of this place — Amos Andre. Welcome, guest from another world!"
Leilin studied this leader as well, his face filled with astonishment — though he quickly composed himself.