Chapter 24: Preparing to Enter
A full week passed after I consumed the Frost Ice Snow Lotus.
During that time...
I remained inside the ice cave.
The energy from the Iceblood Serpent's inner core and the Frost Ice Snow Lotus had not immediately fused completely with my body.
Fragments of that energy continued moving through my meridians.
Until they completely settled...
it was far safer to remain here and calmly regulate my internal energy.
Besides...
there was no better place to train without interruption.
Every day...
I trained without rest.
I used the Kunlun Blue Soul Scripture to stabilize my rapidly increased internal energy.
I refined my movements through Void Night Shadow Step.
And every day...
I swung my sword thousands of times while trying to understand the true essence of the Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword.
But training wasn't the only reason I stayed here.
There was another reason.
“Chew, chew....”
I tore another large bite from the Iceblood Serpent meat roasting over the fire.
“It really doesn't get old.”
“It tastes better than I expected.”
Surprisingly...
Iceblood Serpent meat wasn't bad.
Once roasted...
it tasted almost like chicken.
“Buuurp.”
I let out a satisfied burp.
“That was good.”
Then I looked to one side.
Only the Iceblood Serpent's bare skeleton remained.
That was the result of eating it constantly for an entire week.
And just to make one thing clear...
I didn't have some strange preference for eating reptiles.
There was a reason I had been devouring the meat like a madman.
Its effects.
Iceblood Serpent meat was considered a precious medicinal ingredient.
Eating it granted two special benefits.
The first was resistance to cold.
The Iceblood Serpent may have been a man-eating monster...
but it was also a spiritual creature that lived while absorbing the extreme cold energy of the Frost Ice Snow Lotus.
Anyone who consumed its meat would develop a special constitution capable of enduring intense cold.
The second benefit...
was resistance to poison.
It wasn't enough to become completely immune to all poisons.
But the body would gain a powerful detoxification ability capable of neutralizing most ordinary poisons almost immediately.
The road of revenge against Moyong Cheonhwi and the Righteous Alliance...
would undoubtedly be far more dangerous than I could imagine.
These two abilities would certainly become useful someday.
I closed my eyes and checked my body.
Clear, dense energy sat firmly inside my dantian.
Haa....
It finally fused completely.
The internal energy gained from the Frost Ice Snow Lotus had finally become entirely mine.
At the same time...
I realized something else.
My internal energy...
movement technique...
and swordsmanship...
had all advanced to another level.
There was no longer any reason to remain inside the ice cave.
It was time to move.
And today...
was the day I had been waiting for.
The Elders' Lecture Gathering.
“Good.”
I stood.
“Everything seems ready.”
“Time to head down the mountain.”
Before leaving...
I walked toward the place where the Frost Ice Snow Lotus had once grown.
Small pale-blue plants grew from the ice nearby.
Ice Snow Grass.
A rare medicinal herb that grew only near Frost Ice Snow Lotuses.
It didn't possess any special ability to increase internal energy.
But I needed it for another purpose.
I carefully gathered the plants.
Their leaves contained a faint freezing energy.
I placed them safely inside my clothes.
Finally...
I collected the remaining Iceblood Serpent meat.
More precisely...
it was mostly a piece of hide rather than meat.
The part had been too tough to chew.
It wasn't even a handful.
But if I sold it to an apothecary or martial hall...
it should still earn a decent amount.
Then...
I left the cave and began descending the snowy mountain ridge.
After traveling for a while...
I noticed several people climbing from below.
Five men.
They wore thick fur clothes and carried bows on their backs.
Judging by their appearance...
they were probably hunters from a nearby village.
I was about to pass them without much interest when...
Hm?
That person....
One face among the group looked familiar.
I stopped my movement technique and approached.
The men immediately flinched and retreated.
Their eyes were filled with obvious fear.
They probably realized I was a martial artist.
“W-Who are you?!”
“W-We're just passing through!”
“If you want anything, we'll give it to you!”
“Please spare us!”
They trembled as though facing a ghost.
I could only stare in confusion.
What's wrong with them?
Why are they suddenly begging for their lives?
Even if they encountered a martial artist on a remote mountain path...
was this reaction really necessary?
Then...
I realized the reason.
Ah.
Right.
I probably look terrible.
For the past week...
I had spent every waking moment training.
The concept of bathing had completely disappeared from my mind.
The blood that covered me after killing the Iceblood Serpent had dried across my entire body.
I looked like a blood-covered demon that had crawled straight from hell.
To them...
I probably looked like some insane murderer.
Or perhaps a bloodthirsty Demonic Cult villain from the stories.
I scratched the side of my head.
“Don't misunderstand.”
“I'm from Kunlun.”
I gestured toward myself.
“This blood isn't human blood either.”
“It's from an animal.”
The moment they heard Kunlun...
their expressions relaxed considerably.
One man cautiously spoke.
“Ah... you're a Taoist from Kunlun.”
His eyes scanned my blood-covered body.
“What kind of animal did you hunt to become covered in this much blood?”
“A bear?”
“Something a little bigger than a bear.”
I waved it off.
“Anyway, you people are hunters, right?”
“Yes.”
The man nodded.
“We're hunters from the village below.”
I quietly studied his face.
No doubt.
It's him.
The man who had eventually become a test subject inside the Shadow Corps' underground prison.
The hunter who had discovered the Frost Ice Snow Lotus with his companions...
lost all of them...
and died after regretting it for the rest of his life.
That man was standing right in front of me.
Alive.
Healthy.
The hunter I remembered had been despair itself.
He had lost all hope for the future.
All desire to live.
Every day...
he cursed his terrible fate as a helpless experiment subject.
But the man standing before me now was completely different.
His eyes were filled with life.
He looked like someone stubbornly struggling every day to build a better future.
I looked toward the other four men beside him.
These must be the companions who died back then.
Four men with simple faces...
carefully watching me.
