Chapter 7: The Birth of a Murderous Intent

The mad old man seemed intent on testing Qin Yue’s abilities, darting through the subterranean forest at incredible speed. In the darkness, his figure was ghostly, appearing dozens of yards away in the blink of an eye, betraying no sign of any infirmity. Qin Yue followed, employing his Netherworld Escape technique, not exerting himself fully, keeping a steady distance behind.

They moved through the forest until they reached the ice wall. By then, the mad old man could barely contain his excitement. After so many years, he had finally found a treasure! He had taken more than two years to reach this level himself, which was already sufficient for an inner disciple of Zhaoyang Sect; had his identity not been an issue, he would have received special attention. Qin Yue, by comparison, would be among the foremost ranks of Zhaoyang Sect!

Deep within the tangled underbrush, the mad old man opened a passageway and beckoned Qin Yue to enter, carefully sealing it behind them. They walked for a while, an icy chill biting at them, but Qin Yue circulated his cultivation technique, his body warming instantly.

Ascending a spiral staircase carved with anti-slip grooves on the icy steps, he asked, awe-struck, “Master, did you dig this yourself?”

“In over a hundred years, even digging one step per day would eventually make a passage. Escaping to the outside isn’t hard; the real challenge is crossing the thousand-mile ice plain and then finding a place to stand afterward,” the mad old man replied.

They surged forward with their cultivation, yet it still took a considerable time to reach the top. The mad old man pushed aside a thick slab of ice, and a gust of frigid wind swept over them. Even with cultivation shielding him, Qin Yue shivered, gazing out into the endless ice plain beneath the night sky.

He looked up to see unfamiliar stars twinkling above, a bright crescent moon shining in the sky. The air was cold, yet fresh.

Emotion surged within Qin Yue, bringing him nearly to tears.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Beautiful!”

Though their words were the same, their thoughts diverged. To the mad old man, this was the child’s first glimpse of moon and stars, and excitement was only natural. But for Qin Yue, the foreign sky, absent of the familiar Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper, intensified his homesickness for his land and kin.

“Come, let’s find the bear!” The mad old man, happier than he had been in years, felt a wild joy of his youth stirring within him, unable to suppress the tumult of his emotions.

The old and the young raced across the icy plain, braving the cold wind. After about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the mad old man suddenly halted. By the moonlight, Qin Yue too saw, about a mile ahead, a colossal creature moving slowly across the snow, occasionally sniffing the ground as if searching for something.

“We’re lucky today; as soon as we came out, we met a Polar Ice Bear hunting ice field mice,” the mad old man said, delighted.

“Ice field mice?”

“Yes, they’re quite tasty. The larger ones weigh over a hundred pounds, smaller ones fifty or sixty. But they’re timid and hard to find—only their natural enemy, the Polar Ice Bear, can track them down…”

As he spoke, the giant bear suddenly reared up, then slammed its massive paws onto the ground with a thunderous crash, a terrifying display of force!

The ice shattered, snow exploded, and a shadow shot out, fleeing across the snow like lightning!

By chance, it ran straight toward them. The mad old man rejoiced and charged forward to intercept it.

With a low roar from the distant Polar Ice Bear, the shadow sensed danger and tried to change direction, but the mad old man was too fast.

In the dim moonlight, the flash of a blade suddenly gleamed!

The ice field mouse, dashing wildly, didn’t even have time to scream before it was beheaded, blood spattering across the pristine snow, blooming into a shocking crimson stain.

Qin Yue had little hunting experience; though quick, his reactions lagged half a beat. By the time he arrived, the hunt was already over.

He swallowed at the sight of the plump mouse, estimating it could yield plenty of animal fat.

After slaying the ice field mouse, the mad old man didn’t pause, charging toward the furious Polar Ice Bear.

The giant bear, deprived of its prey, looked enraged, stomping rapidly toward the mad old man across the snowy ground.

The moment they met, the bear stood upright, swinging a massive paw down at the mad old man.

Qin Yue saw a blue light flare, followed by a sonic boom echoing through the void!

The mad old man's body rose into the air like a leaf swept up by a hurricane, defying gravity, evading the blow.

Boom!

The blue light struck the snow, exploding violently, ice and snow spraying everywhere—a terrifying spectacle.

“Watch carefully!” the mad old man shouted, slashing his blade to send a white arc flying.

The Polar Ice Bear’s body flashed blue again, forming a shield, but the mad old man’s blade shattered it!

Though it didn’t harm the bear’s hide, the beast realized these two-legged creatures were not to be trifled with. Before the mad old man could swing again, the bear gathered its blue shield and fled at full speed.

Despite its massive size, each step like an earthquake, its speed was astonishing.

Seeing this, Qin Yue unleashed his Netherworld Escape technique, his form turning into a phantom across the ice plain.

He overtook his master, chasing down the bear.

Before the mad old man could warn him, he watched the youth leap high in the faint moonlight.

Like a hungry tiger, Qin Yue pounced on the giant bear!

His powerful fist pierced the thin blue aura and landed heavily on the bear’s neck.

At the moment of impact, immense force erupted.

With a crack, the Polar Ice Bear let out a wretched howl, its massive body sent flying over a dozen yards before crashing hard onto the icy ground, blood spurting from its mouth.

It struggled desperately but could not rise, panting heavily, clearly mortally wounded.

The mad old man approached Qin Yue, his eyes filled with awe.

Had he not trained Qin Yue himself, watching him progress step by step, he would never believe that a youth who had only recently awakened his bloodline and embarked on cultivation less than three months ago could do this.

He studied Qin Yue closely—

Once a skinny reed, now robust and tall, his long black hair tied casually with grass rope. Perhaps due to the recent fight, his gaze was sharp, wild, and fiercely aggressive.

Except for the unnaturally pale skin from years without sunlight, he would hardly be recognizable as the frail boy among his clan.

The mad old man then knelt beside the Polar Ice Bear, even more stunned.

Qin Yue’s punch had shattered the bear’s thick neck bones beneath its fat, the force penetrating to its organs!

Such power was rare even among cultivators of the sixth or seventh layer of Qi Absorption.

This youth’s combat strength was higher than he’d previously judged!

After the long chase and an unreserved full-force attack, Qin Yue broke out in a sweat, breathing lightly.

He was exhilarated, hardly believing he’d felled a beast of such monstrous size with a single blow.

“Still have strength?” the mad old man asked with a smile.

Qin Yue nodded, bent down, and grabbed the bear’s huge front paws—over a ton in weight, barely breathing—and lifted it onto his back.

He hoisted it higher, carrying it fully on his shoulders.

“Phew! Not bad!” said Qin Yue, nearly buried beneath the bear.

“Well done!” The mad old man picked up the ice field mouse, not neglecting its head, contentedly trailing behind.

“Master, how do Zhaoyang Sect’s experts compare to the Polar Ice Bear?” Qin Yue asked as they walked home.

“You dare to dream! Growing up in the Ice Abyss, you’re the only one I’ve seen with such wild ideas, daring to covet them now… They’re far stronger than this bear, many times over…”

Having witnessed Qin Yue’s monstrous real strength, the mad old man felt immense satisfaction and spoke more about cultivators.

The old and the young walked and talked under the cold night sky, neither mentioning the impending departure, but both knew in their hearts the day would soon come.

…

Days passed.

The mad old man urged again—

“That’s enough. I have nothing more to teach you. Go on, get out of this godforsaken place. Haven’t you had enough?”

“Just a bit longer… Let me stay with you a few more days,” Qin Yue replied with a grin.

His batch of ice lotuses had long since been “cultivated,” and he’d helped many clansmen for free. But plenty remained, and at his current pace of one hundred twenty-eight plants per day, it would take another ten days or so to finish them all.

The result was a particularly healthy crop of ice lotuses!

Of course, the best specimens were still in their group; it was clear that Xu Liang was in a good mood lately—he hadn’t even cursed.

Qin Yue discovered the essence of the ice lotus was “dynamic”; after being absorbed, it slowly regenerated over time. Yet it only appeared brilliant, while in reality, its medicinal effect was less than one-tenth of normal when harvested.

That was precisely the effect Qin Yue desired, so he held nothing back.

Practice brings true understanding; just as he had discovered endless uses for Netherworld Escape, so too with Stealing Heaven.

Through deep study and experimentation, he found that during absorption, not only could the amount be controlled, but the essence of one ice lotus could be transferred to another, even to another person.

Lately, Qin Yue had grown bold enough to use Netherworld Escape during the day, quietly appearing near the group.

Once, he even dared to approach Li Ye, getting as close as two or three steps.

Like an invisible ghost, the other party never sensed his presence!

The outer disciples of Zhaoyang Sect… were not so formidable after all.

He secretly used the ice lotus essence to improve his family’s physical constitution, including companions like Dong Zhuang and Ye Yu.

Their vitality visibly improved.

Even if the human body is a sieve, and those unable to cultivate can only be strengthened and live longer by prolonged essence nourishment, this was already enough for the people of the Ice Abyss.

This was the only thing Qin Yue could do for them before leaving.

His master had urged him several times, and Qin Yue understood that staying in the Ice Abyss no longer had much meaning.

He planned to visit his family once more tonight and leave tomorrow!

Shortly after the hour of the rooster sounded, Qin Yue used Netherworld Escape and sped toward his home.

He used both earth escape and teleportation along the way; the former now allowed him to travel over a hundred thirty yards underground, though it consumed much energy, so he usually limited it to a dozen or so. Teleportation consumed even more, with a current limit of about twenty yards.

Both earth escape and teleportation were ultimate skills, like the significance of ice lotus roots to the people of the Ice Abyss—used only to save lives in critical moments, not lightly exercised in daily life.

But practice was essential; no matter how skilled in the spiritual realm, it must be applied in reality.

With the journey just a few kilometers, Qin Yue arrived in an instant.

“At this time, they should have just returned home to cook…”

As he thought this, he suddenly heard a commotion from that direction, followed by his third brother Qin Hui’s pleading voice—

“Lord Li, I beg you, she’s still a child…”

His fourth sister Qin Xin’s voice, tearful: “I… I’ll go, please spare my little sister, Lord Li!”

Qin Yue paused in surprise, looking over. In an instant, rage blazed within him.

Uncomfortable with words like killing?

That’s only because one’s anger has not reached its peak.

At that moment, his murderous intent surged!