Chapter 3: Frost Awakens, Furnace Ignites
The early morning mist of the Northern Continent still lingered, blanketing the mountain valley like a shroud of mystery. Birds did not dare to chirp, and even the wind tiptoed through the ancient pine trees. At the heart of the secluded valley, a young man sat cross-legged, his body steaming despite the biting cold around him.
Lin Tian's skin glistened with sweat as frigid energy surged wildly through his meridians. The Eternal Frost Scripture was in full motion, cycling the icy spiritual energy between his dantian and limbs in a flowing rhythm. Ice-blue veins lit up beneath his skin, resembling ancient frost runes etched by nature itself.
Suddenly—
Boom!
A crack exploded behind him. The stone he sat upon split in half, frozen solid, then shattered. Lin Tian's breath turned to mist as he slowly exhaled. Inside his dantian, a swirling pool of pale blue energy solidified—it was no longer gaseous spiritual energy, but a denser form. He had broken through.
> "Spirit Gathering Realm—First Level."
His eyes opened, sharp and clear like two shards of ice. But it wasn't over. He clenched his fists, veins pulsing with heat now, and began activating the second cultivation technique—the forbidden body cultivation art known as the Martial Dual Furnace.
Unlike the Eternal Frost Scripture, which demanded calmness and flow, the Martial Dual Furnace was pure violence and consumption. His body quaked as fire-like vitality surged from his heart, pushing through muscles, bones, and tendons. Every cell screamed as it was tempered by the technique, like metal forged under flame.
His chest expanded. Blood vessels bulged. His skin glowed red for a moment… then gold… then returned to its natural hue, now fortified with power. The body furnace had ignited.
Lin Tian gritted his teeth and endured the pain. The two cultivation methods—frost and furnace—clashed within him like eternal rivals. Ice and fire. Yin and yang. Cold mind, blazing body.
But he had no choice.
He needed power. He needed to survive.
He stood up slowly, the mist parting around him. His aura had changed. He was no longer just a talented youth—he was now a true cultivator, a dual cultivator of two profound arts that should not coexist. Yet somehow, within him, they did.
---
Meanwhile, at the Sky Sword Sect...
"Still no sign of Lin Tian's corpse?" the sect leader's son, Han Yi, asked coldly, swirling a cup of spirit wine. His hair was perfectly combed, but his eyes were venomous. He had sent two assassins after Lin Tian the night he was expelled.
A servant knelt trembling. "Young Master… the valley where he was last seen is too deep, and the beasts there…"
Han Yi slammed the cup. "Enough excuses! Find him. Dead or alive, bring back that jade pendant!"
At his side, a masked elder said calmly, "Young Master, there are rumors that the boy has awakened an ancient scripture… if it's the Eternal Frost Scripture, then he must die quickly. That technique is too dangerous."
Han Yi sneered. "That trash? He should be begging for scraps right now. But very well—send the Blood Bone Squad. No witnesses this time."
---
Back in the Valley…
Lin Tian stared at the jade pendant hanging from his neck. It once belonged to his mother, and now it was the only clue to his origins. A faint pulse of energy stirred within it, as if in response to his breakthrough.
Suddenly, the sky above the valley dimmed. A pressure, heavy and cold, descended like a mountain of blades. Lin Tian narrowed his eyes.
He was no longer alone.
Four shadows emerged at the edge of the cliff—masked men dressed in blood-red robes, their auras dark and suffocating.
"Target confirmed," one of them said. "Orders: kill without mercy."
Lin Tian cracked his neck, a frost-blue light flickering across his body.
> "You want to kill me? Then you'd better pray you survive my sword."
With a flick of his wrist, a rusty sword sprang into his hand, taken from a beast's lair days earlier. It wasn't spiritual-grade—but in his hands, it
would be enough.
The Blood Bone Squad charged.
The battle began.