The snowfield stretched endless, a white shroud broken only by jagged stone fangs piercing the frost. Qin Mo's boots crunched, each step sinking into powder that hid the mountain's scars. Three nights since the Azure Flame Sect's betrayal, the wolf king's core pulsed under his ribs, its heat a restless hound clawing for release. The FFD System hummed, a faint rhythm syncing with his heartbeat, whispering of beasts to devour, strength to claim.
[FFD System: Frostflame Balance: Heat 62% / Cold 38%. Scan complete: Frost wolf pack, 400 meters west, threat level: Moderate.]
The wind shifted, carrying a low growl that wasn't the storm. Shadows moved in the snow curtain—frost wolves, their pelts silvered by moonlight, eyes glinting like ice shards. The lead wolf's hackles rose, its snarl splitting the silence, signaling a hunt. Qin Mo's blade slid free, steel catching the faint glow of ridge runes, their wolf shapes flickering as if alive.
The pack lunged, six beasts fanning out, claws slicing snow into clouds. Qin Mo pivoted, Flame Step igniting beneath him, boots scorching a blackened arc in the frost. His blade met the lead wolf's jaw, steel grinding against bone, sparks flaring like embers in the dark. The wolf's blood sprayed, hot and metallic, steaming as it hit the snow.
[FFD System: Frost wolf essence detected. Devour progress: 12%. Heat attunement rising: 65%.]
A second wolf flanked right, its claws raking for his ribs. Qin Mo twisted, the shard burning, guiding his dodge with instincts sharper than his own. His counter slashed its flank, frost blooming where blood should've been, the wound sealing under the pack's collective howl. These weren't mere beasts—their eyes carried the mountain's cold, tied to the same runes that marked the ridge.
From the snow's edge, a bell chimed—sharp, bone-white, the same sound that had haunted him since the sect's hall. His pouch trembled, the bells inside answering, their rhythm tugging at the shard like a leash.
[FFD System: Silent Tax resonance detected. Binding risk: 25%. Source proximity increasing.]
"Damn bells," Qin Mo muttered, breath clouding. The wolves froze, heads snapping toward the sound, their howls faltering. A new shadow moved—human, cloaked in frost-dusted robes, a jade token glinting at its waist. Azure Flame Sect. A scout, blade drawn, eyes locked on Qin Mo's chest where the shard pulsed.
"Core-bearer," the scout hissed, voice cutting through the wind. "Surrender it, and you might live."
Qin Mo's grip tightened, the shard's heat flaring defiance. "You'll have to carve it out."
The scout struck, blade weaving a net of blue fire, each arc trailing frost that hissed on contact. Qin Mo ducked, Flame Step scorching the snow, closing the gap. His blade clashed, steel singing, sparks mixing with frost dust. The wolves circled, emboldened, their claws tearing at his cloak's hem.
A flash of silver cut the air—frost threads, thin as spider silk, lashing from the snow's edge. They wrapped the nearest wolf's throat, tightening until its growl choked into silence. Yi emerged, her fingers weaving more threads, her eyes sharp with vengeance. "Move, Qin Mo!" she snapped, threads snapping another wolf's leg.
[FFD System: Ally detected: Yi. Frost Thread skill active. Devour progress: 18%.]
Qin Mo spun, blade slicing the scout's arm, blood steaming in the cold. The scout staggered, jade token pulsing red, summoning a frost array that crackled underfoot. Lines of ice snaked toward Qin Mo, seeking his veins. He stomped, Flame Step shattering the ice, heat pulsing outward. The scout's scream was brief, cut short as Qin Mo's blade found his chest.
The wolves scattered, their howls fading into the storm. Yi approached, her threads retracting, her face pale but resolute. "They're tracking the shard," she said, glancing at his pouch. "Those bells—they're not yours."
Qin Mo's fingers brushed the pouch, the bells' chime faint but heavy. "They chose me," he said, voice low, echoing the shard's pulse. The snowfield stretched silent now, but the runes on the ridge glowed brighter, watching, waiting.
Yi nodded, her frost threads glinting. "Then we make them regret it."
The wind carried a distant howl—not wolf, but human. More scouts were coming. Qin Mo's eyes narrowed, the shard burning hotter. "Let's move," he said, Yi falling in beside him, her steps matching his. The mountain's cold pressed, but the shard's heat promised power—if he could devour enough.
As they trekked, the FFD System chimed, a soft warning in his mind.
[FFD System: Frost wolf essence absorbed. Devour progress: 25%. New skill: Frost Claw (Prototype). Heat 68% / Cold 32%. Binding risk rising: 30%.]
Qin Mo flexed his hand, frost gathering at his fingertips, the new skill responding to his will. The pack's essence coursed through him, a cold edge sharpening his blade's hunger. But the binding risk—Silent Tax—loomed, the bells' chime echoing in his thoughts.
Yi glanced at him. "The system—it's changing you."
"Changing me into what I need to be," Qin Mo replied, his voice steady. The ridge runes faded behind them, but the hunt was far from over.
The group moved on, the ravine's cold pressing heavier, the mountain's secrets stirring.
The enforcer broke free, its mask pulsing, summoning a frost array. Blue lines glowed on the ground, pulling at Qin Mo's shard, the bells' chime syncing with the array, a leash tightening. "The Tax will claim you," it hissed, blade slashing.
Qin Mo focused, Frost Armor forming, deflecting a slash that would've cut his chest. He countered with Frost Claw, scoring the enforcer's arm, frost blooming on its cloak. Yi's threads tightened, pinning it, while Ren's daggers struck the mask, shattering it.
The enforcer collapsed, a bell fragment falling from its cloak, etched with Silent Tax runes. Qin Mo grabbed it, the shard in his chest flaring, absorbing its cold.
[FFD System: Bell fragment acquired. Silent Tax chain: 2/9. Balance: Heat 47% / Cold 53%. Binding risk: 38%.]
Yi panted, threads retracting. "It knew the bells. They're hunting you specifically."
Ren wiped his daggers, eyes dark. "My brother—he fought something like this. It's why he's gone."
Qin Mo clutched the fragment, the bells' chime fading but heavy. "Then we'll hunt them back."
The ravine's shadows deepened, the runes silent but watching. The FFD System chimed, urging them forward.
[FFD System: Next fragment trace: 300 meters west. Silent Tax presence increasing.]
The group moved, the cold heavier, the bells' echo a warning of battles to come.
The vault's core was a maze of ice shelves, scrolls scattered like frozen leaves, their runes glowing with bell shapes that watched like eyes. Qin Mo's shard strained, its heat a faint spark against the cold flooding his veins. Yi, Ren, and Lian moved silently, the FFD System's warnings sharp, sensing a betrayal within the archive's frost.
[FFD System: Frostflame Balance: Heat 22% / Cold 78%. Scan: Sect infiltrator, 60 meters ahead, threat level: Lethal.]
Ren's daggers glinted, his voice low. "My brother's trail ends here. The sect's hiding something."
Yi's threads hovered, her eyes hard. "They burned my village for these scrolls. I'll burn them back."
A figure emerged—an Azure Flame Sect infiltrator, clad in azure robes, jade token pulsing red, blade glowing with frostfire. "Core-bearer," he sneered, "the Silent Tax thanks you for opening the vault."
The infiltrator struck, blade weaving a net of blue flames, frost trailing like smoke. Qin Mo dodged, Flame Step flickering, but the cold sapped his heat, ice coating his boots. His blade clashed, sparks mixing with frost, the impact jarring his arms.
[FFD System: Frostfire blade active. Heat loss: 25%. Balance: Heat 20% / Cold 80%.]
Lian's arrow pierced the infiltrator's shoulder, slowing him, while Yi's threads bound his legs, snapping his stance. Ren's daggers slashed his token, disrupting its pulse, but the infiltrator summoned a frost array, lines glowing, pulling at Qin Mo's shard.
Qin Mo unleashed Frost Fang, icy teeth biting the infiltrator's arm, frost blooming as blood froze. The shard burned, demanding more. He activated Eagle Eye, spotting a scroll in the infiltrator's robe—sect orders: "Use shards to fuel the Tax's heart."
[FFD System: Sect essence trace absorbed. Devour progress: 10%. Balance: Heat 19% / Cold 81%.]
Yi's threads tightened, pinning the infiltrator, while Lian's arrows struck his chest, ending him. The scroll fell, revealing the sect's collusion with the Silent Tax—shards as sacrifices for old gods.
Qin Mo gripped the scroll, the bells' chime louder, syncing with his shard. "They're using us," he growled, heat flaring despite the cold. "All of us."
Ren's face was grim. "My brother—he's part of their ritual."
Lian notched another arrow. "My family died to stop this. We finish it."
The FFD System chimed, warning of more infiltrators.
[FFD System: Silent Tax resonance: 75%. Next trace: Archive depths. Binding risk: 65%.]
The shelves groaned, runes pulsing, the bells' chime a drumbeat of betrayal.