The continent after Spirit Hall's fall was unstable. Empires rebuilt, spirit sects vied for power. Evil soul masters, once suppressed by powerful Pope and Tang San's generation, slithered back.
Leng Zhi watched news carefully, though still young. He remembered wars, remembered Spirit Hall, remembered Shrek standing strong. He knew without Tang San here yet (perhaps gods far away), world would need roots again.
At age fifteen, he already reached rank 28, far ahead of peers. Everfrost Core abilities surpassed previous lifetimes:
First Skill: Everfrost Veil, cooling not only bodies but also calming minds under pressure.
Second Skill: Frozen Bind, chains of living frost, less fragile, regenerating if snapped.
Third Skill: Glacial Fortress, barrier stronger than his second life's climax, resisting rank forties unbroken.
Fourth Skill (awakened early): Frozen Pulse, ripple from Everfrost Core that slowed enemies' soul power circulation itself.
This made him terrifying not because he blasted foes, but because he denied them breath. Even senior cultivators admitted awe. "He is not only barrier. He is seal, mountain, time itself."
But Leng Zhi did not rush to shine on tournament stages. He told disciples daily: "Our role is not to dazzle. Fire dazzles. Frost preserves fields that fire would burn. Never forget our ancestral vow: Frost never falls."
Already, other sects eyed Leng with concern. A clan that did not kneel, with Everfrost prodigy at helm—history seemed repeating. Imperial envoys visited, requesting alliance. Evil sects whispered threats.
Leng Zhi simply smiled, recalling two lives behind him. This was not new. It was path he had walked before, once mocked, once revered. In this cycle, he would carve deeper foundations, so that even if Everfrost ended, roots would never vanish.
That night, before Frost Wall, he kneeled quietly. Snow fell silently.
"Ancestor Tian, Ancestor Xue—both of whom are me—I have carried us further. First we crawled, second we stood, third we endure stronger. Frost eternal until world's end."
And Eternal Tome pulsed faint approval deep in soul, whispering: Cycle Three advancing. Heritage unbroken.