— Fire Shatters the Deepfreeze —
"You insolent brat! How dare you act so arrogantly before this Patriarch!" Severin roared, his face as cold as ice. "You think killing a few Grandmasters makes you invincible? Ten Elders—appear!"
Whoosh—!
A sword-like cold wind swept through the hall!
Ten blue-robed, white-bearded elders emerged soundlessly from the shadows, their presence. Together with Severin, the eleven men sealed Eren tightly at the center.
Severin commanded: "By the Frostveil Aura—Suppress!"
BOOM!!
Eleven streams of pale blue, extreme cold True Energy erupted simultaneously!
The air froze instantly, and rampant frost spread wildly across the great hall.
In the next moment—
Eren was completely encased in ice, frozen into a translucent, pale-blue statue.
"Hahahaha!"
Severin laughed maniacally. "Eren, for all your heaven-defying methods, this is your end! The Frostveil Sect shall ascend to its peak because of this!"
"Eren!!"
Selene's voice broke, raw with grief. "I got you into this... I never should have brought you here..."
Kaelen stepped closer with a lecherous smirk.
"Why the tears, you wench!"
He reached out to tear off Selene's veil. "Let this Young Patriarch take a good look—"
His fingertips were just about to touch—
C-R-A-C-K!!
The sound exploded like thunder in the silent, frozen hall!
The surface of the ice sculpture was now covered in spider-web cracks!
"He's not dead!" Severin's face drastically changed, and he bellowed, "He's still alive! Full suppression! Now!!"
The eleven men frantically channeled their Frostveil Aura. The frigid currents surged like an icy waterfall, sealing Eren directly into a massive iceberg thirty-foot tall!
Severin gasped for breath, wiping cold sweat from his brow. "Huff... That was close... This kid is monstrous, but our Frostveil Sect's skill ultimately prevails."
But in the very next second, his very soul froze.
Because—
Within the semi-transparent iceberg...
A light—suddenly ignited.
Not a cold light.
But raging flames.
The inferno voraciously consumed the solid ice. No matter how fiercely the eleven men channeled their cold energy, they could not halt the iceberg's rapid melting!
"No... It can't be... Absolutely impossible!!"
Severin and the ten Elders cried out in terror, as if witnessing the world collapse.
BOOM—!
The iceberg exploded completely!
A figure strode slowly forth from the flames—
Like an ancient Fire God descending!
Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh—!
Ten flying swords shot through the air like ten auroras.
Almost in the same instant—
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The throats of the ten Elders were simultaneously pierced. Without even time to scream, they staggered and fell dead on the spot!
A warm wetness spread in Kaelen's trousers as he lost control in sheer terror, desperately scrambling to hide behind Severin.
---
— Into the Forbidden Vault —
"Severin."
Eren's gaze was as cold as a millennia-deep frigid pool. "Take me to the—Frostjade Marrow."
That single, short sentence terrified Severin more than any threat could.
"Yes! Yes! Of course!"
Severin nodded frantically, cold sweat pouring like rain from his forehead. "I'll take you! I only beg you to spare me and my son!"
"Your lives hold no value to me," Eren stated calmly. "Do as I say, and you live."
Like stray dogs, Severin and his son led the way.
Soon, the group arrived at the Frostveil Sect's forbidden ground.
Severin channeled his Frostveil Aura into the mechanism. With a rumbling roar, the heavy stone door slowly opened.
Inside, cold light overflowed.
Eren's eyes immediately locked onto the pebble-sized treasure emitting a faint blue glow—
Its energy fluctuations were so intense it was heart-palpating.
"This... this is the Frostjade Marrow," Severin said, his face twisted in pained agony. "It's an otherworldly treasure, the foundation upon which our sect's founder established..."
Before he could finish—
Eren made a grasping motion through the air. The Marrow flew automatically into his palm.
BOOM—!
The surging cold energy made the entire forbidden ground hum and vibrate.
A brief gleam of exhilaration flashed in Eren's eyes. With a thought, he stored the Marrow into his Swordborne Gourd.
Severin trembled as he asked, "E...Eren... You have the Marrow... Can we... can we go now?"
Kaelen nodded like a woodpecker, wishing he could flee to the ends of the earth immediately.
"Not so fast."
Eren spoke lightly, his eyes sweeping towards a cave on the right.
It was piled high with millennia-old Snow Lotuses, Frostjade Ginseng, Frostsoul Grass...
Rare medicinal herbs of all kinds filled the cave .
Eren's eyes lit up. He retracted his gaze, looked at Severin, his smile not reaching his eyes:
"These herbs—"
"You should... be willing to gift them to me, correct?"
Severin's mouth twitched, his expression uglier than crying. "..Yes. W–willing."
"Good."
Eren raised his hand and waved. All the herbs were instantly sucked into the gourd.
Severin and his son stood petrified on the spot.
In their eyes, it was nothing short of an immortal's technique!
— The Blade of Reckoning —
"Eren... Surely that's enough now?" Severin's voice was dry, his face grayer than the stone door.
But Eren's expression turned cold as millennia-old black Iron in an instant. "Enough? Not quite."
He took a step forward, his aura sharp as a honed blade. "The accounts—aren't settled yet."
Severin's heart plummeted violently. "Accounts? Do you... mean to go back on your word?"
"No."
Eren's soft voice rang with the finality of a judge's decree. "I took the treasure. My debt with the Frostveil Sect is cleared."
He turned his head, his gaze sharpening into a blade.
"But Selene's account—is separate."
His eyes fell upon Kaelen.
Kaelen shuddered from head to toe.
"Kaelen,"
Eren spoke indifferently, "You sought to humiliate Selene earlier. For this debt, I will cripple your legs. Any objections?"
"N...none at all!!" Kaelen's face was distorted with fear, his voice strangled.
"Good."
Eren gave a slight nod. "The Young Patriarch is quite reasonable."
Just as Kaelen began to relax—
The next instant.
Thud!!
Kaelen's legs were severed cleanly at the roots, falling to the ground like ragged cloth, blood pooling everywhere.
"Kaelen!!"
Severin's eyes nearly burst from their sockets. He lunged forward to staunch the bleeding, his breath trembling with rage as he glared at Eren.
"You... you've gone too far!"
Eren's demeanor was so calm it was almost cruel:
"Oh? Does Patriarch Severin have an objection? Feel free to voice it. I, Eren, am always the most reasonable man."
Severin tasted sweetness in his throat, almost vomiting blood on the spot.
But he clenched his teeth, lowered his head, and squeezed out the words through sheer humiliation:
"... No objection."
"Good."
Eren patted Selene's hand. "Then we take our leave. Patriarch Severin—next time you have treasures, don't forget to invite me for some Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus tea."
With that, he turned. The wind and snow seemed to part for him as he left.
— The Ancestor Emerges —
Severin trembled with rage. "Bastard! You've emptied our treasure vault! What 'next time' could there possibly be?!"
Kaelen wailed in agony. "Father... Eren killed our Elders! Crippled my legs! Stole our ultimate treasure! And you just let him leave?! I—WILL—NOT—ACCEPT THIS!! I want him dead!!"
Severin was silent.
The cold light in his eyes gradually turned into absolute resolve.
Finally, gritting his teeth, he uttered in a low voice words that could shake heaven and earth:
"—Summon the Ancestor from seclusion."
Severin sprinted along a hidden mountain path, plunging into a dark cave in the back mountain until he reached a deep underground chamber.
The deep earth, which should have been warm, was as cold as an ice cellar.
In the center of the chamber, a white-haired and bearded elder sat motionless, his body sealed within thick blue ice.
Severin threw himself to his knees, his voice shaking. "Ancestor! A powerful enemy has intruded! The ten Great Elders are all slain! The rare herbs from the forbidden treasure vault have been plundered... Even the Frostjade Marrow has been taken!"
Crack—
The Ancestor's eyes snapped open. The blue ice vaporized instantly and was drawn into his lungs in a single breath.
"Who dares to act so insolently in my Frostveil Sect?!"
Severin trembled. "His name is Eren Kai! His strength is unfathomable! He can control ten flying swords with a mere thought! The Elders all fell to his blades!"
"The Flying Sword Art...? In this era?" The Ancestor showed rare solemnity. "Someone still cultivates this art in this age? Let's go! This old man must see him for himself."
As the words fell, Severin felt a chilling energy bind him. His vision blurred, and in the blink of an eye, he was already back on the surface.
The descent had taken him half an hour, but the Ancestor brought him up in an instant.
The Ancestor scanned the surroundings. "Where is he?"
"He went down the mountain! We must pursue quickly!"
"Compose yourself." The Ancestor lightly raised his sleeve, his tone icy and arrogant. "Dare to steal my Frostjade Marrow? He could flee to the ends of the earth, yet he will not escape this old man's grasp."
With those words, the two figures transformed into streaks of cold light and vanished.