Sorry for not updating for past few days. I fall from my bike but I am fine just some skin injuries on hands and chest and a minor crack in collarbone. Ok this chapter is bit short but here it is.
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The news of Mu Ningxue's departure hit Bo City like a sudden cold snap. The Mu Clan, ever-ambitious, wasn't wasting a single second; they had assigned her to the Capital City for elite training. To the public, she was a rising star. To Ningxue, it felt like being sent to a gilded cage.
On the morning of her departure, I met her privately at the edge of the Mu estate. She looked regal in her traveling cloak, but her eyes were searching mine, filled with a quiet reluctance to leave the only person who treated her like a human being.
"I have something for you," I said, handing her a sleek, unmarked case. "Inside is a high-grade Stardust Magic Tool and a specialized Cultivation Vessel. Don't tell a soul that you have them—not even your father. In the Capital, everyone will be watching you. These will give you an edge they can't track."
She looked stunned as she felt the pure energy radiating from the case. But I wasn't done. I pulled out a small, glowing vial containing a single White Lotus Petal.
"And this," I whispered, my voice turning grave. "If you ever feel that coldness in your soul becoming too much—if the backlash from 'that weapon' starts to consume you—swallow this. It will cleanse the frost, heal your soul and buy you time."
Ningxue's breath hitched. She hadn't told me about the Ice Crystal Bow's spiritual burden, yet here I was, providing the cure. She didn't ask how I knew. She simply stepped forward and squeezed my hand, the petal glowing faintly between us.
"I'll keep it secret, Yuzi," she promised, her voice thick with emotion. "I'll back to see you whenever I have free time."
In the original story, Mu Ningxue was defined by a stubborn pride and a refusal to accept help from anyone, her heart slowly hardening into a fortress of ice. But now, things are fundamentally different.
This Ningxue is still a lively and innocent girl, a stark contrast to the distant, frigid figure she would eventually become. Having just awakened her Ice Magic, she carries herself with a warmth and vibrancy that was lost in the original timeline. Most importantly, the Ice Bow within her soul has not yet begun its parasitic drain; it causes her no pain and demands no sacrifice. Because its corruption has not yet taken hold, her heart remains unfrozen and open, allowing her to experience the world with a sense of wonder rather than a weary survival instinct.
....
At the Li Family Hidden Base
Three days after Ningxue left, the atmosphere at our family's secret command center was heavy, thick with the sharp scent of ozone and the dry, ancient smell of old parchment. I was deep in the middle of a high-intensity gravity-pressure training session, my muscles straining against the invisible weight, when Brother Zhu walked in.
His face was set in a grim line of triumph that immediately told me the wait was over.
"Yuzi, we have it," Zhu announced. He didn't wait for me to power down the array before slamming a thick, weathered intelligence folder onto the tactical table. "We've found a suitable Monarch-level target for your hunt."
I exhaled a jagged breath, wiping the stinging sweat from my brow as the pressure lifted. Inside my spiritual world, my Fire stars began humming with a restless, violent anticipation.
"What are we looking at?" I asked, stepping toward the table.
"A Tundra Bone-Crusher Wolf," Zhu said. He tapped the interface, bringing up a series of blurry, white-on-gray satellite captures. "It's a Mid-Level Monarch. The good news? It's a pure land-based beast—no wings, no flight capability. It relies on sheer physical devastation and a frost-aura powerful enough to shatter reinforced steel."
He looked up at me, his eyes reflecting a complicated mix of brotherly pride and a very real, very jagged fear for my safety.
"It's currently claiming a territory in the Desolate Ridge, three hundred kilometers north," he continued, his voice low. "The advantage is that it has only just reached the Mid-Level Monarch tier. It's the best target we've been able to locate in a long time, but we have to be meticulous in our preparation. He isn't alone—he has three Sub-Monarch level demons serving as his direct subordinates, and their entire tribe is entrenched with them."
I stared at the grainy holographic projection of the massive, bone-armored wolf. It wasn't just a beast; its eyes, even through a satellite lens, glowed with an ancient, predatory intelligence that seemed to mock the humans watching it. A Mid-Level Monarch. If I could harvest its soul—a soul of that caliber—we wouldn't have to worry about resources or breakthrough essences for the next three or four years. It was the ultimate prize, wrapped in a coat of permafrost and death.
"A wolf, then," I said, a faint, dangerous smile playing on my lips. My Fire stars thrummed against my ribs, an itch that only the heat of battle could scratch. "Perfect."
Zhu nodded, his shadow stretching long across the tactical map. "Li Shen and the others are already geared and on standby. We move in forty-eight hours. The scouts are currently ghosting the perimeter of the Desolate Ridge, marking the mana-veins and escape routes."
He paused, the weight of the command settling on his shoulders. "This isn't a skirmish, Yuzi. We are hunting a Monarch in its own domain. To ensure we aren't buried by the horde, I'm deploying the full weight of our elite: forty High-Level mages will form the inner circle, with a hundred Mid-Level mages providing the outer-rim suppression. It's an army, and your safety will be our first priority."
He stepped closer, his gaze softening as he asked me. "Are you ready?"
I felt the heat rising from my palms, the air around me beginning to shimmer with the faint hints of excitement. "I've been ready since I was born."
To Be Continue.....
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