Free Web NovelChapter 224: Chapter 223: Complete Cultivation Method
Three years passed in the blink of an eye. The mist over Northern Boundary Mountain was about to disperse, and the battle for the Chosen was set to begin. The outskirts of the North Snow Tribe were still in ruins, but the central area near the North Snow Tower had been gradually rebuilt. Members of smaller tribes had even joined them, showing signs of a revival.
As the former site of a Main Vein Tribe, the North Snow Tribe occupied an excellent location. They had also reaped a great many Treasures of Heaven and Earth from the West Ice Tribe, which naturally attracted members from other, smaller tribes.
The principle was simple: even a starved camel is bigger than a horse.
Jiang Qiu didn’t interfere much with the integration of new tribe members, leaving most decisions to [Hunt]. After all, he was busy with the Refinement of the ancestral inheritance from the East Shore Tribe.
The Witch Priest of the East Shore Tribe had once invited him to visit East Shore and test if he could receive their ancestral inheritance. The result was obvious: possessing a Tier Two Human Bloodline, Jiang Qiu immediately triggered the East Shore Tribe’s inheritance.
No one else could tell what the specific inheritance was. They only knew that after Jiang Qiu returned from his trip to East Shore, he had entered a state of seclusion.
In reality, what Jiang Qiu had obtained from the East Shore Tribe’s inheritance was a special Secret Technique—the *Ice Prison Fire Tower*—and a peculiar fire seed.
After obtaining the fire seed, he began to fuse it with his own body. Over the past three years, the concentration of his Luminous Blood began to rise again. The effects were outstanding, and it had just reached a critical threshold!
[Human Race Bloodline]
[Tier Two Luminous Blood: 100/100]
As things stood, his control over Spirit Charm had reached a new stage. His [Ice Armor] Talent had also become more effective, doubling its original strength. Moreover, he could vaguely sense that he was touching a bottleneck.
The bottleneck of the Dao Forging Jade Sinew Realm.
The key to breaking through this bottleneck lay in the *Ice Prison Fire Tower* Secret Technique. It was similar to a Soldier Cultivation Method, a path leading to the Peeping Dao Realm.
According to the inheritance from the Cyan Simurgh Palace, in Ancient Times, there were no such classifications as the Spirit Body Realm, Bright Soul Realm, or Dharma Realm. The gap between the Jade Sinew Realm and the Dao Forging Realm was mainly filled by Secret Techniques like the *Ice Prison Fire Tower*, which were akin to complete versions of Soldier Cultivation Methods.
Soldier Cultivation Methods only went up to the Bright Soul Realm—the subsequent Realms had little to do with them—precisely because the methods themselves were incomplete.
But the *Ice Prison Fire Tower* was complete. It was divided into three layers in total: the first layer was [Ice Prison], the second was [Fire Tower], and the third was [Twin Celestial Realm].
It was a Casting Body type of Cultivation Method, focused primarily on tempering the physical body. Coincidentally, the East Shore Tribe’s inheritance contained the crucial fire seed material. So, Jiang Qiu spent three years tempering his body, just barely reaching the threshold of the *Ice Prison Fire Tower’s* first layer.
His physical strength was now incredibly formidable. Even without using his limited Spirit Power, he was strong enough to tear a High Tier Demon Beast apart with his bare hands. ’As for the Top Tier Demon Beasts of the Northern Boundary... I’ve never seen one.’
At that moment, Jiang Qiu stood at the repaired southern gate of the North Snow Tribe. He mounted his horse and raised a hand to the crowd of nearly a thousand people, shouting, "Everyone, the battle for the Chosen is about to begin! I will journey to Northern Boundary Mountain alone. I may not return from this trip. May the North Snow Tribe continue to stand strong here."
The battle for the Chosen was a struggle among the Chosen Ones for the Enlightenment Fruit at Northern Boundary Peak. For all the tribes of the Northern Boundary, it was a treasure beyond their wildest dreams. Taking the Enlightenment Fruit was no less difficult than plucking the sun from the sky.
For the Chosen Ones, going to Northern Boundary Mountain and starting the battle meant their trials were coming to an end, and they would soon return to their own worlds.
This farewell might be their last.
However, Jiang Qiu had no intention of letting this be a final farewell. He had already set up dozens of [Little Ice Realm] Arrays for the North Snow Tribe. These arrays could be activated by connecting to the Spirit Charm left behind by the Primordial Ascendant and were controlled by [Hunt] and the other original North Snow Tribe Warriors.
But the North Snow Tribe had not truly recovered yet. The oldest of the newborn children was not even two, and the strongest warrior, [Hunt], was already in his fifties. His body, though seemingly at its Peak, would soon enter its twilight years.
’Once I leave, the North Snow Tribe might face all sorts of hidden dangers.’
’Only by taking the Enlightenment Fruit and verifying the legend the Elder Witch Priest once emphasized can I break the seal on the Northern Boundary. That’s the only way I might be able to continue looking after North Snow after the battle for the Chosen is over.’
’All in all, I’m just not at ease.’
’I never even got to see the Elder Witch Priest one last time. I have failed the Ice and Snow Contract.’
After his farewell, Jiang Qiu departed to the south without a backward glance, letting the cries of his tribe members, [Hunt] among them, fade behind him. "May heaven bless North Snow! Bless the Chosen One, [Hill]!"
The road south was a vast expanse of white snow. One man, one horse, one lance, heading south.
...
Normally, a Chosen One would be accompanied by the vast majority of his tribe’s Warriors, like a general leading an army into battle.
But Jiang Qiu was all alone. He couldn’t rely on North Snow, which had just barely managed to gather nearly a thousand members. Instead, North Snow had to rely on him.
’But it doesn’t really matter whether anyone is with me or not. Even [Wind] couldn’t beat me. Could anyone from the other tribes?’
’I just need to get to Northern Boundary Mountain.’
With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Qiu set out from the North Snow Tribe. Along the way, he drank melted snow and slew Demon Beasts, fighting his way to a pass in the South Mountain Range where he met a contingent from the South Mountain Tribe that had long been waiting for him.
The West Ice Tribe, once the most powerful of the four Main Vein Tribes, had been destroyed. The only tribes with a Chosen One heading to Northern Boundary Mountain were the North Snow Tribe, the South Mountain Tribe, and the East Shore Tribe.
According to history, all tribes were supposed to obey the sole Chosen One who survived the North Sea Palace. Even though there was more than one Chosen One now, they all knew who to listen to.
How could [Hill], the face of the Human Race and the one who would contend with the Demon Race for the fruits of victory, be alone from start to finish?
The North Snow Tribe had no one left, but the Human Race did.
Even if the Northern Boundary Human Clan was in decline, if they united as a single force, they would be no weaker than the fractured major tribes of the Demon Race.
"[Hill], these are the strongest Warriors of our South Mountain branch."
At [Wall]’s introduction, a thousand Warriors in assorted armor and clothing stood in formation, their heads held high as they looked up at [Hill] on his horse.
They came from the various tribes of the South Mountain Range, not just the Main Vein South Mountain Tribe, but also the Stone Forest Tribe and others.
They were the elite and the powerful of their tribes, and they were about to follow Jiang Qiu to Northern Boundary Mountain.
In fact, the East Shore Tribe was also gathering a large group of powerful Warriors. However, they would bypass the towering South Mountain Range, so they would take a different route and rendezvous at Northern Boundary Mountain.
"Good. Since everyone is ready, let’s move out."
At Jiang Qiu’s command, the thousand Warriors—some on horseback, some on foot—followed in a mighty procession behind him and [Wall].
There were no Leaders among these troops, as it was too risky for a tribe to send its Leader. However, many of the Warriors among them had been to the North Sea Palace. It could be said that every last one who had gone to the North Sea Palace would now follow Jiang Qiu to Northern Boundary Mountain!
On this journey, they were determined to clear a path for Jiang Qiu and help him claim the Enlightenment Fruit.
The moment for the Human Race to rise was now!
