The underground chamber was cold, damp, and eerily quiet. A faint drip echoed from somewhere in the darkness, like the heartbeat of the earth itself. Mike sat cross-legged in the shadows, his back against the rough stone wall. His breath was slow but heavy, the weight of twelve deaths pressing on his mind like an unshakable mountain.
The smell of soil and old rock filled the air. Somewhere far above, muffled rumbles of distant battles shook loose bits of dust from the ceiling.
Mike had made himself a silent promise, he would survive these two months without killing anyone else. The guilt from before gnawed at him, but instead of letting it consume him, he would turn it into fuel. He knew that to do so, he had to grow stronger.
That's when he decided , he would take the risk of learning the second stage of his Frostgrave Doomsway Technique.
The massive floating mirror still showed his earlier battle to the spectators. Jing Xu's eyes had been locked on him for a while, but her attention shifted when she noticed something more dangerous. Qing Jianrui and Lan Xiuqing slaughtering cultivators without hesitation.
They're hiding their rank, Jing Xu murmured to Mo Liang and Han Rui, her tone sharp. I bet they aren't Wang Zhe cultivators at all.
Mo Liang frowned. Now what do we do?
Nothing, Jing Xu replied calmly, her gaze unwavering. Let's see how far they'll go.
Back in the underground chamber, Mike unrolled an ancient scroll. The parchment crackled softly, its edges glowing faintly with icy blue light. As his eyes traced the patterns, the world around him shifted.
In a blink, he found himself standing in an isolated room sealed from all sides, no windows, no doors. The air was sharp and frigid, his breath turning instantly to frost. The walls were made of pure ice, smooth yet filled with faint cracks that shimmered like frozen veins.
Suddenly, the ground trembled. From the floor, massive ice spikes erupted, each one thick at the base and deadly sharp at the tip. One shot up so close it grazed his cheek, leaving behind a chilling sting.
Mike leapt sideways, landing on another spike before springing away. But the attack didn't stop, more and more spikes burst upward, their shattering sound echoing in the icy chamber.
This time, the hammer wasn't forbidden. Yet, it wasn't enough to rely on it alone.
The battle inside this room was endless. Spikes rose and fell like the tides, forcing him to constantly adapt. More than once, they struck him, freezing his limbs in place, but each time he broke free with sheer willpower.
Days blurred into nights or what would have been nights if this place had a sky. Twenty relentless days passed, the cold biting at his skin, his recovery pills barely keeping his body together.
But with every dodge, every counter, his speed and agility sharpened. The constant calculation of spike patterns honed his mental strength like a whetstone to a blade.
Finally, something shifted inside him. His breathing deepened, his core energy surged, and the barrier broke. From Dou Ba 2 stars, he advanced to Dou Ba 3 stars.
The frozen chamber felt different now. Mike could feel the flow of energy beneath the ice like veins running through the ground. He began moving in harmony with it, predicting the spikes' emergence before they even formed.
And then, he did something daring.
He dismissed his hammer entirely and relied on his bare hands. His Ice Snake Flame flickered to life, dancing blue-white in his palms. With every spike that erupted, he didn't just dodge now absorbed again.
The flame thickened, deepened, and transformed. The serpent-like shape grew larger, scales of frost forming along its length until it became an Ice Python Flame.
The spikes that once threatened him now bent to his will. He could summon them from beneath the floor or shatter them mid attack.
With meditation and patience, he masters the second stage of the technique and now he goes for third stage of the frostgrave doomsway technique which is permafrost desolation.
The ice around him darkened, and from the far wall, a figure emerged, a man whose body itself was made of ice. His eyes glowed pale blue, and with a chilling voice, he declared, "If you can't kill ice, you can't master it."
The duel was vicious. The man's body reformed each time Mike struck, his attacks like blizzards in human form. Mike's defenses shattered again and again.
But instead of despair, Mike felt something else a deep, burning determination.
He pushed forward, driving his Ice Python Flame into the man's chest. With a roar, he shattered his opponent into frozen fragments.
Now, with a single tap of his foot, he could summon ice pillars and spikes from above and below, trapping enemies in an icy prison. Now he is able to control atmosphere around him and where he stays.
Time passed when he meditate for fully master third stage. And then continuous breakthrough happens and he reaches Dou Ba 4 stars… Dou Ba 5… Dou Ba 6… Dou Ba 8.
When he finally mastered third stage of Frostgrave doomsway technique and then he stepped out of the chamber. One month and twenty days later and his aura was colder, sharper, and heavier than before.
In the Arena World, chaos ruled. The corpses of cultivators lay scattered across the land. Thousands had died and most of them at the hands of Qing Jianrui and Lan Xiuqing.
Spectators in the real world were restless, their eyes fixed on the giant mirror. Jing Xu was still focused on the murderous couple, unaware of where Mike had been hiding.
Jian Dao and Huo Chuntian, still in Jian Dao's body, whispered to each other. Where's Mike? He slaughtered twelve men at the start, then vanished completely.
Meanwhile, in the Arena World, under the shade of a massive, twisted tree, Qing Jianrui and Lan Xiuqing waited.
I think our next target is coming, Lan Xiuqing said, her tone casual but her eyes sharp.
Then let's welcome him, Qing Jianrui replied coldly.
In the spectators' stands, everyone leaned forward. Elders, cultivators, even Jing Xu felt the tension.
Who's there? whispers spread. Is anyone still alive?
Jing Xu narrowed her eyes, searching. Then she found him.
It was Mike.
But something about him was different his awareness, his presence, his sheer will.
Jian Dao's voice cracked for the first time. Mike… please don't die.
The crowd erupted.
That's him! The one who killed twelve cultivators in twelve seconds!
The Arena World held its breath.