The depths of the Extreme North.
Amidst the boundless blizzard—
Suddenly, muffled thunder-like roars exploded across the sky.
Li Zhexian stood atop an ancient frozen tree, his black fur cloak snapping wildly in the gale.
He narrowed his eyes.
Far in the depths of the Extreme North—
Those mountain ranges, hidden half in cloud, like the spines of ancient dragons, ten thousand meters tall—
Were collapsing with irresistible force.
Boom—!
Boom—!
Avalanches of snow poured down like a heavenly river,
Sweeping with them shards of ice and boulders.
The entire Icebound Forest shook violently, ice crystals shattering off the ancient trees and falling in a storm of razor hail.
The entire frozen forest shuddered violently, ice-lances snapping from ancient trees and bursting into a storm of razor-sharp hail.
Under the auroras—
The howls of rampaging Spirit Beasts rose one after another.
It was as if the end of days had come.
"Retreat! Fall back, now!"
"Everyone, retreat at full speed!"
Snow Bear roared, summoning his Martial Soul's True Body, crashing down from the treetop.
The five-meter-tall Polar Snow Bear swung its thick, white-furred arms, seizing over a dozen mercenaries and barreling toward the forest's edge.
Li Zhexian leapt into the air, Spirit Power surging beneath his feet.
He gathered the snow and ice around him, compressing and solidifying it in an instant into a snowboard.
This alone—
Was enough to show his mastery of Spirit Power.
He bent low, body shooting forth like an arrow loosed from the string, black cloak whipping like a banner.
At the same time—
He flicked his hands, sending out dozens of binding ropes, each wrapping precisely around the waists of Oscar and the others.
Shhh—!
The snowboard sliced across the ice.
Li Zhexian sped ahead,
Dragging behind him a chain of burly men bouncing and rolling through the snow.
Oscar was tossed dizzy, stomach churning, yet his hands clung desperately to the rope.
His ears rang with the crackling percussion of ice shards battering leather armor.
At last—
As dawn light faintly broke,
the Snow Bear Mercenary Group staggered out of the forest in disarray.
The avalanche from the far reaches of the Extreme North had triggered a forest-wide upheaval. Thirteen mercenaries had been lost.
And aside from them—
Several other mercenary groups trapped inside had only a few battered survivors left, their losses far worse.
Li Zhexian glanced at his bruised and battered subordinates.
"You alright?"
"All good, boss!"
The dozen men grinned through their pain, gratitude thick in their voices.
Snow Bear wiped the ice shards off his face, growling:
"Back to camp to recover."
"When daylight's full, we'll seek out news."
But there was no need to wait for daylight.
As soon as Li Zhexian stepped out of camp with a few men, they heard mercenaries whispering on the snowy streets:
"No one knows what happened yet? Word is, the Ice Edge Mercenary Corps chased a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast too deep into the Extreme North!"
"That avalanche buried them alive—ninety-six men, nearly wiped out!"
"Ice Edge was one of the Four Great Mercenary Groups—and now they're gone!"
"There's also talk they found some kind of spiritual treasure…"
"Captain Ji!"
Oscar and the others turned toward Li Zhexian.
Li Zhexian stared at the mercenaries flooding toward the taverns in groups of threes and fives, light flashing in his eyes.
"Let's go."
Before they even stepped into the tavern—
"Damn it, it's Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow! The number one spiritual treasure of the North!"
"But the place it appeared—it's deep in the Extreme North, in the forbidden zone. Who dares go there?"
"Cowards! What's a scar on your head worth? If you get the Ice Marrow, you'll live the rest of your life in glory!"
"You won't go, but plenty of others will! Frost Fang and Ever Frost Rose are already gathering men to march into the Extreme North!"
Li Zhexian paused just outside the tavern door, exhaling slowly, white mist curling in the wind.
Within his sleeve, his fist clenched tight.
"Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow…"
"Finally, some news."
And just then—
"Ji!"
Snow Bear's voice suddenly came from behind.
Li Zhexian turned his head.
He saw Snow Bear's face set in solemn lines.
"Come back to camp and discuss. This Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow—should the Snow Bear Mercenary Group fight for it or not?"
The result was never in doubt.
For mercenaries who lick blood from the blade's edge, danger was simply daily life.
If they feared death—
They would never have taken this path in the first place.
Not only the Snowbear Mercenary Group, but among the Four Great Mercenary Groups of the North, aside from the nearly destroyed Ice Edge, both Frostfang and Everfrozen Rose were urgently mustering men.
As for the countless other mercenary groups of all sizes across the North—word spread like wildfire, and all were sharpening their blades.
For a time—
The streets of Sharp Blade Town swarmed with mercenaries buying weapons, stockpiling herbs.
The news of the North's greatest spiritual treasure—the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow—had struck like a spark in boiling oil, setting the entire North aflame.
Li Zhexian and Snow Bear stood shoulder to shoulder outside the camp,
Gazing at the suddenly boiling, uproarious little town.
For a long moment, both were silent.
At last—
Snow Bear exhaled a long plume of white breath.
"Who knows how many lives will be buried this time."
Li Zhexian pulled the wine flask from his belt, took a swig of fiery liquor, and said:
"Commander, last night you never finished your words."
"What about that Snow Lady legend?"
Snow Bear hadn't expected Li Ji to still be thinking of it. He chuckled softly.
"The legend of the Snow Lady… it's probably older than Sharp Blade Town, older even than the very name of the North."
"Oh?"
Li Zhexian raised a brow.
"You saw it in some ancient book?"
"No, no. Books give me a headache."
Snow Bear lifted his flask, clinked it against Li Zhexian's, drank deep, and only then continued:
"It was told to me by the veteran mercenary who brought me into the trade."
"He said his own elders passed it down the same way—word of mouth, generation to generation. No one knows how many centuries."
"At first I didn't take it seriously. Back then, I was young, hot-blooded, a rising genius of the town. I thought it nothing but fairy tales."
"Until…"
Snow bear's hand holding the flask trembled almost imperceptibly.
A trickle of liquor ran down the corner of his mouth.
He wiped it away.
And deep in his eyes, there flickered a reverence that came from the soul itself.
"That time…"
"I followed my old mercenary master, stepping into the depths of the Extreme North."
"That night, the world was vast and desolate, wind and snow without end. Our group of mercenaries circled to the far side of a mountain peak."
"The aurora that night was shockingly bright, painting the falling snowflakes as though stars were flying across the sky."
"And then…"
"I saw them…"
"A group of beings, their auras far more terrifying than even ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts, surrounding a snow-covered mound."
"On that mound stood a dim, hazy figure—a maiden, graceful and slender."
"And those terrifying Spirit Beasts… were worshiping her."
Snow Bear's voice grew lower and lower, until it was swallowed by the storm.
He fell silent for a long time.
Only the twitch of his lips betrayed the turmoil within.
"After that night…"
Snow Bear spoke again, his hoarse voice rasping as though honed by the North's icy gales a thousand times over.
"My old mercenary master… retired."
"A few other veterans never returned at all."
He gave a bitter smile, shaking his head.
"Later, when I spoke of it to others, no one believed me."
He turned his head, looking at the youth beside him in the black cloak.
"Ji… do you believe me?"
Li Zhexian nodded.
"I believe you."