The wind screamed through Frost Ridge, a relentless force carrying shards of ice that stung Kai's exposed skin like a thousand tiny blades.
He stood in the heart of the Eternal Ice Fort's plaza, his boots sinking into the frost-dusted stone, each step crunching like brittle bones.
The towering ice walls of the fort gleamed under the pale glow of spiritual torches, their surfaces rippling with faint blue light, as if the spirits of the frozen dead lingered within.
The air was thick with the scent of cold stone, mingled with the rancid stench of blue beetle ichor clinging to Kai's tattered robes—a grim reminder of the battle that had nearly claimed his life.
Above, the sky was a void of endless gray, heavy with the threat of more snow, as if Frost Ridge itself sought to bury him.
"Little Kai? Is it really you?" The voice was soft, like a winter breeze, but laced with an icy spiritual energy that brushed against Kai's senses, probing and cautious.
So Yun stood before him, her white hair cascading like frozen silk, her pale blue eyes sharp as the edge of a glacier.
Yet, beneath their cold intensity, a flicker of warmth stirred memories Kai couldn't quite grasp—fragments of a childhood long buried.
"Are we acquainted?" Kai asked, his voice tight with tension.
His carefully crafted façade as an unremarkable cultivator had just shattered.
His heart pounded, a frantic drumbeat against his ribs, as he clenched his fists to steady himself under her piercing gaze.
The weight of Frost Ridge's oppressive aura pressed harder, as if the ice itself sensed his vulnerability.
"Lady So Yun, you know this practitioner?" Belozar, a towering figure with a gray beard matted with frost, turned to her.
His spiritual aura rolled off him like an avalanche, heavy and unyielding, making the air feel denser, colder.
Kai's fire Qi, already weak, flickered like a candle in a storm.
"Yes, I knew him as a child," So Yun replied, her tone calm but resolute, like ice that refused to crack.
"You were right, Master Belozar—this boy couldn't possibly be one of the criminals typically sent here. I vouch for him."
Kai's breath caught, his surprise nearly betraying him with a grimace.
So Yun, vouching for him?
The faint memory of her—a gentle figure from his past, blurred by time—clashed with the reality of this icy prison.
Her support was a lifeline, but it also unnerved him.
Why would she risk her standing for a near-stranger?
"Why am I here, Lady So Yun?" Kai sighed, his voice heavy with exhaustion and the weight of uncertainty.
"Intrigues, mostly. Honestly, I still don't fully understand the reasons."
"Hah! Unraveling the madness of that clan would take a heavenly epiphany!" Belozar barked, his laugh rough as the grinding of icebergs.
His eyes glinted with disdain, unyielding as the frozen peaks surrounding them.
"Master Belozar, please show restraint," So Yun said, her voice soft but edged with frost, her gaze narrowing like a blade honed by winter.
"We're speaking of the great Shen Clan. But Kai being here is outrageous. He's only at Qi Condensation, not even sixteen. Have the elders forgotten their own laws?"
"I don't give a damn what the Shen Clan thinks of my words," Belozar scoffed, crossing his arms, his aura flaring briefly, sending a chill through the plaza.
"Let them come here and complain to my face. Kid, how long are you exiled for? Ten years? Twenty?"
"Until I reach Core Formation," Kai said, forcing a wry grin despite the dread coiling in his gut.
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
So Yun's icy aura surged, sharp and biting, wrapping around Kai like a frozen chain.
He shivered, not just from the cold, but from the impossible weight of his exile.
"Poor thing," Aina, a young woman with short-cropped hair standing nearby, whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind.
"With your fire cultivation, that's impossible in Frost Ridge."
"Scoundrels! How dare they?" So Yun growled, her beautiful face twisting with rage, her spiritual energy swirling like a blizzard, forcing nearby disciples to step back.
Her anger was a storm, and Kai felt its edges cutting into him, amplifying his own sense of injustice.
"Sister So, calm yourself," Belozar said, his voice steady but commanding, like a boulder unmoved by the wind.
"I'm glad you've seen the Phoenix Sect's true face, but this isn't the place for anger. As for you, Kai, since Sister So vouches for you, we'll skip the interrogation about your past. But we need to know why the teleport failed. Did you notice anything odd during the transition to Frost Ridge? Unusual Qi movements or strange behavior, perhaps?"
"Right here?" Kai glanced around the plaza, his voice tinged with unease.
Disciples moved through the snow-dusted space, their eyes lingering on him—some curious, others suspicious, their whispers swallowed by the wind.
The cold bit at his skin, but their scrutiny burned hotter, making him feel exposed, vulnerable.
"I have no secrets from my cultivation brethren," Belozar said, his tone unyielding as the ice walls.
"Speak freely."
"Nothing comes to mind," Kai said, shaking his head, forcing his voice to stay steady.
"Except we nearly missed the teleport. And our leader, Borai, had foul Qi—dark, almost rancid."
"Borai?" Belozar's face darkened, his grimace carving deeper lines into his weathered features.
Kai nodded, his mind flashing to the teleport platform: the chaos, the shouting, and that fleeting wisp of black Qi, like smoke curling through the portal.
It hadn't belonged to Borai, but its presence gnawed at him, a splinter in his thoughts.
"That man was always like that, using less-than-righteous methods to grow stronger," Belozar muttered.
"Do you know why you were delayed?"
"From the shouting, I gathered we departed late," Kai said, shrugging, his words carefully measured.
"Something about the Clan Leader's orders."
He avoided lies, knowing Belozar's piercing gaze could likely detect deception.
Admitting he'd caused the delay—by hesitating at the portal, overwhelmed by fear—would be foolish.
The black Qi still haunted him, its unnatural presence like a shadow lurking just out of sight.
Had it followed him here?
"Understood. You must be exhausted after the fight, and a bath wouldn't hurt," Belozar said, his voice softening slightly, though his nose wrinkled at the stench of beetle ichor.
"Aina, show our new brother around. Welcome to the Eternal Ice Fort, kid."
"Kai, visit me after you've rested," So Yun said, her smile gentle but her eyes sharp as frost, cutting through his defenses.
"As you command, Lady So," Kai bowed, his heart racing with a mix of gratitude and suspicion.
"Ready for a tour?" Aina grinned, her eyes sparkling with mischief despite the cold.
"I expected more people to arrive."
She led him through the fort's icy corridors, the walls glowing with embedded spiritual stones that cast eerie, shifting shadows.
The reflections of their figures twisted in the ice, like specters trailing their steps.
Kai felt the oppressive weight of ice Qi, smothering his fire meridians, each breath a struggle against the cold that sought to extinguish him.
As they approached a heavy wooden door—an anomaly in this frozen fortress—Aina knocked with a hammer-shaped handle.
A deep voice rumbled from within:
"Enter."
The room was a haven of warmth, a stark contrast to the frigid halls.
Faint traces of fire Qi drifted in the air, teasing Kai's senses, urging him to absorb them.
But he froze under the piercing gaze of a black-haired man, his youthful appearance belied by an aura that screamed Core Formation.
His fire Qi blazed, a furnace that made Kai's skin prickle with both awe and fear.
"Aina? Why the delay? Where are the other exiles?" the man demanded, his face twisting in disgust at Kai's ichor-soaked robes.
"What trash have you dragged in?"
"This is Disciple Kai, the sole survivor of the arriving group," Aina said, bowing, her voice steady.
"Please register him and issue a disciple token. Masters Belozar and So Yun have approved."
"What does this mean? How could an entire group perish?" the man snapped, his eyes boring into Kai like twin flames.
"You'd best discuss that with the other masters," Aina replied calmly.
"I only know the teleport malfunctioned."
"Fine, I'll deal with it later," he growled, glaring at Kai.
"You, place your hand on the jade orb and channel your Qi."
Kai stepped forward, his hand trembling slightly as he touched the orb.
A brilliant flash erupted, and a small jade fragment broke free, pulsing with cool energy.
"Your disciple token," the man tossed it at Kai, the gesture sharp and careless.
Kai caught it, feeling its spiritual weight in his palm.
"It has ten points as a starting bonus. Lose it, and don't bother returning to the Fort. Now, the rules: murder and theft mean exile. You must complete at least one task every ten days, or lose a hundred points. If your points drop below zero, you're exiled to the icy wastes to freeze slowly—or, if you're lucky, a monster kills you quickly. Clear?"
"Master, what are these points?" Kai asked, his voice steady despite the fear gnawing at his core.
"I'm not here to lecture you," the man snapped, his fire Qi flaring briefly, heating the room.
"Now get out—I have work."
As the door slammed shut, Aina exhaled, her breath visible in the cold.
"Phew, that went well. Master Lu can be a bit fiery."
Kai forced a chuckle, relief washing over him like a fleeting warm breeze.
"It's fine. Tell me about these points and missions."
They stepped back into the plaza, the wind howling louder now, carrying flecks of snow that stung Kai's face.
In the corner of his vision, he caught a flicker—a wisp of black Qi, identical to the one from the teleport, slithering through the shadows.
It vanished in an instant, but his heart raced, a cold dread settling in his bones.
Had he unwittingly brought a curse to Frost Ridge?