The sun sank below Frost Ridge's jagged peaks, painting the sky a bruised purple, heavy with the promise of snow.
Kai stood at the fort's towering gates, his breath forming clouds in the frigid air.
His new robes, embroidered with weak cold-repelling runes, did little to shield him from the wind that cut like a blade.
He gripped his sword, its weight a grounding force, though it slapped against his leg with every step—a constant reminder of his inexperience in this hostile land.
The icy wastes stretched before him, a sea of snow and shadow, where every gust carried the faint howl of unseen beasts.
"Am I late?" Kai panted, sprinting to meet two cultivators at the gates.
Li Yuan, his face etched with tattoos like runes of war, glared at him with undisguised disdain.
Ryu He, quieter, stared into the distance, his eyes distant as if hearing voices in the wind.
Both radiated Meridian Tempering auras, their power dwarfing Kai's feeble fire Qi.
"You Kai?" Li Yuan snapped, his voice sharp as the ice around them.
"Early Qi Condensation? What, tired of living already?"
"He's a fire cultivator," Ryu He murmured, his voice low and unsettling, like a whisper from the void.
"The ice spirits say he burns."
"Heavens, why me?" Li Yuan groaned, throwing his hands up in exasperation, his breath steaming in the cold.
"One weakling, one nutcase. Fine, but if you die, it's on you. First patrol? Can you even fight?"
"I don't carry this sword for looks," Kai said, patting the blade, his voice steady despite the fear coiling in his gut.
"And yeah, I'm new. Ready to learn from my seniors."
"At least you've got some sense," Li Yuan muttered, his tone grudging.
"I'm Li Yuan, this is Ryu He, my brother-in-arms. In patrol, call me Senior. I say jump, you jump. I say run, you sprint without looking back. Got it? Keep up!"
They stepped into the snowy wastes, their boots crunching through the thick snow, each sound swallowed by the oppressive silence.
The wind howled through jagged ice formations, their shapes twisting into monstrous forms under the dim twilight.
Kai's heart pounded, his senses heightened, every shadow a potential threat.
The cold seeped through his robes, chilling his bones, but he gripped his sword tighter, refusing to let fear take hold.
"Stay in formation," Li Yuan ordered, leading with a glowing ice spear that cast a pale blue light across the snow.
Ryu He followed, clutching a string of beads that pulsed with faint ice Qi, their soft glow a fragile ward against the dark.
Kai stayed between them, feeling like a lamb flanked by wolves, his fire Qi flickering weakly in the oppressive cold.
They trekked for half an hour, the silence broken only by the wind's mournful wail.
Then Li Yuan froze, raising a hand, his spear glinting in the dim light.
"Something's out there," he whispered, his eyes scanning the shadows, his aura flaring like a beacon.
Kai strained his ears, hearing nothing but the wind's relentless howl.
Then, a piercing screech, like claws raking across ice, shattered the silence.
From the snow, an ice worm erupted, its serpentine body stretching ten meters, its maw bristling with needle-like teeth.
Its ice Qi surged, freezing the air into a crystalline mist, the cold so intense it burned Kai's skin.
"Prepare!" Li Yuan roared, charging forward, his spear thrusting into the worm's side with a crack like shattering glass.
Ice shards flew, but the beast barely flinched, its scales glinting like polished steel.
Ryu He raised his beads, chanting in a low, rhythmic tone.
A cage of ice Qi materialized, its glowing bars trapping the worm, but the formation flickered, straining under the beast's thrashing.
Kai saw the beads trembling in Ryu He's hands—his Qi was fading fast.
Kai drew his sword, channeling his meager fire Qi into the blade.
A faint red glow flickered along the edge, weak but defiant.
He scanned the worm, spotting a glowing ice gem embedded in its head—its core, its weakness.
He lunged, aiming a precise slash, but his fire Qi was too feeble, leaving only a shallow scratch.
The worm roared, its tail whipping toward him with terrifying speed.
"Kid, what are you doing?" Li Yuan bellowed, shoving Kai aside with a burst of ice Qi.
"Don't die stupidly!"
Kai hit the snow, pain flaring in his side, but anger burned hotter.
He couldn't let them see him as a burden.
Scrambling to his feet, he studied the worm's movements—head dive, tail sweep, a predictable pattern.
He waited, heart pounding, as the worm dove again, its maw tearing through the snow.
Seizing the moment, Kai leaped, channeling every drop of fire Qi into a blazing strike at the gem.
The flame was weak, a mere spark in the frozen night, but it struck true, cracking the gem with a sharp snap.
The worm screeched, its body thrashing wildly, sending snow and ice flying.
Li Yuan saw the opening, his spear flashing as he drove it through the crack, piercing the core.
The beast collapsed, its body shattering into a cascade of ice shards that glittered like fallen stars.
"Not bad, kid," Li Yuan said, panting, his usual disdain softened by a grudging respect.
"But don't act on your own next time."
Kai nodded, his chest heaving, adrenaline still coursing through him.
His fire Qi was nearly depleted, leaving him dizzy, but he'd proven himself—if only a little.
As they turned to head back to the fort, a low, guttural roar echoed from the darkness, shaking the snow beneath their feet.
It wasn't a worm.
Something larger, darker, was coming, its presence heavy with malice.
Kai's hand tightened on his sword, his heart racing as the shadows seemed to pulse with unseen eyes.