Arkfaire went through the groups one after the other but no longer explained their history. The number of sculptures would dwindle with each passing generation, and there was an important reason for that—a reduction in the number of clansmen.
When they arrived at the last group, there was only one sculpture left.
Arkfaire walked past this sculpture slowly and came to a stop at the final, unsculpted block of ice. “This is my place.”
Qianye raised his brows, waiting for what the young man was going to say.
Arkfaire eventually said, “The Thunderfrost Temple was only finished during the reign of the seventh generation ancestor, giving us some ability to control the destructive power of this continent. It was already too late at that point. There weren’t enough clansmen to maintain reproduction, and our numbers were dwindling constantly. The only way to survive was to take in new blood from the outside. From a different perspective, however, that would also be the end of our clan.”
Qianye realized that the thinning of bloodlines was a problem every clan would have to face. For instance, the vampire race’s slumbering River of Blood and the demonkin race’s near-extinct Prophets. The inheritance of power in most races was closely related to one’s bloodline, and without power, the clan would decline and fall into ruin.
It was rather strange, though, because humans were not as strictly bound by bloodline limitations. The Martial Ancestor’s Combatant Formula broke through this limitation entirely. The price for that was significant, but in this world full of war and strife, immediate survival was sometimes more important than future prospects.
Arkfaire’s voice drew Qianye back from his reverie. He pointed at the sculptures, saying, “Starting from the eighth generation, the sculpture no longer depicts heroes but the generational master of the Thunderfrost Temple, the person who had inherited the power of Thunderfrost.”
Qianye understood why Arkfaire had pointed out the location of his sculpture. After his death, the inheritor of his power would sculpt his statue there.
“Where’s Caroline? What’s her position here?”
“You mean my sister? I was just going to talk to you about it. Follow me.”
Arkfaire left the hall with Qianye and headed deeper underground. This time, the passage seemed deep, gloomy, and endless. They walked hundreds of meters before a door appeared in front of them.
Arkfaire pushed open the door to reveal a different world behind it.
This was a natural cave that sloped downward into a bottomless central pit. From the edge of the cliff, one could see deep blue radiance flickering in its depths and arcs of lightning jumping along the walls.
Just standing at the mouth of the pit caused Qianye’s hair to float upward a bit. He could clearly feel the terrifying energy inside.
“This is the source of the Thunderfrost Temple. The entire temple is a facility to suppress and filter the frost and void lightning. Otherwise, a great wave of cold would descend upon the continent every few decades, and the void lightning would ravage the land until there was no life left.
“After the construction of the Thunderfrost Temple, we were able to harness the power of these energies. Naturally, it took great talent to be able to refine such power, but our race had never lacked in geniuses. The first person of each generation to master the power of frost would become the lord of the Thunderfrost Temple. My sister… was the first to grasp the power of frost, but she purposely chose lightning instead. However, I don’t hate her for that.”
“Only those who grasp the power of frost can become the temple lord?” Qianye asked.
Arkfaire nodded. “Yes, only by grasping the power of frost can one operate the entire temple, suppressing the disaster and protecting our clansmen.”
Qianye understood somewhat. “That means the temple lord can’t actually leave, right?”
“Only for a short while. Taking into account travel times, they can stay on other continents for half a day at most.” Arkfaire smiled wryly.
Qianye suddenly felt sorry for him. Arkfaire was a genius, but he had been bound to this icy temple since youth. What joy was there in such a life? No wonder he said he didn’t hate her for picking lightning.
“Sister can operate freely outside, but I must protect our clan. Once the temple stops running, all the clansmen living here will die in a short while. I’ve only left the temple twice, but that was just to let outsiders know that the Thunderfrost Temple still has me and not just my sister. That was the only way to keep those dirty idiots at bay and make them stop having designs on my sister.”
At this point, Arkfaire turned toward Qianye. “Would you be interested in inheriting the power of Thunderfrost and becoming the next temple lord?”
Qianye was stunned. He didn’t even have the time to think whether it was even reasonable when he asked, “I can?”
“Of course that won’t be a problem at all with my help. With the power of Thunderfrost, you can reach the realm of, according to your standards, a superior divine champion.”
To many people, this type of power was an irresistible allure. It was something they would otherwise have to invest their entire lives to attain.
Qianye shook his head. “No interest.”
Arkfaire glanced at Qianye, then shook his head with a sigh. “You were the best candidate for us to absorb new blood… but it’s only natural that you would refuse. Someone with Venus Dawn wouldn’t really think too highly of our Thunderfrost power. Since that’s the case, let me give you this present.”
A flick of his fingers elicited a clear, crisp sound, almost like the cry of a phoenix. Hearing this sound ignited an ice-point deep inside Qianye’s body, and a wave of frost washed through his entire being.
That was the power of the ice leaf soup. Even though Qianye had spent a long time drinking it, most of the energy was still stored inside his body and awaiting refinement.
Who would’ve thought Arkfaire not only saw through this but also activated all the energy with a snap of his fingers?
Qianye didn’t even have time to resist as he was frozen stiff by the cold wave. The strange thing was that the stream of cold turned to warmth and merged into Qianye’s body, rushing to his eighth origin node like migrating birds. This origin node was already on the brink of overflowing, to begin with. As the stream of warmth flowed in, there was nowhere for the vast amount of energy to go. It finally collapsed into liquid and, with a loud rumble, turned into a vortex.
Qianye’s aura rose unsuppressed, reaching greater heights with each climb. At this point, he was only one step away from the divine champion realm.
Qianye could only speak after a good while. “This…”
“It spared you some time and also increased your combat strength. I can’t have you die since my sister is going to follow you in the future.”
Arkfaire walked out. Qianye was puzzled, but he had no other choice but to follow.
This time, the young man returned to the residential area and sat down in the parlor. After Qianye was seated, an attendant offered him a cup of crystal clear tea, with a green leaf at the bottom of the receptacle.
Qianye was overly fearful at this point. He picked up the tea and observed it for a good while without actually drinking it. If this tea was anything like the ice leaf soup, he wouldn’t be able to digest a big mouthful.
Arkfaire said with a smile, “Rest assured, that’s just tea. We only have a couple of ice leaves left, so we won’t be able to take out too many to treat you. Unless…” He stopped midway, and his expression turned gentler.
Qianye sipped a mouthful of tea, shivering as the cold stream entered his stomach. He felt relaxed and full of vitality afterward.
“Tell me about why you came.” The two finally got down to business.
“I promised Caroline that I would help her obtain a territory. Now, there’s an opportunity, but I need her help. After winning the battle, she would be one step closer to her dream of ruling her own territory.”
“Territory…” Arkfaire’s brows moved slightly. Apparently, this word held great significance for him. “Where is it, and how big?”
“Strictly speaking, it’s only a permission to occupy a territory. After the battle, we’ll have accumulated a large amount of contributions in the Empire. With that as the foundation, they’ll give us tacit permission when we pioneer new land at the borders and even provide support. Of course, that’s the official explanation, but there’s nothing to expect from the Empire. It’s good enough if they don’t interfere.”
Arkfaire pondered in silence, apparently moved by the thought.
There were twenty-seven continents in the realm, twenty-three of which had been explored. The seemingly vast realm actually had very little space that was completely undiscovered. Even the Evernight Council, which had existed for tens of thousands of years, couldn’t set foot on the continents at the top of the realm. The upper continents belonged to the various powerful dark races. Most of them were extremely special and not suitable for any other race.
The middle continents were the most suitable for life, but most of the fertile lands had been occupied by the Empire and Evernight. There were small countries and neutral powers, but most of them had complicated roots stretching in a certain direction, or both. There was no real neutrality.
The rise to power of the Great Qin Empire was an unprecedented miracle. Looking at the establishment of the small neighboring countries, all of them had popped up during periods of unrest. This went to show that both daybreak and Evernight shared similar methods in certain regards.
Arkfaire knew full well how difficult pioneering new land was and guarding it even more so. This was a viable path if they could obtain the Empire’s recognition. Even if no support was offered, there would be one less gigantic entity looking to devour them.
Qianye felt odd when he glanced at Arkfaire. Sometimes, it looked like he cared a lot about his sister, but now, it seemed the value of territory was much higher than Caroline’s.
Arkfaire woke up from his thoughts and quickly noticed Qianye by his side. He said with a wry smile, “You see how adverse this place is. If we continue living here, our clan will only grow smaller and smaller, because the weaker ones can’t even survive here. But if we have another territory, we can allow those without sufficient strength to keep on living there. That way, we won’t have to face extermination.”
Qianye was somewhat puzzled. “Isn’t the neutral lands empty as well? With the Thunderfrost Temple’s power, you can easily claim some land here.”
Arkfaire shook his head. “The neutral lands isn’t suitable for us. Even this place is better for us comparatively.”
Qianye shot to his feet as he realized something. “You’re demonkin!”
