Chapter 34: Snow Force

Xu Jin felt very unhappy when he saw the actions of the Outer Hall disciples. He scolded them sharply:

“What are you doing? Get back now!”

The Outer Hall disciples only realized who they were talking to after hearing Xu Jin’s scolding. Their hearts filled with fear, and their eyes showed terror. They retreated timidly, but soon, their eyes showed worry for Xu Ziyan.

If this had happened to any other Outer Hall disciple, Xu Jin would not only have ignored it, but would have punished the disciple upon their return, or at least scolded them. However, Xu Jin admired Xu Ziyan very much. After fighting alongside her against Monster Beasts, he had come to understand her somewhat. He absolutely did not believe Xu Ziyan had left on purpose; there must be something he didn’t know.

Looking at the two Inner Hall disciples, Xu Jin thought for a moment and asked quietly:

“Think carefully. Was there anything different about Xu Ziyan when she left?”

“Nothing different! She just said she was leaving for a while,” one disciple said gloomily.

The other disciple thought for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up. He looked up at Xu Jin and said hesitantly:

“I remember now. When she left, I felt like her energy was a bit different.”

“How was it different?”

Xu Jin asked quickly. The other Outer Hall disciples also widened their eyes, staring intently at the Inner Hall disciple.

“Well! It felt restless, like she was about to break through.”

“What?” Xu Jin was shocked and blurted out: “Was she going to break through?”

Then he continued: “But why would she leave instead of breaking through here?”

The disciple who had mentioned the breakthrough said softly: “Senior Brother, do you think she left because she was afraid her breakthrough would disturb our Meditative Rest?”

“Oh! That’s possible!”

Xu Jin could only accept this explanation. He looked up at everyone and said: “Alright, everyone take turns keeping watch. Let’s not discuss this anymore.”

※※※

Xu Ziyan walked alone through the falling snow. The dense snowflakes limited her vision, so she released her Spiritual Sense, scanning the area repeatedly, hoping to find her way back. But after half an hour, there was still nothing but endless white snow around her, with no familiar sights.

She kept releasing her Spiritual Sense as she walked across the empty snowfield. Gradually, Xu Ziyan’s mind began to wander. She stopped searching for the way back, and her Spiritual Sense slowly merged with the falling snow once more.

However, unlike last time, this merging was not a Sudden Enlightenment but a gradual realization. Her consciousness remained completely clear. When she merged with the snow again, she found her body seemed to become lighter, transparent, and then vanished. She became just like a snowflake, swept up by the wind, rising gently into the air and floating in the sky.

At first, Xu Ziyan was startled, but then she felt great joy. A thought flashed through her mind:

“Is this what the books describe as understanding nature, merging with nature, and then controlling nature?”

Suppressing her excitement, Xu Ziyan tried to control her movement. At first, she found she couldn’t master this natural force at all; she could only drift with the wind like a snowflake.

So, she closed her eyes and fully immersed her mind in the falling snow, contemplating the paths of the snowflakes, the patterns of the wind, and how snow and wind intertwined. Gradually, she completely merged with the snowstorm. Now, she was the wind, and the wind was her. She was the snow, and the snow was her.

Her eyes snapped open. With a thought, Xu Ziyan’s figure suddenly changed direction, veering sideways like a snowflake but faster, leaving a beautiful trail in the air.

“Hahaha…”

Xu Ziyan laughed excitedly in the sky, her body drifting wherever she willed. She thought happily:

“I’ve mastered Snow Force. From now on, in snowy weather, I can fly freely and even hide. Does Snow Force have other abilities too?”

With another thought, Xu Ziyan stopped flying and hovered in the snowy night sky. She raised her right hand and extended one finger. With a thought, an ice spike grew from her fingertip, crystal clear with a sharp, gleaming tip.

Xu Ziyan flicked her finger. With a whistling sound, the ice spike shot through the vast snowy night and disappeared.

She raised both hands, spreading her ten fingers. With a thought, an ice spike extended from each finger. Xu Ziyan flicked all ten fingers rapidly, and ten ice spikes shot out with a sharp whine.

A wise light shone in Xu Ziyan’s eyes. She brought her hands together in front of her chest, then pulled them apart sharply. Between her palms appeared a dense row of nearly a thousand ice spikes.

She turned her palms outward and shouted:

“Go!”

Nearly a thousand ice spikes shot forward with a piercing screech, vanishing into the night sky.

“Hahaha…”

Xu Ziyan laughed heartily. She swung her arms and flew joyfully through the night sky, leaving behind a trail of silver-bell-like laughter.

After flying for a while, Xu Ziyan let out her joyful feelings and tried to comprehend more aspects of Snow Force. But she couldn’t grasp any new abilities. She realized that the aerial flight she had mastered was the true Snow Force, while the ice spikes were not really Snow Force anymore but an upgraded version—Ice Force. Limited by her Cultivation Level, this was probably her current limit. To comprehend further, she would need to keep improving her Cultivation Level.

Putting aside Cultivation, Xu Ziyan noticed it was almost dawn, though the sun was hidden behind heavy snow and clouds. She identified a direction and flew straight through the air in the snow. She planned to fly a hundred li in one direction; if she didn’t find her companions, she would change direction.

After a hundred li, Xu Ziyan still saw no signs of people, so she changed direction and flew quickly. Half an hour later, she heard voices below. Hiding herself among the snowflakes, to any observer, Xu Ziyan appeared just like a snowflake, drifting downward.

Finally, Xu Ziyan saw the group below clearly. They weren’t from the Xu Clan, but were the Xiao Family guarding Changri Valley. The Xiao Family members were casually stationed at the valley entrance, chatting and laughing among themselves:

“Hey, old friend. We’ve been guarding all night and haven’t even seen a hair of a Monster Beast. Standing out here in this freezing snow, swallowing cold wind—isn’t this just suffering? Do you think the City Lord got the wrong information?”