Chapter 565: Source Fire Icefield

"What exactly is this 'Source Fire Ice Field' you're talking about?" Zhang Xuan asked, ignoring Young Master Ruohuan, who was weeping uncontrollably beside him.

It wasn't that he lacked sympathy, but he believed there would certainly be a turn for the better. If there truly were only two spots and a choice had to be made, compensating the other party himself and guiding him to a breakthrough wouldn't be a big deal. His guidance would definitely be more effective than going to any Yin-Yang Pond.

"The Source Fire Ice Field is the name of a super-powerful organization. Like the Alchemist and Blacksmith Guilds, it controls many potent spiritual veins and treasured lands. Precisely because of this, even as the Master Teacher Hall Master, I dare not offend them and can only pay a price to exchange with them!" Hall Master Kang explained.

"Spiritual veins and treasured lands?" Zhang Xuan gasped in astonishment. This alone showed that the organization was formidable. Otherwise, how could so many powerful professionals in the world simply hand over such places to them?

"Yes. The Source Fire Ice Field has a Palace Master in each of its branches. I have some personal connections with the current Palace Master, which is how I managed to secure two assessment opportunities... Honestly, whether you can get in or not still depends on your abilities!" Hall Master Kang said.

"Personal connections?"

"Yes, she was once injured, and I was the one who healed her!" Hall Master Kang stroked his beard. "It's the same person I told you about last time, who cultivated the Grand Linghua Art and had her chest pierced by searing sword qi!"

"Oh!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

When he first met Hall Master Kang yesterday, the Hall Master had tested him by presenting a case of someone gravely injured yet wanting to break through to Transcendent Mortal. That situation was very complex, and Hall Master Kang was able to resolve it, thus naturally earning a favor.

After chatting for a while longer, Zhang Xuan gained some understanding of the Source Fire Ice Field. This organization controlled treasured lands and lacked no resources, so they naturally cared little for conventional wealth. Only Master Teachers could persuade them to willingly offer two spots; other professions shouldn't even consider it.

After some casual conversation, everyone began to cultivate. Without enough spirit stones, Zhang Xuan didn't continue breaking through his cultivation realm. Instead, he consolidated his current cultivation and increased his true qi reserves. His cultivation reached the late Primordial Spirit realm, and his strength increased again. Previously, he only had 200,000 ding of strength, but now it had doubled to a full 400,000 ding.

Normally, a Primordial Spirit realm cultivator in the early stage has 150,000 ding of strength, mid-stage 200,000 ding, late-stage 250,000 ding, and peak 300,000 ding. For the Yin-Yang realm, 100,000 ding of strength marks each progression: early-stage 500,000, mid-stage 600,000, late-stage 700,000, and peak 800,000!

Even though he was only in the late Primordial Spirit realm, he possessed such immense strength, considerably greater than even a peak Primordial Spirit realm cultivator. If combined with the power of his Witchcraft Soul at Transcendent Mortal 2-dan peak, his strength would exceed 700,000, allowing him to fight against even late Yin-Yang realm experts.

Of course, this was only theoretical. True experts are not just about raw strength; more importantly, they possess combat awareness and abilities. If challenging higher realms were truly as simple as imagined, the Master Teacher Hall would certainly be even more authoritative. Even so, he could definitely defeat a mid Yin-Yang realm expert with ease.

With his increased strength, his physical reactions and muscles also improved. While not as noticeable as when he first entered the Transcendent Mortal realm, his gaze became sharper and his movements swifter.

"I happen to have some time; I'll study the Heavenly Dao Sword Art, Spear Art, and Saber Art again!"

After consolidating his cultivation for nearly ten days, significantly increasing his true qi reserves, an idea flashed through his mind: martial arts. The Heavenly Dao Sword Art and movement techniques he currently used were still those he collected and organized in Tianxuan Kingdom. Although he had supplemented them later, they could no longer meet his current cultivation needs. He needed to re-organize them and integrate higher-level moves. Along the way, he had collected many martial arts techniques, and had even acquired all the martial arts books from the Myriad Kingdom City Master Teacher Hall. With these resources, organizing them wouldn't be difficult.

He started by organizing the Heavenly Dao Sword Art. The sword is the king of all weapons. Almost every cultivator knows how to use one, so there were a vast number of sword art manuals, making it very convenient to find them. It didn't take long for him to organize a complete set of Heavenly Dao Sword Art. The space on the spirit beast's back was too narrow to practice, so he simulated it in his mind. Before long, he had already mastered it. After mastering the sword art, he moved on to saber art, spear art, fist art, leg art, and movement techniques.

After organizing all these manuals, his overall combat prowess experienced another qualitative leap. If, before, he could only fight against a peak Primordial Spirit realm cultivator with just his true qi, now, challenging an early Yin-Yang realm cultivator was no problem. Combined with his soul power, he could probably easily slaughter even a late Transcendent Mortal 3-dan expert.

Of course, his strongest means currently were not his cultivation, but his Eye of Insight and Master Teacher's Impartation of Heaven's Will. The former could discern flaws and weaknesses, while the latter could sway people's hearts, making them involuntarily convinced. When these two were used together, let alone Young Master Ruohuan, even Hall Master Kang could easily be influenced.

While he cultivated, Zhao Ya, who was at his side, also didn't rest. After days of effort, she finally broke through the shackles of the Grandmaster realm, reaching Half-Transcendent Mortal. Achieving such a realm from Martial Artist 1-dan in just a few months would absolutely terrify countless people if word got out.

"The Yin-Yang Pond is just ahead!"

After traveling for an unknown duration, while cultivating, Zhang Xuan heard Hall Master Kang's voice and stood up. Looking through the window, he saw a majestic mountain standing not far away. Its peak was covered in white snow, and a dark green palace stood within it, exceptionally eye-catching.

"That is the Ice Field Palace, and the Yin-Yang Pond is inside the palace!" Hall Master Kang pointed into the distance. Through the pristine white snowy mountain, they indeed saw the three large characters "Ice Field Palace" on the plaque above the palace, shining brightly. It was quiet and solemn.

"This place is covered in snow year-round, but you might not imagine that before the Ice Field Palace was built, this was a volcano, unbearably hot. Even Transcendent Mortal experts passing by would feel scorched." Standing by the window, gazing at the snow-falling mountain range not far away, Hall Master Kang said.

"A volcano?" Not only Zhang Xuan was stunned, but Young Master Ruohuan also seemed to have never heard of it, looking utterly bewildered. The mountain before them, towering into the clouds and covered in white snow, was clearly bitingly cold at first glance. How could it have been a volcano that even experts found difficult to approach?

"To be honest, when I first heard this news, I didn't believe it either!" Seeing everyone's confusion, Hall Master Kang shook his head. "This is the power of the Source Fire Ice Field people! They don't just seize treasured lands; they transform the geomancy to nurture them. Through their efforts, many previously harsh environments can be turned into places where spiritual energy gathers, making them desirable."

"Could it be... these so-called Source Fire Ice Field people are also a type of unique profession?" Zhang Xuan couldn't help but ask. To be able to turn waste into treasure, transforming a terrifying volcano into a snowy mountain, he couldn't think of anyone else so capable except for those in a unique profession.

"If you say it's a unique profession, yes, it is; if you say it isn't, no, it isn't!" Seeing everyone still bewildered after his statement, Hall Master Kang chuckled and explained, "Unique professions are defined by the Master Teacher Hall, and the first rule is that they must have a complete lineage and strict rank divisions. However, there are some strange professions whose ranks cannot be precisely divided, like medicine cultivators. As long as one possesses sufficient knowledge, they can cultivate medicines; it's not necessarily that the higher the rank, the better the medicine cultivated... If a rank cannot be determined, then it cannot be classified as a unique profession. The Source Fire Ice Field people are the same. They have special methods to turn volcanoes into snowy mountains and swamps into plains. However... their methods are not standardized, and there's no continuous lineage; it only relates to their talent and ability! Furthermore, their numbers are extremely small. Not to mention the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, there's only one such place in the entire scope of the Illusory Feather Empire... How can it be called a 'profession'? Yet, if you say it isn't, they possess abilities ordinary people can hardly achieve. For such cases, even the Master Teacher Hall finds itself in a dilemma, unable to reach a conclusion."

Zhang Xuan nodded. Since it's called a profession, it naturally implies that others can learn it, that it has a lineage, and that it's widely distributed. The Source Fire Ice Field people, besides being few in number, also have a somewhat disorganized lineage, and their methods require both talent and ability. Thus, they naturally don't constitute a so-called profession.

"How did they manage to make a scorching volcano into an icy snowy mountain?" Zhao Ya asked curiously, looking over.

"I don't know the specifics. I only know that a thousand years ago, this was still a volcano. After a century of transformation by the Source Fire Ice Field people, it became like this. Moreover, it's said they even created the Yin-Yang Pond, where yin and yang merge, and turbid and clear interlace, which can greatly enhance one's cultivation! As long as one hasn't reached Transcendent Mortal 5-dan, cultivating inside will bring immense benefits." Hall Master Kang shook his head. "However, the Yin-Yang Pond only offers a few spots each year; they're extremely rare. Even their own internal members find them insufficient, let alone outsiders. Many people seek a spot but can't obtain one, making it incredibly troublesome." How they achieved the transformation was a secret of the Source Fire Ice Field people. Even as a Master Teacher with extensive knowledge, he was unaware of it.

"Perhaps they utilized the terrain and mountain ranges to form a grand formation!" Young Master Ruohuan interjected. Formations could indeed forcibly alter an environment, so perhaps these Ice Field people used grand formations.

"It's not formations. If it were formations, with the mountains here stretching for hundreds of kilometers, how large would the formation need to be? And how much spiritual energy would it require to sustain?" Hall Master Kang said. While formations can alter environments, their scope is generally small. Covering hundreds of kilometers and changing an entire mountain range would be almost impossible! Not to mention a group of Transcendent Mortal 4-dan cultivators, even those at 9-dan couldn't accomplish it. Perhaps only super-experts who have transcended 9-dan could achieve such a feat.

"It's indeed not a formation!" Zhang Xuan also shook his head. When Hall Master Kang was speaking just now, he had used his Eye of Insight to observe, and there wasn't the slightest trace of a formation in the entire mountain range, indicating that it was definitely not modified by formations. Otherwise, with his discernment, it would have been impossible for him not to notice.

"Alright, never mind that. Our purpose for coming here is to enter the Yin-Yang Pond, not to research their origins." Smiling, Hall Master Kang interrupted everyone's continued speculation. He looked over, his expression grave. "A little later, once we arrive, do not act on your own. Listen to my instructions for everything, and try your best to secure three spots. If we absolutely cannot get three, we must ensure that both of our two spots pass the assessment!"

"Understood!" everyone nodded.

"Alright then, let's go down!"

With a sound, the flying spirit beast flapped its wings and flew straight towards the Ice Field Palace not far away.