Chapter 34: The Ice Warden

Page (1/3)

Under the deliberate, layered, and systematic assault of more than a hundred people from six opposing forces, the Ice Prison Lord’s defenses rapidly weakened, while the injuries inside and outside his body multiplied at an alarming rate. His armor began to crack and warp beneath the relentless barrage of heavy blows.

Shuisheng noticed that several of the Yan family’s psychic guards had not joined the battle. Curious, he asked, “Why aren’t you fighting?”

“We’d like to,” one of them replied with a bitter smile. “But we’re psychics. We mainly cultivate techniques involving mental influence and thought control. Those abilities aren’t much use in a battle like this. Look at that Ice Prison Lord—does he even seem capable of thought or consciousness? He has no independent will at all. He relies entirely on instinct!”

“Exactly. You remember the Blood Slaves who invaded East Hua more than a decade ago? The Ice Prison Lord is just like them. He has no sense of self, lives by instinct, and acts solely according to orders,” another said.

So that was how it was.

Shuisheng was eager to join the battle. After fighting the Ice Prison Eagle, he had gained a preliminary understanding of his own strength. He wanted to personally experience what it was like to fight this even more powerful Ice Prison Lord. But he knew that, given his identity and the strength he had displayed, he could never be granted permission.

To have such a battle unfolding before him and yet be unable to take part—what a regret that would be. His life would be missing one more fascinating experience.

Then he had an idea. His eyes suddenly lit up. If he could not openly join the battle, he could use that thing.

The drop of Void-Sea Water he had named “Water Pig” possessed more than the ability to drain all the moisture from a certain area for a short time—or, more precisely, the water-based energy carried by that moisture. After repeatedly studying and playing with it, he had discovered another effect: through it, his thoughts could control a liquid object within a radius of one meter, provided that the object was the same size as the drop and contained less energy than it did.

At first, Shuisheng had thought that, rather than being a skill, this was merely a little trick with no real use against an enemy.

But that was not necessarily true. If, during combat, he could affect a single drop of liquid in a vital part of an enemy’s body—say, the fluid in the brain—perhaps he could turn the tide of battle.

The moment he thought of this, the path before him suddenly seemed clear.

If that was really possible, then this drop of water was truly an object that defied the heavens.

Of course, accomplishing such a feat required intense concentration. In the midst of battle, at a moment when life hung by a thread, he could not afford even the slightest distraction. He would have to monitor the fight while concentrating his mind on the water droplet. It would not be easy.

There was only one way to know for certain: try it.

Shuisheng’s playful spirit surged. He rapidly reviewed the necessary steps and countermeasures in his mind, then moved toward the battle.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Yan Ning had not joined the battle either. His task was to watch over and protect Shuisheng—as long as Shuisheng remained useful.

Page (1/3)

Page (2/3)

“I can’t see clearly. I’m going closer to take a look!” Shuisheng called over his shoulder.

He had chosen this moment to rush into the battle for a reason. By now, the Ice Prison Lord had already endured too many attacks. His body was swaying precariously, and it seemed that one more wave of attacks would be enough to bring him down. If Shuisheng approached now, the risk would be at its lowest.

“Danger! Come back!” Yan Ning cried out in alarm.

Unlike Shuisheng, Yan Ning had witnessed far more battles. He knew that until the final result had been decided, one had to remain cautious.

At that very moment, the Ice Prison Lord, surrounded and under siege, truly found himself nearing his limit. Yet the closer he came to collapse, the heavier and more numerous the attacks he received became.

“Damn invaders! I’ll turn every one of you into prisoners of the Ice Prison!”

With that thunderous roar, an inexplicably powerful force surged from his body. With him at the center, the temperature around him plummeted. Vast quantities of freezing energy streamed from his body in every direction.

By coincidence, more than a dozen water-element psychics were carrying the wounded away according to plan. Under the assault of the cold, they bore the brunt of it. Water-element psychics were generally physically frail, with extremely weak defensive abilities.

In an instant, the freezing force enveloped them, solidifying into human-shaped ice sculptures.

Shuisheng, who had intended to fish in troubled waters, was unable to escape this calamity either. The freezing force struck him head-on. As the weakest water-element psychic present, he too was transformed into an ice sculpture, unable to move even a finger.

Everyone present was stunned. Wasn’t the Ice Prison Lord a soil-element user? How had he cultivated such overwhelmingly powerful water-element abilities—and unleashed them so suddenly?

They all realized that they seemed to have made a basic error in their understanding.

This place was called Ice Prison Island. The Ice Prison Eagles and Ice Prison Bears they had encountered were all water-element magical beasts. Although the prison guards and giant hounds had not displayed ice-based abilities, those capable of standing watch in such bitter cold most likely possessed water-element secret arts as well.

Then what of the Ice Prison Lord? The answer was obvious. He must also excel in water-based techniques.

Everyone had been misled by the soil-element abilities he had displayed at the beginning. No one had imagined that he could cultivate two different branches of elemental power at the same time.

This was bad. Very bad indeed.

Frozen in place, Shuisheng had no time to think. He immediately summoned Water Pig, hoping it would once again absorb the cold from his body. It tried, but could not draw out even the slightest trace. Clearly, it had consumed too much earlier and had yet to digest it.

So be it.

Shuisheng could only use the little trick he had developed from studying it: water manipulation.

Even though his body was encased in ice, the trick could still be operated to some extent because it worked remotely.

Page (2/3)

Page (3/3)

Seeing that the ice-sealing technique he had concealed all along had succeeded, the Ice Prison Lord’s pressure was greatly reduced. He threw back his head and let out a booming laugh. After striding forward several paces, he raised his greatsword, preparing to cut down the dozen or so frozen men where they stood.

Shuisheng keenly sensed the distance between himself and the Ice Prison Lord. Through the Water Bead, he sensed the countless particles of moisture in the surrounding air and the colossal waves surging across the sea.

The ability to keenly perceive the amount of water contained within things was one of the basic intuitive abilities of a water-element psychic.

His consciousness swept over everyone around him and located the Ice Prison Lord. Judging from the feedback he received, the proportion of water in the Ice Prison Lord’s body was extremely low.

In the bodies of ordinary living beings, water accounted for roughly seventy-five percent of their weight. In the Ice Prison Lord’s body, however, it accounted for less than ten percent. The Blood Slaves of the other world described in the books were essentially the same.

Shuisheng sensed the Ice Prison Lord’s brain. There was even less water there, most of it concentrated around the brainstem. At the center of that region, there seemed to be a strange, formation-like concentration of water-based energy. If he were to launch an attack, that should be the vital point.

But the Ice Prison Lord was a Level Nine powerhouse, far stronger than himself. Could this attack actually injure him or have any effect at all?

Before Shuisheng could finish the thought, the Ice Prison Lord’s greatsword came slashing down at a savage angle. If it struck, all of the dozen or so water-element psychics would be cut in two on the spot. Everyone had already witnessed the basic power of that enormous blade.

But the water-element psychics had been frozen solid. They could neither move nor dodge.

Fortunately, the soil-element psychics, having finally regained their senses, arrived in time. They exerted their full power, placing barriers formed from elemental energy and their own weapons in front of the water-element psychics.

The barriers shattered. Their sturdy weapons were struck by the greatsword—some were severed, while others were cleaved with deep notches.

One meter!

Almost simultaneously, Shuisheng seemed to instinctively unleash water manipulation through Water Pig.