"Very good, very good! Young hero, you have done excellently with the militia we lent you. Not only have they gained valuable battle experience, but they have also increased their cultivations by a whole rank! With this, we should have three new corporals in our militia. The Lord of Griever's Fort shall be most pleased…"

Van smiled, "It was nothing. Those three men were instrumental in our task this time. They were eager learners and very loyal."

The Mayor beamed from the praise.

Of course, the three men had been disdainful of Van at first, but the Mayor didn't need to know that.

After finis.h.i.+ng their enormous boar roast dinner, Van and company were invited to stay the night at the Mayor's house.

It was the best sleep Van had had in a month. There were no strange sounds in the middle of the night and no fear that a demon beast might attack them while sleeping.

Early in the morning, Van arose and efficiently packed his things away. Delphine spotted him as he walked through the hallway. She hastened to catch up with him.

"Van! It's so early, where are you going?" Delphine asked. She looked down and saw that he was wearing his hard leather boots.

"Are we returning to Dragon City in a hurry?"

Van shook his head, "I am returning to the Blizzard Plains. Alone."

"You – WHAT!?" Delphine shrieked. She immediately grabbed Van's sleeve and dragged him to another door further down the hallway.

"Ryan. Ryan, wake up you dour-faced bore!"

There were several thumps as if someone rolled out of their bed and hit the ground. Moments later, Ryan opened the door to his room. His sleepy face was filled with annoyance.

Delphine dragged Van's hand up by his sleeve, "Van was trying to sneak out of the Mayor's estate WITHOUT US! He says he's going straight back to the Blizzard Plains. Look at him, he's all dressed up and everything!"

A crease formed between Ryan's brows. He looked at Van accusingly.

Van felt the weight of their glares and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

[These loyal fools…]

Van berated them in his mind but felt warm within.

"You guys can't follow me," Van laid down the rules.

"Why not!?" Delphine stomped on the ground. Ryan folded his arms.

"It's too dangerous. I can look after myself just fine, but if I have to look after you both then I can't guarantee anyone's safety."

Delphine was extremely cross, "I can handle myself!"

Van c.o.c.ked his eyebrow, "Oh, really?"

Just as Delphine opened her mouth to retort, Van cut her off, "No matter how many times you ask, I won't let you come. The reason I am going back to the Blizzard Plains is to hunt a high-leveled beast and to find cultivation resources. I want to reach the 7th level of Qi Distillation if I can. But I cannot advance so quickly without taking risks. I'm sorry but having to protect two 5th level Qi Distillation cultivators will only drag me down."

Adding to that, Van felt he had to hold back his true strength in front of other people. No matter how much he trusted Delphine and Ryan, there were some things he must keep secret. For example, Jet and the turtle sh.e.l.l inside his mind. If he wanted to explore the extent of his powers, he must absolutely be alone.

Delphine could not retort. She simply glared at him were her cat-like eyes and pouted unhappily. In the end, it was Ryan who sighed and pulled back.

"Stop it, Delphine. Van was given a mission by the sect master to enter the Monster Mausoleum at the end of the month. Reaching the 7th rank will help him immensely. If he fails to reach it, he may not be able to outs.h.i.+ne the other disciples there."

Delphine turned her head away. The two buns on her head jiggled as she sniffed forlornly.

"What did you say?" Ryan asked, looking puzzled.

"I SAID, 'FINE!'" Delphine shouted. She kicked Ryan on the s.h.i.+n and then ran to her room.

Bang!

The door was slammed shut.

Van shook his head.

Ryan sighed, "I can understand her feelings. I will not follow you, but I also wish to train in the Blizzard Plains. The inheritance within the Mysterious Silver Mask has not been fully unlocked."

Van nodded, "Very well. However, you must not stray from the outskirts. The monsters in the wide-open plains are far more dangerous than the ones we fought inside the Ice Caves."

Ryan nodded seriously.

"We'll leave at daybreak."

___

[Three days later.]

Van huddled down into the snow as the cold winter breeze lashed at his cheeks. A small flame in either hand helped keep him and Blackie warm.

Van had spent two days traveling deep into the Blizzard Plains. Then he spent one day just scouting out the area. The reason why he had decided to venture out into the Blizzard Plains once more was because of Ebenezer's words.

[The strongest monsters are the ones who live out in the opens of the Blizzard Plains… not the ones within the Ice Caves.]

[The strongest monsters have little to fear, and openly prowl the plains looking for prey to eat. Most of them are hundreds of years old. They are not to be taken lightly. The only thing I must be wary of is attracting the attention of the so-called 'Kings' of the Blizzard Plains. They say the Kings are thousands of years old, and can kill a cultivator just by looking at them...]

Using his new ability 'Blood Vision,' Van could detect where large demon beasts lived by sensing for extremely potent sources of blood essence. The next step was to tiptoe carefully around those beasts' territories and carefully find their traces.

Van was able to identify that three high tier demon beasts lived in the area. Two of them possessed fur, and from their paw prints were probably some kind of large bear. The last one had the fewest traces to find. A shed skin told Van it was reptilian and was only as large as a horse.

[Although they all have a level corresponding to the 8th level of Qi Distillation, the reptile has the faintest blood essence. Perhaps it is older and on the verge of dying.]

Van decided to hunt the reptilian beast.

Two hours later, Van cautiously approached the area where he sensed the reptilian demon beast's blood essence. It was quiet and still. He looked around the vast snowy plain and only saw a few hillocks close by. There was no sign of anywhere that the beast might conceal itself.

"It must be sleeping in its burrow," Van said softly. From the faintness of the blood essence, it could have an underground burrow. If the beast was hibernating, there was nothing much Van could do.

Still, Van drew closer to the blood essence. He thought he saw a faint depression in the hillock before him. Climbing the hill, he inspected the depression with a critical eye.

[Perhaps there is a secret way to open the beast's burrow?]

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Right at that moment, a slight tremble came from the ground.

A powerful aura shot to the skies.

 [Not good!]

The amount of blood essence Van detected suddenly went to infinity.Van scrambled back; but it was too late.

ROOOOOAAAAARRRRRRR!

A frightening howl sounded throughout a twenty-kilometre radius. Dozens of weaker demon beasts immediately shuddered and hid away.

Van clung helplessly onto the ground as it shook violently. His eardrums rattled from the aftershock of the roar.

Slowly, the white hill beneath his feet changed into a red-brown hue. The small mountain stood up. A nearby hillock lifted itself from the earth.

As the snow fell off, Van realised that the hillock he had been standing on was in fact the demon beast that he had been hunting!

The beast roared again and Van was flung off its back.

"Hst hst hst… a dumb animal has come to deliver itself to me…!" A long reptilian tongue flickered through the air. Two small red eyes looked at Van mockingly.

Van knew he had made a terrible mistake.

[This demon beast has a chameleon-like ability. It changed its colour and purposely suppressed its blood essence to lure people in! It's true blood essence vastly exceeds those other two 8th level demon beasts!]

The giant lizard-like demon beast in front of Van was eight to nine metres high and tens of metres long. Van had never encountered such a large demon beast. Its size made him tremble with awe. The most terrifying part was the extremely strong and deadly spiked tail that swung down with bone-crus.h.i.+ng force.

The earth shattered and ice flew wherever the lizard swung its tail.

Van suddenly recognized the demon beast. His heart thundered loudly in his chest.

[I didn't suspect that the first beast I hunt here would turn out to be the extremely rare and hard-to-find King of Ice, the Blizzard Wyrm!]

The Blizzard Wyrm casually opened its jaw and showed off its rows of glistening, sword-like teeth.

"Die!" It roared.

Van felt his terror escalate.

[I must run! If I don't run, I will die immediately!]

Van's survival instincts kicked in. Under the frightening pressure behind his back, Van desperately used Scattering Smoke Steps. As he flashed through the snowy landscape, he slowly regained a measure of calm.

Sizzles of heat emerged from the Tri-Divine Blood Flame and released warmth that spread evenly through Van's body. His muscles relaxed and became limber. As a result, his speed increased significantly.

However, Van could still feel a deadly aura cras.h.i.+ng through the ice behind him.

[The Blizzard Wyrm is one of the Kings of the Blizzard Plains…Its power is unmatchable…It is lucky that the Blizzard Wyrm is not a true dragon and so it's two wings are simply vestigial and do not allow it to fly!]

For an 8th level demon beast, the Blizzard Wyrm only had average speed. This was the only reason why Van was still alive now.

ROAAR!

Van suddenly felt a freezing breath on his back.

The Blizzard Wyrm opened its maw and breathed out. Deadly icicles each thicker than a human torso shot through and stabbed into the ground below.

Terrified, Van just managed to avoid the onslaught of icicles. He desperately increased his speed. The high pressure caused him to exert Scattering Smoke Steps to a higher level than he ever had before.

Weng!

Van's speed suddenly exploded as he made a breakthrough in comprehension. Now, his movement ability became even more bizarre and random. No one could predict where and when Van reappeared. The amount of time he reappeared also became shorter.

"My cultivation is consolidating from the pressure…If I survive to get the chance, I would be able to smoothly enter the 7th level…"

Van couldn't feel any happiness. The King of Ice was extremely powerful. Despite its slowness and inability to fly, its senses were extremely sharp and would be able to track Van from many kilometres away. Even at his top speed, Van was barely outrunning the beast.

"What do I do?" Van desperately racked his brain.

Experimentally, Van threw out three smoke bombs, one behind, one below and one in front. With the presence of smoke, the quality of 'Scattering Smoke Steps' immediately improved. Within the smoke, Van's speed and erratic movement became even harder to follow.

However, soon enough, Van exited the area affected by the smoke. His Scattering Smoke Steps immediately exited its momentarily enhanced state. Seconds later, the Blizzard Wyrm also exited the smoke.

The King of Ice had an expression of devilish delight on its reptilian face.

"Ssstupid human… Obediently become thissss onesss dinner!"

Van saw that the distance between them had only increased by tens of metres.

"This b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" Van swore. He once again racked his brain for an escape route.

As they ran over the icy plains, Van saw a deep imprint in the snow. It was a giant bear paw.

Van used 'Blood Vision' and was able to sense two powerful demon beasts dozens of kilometres ahead.

"Perhaps…"

Van quickly adjusted his direction and sprinted towards those two auras.

The Blizzard Wyrm arrogantly roared and breathed out more icicles.

Van dodged and doggedly ran towards the two auras. He made a beeline for the two giant silhouettes ahead.

Two Golden Ice Bears looked up and saw the giant Blizzard Wyrm furiously charging towards them. They were alarmed but they did not attack.

Although it seemed that the three demon beasts shared the local territory peacefully, actually the territory of the Blizzard Wyrm was ten times the size of theirs!

The Blizzard Wyrm was the undisputed King of the Blizzard Plains!

Van saw the Golden Ice Bears timidly draw back and knew he had miscalculated. He desperately revolved his movement skill.

[They won't attack, what do I do?]

Without the aid of the two 8th level Qi Distillation Golden Ice Bears, Van could not guarantee that he would be able to kill the King of Ice unscathed!

Van suddenly saw something between the paws of one of the Golden Ice Bears.

"That's-!"

He charged forcefully into the s.p.a.ce between the bear's paws.