To the Northern Ice Palace (7): The Ice Crystal Stone's Strange Reaction

The sound of a soft sigh escaped my lips as I breathed in deeply beside Arin, pulling in the surrounding cold with all my might. It felt almost like I was drawing in the very chill that had already crossed over to my side.

"Hm... ha..."

Arin was breathing hard right next to me, and she started drawing the surrounding cold toward herself again. It was like even the cold that had already come my way was now being pulled to her side.

'Mujin really does have talent. He's right, of course — I couldn't possibly lose to him in this.'

I breathed even harder, trying with everything I had, and the cold scattered all around began to gather back toward me once more. "Hoo—"

'This should be enough...'

But then came a small, frustrated groan from Arin. When I glanced over, she wasn't laughing and joking anymore — she was concentrating with real seriousness, breathing deeply, and the cold that had been heading my way now began to shift toward her instead.

'...'

I was left speechless for a moment. "This is following the same method I used?"

It had been my first time learning this kind of breathing, but even I — who had already practiced martial arts — had never experienced anything like Arin's speed. Her talent for sensing and adapting to the energy was simply unmatched. I finally understood why Mujin had called her gifted.

'But... losing in a competition would be humiliating, right?'

I gritted my teeth and pushed myself to breathe even more intensely. Arin probably thought this was just a fun game, but I had no intention of losing.

I took a deep breath once more. "Hoo—"

More cold began swirling toward me, and the energy that had been heading Arin's way started returning — yet she still didn't give up. A faint chill spread from her small frame, and it was like we were pulling on invisible threads: when I pulled, she resisted; when she pulled, I reeled her back.

'This is...'

I muttered to myself. 'It's like tug-of-war.'

Of course, there was no real rope — we were simply yanking on the flow of cold with the strength we each possessed.

"Soo-ah..."

Arin suddenly opened her eyes and spoke, "Ugh... I won't lose."

"Eh?"

I was momentarily stunned, but then I let out a helpless chuckle. 'Alright. Let's see who can keep up.'

I focused harder, and the entire training ground trembled. Tiny ice crystals on the trees above shattered and fell, while frost rippled across the ground like waves.

Seol Mujin's expression shifted slightly as he watched.

***

He had been quietly observing at first, but his eyes gradually narrowed with growing interest.

'The two of them...'

Mujin thought to himself in silence. Seol already possessed an instinctive sense of cold manipulation, but it was almost too raw — like something learned purely through survival.

'He probably flows the inner energy through his body as naturally as possible just to endure the cold. That's why it's so primal...'

Arin, on the other hand, had talent but lacked the focus to stay on one thing for long.

Yet right now, the presence of Seol as her opponent had forced her to concentrate completely for the first time.

'They're pulling each other apart.'

He smiled faintly.

Seol took one final deep breath, and Arin exhaled at the same moment.

Suddenly, the cold between them froze in place, as if the invisible threads had reached maximum tension.

I opened my eyes, and so did Arin. We stared at each other in silence.

Then Arin beamed with a bright smile. "Seol-ah."

"Hm?"

"Did we tie?"

I looked down at the ground. Frost covered both sides, so it was hard to tell who had more.

"Hah..."

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Hehe."

Arin laughed with a satisfied grin.

At that moment, Mujin's voice rang out. "What an interesting result."

We turned to see him standing with arms crossed, watching us.

"Both of you had mistakes, and both of you learned something valuable from this."

"Eh?"

"Just now you were both trying to pull in as much cold as possible."

He glanced at the frost on the ground. "But the real point isn't how much cold you pull in."

He raised his hand, and the surrounding chill naturally converged at his fingertips.

"It's about how naturally you can wield the power you already possess. That is the true beginning of martial arts."

I listened in awe, then looked at my own hand again. 'The beginning of martial arts...'

I slowly raised my inner energy right there, circulating it through my entire body while performing the breathing method Mujin had taught me.

"Whoa... beautiful."

The frost around me began to stick tightly to my skin.

"Oh... you've already reached that level."

'That level?'

After stopping the breathing and inner energy circulation, I turned to Mujin. "Ah, let me explain."

Mujin began his explanation. "The Ice Soul Divine Art is divided into ten stages."

'Oh... ten stages?'

"But you have a somewhat... unusual feeling."

"Eh? Unusual?"

"In theory, the stage you enter the Ice Soul Divine Art would be called the Frost Realm — the stage of handling frost itself."

'Frost? I started out frozen from the very beginning...'

When I looked puzzled, Mujin continued with more detail. "That's why I said you're unusual — your stage seems to be the third one, the Ice Meridian Realm."

'Ice Meridian Realm... so the inner energy flows through the meridians like small ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ice crystals?'

Looking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back, my inner energy had indeed felt cold, like tiny ice shards.

"In the first place, the Ice Soul Divine Palm can only be learned once you've reached the Ice Meridian Realm, where the ice energy flows through the meridians."

'Ah... so that's it.'

From his perspective, it made perfect sense that I would react this way when trying to master the Ice Soul Divine Palm at the Ice Meridian Realm level.

'Then... is there no way to check a martial artist's stage in the Ice Soul Divine Art?'

In the martial world I knew, checking a technique's stage meant things like soaking the body in poison for the Subjugating Poison technique, or blooming a flower for the Volcano technique — I didn't know any other method.

"So let's find out what stage you're actually in."

"Eh?"

Mujin suggested testing my stage right then.

"Eh? Eh? So how do we test it?"

When I asked how it was done, Mujin replied, "It's simple. We just need to freeze it."

He reached into a box behind him and took out a small jade bead.

At first glance it looked ordinary, but upon closer inspection the inside was etched with incredibly fine patterns.

"This is the Ice Crystal Stone."

Mujin placed the bead in his palm. "If someone with the Ice Soul Divine Art circulates their inner energy into it, the reaction will vary depending on their stage."

"Eh? (Huh?)"

"In simple terms, it's a tool to measure how deep your stage is."

I nodded and stared at the stone. 'In the Hunter world, this would be like a grade measurement device?'

I never knew martial arts had such tools.

"I'll go first."

Mujin closed his eyes, and a trace of cold spread across his palm. The air around him grew still, unlike the forceful shaking we had caused earlier — this time the cold moved naturally, as if it had always belonged there.

'This... is real high-level inner energy?'

The Ice Crystal Stone on his hand began to change. Small ice crystals formed inside at first, then grew, spreading out like blooming flowers.

"Whoa—"

The entire bead turned snow-white in an instant. It wasn't fully frozen — there was still transparent space inside, and within it a faint blue light glowed.

"This much is normal."

Mujin held the stone up. "I'm currently around the seventh stage of the Ice Soul Divine Art — Heavenly Snow Realm."

"Ah..."

I stared at the stone in admiration. 'Seventh stage...'

Out of ten stages, that was incredibly high.

"As the stages rise, it's not just freezing anymore — the quality of the ice energy changes."

Mujin set the stone down. "Frost Realm only freezes the surface. Ice Meridian Realm creates ice crystals that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flow inside. And from the higher stages, the ice energy begins to respond to the user's will."

He turned back to me. "Your turn."

I looked at the Ice Crystal Stone in front of me. 'I'm really testing whether I'm third stage?'

I was genuinely nervous. After all, my body had frozen from the start, and I had been told I used the Ice Soul Divine Art in a completely different way.

'What if I'm not as high as I thought?'

No... what if I am?

With all these thoughts swirling, I slowly reached out and placed my hand on the stone.

"Gya..."

I felt a cold sensation. Unlike before, my body didn't freeze — my inner energy was responding naturally.

"Ah..."

I closed my eyes and began the breathing method Mujin had taught me. "Hoo—"

I circulated my inner energy slowly, not forcing it but simply letting it flow.

Then...

"Whoa..."

A tiny bit of cold flowed from my fingertips and formed a small ice crystal inside the stone.

Mujin let out a soft exclamation, but I didn't stop.

'More...'

The cold inner energy flowed through my meridians in a pleasant, comfortable way. At first it felt unfamiliar and icy, but now it was like part of my own body.

Crack—

The ice crystal inside the stone began to grow. Small crystals and branching lines spread out, as if revealing the ice energy flowing inside me.

I opened my eyes.

"..."

For a moment, no sound ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠came out.

The stone was completely frozen. But it was different from Mujin's. The ice was spreading from the inside out, forming intricate, vein-like patterns.

Mujin's expression grew serious.

"...This is..."

"Eh?"

He stared at the stone slowly. "This is unbelievable."

I watched him uneasily. "Eh? Eh? What's wrong?"

Mujin remained silent for a moment, then spoke. "I understand why you were unusual."

His gaze shifted to the stone in my hand. "This isn't just the reaction of a third-stage Ice Meridian Realm."

"Eh?"

"The ice energy isn't just flowing through the meridians..."

He continued carefully. "It has already become completely one with your body."

I widened my eyes. "What does that mean...?"

Mujin muttered softly. "It feels like your body was created from the very beginning specifically for the Ice Soul Divine Art."