Chapter 932: I am... the King?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 932: I am... the King?
"What? All the fragments are in the same place?"
Tan Han frowned as she read the message from Ming Xueming.
Not only would all the fragments converge in one location shortly, but the fragments held by the Jack-of-all-trades Club were there as well!
They promised that as long as Tan Han and her group went to collect them, they would hand them over with both hands, offering no resistance.
But any fool could see there was a catch!
You'll hand them over, but what about everyone else?
Tan Han hadn't expected the other party to play them like this. It was mainly because she had been focused on stalling for time and hadn't placed enough restrictions on the contract.
This was the result.
Now, Tan Han didn't dare go for the Jack-of-all-trades Club's fragments, and even though she had the locations of the others, she didn't dare approach them either.
Coupled with Lucianne’s withdrawal process and public statement, the contract had been fulfilled by the other party!
This undoubtedly made Tan Han feel extremely frustrated.
However, it wasn't entirely a bad thing. The other party had been too clever for their own good, pinning the main forces of the other transcendent academies down at the laboratory ruins. This undoubtedly bought them a massive amount of time!
Even if everyone from the Jack-of-all-trades Club and the Witch Secret Realm Club came and found them with pinpoint accuracy, it wouldn't be an impossible fight!
Thinking of it this way, Tan Han felt that things weren't quite as dire as she had first thought.
Over the past few days, the Ancient Remnant Ice clan had nearly finished constructing the Ice Crystal Temple. The ritual could begin at any moment!
Even if it wasn't a complete ritual, an Ancient Remnant Ice that could exert power far beyond that of the royalty would be a massive boon!
They could even use it to launch a surprise attack on the laboratory ruins and wipe out those fools in one fell swoop.
But all of this depended on the King-making Ritual being a success.
Furthermore, the Ancient Remnant Ice who became King had to be powerful enough; otherwise, they would just be delivering themselves up on a silver platter.
Looking at the chat interface, Tan Han unilaterally ended the conversation.
After all, if she scrolled up any further, she’d just see Ming Xueming’s previous interrogations.
Tan Han felt she was being treated unfairly; there wasn't anything good at the laboratory ruins to begin with, so was it their fault?
They should have been happily waiting to receive the fragments, but this move by the other side had made things very uncomfortable.
Still... regardless of the circumstances, they only needed to wait quietly for the King-making Ritual to begin.
* * *
Some time passed.
Tan Han and the other three stood at the ritual observation point.
This grand King-making Ritual had no rehearsal!
The moment all the royal members of the Ancient Remnant Ice gathered here, the ritual had already begun.
Or rather, the ritual had started the moment they began building the Ice Crystal Temple's ritual altar.
That was why Lie had said the construction of the temple could not be interrupted.
It wasn't the construction that would be interrupted, but their faith and the ritual itself!
As all the royal members gathered before the altar, the entire Glacial Throne Secret Realm began to change.
Every Ancient Remnant Ice—whether they were guardians or mere mobs—seemed to be awakened at this moment.
They shook off the ice crystals and drifting snow, embarking on a path of pilgrimage.
The Glacial Throne Secret Realm was vast, a place where countless Ancient Remnant Ice had been buried.
But at this moment, they all awakened, heading in the same direction.
The Kings of the Ancient Remnant Ice clan had once reached the peak of the Transcendent Saint Realm in the history of the Void.
Thus... the start of the King-making Ritual was also the start of a pilgrimage for all Ancient Remnant Ice.
No one could block the determination of the Ancient Remnant Ice on their pilgrimage, and no one could question this race's faith in their King.
Unless their ice crystals shattered, their consciousness faded, and they crumbled into glacial dust.
Even then, their bodies would sublimate into wind and snow, guiding the clansmen who had yet to arrive.
At this moment, the wind direction of the snow in the secret realm... changed.
It was as if, in the unseen depths, a consciousness had fixed its gaze upon this place. The glory of a race seemed to be rising at this very moment!
The power of the entire race!
They committed everything to the King-making Ritual. If they did not succeed, they would become nothing more than a handful of snow within the secret realm.
* * *
"What... what on earth is going on!"
The joint development team at the laboratory ruins had only just arrived at their marked location.
Before they could even officially begin excavating, this sudden accident occurred within the secret realm.
Everyone was startled by the abrupt change.
On the path they had traveled, the earth trembled as crude bodies composed of ice crystals crawled out from beneath the frozen ground.
In an instant, everyone prepared themselves for combat.
But they soon discovered that these normally violent Ancient Remnant Ice were no longer attacking them.
It was as if they all had a single goal, and they moved toward it with unwavering determination.
The highly alert crowd watched the Ancient Remnant Ice in a daze.
However, the more perceptive among them sensed the problem with the secret realm.
"The wind direction has changed..."
Although the Ancient Remnant Ice showed no desire to attack, everyone remained wary of these massive creatures.
No one dared to strike first, because there were simply too many of them!
If someone’s itchy fingers accidentally drew the aggro of these Ancient Remnant Ice, they might be able to handle these mob-level creatures, but they would end up in a pathetic state.
"What are these things doing? Why did they suddenly..."
"Who knows? Could it be Tan Han and her group? Who just said the wind direction changed?"
"It was me. The wind direction definitely changed. The direction the wind and snow are blowing now seems to be the same direction these monsters are heading."
"How about we follow them and see what's happening?" someone suggested.
But just as he prepared to step forward, a sudden binding force prevented him from taking a single step after the Ancient Remnant Ice!
"F*ck! It's the Witch Contract! Those damn things... they're keeping us here and won't let us leave! Where are the people from the Witch Academy? Come out and explain this to me!"
At that moment, the students from the Witch Academy were also completely bewildered. They had only come out to organize the data from the laboratory ruins!
What did this have to do with them?
"Don't go throwing accusations around! What does this have to do with us? We're just as surprised as you are!"
"You must know something, which is why you set this trap for us! Even if we assume you really don't know anything, what about the members of your club?" the others continued to interrogate them relentlessly.
"Calm down! Everyone, calm down... how about we go back first? Or send someone back to report the situation in the secret realm?"
"How can we go back? Until the exploration is jointly declared complete, no one can leave!"
"Then let's just abandon this place, declare it finished, and bypass the contract..."
"I don't agree! How can we do that? Without the contract, how can we guarantee the fair distribution of the laboratory ruins' exploration?"
For a time, many people began to argue due to their differences.
In this large group, some had come specifically for this ruin, while others were forced to come because they were on the contract list.
Something was wrong with the secret realm—or rather, an anomaly had occurred. How could they just stand by and watch?
"Stop arguing! Have faith in our companions outside the secret realm. It's not like we're the only ones here. If something really happens, others will go find out for us."
"Shouldn't we just focus on the duties we've been entrusted with? The secret realm isn't going to collapse just because one person is missing!"
Amidst the constant bickering, some pragmatic individuals began surveying and excavating. However, this anomaly had brought the group to the brink of falling apart.
If not for the binding force of the Witch Contract, they truly would have scattered.
Aside from these people, the scattered individuals remaining in the secret realm also noticed the abnormality.
After some maneuvering, the news quickly reached those outside the secret realm.
Faced with this sudden situation, Ming Xueming of the Jack-of-all-trades Club prepared to contact Tan Han again.
Her intuition told her that Tan Han was definitely behind this!
But when she sent the message, she found that the other party had blacklisted her!
Looking at the chat history, which ended with her sending the coordinates, Ming Xueming felt a surge of unvented rage.
"It's Tan Han... it's definitely their doing! Damn it... what did they do?"
At this moment, Ming Xueming, who usually kept her emotions hidden, vented her anger.
Fortunately, she was alone; otherwise, the image she usually maintained would have crumbled.
"Or was the laboratory ruins they leaked just a smokescreen to cover their real actions?"
Soon, having gathered much news and intelligence, Ming Xueming reached this conclusion.
It was actually an easy conclusion to draw, but the difficulty lay in the fact that she hadn't expected it.
She had been too immersed in the schemes she thought she was controlling!
"That damn Tan Han..."
After reflecting on the bitter experience, there was one piece of news for the Witch Academy side that wasn't entirely bad: at least the main members of the Witch Academy weren't pinned down at the ruins by the Witch Contract.
They had more manpower to investigate what exactly was happening in the secret realm.
Combining this with the laboratory they had found at the very beginning—confirming it had been "looted" by Tan Han and her group—Ming Xueming reasonably guessed that Tan Han must have found something in that lab.
Most likely, it was something extremely important related to the Great Spellbook!
That was why they were so desperate for all the fragments.
Now it seemed that gathering all the fragments in one place had unintentionally disrupted some of Tan Han's plans.
That was why Tan Han had suddenly blacklisted her.
Good... everything was connecting!
After learning from the pain, they immediately organized a brand-new exploration team to investigate the anomaly in the secret realm.
Regardless, their actions were severely lagging behind.
However, investigating what was happening in the secret realm seemed much easier than they had anticipated.
The abnormal behavior of the Ancient Remnant Ice naturally pointed them toward the source of the anomaly.
Not only the Witch Academy, but other academies also organized manpower immediately.
Faced with this sudden situation, the people from the other transcendent academies didn't even have time to question them about what was happening.
Ming Xueming decided to enter personally to deal with this incident!
The representatives of the other academies did the same.
The sudden anomaly in the secret realm gave them a sense of severe crisis. If they didn't step in personally, something irreversible might happen!
Ming Xueming entrusted all matters to the Vice President and placed special emphasis on having Xing Anlei and the others monitor the secret realm's status at all times.
If they encountered something unstoppable, they were to seek help from the academy without hesitation!
After all, if this secret realm collapsed, it would likely affect the entire academy!
Just thinking about the wind, snow, and the accumulated ice fields and glaciers in that secret realm... no place could withstand the sudden collapse of such a realm!
* * *
After enduring the grueling wind and snow, the teams quickly locked onto a specific area.
It appeared to be a massive snow-capped mountain, but the closer they got, the denser the Ancient Remnant Ice became!
Students from the Witch Academy, risking damage from the wind and snow, took to the sky on their flying brooms.
Then, they witnessed a magnificent scene they would never forget...
Countless Ancient Remnant Ice had gathered here, coming from every corner of the secret realm.
They had literally trodden out paths of pilgrimage!
"This mountain... what's the deal with it?"
"Something seems wrong with this mountain. Have you noticed? If you use detection, this mountain in front of us doesn't even exist!"
"What?"
Once they discovered this anomaly, a bold individual launched an attack, striking the "mountain" without hesitation.
The continuous mountain range was instantly exposed.
It was an Ice and Snow Labyrinth disguised as a mountain!
The sudden attack enraged all the Ancient Remnant Ice present.
Inside that labyrinth was their soon-to-be-born King!
How could they allow these people to commit such a sacrilege!
As the Ancient Remnant Ice rioted, Tan Han and her group inside the labyrinth also felt the commotion.
This was different from the resonance of the Ancient Remnant Ice on their pilgrimage; it was a violent strike.
Tan Han immediately realized that someone had arrived.
She looked with concern at the Ancient Remnant Ice currently performing the ritual.
The Ice and Snow Labyrinth could hold them off for a while, but if the ritual failed...
They would hardly get a second chance.
While Tan Han and the others worried, the Ancient Remnant Ice had reached the most critical moment of the King-making Ritual...
Upon the altar, they were reshaping the ancient glory with their own bodies!
Seizing the power of the Great Spellbook, they were recreating the ancient splendor!
Every one of their bodies radiated reverence for the King, their eyes filled with fanaticism...
Their lives were condensed for this very purpose!
In the very center of the Ice Crystal Temple, upon the main altar leading the King-making Ritual, the purest piece of ice crystal erupted with terrifying power under the ritual's enhancement.
It was as if something was awakening at this moment, as chaotic consciousness gradually converged into the order of life...
The royal high priest at the very front held the Crown of Absolute Cold, chanting ancient blessings.
The power of the ritual's resonance gradually broke through the Ice and Snow Labyrinth. The people outside hadn't breached it yet, but the King-making Ritual blossomed with the most magnificent miracle of life at this moment!
"Ancient King... your people await your awakening..."
"Respond to us!"
At this point in the ritual, the Ancient Remnant Ice clan had offered up everything.
They hadn't followed the method of completing the Great Spellbook, because they could no longer obtain all the fragments.
But now, these fragments were merely sacrifices to awaken the King, an interpretation of power at the moment of coronation, and a replica of the ancient clan's glory...
They waited for that single voice to respond to them!
But as the ritual continued, the eyes of the royalty filled with despair...
Their King was not responding to them...
Until a voice as clear as ice crystals echoed through the world, as if its sound resonated with the heaven and earth of the secret realm!
"I am... the King..."
* * *
Meanwhile, far away in the Primitive Dream Laboratory.
My clone's consciousness, lost in chaos, heard a distant call at this moment.
It was as if countless threads of faith had anchored that consciousness out of the chaos... call after call, yet with nowhere to settle.
Until I tried to respond to them...
"I am... the King?"
In that instant, those countless threads of faith and luck were bestowed upon me!