Chapter 933: The Birth of the Ancient Remnant Ice King
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 933: The Birth of the Ancient Remnant Ice King
Power...
Luck...
Faith!
At this moment, even across the distance of a clone, I—situated far away in the Primitive Dream Laboratory—was enveloped by these concepts.
Inside the lab, the commotion I caused instantly drew the gaze of every witch present.
Meanwhile, I was still in the middle of performing the final calibrations on the Qi Observation Art instrument.
"Hmm? Xiao Han, what’s going on with you?" Dean Mei Lind, who had been closely monitoring both the instrument and my personal condition, was the first to step forward.
She had been accompanying me in the lab these past few days. After all, in her eyes, the two things she cared about most—the Qi Observation instrument and Xiao Han—were both right here. She didn't see any problem with sleeping in the lab if she had to.
"Huh? I... I don't know..."
In that instant, it felt as if I were seeing through two sets of eyes.
Bolstered by Luck and Faith, I felt the order of life flash past my eyes.
I looked up at Dean Mei, but in my other field of vision... I saw nothing but a sky full of swirling snow and the silhouettes of countless Ancient Remnant Ice beings.
In this moment, I felt the consciousness of that clone undergoing a metamorphosis. It was no longer a "toy" as it had been before; it had become an individual brimming with the vitality of a living being!
Yet, even so, I remained the one in control of that consciousness...
Amidst this sudden anomaly, it took me only a moment to adapt to this dual vision. Even though this clone was now different from any I had ever created, I was quite familiar with this sensation.
"Wait a second!"
Seeing the Dean anxiously reaching for my shoulders to perform a full-body check, I suddenly held up a hand to stop her.
"Wait for what?"
"The situation is under control," I said.
"Are you sure?" Mei Lind looked at me with deep suspicion.
If there was one thing Mei Lind would always doubt, it was the phrase "the situation is under control" coming out of my mouth.
"It’s the clone consciousness I sent away to test the Luck Summoning Spell. Relax~" I immediately tried to soothe the Dean.
"A clone consciousness? Then what’s with the Luck and... Faith manifesting on your body?" Mei Lind remained skeptical.
The current situation was simply too suspicious.
"It’s just a tiny little accident... I might have been 'arranged' by the World Will and got pulled into the development of a Script, so I got stained with some Luck. As for the Faith... that’s the Faith of the Ancient Remnant Ice."
As I finished my explanation, not just Mei Lind, but all the witches watching the drama unfolded looked at me with bizarre expressions.
"Sigh~ I was wondering why Xiao Han had been so quiet lately. It didn't fit 'Xiao Han’s Law' at all."
"Turns out she was just saving up for a big one! Hahaha!"
"And she did it right in front of the Dean. Did you see that expression just now?"
"I saw it! I saw it! Haha!"
Amidst the awkward atmosphere, a cacophony of gossip and laughter broke out. One had to admit, this was indeed a top-tier performance.
"Whew... Can you tell me in detail? What did you do?" Mei Lind calmed her breathing, telling herself that since the real Xiao Han was right here, nothing could truly go wrong. No matter how much noise a clone made, it couldn't exactly bring the sky crashing down, could it?
"Uh... it wasn't me! It was the World Will! It had to be! Sister Mei! Remember when I said I wanted to test the Luck Summoning Spell while we were calibrating the Qi Observation instrument? You even comforted me and said it was fine if it failed!" I explained hurriedly.
Hearing this, many witches began to recall the incident. It was a minor detail from several days ago, the kind of memory that was already starting to blur.
"And so..." Dean Mei narrowed her eyes, prompting me to continue.
"And so, it turns out I didn't fail. Under the interference of Luck, I was pulled into this Script," I said with conviction!
"Um... Sister Mei~ that clone consciousness of mine has become an Ancient Remnant Ice... wait a moment... can you let me handle things on that side first?"
"Fine, go ahead and get busy. It’s not like things are urgent on this end anymore anyway."
"Mhm, then I’ll head over. If you want to ask anything, just ask. My subconscious hosting has synchronized my memories; it’ll basically tell you whatever it knows."
"Alright."
Dean Mei Lind nodded and didn't stop me.
Then, the Dean and the crowd of witches stood there staring at me for several minutes.
"Xiao Han, haven't you gone over yet? Or do you want me to get you a chair to lie down for a bit?" a witch suddenly asked.
"Huh? I’m already over there. I just thought it was funny how you were all staring at me like I hadn't left yet."
"?"
"?!"
"Pfft—haha! Did you guys really get played by Xiao Han like that? That’s hilarious!"
Among the sea of confused faces, one witch finally hit her breaking point and burst out laughing.
"Then what are you right now?"
"Subconscious hosting," I replied matter-of-factly.
"Was it true when you said you'd tell us whatever you know?" a witch asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Mhm. But there’s no guarantee whether it’ll be the truth or a lie. The more private the question, the higher the probability of a lie."
"Then how many times have you and Bai Yu done it... ow..."
"I didn't let Xiao Han stay behind just so you could ask that!" Mei Lind stepped forward and delivered a swift punch to the inquisitive witch’s head, sending her into a crouch while clutching her skull.
"18 times."
"?"
"Wait, really? 18 times?"
The witch clutching her head looked up to ask, only to be silenced by another punch from Mei Lind.
"That was a lie. It’s more than that."
"?!"
"Alright, Xiao Han, stop answering these mindless questions. Tell me, what did you just do? Why was there an explosion of Luck and Faith?" Mei Lind asked.
"My subconscious clone has become an Ancient Remnant Ice within the Glacial Throne Secret Realm. The Faith comes from the Ancient Remnant Ice race, and the Luck is presumed to be their racial Luck, plus the World Will’s Script adjustments."
"It really is like that?" Mei Lind was surprised... but she still had many things she didn't quite understand.
"Is it convenient to walk us through the whole process from start to finish?"
"Not really."
"Hmm?"
"Just kidding. This story starts with the Luck Summoning Spell from a few days ago..."
* * *
Inside the Glacial Throne Secret Realm.
Atop the altar, the massive ice crystal vibrated violently.
Then, cracks spiderwebbed across the crystal, and countless shards began to peel away.
Finally, the purest ice crystals coalesced into a crude, humanoid form.
At this moment, I slowly felt my consciousness, carried by the Mimicry Soul, begin to accept the sensations of this body.
Cold... so cold...
But this body was brimming with terrifying power!
It was not like life, yet it surpassed life; it had transformed everything into power itself.
I looked at the Ancient Remnant Ice prostrating before me. The High Priest of the ritual, who was closest to me, used hands made of ice crystals to hold up a Crown of Absolute Zero.
Under the influence of the ritual, the power within the crown resonated with a restless surge inside my body.
"Such a crude ritual structure..."
That was my first impression.
As expected, the data I had sent to Tan Han and the others via the Tree of Great Knowledge had been deconstructed and practiced so many times that it had become crudely simplified—to the point where I almost couldn't bear to look at it.
Looking at the High Priest who was about to crown me and complete the final step of the ritual, I reached out my hand.
It was a crude body made of fractured ice crystals.
But I still reached out and pressed down on the priest.
Since coincidence had brought my consciousness here, many of these useless ceremonies were no longer necessary.
I had told Tan Han and the others to have the Ancient Remnant Ice follow their original rituals just to prevent any unforeseen accidents; at the very least, following their own traditions wouldn't lead to any major disasters.
But now... it wasn't necessary.
The royal priest looked at my hand pressing down, utterly bewildered.
The King... refuses the coronation?!
Just as all the Ancient Remnant Ice royalty were drowning in confusion, they saw me reach out and snatch the crown!
The Crown of Absolute Zero was small—at least compared to the massive frame of an Ancient Remnant Ice, it looked like a mere trinket.
I could feel the power within it stirring under the ritual’s empowerment.
Then... I crushed the crown with a single squeeze!
Before the stunned eyes of every living being there, a violent blizzard instantly swallowed my massive form.
But guided by the ritual, the power released from the destroyed vessel resonated powerfully with a certain force inside me!
"So this is... a Bloodline?" Recognizing this, I found it incredible.
Life takes many forms; "bloodline" is just a collective term used by flesh-and-blood life for this concept.
But the Ancient Remnant Ice had no blood, no meridians, and no flesh.
They were nothing but ice crystals.
Without those distractions, I now had a much more profound understanding of the concept of a bloodline.
I constantly recalled the research on the Ancient Remnant Ice within the Great Knowledge Seed, as well as those interpretations and recreations of life.
I was thinking about something else: the thing carrying my consciousness was the standard "Mimicry Soul" used for clones—a safety measure I had once claimed would ensure they could never truly become living beings.
So, am I... a living being now?
After all, the Ancient Remnant Ice were a race of recreated life.
I quickly found my answer: not yet.
However, the Ancient Remnant Ice’s coronation ritual was interfering with the pseudo-soul I had crafted using Mimicry Soul techniques.
After all, the body can inversely affect the essence of life—Yi Rui had proven this with her own experiments.
Thus... the [Transcendent Knowledge] power of the crushed Crown of Absolute Zero resonated with this body’s bloodline, thereby guiding the soul carrying my clone consciousness.
Furthermore... there was the Faith of the Ancient Remnant Ice!
I was no stranger to the "power" of Faith; the Fool's Dream Clan held such feelings for me.
But the Faith of the Ancient Remnant Ice was so fanatical that it allowed me to experience the literal concept of "Faith is toxic."
I am King.
In this moment, I realized exactly what kind of existence the King of the Ancient Remnant Ice was.
The King does not die; he lives within the Faith of the entire race.
He who is the object of their Faith is the King.
It is not that they believe in whoever is King; rather, whoever they believe in becomes the King.
Once I understood this, the data Tan Han had gathered earlier became crystal clear in an instant!
Faith is power!
They worshipped power; this aligned with my previous hypothesis.
Their race existed for the sake of power; the Ancient Remnant Ice existed alongside power.
Therefore, their form of life was to transform life into power.
I could feel that as the blizzard resonated with the bloodline in my body, this power did not use my body or life form as a vessel.
Instead, this power was "carving" my body!
It was transforming every aspect of life into a part of that power!
I reached out, but the physical body had already vanished into nothingness. Instead, the invisible blizzard coalesced into a hand.
Power surged, resonating with the bloodline.
A crown made of ice crystals manifested before me...
This was the Authority of Power!
The symbol that sustained the existence of the Ancient Remnant Ice race!
"The King has awakened! Now, pave the way for the King’s return with Immortal Souls!"
At that moment, the royal priest presiding over the ritual let out a loud cry! Its voice, sounding like shattering ice, carried an indescribable tremor of excitement!
In the next heartbeat, its body seemed to lose its center of gravity and collapsed to the ground. A ghostly blue soul, carrying massive power, hurled itself into the ice storm atop the altar.
But there was no fear; it was as if it were throwing everything into the King’s embrace.
And where there was one, there was a second... a third...
In a manner that no outsider could comprehend, they offered everything they were to the King they worshipped.
Because their King was their Faith, and their Faith was the... Power they chased!
They had been preparing for this moment since the day they were born.
The blizzard grew fiercer, destroying the Ice Crystal Temple and tearing apart the ice maze outside.
The invisible storm seemed to be gestating a brand-new life, and a silhouette began to solidify within the wind and snow.
It appeared to be the figure of a woman. The snow became her raiment, and ice crystals adorned her gown...
One by one, ghostly blue lights drifted through the storm, eventually merging into that figure.
The blizzard moved slowly. Then, countless Ancient Remnant Ice shattered upon the snow like falling dominoes. They sacrificed their life essence, using the final glow of their lives to streak across the pure white tundra like ethereal blue meteors.
As the commotion grew, Tan Han and the others chose to leave immediately.
If they didn't, they too would be swept up by this terrifying power!
As for the students who had just arrived, they witnessed this magnificent and tragic scene in its entirety.
Despair naturally took root in their hearts!
They had no idea what was happening... they only knew that a monster was about to be born in this secret realm, one that no one would be able to stand against!
"Quick! While it hasn't fully formed yet, interrupt it!"
"We can't let it succeed! Stop them, quickly!"
Panic erupted, but they were soon swallowed by the blizzard. Without protective shields, they couldn't even keep their eyes open.
And those who still had the courage to look forward saw something even more despair-inducing!
A massive body, like a mountain of ice and snow, loomed within the storm!
"Quick! Use Overload spells! Use everything you've got! The monster’s body isn't finished yet! If the ritual completes, we’re all dead!"
In an instant, the sky was filled with spells, wizards, and divine arts, but the figure remained motionless.
Just as everyone was falling into despair, some took the opportunity to flee.
But before they could get far, the blizzard—at the very peak of its momentum—came to a dead stop.
This did not signal the end, however. It was merely the beginning of the calamity.