Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: A Sprout Emerged from the Dantian
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Ice Palace Lord's chambers at the pinnacle of the Ice Palace.
Snow Girl watched Shihanbu's broadcast, swept up in a whirlwind of complex emotions.
💬 Comments — Crazy bastard That thrust just now? Felt like space compressed for a split second. For real. — Some guy This guy's talent is insane lololol — Sword noob Talent? Nah, it's just you sword swingers are trash lol — Real talk For real lol How low level do you have to be to get schooled by a newbie lol — Mage hater Ugh, these mage bastards starting up again. — Chill dude Just ignore 'em. One of these days they'll get wrecked hard. Watching Shihanbu bicker with the viewers, Snow Girl felt her anger rising.
"This guy! Why does he keep throwing himself into danger like that! What if he gets hurt!"
Muttering to herself didn't vent her frustration.
So she posted in the chat.
— Snow Girl Young master! Why do you keep picking the dangerous stuff I tell you not to do! You promised to impregnate me! Of course, her comment was instantly buried under the flood of others.
It was only natural.
<Shihanbu Broadcast> [Viewers: 170,000] His viewer count had hit another peak.
— Fanboy Damn, watching again... Shihanbu's straight-up Fighting God material. Woulda fallen for him if he was a T-panties succubus milf. — Elf simp If Shihanbu was a C-cup elf girl, I'd be done right now. — Bunny lover For real, if it was a bunny-eared furry girl, I couldn't hold back! The chat was practically paralyzed.
Amusingly, even amid the chaos, Shihanbu nailed the relevant comments.
⭐ Top Comment — Shihanbu No, you degenerates just love C-cup elves and bunny beastkin! Go watch their streams if that's your thing! Why come here and yap at me! The viewers just laughed it off.
— Lurker Lol he reads it even in the spam. — Dopamine fiend But those don't have the dopamine rush like here. — Regret For real lol Would be nice if Shihanbu was a high elf beauty. But those versed in martial arts, like Snow Girl, could only marvel.
"The more I watch, the more it seems like this man's beloved by the Martial God."
There's a saying in the world:
Mastery of martial arts is seventy percent eyes.
Dynamic vision is that crucial for warriors.
And Shihanbu had it in spades.
"The child born from such a man's seed would be incredibly strong."
The thought lifted her spirits.
It meant the Ice Palace would remain mighty for generations.
"Heh. Maybe I'll have three."
She chuckled to herself, imagining being surrounded by three kids.
⭐ Top Comment — Shihanbu Huh!? Who's scared!? A loud shout suddenly erupted from the broadcast.
Snow Girl checked the chat.
— Observer Why's this guy spacing out in front of a wooden door? — Troll Can't you tell? He's scared lololol — Skeptic Hah! As if. Shihanbu who punches dinosaurs, scared of a wooden door? Hah. — Tease Shihanbu, you're embarrassing. Man up. Seemed the "scared" jabs had gotten under his skin.
"...Sigh. Men."
Snow Girl sighed and hurriedly typed.
— Snow Girl Young master. Don't. We don't know what's inside... it's dangerous... But before she could even finish,
The creak of the wooden door echoed through the broadcast.
A deep furrow formed on Snow Girl's brow.
"...This man. Why does he seek out these dangers? Maybe I should just capture him and lock him in the basement."
The more she thought about it, the better it sounded.
Capture him, chain him up, milk him for seed.
Have ten kids, then let him go.
"Smart idea, but it'd be a bit cruel..."
As she pondered the pity of it,
— Broadcast [Kueeeek!] A scream burst from the screen.
Startled, Snow Girl looked.
Shihanbu lay collapsed after extracting and swallowing an inner core from a heart spewing poison, his body convulsing violently.
In that instant, she rang the bell beside her.
The door opened, and a maid appeared.
"You called, Ice Palace Lord?"
The maid bowed politely.
But her distance felt oddly formal.
She'd only opened the door, not entered.
It was natural.
Those without martial arts froze to death just approaching Snow Girl.
Feeling a pang of loneliness at the distance, Snow Girl closed her eyes and issued the order.
"Order them to find the woman from Shihanbu-nim's broadcast."
The woman called Third Elder.
She had returned from the Abandoned Continent to reality.
Meaning one could go from here to the Abandoned Continent.
"Have them find out how. Before that man kicks the bucket."
She resolved to chain that flight-risk fly in her basement.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The tunnel beyond the wooden door.
A massive heart hung there, chained to the ceiling, awaiting Shihanbu.
Poisonous miasma spewed from it.
In that moment, he knew without asking.
What it was.
"Ugly Crow's heart."
The grade-12 dinosaur hazard.
Its heart was here.
"But why?"
Why hang it here?
As if to answer his question, a chat popped up.
— Knowledgeable Person Got it. They meant to drain the poison and extract the inner core. Drain the poison?
He checked his body.
Sealed space, poison source right beside him.
Yet he felt nothing.
"Guess it works."
Muttering, he drew his sword.
Clang.
The sword snapped.
Not surprising.
It had been shaky since Seven Extremes One Kill.
The blade couldn't withstand the technique.
"Buy a sword with Gallery Points...? Pricey though."
Sighing, he reached out and placed his hand on the heart.
The poison couldn't invade his body, as expected.
Relieved, he began dissecting it by hand.
Grimacing at the foul texture, he dug deep.
Something gleaming appeared in the dead heart.
He reached in and pulled it out.
A golden inner core.
The chat exploded.
— Jaw drop ...What inner core's the size of a fist? — Elder Impressive. Eating that'd give you at least a decade of life. — Jealous ...How's he getting heaven-sent opportunities daily? I'd have gone to Dino Island too. Seeing the last one, he pretended to sling an arm around the commenter.
"Wanna come? I'll give it to you. For real, even if it's not you."
The chat froze for a moment.
Like time had stopped.
Then one post appeared.
— Smart one ...Yeah. On second thought, I misspoke. Sorry. — Quick thinker Lol quick save, good job. — Survivor Yeah, inner core's nice but life's better lololol The viewers turned stone-cold rational in seconds.
He smacked his lips watching potential recruits slip away.
"Shame."
As he regretted the lost bait,
A familiar nick appeared.
— Knowledgeable Person Don't even think of eating that. It's the source of the poison. Even for you, who knows. He hadn't planned to anyway.
Needed it for antidote.
But that sealed the deal.
"Thanks, Knowledgeable Person..."
His mouth clamped shut mid-thanks.
His right hand moved on its own, shoving the core into his mouth.
"Mmph!"
He thrashed to spit it out.
But his hand sealed his lips.
As the pointless struggle dragged on,
Gulp.
The core slid down his throat.
That instant.
"Kieeeek!"
A scream tore from his mouth.
A stench incomparable to the Cryoraptor's core erupted.
"Urk! Th-this'll kill me."
No joke.
His brain screamed he could die from the smell alone.
To escape such a humiliating death, he hastily assumed lotus position.
Circulating the core's energy through his body, gathering it for the Minor Circulation.
One lap.
The tangerine-sized qi mass grew to egg-sized.
But the stench still overflowed.
He willed it again.
'Keep circling. Nonstop.'
The qi mass raced on, burning impurities.
After twenty laps.
"Hoo."
A sigh of relief escaped.
The stench was gone.
His mind cleared.
He inspected within.
The two duck-egg qi masses had shrunk to two beans.
"Fuel efficiency sucks, huh."
Sighing, he guided the refined mass to his dantian.
The qi was devoured.
Literally.
The energy descending via the Sea of Qi acupoint to the dantian.
Something ate it.
"What the..."
As he spaced out in disbelief,
His dantian twitched.
It wriggled for a while, then,
Pop.
A sprout emerged.
As if the world was reborn from within his dantian.
"...?"
Mind blank from the unheard-of phenomenon.
After zoning out, he checked the chat for answers.
But seeing it,
"...Huh?"
His confusion only deepened.
The usual nonsense flood was gone.
— World Tree Return Wor...ld Tree...? — Love Trees World Tree. — Spirit Contract Fail 23 World Tree. — Sprout Root Hunter Found the World Tree! — Baby Elf Found it. Found it. Found it. ⭐ Top Comment — World Tree Clap Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. Found it. The chat brimmed with "Found the World Tree."
The obsession chilled him through the text.
As goosebumps rose,
A familiar nick posted.
— Heavenly Demon ...Vice Church Leader. Hand... Hand?
He looked at his hand.
And sighed.
Inevitable.
His right index finger had turned to wood.