Chapter 548: Source Fire Ice Field

"What exactly is this Source Fire Ice Field person you keep talking about?"

Ignoring Ruohuan Gongzi, who was weeping beside him, Zhang Xuan asked.

It wasn't that he lacked sympathy, but he believed there was bound to be a turn of events. If there were truly only two slots and no way to choose, he could compensate the other and guide him to a breakthrough—that wouldn't be a big deal.

His guidance was definitely more effective than going to some Yin-Yang Pool.

"Source Fire Ice Field is the name of a superpower, much like the Alchemist and Artifact Forging Guilds. It controls many powerful spirit veins and treasured lands. That's why, even as the head of the Master Teacher Hall, I dare not offend them and can only pay a price to exchange for opportunities!"

Hall Master Kang explained.

"Spirit veins? Treasured lands?" Zhang Xuan was astonished.

Just from this, he knew this power was no simple matter; otherwise, with so many formidable professionals in the world, how could they willingly yield such places?

"Yes, Source Fire Ice Field. Each branch has a Palace Lord. I have some personal friendship with the current Palace Lord, which is why I managed to secure two assessment opportunities... To be honest, whether you can enter depends on your abilities!"

Hall Master Kang said.

"Personal friendship?"

"Mm, she was once injured, and I treated her!"

Hall Master Kang stroked his beard: "It's the one I told you about last time—the person who cultivated the Great Linghua Art and had her chest pierced by scorching sword qi."

"Oh!"

Zhang Xuan nodded.

When he first met Hall Master Kang yesterday, he had tested him with a case of someone severely injured yet wanting to break through to Mortal Transcendence.

That situation was very complex; it was only right that Hall Master Kang, having resolved it, earned a favor.

After chatting a while longer, Zhang Xuan gained some understanding of Source Fire Ice Field.

This power controlled treasured lands and lacked no resources, so naturally it cared little for wealth. Only a master teacher could make them willing to offer two slots; other professions shouldn't even think about it.

After chatting casually, everyone began to cultivate.

Without enough spirit stones, Zhang Xuan didn't continue breaking through realms but instead consolidated his current cultivation and increased his true qi reserves.

Having reached the late stage of the Origin Energy realm, his strength had increased again. Previously, he had only 200,000 cauldrons of force, but now it had doubled to a full 400,000 cauldrons.

Normally, an early Origin Energy realm cultivator has 150,000 cauldrons of force, mid-stage 200,000, late stage 250,000, and peak 300,000. For the Yin-Yang realm, each advancement stage increases force by 100,000 cauldrons: early stage 500,000, mid-stage 600,000, late stage 700,000, and peak 800,000!

At only the late Origin Energy realm, he possessed such strength, far surpassing even peak Origin Energy cultivators.

If he combined this with the peak Mortal Transcendence二层 soul force, his strength would exceed 700,000 cauldrons, allowing him to contend even with late Yin-Yang realm experts.

Of course, this was only theoretical. True experts were not just about raw strength but also combat awareness and ability. If challenging above one's level were as simple as imagined, the Master Teacher Hall would be even more authoritative.

Even so, he could easily defeat mid-stage Yin-Yang realm experts.

With increased strength, his body's reactions and muscles had also improved. Though not as pronounced as when he first entered Mortal Transcendence, his eyesight was sharper and his movements swifter.

"Since I have time, I'll study the Heavenly Way swordsmanship, spearmanship, and blademanship again!"

After consolidating his cultivation for nearly ten days and increasing his true qi reserves, his mind turned to martial techniques.

The Heavenly Way swordsmanship and movement techniques he currently used were compiled back in the Tianxuan Kingdom. Though he had supplemented them later, they could no longer meet his current cultivation needs and required reorganization, integrating higher-level moves.

Along the way, he had collected many martial techniques and even recorded all the books in the Wanguo City Master Teacher Hall's martial library. With these resources, organizing them was not difficult.

He first organized the Heavenly Way swordsmanship.

The sword is the gentleman of all weapons; almost every cultivator knows it. Thus, there were many sword technique manuals, making it easy to find materials.

Before long, he compiled a complete set of Heavenly Way swordsmanship.

With limited space on the beast's back, he couldn't practice physically, so he deduced it in his mind. Soon, he had mastered it.

After learning the swordsmanship, he moved on to blademanship, spearmanship, fist techniques, leg techniques, and movement techniques.

Having reorganized all these techniques, his combat ability underwent a qualitative leap.

If before, relying solely on true qi, he could only fight peak Origin Energy realm cultivators, now challenging early Yin-Yang realm cultivators across levels was no problem.

Adding soul force, he could easily slaughter even late Mortal Transcendence三重 experts.

Of course, his strongest means were not his cultivation but his Principle-Seeing Eye and Teacher's Word of Heaven.

The former could reveal flaws and weaknesses, while the latter could bewitch minds, making people involuntarily convinced. Used together, they could easily bewitch not only Ruohuan Gongzi but even Hall Master Kang.

While he cultivated, Zhao Ya beside him had not rested. Through these days of effort, she finally broke through the shackles of the Sovereign realm, reaching half-step Mortal Transcendence.

In just a few months, going from Martial Artist 1-dan to this level would shock countless people if spread.

"Ahead is the location of the Yin-Yang Pool!"

After traveling for who knows how long, while cultivating, Zhang Xuan heard Hall Master Kang's voice and stood up.

Through the window, he saw a towering mountain not far away, its peak covered in white snow. A deep green palace stood within, strikingly conspicuous.

"This is the Ice Field Palace. The Yin-Yang Pool is inside the palace!"

Hall Master Kang pointed into the distance.

Through the snowy mountain, they could indeed see the plaque above the palace, with the three characters "Ice Field Palace" standing out vividly.

Quiet and solemn.

"It snows here all year round, but you might not imagine that before the Ice Field Palace was built, this was a blazing Flame Mountain, scorching hot. Even Mortal Transcendence experts passing by would shed a layer of skin."

Standing by the window, looking at the snow-capped mountain range not far away, Hall Master Kang said.

"A volcano?"

Not only Zhang Xuan was stunned, but even Ruohuan Gongzi seemed to have never heard of it, looking puzzled.

This mountain before them, towering into the clouds and covered in white snow, clearly bone-chillingly cold. How could it be a Flame Mountain, difficult for experts to approach?

"To be honest, when I first heard this news, I didn't believe it either!"

Seeing their confusion, Hall Master Kang shook his head: "This is the power of the Source Fire Ice Field people! They don't seize treasured lands but change feng shui and nurture them. Through their hands, many originally harsh environments become spiritual gathering places that people yearn for."

"Could it be... these so-called Source Fire Ice Field people are also a special profession?"

Zhang Xuan couldn't help asking.

Turning waste into treasure, transforming a fearsome Flame Mountain into a snowy peak—aside from a special profession, he couldn't imagine anyone else so formidable.

"If you say it's a special profession, it is; if you say it's not, it isn't!"

Hall Master Kang, seeing their confusion, smiled and explained: "Special professions are defined by the Master Teacher Hall. The first rule is having a complete inheritance and strict hierarchical divisions. But some strange professions cannot have detailed grade divisions, like medicine nurturers."

"As long as one has sufficient knowledge, they can nurture medicines; it's not that higher grades yield better medicines..."

"Without definable grades, they cannot be classified as special professions. The Source Fire Ice Field people are similar. They have special methods to turn Flame Mountains into snowy peaks and swamps into plains. But... the methods are not uniform, nor do they have an inheritance; they depend solely on talent and ability!"

"Moreover, their numbers are extremely small. Not just the Wanguo Alliance, but even within the entire Huanyu Empire's domain, there is only this one place... How can it be called a profession? Yet if you say it's not, they possess abilities ordinary people cannot match. For such cases, even the Master Teacher Hall finds it troublesome and cannot reach a conclusion."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Since it was called a profession, it should be learnable by others, have an inheritance, and be widely distributed.

These Source Fire Ice Field people were few in number, their inheritance somewhat chaotic, and required talent and ability—naturally, they didn't constitute a so-called profession.

"The volcano was scorching hot, and the snowy mountain is freezing cold. How did they do it?" Zhao Ya asked curiously.

"I don't know the specifics either. I only know that a thousand years ago, this place was a volcano. The Source Fire Ice Field people, after a hundred years of transformation, turned it into this. Moreover, it's said they created the Yin-Yang Pool, where yin and yang merge, turbid and clear interlace, greatly enhancing one's cultivation. Anyone below Mortal Transcendence五重 who cultivates there benefits immensely."

Hall Master Kang shook his head: "However, this Yin-Yang Pool only has a few slots each year, extremely scarce. Even their own people don't have enough, let alone outsiders. Many seek a slot in vain, causing endless trouble."

How the transformation was done was a secret of the Source Fire Ice Field people. Even as a master teacher with broad knowledge, he was unaware.

"Perhaps they used terrain and mountain ranges to form a great formation!"

Ruohuan Gongzi interjected.

A formation could also forcibly change an environment; perhaps the Ice Field people used a great formation.

"It's not a formation. If it were, with these mountains stretching for hundreds of kilometers, how large would the formation need to be? And how much spiritual energy would be required to maintain it?"

Hall Master Kang said.

Although formations could change environments, their range was generally very small. Covering hundreds of kilometers and transforming an entire mountain was nearly impossible!

Not to mention a group of Mortal Transcendence四重 cultivators, even those at the ninth level couldn't accomplish it. Perhaps only super experts who had transcended the ninth level could do so.

"Indeed, it's not a formation!"

Zhang Xuan also shook his head.

When Hall Master Kang spoke earlier, he had observed with his Principle-Seeing Eye. The entire mountain range showed no trace of a formation, proving it was not transformed by one.

Otherwise, with his eyesight, he couldn't have missed it.

"Forget it, let's not worry about that. Our purpose here is to enter the Yin-Yang Pool, not to study their origins."

Smiling, he interrupted their further speculation. Hall Master Kang looked at them solemnly: "When we arrive shortly, don't act on your own. Follow my instructions and try to secure three slots. If that fails, we must ensure both slots pass the assessment!"

"Mm!" Everyone nodded.

"Alright, let's go down!"

With these words, the flying spirit beast flapped its wings and flew straight toward the Ice Field Palace in the distance.