Chapter Summaries

Baruk and Chief Snover fought off a massive Snow Wolf pack until Baruk charged the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf and killed it at the cost of a severe abdominal wound. Baruk collapsed unconscious as the alpha fell.

• Baruk used Frost Nova to freeze many Snow Wolves, then fought alongside Chief Snover and Ryan as the pack continued attacking.
• As the battle wore them down, Baruk and Chief Snover decided to break through the pack and kill the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf.
• Chief Snover cast Snowstorm Hail to disrupt the wolves, opening a path for Baruk and Ryan to charge through the encirclement.
• Baruk burned his mana source to cast Slow and Bull's Strength, then stabbed the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf while it bit into his abdomen.
• Baruk drove his Frost Sword deeper until the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf died, then lost consciousness from his wound.

After Baruk awoke from his near-fatal battle, he learned that Ryan had died protecting him and revealed that the snow wolf beast tide had been deliberately caused by a Snowfield Guardians mage practicing forbidden Necromantic Spells. Unable to travel himself, Baruk asked Gao De to carry the warning to a nearby branch, and Gillet Snover gave them a map of the Northern Territory.

• Baruk awoke under Gao De and Gillet Snover's care and learned that the Snover Clan had lost more than a third of its people and nearly all its reindeer.
• Gao De told Baruk that Ryan had died fighting the wolves to protect him, and Baruk silently wept for his mount.
• Baruk explained that the abnormal beast tide had been manipulated by a mage, likely from the Snowfield Guardians, who was seeking to practice forbidden Necromantic Spells.
• Baruk tried to rise so he could report the danger but found himself too badly injured, so he asked Gao De to deliver the warning to a nearby branch of the Snowfield Guardians.
• Gillet Snover gave Baruk an animal-hide map of the Northern Territory to help Gao De find the branch.

Gao De accepted a mission from Gillet Snover to deliver a message to the Snowfield Guardians’ branch, then left Snover Camp with a map and provisions. After he departed, a masked mage led a second beast tide that wiped out the Snover survivors, while an elder ordered Baruk killed and animated the Frostborn Mages’ corpses as skeletons.

• Gillet Snover gave Gao De a Northern Territory map and provisions in exchange for delivering Baruk’s message to a Snowfield Guardians branch, and Gao De set out northeast.
• Flora questioned why the Snowfield Guardians included both protectors and those who caused harm, and Gao De said good intentions could deteriorate over time.
• A masked mage arrived at Snover Camp with a massive Snow Wolf pack, questioned Gillet Snover about Baruk, then ordered the wolves to attack and kill the survivors.
• The masked mage reported to an elder, who ordered him to find and kill Baruk before he could report to headquarters; the elder revealed that he still needed the Snowfield Guardians’ name for his undertaking.
• The masked mage used the forbidden Third Circle spell Animate Dead on the preserved Frostborn Mage corpses, turning them into skeletons.

Gao De reached the Snowfield Guardian Branch to deliver Baruk’s message, but Flora sensed that Ona harbored malice toward him. After learning about the branch and its orphaned children, Gao De secretly left a warning about forbidden necromancy and escaped into the night, heading west toward the coast.

• Gao De followed the Snover Clan’s map to Little Swallow Lake and arrived at the Snowfield Guardian Branch.
• Ona told Gao De that Guardian Damon was away investigating beast tides and invited him to wait for his return.
• Flora sensed that Ona was a bad person, so Gao De concealed Baruk’s injury and pretended not to suspect her.
• Gao De ate with the orphans, met Perl, and heard her wish to grow grain in the Northern Territory.
• Gao De wrote a warning about Snowfield Guardians practicing forbidden necromancy and manipulating beast tides, then escaped over the wall and headed west.

Ona told Snowfield Guardians Hunters Catherine and Loich that Gao De had escaped after delivering a warning about forbidden necromancy, and the Hunters began tracking him. Meanwhile, Gao De tested his spells against a Dragon-Tongue Blue Lizard, whose freezing breath stopped his Acid Splash+.

• Ona found Gao De gone and told the instructors that he had escaped during the night.
• Catherine and Loich arrived at the branch, learned of Gao De’s warning, and questioned whether Baruk or another Guardian was behind the forbidden necromancy and beast tides.
• Loich sketched Gao De’s portrait from Ona’s description and identified his scent, so the Hunters set out to find him.
• Gao De attacked a Dragon-Tongue Blue Lizard after using Seize the Initiative to identify its weaknesses.
• The lizard froze Gao De’s incoming Acid Splash+ with its icy breath.

Gao De killed a Dragon-Tongue Blue Lizard, gathered meat and its magically potent tongue, and continued his journey toward the Northern Territory’s coastline. While he camped and cultivated, two Snowfield Guardians hunters confronted him.

• Gao De used a combination of spells to weaken and kill the Dragon-Tongue Blue Lizard, then collected its tongue and some of its meat.
• Gao De traveled several more kilometers, set up camp with help from a Wilderness Spirit, and checked the map to confirm his route toward the coast.
• Gao De and Flora joked about her spell practice before he began cultivating the Evergreen Longevity Sutra.
• Flora alerted Gao De to two approaching figures, and he found Loich and Catherine blocking both directions of his path.
• Gao De recognized the Snowfield Guardians emblem and claimed his connection to Baruk, while secretly asking Flora to put away the Breath of the Wild.

Gao De was seized by Snowfield Guardians Loich and Catherine, who suspected him of helping the supposedly traitorous Baruk after the Snover Clan was destroyed. They restrained his magic with Law-Breaking Ice Needles, but Gao De discovered that enduring their Truefrost chill boosted his Adaptive abilities, while his innocence remained difficult to prove.

• Loich and Catherine told Gao De that the Snowfield Guardians believed Baruk had betrayed their doctrine and hunted him down because he claimed Baruk had entrusted him with a message.
• Gao De learned that the Snover Clan had been wiped out by a Snow Wolf beast tide and realized the real traitor had likely framed Baruk and silenced the witnesses.
• Catherine immobilized Gao De when he tried to escape, and Loich inserted five Law-Breaking Ice Needles into his body to prevent him from casting spells.
• Gao De activated the needles and suffered the Truefrost chill, then regained his composure despite Loich and Catherine's threats.
• Gao De discovered that enduring the extreme cold had increased his cold resistance, pain tolerance, and injury recovery, giving him a way to grow stronger even while captured.

Gao De traveled with Loich and Catherine, who had captured him and planned to take him to Snowfield Guardian headquarters. After Flora’s Heart of Nature convinced them to investigate his story instead, they camped for the night, where Gao De secretly endured the Law-Breaking Ice Needles to build his resistance to Truefrost.

• Loich searched Gao De, confiscated his weapons, and joined Catherine in summoning magical mounts for their journey to headquarters.
• Gao De learned the trip would take half a month and resolved to remove the Law-Breaking Ice Needles and avoid being handed over to Snowfield Guardian’s upper ranks.
• During a nighttime camp, Loich and Catherine shared Snow Bamboo Rat with Gao De and revealed Catherine’s Seven-Night Owl was keeping watch.
• Flora offered meat to the Seven-Night Owl, which accepted it, leading Loich to recognize Flora’s Heart of Nature and agree to visit the Snover Clan’s former site the next day.
• After Loich and Catherine fell asleep, Gao De silently activated the Law-Breaking Ice Needles and increased his cold resistance, pain tolerance, and injury recovery.

Gao De continued adapting to the chill of Truefrost while traveling with Loich and Catherine toward the former site of the Snover Clan. After four days, his cold resistance, pain tolerance, and injury recovery had all increased, and the group was expected to reach their destination the following night.

• Gao De stopped his first adaptation session when Truefrost's chill caused too much frostbite, then began recovering and improving his injury recovery ability.
• Loich and Catherine took Gao De toward the former site of the Snover Clan on summoned spirit mounts, while the Seven-Night Owl helped them find prey for dinner.
• Gao De used the nights to repeatedly trigger the Law-Breaking Ice Needles, raising his cold resistance to 112%, pain tolerance to 74.5%, and injury recovery ability to 14.7%.
• Four days later, Catherine said the group would reach the Snover Clan's former site the next night, and Loich explained how the Snowfield Guardians divided hunters from guardians.
• Gao De continued adapting through the night and could now endure Truefrost for ten minutes at once; by dawn, his cold resistance had risen by 157%, pain tolerance by 86.2%, and injury recovery ability by 39.3%.

Catherine used Commune with the Dead to question a deceased Snover tribesman, confirming that Baruk had defended the tribe and disproving the accusation against him. She and Loich decided to investigate a powerful traitor within the Snowfield Guardians with help from the Truefrost Tribe, while keeping Gao De with them as a witness.

• Catherine summoned the dead Snover man with Commune with the Dead and asked him about the beast-tide attacks.
• The dead man confirmed that an outsider guardian had killed the Golden-Eyed Snow Wolf, then stayed with the tribe while recovering from severe wounds.
• The dead man could not identify the guardian's face, but described his enormous white Ice Mane Tiger, confirming that the guardian was Baruk.
• Catherine and Loich realized a high-ranking Snowfield Guardian had framed Baruk and decided to investigate without alerting the order.
• Catherine refused to release Gao De or remove his Law-Breaking Ice Needles, explaining that he was both a witness and at risk from the mastermind.
• Catherine chose to seek help from Elder Grant of the Truefrost Tribe, and Gao De agreed to cooperate partly to avenge Baruk.

Loich and Catherine took Gao De to the Truefrost Tribe, where Loich described the tribe’s vast population and formidable mages. On the journey, Gao De strengthened his Mandora Demon Eye with two drops of Ice Marrow, but remained far from its next tier.

• Loich changed the travelers’ destination to the Truefrost Tribe and told Gao De that the journey would take nearly a month.
• Gao De studied and memorized part of the Snowfield Guardian’s map, and Loich warned him not to copy or share it.
• Loich explained that the Truefrost Tribe had over five hundred thousand people, more than ten thousand Icekin hunters, and several known 4th Circle Mages.
• Loich told Gao De that Warmother Sunaifa wielded Boreas’s Truefrost Armament, Blizzard, and was rumored to be able to fight a Fifth Circle Mage.
• Gao De used two drops of Ice Marrow to strengthen his Mandora Demon Eye, raising its progress to first tier (3/72).

Gao De planned to cultivate and sell hybrid barley in the Northern Territory, while Catherine gave him two drops of Third-Order Ice Marrow as an advance on his compensation. As they traveled toward the Truefrost Tribe, his cold resistance neared its limit, and he realized the five Law-Breaking Ice Needles could no longer push his adaptation much further.

• Gao De decided to use Flora to crossbreed Cold-Resistant Barley Seed and sell the first-generation harvest to keep others from reliably growing the same crop.
• Flora eagerly agreed to plant grain for money, but Gao De told her they had to wait because Loich and Catherine were still in control of their movements.
• Catherine recognized Gao De's awakened Mandora Demon Eye and gave him two drops of Third-Order Ice Marrow as an advance on his compensation.
• Catherine and Loich led Gao De toward the Truefrost Tribe, while he trained at night and rested during the day.
• Gao De's cold resistance rose to 198%, but his pain tolerance and recovery ability reached their limits because his five Law-Breaking Ice Needles no longer caused enough strain.

Gao De evolved into an Intermediate Ice-Blessed Body during the journey and arrived with Loich and Catherine at Phoenix, the Truefrost Tribe’s city. The group entered the city and began looking around its stone buildings.

• Gao De’s cold resistance rose past 200%, evolving his Novice Ice-Blessed Body into an Intermediate Ice-Blessed Body.
• Gao De discovered that he could cast spells again and had become more sensitive to Ice Elemental energy.
• Loich told Gao De they were near the Truefrost Tribe, and Gao De saw the walled city of Phoenix beneath Mount Weisikaer.
• Loich and Catherine identified themselves as Snowfield Guardian hunters seeking Elder Grant, and the watchmen let them enter without further questioning.
• Gao De entered Phoenix and saw its gray stone houses, snow-covered roofs, and an enclosure holding Snow Pheasants and Snow Rabbits.

Gao De arrived in Phoenix with Loich and Catherine, learned that the Truefrost Tribe’s Sword in the Ice challenge was tied to an ancient ritual, and settled into a gray-stone building. He used a drop of Third-Order Icemarrow to rapidly improve his Mandala Eye, then began using the second drop.

• Gao De observed Phoenix’s dense mana and learned from Loich that the Truefrost Sword was made of pure Truefrost and was nearly impossible for anyone but Warmother Sunaifa to wield.
• Catherine revealed that the Sword in the Ice challenge was connected to an ancient Truefrost Tribe ritual seeking an unusually special person.
• Loich and Catherine left Gao De at their gray-stone building while they went to find Elder Grant, believing the Law-Breaking Ice Needles still prevented him from escaping.
• Gao De recognized that the needles no longer restricted him but stayed because Loich could track him, then entered the building and used one drop of Third-Order Icemarrow on his Mandala Eye.
• The drop raised Gao De’s Mandala Eye from First Order (3/72) to (25/72), and he dripped the second drop into it.

Gao De explored Phoenix’s marketplace and bought a dying berry sapling after Flora recognized it as a Magic Plant Fruit Tree. He left the plaza with the sapling and Flora’s confidence that it could survive.

• Gao De absorbed a drop of Third-Order Ice Marrow, advancing his Mandora Demon Eye to (47/72) and strengthening his microscopic vision.
• Gao De visited the plaza hosting the Sword in the Ice challenge, studied the Truefrost Sword, and chose not to attempt pulling it out.
• Gao De browsed the marketplace stalls and noticed a wilted berry sapling with unusual blue berries.
• Gao De traded a zero-order Ice Stone for two baskets of berries and the sapling.
• Gao De asked Flora whether the sapling could live, and Flora assured him that it was a Magic Plant Fruit Tree and would survive.

Gao De acquired seeds of the rare Goldensheen Wheat and planned to crossbreed it with his Cold-Resistant Barley Seed. Meanwhile, Catherine and Loich enlisted Elder Grant to investigate suspicious Snowfield Guardians near the Snover Clan, leaving the identity of the mastermind uncertain.

• Flora stored a valuable magical plant fruit tree sapling in her little space and told Gao De it was getting full.
• Catherine asked Elder Grant to investigate Snowfield Guardians near the Snover Clan, and he agreed after she mentioned a possible trace of the person the Truefrost Tribe sought.
• Catherine and Loich suspected Priest Norman might be involved, but Catherine judged he was likely only an executor for a more powerful mastermind.
• Elder Grant sent Goldensheen Wheat to Catherine and Loich, and Loich explained its cold-resistant properties and its need for Northern Territory soil and warm volcanic ground.
• Gao De tasted the wheat, took some seeds despite Loich's warnings, and planned to hybridize it with his Cold-Resistant Barley Seed.

While Loich and Catherine waited for Elder Grant to investigate the Snowfield Guardian order, they took a bounty mission in Phoenix, leaving Gao De to recover and explore with Flora. At the order’s headquarters, its leader suspected the Saintess had uncovered their crimes and planned to use the Truefrost Tribe to kill her.

• Catherine and Loich decided to take a Phoenix bounty mission while Elder Grant investigated, and Catherine explained how the missions worked to Gao De.
• Loich and Catherine accepted a bounty and busied themselves, while Gao De resumed cultivation and wandered Phoenix with Flora.
• A Snowfield Guardian informant reported that the Truefrost Tribe was investigating the order and that the Saintess and Loich were in Phoenix.
• The order’s leader connected the investigation to the Saintess’s inquiry into the Snover Clan massacre and concluded she might have discovered evidence.
• The leader ordered his subordinates to strike first and arrange for the Truefrost Tribe to kill the Saintess.

Catherine was lured into a trap and arrested after Truefrost Tribe mages found her beside the bodies of their slain comrades. Gao De learned that Loich could not secure help from Elder Grant, who was preoccupied with a crisis threatening the Goldensheen Wheat crop.

• A servant claiming to carry urgent information from Elder Grant led Catherine to a secluded dwelling.
• Catherine discovered fresh corpses inside as Truefrost Tribe mages burst in and accused her of killing their people; she chose to surrender and considered whether someone with access to secret mission information had framed her.
• Gao De returned and learned from Loich that Catherine had been taken by the Truefrost Tribe after the escorting mages were killed and a Frostscale Basilisk Hatchling was stolen.
• Loich said Elder Grant could barely protect himself because Goldensheen Wheat seedlings under his care were withering, leaving him unable to help Catherine.

Gao De and Loich suspected that several simultaneous troubles, including Catherine’s arrest and the Goldensheen Wheat blight, were part of a conspiracy. Gao De went with Elder Grant to inspect the failing crop, and the chapter ended as they reached the first affected field near Mount Castella.

• Gao De suggested that the Goldensheen Wheat blight might have been timed to prevent Elder Grant from helping Catherine, and Loich agreed the coinciding troubles seemed suspicious.
• Loich explained that the Truefrost Tribe had little reason to defer to the Snowfield Guardian and that Catherine could reveal her standing in the sect, though she did not want to.
• Gao De proposed helping Elder Grant investigate the wheat, and Loich agreed to go with him.
• Elder Grant told Lady Grant that the Goldensheen Wheat’s roots had blackened and weakened, while Lady Grant urged him to accept help from the young outsider Gao De.
• Elder Grant visited Gao De and Loich after another patch of wheat withered, then asked Gao De to examine the crop.
• Gao De, Loich, and Elder Grant traveled to the volcanic farmland by Mount Castella and arrived at the first plot where the seedlings had begun to wither.

Gao De and Flora discovered that Ice Threadworms were killing the Goldensheen Wheat seedlings and gave Elder Grant a Neem Grass treatment to stop the infestation. As they returned to Phoenix, Flora asked why Gao De had made her inspect the field at length, and he explained the value of making skilled work appear difficult.

• Gao De introduced Flora to Elder Grant and Loich as a magic pet who excelled at planting, then let her inspect the dying Goldensheen Wheat seedlings.
• Flora identified Ice Threadworms in the wheat roots, and Gao De explained how the parasites damaged the seedlings and spread through the volcanic soil.
• Gao De recommended spraying the field with water steeped with crushed Neem Grass, and Elder Grant agreed to begin the treatment immediately.
• Gao De and Loich returned to Phoenix while Elder Grant stayed to treat the wheat field; Loich remained worried about Catherine and whether the method would work.
• Flora asked Gao De why he had made her spend so long examining the seedlings, and he told her a story about a locksmith who had failed to make his work seem difficult.