Ice Spirit Clan Main Branch Grand Competition

Within the grand Ice Snow Hall, the furnace did not burn with crimson fire, but with strange, secluded blue flames that radiated warmth without any scorching heat.

Grandfather and grandson sat facing each other, with two steaming cups of tea before them.

"You mean... the Imperial Daughter of the Luo Shen Clan?"

Bing Xuanming's hand paused slightly as he held his teacup, and a trace of surprise flashed through his old, smiling eyes.

"Exactly."

Bing Tianxiao peeled a grape and tossed it into his mouth.

"She has a good personality. She looks cold, but she's actually very softhearted."

"Good lad! You've got good taste! You really take after your grandfather in his prime!"

Bing Xuanming slapped his thigh and laughed so hard he could not close his mouth.

"Though the Luo Shen Clan has declined somewhat in recent years, its foundation remains. Luo Tianshen is even an Earth Supreme. You actually managed to abduct his granddaughter... ahem, pursue her successfully."

The old man leaned forward, his face full of curiosity.

"Quick, tell me, how did you win her over? Did you use that old heroic rescue-the-beauty routine?"

"How could I? That's what ordinary people do."

Bing Tianxiao waved a hand and began vividly recounting the interesting events of the Spirit Road.

"Grandfather, you have no idea. There was a guy named Ji Xuan in the Spirit Road, always acting like he was the greatest under heaven. He gathered followers and made a complete mess of things. He even tried to recruit me."

"You know my temperament. If others offend me, I repay them a hundredfold. Naturally, I wasn't going to indulge them..."

Though Bing Tianxiao spoke casually, the image in his mind was of that girl solemnly making her promise.

The corners of his lips rose unconsciously as he said softly,

"Grandfather, she really is wonderful. In a place like the Spirit Road, where everyone schemes against one another, she was the only person I could completely entrust my back to."

Seeing the unprecedented seriousness on his grandson's face, Bing Xuanming's laughter faded.

Having lived for so many years, he could naturally tell that his grandson was serious this time.

The old man reached out and lovingly stroked Bing Tianxiao's head.

"Since you've made up your mind, then treat her well. The Luo Shen Clan is not in a good situation right now, and that girl carries a heavy burden on her shoulders. If you truly want to be with her, I'm afraid you'll face many storms in the future."

"Your grandson understands."

Bing Tianxiao nodded, determination gleaming in his eyes.

Whether for her sake or for the entire Cold Abyss Branch, he had to become much stronger!

"Now that you have this resolve, what are your plans next?"

Bing Xuanming set down his teacup and looked kindly at his grandson.

"Will you remain in the clan and cultivate? Or... do you have other arrangements?"

Bing Tianxiao shook his head, his gaze turning toward the wind and snow drifting beyond the hall.

"I won't be staying in the clan. There are only seven days left. Seven days from now, I'm going to the Northern Cang Spirit Academy."

"Northern Cang Spirit Academy?"

Bing Xuanming was briefly stunned, then stroked his beard and nodded, a trace of approval appearing in his eyes.

"That's fine. Though the Five Great Academies' foundations are only passable, they are indeed good places to temper oneself.

It's better to go out and gain experience than to stay at home as a flower raised in a greenhouse."

At this point, the old man seemed to recall something. His tone suddenly softened, carrying an almost imperceptible note of consolation.

"However, my dear grandson... you need not care too much about the Main Branch Grand Competition a few years from now."

He sighed, his somewhat clouded old eyes filled with affection for his younger generation.

"Our Cold Abyss Branch may bear the name of an Ice Spirit Clan branch, but we have long been separated from the main branch for many years.

Those old fellows of the main branch control ninety percent of the clan's resources. The so-called geniuses they raise start out far ahead of you."

"Grandfather does not ask that you make a name for yourself at that competition or fight for the qualification to return to the main branch.

As long as you remain safe and live freely and happily, this old bag of bones will be content."

Yet upon hearing this, Bing Tianxiao slowly shook his head.

"Grandfather, I don't like hearing you say that.

Haven't you and Father spent your entire lives fighting desperately for that very goal?"

Bing Xuanming's hand trembled slightly, and several drops of tea splashed out.

He raised his head and looked at his grandson. His lips moved, but no words came out.

"Actually, I've always known that Father also fell because of this goal..."

Bing Tianxiao drew a deep breath.

"Though I used to be quite a bastard and caused you no small amount of worry."

Bing Tianxiao gave a self-deprecating smile, then abruptly raised his head. Astonishing brilliance burst forth in his eyes.

"But bastard or not, I'm still Bing Tianxiao. I want to see that main branch too.

I want to see whether those so-called favored sons of heaven truly have three heads and six arms!"

"No matter the outcome, I have to give it a try."

"Some things are not worth persisting in because there is hope. Rather, hope only comes after you persist."

He had actually known long ago that his family's circumstances were very similar to the Lin Family in Martial Universe.

Old Man had spent his entire life hoping to return to the main branch once more.

The Ice Spirit Clan was a superpower of the Great Thousand World, with a Heavenly Sovereign overseeing every generation!

The Main Branch Grand Competition was the mechanism by which this power ensured that geniuses would always emerge within the clan. Countless branches scattered outside the main branch strived to return to it.

Yet how difficult was this Main Branch Grand Competition? Based on the conflicts between the powers of the Northern Cang Continent in the original work,

the weakest opponents in the competition would likely be Sovereigns!

But in a few years, he was equally confident that he would enter the Supreme Realm.

Though he did not actually care much about it.

But in the Great Thousand World, choosing not to fight was itself a mistake.

After all, this was the Ice Spirit Clan's main branch. Even a tiny amount of resources casually allocated by it might be something a branch could never reach in its entire lifetime.

More importantly, all members of the Ice Spirit Clan cultivated the Ice Spirit Art. The portions beyond the Sovereign level could only be obtained from the main branch or by those who had entered the Earth Supreme realm.

He had reasons he had to go.

The hall fell silent.

Only the faint crackling of the burning furnace could be heard.

Bing Xuanming stared blankly at the high-spirited youth before him. In a daze, he seemed to see his son from years ago, equally unwilling to admit defeat.

At that moment, the two figures seemed to overlap.

After a long while.

The old man stretched out a trembling hand, picked up that cup of tea, and drained it in one gulp.

The scalding tea ran down his throat, yet it could not warm the turbulent emotions in his chest.

"Good... good! Excellent!"

Bing Xuanming set down his teacup, and the corners of his eyes had actually grown damp.

He let out a booming laugh, his voice so loud that the snow atop the hall shook loose and fell in flurries.

"As expected of my, Bing Xuanming's, grandson! You've got guts!"

"Since you want to venture forth, then go! If the sky falls, Grandfather will hold it up for you!"

The old man abruptly rose to his feet, and a powerful aura instantly erupted from him.

His once slightly hunched back straightened completely at that moment.

"Go cultivate well at the Northern Cang Spirit Academy! When you return, Grandfather will personally forge the foundation of a Sovereign for you!"

Bing Tianxiao could not help glancing sideways.

Though he had made the Cold Abyss Branch sound rather ordinary, his grandfather was in fact an Eighth-grade Sovereign!

It could be said that on the Xuanming Continent, his grandfather was among the top three strongest experts!