The Third Trial

In the snowy courtyard of the old church, Ye Chen sat on a wooden stump, exhaling hot steam from his lips.

He then raised his blade and lightly sliced his wrist, dripping the blood that flowed out into the revolver's cylinder, where it condensed into a bright red bullet.

Ye Chen raised the revolver and fired at a giant boulder ahead. With a loud bang, the entire rock was blasted into fragments by the Blood Bullet.

Its power was clearly much stronger than the Blood Bullet from a few days ago.

After two high-intensity real-combat sessions and several days of rest, Ye Chen had not only increased the purity of his Auling Power, but the effects of his Innate Spirit Art had also significantly improved.

He glanced at the stone debris on the snow, then took out a thermos.

It was filled with a steaming, pale red liquid, with several bright red petals floating inside, emitting a rich tea aroma.

The youth took a large gulp of the hot tea, then took out his pocket watch to start timing. After the second hand completed its fifth rotation, he squeezed fresh blood from the wound on his wrist, forged a second Blood Bullet, and fired at another giant boulder.

The stone shattered, the power remained undiminished, and Ye Chen's mind remained clear, without feeling any dizziness.

The hot tea in his hand was brewed from the local Red Blood Flower; the petals of this flower possessed the function of invigorating and replenishing blood.

Not long ago, Ye Chen had a sudden inspiration and began to study whether nutritional supplements could affect his Spirit Art.

After drinking the Red Blood Flower tea, he immediately received an affirmative answer.

The nourishment from the Red Blood Flower tea allowed Ye Chen to shorten the production time of his Blood Bullet from ten minutes to five, while the duration of its form remained ten minutes.

In this way, the upper limit of the number of Blood Bullets Ye Chen could possess in a short time was directly increased to two, which would undoubtedly greatly improve his combat power and his margin for error in critical moments.

Ye Chen put away the revolver and turned to look at the fresh wound on his wrist.

After being tempered by the nightmare, his physical body had become extremely powerful, whether in self-healing ability or blood production, so these shallow wounds would automatically heal in a few minutes without even leaving a scar.

However, this time, Ye Chen directly condensed his Auling Power on the surface of the wound, actively promoting the reconnection of the epidermis and blood vessels.

Just a few seconds later, the wound disappeared, as if nothing had happened at all.

This technique of actively repairing wounds with Auling Power was precisely the General Spirit Art known as Self-Healing.

Through three days of study and refinement, along with Space Storage and Relic Contract, Ye Chen could be said to have fully mastered these three basic skills of the General Spirit Art.

And tomorrow was the time for him to accept the final trial.

Once he completed it, the youth would leave this world of ice and snow to catch a glimpse of the outside world.

Ye Chen lay on the bed, reached out his palm toward the dilapidated, damaged ceiling, clenched it into a fist, and then closed his eyes to sleep, gathering his strength.

The next morning, Lyle sat on a bench, bathed in bright sunlight, and slowly explained the content of the trial to Ye Chen.

"The third trial requires you to head to Frost White City, because the residence of the Lord of Frost White City is your target for this hunt."

"A few years ago, the Lord of Frost White City led his subordinates to the mountains and forests at the border to hunt for fun, and inadvertently locked eyes with the Abyss outside the border for a moment."

"In the cognition of ordinary Frost White People, the Abyss outside the border is just a dark area that light cannot reach, so everyone has long been accustomed to it. However, this Lord was different. Having experienced a 'nightmare' once, he felt something from that boundless Abyss, and his mind was severely affected."

Lyle paused and continued to speak.

"Although this Lord is not like the Ape you hunted before and has not been directly contaminated by the Abyss, his thinking and will have been bewitched by it. Ever since he returned from the hunt, he has been frantically searching through and studying various classical books in the city, and for several years, he has been continuously conducting various experiments and rituals, all to summon the Abyss into this world and let all living beings suffer the fate of being swallowed by the Abyss."

(A Nightmare Sensor bewitched by the Abyss, trying to summon the Abyss for years!?)

Hearing this, Ye Chen's expression changed instantly, and he immediately asked:

"In that case, the phenomenon of the Abyss rising outside the border mountains these days... could it be caused by the Lord of Frost White City?"

Lyle shook his head.

"No, all the experiments and rituals the Lord has done have been monitored and interfered with by me. The cause of the Abyss rising has nothing to do with him. However, this does not prevent him from becoming your hunting target."

"Furthermore, killing the Lord is not the end of it. You must clear everything in his home related to the Abyss, and it would be best to burn the entire mansion down with it."

Lyle thought for a moment and added a few more pieces of information.

"In addition, this trial, like the previous two, is a short-term mission. I only give you a deadline of one day and one night, so you don't have much time for investigation. A quick victory is your primary goal."

"The difficulty of this third trial far exceeds your first two, so you must not take it lightly."

"Always keep the Three Rules of the Hunter in mind, and do not let mercy become your burden."

"Alright, ride Heiqi into the city."

Having said that, he waved his hand as he had in the past, signaling that Ye Chen could get up and leave.

The youth bowed his head politely, then turned and walked away quickly.

The middle-aged man sat alone on the bench, facing the Broken Statue, tapping his forehead with his fingertips from time to time, as if he attached great importance to the youth's performance in this final trial.

An hour later, a well-prepared Ye Chen set off.

He traveled light this time, not carrying a backpack like the previous two times. He only carried his revolver, straight blade, Gold-Patterned Black Cloak, and a white handkerchief printed with blue runes.

Ye Chen walked to the church gate. The old horse Heiqi was waiting for him in the snow as it had last time. Ye Chen affectionately stroked Heiqi's neck, then got into the saddle, and the man and horse galloped down the mountain.

Ye Chen looked out and saw a blurry, vast outline at the end of the snowfield at the foot of the mountain. There lay the largest and only city in this Eternal Winter Hidden Domain: Frost White City.

Frost White City, along with the countless farms and villages built around it, occupied the northeast and northwest regions of this ice and snow world. Although the city was less than ten square kilometers in area, it was quite prosperous and grand within the narrow small world, and could be considered the capital of the kingdom of the Frost White People.

Just like that, Ye Chen rode Heiqi, galloping through mountains, plains, and forests.

After crossing countless complex and varied terrains and enduring hours of biting cold wind, the man and horse finally arrived at the northern end of the small world, on the main road outside the gates of Frost White City.

"It seems like it's been a year since I last entered the city."

Ye Chen observed the renovated, towering gates of Frost White City and the well-armed guards on both sides, unable to help but lament how time flies.

He then pulled up his hood and adjusted his mask, donning plain clothes before leading Heiqi to the stables outside the city gates.

After settling Heiqi in, Ye Chen walked toward the gates of Frost White City alone.

Two tall guards stationed at the gate, holding single-shot rifles, quickly blocked Ye Chen's path, informing him that everyone entering the city must undergo an inspection and therefore must reveal their true face.

However, Ye Chen did not follow their instructions; instead, he quickly shoved an object into the hands of each guard.

It was a gold coin, the highest denomination of currency used by the Frost White People.

The two guards glanced at each other, then looked at their companions behind them who were ignoring their side, before letting out a soft huff at Ye Chen and questioning, "Are you trying to bribe us?"

Ye Chen smiled and replied in a low, Frost White Language, "I have a scar on my face. It's quite ugly, and I'd rather not let people see it. Please forgive me, gentlemen."

As he finished speaking, he pressed another gold coin into each of the guards' hands.

"Ahem! Fine, you may pass." The two guards coughed perfunctorily before clearing the path for Ye Chen.

Every time Ye Chen had entered the city in the past, he had essentially gone through negotiations similar to this.

Although Frost White City was the only major city in this land, the internal management of the guard force was lackluster, and the stench of corruption was everywhere; thus, bribing guards to enter the city was hardly difficult—at most, it just required a few extra gold coins.

In any case, Ye Chen could never finish spending the funds that Lyle provided him each time. He didn't know where Lyle obtained this endless, inexhaustible supply of money, and Lyle never had any intention of explaining it to him, only telling him to use it and ask no questions.

Just like that, Ye Chen, in his human guise, successfully slipped into Frost White City.

On the spacious streets, all sorts of Frost White People came and went. Through the gaps between the buildings, Ye Chen gazed at the tallest mansion in the center of the city.

It was a grand and imposing residence, akin to a palace. Even from a dozen streets away, just a single glance from afar allowed Ye Chen to feel its luxury and nobility; it was the residence of The Lord of Frost White City.

However, after confirming the location of his prey, the first thing the young man did was turn and walk into the alley behind him, heading toward the largest and most chaotic tavern in Frost White City.

As for how to complete the third trial, a rough plan had already taken shape in Ye Chen's mind, but before executing it, he still needed to gather intelligence on The Lord.

Therefore, a place like a tavern, which had always been a melting pot of all kinds of people and a hub for various rumors, was naturally the best place for Ye Chen to investigate information.

The young man hoped to gain significant insights there, thereby maximizing the success rate of his hunting plan and bringing a clean and decisive end to his final trial in this Eternal Winter Hidden Domain.