Ice Dragon Scasa

"Legend has it that two hundred years ago, an ice dragon was born from the earth veins of this Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain dungeon. The tribes living here called her Skasa."

"This dragon was Silver-tier from the moment she was born. In just a few decades, she became a Diamond-tier powerhouse."

"According to ancient records, Skasa could unleash endless blizzards with a single breath. She also valued wealth as much as her life—anyone who tried to approach her nest would be frozen into an ice sculpture."

"Because Skasa was cruel and merciless, Nine Provinces gathered ten Diamond-tier powerhouses to destroy her. After nearly half a month of fierce battle, those ten Diamond-tier powerhouses paid with their lives to inflict wounds on her that would never heal. From then on, Skasa slumbered beneath the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain, where she remained until now."

Hong Jianjun thought for a moment before recounting what he knew.

"Go on."

Cao Xiaochun considered it and spoke flatly.

Though it was only a legend, that did not mean the event could simply be dismissed as false. Since they had no leads at the moment, they might as well learn about these strange tales. Perhaps they would find some clues within them.

"That's all. That's the only part I remembered. I overheard it when my stepmother was reciting lines and background information in the living room."

Hong Jianjun shook his head. He had never been interested in this sort of thing, and he did not get along with his stepmother in the first place. If that woman had not been babbling in the living room every day, he probably would not even have remembered this much.

"This is information about a dragon, and you never cared about it at all?"

Li Hanyi frowned at Hong Jianjun's answer. Whether it was useful or not aside, as a professional, he should at least show a dragon some respect, shouldn't he?

"No. It was a script some unknown screenwriter wanted my dad to invest in. My dad only had two attitudes toward people like that: first, look for actresses in it; second, make sure it could turn a profit. Other than that, he basically didn't care. He even invested a huge sum without reading the script at all..."

"So let alone me..."

Hong Jianjun shook his head. The fact that he remembered even this much was already pretty impressive, okay?

"Do you know where they fought?" Cao Xiaochun asked Hong Jianjun as he looked at the coordinate teleporter on his wrist and pulled up a map of the entire Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain.

They still had nearly six days left. Once they had gathered enough ice hearts, rather than hiding in this cave, they might as well go out and take a look.

Understanding Cao Xiaochun's intentions, Hong Jianjun immediately brought up a map of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain and studied it carefully. After about ten minutes, he pointed at a basin on the map and spoke quickly.

"Here. I heard my stepmother describe it. After Skasa fell asleep, her original nest was turned into a basin by the aftermath of that battle. In the entire Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain, only this place fits that description."

"But while it isn't too far from us, it'll still take two days to get there. And it's already outside the area the school assigned to us."

As he said this, Hong Jianjun frowned. Before they set out, the school had repeatedly emphasized that they were not to leave their designated area.

"The highest-level lord in the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain is only level 19, so the monsters throughout the mountain generally aren't that strong. As long as we don't go near the lord's territory, there shouldn't be much danger."

Cao Xiaochun looked at the area Hong Jianjun had indicated, assessing the overall strength of the dungeon monsters before speaking.

With the Binuoxiu sisters, he was confident that he could escape as long as they did not encounter a high-level Silver-tier monster.

That was why Cao Xiaochun wanted to take a look. This blizzard had been far too strange. If Hong Jianjun was right and there really was an ice dragon's nest there, perhaps there might be some opportunities nearby.

Every high-level professional had fought their way through dungeons. Anyone without even a shred of adventurous spirit, who always thought only of staying protected, was destined not to go far on this path.

Of course, he would not force Li Hanyi and the others to come with him. If they disagreed, they could stay here and wait while he went alone.

"Bro, you call monsters above Bronze-tier 'not that strong'? We're only level five!"

"No, wait—you're level five. I'm only level four!"

Hong Jianjun froze for a moment upon hearing Cao Xiaochun, then spoke in shock. Were hidden classes really this arrogant? He was only level five, yet he did not even take Bronze-tier monsters seriously.

"I think we can give it a try. You'll never grow if you always follow the rules."

Li Hanyi did not mind. In her very first dungeon, she had already faced a life-or-death crisis. Yet rather than discouraging her, it had ignited the fighting spirit in her heart.

Besides, she had now contracted two Bronze-tier Three-Headed Demon Tigers. As long as they did not encounter the dungeon's lord, even if she could not defeat the other monsters, escaping should not be a problem.

Moreover, she knew Cao Xiaochun's strength very well. The Binuoxiu sisters were level 18, yet they had not even lasted a single exchange against him. With such a powerful backer around, naturally she would follow him—even if it was only to broaden her horizons.

"If you're afraid, you can wait here. This cave should be quite safe."

Cao Xiaochun did not want to say much more. Everyone had their own ambitions, and he would not force them.

"No, I have to go with you!" Hong Jianjun shook his head and said with absolute certainty.

There was no place in a dungeon that was completely safe. He was only a life-class professional. If he stayed here, some monster might wander in to hide from the snow.

Following Cao Xiaochun outside the school's designated area was dangerous, but staying here was even more dangerous, okay? Hong Jianjun could tell which was worse!

[ Ding, gained 2 EXP ]

[ Cao Xiaochun · Black Iron-tier ]

[ Lv. 5 (540/600) ]

Strength: 30

Speed: 37

Spirit: 146

After a night of rest, the massive blizzard finally stopped around noon.

Just as the three had expected, after the blizzard passed, freshly formed ice hearts could be found everywhere across the vast area.

Seeing this, the three did not hesitate any longer and quickly began gathering the required exam materials. The terrifying slaughtering power of the Killer Bee Gu and Locust Gu once again left Li Hanyi and Hong Jianjun stunned!

Those things were simply nightmares for low-level monsters. If Cao Xiaochun had not been looking out for them, the two of them probably would not have gotten even a single monster!

After half a day of searching and slaughtering, the three had already completed the task assigned by the school, and Hong Jianjun had successfully reached level five as well.

"What a pity. If we could take all these ice souls on the ground with us, we'd definitely be first in the whole school when we got out."

Hong Jianjun looked at the ice souls scattered across the ground, shook his head, and felt that it was such a waste.