Setting out for the Frozen Sea, the Shattered Mirror Floating Ice Belt

The next day, dawn had only just broken.

The sun in the Far North always seemed so miserly. Its pale, feeble rays not only failed to dispel the cold mist that shrouded the land year-round, but made this world of ice and snow look even more desolate.

Chu Bai slowly opened his eyes in a sheltered crevice between the rocks, ending a night of breathing exercises.

Despite cultivating through the night, there was not a trace of fatigue in his eyes; instead, their brilliance was held deep within. With a slight stirring of his divine sense, he swept over the attribute panel in his vision, where a line of small text shone brightly:

[Cultivation art: Five Phases Returning to the Celestial Palace Art (Proficient 1/500)]

"In just over a month, I've gone straight from practiced to proficient."

Chu Bai exhaled a plume of white breath, feeling a little more assured.

With the heaven-defying fate destiny [Relentless Toil] bolstering him, even simple meditation and breathing exercises could ignore bottlenecks. Every ounce of effort became solid progress.

That tangible sensation of growing stronger was enough to enthrall anyone.

He rose, brushed the frost from his shoulders, lowered his bamboo hat, and strode toward the ice harbor outside the north gate.

Beyond Sea Radiance Prefecture's north gate lay an enormous harbor on the icefield, formed through a combination of nature and mighty human effort.

Ice hundreds of zhang thick stretched like land into the depths of the sea. The biting wind howled like wailing ghosts, whipping up shards of ice that stung painfully against the face.

At the end of the ice harbor, three pitch-black, mountain-sized ships lay silently at rest.

These were the Four Seas Trade Guild's [Icebreaking Spirit Vessels].

Each vessel was a hundred zhang long, its hull covered