Little Frost flew for about half an hour before landing in front of an ice cliff.
The ice cliff wasn't very high, only about seven or eight zhang (approximately 33-40 meters). The cliff face was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the cold, eerie blue light unique to the Far North. In the very center of the cliff face was a fist-sized indentation with smooth, rounded edges, as if it had been repeatedly pierced and polished by something.
"That's it." Shui Bing'er slid off Little Frost's back and looked up at the indentation.
Feng Xiaotian landed without looking around. He was still thinking about what had happened on that ice field. The rhythm of the shifting Wind Trace, the oppressive feeling, and the sensation of his four failures were all swirling in his mind.
Shui Bing'er stopped ten steps in front of the cliff.
She took out an ice crystal from her bosom and held it in her palm. The ice crystal shimmered with a very pale blue light under the Far North sky, and was more solid than any of the previous ones. She took a deep breath, suspended the ice crystal in front of her, and then began to condense a second one.
Feng Xiaotian stepped back a few paces and sat down on a protruding ice rock. He didn't make a sound, but simply watched quietly.
The second ice crystal formed. The third. The fourth.
Shui Bing'er's movements were much more skillful than when she was in front of the ice curtain. Each ice crystal took about three breaths to condense, perfectly hexagonal, and floated motionless beside her. By the tenth crystal, fine beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead. By the twentieth crystal, her fingers trembled slightly.
Feng Xiaotian noticed that before she condensed each ice crystal, she would pause very briefly, as if waiting for something. He didn't know what she was waiting for, but he remembered the rhythm.
The fiftieth. The seventieth. The eightieth.
When the eightieth crystal was formed, the ice crystals that had already solidified suddenly began to become unstable. The few closest to the cliff face trembled slightly, and very fine cracks appeared on the hexagonal edges, as if they might shatter at any moment.
Shui Bing'er's breathing became heavy. She increased her Soul Power output, trying to use stronger force to hold down the ice crystals in front of her. But as soon as she pressed down with her Soul Power, the ice crystals shook even more violently, and one of the edge fragments broke off and turned into a wisp of ice mist in the air.
She frowned, withdrew her Soul Power, and changed her approach. Instead of concentrating her strength to suppress it, she dispersed her Soul Power into dozens of thin streams, while simultaneously maintaining the stability of each ice crystal. This method was more tiring, and her Soul Power was consumed extremely quickly. She could only hold on for less than ten breaths before the few ice crystals at the very edge began to tremble again.
She withdrew her Soul Power again, standing still and catching her breath. Sweat streamed down her face, condensing into tiny ice beads at her temples.
Feng Xiaotian sat on the ice rock, remaining silent. He watched Shui Bing'er try repeatedly, her growing increasingly anxious, and suddenly recalled the time she practiced the Hundred Crystal Array in front of the ice curtain. Back then, she condensed the crystals slowly, but each one was very stable. Now she condensed them quickly, almost condensing the first eighty in one go, but it became increasingly difficult for her as she progressed.
"When you put it in the first place," Feng Xiaotian said, "You didn't use this much force."
Shui Bing'er paused for a moment.
She glanced at Feng Xiaotian, then looked down at the ice crystal in her palm. She recalled the feeling of the first one. At that time, she hadn't thought about anything; she had simply condensed the ice crystal and let it take shape naturally, following the natural patterns of the ice. She hadn't pressed it down; it had stabilized on its own.
As she condensed more, she began to fear. She feared that the ones in front would dissipate, that the ones behind wouldn't keep up, and that she wouldn't be able to finish. The more she feared, the more forceful her Soul Power became, and the more unstable the ice crystals became.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, she withdrew the Soul Power from her hands. She no longer pressed the already solidified ice crystals, but instead, like when she solidified the first one, followed the patterns of the ice crystals one by one.
Ninetieth. Ninety-fifth. Ninety-eight.
The ice crystals in front stopped dispersing. Each new one found its own place after it condensed, hanging steadily. But by the ninety-ninth crystal, her fingers began to tremble, and her Soul Power noticeably weakened.
She stopped, took a few breaths, and her forehead was covered in sweat. The hundredth ice crystal was half-formed in her palm, the hexagon only taking four corners before shattering into a cloud of icy mist.
The wisp of icy mist drifted in the air, carried away by the Far North wind. Feng Xiaotian stared at the wisp of mist for a while, then subconsciously reached out his hand, trying to feel the direction it was being blown away by the wind. The mist had already dissipated, but the wind slipped through his fingers. He paused for a moment, sensing that the wind was coming from the southwest, bypassing the ice cliff, and swirling around the back of his hand.
The ice fog did not resist the wind. It went with the wind, and wherever the wind carried it, it went.
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: when the Wind Trace shifted, perhaps it wasn't being "compressed," but rather "following its course."
But this idea was still just a shadow; he couldn't grasp it. His understanding of the wind was still lacking.
Shui Bing'er turned around and leaned against the cliff to rest. She glanced at Feng Xiaotian and found him staring blankly in the direction where the wisp of ice mist had disappeared.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
Feng Xiaotian snapped out of his reverie and shook his head, "Still thinking about the third place."
Shui Bing'er didn't press the matter. She looked up at the sky; the sky in the Far North was always gray and white, making it impossible to tell the time.
"Take a break," she said. "I'll try again."
Feng Xiaotian nodded, stood up, and stretched his stiff knees. He walked to the cliff face, looked at the pattern formed by the ninety-nine ice crystals, and suddenly reached out his hand, stopping an inch away from the ice crystals.
He sensed something. The patterns on the ice crystals and the Wind Trace of the Far North were connected in some places. They both extended in the same direction and formed the most stable structure at a certain angle. But he couldn't pinpoint exactly where they were connected.
He withdrew his hand and sat back down on the ice rock.
Shui Bing'er stood back in front of the cliff, closed her eyes, and regulated her breathing. Just as she was about to raise her hand, that oppressive feeling suddenly swept over from a distance.
It wasn't the same force that was targeting Feng Xiaotian's third Wind Trace, but the aftershocks swept over the target. The ninety-nine suspended ice crystals trembled simultaneously, and the few on the outermost edge began to shake. Shui Bing'er suddenly opened her eyes, pressed down with both hands, spread out her Soul Power, and forcefully held down those ice crystals.
She gritted her teeth and held on for a few breaths until the ice crystal finally stabilized.
Feng Xiaotian stood up and looked in the southwest direction.
"It knows what we're doing," he said.
Shui Bing'er withdrew her hand, panting, the Ice God Mark her forehead slightly warm. She looked down at her palm; the Ice God Mark pulsated slightly beneath her skin. She had sensed it when she condensed more than ninety marks—she knew that after passing the Third Trial, she would receive something. She didn't know what it was, but she knew it would be helpful.
She didn't say.
"Wait until I've finished condensing," she said.
Feng Xiaotian nodded without asking further. He stood up, walked to the other side of the cliff, and sat down with his back to her. He didn't want her to see that he was still frowning.
Shui Bing'er turned around and faced the cliff face again. A slight smile appeared on her lips, but she quickly suppressed it.
Let's not tell Xiaotian yet. What if it doesn't work out? We'll talk about it after we actually get it.
Moreover, Xiaotian's anxious expression was quite interesting; it was a rare sight. The usually composed captain in the academy was now sitting alone on the ice rock, frowning—a completely different person from his usual self.
We can't say it too soon.