A Thousand Paces of Ice

Huo Wu pierced the anvil the following evening.

The tip of the short stick pressed against the center of the anvil. The dark red condensation point of Soul Power exploded with a crisp sound, and the anvil split in two. The cross-section was smooth, like tofu cut with a knife.

Huo Wu leaned on her cane, panting for a while. She looked up and grinned at Nan Feng, revealing a set of white teeth amidst her black and gray face.

"It's been pierced."

Nan Feng crouched down to examine the cross-section. He reached out and touched the edge of the crack, then glanced back at her.

"The Soul Power is evenly distributed, and there are no sparks spilling from the staff. Pass."

Huo Wu slammed the short stick into the ground, straightening her back perfectly.

"What about the second level of the method for controlling force?"

Nan Feng pulled a thin booklet from the Tower Spirit Space. The cover was written in charcoal, "Fire Attribute Immortal Power Regulation Method - Chapter 1".

He handed it over.

"Practice as instructed. One hour each morning and evening, for three months. After three months, if you can suppress the Soul Power fluctuations of the Heaven-Burning Blazing Sun to be similar to those of an ordinary Soul Ancestor, I'll give you the middle-length version."

Huo Wu snatched the booklet and stuffed it into her bosom, still trying to make amends.

"Three months? You wait, I'll finish training in two months."

She paused, then suddenly turned her face away, her voice dropping considerably.

"Thanks, Tower Simpleton."

Nan Feng didn't respond with a thank you. He picked up the anvil, which had been broken in two, and stuffed it into the Tower Spirit Space.

"I'll take the anvil with me; I'll get you a new one next time I come."

He looked up at the northern sky. The dark purple streak in the Far North was still there, faded but not completely gone. The words that the Snow Empress had carved on the stone steps of the Moonlight Pavilion were still in his mind. The matters at the Blazing Fire Academy were finished; it was time to set off.

Huo Wu followed his gaze and glanced north. She crossed her arms and snorted.

"Going to the Far North again? To find those two ice lumps?"

"Skywater Academy has also expressed its intention to form an alliance. Shui Bing'er sent a letter a few days ago, saying she wants to discuss combination techniques in person."

Nan Feng tightened her sleeves.

"It's on the way, let's go to Skywater first, then head north."

Huo Wu rolled her eyes.

"Shui Bing'er."

She drew out the word, her tone carrying an indescribable quality.

"Alright, go ahead. Remember to tell her that Blazing Fire Academy is ranked ahead of Skywater."

Nan Feng ignored her words and turned to walk out of the city.

Huo Wu called out from behind.

"Hey! Remember to bring some alcohol next time you come! You promised me!"

Nan Feng raised his hand and waved. With Shrinking the Ground to an Inch and take a hundred steps at a time, he disappeared at the end of the official road.

As you travel northeast from the Blazing Fire Academy, the weather gets colder and colder.

The Blazing Fire Academy was a barren wasteland, while the Skywater Academy was a vast expanse of frozen lakes. The puddles along the official road were all covered with a thin layer of ice. The air was filled with the fishy smell of water, unlike the dry cold of the Far North. The cold here was a damp cold, seeping into your bones.

Old Huai shivered inside the tower.

"This tastes almost the same as the one by the lake in Bi Ji."

Nan Feng traveled for three days. On the morning of the fourth day, he arrived at the territory of the Skywater Academy.

Skywater Academy is not built in the city, but in the middle of a large lake. The lake is called Mirror Water Lake, and it covers an area of several miles. The lake is as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the sky and clouds.

The main building of the academy is built on an island in the middle of the lake, with white walls, blue tiles, and upturned eaves. It is completely different from the stone-built style of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Connecting the lake shore and the island in the middle of the lake is a winding stone bridge. The bridge surface is paved with non-slip water-patterned stones, and the names of the past deans are engraved on the railings on both sides.

As soon as Nan Feng reached the bridgehead, someone was already waiting on the other side.

Shui Bing'er stood in the middle of the bridge. She wore a light blue dress and her long silver hair was tied up with an ice hairpin. Her face was calm, and her expression was much more relaxed than when they last met.

She raised her chin slightly when she saw Nan Feng approaching.

"They arrived half a day later than the letter said."

"I took a detour on the way to the Blazing Fire Academy to take care of Huo Wu's matter."

Nan Feng walked up to her.

Shui Bing'er nodded, asked no further questions, and turned to lead the way.

The courtyard on the island in the middle of the lake was much larger than it appeared from the outside. There were pools and ice sculptures everywhere. Several groups of students were practicing water-based Soul Skill, with water balls and ice spikes flying all over the place. Their aim was much more reliable than that of the fire-wielding group led by Blazing Fire; at least they didn't hit anyone in the face.

Shui Bing'er led the group to an open-air experimental field at the back of the academy. The field was surrounded by an ice wall, with a flat ice surface in the middle. The ice surface was engraved with dense Soul Power guiding patterns.

"This is where I usually practice combination techniques."

Shui Bing'er stood still in the middle of the ice and turned to look at Nan Feng.

"The letter mentioned that ' Ice Suppression Immortal Domain ' was used once at Jialing Pass, and the effect was good. However, the scale was too small that time, only a hundred steps. This time I want to try a thousand steps."

Nan Feng swept across the ice walls of the experimental field.

"Within a thousand paces, the ice wall cannot hold."

"That's why I need you."

Shui Bing'er raised her right hand. The Ice Phoenix Martial Soul unfolded behind her, its ice-blue wings spreading out two zhang wide, and the surrounding air temperature dropped below zero.

"Your Tower Suppression will handle suppression and stabilization, while my Ice Seal will cover and control. Last time you only used the Immortal Power of the Early Foundation Establishment, but now that you've completed Foundation Establishment, my Ice Phoenix is also imbued with Primordial World golden light. The combined attack's coverage area should be increased tenfold without any problem."

Nan Feng didn't rush to act. He squatted down and felt the guiding patterns, scanning them with his Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light.

Shui Bing'er put a lot of effort into this pattern. The pattern radiates outward from the center, and each circle is marked with the direction of Soul Power flow and pressure nodes, showing meticulous design.

"Did you carve these patterns yourself?"

"It took three months to carve."

Shui Bing'er walked over and squatted down next to him, pointing her finger at a node in the pattern.

"The power of Ice Seal spreads outward from the center. By the seventh circle, the pressure will decrease by 30%, requiring your Tower Suppression to replenish the pressure at this point. The timing and intensity of your pressure replenishment directly determine whether the combo skill can push the enemy to the next level."

Nan Feng glanced at her.

This girl's research approach is somewhat similar to Ye Lingling's; they both calculate everything before taking action, ensuring that every step is calculated accurately.

"Okay. Let's try it."

Nan Feng stood up and flipped his right hand. The phantom of a nine-story Bronze Tower emerged from his palm, and the azure-gold Immortal Mark on the pagoda's body lit up.

Shui Bing'er retreated to the center of the ice. She unleashed her full Ice Phoenix Martial Soul, her arms trembling as ice-blue Soul Power flowed from beneath her feet into the guiding patterns, spreading outwards along those patterns.

First lap, second lap, third lap. The ice surface freezes rapidly outwards, and the ice layer becomes thicker and thicker.

By the seventh lap, just as she had said, the Ice Seal power began to weaken, and its expansion slowed down.

"Now."

Shui Bing'er called out.

Nan Feng pressed down on the tower's shadow with his right hand. The power of the Tower Suppression flowed along the guiding lines into the seventh node, and the power of the Ice Seal was pushed up again.

Eighth lap, ninth lap, tenth lap. The ice layer expanded outwards, breaking through the ice wall fence and freezing a large area of the lake outside the experimental field.

When Shui Bing'er stopped, the entire lake surface within five hundred paces of the island in the center of the lake was frozen into an ice-blue color. The ice layer contained Ice Phoenix feather patterns that shimmered in the sunlight.

Shui Bing'er stood in the center of the ice, looking at the surrounding Ice Seal area, and remained silent for a long time.

Nan Feng walked over. She suddenly spoke.

"That's only half of a thousand steps."

"Your Soul Power is insufficient," Nan Feng said. "Relying solely on your Ice Phoenix Martial Soul, you can't push it more than a thousand steps. We need to find another method."

Shui Bing'er looked up at him.

What method?

"Use your Ice Phoenix Martial Soul as the vessel, and my Immortal Power as the engine."

The Nan Feng swept away the tower's shadow and squatted on the ice to redraw patterns.

"The bottleneck of combo attacks lies in the upper limit of your Soul Power output. If you only focus on maintaining the Ice Seal form and control precision, I'll take on the pressure of output; theoretically, we can push them a thousand steps."

Shui Bing'er was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

"You mean, transfer your Immortal Power through my Martial Soul?"

"Yes. The Ice Phoenix Martial Soul is a natural converter of ice attributes. My Primordial World Immortal Power goes in, and your Martial Soul converts it into Ice Seal power and releases it. You are responsible for controlling the shape, and I am responsible for supplying the energy."

Nan Feng finished drawing the new patterns, stood up, and clapped his hands.

"Will you give it a try?"

Shui Bing'er stared at him for three breaths. She extended her right hand, palm facing up.

"Give it a try."

Nan Feng grasped her hand. Immortal Power flowed from his palm into her meridians.

Shui Bing'er shuddered. Her Ice Phoenix Martial Soul activated automatically, and her ice-blue wings unfurled. The golden Immortal Mark on her feathers resonated with the Primordial World Immortal Power, causing the entire phoenix to grow larger.

She took a deep breath and shook her arms. The power of Ice Seal energy flowed from her feet into the guiding patterns.

This time the speed was on a completely different scale from before. The ice layer surged outward like a tide, and the first to tenth laps were completed in an instant.

Twenty laps, thirty laps, fifty laps. The ice wall and railings were long submerged, and the ice on the lake surface expanded outwards.

Eighty steps, one hundred steps, two hundred steps, three hundred steps...

Sweat beaded on Shui Bing'er's forehead, but her Soul Power output remained perfectly steady. Nan Feng stood behind her, channeling his Immortal Power at a steady pace, while the Tower Suppression power replenished the pressure along the guiding lines. The two worked together flawlessly.

When the power of Ice Seal reached seven hundred steps, Shui Bing'er's Soul Power began to fluctuate. Nan Feng reduced his input by half a unit of Immortal Power, allowing her Martial Soul to recover for a moment before continuing to push.

Eight hundred steps, nine hundred steps, one thousand steps. The ice layer spread out across the lake for a full thousand steps, its icy blue surface interspersed with golden patterns. From the island in the center of the lake, nearly half of the entire Mirror Water Lake appeared to be frozen into an ice field.

Shui Bing'er withdrew her Martial Soul, her legs went weak and she fell backward. Nan Feng caught her arm.

She leaned on his arm, panting for a while, her forehead damp with sweat that soaked the ice hairpin.

"A thousand steps." She caught her breath and looked up at the Nan Feng. Her eyes reflected the golden light of the ice field.

"You really can surpass the God King?"

"Able."

Nan Feng released her arm and took a step back.

Shui Bing'er straightened up and tidied her hair, which was damp with sweat. She looked at him intently.

"Then I also want to see the world after the God King."

Nan Feng smiled.

"First, master the combination techniques you have. 1000 steps is a theoretical value; in actual combat, it needs to be reduced. You're considered qualified if you can consistently maintain over 800 steps."

Shui Bing'er nodded. She reached into her sleeve and took out an ice-blue token, handing it over. The front of the token was engraved with the two characters "Skywater," and the back was decorated with a pattern of Ice Phoenix spreading its wings.

"The Alliance Token of the Skywater Academy. The Dean instructed me to give it to you today. From this day forward, Skywater Academy is officially allied with the Immortal Dao Alliance, and all of the Academy's resources are open to you."

Nan Feng took the token and put it in his pocket.

Shui Bing'er added another sentence.

"Also, I plan to write up today's combination technique into a textbook and include it in the academy's curriculum. Next time you come, it would be best if you could stay a few more days to help me check if the students are practicing it correctly."

"Next time," Nan Feng pointed north, "I have to go to the Far North first. Things there can't be delayed."

Shui Bing'er glanced north in the direction he was pointing and didn't ask any more questions.

"Then when you come back, take a detour through Skywater. I'll wait for you."

After saying that, she turned and walked towards the main building on the island in the middle of the lake. After taking two steps, she turned back and added another sentence.

"Should the instruction manual for combination techniques be credited under your name or mine?"

"Yours," Nan Feng said, "I'll provide the physical labor, you just need to use your brain."

Shui Bing'er smiled slightly, then turned and went upstairs.

Nan Feng stood on the ice, looking up at the northern sky. The dark purple hue in the Far North was lighter than it had been a few days ago, but his Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light told him that what was pressing down underneath was still pushing outwards.

He carefully put away the token, then used his feet to Shrinking the Ground to an Inch change direction and headed north.