Chapter Six: The Ice Emperor’s Canon

In the dim, airless storeroom, a blinding white radiance suddenly burst forth, making Chen Xiao narrow his eyes.

After a moment of adjustment, he fixed his gaze on the crystal sphere.

“Ice?”

Having confirmed his affinity, Chen Xiao felt his spirits stir faintly.

This opening was not looking good.

It was not a fire affinity, which meant he could not become an alchemist.

On a smaller scale, it even meant he could not safely consume the pills refined by others. Chen Xiao clearly remembered that in the original course of events, Yao Chen had once tampered with the pills he made for Master Refreshing Spirit.

On a larger scale, many of the opportunities stored in his memory had instantly become half useless, and his advantage of foresight had been sharply weakened.

“Damn it, I forgot that Obapa won’t live for another twenty years...”

Shaking his head slightly, Chen Xiao let out a long, helpless sigh and accepted the result.

Life is full of disappointments; things do not go smoothly in every matter.

There was no point in dwelling on it. Rather than wasting time agonizing over this, he might as well think carefully about the road ahead.

As for pills, he could rely on advance claims to guard against tampering, or cultivate a pill master he could fully trust and use that to make up for the weakness.

As for cultivation, and those strange fires in his memory that countless alchemists coveted, even if he could not make full use of them, they could still serve as resources to exchange for profit.

As for becoming an emperor...

That was a dream. He had only just learned to crawl; there was no need to reach for the sky before he could even walk.

There would always be a road beyond the mountain, and the current would straighten once the bridge was reached. The future was still undecided, and anything was possible!

Besides, Chen Xiao still had not fully understood the advance claims in his mind, and that was the greatest variable of all. Perhaps there would be a chance to change things later.

Wiping the crystal sphere clean, Chen Xiao turned and left in silence.

Within the shadows behind him, a bored figure with nothing better to do also slipped away without a sound.

“Miss, Chen Xiao condensed his battle qi vortex today and has already gone in secret to test his affinity.”

“Oh? What affinity does Brother Chen Xiao have?”

A bright light flashed in Xiao Xun’er’s eyes as she asked with evident curiosity.

Though one’s affinity could not decide the future, it could reveal whether the road ahead would be smooth.

In the current Dou Qi Continent, a fire affinity was unquestionably the easiest path.

Apart from that, metal, wood, water, and earth all had their own advantages and were fairly common.

Then there were the rare people with special affinities, such as Ling Ying before them.

Born with a dark affinity, he would have difficulty even finding suitable battle skills to cultivate.

If not for the Ancient Clan standing behind him, he might never have reached his present height.

“It is ice!”

“Ice? That is not bad. The path of an ice affinity is not especially difficult.”

“That is true, Miss. In the Jia Ma Empire alone there is an Ice Emperor whose fame is no small matter. Even after disappearing for more than ten years, people still speak of him often. On Central Plains side, the Ice River Valley ranks among the Three Valleys, and it is said that the founder of the Sound Valley back then also had an ice affinity.”

Xiao Xun’er nodded lightly in agreement.

They did not know of Chen Xiao’s foresight, and under that premise, they both felt that an ice affinity was not bad.

The so-called mutual suppression between water and fire would be the same if water were replaced by ice.

Who suppressed whom depended on the strength of both sides.

Before absolute disparity in power, even a Dou Wang who wielded an heavenly flame would be slapped to death by a Dou Zong-level ice cultivator.

As for alchemists...

Those were lucky ones among ten thousand. Even Xiao Xun’er herself was not one, and it was not something that could be forced.

“At only eight years old, he is already a Dou Zhe. Brother Chen Xiao’s talent is truly a little frightening in Wu Tan City, but there is also a problem before him.”

“Technique,” Ling Ying answered at once.

“Exactly. As friends, we can help Brother Chen Xiao for a time, but we cannot help him forever. Last time, the spirit-gathering powder that Old Ling ‘accidentally’ dropped in the back mountain was too fake. I can feel that Brother Chen Xiao has already begun to suspect. He is, after all, my only friend in the Xiao Family. I do not want to let too many other things contaminate this friendship. And among the resources Father prepared for me, there is no ice affinity cultivation technique.”

“Miss speaks wisely. Right now, only two roads lie before Chen Xiao. First, he reveals his talent and gains the Xiao Family’s attention, then enters the Dou Qi Pavilion to choose a technique and make do with it. Second, he leaves the Xiao Family and takes refuge with a power such as the Cloud Mist Sect. With his talent, he would still be valued. Aside from that, there is no other choice. This old servant once saw his savings; altogether they amounted to only a little over two thousand gold coins. That amount cannot buy a decent technique. A low-grade or mid-grade Yellow Rank technique would simply waste his talent. He should not be so foolish.”

Ling Ying analyzed with great certainty.

It was not that he cared so much about Chen Xiao; the truth was that life in the Xiao Family was simply too dull, and there was nothing else to do.

At that, Xiao Xun’er merely smiled without comment.

“Let us wait and see. I keep feeling that Brother Chen Xiao is not someone who follows the usual path.”

Indeed, their analysis was quite accurate. If not for the aid of advance claims, Chen Xiao would have had no choice.

Unfortunately, there was no such if.

Back in his quarters, Chen Xiao bolted the door and thought long and hard before finally making his decision.

“Can I advance claim Hai Bodong’s technique? I seem to remember it was called the Ice Emperor Scripture.”

The Ice Emperor Hai Bodong bore that title partly because of his Dou Huang strength, and partly because of the cultivation technique he practiced.

A single step ahead, and every step thereafter would be ahead as well.

A technique too low in rank would, as Ling Ying had said, be nothing but a waste of talent.

As for Hai Bodong’s Ice Emperor Scripture, it was absolutely sufficient for Chen Xiao in the early stages.

There was another important reason as well: he knew where Hai Bodong was. As long as the subsequent conditions were not too difficult, it was worth spending a little extra time for this.

[Ice Emperor Scripture: Earth Rank high-grade technique, available for advance claim.]

[Subsequent requirements for advance claim: Become Hai Bodong’s disciple, join the Miteer Family under his witness, or resolve the seal within his body. Complete one of the three.]

[Current number of advance claims available: One.]

[Advance claim?]

“As expected of an angel investor. There are actually three options. Advance claim it.”

After a brief consideration, Chen Xiao decided without hesitation.

All three of those later conditions were within an acceptable range.

Compared with the others, breaking that seal was undoubtedly the hardest. But with the first two options as backup, Chen Xiao would have plenty of room to maneuver.

The familiar sensation of infusion came, and Chen Xiao eagerly examined the result.

He had not seen many techniques, but with his limited perspective, this Ice Emperor Scripture was indeed not bad.

After studying it for a while, until he had firmly memorized the circulation route, Chen Xiao finally began to cultivate in earnest.

The first conversion of battle qi would not take very long. Thus, only two hours later, Chen Xiao, seated cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes.

At the same time, the milky-white battle qi circulating within him had completely transformed into brilliant ice-blue!

Extending his palm, Chen Xiao’s mind moved, and the battle qi vortex within him, now wholly turned ice-blue, swiftly sent forth a stream of battle qi, which finally settled into the acupoint in his palm.

“So what if it is an ice affinity? At the very least, it looks truly beautiful!”