The mountain's mouth opened into a vast, snowy plain. It was a skating ground of white, the snow seeming to flow upward against the cliffs. Gen landed on the icy ground. The cold was a blade sliding between his ribs, filling his veins with a deep, aching frost. "It is really cold here," he said, the words puffing white in the air.
Lorel breathed out a cloud. "I never knew such a place existed beyond the Four Kingdoms."
Buqu clapped his heavy hands together. The sound echoed sharply. He too exhaled a plume. He took a first step forward, the snow crunching under his boot. "According to Bax, this place was the testing ground for those who dared trespass in the Winter Monarch's domain." He turned his head, his gaze a physical weight on Gen. "If you really believe you can take down the Damocles, Gen Jiang, then reach the other end of this path before I do. I will not use any Qi. Only the sheer strength of my body and will."
The words hung in the air, colder than the wind.
Liang stepped forward. "Your blood will freeze to ice if you do not use Qi to protect yourself. This place is strange."
Lorel nodded, her eyes scanning the desolation. "That word, 'Monarch,' should not mean anything good. Who was that?"
Chubbs was already shivering behind them, his arms wrapped tight. "You guys better hurry up…"
Bax smiled, looking at the determined set of Gen's jaw. "The Winter Monarch was a milky beast said to have evolved to the Old Stage in the past, but he disappeared long ago. However, this place was said to be the resting ground of his final battle. Where his sheer will had been sealed." His smile faded. "Even I will not dare to step on this path without protecting myself with my Qi. You all should do the same. We will take the detour. Only Gen and Buqu can go."
Lorel shook her head. "No. I too would like to test myself."
Liang bailed his fist. "We did not come to be sidelined. We are here with Gen in this."
Chubbs hugged himself tighter. "My lady, I know how important it is for you, but I will take the detour with Bax. Just to check if there are no traps and enemies around."
Bax glanced at the stout boy with interest. "You are a smart guy." The duo ascended into the grey sky and veered off towards a sheltered pass along the cliff.
Gen glanced ahead. Buqu was already a few paces out, his figure a dark smudge against the endless white. Snow caked his shoulders and hair, his robe frozen stiff. Yet he moved without care, as if he were a sword cutting through a storm.
Gen bailed his fist, looking at his friends. "Let us go and show him what we are made of."
They all said, "Let us do it."
They took their first step forward and without releasing their Qi.
Gen's body locked. He tried to lift his leg and found he could not. The mere second he had waited sealed his left foot in a thick casing of clear ice. He was not the only one. Lorel's entire left arm turned bone-white to the elbow. Liang stood completely unable to lift his other leg from the ground.
Gen stared at the scene. He would never let Buqu tell him he was weak. He forced himself forward. A sharp crack split the air as the ice around his foot shattered. He took a single, grinding step. The cold slammed into him then, a focused blizzard that existed for him alone. He bit his lip, and the skin of his mouth froze together.
Far ahead, already disappearing into the snow, Buqu's voice called back. "Hurry up, Gen Jiang. Do not be a disgrace to that man."
Gen bailed his fist. He forced himself forward again. His balance failed. He fell forward, his hand landing on the white surface. The realization hit him. Without his Jingdao, without his Wheels, he could not even take a single step forward.
Lorel and Liang were even further behind, unable to take a single step forward. It was not just about the cold. In this place, the will of the Winter Monarch held them down. It had been set to trap, to block, to remind them: this was his tomb, and they would be sealed in it.
Far ahead, Buqu had already crossed more than half the plain. He had started to slow. He glanced ahead at the winter storm, a smile on his face. Without his Qi, he knew this thing could harm him, but that did not seem to count. All his life he had spent destroying worlds under the weight of the Damocles. Buqu had never met anything that gave him a tilt in his heart. It was not love. It was not affection. It was not combat lust. It was something else. That smile on Jiang's face as he faced the Damocles was something Buqu longed for—to finally let his forged destiny bloom. He bailed his fist, looking past his shoulder into the white. *Do not disappoint me, little boy. I dare you not to.*
Far behind, Liang called out, his voice thin. "I think we might not be able to do it, Gen." He bailed his fist in frustration.
Lorel said nothing, but her expression said the same thing.
Gen slammed his fist onto the icy surface. His anger was as cold as the wind striking his body. *He is trying to break us. To break me.* Gen laughed, the sound angry. He rose slowly from his knee, one leg then the other, and took another step. Traces of blood appeared on his skin where the wind turned cutting.
He smiled, cracking the frost on his lips. "My father held the weight of a Damocles. Can I really call myself Gen Jiang if I rock back now from some cold winds? We have grown to this point by defying death again and again. Today, we shall do the same."
*Crack.*
The ice around Lorel's foot broke as she took another step.
*Crack.*
Liang shattered the ice sealing his arm and moved forward.
Driven by will, they moved. One step after the other. It was as Gen had said. It was not just about mimicking the Immortal Jiang. It was about the path they had chosen to walk. Would they really break now that things got hard? Revert to the old easy way? Take the detour with Bax and the others?
The answer was a collective *no* in their minds. The will forged by staring death in the eyes so many times said no. Liang bailed his fist. The strength of the Miracle Fire he obtained was not gained by treading the easy path. Lorel bit her lip. The strength of the Supremacy Sword was not born from luck, but from her own faith. Despite the protest of their bodies, they kept moving.
Gen kept moving forward. By now, he could not see Lorel or Liang in the snow. Either they had been left far behind, or they had moved past him. He had no idea. But he was sure about one thing: he would cross this winter desert.
As he kept moving, a flash passed his eyes, showing a cave. He blinked, and it was gone. A few seconds later, as he took another step, he saw another flash: a group of three people, two males and a female in a cave. The female had a slightly bulging stomach.
*What is this?* Gen frowned, clearing the frost from his lashes. Still nothing. It was just a vague echo. He kept moving.
Gen took another step, and this time it was a voice on the wind. *"I will take good care. Do not bother."*
Gen shook his head. It felt like the cold was talking. Or maybe he was so tired he was hearing things. He told himself that. His skin was completely white, his hair frozen in place. He could vaguely see the end of something, but he did not know if it was the path's end.
The wind turned humanoid. The winter winds moved around Gen like old ghosts, whispering shapes of ice and mist. Gen bailed his fist, wanting to push through them, but his muscles were frozen. His Jingdao was rigid. Even if he wanted to use his Qi now, it would be impossible. The only thing he had was his will.
The ghostly winters were low infant milky beasts. They hovered around, murmuring.
*Give up…*
*Go back.*
*Turn back.*
Gen shook his head. "Leave me alone."
*Give up,* the voice repeated.
*To bring you to life was their demise,* the voice repeated.
Gen bit his lips. He managed a weak wave of his arm. He stumbled forward and fell onto all fours. His hands and legs froze in place instantly. The ice crept up his limbs, tracing over his back, his neck, turning him into a kneeling ice sculpture in the heart of the Winter Monarch's will.