"But you don't have Great Ice Physique, You have a dormant Heavenly Ice Physique which is still awakening." the gentle and calm words were akin to a thunderclap in her ears as her footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
"What did you say?!" her aura instantly erupted, as she asked with her eyes wide open.
Sheng Tian stopped walking and shook his head. Ever since he entered the Sect, the one thing he did without fail was to know everything he could. As they say, knowledge is power.
The most shocking thing he discovered was that the Ice Goddess of the Sect was the most isolated, yet most talent person. She was fated to die.
There were rumours that she was going to be used as a cauldron once she reaches the age of 18—two more years from now.
However, the only ones who had a better idea on this were the Elders and upper echelons of the Inner Disciples.
Her Great Ice Physique bestowed her a great affinity with the Dao of Ice, thus increasing her cultivation speed and talent tremendously. However this also became her curse.
As she reaches the age of 18, the Ice profound energy in her body will go out of control. Slowly, it will start freezing her blood, organs and the air itself!
In the span of an year, she would be become a true Ice Sculpture!
This is the fate of the owners of Great Ice Physique—there was only one exception—The Ice Empress who broke through the OverLord Realm before 19 and defied fate!
"Heavenly Ice Physique?"she arrived in front of him, just one step away.
At the proximity, Sheng Tian could feel her rapid breath, and a fear of disappointment in her tone.
He lowered his gaze to meet hers, "Yes. Your Heavenly Ice Physique is still awakening. The people in this realm have no idea about it. It is not strange that they mistook it for something similar.
You should have sensed the changes, no? Didn't your cultivation speed become faster in the past few days?" he said.
"True. So, is it better or worse than Great Ice Physique?" her first question about her own physique surprised him.
He had a look of surprise, and pointed to himself "I might have lied. Why do you even trust me?"
Unexpectedly, she shook her head "I know you aren't lying. I don't want to know how you know this. Because, you are.....different."
Sheng Tian didn't pursue the topic, instead turned to stare at the setting sun with a complicated expression "It's good and bad."
"Huh?" she raised her eyebrow.
"Great Ice Physique kills by freezing your body. Heavenly Ice Physique kills your emotions." he sighed in melancholy, gazing at her soul stirring icy blue pupils.
A look of shock appeared in her eyes as her breath stopped for a moment.
As if he didn't notice it, he continued "You still need to become an OverLord by 19. Only instead of Peak OverLord required by Great Ice Physique, you only need to enter the Overlord Realm." in the end, a trace of sorrow appeared on his perfect face.
You can kill a person, you shouldn'tkill their emotions.
A person without emotions is no different from a machine. Even the greatest of people are driven by something related to their emotions—happiness, satisfaction, fear.
If you can't feel anything about anyone or anything or even about yourself, then such a life is no different than death, in fact it is far more terrifying!
Just when he thought that she would react violently by denying the truth, her reaction astounded him to no end.
She laughed lightly, her cold voice was the sweetest at that moment carrying the carefreeness of a young woman "I have to fight no matter what. If this is my fate, then I shall fight it."
Looking at her determination in the adversities, Sheng Tian had a trace of admiration from the depth of his heart.
Till now, he only pursued her because of the "Ice Goddess" and "Cold Beauty" she is, but at this moment, he truly wanted to know her more as a person, not as a character he read from the novels.
With a dazzling smile, he nodded "Exactly. You can overthrow fate. Fate only shackles the weak. If you are strong and determined enough, you can rewrite your own fate."
Leng Yue Yan looked at his clear and honest eyes, and suddenly felt a bit of peace to have him with her.
She didn't know what she felt in his company, but there was no doubt that it was better than solitude.
Nodding lightly, they walked down the path shoulder to shoulder, as the glimmering rays of sun reflected from the the holy ice.
Unknown to herself, her cold cherry lips curled up into a dazzling smile.
.... .... ......
Seeing her off, Sheng Tian returned to his humble and new core disciple residence. Well, the house next to Ice Goddess.
Thinking back to the icy blue eyes, Sheng Tian felt a weird feeling. He realised that he started treating her more and more like a real person, not as a cold beauty he read from the novels.
"So, she is really being plotted against?" a soft enticing voice sounded in his mind.
"Yeah. The moment they invited her, I knew something was wrong. This scene was too clichè that I almost guessed the whole story." Sheng Tian smiled and dropped on his customised bed, enjoying the comfort it.
"Leng Yue Yan is being plotted against by the core disciples, but the one actually targeting is their Masters and their target is Leng Yue Yan's master?"Xiao Lian rubbed her chin and pondered.
" A conspiracy for power?" she said.
"Yup." he smiled, "Think about it, Ice goddess is totally isolated and was never invited by anyone. Even during the Grand Auction when she was representing her sect, the core disciples with her were avoiding her. So, why would they suddenly invite her?
The best possible conspiracy would be for the Sect Master's position or may be even the Sect's Grand Elder. That Old Man is injured and dropped a realm, equal to the remaining Senior Elders. So, they should definitely use this if they want to seize power. It should start with killing the Sect Master candidate, Wushang.
My guess is they invited Leng Yue Yan to provoke her and make them fall into a trap, most likely they're planning to kill her in the Frozen Hell. This would lead to Wushang going mad and giving those Old Fellows a good reason to end her. After all, they still want to appear righteous. Stupid Bastards." he finished.
"Not like you are gonna plan to let them do as they wish, right?" she chuckled.
"Haha. You know me well, Xiao." he rubbed the back of his head, an embarrassed smile formed on his face.
Suddenly, his expression turned solemn "Are you sure that she will lose her emotions?"
Followed by a deep sigh, Xiao Lian said calmly "Yeah. In the Ancestral grounds, her physique was dormant. So, I couldn't detect it. But now, I am certain that it is the Heavenly Ice Physique.
Legend has it that the owners of this physique are the strongest Ice Masters. On the downside, they lose their emotions."
"No way to stop it?" Sheng Tian recalled Leng Yue Yan's beautiful laughter and prayed for a hope.
Though he found no benefit in helping her, he just wanted to follow his heart and do it.
"There is one possible way. If she feels a strong and deep emotion towards someone, to the point that it becomes greater than her everything, she can have her emotions." Xiao Lian sighed at her own words, for they seemed impossible.
"Strong and deep emotion?" Sheng Tian was puzzled. Then, realising something, he widened his eyes "You mean..."
"Yes." Xiao nodded, "The Strongest emotion a person can have is Love. The deeper is is, the greater the impact of it on the person's heart and soul. There are even legends of how people had breakthroughs in Soul Cultivation after realising the truths of feelings.
But the condition for her is too harsh. She has to love someone, more than everything else, more than even herself. It's just too hard to achieve that level of feelings, more so for her who is innately cold and has a Heavenly Ice Physique."
"There is no other way." Sheng Tian sighed as he walked into his courtyard.
Looking at the snow blue roses in the garden, he shook his head and tried to cheer up. But his mind start of a terrifying possibility. Slowly, he asked with some traces of fear "Did she?"
"Yes." she answered. "She is already losing her emotions. At the same time, she will becomecolder and more indifferent. Fate is truly cruel. Every day passed is a day lost." she sounded regretful.
Despite knowing that Sheng Tian was interested in her, Xiao Lian didn't oppose him. It's not that she wanted him to do this, but she valued his choice. She also knew that in a world where polygamy is a common practice and a young man from Earth coming to this world, it is to expected if he chooses to have multiple wives.
Having experienced death at its closest quarters, she realised that there are many things in life that don't really matter. Only some important things stay with us.
She wanted to live with him, forever. She loved him. Even is she felt jealous, she would not obstruct his happiness. The one thing which gave her the confidence she needed to make that decision is the man himself. Sheng Tian never showed any less care for her. He always treated her better.
"I can still help her. Thank you Xiao. If not for you.." he was cut off by a cold humph, "Hey, why are you thanking me? I'm not done with you pursuing another woman in front of me yet! Hurry up and serve me for a month to beg forgiveness."she chided.
"Yup.Yup." he nodded with an honest face, face full of flattering smiles.