Chapter 219: Controlling Soul Power
Two and a half months later.
The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect—the bamboo forest on the back mountain.
Deep within the bamboo forest, in a small clearing, a figure clad in water-blue moved with lightning speed.
Shui Bing’er.
Today, she wore a form-fitting training outfit; the water-blue fabric was tailored to cling to her body, accentuating the budding curves of her youthful figure.
Her long, water-blue hair was gathered high and tied into a crisp, neat ponytail that traced graceful arcs behind her with every movement.
A few stray wisps of hair fell beside her ears, fluttering in the morning breeze to reveal a smooth, unblemished forehead.
Her speed was astonishing.
She wove through the bamboo grove like the wind; with every step she took, a thin layer of frost crystallized beneath her feet, shimmering with tiny glimmers in the morning light. These traces of frost left faint impressions on the bluestone ground, only to melt away and vanish moments later.
Her footwork was light and agile, as if she were gliding across a sheet of ice.
Suddenly, she came to a halt.
Her body froze instantly, as if she had been nailed to the ground.
She raised her right hand, her palm facing a thick bamboo stalk standing a short distance away.
The stalk was as thick as a rice bowl and stood a full three zhang tall; lush and vibrant, it swayed gently in the morning breeze.
Soul power surged!
The moisture in the air instantly condensed!
A beam of ice-blue light shot forth from the center of her palm!
Crack!
The bamboo stalk—as thick as a rice bowl—was instantly frozen solid, transformed into a massive icicle!
From root to tip, it was entirely crystalline and translucent; even its leaves were encased within the ice, preserving the exact postures they held the moment before they froze. The dewdrops clinging to the leaves had likewise solidified into tiny beads of ice, shimmering like diamonds in the sunlight.
Shui Bing’er lowered her hand and gazed at the frozen bamboo stalk, the corners of her lips curling upward ever so slightly.
Two and a half months of arduous training had finally paid off.
She thought to herself. However...
"Too slow."
A crisp voice rang out from behind her.
Shui Bing’er’s smile froze on her face.
She turned around.
The Ice Empress—at some point unknown to her—was already standing three meters behind her.
She still wore that petite, delicate appearance: clad in a short, emerald-green skirt, with twin ponytails cascading down her back, their tips tied with ribbons of the same hue. With her round face and large eyes, she looked just like a porcelain doll.
Yet, within those crystalline, golden eyes, there now flickered a hint of displeasure.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she gazed at Shui Bing’er with an expressionless face.
"From the moment of condensation to release, you took ten seconds."
The Ice Empress’s voice was soft, yet it carried an indisputable severity: "Ten seconds—that is enough time for a Power-type Soul Master to kill you twice over."
Shui Bing’er lowered her head and replied humbly, "Senior, your admonition is correct. However... I truly did my best..."
"Did your best?"
The Ice Empress cut her off, her voice tinged with the frustration of one who sees great potential but laments its failure to reach fruition: "On the battlefield, an enemy will not show you mercy simply because you ’did your best.’ Your objective is not merely to ’do your best,’ but to succeed!"
She walked up to stand directly in front of Shui Bing’er, tilting her head back to look up at her.
Although her stature reached only to Shui Bing’er’s chest, the sheer force of her presence compelled Shui Bing’er to involuntarily lower her head.
"Ice-attribute attacks demand two things: speed and ruthlessness."
The Ice Empress raised her hand, and a tiny ice crystal condensed at her fingertip.
The crystal was no larger than a grain of rice, yet it radiated a bone-chilling coldness that made the heart pound. It hovered above her fingertip, rotating slowly and emitting a faint, ethereal blue glow.
"Speed—that is to strike before your opponent has time to react."
Her voice flowed like a stream of glacial water: "Ruthlessness—that is to strike so decisively that your opponent is rendered utterly incapable of reacting."
With a gentle flick of her finger...
"Whoosh—!"
The tiny ice crystal shot forth—moving at a velocity so blindingly fast that the naked eye could not possibly track it!
There was no sound of rushing air, no visible trajectory.
Only a fleeting glint of icy light, gone in an instant.
"Thwack—!"
A soft, distinct sound.
Shui Bing’er turned her head to look at the bamboo stalk that had been encased in ice. Right in the very center of the bamboo stalk, a tiny hole appeared.
That hole was no larger than the tip of a needle, yet it pierced straight through the entire length of the bamboo!
And the bamboo stalk itself remained completely frozen—not even the faintest crack could be seen upon it!
Logically speaking, shouldn’t such a strike have shattered the bamboo into pieces?
Yet, against all odds, it remained perfectly intact.
It simply bore one additional, minuscule hole.
Shui Bing’er’s pupils contracted ever so slightly.
What kind of control was this?!
She had spent two and a half months practicing; every time she attempted to condense an ice-attribute attack, it would drain a massive amount of her Soul Power, and the results were invariably slow and imprecise.
Yet, with a mere casual flick of her hand, the Ice Emperor had achieved a feat of this magnitude!
The speed was too great for the naked eye to follow, and the power was so precise that it pierced through a single specific point without inflicting any damage to the surrounding structure.
Just how exquisite a level of control over Soul Power would such a feat require?
Observing the expression on her face, the Ice Emperor spoke in a calm, measured tone: "Your problem lies in the fact that your control over Soul Power is not yet refined enough. Every time you attempt to condense the ice element, you squander a vast amount of Soul Power on useless, inefficient processes."
She paused for a moment, then added: "Starting today, you will no longer practice combat techniques. Instead, you will focus on practicing the control of your Soul Power."
"Control... Soul Power?"
Shui Bing’er blinked in bewilderment.
Over the past two and a half months, the Ice Emperor had been teaching her combat and fighting techniques, as well as how to condense the ice element.
Every single day had consisted of high-intensity practical combat training—regimens so grueling that they left her entire body aching with fatigue.
And now, all of a sudden, she was being told to practice controlling her Soul Power?
The Ice Emperor offered no further explanation.
She walked over to a bamboo stalk and snapped off a slender branch.
The branch was no thicker than a pair of chopsticks and measured roughly a foot in length; it was adorned with several tender young leaves, glistening with a vibrant, lush green.
The Ice Emperor handed the branch to Shui Bing’er: "Use your ice element to freeze this bamboo branch."
She paused again, then added: "However, you must not harm the leaves."
Shui Bing’er accepted the branch, gazing down at the delicate, fragile leaves resting upon it, and felt a sudden pang of bitterness in her heart.
This... how could this possibly be done?
Once the ice element was unleashed, it would spread rapidly, engulfing the entire target.
To freeze the bamboo branch itself while leaving the leaves completely unharmed would require a level of Soul Power control so exquisitely precise that it bordered on the impossible! Right now, she simply couldn’t do it!
Observing the expression on her face, the Ice Emperor spoke coolly, "If you can’t do this, don’t even think about learning the next stage of the training."
Having said this, she turned and walked away.
With her hands clasped behind her back and taking small, measured steps, she vanished into the depths of the bamboo forest.
That retreating figure—no matter how one looked at it—resembled a little adult.
Shui Bing’er gazed at the bamboo twig in her hands and took a deep breath.
I can do this.
She thought to herself silently.
She sat down cross-legged and placed the bamboo twig directly in front of her.
Then, she began to attempt the task.
The first time.
Her Soul Power surged forth, instantly freezing the bamboo twig solid like an icicle.
The leaves, too, were encased in ice; under the immense pressure of the frozen layer, the fragile blades shattered, breaking into shards of ice that scattered across the ground.
Failure.
The second time.
She tried to regulate the output of her Soul Power, attempting to confine the layer of ice strictly to the surface of the bamboo twig. Yet, frost still crystallized upon the leaves; they grew rigid and brittle, shattering at the slightest touch.
Failure.
The third time.
She compressed her Soul Power to its absolute limit, allowing it to envelop only the stem of the bamboo twig. However, the resulting layer of ice was too thin to sustain itself and quickly melted away. The twig remained just a twig—utterly unchanged.
Failure.
The fourth time, the fifth time, the sixth time...
Shui Bing’er sat there, attempting the exercise over and over again.
She went through one bamboo twig after another.
Fine beads of sweat began to trickle down her forehead. The back of her training uniform became soaked with perspiration, clinging tightly to her body.
Yet, her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
For she realized that with each successive attempt, her control over her Soul Power was indeed improving.
She had progressed from a state of complete lack of control at the start to being able to barely sustain the effect for a few seconds now.
Although she was still far from meeting the Ice Emperor’s exacting standards, she could feel herself making progress.
Moreover, the fact that the Ice Emperor could perform such a feat was a testament to her profound cultivation and the accumulation of years of experience.
The mere fact that she was now slowly beginning to find her rhythm was, in itself, a remarkable achievement.
No rush; take it slow.
She told herself inwardly.
Someday, I, too, will be able to do this.
...
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