Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Watching from below as Ling Xiao postured and threatened the men, Song Mingyue nearly burst out laughing. Fortunately, she managed to control herself by remembering that everything Ling Xiao was doing was for her father. ’He’s just not cut out to be a villain!’ she thought. It was a good thing his sheer power had stunned this group of Adventurers. If they had possessed any real ability to fight back, they would have surely chosen to counterattack instead of compromise. After all, without any disguise, Ling Xiao looked far too young and handsome. His features weren’t the least bit fierce, making it impossible for anyone to feel afraid of him based on looks alone.

Little did she know, her thoughts were entirely colored by her close relationship with Ling Xiao. Zhang Danian had clearly felt the killing intent Ling Xiao had just exuded. He didn’t doubt for a second that if he had shown the slightest hint of non-cooperation, this absurdly young man would have sliced the rope with one swing of his sword, sending his entire group plummeting. Even if the fall didn’t kill them, injuries were unavoidable. And facing a freakishly powerful man like that afterward? ’It would be a miracle if they got out of this unscathed!’

Zhang Danian, however, was a pragmatist. Once he realized the vast disparity in strength between them, he abandoned any lingering hope and spoke directly. "Ten years ago, when I was fifteen, I came here once with my father and met the people of the mysterious race living here in the Polar Ice Sea. It’s said they are remnants of an ancient people who have lived here for generations. Every single one of the Ice Sea Secret Clan People possesses great strength. They make a living by hunting the Magical Beasts in the icy seas and also raise a very strange type of Magical Beast they call the Ice Silkworm. The silk they spit is incredibly strong. A net woven from the silk of an ordinary Snow Silkworm can trap any Magical Beast below the fourth-tier, with no hope of escape. If you can get a net woven from the silk of an Ice Silkworm King, even fifth or sixth-tier Magical Beasts can’t break free!

"Back then, my father and his men traded for a Silk Net from the Ice Sea Secret Clan People. These people are fascinated by things from the mainland, so not only can you trade for their Silk Nets, but you can also get many Magic Beast Crystal Cores! However, they are extremely vigilant and don’t trust outsiders at all. At the time, they only spoke with my father; no one else could gain their trust. What’s more, those Silkworm Raisers are nomadic and hard to find. When my father passed away, he left me a map and a method for gaining their trust.

"My father has been gone for many years now, so I only came this time to try and re-establish trade with those Silkworm Raisers. I’ve told you everything. Sir, perhaps you could... fulfill your promise and let us go now?"

As Ling Xiao listened to Zhang Danian’s story, he was suddenly reminded of the Silk Net he had taken from Qin Jian and thrown to Ling Wu and the others. According to his brother Lingzhi, Qin Jian had acquired it himself. However, there might be more to the story. Based on what Zhang Danian said, it must be the very same net, because he remembered his brother confidently stating that the entire Bauhinia Clan possessed only one Silk Net!

Thinking of this, Ling Xiao smiled and patted Zhang Danian’s shoulder. "Alright," he said. "From now on, my friend and I are members of your team! Don’t worry, we have no interest in any Silk Net or Magic Beast Crystal Cores. We’re just curious about the Ice Sea Secret Clan People and want to see what’s going on. So don’t worry, we mean no harm!"

Faced with such an overbearing person, what could Zhang Danian say? He could only bite the bullet and accept it. In his heart, he could only pray, ’I can only pray that this young man is telling the truth!’

However, from another perspective, having Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue join them was a good thing. At the very least, the safety of their team was now greatly enhanced! The Polar Ice Sea was also home to countless powerful Magical Beasts. Although encounters were rare, running into just one would be more than a team like theirs could handle.

Thus, the naturally optimistic Zhang Danian consoled himself, ’Where else could I find two High-tier Martial Artist bodyguards for free?’

As for the other team members, how could they dare utter a single word of dissent? Furthermore, Song Mingyue’s goddess-like beauty had the men in the group staring, their eyes glued to her, secretly gulping as they watched her graceful figure.

Compared to Song Mingyue, the only other woman on their team was truly like a firefly trying to outshine the sun and moon.

Ling Xiao took the lead. Following Zhang Danian’s directions, he took the iron spikes and, without even needing a sledgehammer, simply drove them deep into the iron-hard ice with a forceful push. He didn’t even send up a fleck of ice... the spike was just sunk in!

At first, the sight made Zhang Danian’s scalp tingle. ’Is he even human?’ he thought. ’It takes me ages to hammer one of those in! If I didn’t know for myself how hard this ice is, I’d think he was sticking it into tofu!’

He felt more certain than ever that not starting a conflict with them was an incredibly wise decision!

In truth, Zhang Danian hadn’t been entirely honest. He had known how to contact the Ice Sea Secret Race all along! Indeed, this had always been a secret held by him and his father. The Bauhinia Qin Family had failed to get it from his father back then, and they certainly weren’t going to get it from him now!

That was because Zhang Danian had long since broken away from the Qin Family’s sphere of influence. Even when he was being extorted for supplies this time, the other party had no idea that this handsome young man was the son of the man once nicknamed "Iron Hand Zhang"!

The people of the Ice Sea Secret Race weren’t just "strong"—they were exceptionally powerful! At the very least, detaining this man and woman would be no problem at all!

Zhang Danian thought to himself, ’Enjoy your moment of triumph for now. Once we find the people of the Ice Sea Secret Race, you’ll learn just how fragile you really are!’

Ling Xiao, however, seemed completely oblivious as he quickly set the iron spikes at intervals, increasing the team’s climbing speed by several times. When they reached the summit of the ice mountain, even Ling Xiao couldn’t help but let out a cry of admiration.

It was magnificent!

If seeing the colossal ice mountains shimmering like gold under the sun from below was a huge visual shock, then standing at this peak and looking back, the feeling of being at the absolute top of the world was a direct blow to the heart. Those with a weaker constitution might even feel a sense of dizziness!

The azure sky seemed within arm’s reach. Watching the white clouds drift swiftly past beneath their feet, their gaze could seemingly travel for thousands of miles over an endless expanse of white. At this moment, almost everyone couldn’t help but feel an urge to prostrate themselves in worship of nature’s mystery and power!

Perhaps only a god... could create such a masterpiece! Before it, humans were truly pathetically insignificant!

Then, turning around to look at the other side, they saw the other face of the ice mountain: a boundless ice plain! As far as the eye could see, there were only glaciers of all sizes, and between them, countless bottomless crevasses! These fissures varied in width, and if one were to fall in, who knew how long it would take to reach the bottom!

"After this ice plain, about a dozen miles or so, is the Polar Ice Sea!"

Zhang Danian stood beside Ling Xiao, explaining, "The Polar Ice Sea is filled with all sorts of powerful Magical Beasts. Most of the products from the Polar Ice Sea, which are in short supply in the mainland kingdoms, are obtained from there! However, there have been fewer and fewer in the past two years. The Adventurer’s Guilds that can safely arrive here are few and far between. Moreover, countless dangers lurk on this ice plain. Someone with your strength naturally has nothing to fear, but for people like us, those deep crevasses are our deadliest enemies!"

Ling Xiao gave a faint smile and said, "Now, take us to find those Silkworm Raisers. As I said, we’re not interested in anything else."

Zhang Danian inwardly cursed his luck, his face a mask of gloom. He thought that his father’s spirit had failed to bless him this time. He had originally planned to lure these two to the Polar Ice Sea; after all, people are curious, and if one spoke of secrets, the Polar Ice Sea held far more!

After all, Zhang Danian wasn’t certain he could get the Silkworm Raisers to deal with these two for him. If they caught on, with the skills this pair possessed, they could kill his entire team in an instant. If he could avoid a conflict, he would. Most importantly, he wanted to maintain a long-term cooperative relationship with the Ice Sea Secret Clan People and was terrified these two would ruin it!

The Ice Sea Secret Clan People were indeed extremely sensitive and wary. They were incredibly careful when dealing with people from the mainland. If they did anything that made them feel threatened, it would be almost impossible to ever gain their trust again!

Thus, Zhang Danian was deeply conflicted, wondering whether he should point out that these two were not with him when they met the Silkworm Raisers.

After some thought, Zhang Danian finally grit his teeth. He would just have to play it by ear when the time came. Fortune is found in danger. Having come all this way, there was no way he could give up. Besides, it seemed these two wouldn’t leave until they saw the Silkworm Raisers. In the worst-case scenario, he would just have to cut them in on the profits!

Having made his decision, Zhang Danian felt an unprecedented sense of relief. "Alright," he said. "Let’s go!"

At this point, Ling Xiao was beginning to appreciate this Zhang Danian more and more. He thought back to when he first arrived in this world, joining that Adventurer’s Guild when he was completely in the dark. Its leader, Wang Chao, whom he had saved, was far inferior to Zhang Danian in terms of decisiveness!

Moreover, it was clear that within this team, Zhang Danian’s word was law! No one would refute a decision he made!

Back then, although Ling Xiao understood the difficulties Wang Chao and his group faced, he still felt a bit disgruntled! No one likes to be looked down upon, even if, at the time, Ling Xiao had given them plenty of reason to do so.

Therefore, Ling Xiao secretly decided that if this trip went smoothly and Zhang Danian didn’t try to pull any tricks, he wouldn’t mind helping them succeed this one time!

After all, he had used the man as a guide, albeit through coercion.

Zhang Danian was indeed very familiar with the terrain here. Without looking at any map, he led the group for the better part of the day. Just as the last rays of the setting sun were about to be swallowed by darkness, they arrived at a hilly area formed by icebergs.

Then, he quickly found a very inconspicuous cave.

Zhang Danian lay down at the mouth of the cave, took a whistle from his pocket, and began to blow it with a strange frequency.