Chapter Four: Forging Power in the Ice Cave
After I grasped the dangers and uncertainties of my new world, I began studying the inherited memories of the Bloodline—memories I had never been shown—searching for ways to develop spirit beasts. At first glance, a spirit beast's long lifespan seems to imply greater strength. That's true to an extent, but it doesn't exempt one from passing through the natural stages of development.
The memories recalled that a spirit beast does not gain wisdom comparable to humans until after one hundred thousand years. And while human-level wisdom—or its equivalent—may only be achieved after a very long time, that doesn't automatically grant immediate technical knowledge. Despite my lack of experience, there were hints suggesting my development might be faster than expected—and that brought me some relief.
The training location matters just as much; if it suits your type, advancement will be quicker. Although the Bloodline's heritage speaks mainly of human masters, I believe the principle applies to spirit beasts as well. Fortunately, I didn't have to search far for a suitable site—I was in a vast icy cave, an ideal environment for my element.
Spirit beasts can also accelerate their growth by devouring natural treasures, but I'm not naive enough to swallow strange plants. The Bloodline memories mentioned that a spirit beast could make rapid leaps by consuming human masters with similar traits, but honestly, I had no desire to take that path.
Alongside studying the Bloodline memories, I continued meditating and immersing myself in energy-control training. I picked up a small shard of ice, spat on it, and spun it in my hand, moving it in different directions; of course I could lift larger objects, but I wasn't yet able to guide them along a precise trajectory by will.
With continuous practice of the Ice element, I noticed slight progress. Although I still didn't know the exact values of spiritual power by age across different cultivation methods, my length increased from six meters to six and a half.
After six weeks…
About a month and a half passed. During this time, the amount of spiritual energy in the Dragon Core expanded, and my height grew from 6.5 meters to 7.5 meters. Though the growth seemed minor, my level of control had clearly improved. Before, I could only move a single shard of ice; now, I could command six at once, guiding them with ease in different directions.
I also continued pushing energy along the meridians of my body, and their density and breadth had at least doubled. The energy channels in my claws developed significantly, allowing me to channel spiritual power into them and shape an icy claw larger and stronger than my physical one. Where before I could only leave shallow scratches on the ice, I could now carve grooves several centimeters deep. That alone was satisfying progress, especially considering this ice was saturated with energy accumulated over thousands of years or more.
As for my body, its size had nearly doubled over this month, growing from fifty centimeters to nearly one meter tall.
At last, I had a clearer sense of my current strength…
A month ago, I felt my spiritual power become transparent, as though it were on the verge of bursting. In three months, I anticipated being able to form a core pearl the size of a child's fist.
The nature of my power changed after breaking through the barrier—it became so subtle that, had I not deliberately measured its thickness, I would not have noticed it at all.
Afterward, I expanded the capacity of my Dragon Core, and in less than a year, I had reached a level equivalent to ten years of cultivation.
Of course, it was regrettable that this development—while astonishingly fast for a spirit beast—was still far slower than that of humans. Humans were weaker in raw power, but their training advanced at a much faster pace. Spirit beasts, on the other hand, grew painfully slowly, almost laughably so in their rate of progress. Yet, despite that, beasts remained far stronger than humans of the same realm.
I still had a second chance at life—a chance most would never be given.
About a month and a half passed, and during this time the amount of spiritual energy in my Dragon Core expanded, while my length increased from 6.5 meters to 7.5 meters. Though the growth was small, my control had clearly improved. Before, I could only move a single shard of ice, but now I could command six pieces at once and maneuver them with ease in different directions.
I also kept pushing energy through the meridians of my body, and their density and width had at least doubled. The energy channels in my claws had developed greatly, allowing me to channel my spiritual power into them and forge an icy claw larger and stronger than the physical one. Where before I could only leave faint scratches on the ice, now I could carve grooves several centimeters deep. That alone was a satisfying achievement, especially since this ice was saturated with energy accumulated over thousands of years or more.
As for my body, its size had nearly doubled over the month, my height growing from fifty centimeters to nearly a full meter.
Finally, I gained a clearer sense of my current strength…
A month ago, I had felt my spiritual power turning transparent, as if it were about to burst forth. In three months, I expected to be able to form a Core Pearl the size of a child's fist.
The nature of my power had changed after breaking through the barrier—it had become so subtle that, had I not deliberately tried to measure its thickness, I would not have noticed the breakthrough at all.
Afterward, I expanded the capacity of the Dragon Core, and in less than a year, I had reached a level equal to ten years of cultivation.
Of course, it was unfortunate that this progress—though astonishingly fast for a spirit beast—was still far slower than that of humans. Humans were weaker in strength, but their cultivation advanced far more quickly. Spirit beasts, on the other hand, progressed painfully slowly, sometimes even laughably so in their growth rate. Yet, despite that, beasts were still far stronger than humans of the same realm.
I still held a second chance at life—a chance most would never receive.
I also noticed something recently—no matter what I did, no matter how much energy I consumed, I never felt boredom. That was truly fortunate. Still, I wondered if, somewhere far down the line of my long life, I would eventually grow weary of everything.
I also managed to roughly gauge my mother's strength. When I reached the level equivalent to ten years of cultivation, I caught a glimpse of the color of the pearl near her Dragon Core. Its shade was black, streaked with crimson—proof that her age was no less than ninety thousand years.
Safety was no longer something to worry about; after all, only a Spirit King could even hope to contend with a ninety-thousand-year-old Ice Dragon.
While I was lost in memories and in my attempts at flight—because I had wings, and surely they served a purpose—I heard a cracking sound echoing from the depths of the cave. At once, I dashed toward the nest at full speed, just in time to witness the other egg beginning to hatch. My eyes shone with anticipation and joy. Throughout this entire time—amid my training and trials—I had never once forgotten to set aside energy to feed it with spiritual essence and external power.
Thanks to that, it was now hatching into a dragon brimming with vitality and complete strength.
And yet, during that final week of feeding her, something akin to empathy began to stir within me. I could sense her emotions—and most likely, she could feel mine as well. When I tried to convey love and joy, she answered back with a surge of warmth so overwhelming it nearly drowned me.
I was overjoyed when the other dragon was finally born, even if the bond between us wasn't exactly like that of siblings. Still, when I drew closer to my mother, I learned the truth—she was my cousin. I had been waiting eagerly for this moment, and at last, it had arrived.
As cracks spread across the egg, within five minutes its surface was covered completely. Then, suddenly, a small white head poked through, scales glistening and tiny horns protruding from behind. Moments later, Aislyn—my cousin—burst out swiftly, breaking apart the remaining shell before tumbling onto her back.
She was breathtakingly beautiful—her body cloaked in delicate white and blue scales, her wings already broad. If I looked like a small statue carved from ice, then Aislyn resembled a sculpture of flawless porcelain.
While I was still stunned by Aislyn's charm, she had already begun to eat her eggshell. Unlike me, who had needed guidance from my mother, Aislyn acted entirely on instinct, completing every step on her own.
Her name echoed within me: Aislyn Maro Drakon. Strange at first, yet so close to my mother's—Selena Lirath Drakon. Of course, my name in this life was Aison Lirath Drakon. Our names all carried the same resonance, a bond tied through blood and lineage.
What mattered most was this—she had finally hatched from her egg, already moving forward guided by pure instinct.
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