Chapter 136 - 104: Ice Age 2
Chapter 136: Chapter 104: Ice Age 2
This kind of risky business was exactly what he was for.
"It’s all up to you now."
"No problem, Main Body. Just watch me," Lin Kong said confidently, patting his chest.
Lin Yu took a set of clothes from his personal storage space and gave them to Lin Kong. After putting them on, Lin Kong walked straight toward the ice-blue World Vein Branch.
His hand passed right through the ice-blue branch upon contact. He then stepped forward, and his entire body merged into it.
In the next moment, Lin Kong appeared in a world of ice and snow, which faintly reflected the starlight from the sky.
"Damn, why is it so cold?"
A light breeze was enough to send a bone-chilling cold seeping into Lin Kong’s body.
Lin Kong quickly released the energy within his body, forming a Spiritual Shield around himself to block the encroaching chill.
Once he was protected, he finally looked around.
He was in a place resembling a valley, surrounded by a ring of ice mountains with a flat sheet of ice in the center.
His position was almost exactly in the center of the valley. Behind him, a large, ice-blue tree stood on the ice, swaying gently in the breeze.
This great Ice Crystal Tree was the form the World Tree’s World Vein Branch had taken in this world. Its roots plunged deep through the ice and into the soil far beneath.
Among these long roots, the thickest one was different. It didn’t extend far into the soil before vanishing, having broken through space and into the void, just like the World Vein Branch on the World Tree’s side.
It was the Ice Crystal Tree’s main root, the extension of the World Tree’s World Vein Branch in this world. After arriving here, it appeared in the soil and grew into this Ice Crystal Tree.
The Ice Crystal Tree was, in effect, an avatar of the World Tree in this world, possessing some of the World Tree’s characteristics. As long as it grew successfully here, it could gradually incorporate this world into the World Tree’s domain, making it a part of the World Tree itself.
It could also be used to return directly to the World Tree Territory, provided, of course, one had the proper authorization to enter.
Lin Kong patrolled the valley but found no exit. He used Magic to create two sharp pickaxes (made of plants) in his hands and climbed one of the surrounding mountains.
"Whoa, it’s even colder up here."
Standing atop the mountain, Lin Kong saw only a vast snowfield. This snowfield was at the same elevation as the so-called mountain, meaning the valley Lin Kong had been in was more like a deep pit in the middle of a plain.
The snowfield was a vast expanse of white, with not a single living creature in sight. Only the cold wind blew, kicking up flurries of snow and ice shards.
With only the starlight to see by, the distance was murky. He could only make out some huge, dark shadows that looked like mountain peaks.
’What a desolate place,’ Lin Kong thought. ’I wonder where the World Tree found this world. There don’t seem to be any living things. Did we waste a World Vein Branch on this?’
Lin Kong walked a full circle around the deep pit but found nothing of value. All he could see was ice and snow.
Having found nothing, Lin Kong returned to the World Tree’s side through the Ice Crystal Tree.
Before he could speak, Lin Yu reabsorbed him. ’Why listen to a report when you can experience the memories directly?’
-----------------
Early the next morning, atop the crown of the World Tree, Yuan Xiaobo, Niu Armor, Mirus, Lin Yan, Rose, and Lin Kong—the legendary exploration team that had made a name for themselves back in March—were gathered once again.
Also present were Lin Yu, Lin Chenxi, Meiying, Xia Luo, and other high-ranking members of the territory.
Everyone was chatting amongst themselves, occasionally glancing down from the tree as if waiting for something.
"Hey everyone, good to see you all again!" Lin Kong greeted his team members cheerfully.
"By the way, where are the other four?" He circled the group a few times, confirming no one was hiding invisibly, before asking curiously.
"They have other assignments. It’s just us this time. The Lord said our strength is more than enough," Yuan Xiaobo replied. Although he had been promoted to a Fabled Tier hero and was now considered part of the territory’s upper echelon...
...he still didn’t know much about Lin Kong. He only knew that Lin Kong was very close to the Lord, was extremely mysterious, and was often nowhere to be found, only to suddenly appear in the territory when he was needed.
Therefore, he held Lin Kong in high regard.
"Hahaha, that’s right! Among the few of us, aside from me who’s still just a Middle-tier Druid and barely counts as an Excellent Tier hero (I need to upgrade to Senior-tier Druid; right now I’m considered White+ Tier), everyone else is at least Legendary. Captain Yuan and Rose are both Fabled Tier. Our strength is definitely more than enough."
(Rose used a free slot at the Hero Altar to become a hero, but her tier was lowered from Epic to Fabled.)
"Forget the others, how did you know I’m Legendary Tier now?" Mirus asked curiously. "I was planning to give you all a surprise!"
"Hahaha, that’s a secret." ’As the Lord’s doppelganger, how hard could it be for me to find out information about the territory?’
"Oh yeah, Lin Kong, where have you been for the past two months?" Lin Yan asked curiously.
"Sigh... I was studying at the Jade Sanctuary. How else could I have been promoted from a Junior-tier to a Middle-tier Druid?"
"That can’t be right. I go to the Jade Sanctuary all the time. How come I’ve never seen you there?"
"That’s because I have special privileges, of course. I’m a relative of the Lord, you know. Isn’t it perfectly normal for me to get one-on-one tutoring?" Lin Kong said with a laugh, but his smile held a trace of lingering fear.
His initial studies at the Jade Sanctuary had been incredibly grueling. It was truly a time he’d rather not look back on.
In order to fast-track his promotion to Senior-tier Druid, Lin Yu had arranged a private classroom for Lin Kong in the Jade Sanctuary’s main instructional building.
He had a dedicated teacher for one-on-one tutoring every single day, and he even ate and slept in that classroom.
After a month of this miserable, sunless studying, Lin Yu reabsorbed Lin Kong.
As a result, Lin Yu almost developed a severe aversion to studying—the kind that makes you want to vomit at the mere sight of a textbook.
After that incident, Lin Kong’s academic life finally returned to normal.
Every day, when Lin Yu went to the Jade Sanctuary to study, he would create Lin Kong. Lin Kong would then head to the secret classroom to study while Lin Yu attended the public classes.
At noon, after lunch, Lin Yu would go to the arena to practice his skills and familiarize himself with his Magic.
In the evening, after returning from the arena, Lin Yu would reabsorb Lin Kong before doing anything else.
If it weren’t for the changes in the World Vein Branches, Lin Kong would probably still be studying in his exclusive classroom right now.
"Wow, Lin Kong, is your talent really that amazing? I heard from my instructors that it normally takes several years to go from a Junior-tier to a Middle-tier Druid. And to get from Middle-tier to Senior-tier, they say it takes over a decade of study and practice."
"Haha, I guess I’m just decent!"
Lin Kong’s (or rather, Lin Yu’s) talent was indeed quite good, perhaps due to his connection with the World Tree. Of course, another reason was that the doppelganger and the main body were studying simultaneously, putting in double the time and double the effort.
...
While Lin Kong was catching up with his team members, Lin Yu and the other leaders of the territory were discussing the issue of the Otherworld.
"My Lord, is that world really covered entirely in ice and snow?" Lin Chenxi asked with some curiosity. Having lived in the territory since birth, she had never seen a world frozen over by heavy snow.
"So far, it seems that way."
"How magical! It must be so beautiful!" Lin Chenxi said with a look of longing.
"It’s beautiful when you first see it, but that feeling wears off after a while," Lin Yu said, pouring cold water on her excitement.
Lin Chenxi didn’t seem to mind and continued her questioning. "My Lord, is there no life in that world?"
"We haven’t discovered any life yet, but we cannot rule out the possibility that it exists."
"Life, as you know, is incredibly tenacious."
"We don’t know if that world has always been a land of ice and snow or if some cataclysm occurred, but since the World Tree chose it, there must be something of value there."
Lin Yu said with absolute certainty.
As time went on, Lin Yu’s connection with the World Tree grew stronger. He could now faintly perceive some of the World Tree’s own senses.
He could sense that something in that world of ice and snow was attracting the World Tree.
"Master, is sending just one exploration team really enough? Why don’t we send a few more?" Meiying said worriedly from the side.
"It’s fine. Captain Yuan’s team is very strong. If we wanted to put together another team of comparable strength in the territory, it would probably have to be you and Chenxi teaming up."
"Don’t worry. I’m confident they can complete the mission," Lin Yu said reassuringly.
"But, Lin Kong..." Meiying hesitated, glancing over at Lin Kong catching up with the others.
"Hahaha, so you were worried about Lin Kong. It’s fine, don’t worry about him. He has his own ways of staying alive."
’Worst case, he just dies and comes back. What’s there to be afraid of?’
...