Chapter 230 | The Frost-Moon Token and the Champion’s Night

Chapter 230: 230 | The Frost-Moon Token and the Champion’s Night

With Elder Mo burned to ash in the sky and Commander Xue cut down in a single blow on the northern walkway, the remaining Blood-Bone Demonic Cult killers inside the sealed pit lost all will to fight.

Within the span of a single cup of tea, the last two Core Formation demonic commanders were slain beneath the joint siege of Grand Elder Jin, Elder Liu, and Elder Su, while Instructor Qing and the deacons of the host sect swept the lower walkways clean of every last executioner.

By early afternoon, the azure-silver barrier of the Nine-Pillar Sky-Lock Array finally lifted, and the heavy smell of smoke was carried away by the mountain breeze.

In the cleared central pit around Stage One, the elders, instructors, and surviving representatives of the eleven righteous northern sects gathered before the high magistrate platform.

Standing at the center of the platform with his white robes stained with specks of demonic blood, Grand Elder Jin of the Sky-Pillar Sword Sect looked out over the assembled delegations and spoke in a voice amplified to reach every corner of Sky-Pillar City:

"By joint decree of the Northern Sect Council: the Black-Sun Sect colluded with the Blood-Bone Demonic Cult to plant blood-sacrifice and murder the eleven righteous delegations. From this hour forth, the Black-Sun Sect’s is erased from the northern territory.

A fierce roar of approval echoed from the surrounding galleries.

Grand Elder Jin turned his gaze toward the eastern side of the pit, where Elder Liu, Elder Bai, Instructor Qing, and Lin Tian stood at the head of the Crimson Nimbus Sect delegation.

"Furthermore," Grand Elder Jin announced, inclining his head in genuine respect toward Elder Liu and Lin Tian, "because the Crimson Nimbus Sect not only won the Grand Final of the Regional Tournament fairly in the ring, but also saw through the demonic cultivatore plan in advance, all three disputed southern spirit-stone veins—along with sixty percent of the Black-Sun Sect’s border territories and war reparations—are hereby awarded permanently to the Crimson Nimbus Sect!"

Behind Elder Liu, Gao Chen, Zhou Kai, Fang Yu, and Chen Hao clenched their fists in overwhelming excitement, their faces glowing with pride. Winning three entire spirit-stone veins and more than half of their rival sect’s territory in a single trip was a triumph unprecedented in the Crimson Nimbus Sect’s history!

Two sword deacons stepped forward carrying a heavy carved jade coffer and presented it directly to Lin Tian.

Inside the Champion’s Coffer rested ten thousand middle-grade spirit stones, the golden guest medallion of the Sky-Pillar Sword Sect, and a fist-sized piece of glowing, golden-red Tier-3 Peak-Grade Sun-Marrow Crystal—a priceless heavenly material capable of elevating a Tier-3 weapon or defensive treasure to the very threshold of Tier-4!

As Lin Tian stored the coffer into his ring, Jian Wuchen—whose pale complexion had stabilized after taking a recovery pill—walked over from the host sect’s ranks and cupped his fists deeply toward Lin Tian.

"Before the ambush, I thought I lost to Junior Brother Lin by half a move," Jian Wuchen said with a wry, honest smile, glancing toward where Commander Xue had been turned to ash. "After seeing that, I realized Junior Brother Lin was still holding back his edge in the ring. Next time I visit the Crimson Nimbus Sect, I will ask for another pointer."

"Senior Brother Jian is welcome anytime," Lin Tian replied with a calm nod.

Half an hour later, Elder Liu and the disciples walked slightly ahead toward the waiting carriages.

Just as Lin Tian passed beneath the quiet shadow of the third stone archway overlooking the city’s dragon pillars, a soft, crisp footstep sounded beside the marble rail.

Su Ling stood alone beneath the arch, the afternoon sunlight glinting off the frost-wrapped scabbard at her waist and her pale-blue silk robes.

Seeing Lin Tian pause, the cold number-one genius of Frost-Moon Valley stepped away from the pillar and walked up until she stood three paces in front of him.

Up close, her features looked as exquisite as carved snow-jade—yet when her clear, dark-blue eyes met Lin Tian’s gaze, there was none of the icy indifference she showed to every other man in the sects.

"On the way earlier, I didn’t get to thank you properly," Su Ling said, her voice soft and clear in the quiet colonnade. "If you hadn’t pulled me back and blocked Commander Xue’s move, my life would have been in danger."

"You opened the gap for my second strike with your Glacial Lotus," Lin Tian said calmly. "We settled that account on the spot."

Su Ling’s long eyelashes lowered slightly. Her pale fingers brushed unconsciously over her own right wrist—and then lingered for a second.

"There is another matter," Su Ling murmured, a faint, delicate trace of pink rising to her snow-white cheeks as she looked back up at him. "My constitution is Extreme Frost-Yin. Every time I force out the Absolute Zero Glacial Lotus, the cold recoil leaves frost-needles inside my meridians for three days."

She held his gaze quietly.

"Today... when you held my waist and when your spiritual Qi brushed past my back before you struck Commander Xue... the frost in my meridian vanished completely, and my Dantian felt smoother than it has in three years."

Lin Tian looked at her with a faint, knowing curve at the corner of his mouth.

To someone cultivating pure Extreme Frost-Yin, his Primordial Yang was not merely a cure—it was the one natural counterpart in the world that could allow her ice arts to reach perfection without freezing her own meridian pathways.

Reaching into her pale-blue silk sleeve, Su Ling drew out a palm-sized, crescent-shaped token carved from translucent white frost-jade, etched with a delicate silver moon and a single plum blossom.

She held it out toward him with both hands.

Still warm from being kept close to her body, the jade token carried a faint, clean fragrance of snow-lotus.

"This is my personal Frost-Moon Inner Valley Token," Su Ling said softly, her eyes remaining steady on his face. "Frost-Moon Valley does not normally permit male cultivators past the outer mountain gates. However, Elder Su and I owe you a life debt today. If you ever travel toward the northern snow peaks—or if you ever wish to trade refining materials with our valley—present this token at the gate, and I will come out to meet you myself."

Lin Tian reached out and took the warm crescent jade token from her hands, his calloused fingertips brushing lightly against her cool palm as he accepted it.

Su Ling’s fingers gave a tiny, involuntary tremble at the contact, though she did not pull back quickly.

"I’ll keep it safe, Sister Su," Lin Tian said with a calm smile, slipping the token into his spatial ring. "When I have time to visit the northern peaks, I won’t let it gather dust."

Su Ling gave a quiet, graceful nod, took one last lingering look at him, and turned to walk down the colonnade steps toward the Frost-Moon Valley carriage.

After a lively victory banquet in the main hall where Gao Chen, Zhou Kai, Fang Yu, and Chen Hao toasted Lin Tian and the Elders until midnight, the courtyard gradually fell quiet. Tomorrow morning at dawn, the repaired Flying Spiritual Ship would lift anchor to carry the triumphant delegation home to the Crimson Nimbus Sect.

Walking slowly up the quiet stone path beneath the red maple trees toward the upper residences, Lin Tian found Elder Liu waiting for him beneath the arched bridge beside the Eastern Private Pavilion.

Dressed in a soft emerald night-robe, her mature face glowing with pride and deep affection under the lantern light, Elder Liu stepped close and pressed a sealed golden boundary deed into his palm, letting her fingers curl warmly around his hand.

"The Sect delivered the formal deeds to the three southern spirit-stone veins an hour ago," Elder Liu whispered, leaning up to press a soft, lingering kiss against the corner of his jaw. "Back at the sect, the Sect Master and the Grand Elders are going to lose their minds when they hear what you did in Sky-Pillar City."

Her dark eyes shimmered with absolute devotion as she brushed her thumb across his knuckles.

"Tonight, Bai-er and I have to finalize the spirit-ship manifests before dawn," Elder Liu murmured against his ear, her breath warm and sweet. "Tomorrow night, once our ship is back inside the northern cloud sea... my main cabin is yours until we reach the mountain gates."

[Target 4 (Elder Liu) Obsession Level: 96% → 97% (Boundless Pride & Deepening Devotion in Her Sovereign)]

Lin Tian smiled, squeezing her waist gently before watching her return up the eastern steps.

Turning back toward his secluded side chamber, however, Lin Tian paused at the fork in the stone walkway.

Lin Tian’s golden eyes darkened with a faint, knowing warmth.

Instead of turning into his side chamber, he walked silently up the western stone path, pushed the unlatched courtyard gate open, and stepped into the inner hall of the Western Private Pavilion.

Inside the lamp-lit room, Instructor Qing stood beside the wide meditation couch.

She had already taken off her clothes. Dressed only in a loose, thin crimson silk robe tied lightly at the waist, her long black hair hung unbound and damp from a fresh bath all the way down to her hips.

When the wooden door clicked shut behind Lin Tian and the isolation array hummed to life, Qing turned around slowly.

Her cheeks were flushed a deep, breathtaking rose from her neck to the tips of her ears, and her dark eyes shimmered with shyness—yet this time, she did not retreat, nor did she make up a single excuse.

With her heart hammering wildly against her ribs, Qing raised her trembling hands, rested her palms flat against the front of Lin Tian’s dark robe, and looked up into his eyes.

"Last night... you said the final five percent of the poison inside my core could only be removed after the tournament was over," Qing whispered, her voice soft, husky, and trembling with complete surrender as her fingers slowly reached for the sash at her own waist. "The tournament is over, Lin Tian... and tonight, there is no match waiting at dawn."

[Target 5 (Instructor Qing) Obsession Level: 58% → 62% (Complete Collapse of Defenses — Wholehearted Surrender to the Champion)]?