Bab 77: Frozen Hell

The Sect's plaza is bustling with the activities of the crowd. The disciples are moving in and out from the numerous stalls. Selecting, bargaining, comparing, purchase, and above all, excitement could be seen on all the faces.

Even the laziest of beings are training their asses off. The Sect grounds are completely occupied. No facility was left with vacancy. As it seemed, the whole disciple community was in full swing.

Baffled by the fellow disciples who seemed to be on steroids, Sheng Tian made his way to the Notice Board in the Plaza. After seeing the words in dark blue, he could decipher the reason. The announcement was:

"The adventure to the 'Frozen Hell' begins after a week. All the disciples could earn the right to enter by the trials. Even your luck might help you get a chance."

Teetering between anticipation and confusion, Sheng Tian soon reached out his hand to grab a disciple passing by.

"Gra...Grand daddy!" a voice filled with adulation and hysteria sounded out.

Sheng Tian's eyes narrowed at the unexpected luck of a certain someone.

However, he smiled and made a face of surprise and respect "Oh, If it's not for our Senior Brother Big Bull, seems like you are alive and kicking already! As expected of my Senior brother. You have such a thick skin."

Then something that went totally out of Sheng Tian's expectations happened.

*Thud* Without even bothering to consider the presence of the crowd, Big Bull immediately knelt on the ground and banged his head.

"Oh my Supreme Ancestor, I am only a mini-bull before you. Please tell me what to do. Should I tread through a forest of fires or a mountain of knives? Tell me, kind sir. Ask me to go East, I shall never dare go West."

'Fuck! This guy seems to develop Sheng phobia- The fear of Sheng Tian. Aii, but his words were somewhat true. After all, he called me Kind Sir. It seems like this world is not completely blind.' Sheng Tian thought.

"Ahem" he coughed lightly. Looking at the tall man who was above 6 and a half feet with a massive built, he smiled kindly "Since you seem to recognize my kindness, I shall call you Mini-Bull and honor your life. "

"Yes, yes. I'm honored. My children are honored. My papa and mama are also honored. I can die right now without any regrets." the mini-bull nodded his head like hen pecking grains and made a face as if he was already satisfied with his life and ready to die right now.

"I don't care about that. What I do care is this Frozen Hell. What is it?" Sheng Tian asked with a slight frown.

"Frozen Hell, this is a part of the Eternal Frozen Land which existed since time immemorial. It is a land of wonders filled with dangers and opportunities. Profound Treasures, Ancient Herbs, Heavenly Elixirs, and even things which we couldn't dream can be found inside.

However, there are countless strong profound beasts, poisonous places, traps and dangers which could kill almost anyone.

If anything, the more fatal the danger, the greater would be the reward.

The entrance of the Gateway opens once every decade.

It is said that the Frozen Hell is an independent world in itself. There are chief figures in that world, the leaders of all its creatures.

It was rumoured that many, many years ago, the Senior Elders of the sect reached an agreement with the Chiefs of the Profound beasts. Once every decade, all the younger generations who are below the age of 25 can enter the Land of Damnation.

As long as the Elders of the sect don't interfere in this expedition, the Older generation of the profound beasts would not make a move on the disciples. The profound beasts also won't enter the outside world in normal times.

However, they will give full freedom to their younger generation to kill humans. So, this would be an adventure for the younger generations of both humans and profound beasts.

Life and Death shall not be taken as grievances between the upper echelons of either side and shall be treated as the consequences of the process.

Anyone can enter the Gateway and embark on their endeavour to amass a fortune. The entrance is not purely based on strength or cultivation but also includes luck."

A light look of excitement appeared in the sky blue eyes of Sheng Tian as his lips curled up almost involuntarily.

"Oh..my..."

"Han...Handsome..."

"I love...you..."

"Please...give...me babies..."

"Marry...me.."

All kinds of exclamations snapped Sheng Tian out of his calculations as he looked around with slight bewilderment.

A vast group of female disciples surrounded him as their cold faces had an expression of coquettishness and passion.

In fact, right when Sheng Tian walked into the plaza, the female disciples saw him. Many of them followed him while only a few continued their work.

When he was talking with mini-bull, they didn't dare to disturb him for the fear of annoying him. Now that he was done, they couldn't suppress their adoration as they spoke out without a care for the gazes of onlookers.

Sheng Tian was already getting used to this fan following of his. He merely waved at them and walked off.

Sometimes, the best thing you can say is not to say anything at all.

.... ..... .....

"Master." A young woman with a cold yet breathtaking face bowed in front of an Old lady.

"Get up, Qi Yue." the old lady with wrinkles all over her face said with a cold voice which had a hint of affection in it.

Qi Yue; the young woman who schemed against the Ice Goddess with Shi Yan and Xu Tian, slowly got up and looked at the Old lady.

The passage of time left her with a visage of an aged woman in her seventies. Her eyes, however, showed disdain and ruthlessness totally unbefitting her appearance of a kind grandma the next door. Her face was cold. She emitted a chilling aura.

The Old woman's eyes shone with hatred "Qi Yue, did you convince those two brats to kill that little disciple of Wushang?"

"Yes, master." Qi Yue replied respectfully but behind her respect was a light disdain which even the Old Woman couldn't detect.

"Good, Good. The Old Masters of those two brats must have guessed that I knew what you were doing and probably encouraged you to do so. After all, they too wanted the same."

"Master, I always wanted to ask. Why do you want me to end Leng Yue Yan? She didn't offend a great expert like you, did she?"

The Old woman's eyes glowed with pride when addressed as 'great expert'. But she didn't make any comment regarding that.

Thinking of her motive, her eyes shone with envy and hatred as her chest moved up and down due to the rapid breaths "I don't care about the brat Leng Yue Yan. Who I want to suffer is that little bitch Wushang! She is younger than me and joined the sect later than I did. However, the Sect Master Bing Ying wants to pass her position to Wushang without even thinking about me.

I served the sect for many decades. What did the sect give me in return? Becoming a Senior Elder? Is that it? Is it the end of my growth in my path? Then I would rather not have the sect at all!

Wushang treats her little disciple like her own daughter. If that little disciple is killed in the expedition, she will be heartbroken and lose control of her emotions. Her mind state would be severely affected.

It would definitely form a heart demon and stop her from advancing further in cultivation. She might even face cultivation deviation and regress.

Even now, with the fate of that little disciple, she must feel like dying. But at least that little disciple would live for another two years. Her mind is at temporary ease now. When the time comes, Bing Ying might think of a way to recover Wushang.

That's why I want to strike now and collapse her totally. After her disciple's death, if she mourns and goes out to adjust her mental state, I will personally kill that bitch with those two Old fellows."

The Old Woman's eyes became red with madness as she roared with mania.

.... ..... .....

... ..... ...

"Welcome, young disciple. As they say, heroes come from the young. When I first saw you, I already knew that you were someone with a great destiny." the Elder greeted the suave young man who walked into the administrative room of the Main Building of the Sect Grounds.

Sheng Tian lightly smiled. He calmly asked as he took a seat "Elder, I want to know the location of residence of the Ice Goddess."

The Elderly Man's eyes squinted and he said with light displeasure "Young Man, you should not set your sights too high. It is better if you forget about chasing her. She is a goddess, not for mortals."

Hearing this, Sheng Tian lightly smiled and spoke with absolute dominance "Goddesses might be the only ones I chase, not mere mortals. Even if I do chase mortals, they would end up as Goddesses. Now, tell me Elder, where her residence is."

The overbearing words should have sounded arrogant and conceited, but when Sheng Tian spoke those lines, the Elder somehow felt that this young man is also not one from the masses.

Yes, look at his appearance. It is probably the most handsome face he ever saw. Look at his cultivation. He seems to be around sixteen, and he is already in the Earth realm.

The elder was not aware of Sheng Tian beating up the big bull gang yesterday. If he did, he would have not spoken such reckless words.

Convincing himself that this young man might have a master he can't afford to offend and telling his mind that he could be a match for the Ice goddess, he still felt an urge to let the young man face the reality.

His face turned a little calm "Young disciple, the Ice goddess of our sect is a legendary core disciple. There are only sixteen of them in the entire Mystic Ice Sect!

Only sixteen, do you get what kind of concept is that? Just this Head branch of our sect has thousands of disciples. Not to mention the near quarter million from the branches all over the continent! You better think thrice before having any thoughts which could only leave you with boundless regret later."

Towards this 'realistic' talk, Sheng Tian just shrugged it off.

What quarter million branch disciples? They are not even qualified to enter the Head branch he is currently in. Why compare with them?

As for the thousands of disciples present here, how many are even the Inner disciples? Finally, you have the 16 core disciples.

Why should he compare himself with the masses?

In any field of life, the competition for the top position would only be between a few people in spite of the gigantic number who practice in that field.

As they say, the higher you go, the lonelier it gets. The real experts are few and far between, the masses are there only to make up the numbers for them.

'Know thyself and thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.'

... ..... ....

Arena of the Sect grounds. This is a place where disciples are typically tested for advancement in their status from an Inner disciple to core disciple.

The arena grounds had several stages for the fights. The stages are made of a strange glass like substance and it glowed with purple light.

Sheng Tian stepped on a stage.

After hearing that Leng Yue Yan is a core disciple, Sheng Tian realized that he too could have a better status in the sect by becoming a core disciple. Why stay as an Inner disciple then?

When the Elder explained the 'harsh conditions' to the 'ignorant' Sheng Tian, he thought Sheng Tian would be very tense and nervous even if he wanted to take the test.

To his utter surprise, Sheng Tian only laughed lightly. The elder didn't understand his intent behind the laugh but he somehow felt a feeling in that...disdain.

Soon, A middle-aged man who seems to be in his thirties arrived in front of Sheng Tian. His cold face had a look of amazement when he saw Sheng Tian's extraordinary visage, but very quickly, it reverted back to indifference.

The Elder spoke from a distance. "Young Disciple, this disciple is at the peak of the sixth stage of the Earth Realm, two levels higher than your own. As long as you can defeat him, you will be able to become a core disciple.

The condition is you should use your own strength. Using a weapon is fine but depending on its grade to defeat him would not be considered a success. Begin."

The Elder smiled and was about to sit down to watch the upcoming intense fight.

*Boom*

However, the next second, he froze in his 'to be seated' posture as he looked at the body lying before his feet.

The middle-aged man; lying on the ground, was coughing out mouthfuls of blood as he tried to stand up, but his body didn't have an inch of energy to support him.

Sheng Tian arrived in front of the gawking elder and spoke carefreely "Now then, where are my core disciple robes and token?"

The Elder's gaping mouth slowly closed as he recovered from his shock. After looking at the middle-aged man at his feet and Sheng Tian in front, he vehemently went forward as he generously gave a precious pill to the middle-aged man for recovery.

Then he spoke to Sheng Tian with all smiles "The status of Core disciple can only be granted by the Sect Master. We have to make a trip there before your status can be upgraded. This fight would get your qualifications for that as most tests lead to failure and Sect Master can't waste her time on this."

Not bothered by the extra requirement, Sheng Tian lightly nodded his head. The elder also chuckled in merry as he waved his sleeves and both of them were lifted into the air and shot off in the direction of the Sect Master Abode.