Aimless Ascension

Wang Li let out a piercing scream as something hit her on the head and chest. She crumpled to the ground, her head too heavy to lift. Gale, on the other hand, found himself in a peculiar situation.

Although a part of the golem had exploded, a significant portion of it remained on top of him, making it difficult to extricate himself. He had to dig the snow out from beneath him to escape.

A few paces away, he spotted Wang Li lying on the ground, blood oozing from her forehead.

Without hesitation, Gale rushed to her aid and used a healing spell to close the wound on her chest. "I think my ribs are broken," Wang Li gasped, coughing.

Gale breathed a deep sigh of relief and smiled softly. "I'm out of Qi to do anything more at the moment."

"Thank you," Wang Li said as Gale helped her up. "It's alright."

Gale let out another sigh. "I couldn't have done it without you."

Wang Li returned the smile, but her eyes betrayed a hint of worry.

"Anyway, we need to rest," Gale said. "Let's collect the core and get out of here."

After scouring the icy remains of the golem, they found a few shards of a glistening orb. It exuded a rich spiritual energy. Gale examined it for an extended moment, even attempting to absorb it. His face revealed surprise as soon as he introduced the energy into his system.

"What is it?" Wang Li inquired, intrigued. She held a handful of tiny core fragments in her palm.

"Channel your Qi through them and try to absorb them, and you'll know," Gale instructed her.

Wang Li gave him a doubtful look but decided to follow his advice. As she absorbed the fragments, a chill ran down her spine, and she shuddered, startled, by the icy energy that permeated her system.

"This can be a great reward for this trial," Gale informed her. "Especially for those with icy attributes."

"What else does it do besides making me feel cold inside?" Wang Li questioned, failing to see the point of the object.

"Of course, it enhances your spirituality," Gale explained. "However, it has a side effect of transforming your spirituality into an ice attribute."

Wang Li's eyes widened as she pondered his words. She understood the importance of spirituality and the significance of increasing it. Unfortunately, after bonding with the fate lock, her spirituality was linked to plants, or else this could have been a great benefit to her.

Gale surveyed the shards in his hand with a thoughtful expression. "Well, I already have Void, Spirit, Air, and Lightning," he mused. "With my new fate lock, a good portion of my spirit has already been transformed to the radiance attribute. I don't want to complicate things further."

"What do we do with them, then?" Wang Li asked.

"Keep them, I guess," Gale replied with a shrug. "If we find a whole cache of them, you can consider turning your spirituality to ice."

Wang Li narrowed her eyes skeptically. "Is that really a feasible option?"

"Sure," Gale responded with a grin. "You're already too hot, some ice might do you good."

Wang Li shot him a glare.

"Hey, that wasn't a bad dad joke," Gale complained, but her look didn't change. He guessed it was still too early. He sighed. "You're still a low ranker. When you advance to Iron, you will need to choose an attribute, be it plant or something else. Honestly, ice is a good option if you can change your spirituality through these cores."

Wang Li nodded thoughtfully, but didn't decide anything rashly.

"Another thing to note is that your strength will increase if you cultivate this spirituality," Gale added. He knew that increasing their strength would be critical for the journey ahead, even if they were just starting out.

"We should discuss it with everyone," Wang Li said as they continued on their way.

Despite her broken ribs, Wang Li stubbornly tried to walk on her own, but she quickly found herself struggling. Gale came to her aid, offering to help her. At first, she refused, but eventually relented.

"Don't be stubborn," Gale chided gently. "It will only slow us down. Besides, what do you fear? That you'll fall for me if I help you move?"

Wang Li snorted, but didn't stop Gale from assisting her.

As they searched for a place to rest, they came across a polar bear. Gale managed to frighten it away, but then they found themselves caught in a blizzard. They struggled through the storm for what felt like hours until they finally stumbled upon a cave.

Gale led the way, carrying Wang Li on his back when she could no longer walk on her own. By the time they reached the cave, Gale was exhausted and shivering from the cold. He had spent most of his Qi keeping Wang Li warm, and now he was struggling to stay warm himself.

He huddled inside the cave, waiting for the blizzard to pass.

The cave was on the back side of the mountain, at the foot of it. After conducting a thorough search, he deemed it safe enough to rest in. Wang Li was shivering uncontrollably in his arms, so he decided to keep her close to keep her warm.

He tried to set her down on the ground, but she clung to him unconsciously, refusing to let go. Gale tried to pry her hands off, but she held on too tight, so he gave up and lay down on the cold, hard ground with Wang Li still wrapped around him.

The inside of the cave wasn't exactly toasty, but it was far better than the raging blizzard outside. It didn't take long for Wang Li to regain consciousness, and the first thing she noticed was that she was lying on top of Gale.

She immediately tried to pull away from him, only to realise that they were both lying on a small fur that could barely fit one person.

Gale interrupted her thoughts, "Don't worry about it. The blizzard is still raging outside. Get some rest while you can."

______

Prolly will drop three more chapters tomorrow.

Anyway, as always, shameless begging for Golden Tickets, Power stones, and Review. They cost you anything but a little of your time.