Frost Ghost

Jiang Lin took ten silver coins from his spatial ring and placed them on the table.

After the man collected the silver coins, the old man pointed toward the tavern's backyard.

"We set out at sunrise tomorrow. The caravan will pass through Everfrost City, and we'll take you there.

"Once you enter Everfrost City, you'll officially be within the Frost Kingdom.

"We'll drop you off there and leave you to your own devices."

Jiang Lin pondered for a moment before asking, "Does Everfrost City have a long-distance teleportation array?"

The old man nodded.

"Of course. Everfrost City is one of the more developed cities in the southern part of the Frost Kingdom.

"Alright, we're done here. Wait for our departure early tomorrow morning."

Jiang Lin nodded and turned to leave the tavern.

Night had fallen deep, and pedestrians were sparse on the streets of Iron Rock Town. Only the cold wind howled as it swept through the gaps between the stone buildings.

Returning to his single room in the freight yard, Jiang Lin did not rush to rest. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, continuing to circulate his breathing technique to adjust his state.

At dawn the next day, before the morning light could break through, frost condensed on the ground.

Jiang Lin arrived at the backyard of the Breath of Tundra on time. The Frost Kingdom caravan was already packed and ready to go.

The convoy was significantly smaller than the Frost Wolf Caravan, consisting of only seven or eight carriages pulled by cold-resistant snow reindeer. There were only about a dozen guards, but each had sharp eyes and moved with efficiency.

The old man from the previous night—the caravan leader known as "Old Scar"—simply gave Jiang Lin a brief nod, signaling him to follow.

The convoy drove out of Iron Rock Town in the morning mist, heading north.

As they entered the heart of the Frost Kingdom, the scenery changed once more.

The sky was a clear, translucent gray-blue, and the sunlight was thin. The snow plains stretched endlessly, and the distant, undulating mountain peaks were covered in perennial glaciers that shimmered with a cold silver light under the sun.

The air was bone-chillingly clean, every breath carrying the crisp, sharp scent of ice and snow.

The road was packed into a solid ice path, and the reindeer hooves made a crisp clicking sound as they stepped on it.

The convoy maintained a steady speed while the guards vigilantly scanned the snow plains. Although it looked peaceful, ice field wolves, snow monsters, and even more dangerous predators lurked here.

Jiang Lin sat by a carriage loaded with furs. He spent most of his time with his eyes closed, circulating his breathing technique while using his perception—enhanced by 【Phantom Step · Shadow Wind】—to monitor his surroundings.

He could "hear" the rustling of tiny creatures beneath the snow layers and "touch" the extremely faint fluctuations of ice elements carried in the distant air currents.

Old Scar occasionally glanced at him with a deep gaze but asked no questions.

This blond youth was too calm—so calm that he did not look his age. Furthermore, the aura faintly emanating from him made even an old adventurer like Old Scar, who had spent years walking the line between life and death, feel a slight tremor in his heart.

The journey was almost monotonous in its tranquility.

The public security of the Frost Kingdom was clearly much better than that of the border. Along the way, they only encountered other northbound caravans or patrolling kingdom guards; they never faced an attack.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, the silhouette of a towering city gradually became clear on the distant horizon.

The city walls were over twenty meters high, built entirely of massive gray-white ice rocks that flickered with a metallic cold light under the thin sunlight.

Several high towers stood atop the walls, their peaks embedded with massive blue magic crystals that emitted a soft, constant glow. Those were the symbols of Everfrost City and the core of the city's energy supply.

The convoy underwent an inspection at the city gate. The guards wore thick blue-and-white standard armor and possessed a sharp aura. The captain in charge was clearly an acquaintance of Old Scar; after a brief check of the documents, he waved them through.

Passing through the heavy city gate tunnel, the sights of Everfrost City unfolded before them.

Unlike the rugged disorder of Iron Rock Town, Everfrost City was neatly planned with wide streets. The buildings on both sides were mostly constructed from a mix of neatly cut ice rock and timber, featuring hard lines and slanting roofs to allow snow to slide off.

There were many pedestrians on the streets, dressed in various types of winter clothing and walking with composed steps. The air was filled with the aroma of baked bread, hot soup, and the scent of burning pine.

The level of magic civilization here was clearly higher. The streetlights were stone pillars embedded with light-attribute magic crystals, constant-temperature magic arrays operated in public areas, and one could even see a few crystal cars driven by ice magic traveling on the main roads.

"We're here,"

Old Scar reined in the reindeer and said to Jiang Lin.

"Go straight ahead for three blocks, turn right, and you'll find Icecrown Plaza in the center of the city. The Temple's Court of Space is on the east side of the plaza. From here on, you're on your own."

"Thank you."

Jiang Lin jumped down from the carriage and gave Old Scar a slight nod.

Old Scar did not respond, only waving his hand as the caravan continued toward the inner city, quickly disappearing into the flow of carriages and people.

Due to the constant-temperature magic arrays within Everfrost City, the temperature was significantly higher than outside.

However, a few stray cold winds still blew in from outside the city, swirling around Jiang Lin's feet.

Jiang Lin did not head directly to the Court of Space managed by the Temple. Instead, he sensed the condition within his body, found a corner where no one was looking, sat cross-legged, and began to circulate his breathing technique.

It had been almost five days since his last breakthrough...

Soon, a fluctuation emanated from his body.

【Level】: 23→24

Afterward, he began looking for the Court of Space in Everfrost City.

Icecrown Plaza was even more magnificent than Jiang Lin had imagined.

The ground of the plaza was paved with flat-cut pale blue ice crystals that reflected a dreamlike luster under the thin sunlight.

In the center stood a thirty-meter-tall ice sculpture.

It was an ancient hero pointing a sword toward the north, said to be one of the founders of the Frost Kingdom.

At the base of the sculpture, a circular fountain gushed with water that carried a magical fluorescence, never freezing even in such low temperatures.

The plaza was surrounded by grand buildings: the Frost Kingdom Administrative Hall, the Adventurer's Guild headquarters, the northern branch of the Mages Association...

On the east side of the plaza, a towering white stone building was the Court of Space managed by the Temple.

The architectural style was similar to that of the Saintas Kingdom, but the details featured many more reliefs in the shape of ice crystals and snowflakes. On both sides of the porch stood statues of Frost paladins in heavy armor holding giant spears, looking solemn and majestic.

Jiang Lin stepped into the hall.

The interior was vast, with a dome painted with a map of the starry sky. Soft light filtered through the crystal windows.

Compared to the Court of Space in the Saintas Kingdom, the flow of people here was much thinner, and most looked solemn and walked in a hurry.

The air was filled with a faint dust of ice crystals and the low hum of magic circuits.

He walked straight to the service counter.

The staff member behind the counter was a woman with a cold expression and hair as white as snow. She lifted her ice-blue eyes.

"Destination?"

"Frost Ridge Fort, a border city of the Tundra Kingdom."

The staff member's gaze lingered on Jiang Lin's face for a moment.

"Identification."

Jiang Lin took out the High-level Paladin Training Recommendation Letter issued by the Temple Master of Clearwater City.

The staff member took it, her fingertip brushing over the Temple's seal. She then looked at Little Black on Jiang Lin's shoulder, her brow twitching almost imperceptibly.

"A paladin? Extra spatial equipment requires a separate teleportation fee."

Jiang Lin nodded and paid the teleportation array fee along with the surcharge.

The staff member handed him an ice-blue rune stone.

"Teleportation Hall Three. It activates in fifteen minutes. The rune stone will guide your direction; do not deviate from the light path."

The teleportation hall was located deep within the building.

Jiang Lin stood still and tucked Little Black back into his chest.

"Buzz—"

The ice crystals atop the ice pillars accelerated their rotation, and a deep blue light flared brilliantly.

Space began to fluctuate, and everything in his vision rippled and blurred like a stone thrown into water.

The familiar sensation of weightlessness and dizziness followed.

Frost Ridge Fort, Tundra Kingdom.

When the teleportation light dissipated, the first thing he felt was a cold wind that felt like a knife's edge and a damp chill that pierced straight to the marrow.

The temperature here was even lower than in Everfrost City, and the air was filled with a mix of ice, snow, and the scent of rotting moss.

Frost Ridge Fort.

This border fortress city, located at the northernmost tip of the Frost Kingdom, lived up to its name. The buildings were mostly built along the mountain ridges, constructed entirely of deep black basalt. Under the constant erosion of wind and snow, the surfaces were covered in honeycomb-like erosion holes, looking like the jagged spine of a giant beast from a distance.

The teleportation hall was much cruder than the Court of Space in Everfrost City. The dome was low, the walls exposed rough stone surfaces, and the only lighting came from a few oil lamps hanging on stone pillars, their flames flickering in the drafty cold wind.

The figures in the hall were sparse. Aside from an old guard in a thick fur coat who was dozing off, there were only three or four travelers who had just finished their teleportation, hurriedly packing their bags with faces showing exhaustion from long travel and an instinctive vigilance toward the harsh environment.

Jiang Lin stepped off the array disk, his boots making a crisp crunching sound on the stone floor covered in a thin layer of ice.

Little Black on his shoulder shivered and shrunk into the collar of the constant-temperature protective suit, leaving only a pair of amber cat eyes to watch the surroundings warily.

"This place is really quite cold, huh."

Little Black's voice came through their telepathy.

Jiang Lin nodded slightly.

Indeed, the cold here was not just a difference in temperature; it carried a "damp chill" that felt like it went into the bone.

Ice crystal powder, almost invisible to the naked eye, floated in the air. Every breath felt like inhaling tiny ice needles.

Jiang Lin activated the high-level constant-temperature runes in the inner layer of his suit. A very faint, almost invisible white glow appeared on his body's surface, isolating the damp cold.

Stepping out of the teleportation hall, the true Frost Ridge Fort revealed itself.

The sky was an oppressive leaden gray, with low-hanging clouds that felt within reach. Fine snow particles were whipped by the gale, forming slanted white streaks in the air.

Buildings were distributed along a steep mountain ridge, staggered in height. Most were two or three-story stone houses with heavy stone slabs weighed down on the roofs to prevent them from being flipped by the gale.

The streets were narrow and winding, the ground paved with uneven gravel. The snow had been trampled into dirty black ice mud by pedestrians, and thick white frost condensed in the cracks of the stone walls on both sides.

There were not many pedestrians, and almost all of them were wrapped in thick coats made of unknown beast furs, with windproof face masks that only exposed their eyes. They walked in a hurry with vigilant gazes.

The entire city was permeated with an atmosphere unique to border fortresses—a mix of rust, permafrost, and old ice and snow.

Jiang Lin did not linger, walking along the main street into the city.

He now needed to gather some information about this area and update his intelligence regarding the Tundra Kingdom further north.

After that, it would be the same as before: find a northbound caravan, follow them, enter the territory of the Tundra Kingdom to the north, and finally reach the Northern Ice Field.

Jiang Lin moved along the main street, his boots making a crisp crunching sound on the road mixed with snow and ice mud.

Occasionally, shops were open along the streets—mostly selling winter gear, coarse grains, strong liquor, or simple weapon repairs. Their signs swayed in the cold wind, and their door curtains were thick.

Pedestrians were few and mostly hurried, wrapped up tightly, their vigilant gazes sweeping over every stranger.

As the final fortress leading further north, the local culture of Frost Ridge Fort was fierce and guarded.

Jiang Lin stopped in front of a supply shop with a sign that read "Tundra Gear."

The shopfront was not large. The shelves were lined with various compressed dry rations, frozen meat, ice-resistance potions, and coarse but thick fur products.

Behind the counter sat an old woman with white hair and a face covered in frostbite scars, looking down as she mended a fur coat.

Hearing the sound of the door curtain being lifted, she looked up, her cloudy eyes studying Jiang Lin for a moment before she spoke raspyly, "New face? What are you buying?"

"A map, the latest conditions of the northern region, and information on caravans heading to the Tundra Kingdom border."

Jiang Lin was concise, placing a silver coin on the counter.

The old woman put down her needle and thread, took the silver coin, and rummaged under the counter to find a roll of yellowed parchment and a thin booklet.

"The map was drawn five years ago, but the general route hasn't changed. One hundred and twenty kilometers north of Frost Ridge Fort is the Everfrost Wasteland. You have to cross the wasteland to reach the first outpost of the Tundra Kingdom, Icefang Pass."

"But in these five years, the Everfrost Wasteland has not been peaceful. The climate is getting worse, blizzards are frequent, and new ice crevices and quicksand areas have appeared. Even more troublesome..."

The old woman paused and lowered her voice.

"There are rumors of frost ghosts appearing in the depths of the wasteland."

"Frost ghosts?"

"A ghost-like monster that only appears in extreme blizzards. They have no physical form, but anyone haunted by them will be frozen into an ice sculpture from the inside out. Even their souls will be frozen."

A flash of fear crossed the old woman's eyes.

"Last year, three caravans trying to cross the wasteland disappeared. Not even their bones were found.

"So now, fewer and fewer caravans dare to take this route. Even if they do, the price has doubled several times."

Jiang Lin listened silently, his gaze sweeping over the map.

The Everfrost Wasteland was vast, occupying nearly two-thirds of the area between the Frost Kingdom and the Tundra Kingdom. The terrain was undulating, with many glaciers and deep valleys.

Without a guide, it would be extremely easy to get lost or fall into an ice crevice.

"When does the next caravan depart?"

"Hard to say."

The old woman shook her head.

"The North Wind Camel Team just lost five people last month and is currently resting. The Ice Claw Group has put out word that they're recruiting, but they only take missions to escort important supplies; they don't take tag-alongs."

She paused and added, "If you really want to head north to the ice fields, you'd better try your luck at the Cliffside Tavern in the north of the city. That's where outlaws and soloists gather. Occasionally, there are small teams taking private jobs, or you could try going on your own."

Jiang Lin took the map and booklet, thanked her, and turned to leave the shop.