I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means - Chapter 318

Chapter 318: Chapter 287: Mithril and the Ascetic_2

It was indeed the presence of a legendary being, different in aura from the legendary strongman who had taken away Lukar some days ago!

Stran’s own strength was formidable, and his senses were unlikely to be mistaken.

Clutching the bead tightly in his hand, Stran felt a shock in his heart.

Moriarty had not lied; the Death Secret Cult really did harbor another legendary strongman.

Stran soon had no time to dwell on this matter, as a legendary being was about to arrive, and he needed to ponder how to satisfy this VIP and gain his protection.

Lis glanced at the contemplative Stran and, without further waiting, teleported away from the Galsa Warehouse.

…

Outside Ice Peak City, upon the wilderness.

Perhaps by this time, the winter in the southern part of the continent was almost over, but in Dillon Kingdom, it was still the deep of winter.

Thick snow covered everything in sight, painting the landscape almost entirely white.

Even the main roads leading away from Ice Peak City were obscured, with hardly any trace visible.

Lis turned back to look at the deep grey of Ice Peak City and the sparkling Ice Castle Palace under the sunlight, feeling no attachment as he moved eastward.

The affairs of Ice Peak City were just things of the past; Lis was ready to press on.

———–

In the middle of Dilon Royal Palace’s plains, covered by white snow, the cold, piercing north wind blew, and apart from ice magic beasts, very few other creatures dared to roam about.

This was the central plain of the Dilon Royal Palace, barring the grounds where Ice Peak City lay; the terrain was almost flat, allowing the chilling wind from the north to sweep over the area unchecked.

Before the advent of April’s spring, this region would remain in such extreme cold weather.

Yet compared to the northern icy plains perennially smothered by frost and snow, humans were still able to survive here, although they, much like the magic beasts, stayed indoors to pass the days.

Scattered across the Dilon Kingdom’s central plain, human villages could be seen at intervals with smoke rising from their chimneys.

Now, not far from one of the villages.

A trail of deep footprints marked the snowfield, resembling a blank canvas, left by Lis clad in thin clothing.

The north wind picked up fine snowflakes, which scraped across his cheek with a slicing agony.

His face expressionless, Lis glanced at the nearby village but chose not to head towards it, instead continuing east.

He wasn’t clad in warm cotton clothing or tough, windproof leather garments but merely in a plain layer of thin fabric.

The north wind lifted the hem of Lis’s clothes, revealing his somewhat pale skin and the purplish-red frostbite on his arms.

Having left Ice Peak City days ago of which he lost count, Lis journeyed through the harsh snowy lands clothed as such.

Each day he traveled eastwards for half a day and spent the other half hunting magic beasts or practicing martial arts.

When night fell, he would kindle a campfire and immerse himself in the study and deduction of arcane knowledge.

Day after monotonous day, the life was tough, bland, simplistic, and repetitive.

If an ordinary person were to live this way, it could drive them to madness.

But Lis was indifferent, finding a deep level of tranquility after getting past the initial discomfort.

In Bright City, the restlessness and desires he faced were gradually washed away, leaving behind only a longing for extraordinary power.

As planned, Lis was undertaking an ascetic-style of cultivation, embarking on the tempering of his own body.

Ascetics were a line of monks pursuing an extreme form of training that sought to attain self-discipline and self-improvement by enduring physical pain, withstanding the pressure of harsh environments, and rejecting temptations of the material and the flesh.

Thus, this method of cultivation was also known as the way of the Ascetic or the Ascetic cultivator.

It was an intensely painful process, and among those professionals in the Monk Profession, only a handful could endure such practice.

Without exception, all who completed the ascetic training were beings of unwavering determination, achieving breakthroughs in spirit and developing unique resistances against various spiritual and soul-related temptations and adverse effects.

The ascetic training Lis was undergoing was not complete, as it also encompassed starving and reducing water intake.

This would weaken his body, counterproductive to his goal of physical refinement.

But it did not matter much since the effect of tempering the spirit was still present; over these times, Lis could distinctly feel his spirit becoming progressively stronger and more robust.

Even the soul injury suffered from “Dream Refraction” backlashes was nearly healed.

However, Lis wore thin garments not only to endure pain but also for another reason.

That was to get as close to nature as possible and hone his body.

“`

Even dressed in thick clothes, ordinary people could not have advanced for long in this icy and snowy landscape.

However, Lis’s physical Strength had already reached that of a Silver-level Warrior. Only by pushing himself in this way could he possibly bring his body to its limit and stimulate self-healing and repair, while also developing a certain resistance.

On Lis’s status panel, new prompts appeared every so often.

———–

[Due to environmental factors, your body is in a [Frostbite] Status]

[You have taken 100 points of cold damage!]

[Your resistance to cold has slightly increased!]

….

[Due to environmental factors, your body is in a [Frostbite] Status]

[You have taken 98 points of cold damage!]

[Your resistance to cold has slightly increased!]

….

———–

Lis didn’t pay attention to the information on the system panel; he was fully immersed in his contemplation of the arcane, completely disregarding the pain from his body.

This was the fastest way to gain the specialty of Cold Resistance, concluded by players from a previous life–a more convenient method than obtaining other resistance specialties.

As long as one allowed their body to be exposed to the cold for an extended period, the only thing to be cautious of was not letting one’s Life Value drop to zero.

But that was in the past life’s games, where players could completely turn their pain perception down to zero.

Now, however, Lis had to endure all the pain fully.

At the beginning of the exercise, the accumulation of cold was so low that it didn’t even damage Lis’s constitution.

But as time went by, the warmth in his body was gradually taken away by the north wind, and the accumulated frostbite had started to become clearly apparent. Lis’s face was pale, his lips cracked, and the bone-chilling coldness had begun to stimulate his spirit.

His body became increasingly heavy, and even his instincts began to feel numb.

The Life Value lost from frostbite gradually increased from 1 point to 10 points, and then to the current 100 points.

That was with Lis having just acquired [Low-level Cold Resistance] yesterday.

Otherwise, with the damage occurring every few minutes, even if his Life Value had already exceeded ten thousand, he wouldn’t have been able to keep up with such damage.

As he bore the pain from the north wind and severe cold, Lis gradually adapted.

He found that walking on foot gave him a better opportunity to ponder the arcane in his mind.

Boredom and cold sharpened his focus and made him even forget about the pain his body was enduring.

However, Lis wouldn’t practice blindly.

Whenever his Life Value dropped below half, he would stop to find a place to build a bonfire to dispel the cold, drink a sip of hot soup to drive away the chill as much as possible, and recover his Life Value.

Only because Lis currently had an ample supply of Life Potions did he not necessarily achieve such an effect.

One could say that Lis was now practicing with the aid of wealth, given that he had plenty of resources stored in his storage ring.

This was also one of the reasons he didn’t adhere strictly to the ascetic’s way.

Lis could wait for his Life Value to drop lower before recovering, but that could be risky if he suddenly encountered situations like an attack by a Magic Beast.

Always leave oneself some leeway!

That was the lesson Lis learned in Ice Peak City when facing Demon Prince Demogorgon.

If he had recklessly attacked then, he would have fallen straight into Demogorgon’s hands.

Lis didn’t dare guarantee that his Teleportation Ring and Shadow Talisman would definitely save his life before such a being.

Therefore, Lis decided before this training that he would not rely on these two assets, in order to avoid developing a dependent mindset.

Lis advanced step by step toward the east, where everything ahead was a vast white expanse, void of any discernible object.

The small village he had passed before had vanished from sight, as if in the world there was only Lis’s sole presence, so solitary.

Lis didn’t mind these things, after all, the view had been the same over the past few days.

Ding~

It was then that a different sound than before came from the system.

“`