Chapter 1 Pursuit of the Ice-Snow Sacrifice (Part 1)_1

The sun blazed hotly overhead as a tall, spirited man moved slowly forward, leading a child. The man was dressed in a red mage's robe, the golden flame embroidered on his chest indicating his identity as a magic instructor. His golden tresses flowed down his back, and his bronze countenance was sharply angular, as if carved by a knife and axe. Yet a faint sorrow was evident in his brown eyes.

"Nian Bing, are you tired?" the man asked, looking down at the child beside him.

The boy reached only up to the tall man's waist, bearing a fair resemblance to the latter. However, his facial features were much softer. He had the same golden hair, but despite his young age, his handsome appearance was even more striking than the towering man. His sapphire-like eyes and frail-looking body, pale and sweaty due to fatigue, made the picture complete.

Shaking his head resolutely, he said, "Dad, I'm not tired. Are we going to see mom soon? I... I miss her so much."

The tall man looked up at the blazing sun, seemingly unaffected by its harsh glare. "Yes! We are about to see your mother. It's been ten years, and you're already ten. In these years, we have found no place in this vast world to call home. No matter what, this time I am determined to see your mother, even if I have to pay with my life."

Nian Bing, still very young, looked at his father in confusion. "Dad, why won't they let us see mom?"

The tall man snorted coldly, fire seemingly flickering in his eyes. "They, huh, them. Nian Bing, you're too young to understand. When you grow up, you will. For your mother, I can sacrifice everything. But I can't bear to part with you! When we reach the next village, would you stay there and wait for me?"

"No, Dad, I want to go with you to find mom. If mom doesn't want me anymore, are you going to abandon me too?" Nian Bing's eyes welled up with tears as he tightly gripped his father's hand, fearing to be left behind.

The tall man pulled out a scroll from his bosom and handed it to Nian Bing. "Do you remember how I taught you to activate the magic scroll? You can come with me, but you must remember to use this scroll in a time of crisis. It will send you to a safe place. That's where I drew the magic formation the day before yesterday."

Nian Bing took the magic scroll and obediently nodded. "Dad, I understand."

The man sighed, "It's a pity that we don't have much time. Your talents surpass even mine. If time allowed it, you might have become the top Fire Attribute Mage on the entire continent. But we can't afford to wait any longer. If we don't reach the Ice God's Castle by tomorrow, we'll never be able to see your mother again."

Nian Bing nodded in a somewhat understanding manner. "Dad, I will definitely become a Fire Attribute Mage as powerful as you in the future."

A misty look appeared in the tall man's eyes. "Back in the day when your mom and I were together, we once discussed what kind of magic we should teach our future child. She was an Ice Mage, and I was a Fire Attribute Mage. Ice and fire do not mix; our child could only choose one attribute. Back then, she said that if we have a boy, he should study Fire Attribute Magic with me, and if we have a girl, she should study Ice Magic with her. Now when I think about it, it feels like she's right in front of me, her voice echoing in my ears, even though she's already gone."

His voice suddenly turned resolute. "I, the Fire Mage Rong Tian, swear that I will stop the Goddess's sacrifice succession ceremony and get back my wife."

...

Three days later.

It was a mountain peak about a hundred meters high. Even though it wasn't tall, the steepness of the peak gave off an intimidating aura. The grayish-green mountainside looked somber and stern. Although plants grew on it, they were sparse, perhaps due to the terrain steepness. Unless one frequently hiked around the foothills, a regular person would find it hard to scale such a steep peak. At the foot of the mountain, from south to north, a river surged with vitality. This was a well-known mother river on the Yangguang Continent, known as Tianqing River. The river almost cuts through two-thirds of the Yangguang Continent, extending close to two thousand kilometers. Its source laid in the extreme north, the Polar Ice Province, where 60 percent of its area was covered in glaciers. Every spring and summer, the melting glaciers merged into the Tianqing River and flowed to the distant sea. The river, wide and fast-flowing, was famed for its clear waters. Despite sometimes causing flooding, due to appropriate management by the various countries, the people living by the river led peaceful, easy lives.

The steep mountain peak, with an area of less than ten square meters at the top, suddenly, a red glow appeared on the ground. It was a point of light that quickly moved and drew a red hexagram in the blink of an eye. Due to the intense heat, rippling waves similar to water formed above the hexagram.

The ripples gradually vibrated and the red light flared up. The magic element surrounding it seemed to echo joyously at the strong elemental fluctuations. Amid this turbulence, a gray figure quietly appeared.

The figure stumbled out of the red magic formation, nearly falling. It was a child, who appeared to be in his teens. He was Rong Nianbing, who had set out to search for relatives with his father three days earlier.

The handsome little face was full of fear, his golden short hair slightly disheveled. With a soft step, he sat down abruptly, gasping for air. "Dad, mom, why, why is it like this?" Tears streamed down his face. The pain of losing loved ones was hard to endure for anyone, let alone a ten-year-old boy.

After crying for a while, the mentally exhausted Nianbing curled up behind a rock on the mountaintop and fell into a deep sleep. At his young age, he was confused about what to do next. A faint blue and red light flashed in his embrace and disappeared. The surrounding fire elements quickly gathered toward his small body creating an unusual spectacle that silently disappeared after a meal's time.

He didn't know how much time had passed. Rong Nianbing awoke from his sleep with a violent shake caused by intense pain. Three slender figures were standing not far in front of him. The severe pain in his chest made him cough, and a trace of fresh blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. His gray shirt had a shoe print stained with yellow soil.

The three men were all dressed in blue mage robes. Their long blue hair seemed to merge with the robe, appearing to be sculpted out of ice, giving them an indescribable cold aura. They appeared to be in their thirties to forties. The central Mage had three snowflakes carved from blue crystal stones the size of fingernails embroidered on the left chest of his mage robe. The two flanking him were seemingly lower in rank, each with only one crystal.

"An instant teleportation magic scroll based on fire elements. What a pity, it was used by a child, leaving obvious traces," said the central Mage calmly.

Upon seeing these three people, the handsome face of Nianbing twisted, "You, ah! You villains. Give me back my mom, give back my dad." Without knowing from where the energy came, Nianbing laboriously crawled up and charged towards the man in the middle, forgetting that he was a Junior Mage, and acted on pure instinct.

"You little bastard, want to die?" The Mage on the left swung his right hand, throwing out a water bomb in a flash. It hit the boy directly in the chest. The water bomb was just the most basic first-level magic, with not much offensive power. Nianbing grunted, teetered and fell back a few steps, then sat on the ground. His hand, which he used to help stabilize himself, was scraped by a nearby rock, leaving several bloody scratches.

The central Mage glared at him, "That's enough, he is just a child, and I don't want him to go through too much pain."

"Yes, respected Ice-Snow Priestess." The attacking Mage replied and promptly retreated to the side.

The Ice-Snow Priestess looked at Nianbing and calmly said, "Child, I didn't want to hurt you, but alas, you are their child. For the dignity of the Ice God Tower, you cannot continue to exist. Hand over the Ice-Snow Goddess Stone, and I will give you a quick end." With his status, naturally, he wouldn't use his hands to search but his commanding tone carried an intangible authority.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Xiao San kept his promise, as soon as the sky speed was finished transmitting, he published two chapters here. From now on, there will be at least two chapters daily without a maximum limit.