Chapter 10: The Challenge of the Snow Line

As the largest known continent in the world, the Eminor Continent is not only vast in size but also boasts the most complex terrain.

To the north lies the Mesis Mountain Range and the snow plains beneath it. The east is dominated by desert wastelands and expansive sand seas. The central region features rolling hills, while the heartland is home to the Floral Plains, the Magic Forest, and several wide rivers which converge to form large swamps.

The southern part of the Eminor Continent is covered by tropical rainforests and savannas.

Further south stands the world-renowned Holy Snow Mountain, a remarkable natural wonder that remains snow-capped all year round despite being located in a tropical region. The highest peak of Holy Snow Mountain reaches an altitude of 7,107 meters, with an average height exceeding 4,000 meters. Below 1,000 meters, you find typical broadleaf rainforests. Between 1,000 and 2,000 meters, broadleaf temperate forests abound. Above 2,000 meters, stretching to 3,500 meters, towering spruces reach into the clouds. Beyond 3,500 meters, within the snow line, both flora and fauna become increasingly scarce.

The Holy Snow Mountain range forms a ring over 2,000 kilometers long, enclosing a basin at 2,000 meters above sea level. The eastern, northern, and western ranges are surrounded by three nations: the Aimy Empire, the Xiusi Empire, and the Haiha Mercenary Empire. The southern side drops sharply into the sea with towering cliffs.

Tales of the Mountains and Seas

Early the next morning, all the aspiring Phantom Beast Knights gathered at the south gate of Skambre City. Each received their own Phantom Realm and were assigned a comfortable carriage for transporting their beasts over long distances. As per tradition, these Phantom Beast Knights are the empire's future, so the Imperial District General dispatched two large contingents of knights to escort this trial.

From Skambre, the imperial capital, to Holy Snow Mountain, 80% of the journey is along the Sanggan River Continental Highway. Compared to the Icy Continent's Dragon Tooth Mountain Highway, the roads within the Aimy Empire are smoother and wider. The carriage moved swiftly, reaching the foot of Holy Snow Mountain, 1,500 kilometers away, in just 10 days, where the majestic snowy peaks emerged from the clouds in the distance.

Almost all the aspiring Phantom Beast Knights were accompanied by friends and family, especially the nobles. Even the Lin and Chi families couldn't avoid this custom, as concern often leads to chaos. Earl Lin and his wife personally saw off their daughter and her friend Sha Ruo. The Chi family, given the duke's high rank and role as the army's supreme commander, found it too burdensome for him to attend personally, but Chi Hanfeng, Lei Ge, Aimy, Big Qing Shan, and Hoens were present.

Fifty kilometers from Holy Snow Mountain, a 3-meter-high wooden and stone fence stretched endlessly across the plain. Inside the fence, imperial knights patrolled in squads. Seeing the escorting knight contingent approach, a Phantom Beast Knight riding a ground dragon came forward, carefully inspected the military token issued by the Red Stone Emperor, and signaled for the gate to be opened.

The knight contingent automatically split into 31 small units, each leading a knight in a different direction. Naturally, Lin Yushang, Sha Ruo, and Chi Aotian headed in various directions. From this point, all family members of the knights were barred from entering, even those of high rank like earls or generals.

Watching the figures of Lin Yushang, Sha Ruo, and Chi Aotian grow smaller until they vanished from sight, Chi Hanfeng and the others returned to their designated tents. Just as they sat down, Earl Lin and his wife came to visit. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Aimy, Big Qing Shan, Hoens, and a few other novices bombarded them with questions about the Phantom Beast Knights' trial.

Chi Hanfeng, being a Phantom Beast Knight himself, and Earl Lin were well-versed in these matters.

The so-called Phantom Beast Trial is a process for gaining a beast's complete trust and ultimately transforming it in the blood pool of the Phantom Beast Sanctuary to enhance its abilities.

How does one gain the beast's allegiance?

Phantom beasts come in many temperaments. Some are fiercely aggressive towards humans, making their acceptance nearly impossible. Others are more easily accepting of humans, but this can be a drawback as they may readily accept other humans too.

Early phantom beast researchers discovered that all beasts tend to view the first moving object they see after birth as their mother and will follow it for life. This led to the creation of the Phantom Realm, where newly born beasts are immediately placed, given a dreamlike, womb-like experience. Even feeding by the mother beast is done through special equipment that delivers milk into the Phantom Realm.

After short-term observation confirms the young beast's exceptional abilities, it is selected for the Phantom Beast Trial.

Once brought to Holy Snow Mountain, each knight is assigned a path completely devoid of other humans. These paths are marked with guiding signs, leading the Phantom Beast Knights to the "path" to the Phantom Beast Sanctuary.

Upon ensuring all others have left, the knight opens the Phantom Realm, releasing the beast, which then regards the knight as its mother. The Phantom Beast Knight then leads the young beast in challenging the average 4,000-meter-high Holy Snow Mountain, sharing food and shelter over more than ten days to build an unbreakable trust.

Holy Snow Mountain spans over 2,000 kilometers, with the Aimy Empire claiming 1,200 kilometers. The other two empires share less than 1,000 kilometers of the border.

Over the centuries, the empire has continually scouted new routes, which must meet two conditions:

The straight-line distance to the nearest route must not be less than 15 kilometers, as some avian beasts can see over such distances. However, if the route is always obstructed by peaks, this can be reduced to 10 kilometers.

The path must not be too difficult, as some beasts come from tropical regions and can't adapt to the cold. Phantom Beast Knights must overcome the obstacles of ice and snow, keep the beasts warm, and even carry them, making overly difficult paths impractical.

Currently, the empire has discovered 42 Phantom Beast routes, occupying 31 of them, with 6 shared with the Hami people, 4 with the Holy Desert Empire, and 1 kept in reserve. The other two nations bordering Holy Snow Mountain have also allocated some routes to friendly nations providing phantom beasts.

"What if we encounter someone?" Aimy asked worriedly.

Chi Hanfeng reassured her, "That won't happen. Phantom Beast Knights are guided every step of the way, and the area around Holy Snow Mountain is fenced off and heavily guarded by the three nations. Any intruder can be dealt with swiftly."

The next day, Lin Yushang had already reached the 2,000-meter-high mountains with the imperial knights. Here, the path disappeared, and a scout pointed out the markers before saluting and swiftly leaving with his soldiers.

According to the Phantom Beast Trial instructions provided by the empire, Lin Yushang had to wait an hour after the soldiers left before opening the Phantom Realm to prevent her beast from seeing others. During this time, she located the first-day supply point, retrieving pre-chilled food preserved with ice magic.

An hour and ten minutes later, Lin Yushang followed the instructions to open the Phantom Realm. A small unicorn emerged, about 1.2 meters tall, its snowy white fur reflecting rainbow hues in the sunlight. It hesitantly gazed at Lin Yushang, blinking its large brown eyes and gently nudging her with its tiny, 30-centimeter horn.

"What an adorable little creature," Lin Yushang laughed, cradling the unicorn's face with one hand and touching its soft horn with the other. She couldn't help but press her face against the unicorn's.

The girl's sweet smile dispelled the unicorn's doubts. It seemed pleased, licking Lin Yushang's cheek with its pink tongue and rubbing affectionately against her legs.

After bonding with the unicorn for a while, Lin Yushang fed it some quality beans and began their challenging journey up Holy Snow Mountain.

Perhaps due to the high altitude, the forest wasn't very dense, allowing sunlight to filter through the treetops. Lin Yushang scratched the little creature's itch while chatting with it.

"Hey, pretty little horn, what's your name?"

"Hum—Te—" the unicorn snorted.

"Ah, your name is Hunter?" Lin Yushang tilted her head, pondering. "That doesn't sound nice. How about I give you a name?"

"Hum—Te—"

"I'll call you Snow White, how about that?"

"Hum—Te—"

"Great, you agree! No take-backs, your name is Snow White. Hehe—"

Soft, youthful, laughter, a beautiful girl;

Elegant, sacred, handsome, a unicorn;

Tree shadows, sunlight, gentle breeze, Holy Snow Mountain;

Together, they create an indescribable beauty.

At the same time, 200 kilometers away, Sha Ruo opened her own Phantom Realm. "Hmm—why isn't the little phoenix coming out after two minutes? Could it be suffocating?" Worried, Sha Ruo reached into the Phantom Realm, trying to help.

Suddenly, a small beak poked out, pecking at Sha Ruo's tender palm. Instantly, Sha Ruo felt a tingle, like a child's tickle in her hand.

The beak pecked twice more, ensuring no danger outside, before the whole head emerged. A crown-like crest popped out from the narrow exit, shimmering in the sunlight. Then the entire body and its long, beautiful tail feathers followed. It tilted its head, glanced at Sha Ruo, and slowly flapped its wings.

The beautiful phoenix was quite large, with a wingspan of about 11 meters. Its beak still had the yellowish hue of a young bird, indicating it was newly hatched.

Sha Ruo, fearing she might scare it, smiled gently, slowly reaching out to stroke its silky, luxurious feathers from head to tail, while offering prepared food with the other hand. The phoenix, unsure at first, tasted it cautiously and, finding it delicious, flapped its wings, perched on Sha Ruo's shoulder, and began eating eagerly.

Though usually quiet, Sha Ruo enjoyed the sensation of the phoenix balancing itself by gripping her shoulder while eating.

Ahead, every 10 meters stood a clear marker, with more detailed signs every 500 meters indicating the day's estimated schedule and the distance to the next supply point.

Sha Ruo's route lay through high-altitude grasslands, where colorful flowers bloomed across the flat terrain. Excitedly, she sometimes ran a few steps, while the phoenix spread its wings and glided on the wind before landing.

Occasionally, towering, cloud-piercing spruces appeared, so massive that two or three people couldn't wrap their arms around them.

Traveling at high altitudes can cause oxygen deprivation and dizziness if one moves too fast, which Sha Ruo began to experience. Following the instructions, she paced herself, reaching her first campsite by 4:00 PM. Behind a marked boulder, she found the magically bound tent and supplies.

Setting up the tent was easy. Then, Sha Ruo dug a pit and lit a campfire. As darkness fell, the flames flickered upwards, illuminating the night. Sha Ruo leaned against a rock, stroking the little phoenix resting on her, watching the twinkling stars through the dancing flames and rising sparks. On the plateau, the stars shone brightly, with even the smallest stars winking clearly.

The campfire's roasting meat sizzled, with fat dripping down, evoking memories of a similar campfire in the Hami Empire, and the sincere boy who always prepared everything and saved the best meat for her.

Smiling, Sha Ruo's lips moved slightly, revealing a faint, mysterious smile as she gently touched her foot.