Chapter 519: Absolute Zero

Chapter 519: Absolute Zero

"Hello, my name is Li Wei."

Li Wei and Xiong Wei, the older brother of Xiong Er, got to know each other.

Xiong Wei revealed a simple, honest smile and said, "So you're the one Xiong Er mentioned. He said you were an incredibly powerful mage. Meeting you today certainly confirms his words."

Li Wei replied modestly, "Oh, not at all. I'm just slightly better than average, that's all."

After exchanging a few words, Xiong Er returned.

Seeing the two chatting amicably, Xiong Er was somewhat surprised.

He glanced at his brother, then turned to Li Wei and said, "The shaman has agreed to see you."

"Mm, thank you."

"Come with me."

Li Wei followed Xiong Er's footsteps and arrived at the dwelling place of the shaman of the Snow Bear Tribe.

The shaman’s residence looked rather dilapidated, perhaps built many years ago.

The entrance was covered by a thick bear hide, shielding it from wind and rain.

Xiong Er lifted the hide and gestured for Li Wei to enter.

Once inside, Li Wei found the room cluttered with various items.

The only clear space was where the shaman sat.

He sat at a low table, upon which a single candle burned, its flame illuminating only a small area around the table.

Most of the room remained in shadowy darkness.

Li Wei could see clearly enough, though he wondered whether the shaman of the Snow Bear Tribe could as well.

The shaman’s voice reached Li Wei’s ears: "Please sit."

His voice sounded like that of a revered elder—commanding instant respect and prompting involuntary attention.

Li Wei sat down opposite the shaman. The floor was covered with a thick animal pelt, making the seat surprisingly warm.

Looking at the shaman, whose body was mostly shrouded in darkness, with only his hunched hands visible, Li Wei said, "I hope you’ll forgive this intrusion. I’ve come to visit you today because there’s something very important I need to discuss."

The shaman replied, "If I can be of help, I will do my best."

Li Wei placed the ancient tome on the table and said, "I heard you’re quite skilled at reading ancient texts, so I’m hoping you can help interpret some of these, especially anything related to the Demon Seed. I’d greatly appreciate your assistance."

Upon seeing what Li Wei had brought, the shaman’s eyes flickered slightly, showing interest.

He had a unique fondness for such ancient artifacts.

He reached out to touch the beast hide and bones, feeling the rough texture worn by time.

The shaman murmured softly, "Some of these ancient scripts are unfamiliar even to me. I’ll do what I can."

"That would be a great help," Li Wei nodded.

The shaman picked up the ancient book and held it close to the candlelight, carefully studying the old script and pondering their meanings.

From time to time, he referred to the nearby beast-skin scrolls for comparison.

Li Wei sat beside him, originally intending to learn some ancient writing himself.

But merely watching made his head ache and his eyes blur.

Eventually, he closed his eyes and entered meditation to cultivate instead, waiting for the shaman to finish interpreting the sections about the Demon Seed.

He didn’t know how long passed before the rustling sound of flipping through the scrolls finally stopped.

Li Wei slowly opened his eyes and looked toward the shaman, who had now set down the scroll.

After a moment of silence, the shaman asked, "This Demon Seed you speak of—is it connected to the ancient Demon Gods?"

Li Wei nodded and told him about the arrival of the Demon God’s apostles in the world.

The shaman listened, remaining silent for a long while before speaking again.

"Are the ancient Demon Gods returning?"

Li Wei said nothing.

The shaman composed himself and picked up a piece of beast bone, beginning to explain the ancient text to Li Wei.

The bone recorded stories of the Demon Seed wreaking havoc among mortals.

To Li Wei, it sounded like legend—but according to the shaman, these events had actually occurred many years ago.

The shaman said, "Based on these ancient records, the Demon Seed isn’t a magical beast. Rather, it seems to be a force that induces demonic transformation in humans."

"Not just humans—the texts also mention animals and plants undergoing demonic change."

Li Wei asked, "What is the cost of this demonic transformation?"

The shaman answered, "Perhaps the loss of reason, leaving behind only the instinct to kill."

"In the early stages of transformation, the Demon Seed greatly enhances an individual’s potential, dramatically increasing their strength."

"But over time, the deeper the transformation, the less reason remains—eventually turning them into monsters driven solely by bloodlust."

Li Wei frowned slightly and asked, "If it only creates monsters, what benefit does that bring to the Demon Gods? Could it simply be that they enjoy chaos for its own sake?"

He couldn’t understand such self-destructive actions.

The shaman shook his head and said, "I don’t think it’s that simple. This stone tablet records a village where everyone became demonized—and overnight, every transformed human and animal vanished without a trace."

"There may lie the truth you seek."

Li Wei nodded and said, "Thank you for helping me interpret these ancient texts. This is my token of gratitude."

He took out a pouch filled with gold coins and placed it on the shaman’s table.

The shaman didn’t even glance at it. "No need for thanks," he said.

Li Wei stood and left.

Lifting the heavy fur curtain at the doorway, he stepped out of the shaman’s dwelling and took a deep breath.

The air inside had been stuffy, filled with the mixed scent of dried herbs and materials, along with the mysterious aroma of unknown potions brewing somewhere.

Through this visit, Li Wei gained a general understanding of the Demon Seed.

Before it manifested, there was almost no way to detect whether someone carried it within them.

Early signs of transformation included a sudden surge in power.

Mid-stage changes involved physical alterations.

Late-stage symptoms meant complete loss of reason and an overwhelming urge to kill.

But what exactly did the Demon Seed mean to the Demon Gods?

Even Li Wei didn’t know.

Suddenly, he thought of faith itself—for deities, belief was power.

The way deities gather faith is by receiving belief from mortals.

Is the demon god also collecting some kind of power through the demon seeds?

Deities require living people to provide faith.

The demon god, however, takes away all creatures corrupted by darkness.

One represents life; the other, death.

Perhaps this is the irreconcilable conflict between gods and demon gods.

Li Wei shook his head, feeling he was overthinking things. He walked toward the gate of the Snow Bear Tribe, preparing to return to Ice City.

Suddenly, with a thunderous boom, the gate of the Snow Bear Tribe was blasted flying by an immense force, hurtling past overhead in a gust of wind.

The stone wall built from massive boulders was shattered by that same power.

A towering figure appeared at the entrance of the Snow Bear Tribe.

Li Wei looked up—it was an enormous snow bear.

Originally covered entirely in white fur, now its body bore numerous black markings like necrotic flesh.

Its eyes were blood-red, filled with brutality and rage.

"Roar!"

With a furious roar, it swung a paw at the guard lying among the rubble, aiming to crush him into pulp.

"Stop!"

A figure rushed past Li Wei in a flash.

Boom!

The giant bear's paw came down but was blocked.

The tremendous shockwave sent nearby snow flying everywhere.

Cold flakes blinded Li Wei’s vision.

Boom! Boom!

Two more muffled crashes followed by a grunt of pain.

As the blizzard cleared before Li Wei’s eyes, two figures emerged.

Behind Xiong Er materialized an icy blue bear, locked in combat with the snow bear.

He retreated step after step, clearly outmatched.

His strength paled in comparison to the monstrous snow bear.

Meanwhile, Xiong Wei intercepted the descending paw, saving someone beneath.

Seeing his younger brother losing ground, he let out a fierce shout, spread his arms wide, and charged at the snow bear.

"Aaah!"

He lunged forward and wrapped his arms around one of the beast’s legs, muscles bulging as he ripped off his fur coat.

Crash—Boom!

Xiong Wei toppled the snow bear using just one leg.

Seizing the chance, Xiong Er commanded the ice bear to attack.

"Ice Roar!"

The ice bear roared, its claws glowing with azure light as they slammed onto the fallen snow bear.

Boom! Boom!

Sounds like drums beaten hard echoed across the battlefield.

Even the wind and snow paused momentarily under the impact.

"How is it going?"

Warriors of the Snow Bear Tribe rushed over armed, surrounding the creature while staring tensely at the scene.

Xiong Wei and Xiong Er were the strongest fighters of their tribe.

If even these two together couldn't handle the beast, then today would be perilous for the entire tribe.

"Aaargh!"

The fallen snow bear let out a deafening roar.

It rose and charged at them both.

Boom! Boom!

Both brothers were struck violently aside, soaring over Li Wei’s head and crashing into an ice house behind him.

Inside, adults and children clung together in terror, watching the chaos unfold outside.

"Awooo!"

The snow bear lay on the ground howling toward the sky.

Blood-red light gleamed menacingly from its eyes.

Thump!

Some warriors of the Snow Bear Tribe fainted from fear.

Despite the combined assault of Xiong Er and Xiong Wei, the strange snow bear seemed almost unharmed.

Everyone stood stunned—and deeply frightened.

Li Wei gazed at the snow bear not far away, sensing something familiar emanating from it.

"This... could it be a demon seed? A corrupted creature?"

Lowering its head, the snow bear scanned the surroundings with crimson eyes, searching for prey.

Spotting Li Wei closest to it, instinct drove it to lunge and bite.

"Awooo!"

"Frozen Tomb!"

Zzzzt! Crrrack!

Frost spread rapidly across the snow bear’s body, encasing it in layers of ice until it froze solid into a colossal block.

In the sunlight, the ice glimmered dazzlingly.

All present stared in disbelief at Li Wei—not daring to believe such a powerful snow bear had been instantly frozen.

Creak! Crack! Crackle!

Cracks began forming on the surface of the ice, spreading swiftly.

With a resounding crash, the snow bear broke free from the Frozen Tomb spell, raising its paw furiously to strike Li Wei with crushing force.

The ice-encased tomb proved useless, and Li Wei was somewhat surprised.

It was possible that the snow bear inherently possessed high resistance to frost.

That was why, even after being frozen, it could still retain mobility and break free from the ice.

Originally, he had wanted to spare the snow bear's life to study the magical creature.

What unfolded before him exceeded his expectations, leaving Li Wei no choice but to hold nothing back.

Coincidentally, he harbored an idea in his mind that required verification.

He activated the advanced flame principle.

Draining all thermal energy from the space where the snow bear stood.

Thermal energy extraction! Absolute zero!

Crack, crack, crack!

The snow bear's movements grew increasingly sluggish, until it finally halted ten centimeters above Li Wei's head, motionless.

Its surface bore no wounds whatsoever.

Yet, the blood, muscles, and bones within the snow bear had all approached absolute zero in temperature.

Frozen from within.

At this moment, any force striking the snow bear would shatter its body into scattered ice fragments.

(End of chapter)