I Grind to Martial Saint

The masked Swordsman had never expected Han Yuan to strike so suddenly.

There was no warning, no chance to parry. His head was simply blasted into a bloody pulp.

Then, his body began to change bizarrely, melting into a puddle of slush.

"What a crude trick."

Han Yuan shook his head.

He had encountered this kind of trick many times.

By carefully observing their movements and tone of voice, he could tell what was real and what was fake.

"Meow~ Han Yuan, you need to be careful."

"I have a bad feeling about this Snow Dragon Mountain."

The Orange Cat said uneasily.

"Hmm... It seems there are secrets hidden here as well."

Han Yuan nodded.

He pressed forward at high speed with the Orange Cat. Several more Resentful Souls appeared, but they were all blasted to smithereens by the fireballs the Orange Cat spat out.

In the second half of the night, Han Yuan suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He saw two Ice Sculptures up ahead.

It was the two masked Swordsmen.

They stood in the snow, their expressions calm and serene, as if they were asleep.

"Looks like these two weren’t very lucky."

Han Yuan said softly.

"Definitely a pair of unlucky souls." The Orange Cat nodded.

Han Yuan had no intention of bothering with the two Ice Sculptures and prepared to leave.

But just as he passed the two Ice Sculptures, their calm, serene expressions suddenly twisted into ferocious, terrifying masks as they lunged at him.

BANG! BANG!

As if expecting it, Han Yuan’s right arm shot out, delivering two lightning-fast punches.

It was so fast, not even the Orange Cat could follow the movement.

The two Ice Sculptures were blasted into shards of ice.

"Making trouble even after death..."

Han Yuan shook his head.

He continued walking forward.

Only someone as formidable as Han Yuan would dare to swagger through Snow Dragon Mountain at night.

Even Resentful Souls had to move aside when they saw him.

After walking another two or three hundred meters, Han Yuan met another person.

The old monk.

The monk was sitting cross-legged beneath a withered tree, fingering his Buddha Beads with one hand. His presence was so faint it was almost nonexistent.

Han Yuan walked over thoughtfully.

"Master, are you here all by yourself?"

Hearing Han Yuan’s voice, the old monk opened his eyes slightly. "I am the only one here..."

"Aren’t you going to keep moving?" Han Yuan asked, puzzled.

"I do not know which way to go... so I can only remain here," the old monk said softly.

As he said this, he stood up.

His intention was clear: he wanted to follow Han Yuan.

Han Yuan’s mouth twitched. "Master, I don’t actually know which way to go either."

The old monk smiled. "I can see you are no ordinary person. If I follow you, I’m sure I will find a way out."

"Alright." Han Yuan nodded.

He found the old monk mysterious, giving him an indescribable feeling.

And so, Han Yuan and the old monk traveled together.

In the course of their conversation, Han Yuan finally learned the old monk’s monastic name.

Xu Shi.

According to the old monk, he needed to cross Snow Dragon Mountain to reach a temple called the Celestial Dragon Temple.

Not long after they started traveling together, they met two more figures.

It was One-Eyed Dragon and the tall, taciturn man.

The two of them must have been attacked by some Evil Spirits and Resentful Souls, as they had sustained minor injuries.

However, they also brought Han Yuan a piece of news.

"There was an avalanche up ahead. The ruins of an Ice Palace have been revealed."

One-Eyed Dragon said.

"Ice Palace ruins?"

Han Yuan asked, surprised.

"Yes... it’s just up ahead."

"We only discovered it by chance."

One-Eyed Dragon said.

"Then let’s go take a look."

Han Yuan said casually.

The old monk fingered his Buddha Beads, saying nothing.

One-Eyed Dragon led them about three or four hundred meters forward, where the well-preserved ruins of an Ice Palace came into Han Yuan’s view.

The Ice Palace ruins had likely been covered by ice and snow for ages. They looked exceptionally exquisite, though it was impossible to tell how old they were.

The recent avalanche had simply allowed them to see the light of day once more.

Another figure stood before the Ice Palace ruins, seemingly hesitating.

Hearing footsteps behind him, he couldn’t help but turn to look.

He saw Han Yuan, One-Eyed Dragon, the old monk, and the tall, slim man approaching.

"You’re finally here."

The Scholar said softly.

"Did you find anything?"

One-Eyed Dragon was surprised to see the Scholar here, as he himself had only been gone for a short while.

"No... I was afraid there might be danger inside, so I haven’t gone in yet."

The Scholar said honestly.

"I see..." One-Eyed Dragon nodded.

The Scholar’s choice was understandable.

He did a quick headcount and said softly, "We’re just missing the two masked Swordsmen."

Han Yuan spoke up. "They’re dead... Frozen into Ice Sculptures by something."

One-Eyed Dragon sighed. "This is the terror of Snow Dragon Mountain after nightfall. If Brother Cheng hadn’t been with me, I’m afraid I would’ve been a goner too."

The Brother Cheng he mentioned was, of course, the tall, taciturn man.

"So what now?"

"Are we going in or not?"

The Scholar asked softly.

"We’d better not."

"These Ice Palace ruins don’t look simple. Who knows what dangers lie within..."

"Let’s just wait here for a while, and leave after dawn."

One-Eyed Dragon said very cautiously.

His years of experience as a guide told him that messing with unknown, mysterious things without sufficient strength was no different from suicide.

Han Yuan was still curious about the Ice Palace.

But hearing One-Eyed Dragon say this, he didn’t object.

He also wanted to leave the Snow Dragon Mountain Range as soon as possible.

The old monk and the tall, slim man remained silent, offering no opinion.

Meanwhile, the young Scholar’s expression flickered with indecision.