As everyone recovered from the exhaustion of the Ice Spirit tempering, the stone chamber fell silent once more, save for the soft breathing. The ice sculpture's gaze slowly swept over them, and the ancient voice rang out again: "You have successfully passed two trials. The final one is yet to come—the Spirit Power Puzzle."
As the ice sculpture finished speaking, countless fragments shimmering with icy blue light appeared on the floor of the stone chamber. These fragments varied in shape and size, scattered throughout the space. The ice sculpture explained, "These fragments are the materialized manifestations of the Ice Spirit Clan's spiritual power. You must use your own spiritual power to piece them together within half an hour to form a complete map of the Ice Spirit Clan's spiritual power in order to obtain the Ice Spirit Clan's complete inheritance."
Looking at the fragments scattered on the ground, Su Ran quickly considered her options. She knew this would test not only individual spiritual power control but also teamwork. Su Ran swiftly said, "Listen up, everyone. We'll first categorize the fragments according to their size and light intensity, then try to piece them together. Senior Brother, you lead a few junior brothers with strong spiritual power to handle the larger fragments; Second Senior Sister, you lead the junior sisters skilled in precise spiritual power control to deal with the smaller fragments." Everyone nodded and immediately began to work.
At the eldest disciple's command, he and several junior disciples walked to one side of the stone chamber. They stretched out their hands, releasing icy blue spiritual energy to slowly lift the larger fragments. Drawn by the spiritual energy, the fragments drew closer, but upon contact, they were repelled by the mutual repulsion of the energy. The eldest disciple frowned and said, "Everyone, stabilize your spiritual energy and try adjusting the frequency to make them harmonize." The group concentrated, constantly fine-tuning the frequency of their spiritual energy. Finally, two larger fragments successfully joined together, producing a crisp sound.
Meanwhile, the second senior sister was leading her junior sisters in a tense effort to process the small fragments. The numerous fragments, with their faint light, demanded even greater precision in controlling spiritual energy. One junior sister, her forehead covered in sweat, carefully manipulated her spiritual energy, attempting to piece together two intricately shaped fragments. After several unsuccessful attempts, the second senior sister gently comforted her, "Don't rush. Feel the flow of spiritual energy between the fragments and follow its direction to piece them together." The junior sister took a deep breath and, following her senior sister's guidance, finally managed to join the two fragments together.
Su Ran moved among the crowd, helping to coordinate the distribution of the fragments while keeping track of the time. As time passed, the puzzle gradually took shape, but many key parts were still missing. Just as everyone was getting anxious, Lin Feng suddenly shouted, "I have a fragment here that I feel can fill this gap!" He quickly ran over and, under everyone's watchful eyes, inserted the fragment into the puzzle piece, and it fit perfectly.
As the last fragment was pieced together, a magnificent overall diagram of the Ice Spirit Clan's spiritual power appeared before everyone's eyes. The diagram shone brightly, illuminating the entire stone chamber, and a vast and ancient Ice Spirit power surged from it, flowing into everyone's bodies.
Su Ran felt as if she were immersed in an ocean of ice spirits, countless secrets about the Ice Spirit Clan's cultivation and the application of spells flooding her mind. Under the baptism of this inherited power, her ice spirit power became purer and stronger, and her meridians were widened several times over. The other disciples experienced the same thing; everyone's aura underwent earth-shattering changes.
After absorbing the inherited power, everyone slowly opened their eyes, their eyes filled with surprise and excitement. Su Ran looked at the ice sculpture and respectfully bowed, saying, "Thank you for bestowing this inheritance upon us, senior. We will certainly carry forward the unique skills of the Ice Spirit Clan." The ice sculpture nodded slightly, then turned into a wisp of ice mist and dissipated.
The walls of the stone chamber slowly opened, and the group emerged from the ice chamber carrying the legacy of the Ice Spirit Clan. At this moment, the outside world was still covered in silver snow, but the group's state of mind and strength were no longer what they used to be.
Su Ran and his disciples, carrying the precious heritage of the Ice Spirit Clan, embarked on their return journey. They traveled along the winding icefield path, surrounded by towering ice peaks. Sunlight shone on the ice, reflecting a dazzling array of colors, a breathtaking sight. However, the group did not linger too long in the beauty of the scenery; their hearts were set on returning home, and they remained vigilant about their surroundings.
As Lin Feng walked, he excitedly sensed the surging ice spirit power within him and couldn't resist casting a small ice spell. A crystal-clear ice flower appeared in his hand, slowly rotating and emitting a chilling aura. He smiled and said, "Senior Sister, this ice spirit inheritance is truly powerful! I feel much easier casting spells now." Su Ran smiled and nodded, saying, "Although everyone has received the inheritance, we must not be careless. The path of cultivation is long, and we still need to proceed steadily."
Just then, a group of figures suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their path. The leader was a man dressed in black robes, who stared greedily at Su Ran and the others, sneering, "I heard you obtained the supreme inheritance of the Ice Spirit Clan. Hand it over obediently, and perhaps we'll spare your lives." Su Ran frowned, stepped in front of the group, and said sharply, "Who are you? What right do you have to steal the inheritance we worked so hard for?"
A thin man beside the black-robed man said sarcastically, "Hmph, who we are is not important. What's important is that the Ice Spirit Clan's inheritance is in the hands of you juniors. It's a complete waste. Only we, the Black Wind Stronghold, are worthy of possessing it." It turned out that this group of people were the notorious Black Wind Stronghold bandits from the surrounding area. They had heard the news that Su Ran and his group had obtained the Ice Spirit Clan's inheritance, so they set up an ambush here.
The eldest disciple glared angrily and shouted, "You bandits dare to covet our inheritance? Wishful thinking!" With that, his spiritual energy surged, and an icy blue light instantly enveloped his entire body as he assumed a fighting stance. The second senior sister and the other disciples also released their spiritual energy, ready for battle.
Seeing this, the man in black robes waved his hand, and the bandits behind him pounced on Su Ran and his companions like wolves. Su Ran gathered spiritual energy in his hands and unleashed the Ice Spirit Clan's "Ice Shard Piercing," countless sharp ice shards erupting from the ground and shooting towards the bandits. The ice shards were extremely fast, and several bandits were instantly struck and fell to the ground.
Lin Feng then used his newly acquired ice-based spell, "Ice Spirit Shackles," and ice chains shot up from the ground, firmly binding the approaching bandits. The bandits struggled desperately, but could not break free of the ice chains. The eldest brother then unleashed the powerful "Ice Dragon Descent," and a gigantic ice dragon roared as it charged towards the bandits, sending ice and snow flying everywhere it passed, knocking the bandits to the ground.
The Black Wind Stronghold members were caught off guard by the unexpected strength of Su Ran and his companions after receiving the inheritance, and were momentarily thrown into disarray. The black-robed man was shocked, but still unwilling to give up. He roared, "Hold on! Charge together and take them down!" Under his intimidation, the bandits mustered their courage once more and charged towards Su Ran and his group.
The two sides engaged in fierce combat, the light of ice magic mingling with the shouts of the bandits. Su Ran and his group, relying on the power inherited from the Ice Spirit Clan, temporarily gained the upper hand, but Black Wind Stronghold outnumbered them and fought with unwavering ferocity, keeping the situation tense. Just as the battle reached a stalemate, a bandit took advantage of the chaos to flank a young disciple, attempting to ambush him. The disciple, focused on the battle at the front, was unaware of the danger from behind.
Su Ran caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye and inwardly cried out in alarm. He hurriedly flew towards the disciple...
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