Chapter 603: Cemetary

The next day, Theron finally learned about the gathering and its rules. Aligning with the concepts of the Hall, there was the Forged Ice trial and the Forged Heart trial. The Forged Ice trial was a battle trial, one where the groups of various sects entered the Forest of Ice and played a game of survival.

It was said that the Forged Ice trials were drowning in beasts of a rare ice affinity. This wasn’t to say that the affinity of ice itself was rare, but instead that the type of Ice affinity was.

These creatures weren’t of flesh and blood, but were instead entirely formed of ice. Their bodies, as a result, were highly resistant to damage and also capable of completely reforming with Mana alone.

Rather than saying they were just Ice Mana beasts, it was closer to the truth to say that they were Ice Soul Beasts. In fact, this was the official name.

According to what Theron had learned, Soul Beasts were beasts completely formed of their Mana of choice. They were usually far stronger than normal Mana Beasts, though that came at the cost of their intelligence.

In the rare instance that you came across a Demonic Soul Beast, though... it was best to run in the complete opposite direction.
Ice and Heart, a hub of strong Ice Mana. Every few cycles, they grew to a point where they needed to be culled, lest they cause a problem for the Sect.

As a result, this gathering was held and an opportunity was given to the youth.

Even for non-Ice Mancers, the Ice Soul Beasts were great boons as they could refine the body and expel it of impurities when matched with the right technique.

It could be said that they were basically here to help the Hall of Ice and Heart prune their rose bushes and harvest their crops. Though, it wasn’t all bad.

They got to keep a lot of the Soul Beasts they killed after handing over a specific quota. And Hall of Ice and Heart disciples were also participating, so at least they had some skin in the game as well.

The Hall also rewarded well, and one of those rewards happened to be the second of the two challenges they would face:

The Forged Heart trial.

If it could be said that the first trial gave you a chance to refine impurities from your body, the second trial was an even rarer chance to refine impurities from your soul.

This part confused Theron a bit because it held concepts he wasn’t familiar with, but best he could tell, the Hall of Ice and Heart was also enamored with temperament and perfecting it.

The Forged Heart trial tested your temperament, and the further you made it, the more purified your soul would become. It was said that this had even allowed many to forge a Third Eye beyond their cultivation level.

The thing was... Theron already had a Third Eye beyond his cultivation level.

Most had Third Eyes beneath their cultivation level. Only geniuses had ones that were nearing or equivalent.

Theron was a wild exception because he had actually opened his own Third Eye in the Bronze Resonance Realm, while everyone else had to wait for the Silver Resonance Realm—the real reason their Third Eyes lagged behind.

It had been a long while of Theron’s Third Eye being stuck at the Quasi Cloud Realm, though. Maybe this would be a chance to break free of that barrier.

However... it could be said that the Forged Heart trial was even more dangerous than the Forged Ice trial.

Sure, the Forest of Ice had some truly shocking Soul Beasts within it. Some said that there were even some at the Dome of Heaven realm already in regions that were marked highly dangerous and to be avoided.

However, it was said that if you stepped too far into the Forged Heart trial and lacked the capacity to withstand it, your soul could be frozen forever, leaving you in a coma you would never awaken from.

In fact... the name of the trial zone for the Forged Ice trial was known as the Forest of Ice, while the trial zone for the Forged Heart trial was known as the Forest of Heart.

Why?

The Forest of Ice had trees carved of ice and Mana Herbs formed of blooming snow.

As for the Forest of Heart? It had this name for reasons that were far more eerie.

Its trees were none other than the participants of the past, those lost on the trial ground forever, frozen in time... their arms and legs being the branches, their heads becoming the crown of their canopies.

The true Forest of Heart was a cemetery.