š CHAPTER 3: Trial by Ice & Wind
The Wind Baboon lunged, a blur of dark fur and sharp claws aimed at his throat. In the original story, this moment had been one of sheer terrorāa desperate, clumsy dodge, a lucky strike with the White Tiger Dagger.
This time, Huo Yuhao's world moved in slow-motion clarity.
His Spirit Eyes tracked every muscle twitch in the beast's shoulders. His Frost Sense mapped the eddies of air displaced by its charge. And in the corner of his vision, the [Live-Stream] chat scrolled furiously.
[Viewer_BlueFire]: "Dodge left! Its right paw is favoring the ground!"
[Viewer_SchemerLelouchFan]:"Use the cold to slick the ground under it! Unbalance!"
[Viewer_CultivationNerd]:"Your ice spirit is weak! Aim for the eyesāsoft tissue!"
Information, instinct, and adrenaline fused. He didn't just dodge left; he pivoted on his heel, his thin body moving with a grace born of sudden, absolute focus. As he moved, he pushed his will through his Primordial Ice Seed, not to attack, but to change the environment.
A concentrated burst of cold shot from his palm, not at the baboon, but at the patch of mossy stone just before its leading foot.
Crackle.
A near-invisible sheet of black ice blossomed on the rock.
The Wind Baboon's paw hit the ice and skidded wildly. Its snarl of attack turned into a yelp of surprise as its momentum was stolen, sending it crashing sideways into the cave wall with a heavy thud.
It was off-balance. Vulnerable.
Huo Yuhao didn't hesitate. He didn't have the White Tiger Dagger drawn. He had something elseāthe foundational principle of all his future power: control.
He lunged forward, not with a weapon, but with his hand extended. He couldn't conjure spears of ice yet, but he could condense the moisture in the air. He focused every drop of his spirit power, channeling it through the Seed.
A six-inch shard of milky, opaque ice crystallized in his grip. It was crude, fragile, and lethally sharp.
As the dazed baboon pushed itself up, he drove the ice shard downward with both hands, aiming not for the skull, but for the base of its neckāa spot his Spirit Eyes highlighted as less protected by thick bone.
The shard bit deep. The beast convulsed, a gurgling shriek tearing from its throat. Hot blood steamed in the frigid air.
Huo Yuhao stumbled back, his makeshift weapon shattered, his hands stained red and numb. He watched as the light died in the beast's eyes. A faint white ring of lightāa ten-year spirit ringābegan to coalesce above its body.
Silence, heavy and profound, filled the cave. Then, the chat exploded.
[System Alert: Douluo Coins Received!]
[Viewer_IceQueen]:"HOLY! That was brutal! +50 Coins!"
[Viewer_StrategyGuru]:"Environmental manipulation at rank 10?! Host's comprehension is S-tier! +100 Coins!"
[Viewer_MoralSupport]:"Are you okay, Yuhao? That was intenseā¦ +20 Coins."
He was panting, his heart hammering against his ribs. He'd just killed something. It wasn't a monster in a game or a beast in a story. It was real. The coppery smell of blood, the fading warmth of the corpseāit was violently, awfully real.
"Iā¦ I had to," he whispered, to himself and the viewers. "It was me or it."
[Viewer_VeteranReader]: "You did good, kid. This world isn't kind. That kill just bought you your future. Now, DON'T absorb that trash white ring. Wait for the big worm!"
The reminder was a lifeline. He tore his eyes from the spirit ring. He was here for a purpose.
But the fight had cost him. His spirit power was nearly drained. The violent awakening of the Ice Seed had left his meridians feeling raw. He was shaking, a combination of shock, adrenaline crash, and spiritual exhaustion.
Thump.
A deep, resonant thump vibrated through the stone beneath his feet. Then another. It felt like the heartbeat of the earth itself.
THUMP. THUMP.
The air in the cave grew colder, far beyond what his own ice could produce. A brilliant, golden-white light began to seep from a crack in the cave floor, illuminating the moss and stone with an ethereal glow.
"It's here," Huo Yuhao breathed.
A section of the floor bulged, then shattered upward. A colossal, segmented body of crystalline white flesh erupted into the cave, ten golden hoops glowing along its length. Its head, crowned with two beady, intelligent golden eyes, swiveled to look directly at him.
The Tianmeng Iceworm. The million-year spirit beast. The cornerstone of the original Huo Yuhao's power.
Its voice, rich with amazement and desperation, echoed directly in his mind.
"A human! With a pure mental attribute! Andā¦ is that a nascent ice spirit? Perfect! More than perfect! This is fate!"
Huo Yuhao stood his ground, forcing his trembling to stop. This was the moment of choice. The future him had warned against the pre-ordained path. The system had offered a rebellion. Yet, the Iceworm's power was undeniable. It wasn't evil; it was a victim too, a battery for the Star Dou Great Forest's overlords.
Could he reject it? Should he?
The Iceworm didn't wait for an answer. It could sense powerful beings approachingāthe guardians it had escaped from. It had no time.
"Little human! I am the Tianmeng Iceworm! I have lived for a million years! I offer you a pactānot a death, but a merger! Become my vessel, and I will make you a god!"
The same grandiose offer. The same desperate sales pitch.
[MISSION UPDATE: CROSSROADS OF DESTINY]
The Tianmeng Iceworm offers its 'Wisdom Spirit Ring.'
Option 1: Accept the Fusion.Become the fated child of destiny. Gain a million-year first ring (sealed), four spirit skills, a second ice spirit, and the Iceworm's consciousness as a guide. (Reward: Massive Early Power, Plot Armor, +50 System Affinity. Risk: Deepens connection to Tang San's narrative web.)
Option 2: Forge a New Pact.Use your unique status (Reader's Soul + Black Book) to negotiate. Propose a Soul-Binding Contract of Mutual Benefit, not a sacrifice. (Reward: ???, +100 Rebellion Points. Risk: Total Failure. The Iceworm may refuse or be captured, leaving you with nothing.)
The chat went into a frenzy.
[Viewer_LoreMaster]: "THE WORM! Don't just accept! He's hiding the truth about the seals and his weakness!"
[Viewer_PowerGamer]:"Take the power! You need it to survive! You can rebel later!"
[Viewer_ContractLawyer]:"Propose a contract! The Black Book must have a template! Mutual benefit!"
Huo Yuhao's mind raced. The future him had said to think differently. To be a variable. Accepting was the obvious, powerful choice. It was also the choice Tang San's script was counting on.
He made his decision.
"Tianmeng Iceworm!" Huo Yuhao shouted aloud, his voice echoing in the cave. "I see your strength! But I also see your fear! You're not just offering this out of generosity. You're running from something!"
The Iceworm's massive body flinched, its golden eyes widening in shock. No human had ever spoken back to it at this moment. They were always too awestruck or terrified.
"Youā¦ how do youā¦?"
"I propose a different deal!" Huo Yuhao continued, pushing his spirit power into his words, trying to project confidence he didn't fully feel. "Not a merger where you fade into my soul. A contract! A partnership! You lend me your power, become my spirit ring, but retain your consciousness and autonomy within my spiritual sea! In return, I vow to use that power to one day free you, to give you a true form, and to help you get your revenge on those who imprisoned you!"
The silence that followed was deafening. The Iceworm stared, utterly flabbergasted.
"Aā¦ contract? Partnership? Little human, you have no idea what you're asking. The laws of heaven and earth dictate the absorption of spirit ringsā¦"
[BLACK BOOK INTERVENTION.]
The Black Book in his spiritual sea pulsed. A page filled with shifting, golden contractsālaws from forgotten dimensionsāflipped open. A wave of profound, administrative authority washed out from Huo Yuhao.
It was the authority of a Reader who understood narrative tropes, and the System that defied local laws.
"The old laws," Huo Yuhao said, his eyes beginning to glow with borrowed, silvery light from the Book, "are not my laws. I offer you a seat at my table, Tianmeng, not a place on my altar. Do you accept? Or shall I leave you for your pursuers?"
The Iceworm felt it thenāthe bizarre, otherworldly power nestled within this frail boy. It wasn't just the ice spirit. It was something older and stranger. A chance, not just at survival, but at something more.
Desperation and a flicker of wild hope warred in its ancient heart.
"ā¦The ones who chase meā¦ they are almost here. You swear? A partnership? You will help me?"
"I swear on my true name, which is not of this world," Huo Yuhao said, the words binding. "By the Black Book and the Reader's Will."
The Iceworm made its choice.
"THEN COME, PARTNER! WE HAVE LITTLE TIME!"
Instead of the passive, willing sacrifice of the original tale, a torrent of collaborative energy surged from the Iceworm. It wasn't just giving itself up; it was actively weaving its essence into Huo Yuhao's spiritual matrix, guided by the template of contract law provided by the Black Book.
The pain was still immenseāa flood of ice and mental energy trying to reshape his soulābut it was different. It felt less like an invasion and more like a violent, precise construction. He wasn't a passive recipient; he was the foreman on the site of his own apotheosis.
[CONTRACT ESTABLISHED: SOUL-BOUND ALLIANCE WITH TIANMENG ICEWORM.]
[FUSION IN PROGRESSā¦]
Ten golden rings of light detached from the Iceworm's body and shot towards Huo Yuhao, wrapping around him not as shackles, but as bands of radiant, cooperative power. The Iceworm's physical form dissolved into a river of brilliant white light that poured into his forehead.
Inside his spiritual sea, chaos eruptedābut an organized chaos. The Iceworm's consciousness, vast and dream-like, settled not as a dominating force, but as a shimmering, silvery moon orbiting the Black Book. The stolen treasures adjusted their orbits to accommodate the new celestial body.
[FUSION COMPLETE!]
ā First Spirit Ring Acquired: 'Contractual Wisdom Ring' (Base: 400,000 Years ā 7 Seals Applied)
ā Spirit Skills Unlocked (4 Slots): [Spiritual Detection], [Spiritual Sharing], [Spiritual Interference], [Dream Imprint] ā (Skills can be evolved/modified)
ā Second Spirit 'Primordial Ice Seed' Boosted: Now equivalent to 1000-Year Spirit. New Ability Unlocked: [Ice Mirror] ā Create a small, reflective plane of ice.
ā Tianmeng Iceworm's Consciousness preserved as 'Advisor Tianmeng.' Relationship: Allied.
Reward: 100 Rebellion Points. Black Book System Integration reaches 100%.
Huo Yuhao, panting on the cave floor, felt exponentially stronger, yet utterly drained. He laughed, a raw, incredulous sound. "Long story. Welcome to the rebellion."
Just then, a towering, oppressive pressure descended upon the entire Star Dou Great Forest. The very air seemed to solidify. It was a presence so mighty it choked the spirit.
The pursuit had arrived. But it wasn't the Beast Gods of the forest core. This pressure was differentāsharp, boundless, and tinged with the cold judgment of the heavens.
A figure materialized in the mouth of the cave, silhouetted against the outside light. Not a spirit beast.
A man.
He wore simple blue robes, his black hair tied back. His face was handsome, ageless, and his eyes were a deep, penetrating blue that seemed to contain entire oceans. He held a simple, unadorned wooden staff.
He looked at Huo Yuhao, at the dissipating energy of the fusion, and a faint, almost imperceptible flicker of surprise passed through his serene expression.
"A child," the man said, his voice melodious and calm, yet it carried the weight of millennia. "And a spirit beast of such ageā¦ merging in a way that defies the Heavenly Dao. Howā¦ curious."
Huo Yuhao's blood ran colder than any ice. His Spirit Eyes, now supercharged, screamed a silent warning. He didn't need the chat to tell him.
He knew this face. Every reader did.
This was Tang San, the Sea God, the Asura God, the God King.
And he was here, decades ahead of schedule.
[LIVE-STREAM CHAT SCREECHED TO A HALT IN TERROR.]
[System Alert: CRITICAL NARRATIVE DEVIATION DETECTED.]
[Hostā¦ you have attracted the Author's gaze far too early.]
Tang San took a single, graceful step into the cave, his eyes fixed on Huo Yuhao.
"Tell me, child," he asked, a gentle, paternal smile on his lips. "What is your name?"
---
TO BE CONTINUEDā¦
(Chapter 4 Preview: The God King's Gaze ā Trapped in a cave with the most powerful being in the cosmos, Huo Yuhao must navigate a conversation where every word could doom him. Tang San is probing, suspicious of the anomaly that disrupted his carefully laid plans for the "Emotion God." Meanwhile, in the spiritual sea, Advisor Tianmeng is frozen in divine terror, and the Black Book's pages flutter anxiously, preparing countermeasures.)