"Make us proud! And don’t you dare spit out my name! I’m going incognito!"

Wangchen stumbled forward, caught by the momentum. He found himself standing in front of the counting table before he could argue further.

The deacon looked at him. "Name?"

"Xie Wangchen," he said, his voice cold and clipped.

The deacon sighed. After the Holy Son Gu Zhiwei, everyone else seemed dull. "Dump your bag."

Wangchen hesitated one last time. He looked back at Ji’an. She was making a ’shooing’ motion with her hands and mouthing ’Go on!’

He gritted his teeth. ’Fine. I will take the rank. And then I will use the authority to protect him.’

He opened the bag.

It wasn’t a cascade. It was an avalanche.

Thud. Thud. Thud!

Heavy, high-quality cores rolled onto the table.

The deacon’s eyes, which had started to droop, snapped open.

"Fifty Rank 2 cores," the deacon counted, his voice rising. "Ten... no, twenty Rank 2 Elites."

And then, Wangchen placed the final two items on the table.

The glowing, purple core of the Thunder-Claw Bear.

And the dual-colored core of the Twin-Headed Shadow Viper.

The plaza went silent.

Even Wen Shiru, sitting in the VIP section, stood up. "Impossible. The bear core... he kept it?"

"Rank 3 Thunder-Claw Bear," the deacon announced, his voice shaking. "And... a Rank 3 Shadow Viper."

He looked at Wangchen. "Did you kill these alone?"

Wangchen thought of Ji’an’s warning: ’Don’t give me credit. I’m incognito.’

"I had... support," Wangchen said vaguely. "But the kills were mine."

"Second Place!" the deacon shouted. "Just behind Gu Zhiwei!"

The crowd buzzed again. Who was this dark horse? He looked like a servant, but he had the kill count of a warlord!

"Touch the Orb," the Elder commanded, leaning forward with interest.

Wangchen walked to the Spirit Measuring Orb.

He felt the gazes of everyone on him. It was a mix of envy, curiosity, as well as disdain.

He didn’t care. He only cared about the person standing at the back of the crowd, eating dried squid.

He reached out. His pale, slender hand pressed against the crystal surface.

Hum.

The sound was low, like a deep bass note that vibrated in the chest.

The air temperature in the plaza dropped instantly. Frost began to creep up the jade dais, cracking the stone with the intensity of the cold.

The blue light of the Orb didn’t shoot up. It expanded outward.

A massive phantom of a Glacial Dragon manifested behind Wangchen, roaring silently. The light was a piercing, crystalline blue, so pure it looked almost white, but cold enough to freeze the soul.

"Variation Spirit Root!" The Head Elder gasped. "Ice! A Flawless Ice Spirit Root!"

This was rarer than the Sun Root. The Sun Root was holy, yes, but the Ice Root was a weapon of mass destruction. It was the root of the "Sovereign."

"Such a High-Rank Potential!"

The Orb cracked.

A hairline fracture appeared on the surface of the priceless artifact. The energy Wangchen was pouring into it, fueled by his remolded marrow and his fierce, possessive determination, was too dense for the testing device.

"Enough! Stop!" The Elder shouted, waving his sleeve to break the connection before the Orb exploded.

Wangchen pulled his hand back. The phantom dragon dissolved into snow that drifted down onto the hot plaza.

He stood there, surrounded by falling snow in the middle of summer. He looked like an immortal banished from heaven.

The VIP section was silent. Gu Zhiwei stared, his mouth slightly open. Wen Shiru’s fan had stopped moving. The other Male Leads looked... threatened.

"Xie Wangchen," the Head Elder said, his voice grave. "You... you are a monster."

It was meant as a compliment.

"Which Peak do you choose?"

Usually, the Elders chose the disciples. But for a Flawless Variation Root, the disciple chose the Peak.

Wangchen didn’t look at the Elders. He turned around, ignoring the thousands of people staring at him, and looked straight at the back of the crowd.

He was looking for a thumbs-up.

And he found it. Lin Ji’an was jumping up and down, waving her fan, mouthing: ’That’s my boy!’

A small, genuine smile broke Wangchen’s icy facade. It was terrifyingly beautiful.

"I will choose..." Wangchen began.

"Wait!"

A new voice cut through the air. It didn’t come from the dais. It came from the sky.

A sword descended from the clouds, carrying a figure dressed in simple gray robes. The man looked young, perhaps in his twenties, with eyes that seemed to contain centuries of boredom.

Qin Changxu, the Sect Elder of the Eternal Cloud Peak. The one who hadn’t shown up until now, but Lin Ji’an recognised the guy in a heartbeat. Because he was also one of the main love interests!

He landed on the dais, ignoring the other Elders who bowed hastily.

"I’ll take him," Qin Changxu said, pointing a lazy finger at Wangchen.

"B-But Elder Qin!" The Head Elder stammered. "You haven’t taken a disciple in three hundred years! And the Eternal Cloud Peak is..."

"It’s quiet," Qin Changxu finished. He looked at Wangchen. "You have killing intent in your bones, boy. But your heart is tethered to something... interesting. The other peaks will try to turn you into a weapon. I will teach you how to control the cold so you don’t freeze the thing you love."

Wangchen froze.

This Elder saw right through him. He saw the obsession that was deep-rooted in his heart?

Wangchen bowed deeply. "Disciple Xie Wangchen greets Master."

"Well, that’s a hard act to follow," Ji’an muttered as the crowd slowly recovered from the shock of the Ice Dragon.

Wangchen had been whisked away to stand behind Elder Qin, looking uncomfortable but powerful.

"Number 459! Lin Ji’an!"

"Here, here," Ji’an jogged up to the platform.

She looked small compared to the titans who had come before her. She didn’t have the aura of a hero. She just looked like a pretty, somewhat dusty boy with a nice smile.