CHAPTER 341: IMPROVEMENTS

Eventually, after what felt like hours, they landed on a relatively calm patch of ice near a frozen forest of crystalline trees. Victor slid off the creature’s back with his legs wobbling.

"I... I think my organs are still somewhere above us," he muttered, patting his chest. "They’ll descend eventually."

The beast nudged him again.

Victor looked up at it.

"...I guess now’s the time, huh?"

The beast tilted its head.

Victor rubbed its neck fondly. "I can’t keep calling you ’big guy’, ’ice birb’, or ’giant snow murder chicken’. You deserve a proper name."

He stepped back, arms crossed, studying the creature thoughtfully.

"Let’s see... you’re fast, beautiful, terrifying, smug, powerful, loyal, majestic, and also a little dramatic..."

The creature blinked.

Victor snapped his fingers.

"I’ve got it. You’re all white so..."

He pointed dramatically.

"Your name... is... Gojo."

The beast lifted its head and unleashed a thunderous, proud roar that echoed across the frozen world.

Victor grinned.

"Yeah. You like it. Good. Because that’s my favourite fictional character. Just don’t get diced up in two like him."

He climbed onto the beast again as the sky slowly darkened and crimson lightning flickered in the distance.

They continued to scour the frozen terrain with Victor finding the best possible exit so he could finally get out of here and be on his way back home.

(( Two Days Later ))

Victor exhaled softly, and his breath came out as a puff of shimmering frost that instantly crystallized into tiny floating ice-shards. The frozen plain before him stretched endlessly, displaying an ocean of white dunes, rough frost spires, and the occasional deep-blue crevasse.

His mount, Gojo, padded beside him silently, leaving large pawprints on the ground that faded within seconds.

Victor scratched under its chin.

"Good boy. Let’s not fall into any death pits today. I’m too handsome to die here."

Gojo narrowed its eyes, as if judging him.

"I know, right?" Victor smirked.

His jokes were back naturally. The constant pressure and experience that had shaped him over the past months had matured him, yes...

But he was still Victor. If he wasn’t joking at least every ten minutes, something was seriously wrong.

Today, though, he was in an exceptionally good mood.

Because for the first time since getting lost, he was living in a new reality

A shimmering system panel materialized in front of Victor.

[VOID EMPEROR BLOODLINE: 100% INTEGRATED]

[New Features Available]

[System Synchronization: COMPLETE]

All Ascendant Realm system functions are now accessible in reality.

Victor let out a slow whistle. "So technically, its like I’m an awakened now. Only that my system is qi based not Magical based..."

Another panel slid into view:

[ABILITIES UNLOCKED]

‣ Shadow Blink: Enhanced

‣ Spatial Cloak: Enhanced

‣ Telekinetic Qi Control: Enhanced

‣ Temporal Pulse: UNLOCKED

‣ Dimensional Warp: LOCKED (Requires Soul Transformation Realm)

‣ Chrono-Shift Step: Enhanced

‣ Void Emperor’s Domain: Enhanced

‣ Time Remap: UNLOCKED

‣ Void Severing Threads: Enhanced

‣ Void Severing Slash: UNLOCKED

... (see more...)

Victor scanned the list with his eyes widening slightly at the higher-tier abilities.

"Dimensional Warp... Soul Transformation Realm... yeah, okay, no pressure. I’ll get there eventually. Hopefully before my beard grows grey."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"...I can’t even grow a beard. Damn."

His mount chuffed as if laughing.

Victor rolled his shoulders, releasing wisps of swirling black-violet qi. It spiraled around him in elegant tendrils, bending the world slightly like ripples through water.

He lifted one finger.

"Let’s see what Temporal Pulse does."

He flicked his finger lightly.

FWUMM—

A ripple of distorted air expanded outward in a perfect ring. Snowflakes suspended mid-air froze completely... then shattered like glass.

[Skill: Temporal Pulse (Minor) Activated]

Structures within 8 meters slowed by 30% for 1.5 seconds.

Duration increases with cultivation.

Victor’s eyebrows shot up.

"Time-slow. Actual time-slow. Bro... I am broken."

His grin grew wider and more unhinged.

"This is amazing."

He shadow-blinked forward—

FWIP—

reappearing atop a massive ice pillar two hundred feet away. He looked down at the path he had just crossed.

"Zero energy drain... zero cooldown... okay yeah I’m officially bullying reality."

Panels updated in his vision:

[ You have used Shadow Blink ]

Mastery +0.3%

[ You have used Spatial Cloak ]

Mastery +0.5%

He laughed.

"Now this is exciting..."

He and the Gojo continued deeper into the godforsaken terrain.

Spiky frost-limbs of ancient trees protruded from the ground. Strange ice-crystal beasts scurried between shadows.

Somewhere in the distance, an echoing roar shook the frozen horizon.

Victor tilted his head.

"Oh another beast... Unfortunately for them, I’m not hiding this time."

His mount stared at him with the exhausted expression of someone who had been emotionally done for several days.

Victor shrugged.

"What? You think I’m going to run away? I’m peak Nascent Soul now. And I can cultivate in real life. I’m not worried about my qi reserves emptying... my dantian literally sucks qi from Ascendant Realms into reality now."

Panels glowed faintly around him as he circulated his qi.

[Cultivation: Peak Nascent Soul Realm]

Qi Reserves: 100% → 100% (Self-Replenishing)

Void Emperor Bloodline: Fully Active

Physical Stats Updated]

Victor’s posture straightened as he felt more free than ever. He’d been restraining himself all this time and now he could finally let loose.

As they climbed a ridge of frozen slate, Victor’s spiritual sense tingled.

"Something’s close."

Suddenly the ground trembled. A massive creature erupted from beneath the snow.

It looked like a massive ape-like beast made of white stone and glacial fur. Crystalline tusks jutted from its jaw and it’s breath came out as a storm of icy air.

Victor brightened.

"Oh hell yes... I’ve been itching to test out my new abilities."

[ Hostile Detected: Unknown Creature (Otherworld Realm) ]

[ Danger Level: Moderate ]

"Moderate?"

The Titan slammed its fists into the ground, sending a shockwave of ice shards shooting toward him.

"That doesn’t seem moderate," Victor muttered while grinning before flexing his fingers.

SHADOW BLINK.

He vanished and appeared beside the creature’s head, standing atop its shoulder like it was nothing.

"Sup."

The Titan roared, twisting to grab him.

Victor raised his palm.

"Emperor’s Grip!" He pushed his palm sideways and a powerful force wrapped around the creature’s head.

With a single thought, the Ice Titan’s head was ripped off its shoulder.

"Wow... that’s definitely more powerful than I remember," Victor held up his palm in surprise.

The Titan staggered but Victor was stupefied when it didn’t tilt over and fall.

Instead...

Fwwhii~

Its massive hand swung towards the ant on its shoulder with incredible force.

Victor leapt into the air, evading the strike and causing the creature to hit itself.

Bam!

[ WIND GLIDE ACTIVATED ]

Snow swirled as he double-jumped mid-air and descended like a comet while drawing his Legacy Sword from his back.

The blade, infused with void-qi, vibrated hungrily.

"Let’s try something new..."

The blade ignited into black flame with silvery coated endings as Victor’s eyes emitted a silver glow.

[ VOID SEVERING SLASH ACTIVATED ]

He swung his blade forward and a massive black and white line tore forward with intensity.

The surroundings trembled immensely as the line wreaked unfathomable havoc that had Victor’s jaws dropping to the ground and his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

The world on the left had turned completely black while the world on the right had turned white.

For an instant, everything paused as time seemed to turn stationary...

And then...

Thooomnmmm~

A loud blast rang out followed by the complete severing of the black side. The icy grounds completely collapsed, sinking to an unknown depth on that side of the attack, along with half of the Ice Titan’s body.

[ Critical Hit! ]

"That was totally an overkill..." Victor muttered in disbelief as he watched the icy grounds continue to collapse in while leaving the white side on the right, completely intact.

Victor’s eyes twitched repeatedly; "And I thought Shadow Crescent Strike was powerful..."

[ VOID SEVERING SLASH (Coolodown - 24hrs) ]

"I should probably only use this when I’m in a very dangerous situation..." Victor decided while staring at the one half of the Ice Titan that remained in place, unmoving but undoubtedly dead.

[ You have slain unknown beast: + 25,000 Wisps Of Qi ]

Victor held up the core, impressed.

"Let’s hope there is any actual meat inside of that body... ah I probably already disintegrated most of it..."

Victor lamented while reaching out his sword and slicing what was left of the Ice Titan’s body into four pieces.

He proceeded to sheath his sword and rolled hiis shoulders.

This power...

This difference...

It wasn’t subtle.

He felt like invincible right now.

"It really feels like I’m cheating at life."

He smirked.

"I like it."

[ Emperor Grip: Enhanced ]

( Use qi to pull objects from afar, ignoring spatial distance within sixty feet )

Victor’s eyes sparkled.

"Initially, I couldn’t do beyond twenty to thirty feet... this is awesome."

He spotted a distant ice boulder.

He flicked two fingers.

CRACK—FWIIISH—

The boulder ripped out of the ground and flew straight into his hand.

Victor blinked at the massive rock he was casually holding.

"Okay... yeah... I’m a monster now."

His mount whimpered.