CHAPTER 708: THE INHERITANCE TRIAL (PART-5)

The Blizzard Pegasus turned into a very naked, tall man, with long snow-white hair that fell past his shoulders. His skin was as pale as snow, gleaming faintly with divine energy. His eyes, a striking icy blue, lowered respectfully as he knelt on one knee.

"Frost greets Master," he said in a calm, noble tone.

Mark instinctively looked away and covered half his face with one hand. "Damn it... put on some clothes."

He rummaged through his inventory and tossed a set of simple robes at him. Frost caught them, but instead of wearing them, he stared at the fabric with a strangely sentimental expression.

"Master," he asked, "is this your first present to me?"

Mark stared at him blankly. "No. It’s me trying to stop you from flashing me. Wear it. Now."

Frost tilted his head. "Why is nudity unbearable to you?"

"Because I’m human and a man at that," Mark replied with exasperation. "And we don’t walk around with our junk out."

Frost blinked slowly, as if learning a new universal truth. "Are you truly human, Master? No human should be immune to absolute freezing unless you have a primordial Ice attribute."

Mark shrugged and turned his back so Frost could dress. "It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. For now, we’re finishing this tower."

Frost dressed quickly, adjusting the robe somewhat awkwardly, clearly unused to humanoid clothing. Once ready, he followed Mark up the staircase as they stepped into Floor 10. Mark didn’t take a rest this time as this time, as he had something that could hold down the fort for him.

The moment the floor lit up, a piercing screech erupted across the chamber, this time. A gigantic Phoenix, wings of blazing gold and crimson, burst into existence.

When the phoenix’s golden eyes locked onto the sight of Frost and then Mark, they widened in shock. Its flames spiked. "Human, how do you carry HER bloodline... and also OURS?"

Mark raised an eyebrow. "If you’re talking about Blizzard Pegasus Queen and the Immortal Phoenix bloodline, then yeah. My mother carried the former. My father, the latter."

The phoenix’s eyes widened even more. "Impossible. Those two races do not mix. Their bloodlines reject each other, "

Mark cut it off sharply. "Let’s skip the lecture. You have two choices: submit to me... or die. Choose."

The Phoenix’s flames exploded outward in fury, filling the entire chamber with fire so hot it cracked the ground beneath them. "INSOLENT MORTAL! YOU DARE..."

Before the roar even finished, Frost stepped in front of Mark.

His palm lifted, icy mist spiraling around his arm, and a massive dome of frost erupted outward.

The Phoenix’s sea of flames smashed into the icy barrier, sending sparks and ice shards exploding across the chamber. Frost gritted his teeth as heat rippled across his shields, steam filling the air.

"Master," Frost said without turning around, voice low and steady, "this phoenix’s flames surpass normal divine fire. Be careful."

Mark didn’t even flinch as he nodded, "Don’t worry. As long as we work together, this will be as easy as a walk in a park."

Frost gave a sideways glance in wonder, but maintained his barrier as the Phoenix roared.

"Blizzard Pegasus... you truly have no shame. To lower your noble head before a lesser creature, before a human, who depends on your own mother’s blessing? Have you forgotten your pride?"

Frost’s expression turned as cold as the tundras he once ruled. He took a single step forward and said in a steady but sharp voice. "He defeated me, in a fair battle. And even after defeating me at the cost of his life, he still showed kindness to me. He reminded me of our former master. I chose him because a master who pays with his own life to win is worthy of loyalty."

The Phoenix scoffed, flames whipping angrily. But Frost was not finished.

"And do not forget," Frost continued, "you and I both served a human before. Our entire purpose here is to guard this tower and wait for the next master chosen by fate. And look at our fake. The one who carried the same name as our former master has not only reached here but even defeated me..."

The Phoenix screeched again, louder and harsher, flames bursting outward as if offended by Frost’s conviction. But before it could launch another flame wave...

Mark’s voice echoed softly. "Gravity Dome. One hundred thousand G."

The Phoenix didn’t even get time to flare its wings before an invisible force slammed it down like a mountain crushing a bird. Its talons gouged deep trenches in the stone as its wings flattened against the floor, pinned mercilessly.

Mark exhaled calmly and glanced at Frost.

"Go."

Frost launched forward instantly, his body blurring into a streak of white energy. Ice breath blasted from his mouth in a sweeping arc, enveloping the Phoenix’s flames and extinguishing them with a violent hiss.

Mark didn’t stand still either. He sprinted in, summoning Unnamed into his hand. And used Density manipulation on top of 100,000xG. With a sharp shout, he slammed it down onto the Phoenix’s head.

The chamber rumbled at the shockwave generated by the impact.

*Screeee*

The Phoenix shrieked, its flames sputtering wildly as its skull was hammered into the ground. Frost followed up with another blast of absolute cold, freezing the Phoenix’s wings to the floor.

"Oraaa.... Die..."

Mark swung Unnamed again, this time at its chest, creating a thunderous impact that cracked the ground below.

Working together, human and divine beast moved like a single force.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix’s cries turned desperate.

"Y–You... unworthy, "

Frost didn’t let it finish and hit it with a spike of divine ice.

The Phoenix’s body convulsed, flames extinguished entirely, and then, its form burst into golden feathers, dissolving into embers.

Before Mark could even lower his weapon, the fire cinders swirled back together, re-forming the Phoenix’s body. Its eyes glowed fiercely, though weaker this time.

It resurrected.

Mark’s expression didn’t change. "Again."

The second battle lasted even shorter. Frost pinned it immediately with ice chains while Mark smashed its skull with the weight of a star. Flames sputtered and died as the Phoenix dissolved again.

It resurrected, again.

Flames returned, but only faintly now. The Phoenix’s voice trembled with anger and fear.

"You... you dare force me..."

"You’re the one who didn’t choose surrender," Mark muttered, already lifting Unnamed.

Frost stepped beside him, shedding the last of his previous gentleness. He lowered his head, eyes icy. "This is your last life, old friend. If you refuse the new master again... you leave me no choice."

The Phoenix trembled but still refused to bow. Its wings twitched, fire flickering weakly as it tried to rise.

Mark didn’t give it a chance.

The man and his Pegasus attacked together, Mark bringing down Unnamed with unstoppable force, Frost freezing the Phoenix from every direction until its body was sealed in a thick glacier of divine ice.

Mark lifted his weapon one last time.

"End."

Unnamed crushed the frozen Phoenix with a single devastating blow.

The Phoenix’s last life flickered weakly, its fiery form barely holding shape anymore. Frost had already taken a deep breath, the chilling glow of Absolute Ice building in his throat. One more second, and the entire chamber would have frozen over.

But Mark raised his hand sharply.

"Stop."

Frost halted instantly, swallowing the attack, though the icy radiance still shimmered faintly around his jaw. His eyes darted toward Mark in confusion.

"Master?"

Mark stepped forward, gaze fixed on the trembling Phoenix whose flames had dimmed to embers. Cracks split across her fiery plumage. One wrong move, one more hit, and she would vanish forever.

Mark spoke, tone calm but unmistakably firm. "This is your final chance."

His voice echoed through the chamber like a decree. "Follow me and live for a better purpose... or die here for nothing."

The Phoenix shuddered. Not from fear, no, flames still danced in the remaining corners of her eyes, but from the weight of inevitability pressing down on her. Frost lowered his head slightly, watching quietly.

Mark extended his hand toward her.

"Taming Skill."

A golden rope of light unraveled from his palm, shimmering elegantly before striking the Phoenix. She didn’t resist this time. Instead, she let the rope coil around her being, binding spirit to spirit, acknowledging the contract with a weary but defiant cry.

As the rope burst into light and dissolved, the Phoenix’s body glowed. Her fiery feathers melted into radiant sparks. A humanoid figure emerged from the blaze, stepping out into the open.