The northern snow plains, where cold winds howl.
The vast wilderness and ice and snow nurture resilient creatures like snow hares, reindeer, and musk oxen, as well as the orc tribes that survive here.
Any living being growing up here only needs to look westward, and their view will be blocked by a majestic barrier—that is the White Mane Mountain Range, spanning the northern border, undulating like the spine of a giant dragon.
The main peak of the mountain range pierces the clouds, perpetually shrouded in never-dispersing ice, snow, and mist, as if it were a giant pillar holding up the sky, exuding an icy and mysterious aura that keeps others at a distance.
Ancient legends passed down among the local orc tribes say that atop those unreachably high snowy peaks lie the nests of the ancient species known as snow eagles.
These mountain spirits born of gales and bitter cold possess astonishing wingspans, feathers as white as snow, the most resilient wings among snow plain creatures, and a proud, unyielding will. They are the undisputed masters of this sky and the most elite aerial hunters.
They feed on mountain sheep and snow plain yaks. Their sharp gaze can pierce through blizzards to lock onto prey kilometers away.
Sometimes, they also swoop down onto the snow plains to attack orc tribes, delivering severe punishment to these filthy insects with their talons and sharp beaks. Thus, they are revered and feared by orcs as the "Stern Father of the Mountains."
A snow eagle's life is lonely and proud.
Once their wings are fully grown, they leave the nest to face the mountain gales and bitter cold alone, honing their skills in life-and-death struggles. Their entire lives are spent battling the sky and ice and snow until life reaches its end.
Legend says that when a snow eagle feels its lifespan approaching, it does not fall to the earth like ordinary birds. Instead, it exhausts its final strength, striving to fly to the highest point of the mountains, toward that glacier hanging inverted in the sky, toward that sky cemetery they consider their final resting place.
They quietly pass away there, burying their bodies and souls forever in this mysterious and noble kingdom of ice and snow.
That is a forbidden land only the dead have ever set foot upon, permeated with eternal silence and cold, a secret realm difficult for the living to glimpse.
However, a very, very long time ago, this sacred ground of the snow eagles welcomed a challenger from the ground.
Kukara, a lizardfolk warrior from the warm swamps. For unknown reasons, he trekked thousands of miles, crossed the snow plains, and finally stood at the foot of the snowy mountains.
He did not fear the unscalable peaks or the deadly cold. Instead, he was deeply captivated by the snow eagles' freedom and pride as they danced with the ice and snow.
Kukara made a decision: to form a contract with an elderly snow eagle nearing death, and together, risking their bodies being torn apart, they entered the inverted glacier and disappeared from the sight of the living.
Then, a miracle occurred.
Just when the orcs thought they had perished in the glacier, Kukara and his snow eagle actually returned alive.
The originally decrepit snow eagle seemed to have been rejuvenated, its wings fuller, its gaze sharper, and Kukara also received blessings from the ice, snow, and sky, greatly increasing his strength and wisdom.
Relying on this power, he ultimately unified the snow plains, becoming the "Snow Plains King" celebrated by later generations.
This story has been passed down among the lizardfolk for generations, filled with epic grandeur and mystery, inspiring later warriors.
And not long ago, a lizardfolk girl from the Swamp Rotmoss Tribe, following the ancient yearning flowing in her bloodline, resolutely embarked on a path similar to her ancestor's.
She bid farewell to the warm swamps, traversed the dangerous snow plains, endured hardships, and finally arrived at the foot of the snowy mountains, choosing to issue her own challenge to this eternal sky and ice and snow.
You succeeded.
You won the recognition of a Snow Eagle Brave One.
Amidst the swirling blizzard and eagle cries, you and your frozen companion completed the ancient trial ritual together.
The frozen one circled and cried at low altitude, its voice piercing the clouds, as if crowning a new "Sky's Favored One," declaring that another lizardfolk warrior had gained the recognition of the snowy mountain's sacred ground.
Yet, she was unable to return smoothly with her snow eagle companion like her ancestor, as if her soul had been frozen within the glacier, with only the snow eagle's cries echoing.
To save this lost noble soul, the snow eagle sought help.
.......
Atop the snowy mountain peak, a black dragon mustered its courage to challenge this violent sky that even snow eagles considered their final resting place.
Little Ka flapped its wings with all its might, struggling upward against the knife-like cold wind and dense snowflakes.
But it was still too small, even among dragonkind it was comparable to a newborn infant. Its tender scales couldn't withstand the tearing gales, and it could only regretfully land on the snow eagle's nest and lower its head.
"Master... I'm sorry..." Little Ka's voice carried dejection.
Chen Yu comforted, "This is a trial that embraces death, and we don't need that."
Chen Yu nimbly jumped down from the dragon's back and looked up toward the higher sky.
Above the churning sea of clouds, a massive glacier hung inverted in the air like a mirage. It resembled a giant ice mirror suspended from the sky, its edges refracting the thin sunlight, emitting a magnificent yet icy blue-white glow, seeming within reach yet also distant beyond reach.
This sight was truly too breathtaking, making one forget to breathe, even forgetting the cold.
Semiaya also jumped off the dragon's back, tightening her cold-resistant furs, her golden vertical pupils filled with worry: "I can confirm that Sekashi has successfully completed the Snow Eagle Trial, but something seems to have happened inside the sacred ground, trapping her within."
"Envoy Heavenly One, do you have any ideas?"
Chen Yu bounced to the edge of the cliff, looking up at that inverted glacier. Hearing Semiaya's question, he confidently puffed out his little belly.
"Simple."
[Gel Mimicry]
[Dragon Bloodline]
The Dragon Bloodline sprouted, the gel body rapidly expanded and transformed, the emerald green quickly fading, turning into incredibly hard dragon scales that reflected a pitch-black luster under the sky's light.
A dragon head, fleshy wings, limbs, and tail extended. In the space of a breath, a massive black dragon with eyes gleaming like molten gold suddenly appeared atop the snowy mountain peak.
The terrifying Dragon's Aura made the surrounding cold winds momentarily still.
Several snow eagles circling in the gale, guarding their nests, were startled by this sudden change, nearly falling due to the disrupted airflow.
But soon, a mysterious will seemed to emanate from deep within the inverted glacier, gently brushing over them.
The snow eagles quickly quieted down, obediently returning to the nests near the rocky ledge, folding their wings, crouching down, and gazing with awe at the black dragon transformed from a slime before them.
Even Semiaya was startled by the commotion and couldn't help but step back a few paces before realizing this black dragon was transformed by the Envoy.
"Stay here, I'll be back soon."
Chen Yu instructed Little Ka and Semiaya, then his broad wings gave a powerful flap, stirring up a gale. His body shot upward against the fierce wind and blizzard, heading straight for that inverted glacier.
Under the thin sunlight, his pitch-black scales reflected a cold, dazzling black light, like a black meteor flying backward, soaring toward the sky.
The wind and snow constantly slapped against his scales like blades, making dense pattering sounds, but his body's aura was simply too scorching, causing the ice and snow to rapidly vaporize upon contact with his scales, unable to cause any real damage.
The inverted glacier rapidly enlarged in Chen Yu's vision. Just as he approached a certain critical point of the glacier, a gravitational pull from the direction of the sky captured him.
He fell toward the sky.
He yielded to this force, tumbling and adjusting his posture in the air, quickly regaining his balance.
When he looked down, the snow eagle nests and snowy mountain peak below had disappeared, replaced by a smooth glacier surface reflecting sparkling ripples under the golden sunlight.
It was simply too vast. Even this dragon body seemed as insignificant as a speck of dust before this glacier.
Chen Yu attempted to glide down. The moment he touched the ground, his body reverted to a slime, bouncing several times on the ground before stabilizing.
He carefully examined his surroundings and realized he had fallen into the ruins of a frozen city.
As far as the eye could see, there were remnants of tall stone buildings and tents sewn from mammoth hides. Scattered on the ground were mammoth tusks thicker than human thighs, yak horns, and some even larger skeletal remains.
Further away, vaguely visible were some giant humanoid skeletons and snow eagle corpses that had fallen here.
This place was less like ruins and more like a cemetery burying corpses, devoid of life, as if time itself had been frozen here.
"Envoy, you came to help me?!"
A surprised voice suddenly rang in Chen Yu's mind, breaking the eternal silence here and injecting a trace of vivid vitality into this frozen tableau.
The speaker was none other than Sekashi. Her voice carried the clarity unique to lizardfolk girls, yet also held some excitement due to her situation.
Immediately after, her voice lowered again, tinged with guilt: "I've... troubled you again."
Chen Yu bounced on the icy ruins ground, asking curiously: "So what exactly is this place? Where are you now?"
Sekashi hurriedly answered: "This is the city ruins left by Frost Giants. At the center of the ruins is an altar. I... I'm currently trapped inside the altar."
"Frost Giants?"
Chen Yu's mind stirred, his divine sense carefully scanning those frozen giant corpses.
Thick white fur like felt blankets, deep blue skin, heights exceeding ordinary houses even when curled up, and a basic humanoid outline... all confirming Sekashi's words.
These were indeed some kind of giants long vanished from the river of history.
The fact that the depths of the snow eagles' sacred ground concealed an ancient city built by Frost Giants was truly beyond Chen Yu's expectations.
He controlled his Flying Sword and flew toward the center of the ruins. Along the way, he saw more frozen giants, as well as stone cooking utensils they left behind, polished bone tools, and murals depicting simple hunting scenes.
Sekashi's voice quietly explained in his mind: "I saw their story. Actually, a very, very long time ago, hundreds of years... hmm, or maybe over a thousand years, anyway, a very long time ago, this snow plain was once the habitat of Frost Giants..."
As Sekashi explained, Chen Yu gradually gained understanding of the Frost Giants.
Long ago, these giants were herders on the snow plains. They tamed snow eagles as eyes in the sky, domesticated frost wolves to help guard livestock, drove herds of mountain yaks and mammoths, migrating across the snow plains with the seasons, searching for lush tundra and wind-sheltered valleys.
They lived in large houses built from giant stones and mammoth bones, carved utensils from ice blocks, and enjoyed telling hunting stories around bonfires.
According to Sekashi's exaggerated tone, their appetites were terrifyingly huge, capable of devouring an entire roasted yak in one bite.
But later, for some unknown reason, these powerful Frost Giants suddenly vanished, as if disappearing from the snow plains overnight.
The masterless snow eagles returned to the embrace of the sky, while the frost wolves were gradually domesticated by the rising orc tribes, becoming their battle companions.
Thus, these former overlords of the snow plains were gradually forgotten until now.
This made Chen Yu think of the tall Stone Giants that once inhabited the royal lands where the Stone Descendants dwelled deep within the Dark Realm.
It seemed that long ago, giants each possessed glorious civilizations, yet ultimately all disappeared.
Chen Yu soon flew to the center of the ruins and saw a circular altar built from blue ice crystals, still enveloped by a layer of pale blue magical barrier.
He landed outside the barrier and extended a gel hand to touch it.
The barrier wasn't as soft or elastic as imagined, but felt like touching a hard block of ice, even sensing the ancient mana flowing within.
Chen Yu tilted his gel head in puzzlement, "So you're trapped by the Frost Giants' altar?"
Sekashi's voice sounded somewhat embarrassed, carrying a hint of awkwardness: "Yes... it's the Frost Giant spirit lingering in the altar. It told me this is a trial of Frost Giant inheritance. Only by completing the trial and gaining recognition can I leave..."
Chen Yu was skeptical, "Does this Frost Giant spirit have poor eyesight? Can't it tell you're a lizardfolk?"
"No... not that." Sekashi's voice now sounded even more embarrassed. "It thinks my strength is great, very fitting for its requirements for a Frost Giant warrior. It's very satisfied with me and insists I inherit the Frost Giant bloodline."
Her voice grew softer and more guilty as she spoke: "But completing the trial requires some kind of totem ice pillar. I searched everywhere inside the altar but couldn't find it, so I got trapped inside..."
After listening, Chen Yu was speechless.
Indeed, fools get bullied by everyone.
This Frost Giant spirit sure knows how to pick its targets.
But bullying his people? Not acceptable.
[Gel Mimicry]
Lv.7 Gel Mimicry granted him near-perfect disguise ability. The gel body rapidly grew taller, skin transforming from emerald green to deep blue, thick white fur growing on the surface.
In the blink of an eye, a "Frost Giant" appeared outside the altar.
He strode forward, walking directly toward the magical barrier. The barrier rippled slightly, offering no resistance whatsoever, allowing him to pass through easily.
The interior space of the altar was larger than it appeared from outside. A giant statue in the center held a massive axe, maintaining a heroic posture gazing at the sky.
Sekashi sat huddled below the statue, hugging her staff and her legs, looking rather pitiful.
Hearing movement, she looked up and saw the "Frost Giant" walking in. Her small mouth fell open in astonishment.
Huh? The ancient relic came back to life?
Wait, it seems like the Envoy.
Before she could joyfully speak, the giant statue erupted with dazzling ice-blue light while emitting a satisfied sigh from within. The statue instantly crumbled, condensing into a crystal-clear ice crystal that flew toward Chen Yu and merged into his body.
A soul-freezing cold instantly spread throughout his entire being. He shivered, his body trembling Q-elasticly like gel several times, finally shrinking back to his original slime form.
"Envoy, are you alright?" Sekashi was startled, hugging her staff and cautiously approaching, seemingly ready to whack any monster that might emerge from his body with her staff at any moment.
"Quite refreshing." Chen Yu bounced once, the frost on his body falling off.
[Devour Digestion Lv.8 triggered—??? characteristics fully recorded, talent obtained: Hishurunqi III Lv.3]