Fruity, who was knee-deep into his cultivation suddenly sensed the surroundings changing, which quickly snapped him out of his cultivation. He walked out of the immortal cave and saw a dome forming around the monastery.
He hurried out of the cave and moved toward the grand temple. When he arrived, he saw all the monks in the monastery gathered, staring at the sky as the dome continued to form.
When they saw Fruity, now a Saint, they smiled briefly before turning back to the phenomenon in the sky. Fruity quickly made his way inside the temple, where the Grandmaster and five Ancient Monks were seated, waiting for him.
“You are here,” one of the Ancient Monks said. “How is your progress?” he added.
“I still couldn’t open the third face, but I managed to master most of the skills from the first two faces. I’ve also unlocked a few more that I’m starting to master,” Fruity replied.
“Good,” the monks nodded.
“Grandmaster, they’re coming for me, aren’t they?” Fruity asked quickly.
He wasn’t an idiot. He knew the weather was only changing because the bad guys were here. The only reason for them to come was that he had awakened the forbidden ice element—three out of the seven known forbidden ice elements.
He had about two years to prepare, thanks to the Ice Princess managing the onset of his awakening. Even the elders from Lightning Valley were killed before they could reveal any information.
But Fruity was a unique existence, even if he didn’t know it yet. As such, he was never truly safe from danger. Though the Ice Princess made sure he had time to grow stronger, the danger was bound to find him sooner or later.
Fruity expected this, but seeing the battle-ready monks and realizing they might all die today, he couldn’t bear it. They were his family, and he didn’t want them dying for him.
“No need to worry, child. This day was bound to come sooner rather than later. We knew what we were signing up for when we took you in,” the Grandmaster monk said with a smile.
At that moment, a voice boomed across the monastery, “This is the Tenth Elder of Lightning Valley. Hand over the Forbidden Ice wielder, and this monastery might see the light of tomorrow’s sunrise.”
Inside the temple, Fruity shuddered at the threat. He quickly made up his mind about what to do next.
“Hand me over, Grandmaster. I can’t let any of you die,” he said. While not the strongest, he could sense their surroundings and knew they stood no chance.
“Foolish child. Do you think we are cowards who would hand over a child to these monsters?” the Grandmaster responded.
“You are a monk of this monastery, and we will protect you with our lives. Besides, no matter what we do today, they will not spare this monastery.”
“Do you remember what I told you about the Lightning Valley?” the Grandmaster asked.
Fruity nodded. He remembered being told to never even consider joining them. According to the instructions he was given, if he had to choose between death and peaceful life at Lightning Valley, he should choose death.
“They are the worst kind of cultivators. But even if they hadn’t come today, this monastery wouldn’t survive. We knew that. So we will fight and ensure your destiny is fulfilled.”
“But we’re no match for them. Fighting is pointless,” Fruity said.
“That’s true, but even though we’ve made peace with what will happen today, you’re not done with what you’re meant to do, who you’re meant to become,” one of the ancient monks replied. “Our deaths will not be in vain.”
“But still…” Fruity, as naive as ever, couldn’t accept what they were planning.
However, while he is skeptical, the monks are at peace. It was like they had been waiting for a day like this for a very long time, which in fact they had. A thousand years ago, they received a prophecy about this very day, so they knew what must be done.
“This is the Nameless Token. It requires 10,000 peaceful souls to activate,” the grandmaster said, bringing out a white token. “Take this. Once it lights up, inject your energy into it, and it will send you away somewhere.”
Fruity received the token but still didn’t know whether their sacrifice was really necessary. To him, handing him over was the easiest thing to do.
But what he didn’t know was that, even if he had been long gone from the monastery, the karma surrounding and following him would have ensured this day came. The monastery was doomed the moment they accepted him.
His presence wasn’t needed for these people to eradicate the entire monastery, and everywhere he went, he would only bring death and destruction upon those around him.
“10,000 souls… that’s about the life of every monk here,” Fruity muttered, as tears started falling from his eyes.
“No need to cry, child. This day was bound to come. What we have to do now is fight and ensure we reduce the number of enemies you’ll face in the future. This is also the will and wishes of our ancestors. You must at least respect that.”
Fruity nodded, but he hated the idea to his core. However, a part of him knew this would happen, even if he ran now. He had thought of this moment every single day, but each day, he knew running wasn’t the answer. Yet, accepting this wasn’t something he could take lightly either.
“Good,” the grandmaster said before standing up. The other five ancient monks also stood and prepared to leave.
Fruity wanted to follow them, but before he could move, a large golden cauldron fell on him, encasing him in place.
“You are not ready for this, child. Let your grandpas and uncles take care of it,” the grandmaster monk said with a smile as a large chain of beads appeared around his neck. Then, he vanished from the room, leaving Fruity to his tears. Fruity began punching the cauldron, even though he knew his strength would do nothing.
He clenched the token tightly in his hands, knowing that today would be the last day he would ever see any of them. He hated it. He didn’t want them dying for him; he wanted to fight for his life, yet he couldn’t. He was trapped.
Fruity’s pain and anguish were so overwhelming that when his eyes changed color to dark, he didn’t even notice. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the monastery, and Fruity saw that the token had started to heat up.
He didn’t know where he would be sent, but he knew one thing for sure—he wouldn’t go down without a fight.
His body began to radiate destructive ice qi, his eyes dark as obsidian. He opened his palm, and dark gold ice began to exude from it.
He placed his palm against the cauldron, and the ice started to spread around it.
Outside the temple, the monks and intruders were locked in fierce combat. The battle quickly revealed its destructive nature. Hundreds began dying on both sides. Despite their peaceful nature, the monks fought fiercely, determined to take down as many enemies as they could.
Both in the sky and on the ground, the battle raged on violently.
“How naive, to think a little monastery could stop the Lightning Valley,” a voice suddenly sneered. As the fierce battle continued, the space cracked, and from within, a massive hand—roughly 300 meters in length—descended on the monastery.
Some of the monks who weren’t strong enough instantly coughed up blood and then dropped dead. The hand was headed toward the temple where Klaus was being held, forcing the monks to defend against it with everything they had.
If the hand landed on the temple, Fruity would be long dead. However, they underestimated its power. All forms of defense were mounted, but they were being destroyed.
The grandmaster and the ancient monks were also blocked by dozens of fighters, making it impossible for them to come to aid.
Nobody expected such an attack, especially one from such a powerful individual. The monks were being annihilated by the second as the hand kept descending.
However, just when it was only a few meters away from the temple, the grandmaster’s voice filled the space. His voice suddenly entered every monk’s head like a silent reminder.
“Life and death is but a passage; let your inner light guide you in your…” He wasn’t finished when a cold, murderous voice cut him off, filling the space.
“Chaotic Ice: Dangerous Explosion”