Chapter 3: The Frostbear's Hunger
(MC Perspective)
The Northern Ice Sect's training grounds stretched before me, a vast expanse of polished glacier etched with intricate sigils that pulsed with cold energy. Disciples moved like ghosts in the morning mist, their swords leaving trails of frost in the air. And there I was—a giant polar bear sitting awkwardly near the weapon racks, trying not to look like I was contemplating eating someone's spirit hound.
Elder Liang had given me "guest rights," which apparently meant I wasn't to be skinned on sight, but the stares from the disciples ranged from awe to outright hostility.
"Great. Reincarnated into a xianxia novel, and I'm the comic relief beast sidekick."
[System Notification: Daily Quest Available]
[Objective: Absorb 50 Qi Points]
[Reward: Frost Claw Upgrade – "Glacial Rend"]
Well, at least the system wasn't ignoring me.
The Problem with Qi (Or: Why Bears Don't Meditate)
Elder Liang had explained cultivation like this: "Humans gather Qi through meditation, refining heaven and earth energy into their dantian."
Turns out, polar bears don't meditate.
I'd tried. For three hours, I sat like a fat, furry monk, attempting to "sense the cosmic energy." All I'd gotten was a numb tail and a disciple snickering at me.
Then—stomach growled.
Not metaphorically. My gut roared, a deep, primal sound that made the nearest disciple drop his sword. A notification flashed:
[Frostbear Physiology Detected!]
[Optimal Qi Absorption Method: Consume Spirit-Rich Materials]
…Oh.
"So I just… eat magic stuff?"
A memory surfaced—the Frostvein Serpent in the trial. The rush of power when I'd bitten into it. The way its Qi had flooded my veins like liquid ice.
I needed to hunt.
First Hunt
The sect's "Spiritual Beast Garden" was off-limits to guests.
Which, naturally, made it my first target.
Slipping past the guards was easier than expected—turns out, a white bear in a snowstorm is basically invisible. The garden was a paradise of glowing plants and caged creatures, their auras thick with Qi. My nose twitched.
The garden was gorgeous in the way a glacier was—beautiful, pristine, and utterly lethal.
Snowflakes drifted lazily through the air, each one a perfect crystalline fractal that glittered under the pale moonlight. Frost-kissed willows arched overhead, their branches heavy with icicles that chimed like wind chimes in the breeze. The ground was a tapestry of untouched powder, marred only by the faintest imprints of spirit beasts that moved like ghosts through the night.
But then you looked closer.
The snowflakes? They didn't melt. They hovered, razor-edged and humming with dormant Qi, waiting for an intruder to breathe too hard and send them spiraling into a flesh-shredding vortex.
The icicles? They weren't just ice. They were fangs—venomous, barbed, and dripping a slow, paralyzing venom that blackened the ground where it fell.
And the snowdrifts?
They moved.
Beneath the pristine white blanket laurites was a menagerie of carnage Frost bloom Vines Twitching like eels, their petals serrated ice poison Caged Ice foxes Snarling, their tails burning with blue fire The Prize A thunder hoof Stag its antlers crackling with storm Qi
The beast stood at the heart of the frozen grove, its breath pluming in the moonlight like bursts of living lightning. This was no ordinary deer—this was a spirit beast, a creature born from the violent marriage of mountain storms and ancient glacial Qi.
Its Antlers that look like a Twelve points a of living thunder, each tine crackling with blue-white energy. Where they touched the air, the snow sublimated into hissing steam. And its Coat Not fur, but quicksilver pelage that shifted between colours—storm-gray one moment, glacial blue the next. Its hide bore scars from lightning strikes that had failed to kill it, leaving jagged Lichtenberg figures burned into its flesh. Eyes Pupil less and glowing, like two shards of a shattered storm cloud, flickering with each heartbeat.
Hooves Each step left charred sigils in the snow, the afterimages of thunder god script.
[Target Locked][Spirit Beast: Thunder hoof Stag (Mortal Grade – Peak)]
[Qi Potential: +45 units (High Yield)]
[Weakness: Left Hind Leg (Old Scar)]
Well The Hunt Begins
I pounced.
The stag exploded into motion, but not like prey—like a warhorse bred by storm gods. Its hooves slammed the frozen earth, and the world detonated. With its Concussive Blast The shockwave hit like a hammer to the chest, hurling razor-edged ice shards at *muzzle velocity*. My swipe met the force head-on—claws shearing through the visible air distortion—but the sound alone nearly burst my eardrums. Blood trickled from my left ear. The flanking strike had landed, but only because I'd let the shockwave throw me sideways into range
The stag's antlers became conductors, channelling raw storm Qi into a single, blinding thrust. I Ducked (not fast enough—the left tine grazed my shoulder, muscles locking from the charge) Redirected its momentum by kicking off its foreleg, sending it spearing into a frost-oak Heard the wood splinter as lightning cooked the tree from inside out
Its hamstring quivered where an old scar split the fur—a pale, hairless line. My jaws met static armour—the stag's innate defence—until I pierced through with a Frost Claw-assisted bite Lightning flooded my mouth, burning like swallowing a live wire—but the system chimed:
[+10 Qi] | Lightning Resistance +5%
The stag spun, slamming me into trees, but I dug deeper with my Frost Claw energy to prevent to heal it wounds
The leg tore free with a wet crack of tendon and a pop of qi-disrupted bone. The stag collapsed, but still tried to gore me with crackling antlers. Pins my 900 lbs of bear weight on its neck Deliberatebite over the spine—not just to sever, but to siphon the storm essence mid-death spasm
[CRITICAL QI SURGE] | [+35 Qi]
| Thunderhoof Signature Analyzed
Lightning crawled down my claws as the stag's essence merged with my Frostbear Qi. The new energy: Crackled between my teeth when I snarled Made my fur stand on-end like a living Tesla coil Required 3-minute cooldown between uses (or risk cooking my own nerves)
The stag's dying convulsions revealed what it had been protecting—a single Stormroot Sapling , its stem pulsing with captured lightning, roots dug deep into the scorched earth where the beast had fallen.
A twisted, blue-gray root the length of a human forearm, crackling with trapped storm Qi. Tiny arcs of electricity danced between its hairs, each one releasing the scent of ozone and iron.
"Jackpot."
Found under the Thunderhoof Stag's corpse, which had been guarding/nurturing it for decades.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
<<< NEW SPIRIT HERB ANALYZED >>> Stormroot Sapling (Mortal Grade - Peak)
Alternative Names:"Heaven's Lash Sprout", "Thunder God's Fingernail"
Peak Mortal-Grade spirit herb, crackling with raw storm Qi.
System Analysis Immediate Effects:
- Upgraded Stormclaw → "Rending Tempest" (+40% precision, 1.8x damage).
+15 Lightning Qi, but caused muscle twitches and random static discharges. Long-Term
+12% Lightning resistance(now attracts Thunderhoof herd vengeance).
Neurological boost (faster reflexes, but pain feels sharper).
Random objects zapped people for 3 hours.
Made the rhyme involuntarily during storms.
- Craved copper filings (weird side effect).
Then—a shriek.
"How dare you! Beast!" A disciple, barely twenty, stood frozen in horror, pointing at the half-eaten Stormroot Sapling.
I swallowed the . "Uh. Hi?"
"Thief! I was hunting for this Stormroot Sapling for my cultivation!" He drew his sword, hand clenched. I'll report you to Elder Mei!"
Elder Mei. The woman who'd wanted me collared.
Shit.
I could run. Or…
[New Quest: Defend Territory!]
[Subdue Enemy Without Killing][Bonus Reward: Sect Reputation +10]
The disciple lunged.
His sword flashed—a decent strike for a teenager, aimed at my shoulder.
The disciple lunged, his sword gleaming with the distinctive Mei-family serpent engraving along the blade—a detail I recognized too late.
I let it hit.
CLANG.
The sword shattered against my Frost Cloak-hardened fur, but not before I caught the crest on its hilt: a coiled ice viper biting its own tail.
Oh shit.
Elder Liang's warning flashed through my mind: "That symbol means one thing—Mei bloodline. And they always take insults personally."
The teenager —now weaponless and shaking—had his narrow eyes, he sneer.
"Listen, kid,"* I rumbled, Frost Aura cracking with lightning creeping toward him. "This was just a foraging misunderstanding. *Tell your... aunt? Cousin? That her garden's security is impressively bad. Maybe she'll blame you instead of me."
His face twisted. "You—you dare mock Elder Mei's—"
CRACK.
I froze the ground under him just enough to send him skidding face-first into a snowdrift.
"Oops. Slippery when frozen."
As he flailed, Elder Liang's voice hissed in my ear via Qi transmission:
"Idiot. That's her nephew. *Now she'll add 'humiliating my bloodline' to her list of reasons to skin you."
I watched the kid scramble away, his robes stained with snow and pride.
"Worth it."
[Quest Complete!]
[Qi Absorbed: 45/50]
[Sect Reputation: Neutral → "Cautious Respect"]
Not bad.
You are trulya troublemaker. Even That root you have eaten was decade from maturity. Now it'll taste like burnt copper." (You're jealous.)
He send me a glowing blue fruit.
"Eat. You'll need strength."
He voice
vanished from my mind , but his warning lingered.
"Elder Mei doesn't forgive insults."