The vast ice fields stretched to the horizon under Ronan's feet, with half-frozen rivers slowly flowing, emitting a low roar. In the distance, towering glaciers stood like giant sculptures, resembling swords or spears piercing the sky, their surfaces shimmering with a cold light. Even the sky was covered in frost, drawing out complex and irregular large patterns. Snowflakes gently fell, covering the ground in a soft white blanket. Ronan tried to take a few steps forward, a slight creaking sound arose, like invisible spirits whispering.
This ice legacy imprint space of the Ring was quite similar to the scene in Hecarto's legacy dream that Ronan had once entered.
Both were worlds composed purely of ice and snow, but compared to Hecarto's legacy dream, this world lacked the heavy, ancient charm.
Hecarto.
The name was mentioned again.
Ronan's temples throbbed slightly, as if pierced by something sharp, yet his expression remained calm. He slowly brought up his current character panel.
[Talent: Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline (1%).]
[Power: Level 2 Formal Wizard (40%)]
The most significant changes on the character panel were in the [Talent] and [Power] sections.
The former now included a 1% [Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline], and the latter had increased from the previous 35% to 40%.
As Ronan had predicted, once he absorbed the bloodline crystal embedded in his heart, the panel would truly display the talent of the [Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline].
But he hadn't anticipated that the forced fusion would have such severe consequences, nearly causing him to vanish entirely from this world.
"Even with the Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline diluted to just one percent, the ancient will remaining in the bloodline is still so overwhelmingly powerful, almost eroding and devouring my core will.
Aunt Soraya was right; bloodlines are an eternal taboo for wizards. They are treasures that can grant a wizard immense power, but also disasters that bring death and destruction.
Even at the dawn level, few wizards are truly qualified to delve into bloodline research, and I haven't even fully emerged from the mist."
Ronan exhaled a breath of frost, murmuring with a complex gaze, "I was too arrogant.
Gaining superficial benefits from the bloodline made me complacent, thinking I could easily harness this power, yet I overlooked the enormous risks it entailed."
Ronan gently pressed his left chest.
Visible only to him, a thumb-sized rhombus crystal was embedded in his heart.
The crystal was crimson, interspersed with dark blue, the colors flowing like blood within, exuding an indescribable mystery and beauty.
The crystal seemed naturally fused with Ronan's heart, releasing ancient and mysterious power with each heartbeat, flowing through his body.
This was the "Ancient Frost Hydra" bloodline crystal after the second purification by the Sacred Blood Tree.
The first crystal had shattered, with part of its bloodline power completely merging into Ronan's body, becoming indistinguishable from his own bloodline, accounting for the 1% "Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline" on the panel.
The remainder was purified again and re-formed into a crystal, retained within Ronan.
Up to this point, everything was not too different from Ronan's initial expectations—
Through repeated purification and fusion, gradually increasing the concentration of the Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline in his own, until fully inheriting it.
What he hadn't foreseen, or perhaps underestimated, was the backlash from the bloodline's will during the process.
Closing his eyes, Ronan's consciousness slowly sank.
In the deepest part of his consciousness space, an endless frost covered everything, with a dense shadow lurking, faintly emanating an ancient, majestic, and evil will.
This was the remnant will of the Ancient Frost Hydra after a bloodline fusion.
This fragmentary will, now like an untouchable taboo, was temporarily "sealed" in the deepest part of Ronan's consciousness.
Ronan constantly needed to devote at least seventy percent of his focus to maintain this relatively peaceful state.
Should he relax, this will would "break free," quickly consuming and occupying his body.
By then, would the Ancient Frost Hydra "resurrect" in another form within him?
Ronan didn't know.
This will energy, which even time couldn't fully erase, was deeply imprinted in the bloodline like a "genetic code," always ready to "return." It was too incredible, beyond his understanding.
"The only good news now is that as long as I don't attempt further fusion with the bloodline crystal or tap into the power of the Ancient Frost Hydra, this will remains unfed and won't grow, allowing me to slowly erode it over time."
Though complete removal seemed unrealistic, as Ronan couldn't entirely abandon this bloodline power. As long as he chose to continue down the "Frost Hecarto" path, he would have to face this issue.
"But if I can keep it relatively weak, it shouldn't have too much impact on me."
Ronan opened his eyes, slightly activating the power of the [Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline] in the [Talent] section.
Instantly, his pupils cracked like ice, revealing two vertical black slits, evil crimson light shining forth.
"Hiss—"
Ronan's long hair floated silently, each strand turning ancient dark blue.
Countless free ice energy particles in the air converged toward Ronan, forming a massive vortex. The ice rivers on the ground were stirred, and even the distant, immovable glaciers seemed to roar.
Large clusters of black-blue frost emerged, the ancient, evil, majestic aura gradually spreading.
"Whoosh—"
Just as everything was reaching an extreme, it all stopped abruptly.
Ronan retracted the bloodline power, silently observing his right hand before quickly lowering it.
How could one gain power beyond the ordinary without paying a price?
In this world, things are always fair.
Ronan wasn't the kind to be "once bitten, twice shy."
Experiencing life-and-death crises didn't instill fear in him; they only made him more cautious.
Ronan walked across the snow, slowly moving deeper into the space.
The further he went, the denser the free ice energy particles became. When he reached the space's end, before a misty frost cliff, Ronan even saw some blue-white irregular light clusters floating above.
These were concentrated energy particles, and given more time and density in this space, they might evolve into ice elementals.
"[Frost Spear]!"
Ronan extended a finger, releasing invisible mental power. A vast amount of ice energy particles rapidly gathered, instantly forming dense, crystal-clear white spears before him.
Strange energy fluctuations emanated from around these frost spears, as if something were about to emerge.
"Simulating the ancient?"
Ronan's eyes flickered, seeming to grasp the purpose of this so-called legacy imprint space.
In an environment with an unusually high concentration of single-element energy particles, both spell practice and domain comprehension would receive considerable support.
The higher the concentration, the greater the support.
However, it was evident that this space had only been established for a relatively short time, perhaps a few hundred years at most. While the concentration of free energy particles was high, it wasn't exaggeratedly so.
"Perhaps that's why Kirstie mentioned limited resources, allowing only one person entry..."
Ronan mused.
Regardless, for him in his current state, this was an excellent secluded training place.
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