A Chaotic World

As the leader of the Frost Guards, the Piercing Wind Overlord had always taken the conservative approach of remaining within the vicinity of the mountain and safeguarding their ancestral land. This had been the way of the Frost Guards since the very beginning, and this was how he wanted the Frost Guards to continue as.

But as time passed, and as the Frost Guards continued to prosper under his lead, more and more members of the influence started to feel unsatisfied with maintaining status quo.

The Frost Guards were undoubtedly stronger than many influences out there, so why were the others allowed to roam freely across the lands while they had to keep holing up in this frozen land?

Eventually, a separate faction emerged within the Frost Guards.

This new faction was inclined towards the idea that instead of remaining as mere guardians of the mountain, they should be making full use of the mountain's resources to establish connections with other powerhouses and expand their influence.

Because of their conflicting ideas, the two factions were constantly at loggerheads. Still, with the prestigious Piercing Wind Overlord in firm control of the Frost Guards, these conflicts was limited to mere verbal arguments.

That was, until the rise of the Frost Claw Overlord.

The Frost Claw Overlord, also known as the number one disciple of the Piercing Wind Overlord, was hailed as one of the greatest geniuses of the previous generation. Unfortunately, his opinion differed from that of his master, and had always subscribed to the idea that the Frost Guards should be expanding their influence instead of remaining on the mountain.

He had tried to convince his master on many occasions, but his suggestions were firmly rejected every time.

After he reached the Overlord realm, however, he finally grew tired of trying to persuade his master, and decided to take action instead.

Through a well planned operation that completely caught the Frost Guards by surprise, the Frost Claw Overlord and his supporters poisoned the Piercing Wind Overlord and swept through the entire Frostguard Mountain, capturing almost every single one of the top level executives of the conservative faction in one fell swoop.

It was only through the sacrifice of several elders that the poisoned Piercing Wind Overlord had been able to escape the fate of becoming a prisoner as well, fleeing Frostguard Mountain along with the remnants of his faction.

Lu Tianzi signed internally when he heard the events that had transpired.

In the end, even one's own disciple could not be trusted. This was the type of world that they were living in.

"We're almost there," Nanshen Qin said from beside him, but those words were rather unnecessary.

Right now, Lu Tianzi could already make out a faint silhouette of a towering mountain in the distance, slightly hidden behind the heavy snowfall. It was distinctly taller than any of the snow dunes on the Shimmering Plains, as though it was a guardian deity that stood watch over the entire region.

A guardian deity whose expelled guardians were finally making their return.

Three months had passed since the day that the Piercing Wind Overlord had introduced Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue to the Winter Stone. During this time, they had joined the Frost Guards in rigorous training, familiarising themselves with the basic combat techniques of the Frost Guards.

And now, it was finally time to put their plan into action.

"Are you feeling anything yet?" Nanshen Qin asked.

Lu Tianzi turned towards Nanlan Qianxue, who nodded in response.

The Piercing Wind Overlord had told them that they would know if they had gained the acknowledgement of the Winter Stone only after they enter the vicinity of Frostguard Mountain, and that seemed to be the case indeed.

Since a while ago, Lu Tianzi had been feeling a small stream of energy constantly flowing towards him, and the amount of energy only became greater and greater as they approached Frostguard Mountain.

Now that the silhouette of the mountain had come into sight, Lu Tianzi was absolutely certain. Without a doubt, this stream of energy was coming from the mountain itself.

It provided an additional source of energy for him to tap into if he so needed, which meant that he could truly fight above and beyond his true capabilities.

So this was the secret behind the Frost Guards' dominance atop Frostguard Mountain... it acted similarly to having a energy gathering formation that covered the entire area.

"Good, then we can go ahead with the plan," Nanshen Qin nodded. Had Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue ended up not being acknowledged by the Winter Stone, they would have forced them to remain here, not allowing them to join in on the upcoming mission.

"Remember, the plan is to create a distraction while the infiltration team rescues the imprisoned elders," the Piercing Wind Overlord reminded the group. "Do not engage in any long drawn combat as far as possible, and prepare to flee whenever you get spotted. Understood?"

"Yes, Master!" the Frost Guards answered in unison.

"All right," the Piercing Wind Overlord gazed at the giant silhouette in the distance before letting out a helpless sigh. "Don't die on me, everyone. Now, go."

Upon his signal, the group promptly split into four teams.

Two teams would be responsible for creating distractions while one team infiltrated the depths of the mountain.

The remaining team was where the Piercing Wind Overlord belonged – the assault team. This was the team that would only move after receiving the signal from the infiltration team, and also the main fighting force that would be responsible for taking down the leaders of the opposing faction.

As for why they were not the first to enter, that was due to the existence of the Frost Claw Overlord.

Right now, the opposing faction were still unaware that the Piercing Wind Overlord had already recovered from his poisoned state. This meant that they now had the element of surprise on their side.

But in order to fully take advantage of this, the Piercing Wind Overlord could not afford to be spotted beforehand. That way, the Frost Claw Overlord would not be as guarded.

"Remember to stay close to me," Nanshen Qin said to Lu Tianzi, and the latter nodded in response.

The thing about splitting into teams was that due to the reduced combat strength, both the infiltration team and the distraction teams had to move as stealthily as possible in order to not get caught. This required them to be extremely familiar with the terrain. Only then would they be able to make the most efficient movements in any situation.

By that logic, as someone who had never even been to Frostguard Mountain, Lu Tianzi should not have been part of the infiltration team at all.

However, his lack of familiarity of the terrain was made up for in another aspect – pure combat strength.

The result of the infiltration team's operation was key to the success of the entire assault. For that reason, the Piercing Wind Overlord made an exception for the sake of increasing the infiltration team's combat capabilities.

Nanshen Qin was someone who stood at the peak of the Origin Core realm, and Lu Tianzi was someone who had proven to be able to match him in combat.

This meant that as long as the Overlord powerhouses remained uninvolved, the two of them together should be able to handle most situations that they came to face with.

"Be careful," Nanlan Qianxue cautioned.

"Don't worry, I will," Lu Tianzi replied. "You need to be careful as well."

"Mm," Nanlan Qianxue nodded.

Unlike Lu Tianzi who was in the infiltration team, Nanlan Qianxue belonged to the assault team. While the presence of the Piercing Wind Overlord might make it seem like the safest team to be in, that could not be further from the truth.

In fact, the assault team was actually the team that would be facing the toughest fight.

That was because the the Piercing Wind Overlord would be unable to make a move until the Frost Claw Overlord appeared. And even then, the Piercing Wind Overlord would have to focus all his attention on the Frost Claw Overlord.

This meant that the rest of the assault team were effectively on their own until the other teams managed to rejoin them.

Lu Tianzi looked at the Pure Snow Serpent King that had laid its head down on the snow beside Nanlan Qianxue, and felt slightly comforted. He never understood why the giant serpent was so attached to Nanlan Qianxue, but as long as it was around, less danger should befall Nanlan Qianxue.

"Infiltration team, move out!" Nanshen Qin gave the order, and the rest of the infiltration team immediately followed his lead.

Nanlan Qianxue could only watch on with clenched fists as the three teams slowly disappeared behind the curtains of snow.

In the end, she was still not strong enough, which was why she had to be left behind instead of joining Lu Tianzi and the infiltration team.

Harder...

If she wanted to keep up with Lu Tianzi, then she had to work even harder than what she was doing right now.

Otherwise, she would always have to feel like this... like she was a burden to Lu Tianzi!

***

Seated on a throne constructed out of glittering crystals, a luxuriously dressed man who looked to be in his early thirties wore an impatient expression while staring at his subordinate standing a short distance away.

"Tell me that you have something good to report this time," he said with an solemn tone while tapping his fingers rhythmically on his arm rest.

"This..." the bearded subordinate appeared to be older than him, but still could not help but feel nervous in his presence. "We still haven't found any traces of Qin'er- no, Nanshen Qin."

"Is that so?" the luxuriously dressed man slowly got up from his throne and walked down the few steps to stand level to his subordinate. "Tell me. How many months have it been? That brat dared to openly use his Heaven's Judgement here in the Shimmering Plains, and we are still unable to locate him after that?"

"But Leng'er, you sh-"

"Mind what you are calling me," the luxuriously dressed man frowned. "Do not forget that I am the master of the Frost Guards now."

"S-Sorry," the bearded subordinate quickly realised his mistake. "But Master, as you know, the conditions in the Shimmering Plains make it difficult to track anyone down. Not just that, but many of our men have already been deployed to the borders of the Shimmering Plains to keep a lookout for any escapees. Because of the shortage on manpower, it really is not easy to go about with the search."

"All I hear are excuses," the luxuriously dressed man snorted in disdain. "Listen, I-"

"Master!" a young man rushed into the chamber at this moment.

"What is it? Why are you in such a hurry?" the luxuriously dressed man looked over in irritation.

"They... they are here!" the young man exclaimed with clasped fists.

"Speak clearly, who is here?" the luxuriously dressed man asked impatiently.

"The traitors! Those who escaped with the Piercing Wind Overlord!" the young man pointed in the direction of their main gate as though he could see it from within the chamber. "Those at the entrance have spotted a group of them trying to sneak into the mountain, and now hot in pursuit!"

"Oh?" the luxuriously dressed man revealed a look of astonishment. "They actually came back here? But why?"

"Perhaps they are finally at the end of their ropes, and are hoping that they can sneak in and steal some of our resources?" the bearded subordinate pondered out loud.

"Hmm, that makes sense," the luxuriously dressed man rubbed his chin before turning back to the bearded subordinate. "Seems that you are in luck, Elder Chang. These idiots are doing the job for you. Now that they have delivered themselves to us, all you have to do is go and capture them all. Surely you will be able to do that at least?"

"Leave it to me, Master," Elder Chang clasped his fists towards the luxuriously dressed man, a determined light shining in his eyes. "I will definitely redeem myself this time!"