Chapter Thirteen: The Eight Hundred Li Cloud Crystal Mountains

The sky was a deep, boundless blue, with only a single white cloud drifting gently—at times seeming to flutter, at others dissolving into the air.

In the southern reaches of the Grand Xia Empire lay the eight-hundred-li Cloud Crystal Mountains. The range was imposing and treacherous, blanketed by ancient forests and serene valleys, alive with birdsong and the fragrance of blooming flowers. The mountains were home to low-level demon beasts and abundant medicinal herbs, but what truly made Cloud Crystal Mountain famous was its namesake: the cloud crystal—a material commonly used in forging artifacts. Because of this, mercenaries flocked to the mountains each year, hunting beasts and gathering herbs.

Demon beasts were treasures in themselves. Their cores could be refined into pills, their bones forged into weapons, and so forth. Many mercenary bands had grown rich thanks to the bounty of Cloud Crystal Mountain.

Beside the mountains ran the Cloud Crystal River, its banks lined with shrubs, where now and then a lone elk would pause to drink from the clear waters.

Suddenly, a figure surfaced in the middle of the river, coughing and sputtering as he swam toward the shore, startling the elk into flight. His clothing was torn and ragged, and his youthful face betrayed his inexperience.

This was Lu Han, who had leapt into the waterfall. After plunging in, he had let the current carry him far downstream—he had no idea how far he had traveled.

Lu Han stripped off his shirt and wrung out the water, then found a tree to lean against as he sat down by the bank.

“I never thought I, Lu Han, would survive this ordeal. Old man, I owe you my life this time.” He was genuinely surprised to have escaped alive.

When he had jumped, he remembered clearly how the mysterious old man had enveloped him with some unknown power; without it, he would have been injured by the raging torrent.

He had no idea where he was, but as long as he could find someone to ask, surely he could make his way back.

Suddenly, the ring at his chest began to glow, and a transparent old man appeared, floating above it. “Boy, if it weren’t for your blundering in here, I’d never have escaped either. In a few more years, my soul would have vanished. Call it fate. Rest and recover your strength first; then we’ll look around.”

Lu Han sat cross-legged and began circulating the “Mysterious Water Art” to restore his energy.

The old man glanced around, then looked Lu Han up and down—his gaze lingering with increasing astonishment.

“How can this be?” the old man muttered in shock.

“This boy clearly had the triple attributes of metal, wood, and water. How has he suddenly become ice attribute? Could it be the cold pearl? But is there truly anything in the world that can completely alter a person’s elemental nature?” The old man prided himself on his knowledge. There were, indeed, rare treasures or advanced elixirs that could enhance a person's affinity—for instance, one with wood and water could use the Creation Water to approach pure water attribute. But to completely change one’s nature? He had never heard of such a thing. It was as if the boy’s original metal and wood attributes had never existed.

Lu Han sat cross-legged on the ground, his palms glowing faintly with white light. Yet this time, unlike before, a chill radiated from his hands.

“Boy, wake up. Stop cultivating for now—I have questions for you, and I expect honest answers.” The old man’s expression was grave.

“Ask away,” Lu Han replied, ceasing his cultivation and opening his eyes.

“How did you fall from the cliff? Is it related to someone named Lie? Otherwise, why would you have a lingering trace of that aura?” The old man fixed him with an intense stare, as if daring him to lie.

“How do you know that, old man? I never told you—are you clairvoyant or something?” Lu Han was incredulous.

“So it really was the Lie family hunting you? Well, since you helped me escape, I’ll let you go.” The old man seemed regretful. If Lu Han were not the Lie family’s enemy, perhaps… but fate was unpredictable. He sighed.

“Let me go? Hunted by the Lie family? Old man, what are you talking about?” Lu Han was thoroughly confused, so he recounted the events of that day in detail.

...

“So that’s how it was! You did it to help the Lie family’s patriarch.” The old man’s mood brightened considerably.

Lu Han’s emotions grew unstable as he spoke. “I don’t know why Uncle and Lu Ran deceived me—they’ve never acted like this before.”

“You’re still too young, boy—too inexperienced. There are far too many people who wear one face publicly and another in private.” The old man consoled him. Thankfully, Lu Han wasn’t truly an enemy of the Lie family. After listening to his story, the old man understood what had happened.

“Old man, do you have some connection with the Lie family?” Lu Han suspected that the old man’s attitude had changed because of the Lie family; after all, at first, he had wanted Lu Han to leave.

“A bit,” the old man replied, clearly unwilling to elaborate, and Lu Han couldn’t press further.

“Do you know what’s happening within your body? After that cold pearl fused into your brow, did you notice anything different?” The old man was firing off questions, and Lu Han wondered if he’d ever stop.

“You mean that pearl in the cave? I have no idea what happened—there was just a lot of pain, and then the cave collapsed,” Lu Han said, still baffled by the events.

“You don’t know? Try circulating your internal energy. If I’m right, you’ve probably gained the ice attribute. Cultivating arts matched to your attribute will greatly enhance your strength.” The old man was speechless. Some people spent their entire lives seeking rare treasures or miraculous pills just to approach a single pure attribute, and even then, it was only an approximation. Yet this clueless boy had no inkling of what had happened to him.

Lu Han channeled his internal force, watching as a faint chill rose from his hands.

“It does feel different. Old man, what exactly is the ice attribute?” Lu Han was puzzled. He had never heard of such things in the Lu family; everyone simply cultivated the arts they were given, and it was the same throughout Maple Leaf City.

The old man had to explain.

There were, in fact, eight attributes in the world: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, and ice.

Everyone was born with innate attributes, but most people possessed multiple ones. Those with a single attribute were geniuses no matter where they were. Previously, Lu Han had metal, wood, and water—having two was already considered good, three was even better, but four or five was a sign of mediocrity. In the old man’s words, such people might only achieve the most basic level of cultivation—this was the most common situation on the Continent of the Firmament.

“Basic, and that’s supposed to be weak?” Lu Han’s lips twitched; he couldn’t help thinking the old man was exaggerating.

“The key is that your cultivation method must match your attribute. If you have wood but train with metal arts, you’ll make progress, but you’ll never reach great heights—not even with sky-rank techniques. In this place, you don’t even have attribute crystals. In bigger cities or sects, attribute crystals can test a person’s affinity.” The old man continued.

Lu Han listened intently. He had never known any of this before. So there really was such a thing as attributes. Wait, did that mean he was now ice attribute? The thought filled him with wild joy. That was one in ten thousand! Did this mean he could reach the Profound Lord Realm, or even the Earth King Realm?

“Don’t celebrate just yet,” the old man interrupted his thoughts, seeing the excitement on his face. “This is only my guess based on your cultivation just now. Hold out your hand.”

After examining him, the old man shook his head in puzzlement. “You’re not entirely ice attribute. If a true ice attribute person is like a full jar of water, you’re only half-full. I’ve never seen this before—it’s like having a dual talent, but I call it a partial attribute.”

“Don’t be discouraged. Even this partial attribute is far stronger than your previous triple attributes.” Seeing Lu Han’s disappointment, the old man tried to encourage him.

Lu Han sat cross-legged, listening as the old man explained that his new talent was related to the cold pearl that had entered his brow. He tried to communicate with it; the pearl sat in his mind, emitting a faint, ghostly blue light, but showed no sign of responding to his efforts—it seemed perfectly content to remain in his head.

The cold pearl remained motionless; evidently, Lu Han could not control it.