Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

Chapter 823 Prime Disciple Competition: Training

Morning rays filtered through the dense canopy of trees in the secluded training ground. Mira, draped in an elegant azure robe, stood in the center of a clearing. The spot was chosen for its dense Qi, which swirled around the area.

She looked at her new ten tails, each one a color that represented their specific elements. The first eight tails represented Earth, Water, Yin Fire, Wind, Yin Lightning, Ice, Light, and Darkness. The last two—Creation and Destruction—seemed dull in comparison, but the potential they had was much greater. 

These two tails intrigued her the most, as they held power she had not yet fully comprehended.

'Unfortunately, I lost almost all my previous tail abilities.' Mira thought with a sigh. While they were certainly unique, they did have their place. It also gave a bit more versatility to her kit, allowing her to catch people off-guard. 

But they really weren't all that useful, save for a few. If she couldn't solve something with her scythe, then most of her tails wouldn't make much of a difference. 

'Thankfully, I kept the useful ones even after my evolution. However, it seemed that instead of something with limited uses, they turned into innate Racial abilities.' 

She thought about using her 'Charm', and immediately after, her Qi churned and created a faint pink mist around her. The same went for her ability to use illusions. 

Meanwhile, her tails were just naturally heavy now after inheriting her Gold Tail's capabilities.

'I guess this is fine. Less things to worry about. Now, I can hone in on the things that really matter.' She concluded, not upset about the loss of abilities. 

'Let's see what they can do!' 

Taking a deep breath, Mira closed her eyes and connected with the world around her. Immediately, she could feel the elemental energies more keenly than ever before. They converged, eager to be wielded by the Ascended Elemental Yin Fox Progenitor.

She began with the Earth element. Channeling Qi through her tail, she felt a profound connection to the land beneath her. With a single thought, she commanded pillars of rock to rise from the ground.

Raising her Earth tail, Mira felt not just the power of the element but the essence of it. Before, when she channeled Earth Qi, it felt like she was simply manipulating the energy. Now, with her tail, it was as though she became one with the Earth, understanding its deepest secrets and intricacies.

She could create, manipulate, or destroy it as easily as breathing. 

'I guess this is what it truly means to embody an element. I don't have to think about controlling the energy, it just happens. As soon as I even think about creating something, my Qi moves to make it happen.' Mira thought with a wry smile. 

For some reason, she felt less like a fox and more like some sort of spiritual entity.

However, she wasn't complaining. This 'ability' would save her precious time in battle. It also meant that surprise attacks were way more effective as she could go from 0-100 instantly, without any build-up.

'That, combined with my reaction speed, even if I don't have the strength, I should be able to contend with a Mortal Shedding Realm expert.' She thought about calling one of the Elders over to spar with but shook her head against it. 

First, she should understand the basics of her new form. 

She then moved on to the next tail, Water. With a gentle sway, she called forth a swirling vortex of water that circled around her. The water wasn't just controlled; it responded to her every emotion, every thought. As her thoughts quieted, the water became a serene pond, and as her emotions flared, it raged into a tempestuous whirlpool.

Mira proceeded to experiment with each tail, discovering the enhanced capabilities and understanding they brought. The Yin Fire wasn't just flames; it was like the antithesis of life, similar to her black runes, except she didn't gain anything. The Wind wasn't just a gust or breeze; it was gentle yet chilly. A type of cold that would go unnoticed until it was too late.

However, what truly astounded Mira was how all these elements converged in harmony with her innate Ice powers. Each element, when channeled through her tails, had a touch of her frosty essence.

For instance, the Yin Fire tail, when ignited, produced a unique blue flame that was both cold and hot at the same time. This paradoxical fire could freeze and burn simultaneously.

Similarly, her Wind tail, infused with her icy Qi, generated blizzards instead of mere gusts. Her Earth tail could create pillars not just of rock but of ice-encrusted stone, making them both sturdy and deadly.

She could alter how much her ice affinity affected her other elements, but now, every single one of them could be considered 

But this was just the tip of the iceberg.

[A/N: Pun intended.]

What truly made these elements unique was that they truly embodied the 'Yin' aspect. 

While the terms 'Yin and Yang' may sound amazing, they are really just concepts or phenomena that are used to represent dualities and balance. They may technically be opposites, but they aren't adversaries. 

Yin generally represented things such as darkness, passivity, receptivity, cold, femininity, and the moon. While Yang often symbolizes light, activity, aggression, warmth, masculinity, and the sun.

What Mira realized was that her new form was an embodiment of Yin, not in the simplistic sense of cold and darkness, but in its truest essence of receptivity, intuition, and connection to the unseen.

This 'Yin' nature granted her abilities a special quality. 

For example, her Light tail didn't merely shine brightly, but it also illuminated hidden truths, revealing illusions and unmasking deceptions. It was as if her light could pierce through the fabric of reality itself.

The Darkness tail, meanwhile, wasn't just about shrouding things in shadow, but it allowed her to tap into the mysterious depths of the universe. With it, she could navigate through realms that were otherwise hidden and understand mysteries that were normally beyond common comprehension.

As she toyed with her Darkness tail, shadows danced around her, not as mere absence of light but as tangible entities. 

Her realization of Yin's true essence was profound. In most cultivators' journeys, they don't ever interact with these concepts as there's really no need. But for Mira, this was just a step to help uncover her untapped potential.

As Mira delved deeper into her newfound abilities, she also became aware of the dangers. Yin, in its unbridled form, could be consuming. She'd have to be careful with her new powers lest she accidentally cripple someone.

Aware of this, Mira approached her last two tails with caution. Creation and Destruction. These were concepts that transcended even Yin and Yang. They were the primal forces of the universe.

With the tail of Creation, though its abilities were mostly sealed or blocked, she could materialize objects from thin air, harnessing pure energy and converting it to matter. The tail of Destruction, on the other hand, allowed her to disintegrate things at a fundamental level. 

The two combined allowed her to destroy the world around her, convert it into pure energy, and add it to her cultivation. 

It's just doing so could be quite…dangerous.

Looking at the area around her, the once vibrant forest was devoid of life, trees, or even fertile soil. Just by using those two tails, she sucked out all the energy from everything, leaving the place barren. 

How long it would take to heal? She didn't know.

'So, it seems I can use my black tail more freely now. The ability is still similar in nature but just has more depth. I'm assuming I can still exchange my lifespan for more power, but it's not so limited.' She nodded inwardly, very satisfied with this. 

When she evolved, she had inadvertently recovered all her lost lifespan, but she wasn't all that eager to have to spend enormous chunks of it again. Her opponents were getting stronger and stronger, so each use of her black tail would consume more and more. 

Now that she had some semblance of control over it, she could wield her black tail more freely.

'I'll have to make sure that I can still recover my lifespan after absorbing people. That'll determine if I even use this damn tail for something like that again.'

With that thought in mind, Mira went back to training. She still had to get used to just how much her elemental control had improved. Afterward, she'll ask an Elder to spar with her or maybe go cause some trouble for the beasts by hunting down a few Rank 9. 

'I'd have to ask Aelina about that, but I doubt she'll disagree.' She thought before summoning her ice tail and turning the entire area into a frozen wasteland.

'I'm looking forward to finally being able to crush a Rank 9 beast underneath my feet.'