A day later

Grim regained consciousness.

"Argh! My head hurts. How long have I been out?"

He wobbled as he stood, causing the snow over his body to drop.

He mumbled. "That was a painful process. I don't want to go through that again."

"Now, let's start the crystal formation."

'Moonlight Storm'

The icy aura began to gather around him. He concentrated 50% Qi and 50% ice into a location and commenced the crystal formation process.

An hour later, a miniature blue and dark crystal formed.

"This rate is even slower than that of fire. It's going to take at least two weeks."

***

Three weeks later

Sigh!

"I might have overestimated myself. It took three weeks for the crystal formation. I'll examine the crystal now."

He peered inside and saw the third crystal. It was a mesmerizing crystal with a light dark and blue hue. It looked like an aquamarine gemstone.

Then, he observed the other two crystals. The first crystal looked like a starry sky, the second looked like an orange sapphire, and the third looked like an aquamarine. The three crystals together gave off a magnetic feeling. No woman would be able to resist its allure.

"Wow! My insides look like a jewelry store. Anyways, it's time to incorporate the icy aura into my body."

'Moonlight Storm'

'Glaciate'

He began to absorb the icy aura and started integrating within. The icy aura began to ravage the insides, but the antifreeze came to the rescue and minimized the effects.

Soon, a tug-of-war between the aura and the antifreeze commenced. However, this time he couldn't use life flux efficiently since it couldn't heal the frozen wounds unless they were destroyed. So he could only count on antifreeze.

***

Three days later

His affinity with the 'ice' element reached a 'minor' level.

"This is faster than I expected. Advanced level mastery of 'air' and 'water' elements came in handy. "

He marched ahead and started absorption.

As his affinity with the 'ice' element improved, so did his antifreeze-allowing him to push further.

"Let's see if I can get the ability 'Glaciate' again."

"System Shop Open"

[Available Evo Point: 9,984,750]

[Ability 1: Ethereal - 200,000 Evo]

(allows you to conceal by manipulating other's senses, can even deceive the opponents a realm above you)

Usage: two times a day, lasts 20 minutes)

[Ability 2: Bulwark - 100,000 Evo]

(creates an armor out of the 'earth' element)

Usage: Can be used until Qi runs out)

[Ability 3: Strive - 100,000 Evo]

(allows you to track a marked target within 100 km {62 mi} )

Usage: Twice a day, lasts for 2 hours.)

[Weekly ability refresh ticket available: 2]

"Not bad."

"System, purchase first and second ability."

The system replied. "The ability 'ethereal' and 'bulwark' has been purchased. 300,000 Evo has been deducted from the host."

Ding! Ding!

"The system has detected similar abilities. Would you like to fuse them?" asked the system.

Grim quickly replied. "Yes."

"The ability 'Distort' and 'Ethereal' will fuse."

...

...

'Ethereal' has evolved

Ability: Ethereal

(allows you to conceal by manipulating other's senses, can even deceive the opponents a realm above you)

Usage: three times a day, lasts 30 minutes)

"The system has detected two exact abilities. The fusion will commence." He got a notification again.

"The ability 'Bulwark' has undergone fusion."

Ability: Bulwark

(creates an armor out of the 'earth' element, can withstand attacks of the opponent from the same level)

Usage: Can be used until Qi runs out)

"My defensive ability has improved again. However, I didn't get the required ability. I guess that's how life works."

He went back to the training again.

***

Two months later

Phew!

Grim grumbled. "The mastery has reached 'major' level, but the progression speed has slowed."

He was too absorbed with the training before to check the store. So now was the right time for it.

"System Shop Open"

[Available Evo Point: 9,684,750]

[Ability 1: Glaciate - 150,000 Evo]

(Produces antifreeze in the body, and allows you to resist the temperature up to -60° C( -76° F)

Usage: Can be used until Qi runs out)

[Ability 2: Water Lance - 60,000 Evo]

(launches multiple water lance )

Usage: Can be used until Qi runs out)

[Ability 3: Strive - 100,000 Evo]

(allows you to track a marked target within 100 km {62 mi} )

Usage: Twice a day, lasts for 2 hours.)

[Weekly ability refresh ticket available: 2]

"Finally, something useful."

Grim ordered. "System, purchase the first ability."

"The ability 'Glaciate' has been purchased. 150,000 Evo points have been deducted from the host."

Ding! Ding!

"The system has detected multiple same abilities. The ability 'Glaciate' will undergo fusion."

...

...

"The fusion is complete."

Ability: Glaciate

(Produces antifreeze in the body, and allows you to resist the temperature up to -120° C( -184° F)

Usage: Can be used until Qi runs out)

"Now I can boost my absorption speed."

He was 1.1 kilometers(0.6 miles) away from the source, and the difficulty went up as he traversed further. So he would only march 10 meters(32 ft) at a time and absorb the icy aura.

***

A year later, Alliance Headquarters

The alliance had been fully restored to its former glory within four months after the war.

Afterward, the alliance leaders followed the arrangement of Grim.

There were about 200,000 soldiers during the war, and it would be suspicious if they were still deployed. So the leaders decided to hold 20,000 soldiers on active duty, and the rest were maintained as the reserve.

The active duty soldiers were discontent with the decision at first. However, they were given generous rewards and privileges in return.

Not everything went according to Grim's suggestion. Grim wanted everyone in the evolution realm to enter the 'unique cultivation area', but there were limited spots. So they decided to nurture the cultivators with excellent potential.

The only exceptions were the disciples from the "Faith Academy' and Meng Zhou, causing them to be the target of envy.

By the end of the year, five cultivators had managed to break through to the dominion realm.

Lou Xiang and Yuan Chang were among them. Now, the Faith Academy had four cultivators in the dominion realm including Grim, which was ridiculous since it used to be one of the three academies in a city under a sect.

[Evo Points Left: 9,534,750]