Atticus remained silent and listened to Isolde speak. He immediately noticed that her demeanor had suddenly changed.
Atticus had seen through Isolde from the beginning. He knew she was somehow dissatisfied with him. However, he didn’t care about her feelings. He hadn’t come here for her validation of any of the sanctum masters in the first place.
It was good for his future if they liked him, but if they didn’t, it was ultimately their problem.
But Isolde’s dissatisfaction had suddenly changed. Atticus could feel that what she was about to say was something serious.
“I want you to forget everything about using the ice element for battle for a second. The ice element is more than creating ice spikes and beautiful sculptures,” Isolde began.
She raised her hand, and suddenly, a small mouse-like creature appeared in her hand, contained inside a small icy jail.
“The primal nature of the ice element is to freeze. This isn’t just limited to freezing the air or water, but to freeze life itself.”
White frost streamed into the jail from Isolde’s hands and engulfed the creature.
Seeing Atticus’s gaze suddenly light up, Isolde quickly continued, “I know what you’re thinking, but we ice elementalists aren’t immortals; there’s a limit to everything. As you’ve guessed, we can freeze life. To be more specific, we can freeze and preserve everything that makes us live.
“Before you go and do something stupid, I would suggest that you not try this until you reach the grandmaster rank and form your domain. It requires precise and articulate manipulation for you to achieve this feat.”
Hearing Isolde, Atticus’s beating heart soon calmed down. His head had already started thinking of different ways he could utilize this ability to prolong his lifetime.
Isolde nodded, seeing Atticus had regained his sense.
“Now, I became a grandmaster at 80, and during my breakthrough, I was able to expel a significant number of toxins from my body, which enabled me to regain my youthfulness. Since then, I’ve used this technique every time I sleep to slow down my aging.
“If you’re good enough, you can use this during the day, but then its effects would be limited, and your body won’t be able to function normally. Now listen well, I won’t explain twice.”
Atticus focused his whole attention, not daring to miss anything. The ability to freeze the aging of living beings wasn’t something he planned on passing off.
“The principle behind freezing life is intricate and requires a very good understanding of both ice manipulation and the biology of living beings. It’s not just about lowering the temperature; it’s about stopping the metabolic processes that sustain life.
“Living organisms are composed of water and various organic molecules. Freezing life involves using ice manipulation to lower the temperature of these molecules to the point where metabolic processes cease, effectively putting the organism in a state of suspended animation.
“You must first ensure that the freezing process is uniform and does not cause damage to the cellular structure, and secondly, to freeze life, the temperature must be lowered gradually to avoid causing thermal shock, which could damage the organism’s cells.”
Atticus grasped all the words coming from her mouth with ease. If he had to be honest, he hadn’t expected to go through a biological lesson, but when he thought about it, it made sense. He should know about the intricacies of what he wanted to freeze.
The white frost that engulfed the creature started to show its effects, and it started shrieking in response, trying to escape, but the icy jail was too sturdy.
Atticus could see how gradual Isolde was being. The temperature of the frost was uniform across every single inch of the creature and she ensured the temperature reduction was consistent throughout its body.
After a few seconds, the creature was completely frozen, its claws, which had been trying to claw through the ice, now resting on the icy jail.
After the demonstration, Isolde had been ‘kind’ enough to show Atticus what would happen if he got the process wrong. It went without saying that it served as a loud and clear warning.
‘I’ll have to carry out some tests on beasts before I try it on myself,’ he thought. He could see the enormous benefits but was also aware of the intense risk. He had no intention of dying foolishly.
Afterward, Atticus practiced and increased his proficiency in the ice element. After about 9 hours, Isolde waved her hand, and Atticus suddenly found himself breaking out of ice in front of the icy gates of the ice sanctum.
Atticus brushed off the shards of ice that remained on his clothes and simply scoffed. She could do whatever she wanted because she had power. He would soon get that power and would like to see her try this then.
Atticus carried his gaze away from the icy gates and turned toward the direction of the light sanctum.
It stood in the sky like a beacon of light, blinding in its radiance.
The air molecules enveloped Atticus, and he shot towards the light sanctum with speed, reaching it in a few seconds.
Landing in front of the grand gates, Atticus’s gaze landed on the figure of a woman standing in front of the gate, and he was immediately tempted to bow and worship her.
It wasn’t that she was insanely powerful—he had met countless grandmasters already and never felt this urge.
She felt angelic. Her body was bathed in a golden radiance, and she wore a pure white robe that accentuated her curves. There was no doubt that she was old, but she was utterly beautiful.
A small smile graced her lips.
“Ah, just in time. I love a man who keeps to his time,” she said.
Atticus involuntarily took one step back. If not for his incredibly high intelligence, perception, and awareness of his actions at every instance, he might have fallen for it.
He cleared his mind and bowed.
“My name is Atticus. I look forward to learning from you,” he said.
The woman’s smile widened.
“You’re respectful too! You’re making me fall even harder. Can you take responsibility?”
Atticus abruptly staggered backward, his heart beating fast. The woman had just appeared in front of him suddenly, and he hadn’t been able to hear or see her until she was right there.
He felt his legs wobble as he struggled to remain standing.
‘What the hell…’
It was official—Atticus was scared. This old cougar had done something that many had struggled to do but failed.
The woman suddenly burst into laughter, her mirth sounding like a melodious tone.
“I’m just pulling your legs. Your reaction is priceless!” She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
“Welcome to the light sanctum! My name is Aeliana. I’m excited to meet the famous Atticus Ravenstein!”
Atticus was baffled, and his expression clearly reflected this feeling. Was this woman actually over a century old? Her looks didn’t match that notion, but at the very least her personality should, right?
He hadn’t been expecting her to act all sage-like and boring, but he also wasn’t expecting this bubbly personality.
Atticus cleared his throat before briefly bowing. She was still a grandmaster regardless.
“I can’t wait to witness your genius! I’ve heard a lot about how you breezed through the other sanctums. Oh please, will you do that here?”
Atticus didn’t know what to say. His arm found the back of his head, scratching it as he responded awkwardly,
“I… guess?”
“Great! Let’s get to work immediately!”
Atticus saw nothing. One moment he was in front of the blinding gates of the light sanctum, and the next, he was standing on a luminous golden platform.
Aeliana didn’t appear to have moved from her position; only the surroundings had changed.
Atticus turned his gaze around. ‘That wasn’t teleportation.’
He knew he had moved, but it had been so fast that he hadn’t registered the movement. The only time he ever felt this way was when Magnus was involved.
‘Seems like I’ve been neglecting a truly powerful element,’ he thought.
Atticus’ abilities were bountiful. They were so numerous that, considering the opponents he had faced up until now, he had never really given them enough thought. This was the same with the darkness element. ‘But that will change now.’
“Now! Where should we start?”
Aeliana placed her hand under her chin and started pondering. It seemed as though she was finding it difficult to decide where to start the lesson.
But before she could ponder further, Atticus interrupted her by speaking,
“Ah, I’m sorry about this, but I’ve been going from sanctum to sanctum and haven’t really had the time to rest. I’m exhausted.”
Aeliana showed a visibly sad expression upon hearing Atticus.
“Do you have to?” she asked with puppy eyes.
Atticus nodded his head apologetically.
Aeliana sighed and waved her hand dismissively and Atticus immediately found himself inside the confines of a simple, blinding room.
His body immediately found the luminous bed, and Atticus went into a deep sleep. He had been going for more than a day now, and it was starting to affect him.
