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Chapter 1079: Holding Ice Hands

After acquiring the Shoushan Seal, Zhu Ruoxuan, under the guidance of the Northern Palace Master, progressed from beginner to initial mastery, discovering the immense power of this secret seal.

With the blessing of the First Mountain Seal, he advanced further in his peak state in the late stage of the Strong Martial Realm, reaching the level of a stable Grandmaster.

This is a real surprise.

But he felt somewhat disappointed, because although he had benefited, he hadn't been able to accomplish what Zhou You had arranged.

The Myriad Manifestations Seal remained in the Heavenly Palace and was not brought out by him.

After making the trip to the Heavenly Palace, the Northern Palace Master completed the transaction with Zhou You and told him he could go back.

Although the Buddhist sect highly values ​​Zhu Ruoxuan, and although he is not as good as the Five Heavenly Kings, he is still one of the best followers in recent years and possesses a secret seal.

Given time, Zhu Ruoxuan might very well be promoted to a high-ranking position at the Palace Master level.

However, the higher-ups all knew that, given Zhu Ruoxuan's status, he could not devote himself wholeheartedly to the Shishen Sect unless he severed his ties with his relatives.

With the Northern Palace Master's decision, Zhu Ruoxuan was able to return to the Western Branch of the Zhou Clan to report back to Zhou You.

"There's no need to apologize. Although I can't tell you the full story, you did a great job."

Zhou You comforted Zhu Ruoxuan, and when he heard that he was about to break through to the Grandmaster level, he specially allocated some resources to him.

It takes a massive amount of resources to progress from the late stage of the Strong Martial Arts realm to the Grandmaster realm; this is common knowledge in the world of martial arts.

Those members of the Human Sect who were buried among the disciples and guards of the Governor of Jingzhou were forced to sign indentures because they needed massive amounts of resources.

Zhou You was an exception. He possessed three Grandmaster Marks, and the combination of the three weakened the bottleneck by 80%, so he did not need to spend too many resources to successfully break through to the Grandmaster realm.

Zhu Ruoxuan acquired the First Mountain Seal, seeing a glimmer of hope for a breakthrough, but resources were still essential.

The resources allocated to him by Zhou You were not enough, so after thinking about it, he had to borrow some more from his hometown in Beixuan Prefecture.

Advancing to the Grandmaster level is a top priority and must be taken seriously; all connections and channels must be utilized.

Originally, Zhou You could have easily covered all of Zhu Ruoxuan's expenses, but unfortunately, another 'old friend' from the Ninth Level of Martial Arts recently came to join him. He was none other than the 'Zhang Tuo Bu Zhou' Seal Three-Point.

Yin Sanfen was already at the eighth level of the Strong Martial Realm when Zhou You first met him. He later advanced to the peak of the Strong Martial Realm and traveled all over the world looking for an opportunity to break through to the Grandmaster level.

He had also visited the capital city before, hoping to ask a pharmacist to refine a ninth-grade elixir for him to break through his cultivation level.

Unfortunately, Yin Sanfen came from a humble background and had no strong connections with the upper echelons, so he couldn't persuade either of the Three Flavors or Five Flavors Pharmacists to come.

As for the two disciples of the Spirit Medicine Master, those ninth-grade Grand Pharmacists have too many orders on their hands, and the waiting list will be hundreds of years from now.

Originally, Zhou You had intended to lend a hand, but Yin Sanfen's whereabouts were unpredictable, and he soon went out to sea to search for resources.

Later, Zhou You followed Zhou Nanwang to Lihuo Prefecture, far from the Central Plains, and lost contact with the Three Kingdoms.

Unexpectedly, after returning to the capital, Yin Sanfen suddenly came to visit, saying that he would follow the example of Governor Mai Jing and sign a contract of servitude in exchange for resources to advance to the Grandmaster level.

Unbeknownst to him, the Lord of Nanchen, 'Zhou Daqian,' was the same person who was the same martial arts master who could only look up to him back then.

Zhou You still remembers and is deeply moved by his experience. A master in the late stage of the Strong Martial Realm had been traveling around for many years, exhausted, yet still persistently pursuing the breakthrough to the Grandmaster level.

The once arrogant Yin Sanfen had no choice but to resort to a desperate measure: seeking refuge with powerful families in exchange for resources.

Zhou You agreed, but did not meet him, fearing an awkward encounter.

Following standard procedure, he signed a hundred-year loyalty contract with Yin Sanfen and then allocated him the necessary resources. With Zhou You's personal wealth, sponsoring a Grandmaster would have been effortless, but coincidentally, just after sponsoring Yin Sanfen, Zhu Ruoxuan returned, bringing with her the good news of an impending breakthrough.

Awkward, isn't it?
Zhu Ruoxuan understood that only a portion of the resources could be provided for the time being, and he would find a way to resolve the rest.

The addition of another powerful ninth-level martial artist to the personal guards, who is expected to break through to the Grandmaster realm, has brought competitive pressure to Zhu Ruoxuan.

He had heard of the name "Zhang Tuo Bu Zhou" in Bei Xuan Prefecture and knew his background and experience. His background was similar to that of the personal guards of the governor's brother's son in Mai Jing Prefecture.

Zhou You's biggest gain after acquiring the Myriad Manifestations Seal was the weapon technique "Ice Grip" to activate the Supreme Demon Weapon.

Ice is the condensation of water and is the coldest substance in the world. Holding ice with bare hands can cause minor frostbite or even death.

Therefore, this method implies wielding a dangerous power at a great cost.

As expected, the Supreme Demon Weapon, capable of slaying the Enchantress, is clearly a dangerous double-edged sword.

"Strange, this Ice-Holding Hand technique has absolutely no connection to the early, middle, or even myriad phenomena of the Myriad Phenomena Martial Saint!"

Zhou You didn't have a supreme demon weapon at hand, but after mastering the principles of this weapon technique, it didn't hinder his practice at all.

To grasp the ice hand, one only needs a weapon that exceeds one's own limits to attempt it.

Yes, Zhou You has one, the Half-Saint Yin Blade.

"Maintain awe of great power, handle weapons with utmost care and caution, as if walking on thin ice."

"Neither too light nor too heavy; too light and it'll slip out of your hand, too heavy and you'll injure yourself..."

"The origin of this method is that when I was a three-year-old child, I was cleaning the giant feet of an elephant. If I made the slightest mistake, I would be trampled into a pulp. I felt as if I were holding ice and facing imminent danger as I gently stroked the elephant's feet."

The secrets of the Myriad Manifestations Seal appeared in Zhou You's mind, and the way he held the Yingyin Blade changed.

In the past, when he wielded the knife, he treated it no differently than any other divine weapon. It wasn't until he mastered the Ice Hand that he realized he lacked the reverence he felt and hadn't truly treated it as a 'half-saint'.

With a thought, the muscles in the palm and fingertips twitched slightly, and the grip on the knife handle gradually increased, adjusting to the optimal state.

The feeling is like holding a piece of ice, cold, sharp, and smooth. If you apply too much pressure, it will slip out of your hand, but if you hold it too lightly, you won't be able to hold it, and if you hold it for too long, your fingers will freeze.

"Hold the knife as if it were ice!"

Zhou You slowly raised the Half-Saint Yin Blade, and at that moment he felt his aura undergo a transformation.

This is an experience unlike any other. I thought the power of the Half-Saint Yin Blade had reached its limit at the current level, but I never expected there was still a possibility of further exploration.

This weapon technique, specifically designed for supreme demonic weapons, is surprisingly effective when paired with the Half-Saint Yin Blade.

Conservatively speaking, when Zhou You faces a powerful enemy again, he can unleash the power of the Half-Saint Yin Blade and rival the power that the Sleeping Bamboo Princess in the Ice Polar Lung Palace used after borrowing the blade in Putuo Prefecture.

The Martial Saint of Myriad Manifestations is truly an unparalleled genius, capable of creating such an exquisite weapon technique.

Zhou You sighed with emotion as he thought of this. It is said that those who bring disaster to the world must have extraordinary talents. This saying is perfectly applicable to the Martial Saint of Myriad Manifestations.

If the Martial Saint of Myriad Manifestations were not an exceptionally intelligent genius, he would not have founded the Human Race Cult, released the Enchantress, and had such a profound impact on later generations.

Even an ordinary, mediocre person might not be able to cause a major disaster even if they wanted to.

(End of this chapter)