The sensations of the real world returned like a receding tide.
Igor’s consciousness shifted, finding himself still kneeling on the large rock by the stream. Everything that had just transpired seemed like nothing but a dream.
But the earth-shaking changes within his body told him it was anything but.
The Phoenix Pendant in his hand radiated with a frost-silver brilliance. That torrent of icy power that had surged into him had not dissipated; instead, it was raging wildly within the depths of his soul.
Immediately after, a faint yet crystal-clear sense of resonance quietly connected to Igor’s spiritual world.
A point of light ignited within the darkness of his soul.
This was a brilliance born from the youth’s own will and emotions, refracted through some ancient law, a scene projected within his soul—
The first was an abyssal, profoundly cold, deep blue light.
It carried hatred and suffering, representing Igor’s unbroken backbone through countless blows, embodying the will of 【Resilience】 that would not falter even after a hundred deaths.
The second was a heavy, stable indigo light, like an ice wall.
It stemmed from the youth’s determination to protect his daughter at all costs, from his promise to the departed, symbolizing the 【Guardian】 intent that would not retreat even at the brink of despair.
The third was the faintest, yet the most dazzling: an ice-blue light, like flowing water reflected beneath a frozen surface.
It was Igor’s last shred of hope for the future, his yearning for a new life after vengeance, the fire of 【Hope】 that still burned within the frozen desolation of utter hopelessness.
These three lights were not deliberately conjured by Igor. They were the manifestations of his truest current state of mind, catalyzed by the power of frost.
“This… this is!”
The youth’s eyes widened instantly.
In that moment, even without having received systematic family education, he recognized it. The three lights manifesting in his heart were none other than the 【Radiance of Law】, signifying a contract on the verge of successful completion!
Igor was struck by sudden inspiration.
He hurriedly seized this fleeting opportunity, casting aside all distracting thoughts, concentrating all his mental energy. He channeled his purest, most core desires along that tenuous bridge of resonance…
【Resilience】
【Guardian】
【Hope】
A full three strands of the 【Radiance of Law】!
In that moment, he felt himself linked with a consciousness that was both icy and familiar, constantly merging and intertwining. Soul and spirit resonated and vibrated in unison!
“Hum—!”
A vast, refined icy power surged along that newborn soul link, flooding into his body, scouring every blood vessel, every cell!
“Ah—!”
He couldn’t help but throw his head back, releasing a long cry that was both agonizing and intensely exhilarating.
With the youth at its center, an ice-blue ring of light violently expanded outwards.
The surrounding air temperature plummeted. Moisture instantly condensed into countless fine, translucent ice crystals, whirling and dancing around him frenziedly, forming a small-scale blizzard. The source of this chapter is novelping.com.
In an instant, Igor perceived that his physical constitution had undergone a heaven-and-earth transformation under that formidable frost power!
His muscles grew denser, his bones felt as if they had been reforged, his five senses became unprecedentedly sharp, and even his thinking speed had increased significantly.
He could clearly “see within” his soul’s depths. An intricate, exquisite ice-blue contract mark, composed of countless ice-crystal patterns and ancient runes, had completely formed, emitting a cold luster.
Through this mark, he could keenly sense the existence of another consciousness, cold yet vibrant.
An indestructible, symbiotic bond had been successfully established between them.
Success!
He, Igor, having endured countless trials, had finally become a true Elementalist!
A 【Imprinter】 who had stepped into the world of the extraordinary!
Feeling the surging icy power within him, Igor’s face flushed with excitement.
He couldn’t help but roar at the sky, feeling as if the massive boulder that had been crushing his chest had been violently lifted. An unprecedented sense of relief and confidence filled his heart.
Simultaneously, as the three strands of the Radiance of Law symbolizing 【Resilience】, 【Guardian】, and 【Hope】 solidified completely within his soul’s depths, three corresponding basic spell models, engraved upon his soul contract, gradually materialized.
These were the innate abilities naturally derived from an Elementalist when the Radiance of Law merged with mana.
With a mere thought, information on three innate spells surfaced in Igor’s mind.
The First Spell, 【Frost Resilience】.
This spell corresponded to the deep blue Radiance of 【Resilience】. It could form a layer of frost power, thin as a cicada’s wing and nearly invisible, over the body’s surface. Not only did it possess the power to freeze external objects, but it could also drastically enhance the body’s toughness and physical stamina.
The Second Spell, 【Ice Barrier】.
This spell corresponded to the indigo Radiance of 【Guardian】. It could condense a roughly half-person-tall, curved shield of dense, hard ice, sufficient to block ordinary sword strikes and even some low-level impact spells.
The Third Spell, 【Glimmering Ice Healing】.
This spell corresponded to the ice-blue Radiance of 【Hope】. It could summon a cluster of mending frost mist to treat minor wounds, alleviate fatigue, and even purify some mild toxins or negative mental states.
“Three… I actually mastered three innate spells right away?!”
Igor looked at his hands, the shock in his heart momentarily overwhelming his wild joy.
He wasn’t entirely ignorant about Elementalists.
Precisely because he craved power, he had gone to great lengths to gather information on Elementalists.
Elementalists represented humanity’s most fundamental and mainstream cultivation path.
According to records, it was divided into five major ranks: 【Imprint】, 【Resonance】, 【Manifestation】, 【Proxy】, and 【Divine-Chosen】.
These corresponded respectively to contracting a 【Lesser Spirit】, 【Greater Spirit】, 【Spirit Lord】, 【Holy Spirit】, and the legendary 【Spirit King】.
Like Elemental Spirits, each rank among Elementalists represented a vast, heaven-and-earth gap. Their growth ceiling was also limited by the rank of the contracted spirit.
Furthermore, each rank of an Elementalist could be further subdivided into three tiers.
A First Tier Imprinter was also known as a Low-Rank Elementalist.
If he progressed to a Second Tier Imprinter in the future, he would become a Mid-Rank Elementalist; Third Tier, a High-Rank Elementalist.
And if he ever had the opportunity to break through to the Resonance rank, Igor would then be titled an Elemental Master.
Of course, even a Low-Rank Elementalist possessed strength far beyond ordinary humans.
For example, Igor, now a Low-Rank Elementalist, could easily defeat over a dozen well-equipped mortal warriors without even using spells, and shatter walls lacking spirit blessings with a single punch.
Of those mercenaries pursuing him, aside from the transcendently enhanced mercenary who had become an inferior Elementalist via Elemental Stones and might manage to escape from him, the rest would be like ants, collapsing at the first touch.
Imprinter was the starting point for Elementalists.
When an Elementalist successfully contracted and advanced into the 【Imprinter】 rank, based on their soul’s traits and the depth of resonance with their spirit, they would trigger the Radiance of Law, naturally giving rise to their initial innate spells within the contract.
This was known as 【The Law’s Gift】.
However, the vast majority of newly advanced Imprinters typically awakened only one innate spell upon initial contracting.
Those who awakened two were as rare as phoenix feathers, regarded as geniuses, the core seeds nurtured by well-known noble families.
As for three…
Igor’s breathing suddenly grew rapid.
He recalled a secret circulating within the Orion family.
It was said that the great-grandfather of the current Viscount Orion, that exceptionally talented ancestor who almost led the family to the rank of Count, had resonated with two strands of the Radiance of Law when he contracted and became a Imprinter.
Even so, he directly alarmed the superior lord the Orion family was attached to at the time—the then Blackwater River Count, a seasoned and powerful 【Resonance Master】.
That Count personally intervened, showing great interest and providing significant resource support to the Orion ancestor.
He even bestowed upon the Orion ancestor a high-grade Elemental Stone, fully supporting him in becoming another Resonance Master under the Blackwater River County.
Resonance Masters were also called 【Elemental Masters】, extremely rare, possessing power not inferior to a Greater Spirit, capable of easily destroying cities, shattering mountains, their might akin to divine miracles.
Ultimately, the Orion ancestor, having become an Elemental Master, was even granted the Viscountcy of Ebony Marsh, governing four barons, leaping to become a prominent family in the western part of the Kingdom!
Two strands had such an effect…
Then, what about three strands of the Radiance of Law?
Igor’s heart pounded violently, almost bursting from his chest.
He had originally thought that successfully contracting was already great fortune, not daring to hope for more.
Yet reality had given him an immense, heaven-sent surprise.
This not only meant he started with more diverse abilities than ordinary Imprinters, but it also signified that his potential might have reached an utterly terrifying height!
And as for why he possessed such a high starting point…
His gaze couldn’t help but fall upon the Phoenix Pendant glowing with frost-silver light in his hand, a complex flicker passing through his blue-grey pupils.