My Journey to Immortality Begins with Hunting

The spear quivered, snapped forward, then stabbed, quick and sly as a venomous snake. Yet the Ice Folk's weapons lacked spring; cast from deep-blue ice, they were built for straight thrusts and nothing more.

As the clash unfolded, Li Yuan quietly studied the youth nicknamed Blacktooth.

Each time the youth attacked, he roared like a lion, wild with excitement. His spear ripped the frigid air open with a sound like tearing silk. The young man had power. plenty of it. But his form was abysmal. Every thrust bristled with openings.

Li Yuan saw at least ten ways to kill him each exchange.

KLANG!The spears met, and both men hopped back.

Blacktooth threw back his head, laughing. "Marvelous! Splendid! Hahaha! Outsiders have come before, but none as skilled as you. To last this many rounds against me is no small feat."

Li Yuan cupped his fists. "Blacktooth, you awe me with your strength. My palms are still numb. But next, I'll use a secret art passed down through my clan."

Blacktooth grinned. "Show me!"

The two closed in again.

Li Yuan had seen enough. Reading the other's spear path, he set his own spear at the boy's throat before the thrust even began.

His spearmanship had long since blended every school's strong points, reached its own pinnacle, and then gone beyond.

His seventh rank ultimate skill, Six Convergences, was a relic of the past. Previously, his spear would come in all directions, trapping the victim in a web of death. Now, it spear left no trace at all—one mist-light motion, yet it landed exactly where he wished.

In a blink, Blacktooth's weapon still floated mid-thrust while Li Yuan, one-handed, rested his tip against the youth's neck.

To an onlooker, it looked as if Blacktooth had stumbled into the point himself.

Both men froze.

Feeling the chill on his throat, Blacktooth stared, stunned.

Li Yuan pulled back and saluted. "My win."

"My foot!" Blacktooth snapped awake and jumped back, yelling, "You only got me by chance!"

Li Yuan frowned. Out of the corner of his eye he saw clusters of Ice Folk converging, drawn by the commotion.

"It was just a friendly bout, no need to fuss," he said.

"Luck, nothing more!" Blacktooth snorted. "If you're a real man, fight me again. Since you've taken Snow as your woman, prove yourself; otherwise, we won't acknowledge you. Sleeping with her doesn't make you one of us. You can still be chased out!"

Hands on hips, Snow shot back, "If anyone's leaving, it's you, Blacktooth!"

Blacktooth leered. "Beauty belongs to the strong! Snow, you're one of the prettiest here. If we petition the chieftain for an honor duel and beat your man, you'll be getting a new husband, unless he's too scared to accept. Hahaha!"

Li Yuan's brow creased. Were their brains made of muscle? They lost yet kept strutting?

Still, hearing the termhonor dueland gauging the crowd's expectant faces, he understood that this tribe had no words for yielding or holding back.

Why force me? All I want is to stay low-key, then quietly investigate the Deathless Tomb and the Everflame.

Li Yuan took a slow breath. "Blacktooth, if you lose again, what then?"

"Lose?" Blacktooth barked a laugh. "I never lose!"

"You just did!" Snow shouted.

"S-shut up!" Blacktooth bellowed, "I only slipped a little and landed in front of his spear. It was pure luck! One more round and I won't repeat the same mistake."

Li Yuan turned to Snow. "What are the rules for an honor duel?"

"Uh..." She hesitated.

Blacktooth answered first. "Simple wager-combat. Winner can demand anything; loser must obey. If someone dies, too bad."

"I see," Li Yuan said. "Are outsiders allowed to take part in an honor duel?"

Before Snow could speak, Blacktooth chuckled. "Of course. You're her man and you're in our territory, so our rules apply. Well? Care to honor duel me? If so, the next round is for real."

Li Yuan crooked a finger. "Come."

"We need an official witness," Blacktooth said, "or you'll weasel out."

Li Yuan was done wasting time. "No need for that, just fight. You're far too weak anyway."

"What?!" The walking pile of muscle roared. "If it's a fight, it's an honor duel!"

Li Yuan nodded. "It is."

Blacktooth swept his gaze over the gathering Ice Folk.

"You all heard him. This is an honor duel!" His lips peeled back in a feral grin.

A heartbeat later, the large youth bolted like a maddened beast, spear churning into a white-hot cyclone that blasted the drifting snow aside.

"AHHHH! kill, kill, kill!" Blacktooth barreled toward Li Yuan, driving the weapon straight down. But before he realized what happened, Li Yuan's spear was already at his throat.

One step further, and Blacktooth's neck would be pierced first.

"GRAGGH!" With another roar, the youth spun, spear whistling in a savage arc.

The very next instant, the whirlwind froze.

Li Yuan's speartip punched through the spinning gale and into Blacktooth's chest.

A flick of the wrist lifted the youth clear off the ice; a tremor ran up the shaft, and Blacktooth's own spear clattered from numb fingers.

Li Yuan reversed his grip and spiked the spear into a nearby ice wall, pinning his opponent like a specimen on glass.

Blacktooth still thrashed, slapping at the shaft to snap it.

Li Yuan yanked the spear free. Then as fast as lightning, he drove four cold bursts through both shoulders and both knees.

Blacktooth collapsed on the ground, unable to move even if he wanted to. Tilting his head, eyes suddenly bright, he shouted, "So your first win wasn't luck at all! You dragged the fight out on purpose, didn't you? Your spear could've finished me in a blink, right?"

You really didn't notice until just now...?Li Yuan stared down at the big fool, at a loss for words.

"You're strong. My woman's yours now!" Blacktooth was actually elated, despite the crippling pain in his limbs. "I rarely meet someone like you. When I'm healed we'll fight again. The strong deserve everything!"

By now plenty of Ice Folk had gathered, recognizing the newcomers.

"Hey, it's little Snow, gone so long and finally back!" someone called.

"Her man's impressive," another murmured, eyeing Li Yuan.

"He looks lean, but he flattened Blacktooth. Wonder if he's stacked under those clothes?" a young woman whispered, practically undressing him with their eyes.

Snow trotted up, beaming. "Woody, let's go meet the chieftain."

Li Yuan pulled his spear free and nodded. "Lead the way."

They'd taken only two steps when Blacktooth hollered, "I'm Blacktooth. What's your name?"

Li Yuan glanced at the ring of tribesmen. "Woody."

"Good! Woody, when I'm healed, I'll challenge you again, and win my woman back!"

Li Yuan threw an exasperated look over his shoulder. "Why would I want your woman?"

"Are you looking down on me? I may lose, but I'm no sore loser! Beat me if you can, but don't insult me!"

Culture shock hit Li Yuan hard; his tidy notions about the peace-loving tundra nomads that he'd learned about inTales From the Frozen Rivershattered. That book obviously described different folk.

Still, he reminded himself, the book did say many tribes roamed this permafrost, each with its own customs. Fair enough; now he could verify it firsthand.

Snow bounced beside him, eyes sparkling. "I didn't realize you were this strong. I was worried."

"What if I'd lost?" Li Yuan asked.

"Then I'd have stepped in and beaten him," she sniffed.

"And if you lost?"

"I won't lose!" Flames of battle danced around her.

Li Yuan sighed and patted his forehead. His wife and Blacktooth were cut from the same cloth—brains full of muscle and a simple creed. The strong took, the weak were taken, and defeat was unthinkable.