The biting, wailing cold wind swept from the valley mouth, whipping up the swirling snow, and a blood-red, transparent matrix stood starkly upon the ice. Sounds of grating, metallic friction echoed from within the structure.

Ye Chen’s fingers flicked out rapidly, light and agile, like an elegant piano virtuoso, but with every snap, a cyan wind blade shot from his fingertip, slamming violently against the matrix.

The wind blade, once deemed unbreakable, was now like a vicious beast that had its fangs pulled; it lost its keenest killing edge, merely causing a slight ripple upon striking the matrix before collapsing and vanishing.

Ye Chen’s expression gradually darkened. After more than ten attempts, testing from various angles, with different forces, and using every conceivable method, finding no sign of the matrix barrier yielding even slightly, he decisively abandoned the futile effort.

“It’s useless,” Kame approached with slow, measured steps. “Your Wind Origin Power is incomplete. You haven’t yet received the blessing of the [World Force], so you can only manifest a phantom image of the Wind Origin Power, unable to truly wield the fundamental power of the wind.”

A frigid, icy curve formed at the corner of her lips. “Do you know why the Snow Country people call our personal dimensions the [God Realm]?”

Ye Chen frowned, staring at her. “Isn’t that just their simple term for a personal dimension in your world?”

“Certainly not,” Kame walked closer step by step, her smile growing richer and more captivating. “As you see, you must know of the Hunters. Every Hunter possesses immense power just to slay the ferocious Snow Beasts. According to the secret historical records inherited from the Envoy, upon reaching the most basic rank of Iron Medallion Hunter, one can comprehend a sliver of space by perceiving the laws of heaven and earth, a space known as an [Independent Universe].”

Ye Chen was momentarily stunned.

“Long ago, the Abyss Demons invaded our world. Among these Abyss Demons were many strong individuals and many weak ones; the weakest could only reach the level of Iron Medallion Hunters, yet they all possessed an [Independent Universe]—a spiritual world within them, another mysterious space.”

Kame’s voice drifted. “At that time, I recall some perfectly preserved corpses were brought back. During that event, two subordinates under the Twelve Envoys, who were exceptionally skilled in medicine and anatomy, investigated these bodies. They discovered that these Abyss Demons were an entirely different form of life from us!”

“The energy within these beings was not the same as ours. Their bodies contained extremely complex forces, such as nine different types of energy, alongside a vast, pure golden energy, and two black and white energies. When these energies were compressed to their limits, their essence resembled fine threads. By reading the memories of those Abyss Demons, these threads were called [Laws] by them.”

“Once these Laws were perfected, they could create an [Independent Universe], a place where they could create things themselves. Each individual was essentially a Creator God within their own internal independent universe, capable of setting their own order, and by extracting and analyzing the genes of other creatures, they could mass-produce them within their own inner world.”

Kame’s eyes stared directly into Ye Chen’s, filled with infatuation and avarice. “So, every one of those Abyss Demons had their own independent universe, just like the personal dimensions bestowed upon us by the Envoy. And the reason we call ours the [God Realm] is because…”

“You should also know that while Abyss Demons equal to Iron Medallion Hunters could create independent universes, why couldn’t the Purple Medallion Hunters here create them? After a very long stretch of time, a Snow Slave discovered the reason.”

She stuck out her scarlet tongue and licked her lips. “It is because… the energy of our world is different from yours. Our world only has twelve types of energy, and that Snow Slave discovered that these twelve energies are extremely similar to the energies possessed by the Twelve Envoys. In other words, the Twelve Envoys are the twelve Creator Gods of our world! They created us and endowed us with power. However, in our world, we lack the nine different colored energies found in the Abyss Demons, nor the pure golden energy, nor the two extreme black and white energies. Therefore, the energies we control, pieced together, are insufficient to create a second world.”

Ye Chen’s heart shook. Although he had harbored some suspicions, hearing it confirmed by Kame’s lips still struck him deeply.

He naturally knew that the nine different colored energies were most likely Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Light, Dark, Wind, and Thunder. As for that pure golden energy, it was undoubtedly Divine Power! And the extreme black and white energies were the balance of Yin and Yang within the human body. Among these energies, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, along with Yin and Yang, were the most fundamental energies composing human life. Every body was composed of metal tendons, wooden bones, watery blood, fiery vigor, and earthy muscle, while also housing the duality of Yin and Yang. Men tended toward more Yang, and women toward more Yin, but regardless of gender, both Yin and Yang existed within. The only way for a man to achieve perfect equilibrium between Yin and Yang was to become a eunuch.

Kame watched Ye Chen’s shocked expression and gently moved before him. “Do you know what powers compose every one of us Snow Country people? I’ll tell you: the twelve energies that permeate the entire human domain of the Snow World are Time, Space, Light, Darkness, Earth, Sky, Speed, Strength, Birth, Annihilation, Ice and Snow, and Flame.”

“Even weaving these twelve forces together cannot create a complete internal world. Although my body hasn't received the recognition of the spirits of the twelve forces, and I only control Birth and Strength, there was once an unprecedentedly powerful Snow Slave who comprehended all twelve forces alone and gained the recognition of their respective spirits. Yet, he still could not create a world.”

Ye Chen’s eyelid twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but ask, “What happened to that person?”

“He died,” Kame stated plainly, then her smile grew rich. “Do you know how he died?”

Ye Chen fell silent for a moment, then replied, “He was killed by the Snow Domain Envoys?”

“Clever!” Kame snapped her fingers. “Because that person’s power had already cast a shadow over the Envoys. Even they, those lofty Envoys, were not confident in facing that Snow Slave in a one-on-one fight, so they could only kill him!”

Ye Chen remained silent.

Kame looked at him with an enchanting smile. “Do you know why I’m telling you all this? You must have figured it out. Since none of us can create worlds, why can the Snow Slaves like us use personal dimensions in the eyes of ordinary Snow Country people?”

Ye Chen’s pupils contracted sharply. He looked around at the crimson rectangles, and a semblance of understanding dawned upon him.

“To compensate for this deficiency, the Envoy specially bestowed upon us the privilege of these personal dimensions; this right was granted by them. Furthermore, to make us stronger, those two once-great Snow Slaves obtained resources from the corpses of the Abyss Demons to modify and repair our energy, using special methods to cause subtle mutations in our bodies and souls…”

“So… while we cannot create independent worlds, we can deploy a very powerful and solid rectangular space.”

“Within this space, our power increases tenfold! Most importantly… once the matrix is deployed, if the master does not die, the matrix will not break! That’s why your attacks cannot break my matrix space, because the defense of the matrix space is intrinsically linked to the energy within my body.”

She gently raised a claw covered in cyan scales, its sharp tip gleaming with icy cold light. “Your wind blades are indeed powerful; they can wound my flesh. But converting the killing power of your wind blades onto the matrix becomes a contest of whose power is stronger! And your power… is less than one percent of what is inside me, and now, less than one ten-thousandth…”

“What should we do now…” She acted as if deeply concerned for Ye Chen, thinking up solutions, yet her eyes watched him with amused interest, as if she greatly enjoyed witnessing the expression of terror in utter despair.

But she was disappointed.

Ye Chen’s expression was calm; there was no trace of terror.

“You are not afraid of death?” Her delicate eyebrows drew together slightly.

“I am afraid, very much so,” Ye Chen stated flatly.

“Then…” Kame squinted slightly. “Do you think you have a chance to escape?”

“No chance,” Ye Chen sighed softly. “You must be wondering why I am not panicking, but when a person sinks into true despair, panic ceases, because the greatest sorrow is a dead heart. Once one realizes everything is futile, one views things with tranquility.”

“Well said,” Kame circled Ye Chen’s body, scrutinizing him. “I am this close to you; if you suddenly launched a sneak attack, you would certainly succeed.”

“I don’t have that much strength to waste,” Ye Chen glanced at her indifferently. “Besides, you are an unkillable monster.”

Upon hearing the word "monster," Kame seemed genuinely delighted, laughing until she shook. “Really now, how could you say such a thing about me? Oh my… but I must admit, what you said makes me feel so happy, so thrilled.”

Laughing, she moved directly in front of Ye Chen. “The game should end now. I need to go back and take a bath, soaking together with the skin membrane shed from your body must be very comfortable.” A scarlet light flashed in her eyes, and her cyan-scaled claw lifted. The entire matrix space was suddenly filled with a surging, powerful force, pressing tightly within, binding Ye Chen’s body so he could not move an inch.

This terrifying energy far exceeded Ye Chen’s expectations, sweeping over him like an avalanche.

He couldn't move at all, forced to watch the monstrous claw grow larger and larger in his pupils. (To be continued)