Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 3032: Ice Rule Slaves

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Dark Realm, Gelid Alps, Snow Elven Region, Frosell District, Frosnow City

I stared at the old goblin in stunned silence.

For a long moment, I couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Fuck, I wanted to turn him into an ally, not encourage him to honey-trap me.

No. It finally dawned on me. Nothing I said was going to change his mind. From the very beginning, he had already decided to capture me alive and turn me into his clan’s prized breeding stock.

Seeing no room for negotiation, I could only reply with a hint of sarcasm, “Granted, the most beautiful Snow Goblin women can rival Snow Elves and even Froslings in appearance. But when I already have the entire Frosling population at my disposal, why would I settle for mediocrity at best?”

The words had barely left my mouth when the atmosphere changed. A moment ago, the Frost Rule Domain had merely confined me. Now, it turned openly hostile. The frozen landscape groaned. The icy wind around me darkened. Even the surrounding frost seemed eager to rob me of all heat in my body.

The Snow Goblin Empyrean’s genial expression vanished. He stared at me with narrowed eyes, his aged face devoid of the laughter from moments before.

“Young man,” he said slowly, each word carrying the weight of his Rule Domain, “there are some things you simply do not say, they might end up costing you your life.”

“It’s still preferable to marrying into your clan and sharing a bed with a Snow Goblin woman,” I replied without the slightest hesitation. There was no point in holding back anymore. The old goblin had already set his sights on me long before he approached the Snow Elven Crown Prince with his proposal.

Nothing I said now would change that. The instant my words fell. The pressure blanketing the Frost Rule Domain multiplied severalfold. The frozen world trembled as one after another, solitary figures slowly emerged from the boundless frost. They weren’t flesh and blood. They were manifestations condensed from the Frost Rule itself.

Every single one radiated a ruler class energy signature that eclipsed the other. The old goblin spread his arms toward them.

“Do you see them?” he asked, his voice echoing across the frozen expanse. “Every one of them was just like you. They believed themselves superior. They looked down on me because I was a goblin.”

“Now…” He smiled. “Look at them.”

The silent figures remained frozen in place, their expressions forever locked in despair.

“Their souls can no longer enter the River of Reincarnation. Their souls have been cursed. Trapped within my Frost Rule Domain for all eternity.”

His gaze settled back on me.

“And you, young man. You’ve just earned yourself a place among them.” He sighed with what almost sounded like genuine regret. “It’s a pity. I truly liked you. I thought we could’ve become friends.”

I snorted. “Friends?”

I shook my head. “You mean breeding stock.”

“You wanted to chain me up and turn me into a stud so your clan could cultivate generations of capable Curse Masters.”

My eyes met his without the slightest trace of fear. I had already seen through him and his intentions for me, and Sansa had long confirmed it to me.

“Everyone in the Dark Realm knows what your kind, your bloodline steals the racial gifts of other races by baring children. And your bloodline aside, you guys steal their knowledge, techniques, and inheritances through these so-called marriage proposals.”

A mocking smile spread across my face as I watched the snow goblin empyrean seething race.

“Honestly, there’s nothing original about it. Plenty of weaker clans have been using the exact same trick for generations just to keep pace with the changing times. Only you guys lucked out with your bloodline.”

“Hahaha!” The old goblin burst into laughter once again.

“Since you’re wagging your tongue so confidently, I take it you’re confident.” He nodded approvingly. “I like that.”

A wicked grin spread across his weathered face. “I’ve changed my mind. I won’t kill you and add your soul to my Frost Rule Domain. Instead, I’ll chain you inside one of our breeding caverns. Let’s see if you can keep that confidence after a few centuries.”

His grin widened further.

“Especially once your Snow Goblin daughters come running to you, eager to reproduce without and produce even more gifted Goblins to strengthen our clan and serve our race.”

“Old goblin, quit stalling. Bring it already.” I said, rolling my eyes. I stretched my neck before pointing at him. I had already figured out what his Frost Rule Domain truly was.

It wasn’t simply a world of eternal frost. It was an attempt to imitate the Null Rule Meaning.

The old goblin had taken inspiration from the environment surrounding the Ice Rule Source itself, weaving together countless Ice Rule Meanings to recreate the conditions under which Null naturally manifested.

As we spoke, the temperature inside the domain continued to fall. Slowly, steadily and imperceptibly. Everything was descending toward absolute zero. That was the true killing move hidden within his Frost Rule Domain.The old goblin had spent millennia compensating for the one Ice Rule Meaning he had never managed to comprehend.

The Ice rule’s Null meaning.

Not because he lacked talent. But because comprehending Null directly was tantamount to courting death. Anyone who attempted to grasp it risked becoming Nothing before ever understanding it.

So he had chosen another path. Rather than comprehending Null itself, he used every other Ice Rule Meaning at his disposal to imitate the environment that gave birth to it. It was an ingenious workaround. After all, if merely attempting to comprehend Null could erase the cultivator. One could only imagine what a technique capable of reproducing even a fraction of that phenomenon would do to an enemy caught within its grasp.

Unfortunately for him, his opponent was me. Someone who had actually comprehended the Null Rule Meaning of the Ice Rule. Not merely touched its threshold or merely glimpsed its existence. I have not only seen it all the way to Ultimate Comprehension and Ultimate Mastery, but used it to forge my ice rule stream.