Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

"Congratulations on passing the combat prowess test, candidate! However, combat prowess isn't everything in the Cultivation World, especially as someone with a Light Affinity! You must also know how to heal yourself by using your element properly! In the entire world, the Light Element has always excelled at healing and is a necessary skill should you want to reach the peak! For this next test, you will be given access to a unique healing technique. To complete the test, you must learn up to the Second Stage of the technique and use it to heal yourself and those around you completely! You have one week to complete this test! Good luck, candidate!"

Maria heard the feminine voice in her head after she completed the last test and appeared in a new room.

In the middle of this room was a pedestal and a book sat on this pedestal. Around the room were also ten human-like mannequins. These mannequins looked almost identical to humans, except that they didn't have a face. They also seemed to have numerous problems like broken bones, dislocated joints, and other issues.

Maria looked around curiously a bit more, but seeing nothing else, she decided to walk up to the pedestal to inspect the book.

When she reached the book, the title read "Transcendent Restoration".

"What a domineering title for a healing technique." Maria thought out loud and began reading the technique.

After spending the next few hours reading the technique, she was shocked by what she saw. The technique was split up into four stages:

Stage 1-Mortal Regeneration

Stage 2-Earthly Invigoration

Stage 3-Heavenly Reconstruction

Stage 4-Transcendent Restoration

Each stage is defined by its ability to heal certain types of injuries. For example, the Mortal Regeneration stage can only heal minor wounds and light internal organ injuries.

The Earthly Invigoration Stage can mend broken bones, heal ruptured organs, and even heal vital organs like the heart and brain.

The Heavenly Reconstruction Stage can reattach limbs, heal shattered bones, and can keep people alive even if their heart is destroyed.

The last stage, the Transcendent Restoration Stage, can do much more than that. It claims it can heal meridians, wash away all hidden injuries, heal damaged dantians, and even regrow limbs.

That shocked Maria because from what she knows, healing damaged meridians and dantians is nearly impossible unless one finds heaven-defying treasures to do so. The same goes for regrowing limbs and healing all hidden injuries. Although alchemy can technically do this as well, the cost of one of those pills is more than what most small clans and Sects can afford.

Now, she understands why the name is "Transcendent Restoration" because it's literally restoring your body back to its perfect state.

Maria didn't waste any time and began comprehending the first two stages of the technique.

It only took her three days to finish comprehending the first two stages, but that's only because her Light Dao comprehension is higher than what someone at her cultivation should have. She also has a fairly vast understanding of the human body due to how many times she's been injured, along with Mira's help.

However, she could tell that learning the last two stages takes more than just Light Dao comprehension. She needs to learn more about cultivation, meridians, life, dantians. She also needs to have a more in-depth knowledge of the human body and how Qi interacts with it than what she already has if she wants to learn the last two stages of the technique.

Maria wasn't dissatisfied with this, though, because just the first two stages are more than enough for the current her.

Suddenly, as soon as she finished studying the first two stages, a strong pressure wrapped around her body and began breaking her bones, tearing her muscles, ripping apart her skin, rupturing her organs, and even damaging her heart.

Maria's face distorted a bit as she let out a few grunts of pain, but she held on and waited for the pressure to disappear.

It wasn't until a few minutes later did the pressure finally vanish, and she dropped to the ground. She didn't waste any time and began using the Earthly Invigoration Stage of the Transcendent Restoration technique on herself.

When she activated the technique, a milky white light washed through her body and began mending her bones, restoring her skin, healing her muscles, fixing her organs, and restoring her heart.

This went on for a while, but even after using all of her energy, she wasn't able to completely heal herself. However, that's only because her body is much stronger than her cultivation. It needs more resources to heal itself.

Maria also noticed that somehow her bloodline wasn't helping the healing process, so her body wasn't able to return to its peak condition as quickly as it usually does.

Over the course of the next day or so, Maria spent the entire time using Earthly Invigoration to heal her body back to its peak state.

Maria was a bit unhappy that it took her so long to heal her injuries, but she understood that if her Qi cultivation matched her body strength, it probably wouldn't even take a fraction of the time.

Now that Maria was fully healed, she spent the next few days practicing and healing the mannequins scattered around the room. By the end of the sixth day, she had fully healed herself and the mannequins, making her feel quite accomplished with herself.

When she finished, a bright light surrounded her, and she heard the feminine voice appear in her mind again.

"Congratulations, candidate, on passing the previous test. As a reward for proving yourself worthy, you'll receive the full Transcendent Restoration technique should you fail to become my successor! For the final test, I will proceed to ask you a series of questions. Answer these questions honestly! I will know if you don't and immediately kick you out! Are you ready, candidate?"

"Sure!" Maria happily exclaimed.

"Question 1: What would you do if you ran across a child injured in the middle of a forest?"

"I would do my best to heal them and take them back to safety."

"Question 2: What is the Light element to you?"

"Hmmm… I guess the Light element to me is exactly that. It's my light. It's a way for me to pave through the darkness of life. There isn't another element that represents me better than the Light element."

"Question 3: Why do you seek power?"

"Well, I wouldn't necessarily say I seek power. I would be perfectly fine with being a normal person without any cultivation and living an ordinary life in some remote village. However, now that I'm on this path, I suppose the main reason I seek power is to keep up with my friend, Mira. I want to travel the world with her and support her in whatever ways I can, but to do that, I need an equivalent amount of power."

"Question 4: What are you seeking from my inheritance?"

"I don't know. When I first entered, I was just looking for items that my Core Formation Recipe called for, but after entering and going through those tests, I want to learn all of the techniques you have! What I lack the most at the moment are powerful Light Element Techniques. Whether it be Cultivation Techniques, Weapon Arts, or even Auxiliary Techniques like that Transcendent Restoration techniques. I want to learn them all!"

"Question 5: What is your name?"

"My name is Maria Zaria!"

"Very well. Congratulation, Maria Zaria, on successfully passing all of my tests! From now on, you are Sage Aila's successor! You will now be brought to the main hall of my golden palace to receive my inheritance!"

When those last words reached Maria, a bright light appeared around Maria and teleported her to the palace's main hall.

***

Thank you to Zg_Happy for gifting me a Castle worth 5000 coins! I really appreciate the support! Here's the second bonus chapter for supporting me!