Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

Mira only had two more books to read before she could actually get to training. They were the [Ice Empress Technique Part 1] and the [Ruler of Death-Scythe Technique Part 1]. Unlike the [Blood Burst Technique], these two books didn't immediately get transmitted to her brain after she purchased them.

She grasped the [Ruler of Death-Scythe Technique Part 1] as that one intrigued her the most. Opening it up to the first page, Mira frowned.

'Why is it all blank?'

That's right! There was nothing on the page!

'Did I just get scammed by my own treasure?' That was her first thought. She instinctively felt like the Guardian was playing a prank on her. However, she quickly shook her head.

'There's no way he can fiddle with the settings, and if he can, then there's no reason to do this. There must be something I'm missing.' She thought and began thinking of solutions.

After a few seconds, an idea appeared in her mind.

She held onto the book with both hands and injected her Qi into it.

*Swoosh!*

Immediately, the pages fluttered and began filling up with text… or at least what appeared to be text. Mira couldn't actually read any of it since, surprisingly, it was her black runes filling up the pages.

Soon, she felt a connection form between her and the book, allowing her to understand its contents, even though she still couldn't read it.

From there, she understood that there were two stages of the technique:

1. Death Dominion

2. Reaper

While the two names sounded simple, Mira couldn't even begin to describe how complex they were.

Death Dominion, on the surface, is more focused on creating a large domain under her control. If an opponent were to step inside this domain, unless they were strong enough to defend it, the domain would absorb their vitality and Qi, then transfer back to Mira.

However, that's the weakest part of the technique. What makes it truly special is that Mira's scythe will cover her scythe in a black goop, which will look watery as it runs along the edge of the scythe, but when she goes to attack, that goop will extend to the edge of the domain, harden and sharpen as if she just extended the length of her blade.

If this black goop were to touch her opponent, even if only for a split second, a tiny piece would attach itself to her opponent. Thus, the goop would change trajectories whenever she attacked after that to target the small part that detached itself, even if her attack would've missed.

Yet that wasn't even the greatest part about this technique! As she grew in power, the technique would evolve with her, giving her access to an even more variety of abilities and power!

Meanwhile, the second stage, Reaper, was a little different. This stage cloaked Mira's entire body in a thin layer of runes, giving a more transparent appearance while also surrounding her scythe in a dark energy, empowering and giving it a draining effect like the Death Dominion.

However, the runes around her body didn't just make her look transparent. It also allowed her to glide through the air like a ghost as if she faced no resistance. Lastly, any physical attacks(no Qi) she received were less effective, while her attacks could bypass armor as long as there wasn't a massive difference in strength.

Mira could use these two abilities both together or separately, and neither would be affected. She'd just run out of Qi much quicker than she usually would.

Overall, Mira was more than satisfied with the [Ruler of Death-Scythe Technique]. While it didn't directly enhance her scythe skills, it did provide more utility to her arsenal.

'It'll probably take some time to get used to these attacks, but once I do, who can stop me?'

She almost felt like there was no need for her to buy the other technique, as this was more than enough to increase her power substantially, but Mira shook her head at that thought.

'No, I need a good ice technique. I've just been using my Qi all willy-nilly before, but if I can learn how to use a proper ice technique, my strength will soar!' Mira's eyes beamed, and she picked up the other book titled [Ice Empress Technique Part 1] and injected Qi into it.

Immediately after, words made of ice filled the pages, and images appeared in her mind.

This technique also had two stages, but there was also some extra information in the book about how she could better utilize her ice.

It took Mira a while to digest all this information, and afterward, she had a profound look on her face.

'Now I understand why it's called the Ice Empress Technique.'

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the word "Empress"?

The most basic answer is a woman that reigns over a large amount of land and people. Someone who has total control! A leader!

An Empress doesn't stand on the front lines and fight for her country! What would be the point of having an army if she were to do that? However, an Empress is supposed to control the flow of a battle while leading her army from the back.

The first two stages of this technique have taken great inspiration from the term "Empress" as they are called:

1. Frozen Terrain Change

2. 100 Glacial Warriors

The names fit the two stages perfectly.

Frozen Terrain Change was similar to the Death Dominion ability, but at the same time, totally different. She wasn't creating another domain with this ability. Instead, she would shoot out a bunch of small ice crystals in a grid-like array, and she could use these ice crystals to create structures or items that would disrupt her opponent.

The whole point of this ability is to make the battlefield more advantageous to her, so even if she's in the sky, she can use this and essentially make her own terrain!

However, it didn't stop there. Mira also received a bunch of information notifying her that ice can come in many different forms: snow, slushy, crushed, etc. Anything that's frozen water is considered ice.

If used properly, this knowledge could impact the kind of terrain she can make.

Meanwhile, the 100 Glacial Warriors were pretty self-explanatory. She would create and control 100 warriors made of ice to fight in her stead. Individually, they wouldn't be as strong as her, but if they were put together, they would be.

Having so many puppet warriors, she could control at will was incredibly useful, especially if she were forced into a situation where she'd need to fight large groups of strong enemies by herself. Not only can they be used to attack, but they can also be used as shields.

After comprehending both books, Mira found it interesting that the foundations for each technique were more about control and utility rather than power.

'Isn't that the point of a technique, though?' Mira thought, and she wasn't wrong.

While some techniques, like the [Blood Burst Technique] that Mira bought, do drastically increase one's strength, many of them are just a way to channel Qi to unleash one's full potential.

Mira soon stopped thinking about this, as it didn't matter. Her power would improve regardless.

However, now that she had finished reading everything that needed to be read, it was time for her to make an important decision.

'Do I now try and progress my Inner Body Cultivation or focus on practicing and perfecting everything I just learned?'

She didn't need to think about the answer for long.

'I'll save my Inner Body Cultivation for later. What I need right now is a significant boost in my short-term strength. I highly doubt I'll be able to get far enough in my Inner Body Cultivation to make much of a difference in my overall strength. Maybe it would if I spent the whole month focusing on that, but I can't see the costs outweighing the gains in this situation.'

Mira also felt like it'd be better to consolidate and improve her fundamentals now before she added something completely new into the mix.

Plus, it's not like her Inner Body Cultivation is going anywhere. As long as she's alive, she can always do it later.

Mira nodded, and she stood up.

'Let's go get Hana so she can help me train the Hidden World Technique. It's about time she started making herself useful.' Mira thought and left the room.

However, what she didn't know was that Hana had already made herself useful, even without anyone telling her to do anything.

***

Outside Mira and Maria's cave, somewhere in the valley, Hana could be seen standing on a few large boxes in front of a bunch of women yelling at them!

"That's not how you perform the Breathless Steps! You have to control your breathing so that not even the faintest noise leaves your nostrils!"