Frost Devil Arts

"Why choose Ice-elemental, daddy?" Fiona turned to me and asked, worry apparent in her eyes. "It's very difficult to cultivate and doesn't fit your fighting style. Most cultivators with ice-type cultivation methods usually fight from afar."

I get the feeling that that isn't the real reason why she's worried about me choosing the ice-type cultivation method. A wishy-washy, distressed feeling in my stomach. What could she be worried about? The dangers and drawbacks?

Well, I've already accepted them. I'm willing to brave anything for you, Fiona.

"Daddy really likes it, a lot. The book also gave me a strange feeling when I read it. Like something tugging at me."

She widened her eyes in surprise. "Really, daddy? That means you have a natural affinity with the ice element."

"Hahaha, that's good to know. Didn't you say you had talent with the ice element as well? You can share your experiences with me, and even be my half-teacher!"

That was a big lie. There were no weird feelings of attraction or some sort of connection to the book at all. Since she thinks that I do, I gotta put more effort into my cultivation to make up for the lack of aptitude. Hopefully, I'm some sort of hidden genius, and have some sort of unawakened constitution, ha. Don't all main characters of the isekai novels after transmigration get some sort of heavenly, mythical treasure or chance that makes them ridiculously strong? The list goes on and on...

Well, I guess I already have a treasure. Fiona! The seven-year-old princess of a major kingdom, and already in the Nascent Realm! While I'm still. not too sure about the cultivation realms of this world, she should be a genius considering the cultivation bases of the people we've met so far. Burkan, the bandits, and the city lord. Fiona could take a fight with any of them, and last for quite a while, although she couldn't beat them, she could definitely injure them. Fiona also has her trauma of blood and killing though, and that's a problem that needs to be addressed. I don't want her to be a murderer, but to have the ability and knowledge to know when to kill.

She's still young, so hopefully, she learns fast, and the trauma isn't rooted deep into her. Else...

That aside, I wasn't lying about her sharing her experiences with me. In fact, I hope she shares everything she knows about the familiarity and understanding of the ice-element. That way, it will be easier for me to know if the problem with her transformation after using an ice spell lies within the spell itself, or the fact that she has a special constitution.

"Are you sure, daddy?" Fiona asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. "It will be dangerous to your cultivation base if you suddenly change methods one day."

I patted her head. "Are you worried about me, hmm? No worries, daddy won't regret making this decision."

"But.. but.."

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, just wondering which method is the best."

"Are you sure that everything's alright this time?" She's still hesitant and unwilling to talk things out with me... my heart aches.

Eh. Guess I'm a hypocrite. I lied to her as well, and don't have the balls to tell her that she's the most important person in my life. I truly hope the day we can talk to each other without restraint, and she can speak her thoughts and past experiences aloud. I still have so much to learn about her, and I'm sure she's curious about my past, too. But right now, we're too weak. Fiona wants to grow stronger to protect her loved ones and I'm the same. With the knowledge of this, the other party's thoughts will break this motivation. We're trying to grow stronger as fast as possible, so we can't let that happen. So let's choose a cultivation method.

'Frost Aura - a high-grade ice-elemental cultivation method. Cultivates and grows spiritual essence through exposure to the cold and ice. A very stable method, with great foundations, allowing for steady breakthroughs without much trouble in tribulations. Drawbacks. Slow. It requires one to be in the correct environment in order to make effective use of this cultivation method.'

Damn, this method seems really broken. You don't have to do anything, just stay in the cold and you'll improve your cultivation base. Too bad this isn't the one for me, as I'm looking for something with fast improvements. Either way, we're not in the Azure Frost Kingdom, so there's no constant and good source of ice. I expect this method to be quite popular up there in the North.

Up next is 'Absolute Waterwinds Scripture - another high-grade cultivation method.' Oh ho. This one is quite different. Very harsh requirements. 'Requires one to have aptitude in the water element and the wind element. Drawbacks. Needs talent.'

Heh, the Pavilion keeping it sweet and short. A triple-element cultivation method. From what I know, even dual-element cultivators are rare, so this method is gonna be sitting here for a while.

"Daddy, here's two techniques that should suit you," Fiona said just as I was about to scan the next book. She passed the two books to me.

"Frost Devil Arts and Sword of Ice Scripture, huh..." I murmured aloud. Fiona looked at me expectantly, eagerness in her eyes.

I glanced at the books and said at once, "I'll take Frost Devil Arts."

The little blurb written by Pavillion caught my eye. 'Cultivation by killing and absorbing one's frozen souls. Drawback: Unconfirmed.'