I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress

Chapter 229: Frozen Cliff

BURST!

BURST!

BURST!

Through the continuous use of the Bursting Fire Steps, they reached closer and closer to the icy landmass in front of them.

’This...’

Yi Chen suddenly knitted his brows when his eyes fell on the frozen coastal cliff several kilometres ahead.

From the sky, the coast looked like a plain to him, so he was not expecting to see such a sight in front of him. He turned towards Gao Zhen and asked.

"M-Madam Gao, how much Qi have you recovered?"

Gao Zhen, who had taken a Qi Nourishing Pill a few moments ago, answered, "Around one-tenth. It will take a few more minutes to recover half of it."

"Alright," Yi Chen nodded when he heard this, as a plan started taking shape in his mind.

As they approached the frozen cliff, its towering height became more and more evident to the two of them.

Glancing at the strong, clashing waves that were colliding against the ice walls every passing second, Yi Chen didn’t dare to get caught in them and, changing his direction, started looking for protruding features around the shore.

’Where is it...where is it...’

He kept repeating in his mind while his teeth clattered ever more furiously from the cold. Each part of him wanted to get out of this freezing cold water as fast as possible.

Gao Zhen, who was tightly clutching onto Yi Chen’s back, was also in a similar state, violently shivering and hoping for Yi Chen to reach the shore as quickly as possible.

’There!’

Yi Chen’s eyes finally brightened as he soon found a suitable platform to swim towards.

Using the Bursting Fire Steps, they soon neared the spot and, using the momentum of the strong waves behind, they landed straight on top of the thin landmass, sliding a few feet ahead.

It was a small platform of ice that had extended outwards from the tall cliff in front of them.

GASP!

Turning around to face the pale white sky, they started breathing heavily in an attempt to fight the cold and recover. However, the struggle was still not over.

A few minutes later, Yi Chen glanced at the towering wall they needed to climb and glanced towards Gao Zhen, "M-Madam Gao...have you recovered enough Qi?"

"Y-Yes...I’ve recovered three-fourths of my Qi pool."

Yi Chen pushed his back above the icy floor and said while pointing towards the top of the cliff.

"Will you be able to climb above using your movement technique?" He asked the next instant, knowing what her wind natured movement technique was capable of.

"N-No..." Gao Zhen said while glancing at the towering cliff, "With my Qi pool, I’ll only be able to reach the hallway at most. Then I’ll have to rely on my strength to keep climbing..."

"I see..." Yi Chen muttered while glancing at her state. Even though both of them were shivering from the cold, her condition was much more severe.

’At her state, she won’t be able to climb easily, and the chances of some mishap happening would also increase...’

He thought while glancing towards the cliff. A sudden idea appeared in his mind, and he asked the next instant, "What if I’m able to throw you to half that height? You’ll be able to cover the rest using your technique, right?"

"...T-Throw me up? How?" Gao Zhen asked with a face full of confusion.

"Y-You know about the physique I received from the trial, right? I-It massively boosted my strength b-back then..." Yi Chen explained while clattering his teeth.

Gao Zhen widened her eyes in realisation and answered while standing up, "Y-Yes...I’ll be able to...let’s do it."

Wanting to change into a set of dry clothes and get warm, she immediately agreed and gulped down another Qi Nourishing Pill to completely fill her Qi pool.

A few minutes later, Yi Chen told her how he was going to proceed, to which Gao Zhen nodded, "I understand."

The next moment, Yi Chen tightly grabbed onto her legs and started rotating rapidly.

Using the entirety of his 330 units of strength, he kept rotating with great force before finally whipping Gao Zhen’s entire body towards the cliff’s top like a catapult.

WHOOSH!

Gao Zhen’s figure soared high in the sky, covering tens of meters in the very next instant and kept rising without any signs of stopping.

Just like Yi Chen had said, it was only when she was about to reach the halfway mark that her speed began to lessen.

Noticing this subtle change, Gao Zhen immediately circulated her Qi to utilise her movement technique to the fullest to keep her momentum alive.

’Violent Storm Steps!’

She roared in her mind and, using her entire Qi at once, created a massive blast of air right underneath her feet.

ZOOOM!

Her figure was propelled tens of meters the very next instant, and just a couple of seconds later, she was standing at the top of the cliff, waving her hand towards Yi Chen.

Seeing this, Yi Chen nodded in relief, and the next instant, using the Bursting Fire Steps, he launched himself toward the cliff.

The thin platform of ice underneath completely crumbled the next instant as Yi Chen’s figure flew almost thirty meters up before slamming onto the frozen cliff.

CHIK!

His clawlike fingers dug into the ice walls and tightly clutched onto it the next instant. He did the same with his feet and latched onto the cliff just like an ice climber.

’That’s a little more than half the height...’ Yi Chen thought to himself while glancing upwards and started climbing the tall cliff.

He reached his right hand upward the next instant and, taking advantage of his superior strength, shoved his fingers inside the ice wall.

Doing the same with his left leg, he pushed himself upward and started climbing the wall of ice like a typical ice climber, though in his case, instead of axes and spikes, he dug his fingers and feet into the ice wall.

CHIK!

CHIK!

The sound he had become used to by now echoed in his ears as he kept climbing without stopping.

’It’s more exhausting than I thought...’

He thought as his fingers and toes stiffened from the cold, forcing him to form a thin layer of fire using the crimson fire arts around them, while ensuring that it wouldn’t cause the ice wall to crumble.

’It was indeed the right decision to send Gao Zhen first,’ he thought realizing how complex it was actually to climb it like this.