Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

A month passed by extremely quickly, and it was finally time for Mira to begin her mission of stealing 5 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone Mines from the Unorthodox Faction.

Mira and Maria silently walked out of their cave mansion in full body armor. Mira was wearing the Peak Heaven-Grade battle dress, which was black with icy blue lotus flowers, and a crystal veil, tiara, and shoes. At the same time, Maria wore a Low Heaven-Grade gold armor that covered her chest, arms, and legs.

Although she wished she could get something a bit better, that's all she could afford with her Merit Points.

During this month, both Mira and Maria improved a lot, more than anyone could imagine. Part of the reason for that is because Mira shared the books she received from Aelina, and with their fast comprehension, they could learn the fundamental applications of Qi at an extreme pace.

This was especially so for Mira. It could be said that instead of a month, Mira had just come out of a year-long seclusion!

Mira and Maria walked side by side out of the cave without making a sound. Neither of them released even a sliver of aura. Their footsteps didn't make a noise, nor did they leave behind any footprints, and it almost seemed like they had melded into the world around them.

If it weren't for the fact that each step they took advanced them forward by several meters, one might think they were ordinary people!

As the two quietly strode down the valley, Maria suddenly asked, "Do you think we'll be able to complete this mission?"

Mira hummed and pondered, as this was the question she's been asking herself lately as well, "Hmmm," However, she just shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know."

Maria sighed dejectedly, but Mira continued.

"I don't know, but I believe it should be possible. I refuse to believe Aelina gave us an impossible mission so that she could kill off all her best disciples."

That was the conclusion Maria came to as well.

"Sigh… This mission would be much easier if the Spirit Stone Mines didn't have Mortal Shedding Realm Elders guarding them." Maria complained.

Mira shook her head slightly at Maria's complaints, "Hmph! If we really didn't have to face a Mortal Shedding Realm expert, Aelina wouldn't have given us reinforcements!"

Maria pouted, but she understood what Mira was trying to say. She was basically saying that no matter what mission Aelina sent them on, the difficulty would remain the same. Plus, it's not like Mira and Maria can just charge in a kill a bunch of Soul Transformation Realm cultivators.

They are still in the Core Formation Realm, after all. There's a limit to what they can do.

As they strolled around, a beautiful woman with violet eyes suddenly appeared out of thin air. Her eyes stared deeply into Mira and Maria, and although her expression didn't change, one could see astonishment hidden deep within that penetrating gaze.

'What the hell? Why can I hardly feel their presence? What kind of stealth technique did they learn?' Aelina wondered as she found Mira and Maria's presences shockingly thin, even with her cultivation.

However, she wasn't the Sect Master for nothing and kept her composure despite feeling bewildered.

"It's time for your mission."

She wrapped her Qi around Mira and Maria, then shot up into the sky without waiting for them to respond.

While they were in the air, Aelina took out a set of 8 Mid Heaven-Grade throwing knives and a Low Heaven-Grade dagger and handed them to Mira.

"Just like you asked, I gathered the throwing knives and dagger for you. Please use them well."

Aelina still felt a bit vexed that Mira asked for such high-ranking equipment, despite her low cultivation, but then she noticed her outfit.

'What the…?! Where'd she get a Peak Heaven-Grade battle armor like that?! And it's a dress as well!' A hint of envy appeared in her eyes as Mira's outfit was the kind of armor that every girl needs but nobody makes.

Hell, even at the Battle Maiden Sect, they usually just made standard armor since finding the suitable materials to create a battle dress such as Mira's is a huge pain in the ass. Usually, the cost to make such an item vastly outweighs the actual usability of the product.

Take Mira's battle dress as an example. For the price it'd cost to produce something like that, Aelina could probably make a regular Low Mystical-Grade armor instead.

This is because battle dresses simply take too many unique resources and too much time to make. In contrast, regular armor is basically just a large chunk of metal. Of course, there's more to a standard armor set than just metal, but its raw materials consist purely of metal.

'I want something like that!' Aelina's eyes lit up as she thought to herself. Naturally, she wasn't going to take Mira's as it was too weak to help her, but she did ingrain the dress in her mind. She'd look for the materials needed for one later.

Mira nodded at Aelina and stored the knives and daggers away. Although she wasn't certain that she'd need them, her intuition told her that only using her scythe might be detrimental to her mission.

She thought about asking for something like a sword, saber, or spear, but she's actually incredibly proficient with daggers as she's an expert in many CQC martial arts.

Soon after Aelina dragged them away, they landed near a small hut on an isolated region of the mountain.

There they saw Nova, Seraphine, Eden, Everly, and Rayna staring at them with neutral expressions. While they might've acknowledged that Mira had potential, that's all she had right now. Potential.

Until she fully realized that potential, she'd only be a burden on this mission…

Or so they thought.

Mira and Maria gave the other disciples a light nod and turned to Aelina, awaiting her instructions.

"As I said one month ago, you will have to share your strategies for taking down the Spirit Stone Mines with me. If I'm not satisfied with them, then I'll disqualify all of you from ever taking the Prime Disciple position!" Aelina declared without a hint of emotion.

In her mind, a Prime Disciple should at least be capable of coming up with something like this.

"Nova, you're up first!"

"Yes, Sect Master!"

Nova stepped up and began explaining her plan, "Since I have the most destructive power out of everyone here, I'll take the vanguard with Everly, who will be the tank. Since Eden is better at controlling the battlefield than the rest of us, she'll be the mid-guard. Seraphine will be the rear guard since her powers are the most versatile. As for Rayna, well, she can hang off on the wings and take out any unsuspecting foes. The same goes for Mira and Maria, but their main jobs will be infiltration…" Nova continued sharing her plan.

Aelina nodded her head as she listened to Nova's plan, as it wasn't that bad. She accurately gauged her teammates' power and put them in their roles accordingly.

If she had to pick a problem with it, she'd say it was too simple and straightforward. They're about to go against a faction that has no honor and will do whatever's necessary to take down their enemy. So, it's hard to say whether her strategy is the best. Plus, she hadn't even mentioned what she'd do to take down the Mortal Shedding Realm expert.

After Nova finished laying out her plan, the Sect Master just nodded, indicating she had passed the test, and moved on to the other disciples, each giving similar answers.

When it was finally Mira's turn, she smirked.

"Those strategies aren't that bad. In fact, I'd even say that in most scenarios, they would be overwhelmingly powerful. Although I don't know each of you as well as Nova does, I can sort of understand your tendencies based on your auras. However, I think you're all forgetting something crucial."

"What's the goal of this mission?"

The other disciples frowned while Aelina smiled, 'Ah, it seems she understands.'

Before anyone could answer, Mira did it for them.

"It's to steal the Spirit Stone mines. STEAL! Why do we need to charge in headfirst like a bunch of lunatics? In fact, it'd be better if we never had to fight a single person."

A light of realization shone in their eyes, but Mira continued, "Now, what does stealing a Spirit Stone Mine mean? Well, to me, it means to loot most of the Spirit Stones and the core, if there is one. Not to kill everyone inside. Though, that's certainly an option."

"I think our biggest obstacle in all this will be the Mortal Shedding Realm Elder. I'm assuming that his perception and sensory abilities are off the charts, so he's likely to discover us the moment we step into the mine. Once that happens, we'd be truly fucked, even if you guys do have a way to hold him back."

"So, my plan is to draw out the Elder and drag him alone to an area far away from the mine, where we'll lay a trap for him. I have a Late Heaven-Grade Suppression Array and a technique that can allow you guys to enhance your powers. Combined with what you received from the Sect Master, we should be able to take him down. From then on, we will have a much easier time infiltrating the mine and can even kill the other Unorthodox Faction disciples if you so wish."