Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 885: Bound by Ice, Crowned by Blood

Ethan and Blackie stood at the edge of the lake, staring out over the vast, milky-white expanse.

The surface did not ripple in the wind. It did not reflect the sky. It simply existed, pale and opaque, as though the world itself had been poured into a basin and left to settle.

Blackie squinted at it for a long moment before asking, "So... how exactly are we supposed to cross that?"

For once, he made no attempt to spread his wings or test the air. Even he could feel it. The Nine-Color Lake was not water in any ordinary sense. It felt ancient, sealed and waiting.

They lingered there in silence.

This time there was no system prompt. No guiding voice offering instructions. The stillness pressed in on them, heavy and deliberate.

After a while, Ethan crouched down at the shoreline. He hesitated as his hand hovered above the surface as if he expected it to bite. Then, slowly, he extended a finger and touched the milky water.

The response was immediate. The entire lake detonated into motion.

A violent surge tore across the surface as if a storm had erupted from beneath. Waves rose high and crashed in every direction, churning and twisting with terrifying force. Ethan and Blackie sprang backward on instinct, muscles taut, eyes locked on the chaos.

For several long seconds the lake raged like a living thing in fury, then, just as abruptly, everything stilled.

The waves collapsed. The turbulence vanished. The surface smoothed itself back into that unnatural calm, as though nothing had happened at all.

At the exact center of the lake, something began to rise. A white figure emerged slowly from the depths.

Its form was elegant and powerful, hooves resting lightly upon the water as if gravity held no claim over it. A single horn curved from its brow, and its entire body shimmered with a faint radiance, pure and cold.

Then the voice came.

"When the primordial chaos first split, the nine colors marked the boundaries. Among the ten thousand tribes, the Qilin reign supreme. The White Qilin rules by might. To reach the island, you must defeat it."

The ancient words echoed directly inside Ethan’s mind. Not heard, but known. It was like a presence without direction, speaking from everywhere at once.

Blackie stiffened beside him. He had heard it too.

The condition was simple. To cross the Nine-Color Lake, they had to defeat the White Qilin now standing at its heart.

The moment the creature appeared, Blackie’s pupils shrank. He felt it immediately. The bloodline, the pressure, and the familiarity.

A Kin.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly as understanding clicked into place. So that was it. The way the Moonfrost Direwolves and the other beast clans had reacted to Blackie before had not been coincidence. The Qilin were not just rare creatures. They were sovereigns.

"Looks like this one’s meant for you," Ethan said lightly, glancing sideways.

Blackie did not respond at once. His brow furrowed deeply as he stared at the White Qilin. Then his gaze shifted, drifting toward the adjacent lake, the one that shimmered with an inky, lightless black.

"I’m thinking," he muttered.

"You want to try that one instead?" Ethan asked without looking at him.

"Yeah." Blackie exhaled slowly. "That thing is a Force Qilin. You know what that means? It’s not just strong. Its defense scales with its power. Its speed is insane. I’d get flattened before I could blink. I might be tough, but I’m not suicidal."

His eyes lingered on the black lake.

"A Void Qilin would be different," he continued. "They specialize in spell control. The more elements they master, the darker their color becomes. True black means mastery of all four elemental affinities. That’s the peak."

He paused, expression dimming.

"I’m a Void Qilin, sure. But I barely crossed into it. I’m not pure black. My talent... isn’t exactly legendary."

Ethan finally looked at him, a faint smile tugging at his mouth. "So can you handle it or not?"

Blackie shot him an irritated look. "What choice do I have? Go get stomped by that thing instead?"

The White Qilin still stood motionless at the center of the milky lake. The water beneath it had frozen solid, a flawless sheet of pale ice stretching in every direction without any ripples or cracks.

"Go on," Ethan said quietly.

Only then did Blackie notice the change in him.

A faint milky-white aura had begun to coil around Ethan’s body, thin at first, then gradually tightening like invisible chains.

"What about you?" Blackie asked.

Ethan shrugged as if it were nothing. "I’m locked in. Feels like I’m being held by a Shackle. I’m bound to him. One of us walks away. The other doesn’t."

Blackie blinked, then grinned, baring his teeth. "That’s rough, boss."

Ethan rolled his shoulders, testing the weight of the invisible binding. "Don’t get cocky. The Void Qilin in that black lake might be fully elemental. If that’s the case, you’d better not embarrass yourself."

Blackie’s foot, which had already angled toward the white lake in hesitation, froze midair. He slowly turned his head toward the far left, where a red lake shimmered faintly in the distance.

"Don’t even think about picking the easy one," Ethan said flatly.

Blackie coughed, caught red-handed. His gaze lingered on the red surface, clearly tempted.

"You know your own kind better than anyone," Ethan continued. "A fully elemental Void Qilin might be called a king, but a Qilin that pushes a single element to absolute perfection should be just as terrifying. Versatility doesn’t automatically win against mastery."

Blackie’s inherited memories stirred uneasily. He knew Ethan was right. The ancient lineage records said the same thing. A specialist who reached the absolute peak could rival, even surpass, a so-called king.

"And I’m guessing there’s a serious reward waiting for whoever clears their trial," Ethan added, stepping forward onto the frozen lake. "Unless you’d rather quit and watch."

The moment his boot touched the surface, he felt the truth of his assumption. The lake was completely solid now, as stable as stone.

The White Qilin lifted its head.

Up close, it looked alive. Muscles coiled beneath luminous hide, breath misting faintly in the cold air. Yet Ethan could sense what it truly was. Not flesh. Not blood. A condensed manifestation of pure soul force. He could not probe it directly, but the spiritual pressure rolling off it was unmistakable.

As Ethan advanced, the White Qilin stamped one hoof against the ice.

The sound rang out like a hammer striking steel. Then it moved. White light blurred as the distance between them vanished in a single heartbeat.

Ethan’s instincts screamed. There was no time to dodge. He activated his transformation and layered Iron Hide over himself just as the Qilin reared up, its front hooves crashing down toward him. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

The impact detonated like a cannon blast.

Silver light from Iron Hide flared brilliantly for an instant before shattering apart under the force. Ethan’s body was launched backward as if struck by a battering ram. He tore across the frozen surface, then slammed hard into the pale, chalky earth beyond the lake’s edge.

The world went white.

For a long moment he lay there flat on his back, staring up at the sky, lungs refusing to draw air. It took nearly half a minute before his chest finally convulsed and he dragged in a ragged breath.

Slowly, he pushed himself upright.

Every joint felt wrenched out of alignment and every muscle trembled in protest. That single kick had shattered three layers of Iron Hide as though they were paper.

And it had not even looked serious.

Ethan rolled his neck once, ignoring the pain, and let out a quiet laugh. Instead of fear, something fierce and eager flared in his chest.

’At last, a real opponent.’

When someone outclasses you in speed, in defense, and raw power, that is when instinct sharpens. That is when technique is forged.