Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

Mira didn't register the Guardian's words as she felt energy fill her body. This energy filled her Core, Meridians, bones, muscles, organs, skin, and every other part. This energy rejuvenated her body, healing her and increasing her strength and potential.

Some of that energy even went to Elenei's cocoon in her Soul Sea, filling it with strength and shortening the duration of her Nirvana.

*Crack! *Crack!*

Her bones cracked as they shifted slightly, increasing the efficiency at which she could use them, optimizing her body for higher-level fights. Her meridians enlarged slightly and toughened. Her muscles and skin tightened, not leaving an ounce of fat on her body, but her skin was thick enough that she didn't look overly jacked.

The speed at which the neurons shot through her brain increased, allowing her to process information and react fast.

Her tails increased in density, and the Qi inside them increased in both quantity and quality. However, the one that saw the largest increase in power was her golden tail, which was directly related to her physical strength. The increase wasn't much because she had already cultivated the Magma Dragon Body technique to a sufficiently high level, but it was noticeable.

The Qi in her Core condensed more, pushing it near the absolute limit of what was possible for a Core Formation cultivator.

Lastly, her control over her mind and body had reached an unprecedented level! Now, it wouldn't be wrong for her to say that she had reached a level where the two were perfectly in sync.

Although she could still feel those raging emotions she'd felt during that last trial, they were subdued and trapped in their own little rooms, unable to come out and wreak any more havoc.

That alone was liberating enough that Mira felt like a brand new person! Her entire life, she'd been plagued by her past and the shit that she felt back then, but now, she'd finally taken the driver's seat in her own mind, no longer controlled by her emotions!

However, while the result was what she wanted, there was a slight problem in the process of reaching it…

"...Congratulations, you have passed the last trial for the Hell of Weakness…" The Guardian's bitter voice rang out in her mind, waking her out of her reverie.

Mira nodded, neither proud nor humble about her achievement. She knew what she did was amazing, but at the same time, it was within the range of her capabilities. Not only that, but she may have 'cheated' on a few of the trials. How could she feel good about that, even if the results were better than she imagined?

"You know," The Guardian paused for a second, "That's not how you were supposed to clear that last trial, right?"

Mira nodded, 'Of course. I assume I was supposed to accept what happened to me and move on. Maybe even channel all that excess energy into motivating me to get stronger or some crap like that.'

"Well…" The Guardian smiled bitterly, as Mira wasn't wrong, "That's true, but there was more to it than that. You don't have to move on, but you should've confronted your past emotions, dealt with them in a healthy manner, and used them as fuel to motivate you to move forward."

"..."

After a moment of silence and gathering her thoughts, Mira shook her head in firm denial, 'No. I refuse to do that.'

"Hm?"

'I'm sure you've heard the saying that revenge is a dish best served cold. Well, I want it freezing! I want it so cold that not even the nine layers of hell can heat it up! When that man's head is in my hands, his soul severed, and his body disintegrated, I want to feel an existential orgasm! One that goes so hard, even different timelines of myself shiver in pleasure!' Mira's voice was tinged with so much madness that it even shook the Guardian!

However, she didn't stop there! Her voice raised an octave higher, and she exclaimed, 'I won't be able to feel such a thing if I deal with and let go of my past emotions! No, for an even greater ending, I have to leave them there to fester under a controlled environment, just waiting to explode out when the right moment appears before me!'

Mira was no stranger to revenge. Rather, she spent most of her life getting revenge on people who had wronged her. She knew that while the instant-karma type of vengeance was satisfying, it felt nowhere near as good as one that took countless hours and years of planning.

Some people might say that one feels empty after those sorts of things, and they weren't wrong, but this goes for almost anything.

Getting revenge is the same as any other goal. It's just that instead of it being fueled by the desire to improve, it's fueled by anger and hatred. However, to Mira, there wasn't much of a difference. For her revenge, she needed to improve, so it effectively killed two birds with one stone.

Why should she give that up? Why should she take one of the main reasons for getting stronger?!

"..."

The Guardian was speechless! There were so many things wrong with Mira's statements that he didn't even know where to start or if he should even say anything.

Mira knew what she said was fucked up and crazy, but that was her desire. That's how she wanted to live, even after she was no longer affected by those amplified, crazy emotions!

Who was he to tell her no? That she was wrong?

Mira was a big girl now; she knew what she was doing. It's not like she lacked experience, after all.

In the end, he could only shrug.

"If that's what you want, then you do you."

After that, the two of them stopped conversing.

Mira's eyes slowly opened, and as she took a deep breath, Mira felt a sense of power and control she hadn't felt before. She could feel the energy coursing through her veins and the new strength in her bones.

Ryuu and Master Izaria stared at her wide-eyed, but Mira ignored them. She stood up from the ground and gave the air a few punches, causing mini explosions, and a rush of excitement flowed through her as she realized just how much she had grown.

"Finally…" Mira muttered, clenching her fists, "I'm finally done with all that shit!"

Although it only took her a little over a month to complete the Hell of Weakness, it seemed much, much longer than that. She has learned and experienced so much in a month that it seems impossible to fit it all in.

She basked in the feeling of freedom for a moment before a voice shook her out of her thoughts.

"Are… A-Are you okay now, Mira?" Ryuu asked hesitantly with a hand on the hilt of his greatsword.

Mira's smile faded, replaced with a neutral expression, and she turned to Ryuu.

"Yeah. I won't lose control anymore."

Ryuu still looked at her skeptically but nodded nonetheless, as she looked more like her usual self. Her eyes were no longer blood orbs, there was no blood flowing out of her orifices, and she wasn't radiating a murderous aura anymore.

While Ryuu still kept his guard up, Master Izaria didn't care about any of that. She pushed Ryuu aside, stood in front of Mira, and asked, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but what happened to you?"

Normally, Mira would just scoff at her and stay quiet, but seeing how Ryuu helped her tremendously this time, she felt obligated to share a little.

"...That was a trial my Inner Body Cultivation put me through."

"Inner Body Cultivation?" Izaria tilted her head before her eyes lit up, then widened in shock, "You mean Body Refinement?! That was you breaking through to a new Realm of Body Refinement?! What the hell?!"

'Body Refinement?' Mira thought inwardly, then realized it was just another name for Inner Body Cultivation. 'I guess it makes sense. Outer Body Cultivation is all about tempering the body, making it stronger, while Inner Body Cultivation is more focused on squeezing out one's potential, refining it into something greater.'

Mira nodded her head expressionlessly at her question.

"W-What the hell are you, Mira?! How can Body Refinement be so… extreme!? I've never heard of something so ridiculous before!"

For most humanoid creatures, Body Refinement is about breaking down the shackles that hold one's body back, effectively evolving it to a higher level. Doing this requires a great understanding of one's body, tons of energy, and a willingness to risk one's life, but people don't turn into crazy demons just to unlock one of the shackles!

Mira just shrugged her shoulders, "I guess I'm special. If you don't believe me, that's fine, but it's the truth."

Then, ignoring Izaria's shocked gaze, Mira turned to Ryuu with a burning gaze and said, "Let's spar!"

"Wha-?!" Ryuu nearly jumped back in fright, but Mira wasn't done yet.

She took out something from within her Storage Space and showed it to the two of them, "This should be enough to compensate you for helping me, along with a week's worth of sparring."

Izaria's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, seeing what Mira had in her hand. She disappeared from her position, snatched the item in Mira's hand, then quickly put it away and exclaimed, "We agree! Forget a week; he'll fight you for a year if you want!"

"...!"