Snow blanketed the Northern Ice Kingdom like a shroud of silence. The frigid land, known for its impenetrable mountains and isolated faith, was ruled not by emperors—but by belief. At its heart stood the Temple of Eternal Light, where oracles preached the coming of a divine savior, one who would descend from the heavens to purify the land and lead them to victory over demonic threats.
They called her The Frost Saint of Prophecy.
They had no idea she had already arrived.
Yue Ling—no longer the Princess of Azure Light, no longer the Righteous Saint—walked through the blizzards wrapped in black and silver robes. Her long hair now shimmered with icy-blue streaks, a side effect of her new cultivation path: The Path of Hollow Flame—a merging of celestial light and corrupted spirit fire.
Behind her walked thirty elite members of the Loyal Dog Organization, now cloaked in white robes bearing the inverted lotus symbol.
And beside her stood her shadow.
Priyanshu Yadav, wearing a mask of frost.
But here, he was known only as The Watcher.
Inside the Temple of Eternal Light, High Oracle Fen knelt before the sacred Flame Mirror.
He was trembling.
Not from cold—but from revelation.
The sacred artifact, untouched for three hundred years, had begun to glow.
And within it, he saw her.
A woman walking through the snow, a divine flame at her back.
"She has come," he whispered. "The Saint... the one from prophecy!"
Priests and generals rushed to prepare for her arrival. Trumpets were sounded. Holy bells rung. Cultivators knelt in prayer. The people—starved of warmth, both physical and spiritual—looked to the gate with wide, desperate eyes.
And then she arrived.
Yue Ling stepped through the massive archway of the temple as if she belonged to the heavens.
Her aura glowed with false divinity. Her eyes shimmered with deceptive compassion. She raised a hand—and the snow stopped falling.
A miracle.
The people wept.
The High Oracle approached and dropped to his knees. "You… you are her. You've returned to guide us, just as the scrolls foretold!"
Yue Ling smiled.
"I have come to save you."
Behind her, Priyanshu stood still, arms crossed, watching as lies rooted themselves deeper into the world.
DING! Villainous Influence Spread: The False Messiah Operation – Stage 1 CompleteProgress: 18% of the Northern Ice Kingdom SubvertedThe people believe. The priests serve. The generals… doubt.
Later, in the temple's hidden war chamber, Yue Ling sat across from the region's three top generals: General Rong the Iron Wall, General Shu the Phoenix Blade, and General Lang, a silent strategist.
They stared at her warily.
Rong scoffed. "Forgive me, Saint… but miracles are not strategies. What do you offer besides faith?"
Yue Ling stood and placed a scroll on the table.
A military map—marked with weak points in enemy border camps, routes of demonic invasions, and the names of generals who were secretly consorting with dark cultivators.
Shu's eyes narrowed. "This… this is real. Only the Imperial Shadows had this level of information."
Yue Ling's gaze darkened. "I offer you more than faith. I offer you victory. Serve me—and I will make this frozen kingdom a holy empire feared by all."
Rong still hesitated.
Until the room chilled suddenly.
Priyanshu spoke from the shadows. "And if you don't… your corpses will serve her cause instead."
The frost around his feet turned to black ice.
General Lang stood abruptly and bowed. "I will serve."
The others followed—shaken yet awed.
DING! Northern Ice Kingdom Subversion: 49%New Faction Formed: Order of Hollow Light (Tier II Sub-Organization of Loyal Dog)Yue Ling – Title Advanced: First Herald of the Shadow Doctrine
That night, as the people prayed under the false moonlight and the bells echoed through the frozen cliffs, Yue Ling sat with Priyanshu on a balcony overlooking the white wasteland.
She spoke softly, "I was once the light they trusted. Now I am the lie they worship."
Priyanshu didn't look at her. "You were always the lie. Now… you simply control it."
Her lips curled into a small, tired smile.
"Then let them kneel."