"Let's keep looking ahead." Dan Feng controlled the Spirit of Light to float farther forward.
Then he and Roxy continued walking toward the place where the wind was coming from.
When they reached the spot with the wind, they found only a fist-sized hole blowing air toward them—there was no exit.
"No exit after all? What a waste of a trip." Dan Feng said calmly upon seeing this, having expended some energy dealing with those snow demons for nothing.
"Let's go, back the way we came." With that, Dan Feng and Roxy turned and headed back again.
By the time they returned to the original cave entrance, the tremors had long since disappeared, meaning the avalanche had stopped.
"Dan Feng, the shaking's gone—we can get out!" Roxy said happily as she felt the vibrations cease. After all, they had nearly lost their lives to the avalanche not long ago!
"Got it." Dan Feng replied, then raised his right hand.
"[Wind Thrust]!"
A violent burst of wind magic instantly gathered in Dan Feng's right hand.
This wind magic rapidly condensed in his palm, forming an invisible whirlwind.
With a soft shout from Dan Feng, the whirlwind shot straight toward the snow blocking the cave entrance.
A muffled impact rang out as the whirlwind violently struck the accumulated snow, tearing open a gap in an instant.
Dan Feng seized the opportunity without hesitation, quickly grabbing Roxy's hand and dashing out together.
The moment they stepped out of the cave entrance, it sealed itself shut again with snow as if it had a life of its own—sealed so tightly that it seemed as though it had never been opened at all.
Roxy looked around at everything, suddenly feeling a sense of bewilderment.
Compared to before, the snow on the path was now much deeper, as if the entire world had been blanketed in white.
This meant they had to be extremely careful while walking—one misstep could send them plunging into a bottomless snow pit, with unimaginable consequences.
Dan Feng said to Roxy, "Don't worry. As long as you stay close behind me, there won't be any problems." With that, he pulled out a map from his bosom and studied it carefully, seemingly searching for the right direction forward.
After confirming the route, Dan Feng set off, with Roxy following closely behind.
They trudged onward through the thick snow like this.
However, the snowy mountains at night were extraordinarily cold, and Dan Feng and Roxy could not remain outdoors for long.
They had to find a relatively safe place to spend the night. In the end, they used earth magic [Earth Fortress] to create a house shaped like Patrick Star.
Though the earth fortress was crude and cramped, it at least provided them with some shelter and warmth.
Dan Feng and Roxy squeezed tightly together inside the earth fortress, huddling against each other to ward off the night's bitter cold.
Fortunately, Dan Feng had used powerful fire magic to clear the snow from the ground inside the fortress—otherwise, they didn't know how cold it would have been overnight.
Dan Feng and Roxy sat on the ground like that, leaning against the earth fortress, and slept.
Over the next two days, aside from encountering a few snow wolf monsters, they faced no further dangers.
Dan Feng and Roxy successfully arrived in the Ranoa Kingdom.
Snow was falling in the Ranoa Kingdom as well, but the temperature was much warmer than in the snowy mountains.
Dan Feng and Roxy walked into the first city they came across in the Ranoa Kingdom. Their primary goal right now was to get some proper rest, then head to the Magic University in the magic city of Sharia in a few days to register.
Upon entering the city, Dan Feng and Roxy immediately hurried to the adventurers' guild to exchange their currency for Ranoa coins.
Prices in the Ranoa Kingdom were cheaper than in the Holy Country of Millis, which effectively doubled the value of their gold coins.
After exchanging the currency, the two found a restaurant to eat, replenishing the nutrition they had lacked after days of eating only dried meat.
Once they finished eating, they found an inn and checked in.
It seemed that inns in the Ranoa Kingdom were all equipped with fireplaces—after all, one-third of the year in this country was covered in heavy snow, making fireplaces an indispensable feature.
At this moment, Dan Feng and Roxy were each in their own separate rooms.
Dan Feng was in the Insight Space, practicing spear techniques with the High Elder 'Dan Feng.' He focused intently as he wielded his long spear—every thrust and slash precise and powerful—yet each strike was effortlessly blocked by the High Elder 'Dan Feng.'
Meanwhile, Roxy was still diligently writing about chantless magic.
However, after several hours, she suddenly hit a block with what she was writing.
A question surged in her mind: Does the technique of chantless magic truly require talent?
This question plunged her into deep thought, making it difficult for her to continue writing.
After thinking fruitlessly for a while, Roxy decided to set down her pen for the time being. She put on her shoes and walked to the door of Dan Feng's room next door.
By this time, Dan Feng had already finished his practice in the Insight Space.
He was now lying relaxed on the bed, flipping through a book while organizing his thoughts on spear techniques.
Just then, a gentle knock sounded, breaking the quiet of the room.
"Dan Feng, are you resting?" Roxy's soft voice came from outside the door.
Dan Feng was lying on the bed when he suddenly heard the gentle knocking.
He sat up somewhat puzzled, wondering who it could be so late.
When he heard the voice from outside, he immediately understood—it was Roxy.
Dan Feng got out of bed and quickly walked to the door.
He gently opened it to find Roxy standing there, her face showing a trace of shyness and apology.
"Um… it's about the chantless thesis. I've already started preparing it," Roxy said softly, head lowered.
Seeing her embarrassed expression, Dan Feng instantly understood.
He said, "Chantless? Got it. Come in."
Roxy looked up, gave Dan Feng a grateful glance, and stepped into the room.
Dan Feng closed the door, and the two sat facing each other at the table.
"I've always had some confusion about chantless magic techniques, but after researching during this time, I think I've found a way to solve it," Roxy said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Dan Feng nodded. He knew Roxy was a very intelligent person, always filled with persistence when it came to learning.
"But there's still one problem that's been troubling me for several hours—I just can't find the answer," Roxy said with a furrowed brow, somewhat distressed.
Dan Feng looked at her and said, "It's fine. Tell me, and we'll discuss it together."
Roxy hesitated for a moment, then gathered her courage and said, "I feel like chantless magic techniques might require a certain level of talent. People without talent may never be able to learn it in their lifetime."
Dan Feng replied calmly after hearing this, "Your thinking is quite correct. Chantless magic techniques do have a certain requirement for talent, but having talent doesn't mean you can learn it immediately—you still need to rely on your own hard work."
Roxy listened to Dan Feng's words and nodded thoughtfully.
The answer was just as Dan Feng said: while chantless magic techniques required talent, hard work afterward was equally indispensable.
Chantless magic didn't rely on memorizing incantation words; it relied on remembering exactly how the mana flowed in your body when you released the magic. Then, without chanting, you could trigger the magic through your own mastery.