1 Prologue: The Decisive Battle. The Summit of Mount Everest_1

Little Three will first release a brief introduction to his new book. The Ice and Fire series will probably finish in about another week. As soon as it's done, the new book will start being updated. Fellow book lovers, please remember to keep an eye out for it. The new book is a tale of urban supernatural abilities. It will be an unusual thrill.

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Mount Everest is the primary peak of the Himalayas and the highest mountain in the world at an altitude of 8848.13 meters. It is located on the border between Tibet in the Yan Huang Republic and the Kingdom of Nepal, in the central portion of the Himalayan range. The mountain range comprises primarily crystalline rocks. The scale of its glaciers is enormous, with over 600 glaciers covering an area of 1,600 square kilometers, making it a center of modern glacial activity in the low-latitude region. Large glacial towers are commonly developed in the middle and upper courses of the glacial tongues, giving the valley glaciers of the Mount Everest region a unique form. The north, east, and southwest sides of Mount Everest all feature large cirques, making Everest a pyramidal peak over 3000 meters above the bottom of the cirques. At an altitude of 7450 meters on the north slope of Mount Everest, there is a boundary between ice and rock. The area below this is a glittering snowy cover while the upper part is a bare rock as the steep cliffs and strong winds prevent accumulated snow. The summit is often shrouded in clouds, which flutter like a flag from west to east with Everest as its flagpole. This unique meteorological phenomenon is called a banner cloud.

At this moment, a group of over ten people swiftly climbing the northern slope of Mount Everest, right at the boundary between the ice and the rock. It's important to note that above the altitude of 7000 meters, the temperature and thinness of the air are beyond what ordinary people can withstand. However, these climbers look relaxed and are wearing everyday clothes instead of specialized cold-weather gear.

The strong mountain wind brushes up mists of snowflakes. Among the climbers, a fat man complains dissatisfied, "Boss, I see why we have to do this, but why choose this place? It's freezing and high up, makes me uncomfortable."

"Haven't you read any novels? When Ximen Blow Snow and Ye Gucheng had their decisive battle at the top of the Purple Mountain, why can't we have ours on top of Mount Everest? Boss, I support you," A handsome man said. Even in the harsh wind, his voice clearly reached everyone's ears.

A deep voice came from the man leading the group, "Okay, no more talk, let's keep moving. The choice of this place was a casual suggestion. For you, it seems an elevation of more than 8800 meters poses no difficulty." His tone was especially low, even a bit hoarse. This man was shrouded head to toe in a dark red caped coat, making it impossible to make out his appearance. The sound of his voice revealed he is a man.

Having passed the snow zone and reached the rocky stage, the bone-chilling wind was stronger, but climbing was relatively easier. A tall, lanky woman in a blue dress from the team said, "They are probably climbing from the south, shouldn't we hurry up? After all, this is our territory of the Yan Huang Republic, we can't let foreigners get there first."

The man in the red cloak at the front nodded and said, "Okay, let's quicken the pace, and use it as a pre-battle warm-up. Dragon, Lust Tiger, Mao Rabbit, Horse Wu, Wei Yang, Dog Xu, you are good at advancing, lead the others and move faster." A faint green light emerged under the man's feet. It looked like a pair of glowing wheels that made him float and transformed him into a red and green streak of light that shot towards the summit.

The fat man who had spoken initially sighed and turned to a woman next to him. The woman was of average height, dressed in white leather, but her torpedo-like legs were very attractive. He said, "It seems like the boss's mood is very bad. He seldom calls us formally by our codenames."

The woman in white sighed and said with her extraordinarily gentle voice, "After all, he has to face his partner! No matter who it was, they probably wouldn't feel great. This decisive battle could lead to victory or defeat, but for him, neither might be a good outcome. Let's go." She took the fat man's hand, leaped from the spot, and she was tens of meters away after a brief blink.

A man of about 30 years old, not far behind the woman in the white, showed a lustful gaze, "Ah, Mao Rabbit's legs are getting bouncier over time."

"Lust Tiger, hurry up. Be careful lest Mouse gets into a fight with you." A man with bottle-bottom-thick glasses with the shortest stature in the team restrained the man in front and climbed onto his shoulder with a twist.

"Damn it, why am I stuck with a lecherous man when others get a beauty. Life is unjust!"

In the faint glimmers of light, a group of thirteen took merely a dozen minutes to climb the final, supposedly most difficult, thousand or so metres to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Looking from afar at the snowy landscape below, gusts continuously blasted swirls of snow against their bodies.

The man in red was the first to reach the peak, standing alone at the highest point, looking somewhat desolate. They were evidently ahead of their adversaries. The group of twelve stood neatly behind the man in red, silent, all with a hint of solemnity in their eyes.

The man in red kept his head down, seemingly deep in thought. Suddenly, he lifted his head, his body trembling slightly, as a substantial gaze, sharp as an arrow, darted towards the south.

At that moment, a graceful figure rose slowly from below. She seemed to ascend without any buoyancy, floating lightly towards the peak. The twelve people behind the man in red dispersed into a semi-circular formation. The man in red stayed still but kept his substantial gaze locked on the approaching figure.

Eventually, like a fortunate cloud, the woman floated to the peak. Her long dress, bright as snow, was enveloped in a soft glow. The woman's slim figure, revealing and concealed by a thin golden gauze, was too dazzling to behold. Her soft white skin peeped out from underneath, her face as pure as untrodden snow, with bright, pretty eyes, a petite, exquisite nose, and full cherry lips curved in a slight smile – every feature was exquisite. Her slender figure was equally perfect—a slim waist that could barely accommodate a grasp, and slender legs that warranted admiration. Her delicate curves shrouded in the faint white light felt sanctified. The most distinctive feature was her long purple hair, which flowed behind her like a purple silk ribbon, naturally hued. At that moment, her gaze met that of the man in red, her purple pupils held a sense of loss and helplessness, and her delicate white teeth gently bit into her lip.

A middle-aged man previously referred to as Lust Tiger revealed a hint of admiration in his eyes and softly recited, "At the tender age of twenty-nine, in a season of splendid spring. Purple hair like clouds, brows arched like the new moon; Beauty as pure as jade, with lips like a touch of cinnabar. Neither tall nor short, neither skinny nor fat. She can be delighted, she can be cross, she can frown, she can laugh. A swallowtail cut on her thin, gauze dress, a shallow skirt top to match her pleated skirt."

The woman with purple hair seemed to ignore Lust Tiger's words, replying in perfect Yan Huang dialect, "You beating me here, in the end… actually, I never wished for this battle to occur."

The man in red's voice was as deep as ever. "But it is bound to happen. After all, we, the Zodiac Guardians, guard the east, and you guard the west. Our beliefs are different." His voice held a hint of vicissitude, revealing no emotion. One could not even discern his age.

The woman with purple hair gently nodded and replied quietly, "Yes, for the sake of our mission, neither of us can back down." She slowly lifted her right hand and gestured lightly. A long staff fell into her hand from thin air, its ancient design glinting in golden brilliance. She slowly raised the staff into the air, a penetrating ray of golden light shot out from the staff's crown, and instantly, the snow mist in the sky dispersed under the influence of the golden light, leaving a more sacred atmosphere.

The man in red remained still, not paying heed to the golden light in the sky. A dazzling, domineering aura of red light suddenly erupted. He said softly, "Your subordinates have arrived too. Today witnesses the battle between the twelve earthly branches of the East and the twelve signs of the West, while also a battle between you and me. Rain Eye, neither of us are wrong, yet we are both wrong. Do you agree?"

Rain Eye bowed her head and said, "Your East divides into twelve earthly branches, but in our West, we do not call it so. The method of division is also different, for we use constellations as indicators. In a way, your earthly branches and our signs differ. We divide the Zodiac into twelve equal parts, each thirty degrees, known as a segment. As each segment was once considered the palace of the Sun God Apollo in legend, it is also known as The Twelve Houses of the Ecliptic."

Just then, twelve figures, both revealed and concealed, flickered as they ascended from the southern slope of Mount Everest. Each person seemed a little bulky and upon closer inspection, one could see that they were carrying a giant box on their backs, the contents of which remained unknown.

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