Parting

Far North, Icebound Forest.

Ice and snow shrouded this place year-round, and time held no meaning here.

One day, four figures emerged from the Icebound Forest.

"Alright, this is as far as you go!"

The only young man among the four turned back to look at the two women, who were reluctant to part with him and still wanted to follow. He could not help but speak helplessly.

"Xiaohan, I..."

The woman in green looked at the young man, her cold and beautiful face full of reluctance.

"Bing'er, I don't want to part with you either, but I have to go. I know you want to come with me, but that place is strange. You should go back and wait for me!"

Before the woman could finish, the young man cut her off directly. "Trust me."

Those final three words rang out loud and firm, resolute and powerful, leaving the green-clad girl who had wanted to say more speechless.

The young man stepped forward, spread his arms, and pulled her into his embrace.

The woman had no words to offer and could only return the hug.

More than a dozen breaths later, the young man finally released her. He cupped her face in both hands, gently kissed her forehead, then said in the tone one would use to coax a child, "Be good! Listen to me and go back to wait for me."

After saying that, he turned and gave the White-Robed Woman beside him a direct hug as well, kissing her forehead in the same way before saying, "Take care of yourself. I'm leaving."

Partings were always sorrowful, but sometimes they could not be avoided.

After bidding the two farewell, the young man turned around, grabbed the red-robed woman beside him, and strode away without looking back.

"I didn't expect you to have some determination after all!"

The red-robed woman looked at the young man beside her with her beautiful eyes and could not help praising him.

She was none other than Bo Saixi, the High Priestess of Sea God Island.

And who else could the young man beside her be but Ye Han?

To be honest, Bo Saixi truly had not expected Ye Han to leave that tender paradise so quickly, temporarily setting aside his two breathtakingly beautiful wives to depart with her.

Without realizing it, she regarded Ye Han even more highly.

"Who are you looking down on?" Ye Han lifted his chin and said proudly, "Do you think I, Ye Han, am the kind of man who can't move his feet when he sees a woman?"

Bo Saixi responded with a direct eye roll, looking at him as if to say, You absolutely are.

Thump!

"What kind of look was that?"

Ye Han raised his hand and flicked Bo Saixi on the forehead.

In an instant, the wind stopped, the birds fell silent, the water ceased flowing, and everything sank into stillness.

"Hehe, sorry. It's a habit—I couldn't hold back. Please don't hold it against me. How about you flick me back?"

After a long while, Ye Han gave an awkward smile and hurriedly spoke in a bargaining tone. "But you have to go easy on me. You're a rank ninety-nine Ultimate Douluo. If you hit too hard and turn me stupid, I won't be able to lead the way for you."

Having said that, he closed his eyes as if resigning himself to his fate.

Yet inwardly, he cursed his own reckless hand. This was not the Icebound Forest, and Bo Saixi was not Bing'er. Most importantly... no one was here to back him up.

Uh!

No, that wasn't right!

Why did I make it sound like I lived off a woman? I was following the tough-guy path, the forceful path, the invincible path!

As all sorts of nonsense ran through his mind, the violent retaliation he had imagined never came.

Ye Han could not help secretly opening his eyes. At that moment, a fair fist suddenly enlarged before his eyes. Startled, Ye Han let out a scream and hurriedly crouched down with his head in his arms.

"Giggle, giggle, giggle!~"

Bo Saixi burst into laughter.

Ye Han's cowardly reaction gave her an inexplicable sense of delight, venting much of the frustration she had built up after spending a month listening in on the couple in the Icebound Forest.

Ye Han raised his head again and watched Bo Saixi's body shake with laughter, his eyelids twitching.

Having already tasted the pleasures of women, his eyes went straight at that moment. A flame quietly burned in his heart, leaving him dry-mouthed and restless.

"Hmph! Keep looking, and I'll gouge out your eyes."

Bo Saixi's senses were keen. Noticing the change in Ye Han's aura, her smile vanished instantly as she snorted coldly.

"Hehe, I never expected the High Priestess to possess not only peerless strength, but beauty unrivaled beneath the heavens as well. It seems I have been blind all this time." Rather than feeling guilty, Ye Han stood up and openly offered her a compliment.

"Smooth-tongued. You don't look like anything good," Bo Saixi said coldly.

Though she said so, the trace of delight in her deep eyes could not be concealed at all. She was obviously saying one thing and feeling another.

Tsundere!

Ye Han could not help muttering.

"What did you say?"

Bo Saixi had sharp ears and keen senses. Since Ye Han had muttered beside her, she naturally heard every word clearly.

Though it was only two words, they still left her embarrassed and annoyed.

"Alright! I won't tease you anymore. Let me tell you about the place we're going."

Ye Han's expression suddenly turned serious, and he spoke in a solemn tone.

Bo Saixi froze. It was the first time someone had spoken to her in an almost lecturing tone, and it felt rather strange. She even felt an urge to obey him, while Ye Han's final words completely drove away all other thoughts.

"The place we're going is called Slaughter City. There are no rules there—only the strong devour the weak, and survival of the fittest. Most importantly, Soul Skills cannot be used there, and Soul Power can only be used as a source of strength.

"In other words, after entering Slaughter City, the only power you can use is the strength of your own body. You need to be mentally prepared for that."

Ye Han spoke at length, as if he were extremely familiar with Slaughter City.

Bo Saixi frowned slightly, instantly recognizing the danger of Slaughter City.

She clenched her fist, and her brow furrowed even more deeply.

With only the strength of her body, she could at most exert thirty percent of her full power, giving her combat strength equivalent to that of a first-rank Titled Douluo. To Bo Saixi, that was somewhat terrifying and left her uneasy.

"What? Are you scared?" Ye Han looked at Bo Saixi and smiled.

"What a joke. Even without Soul Power, I can still beat a Titled Douluo to death. Why would I be afraid?" Bo Saixi stubbornly insisted.

People were like that. They might clearly feel frightened and worried inside, but when someone else asked them about it, they would always instinctively want to show their brave and fearless side rather than let others discover their weakness.

Ye Han's heart skipped a beat as he secretly exclaimed, Damn.

Whether she could truly kill a Titled Douluo with only her physical body was debatable. But since Bo Saixi claimed she could handle a Titled Douluo, there was no reason for her to lie about such a thing.

So, damn!

Ye Han clenched his own fist and felt it out.

He suddenly realized that he did not seem weak either. With physical strength alone, beating one or two Soul Saints who could not use Soul Skills seemed to be no problem. And if he used his second Martial Soul, the Unrivaled War God...

The reason for this was not that Ye Han was truly powerful, but that the people of Douluo Continent relied too heavily on Martial Souls and Soul Skills, thereby overlooking the importance of the body.

Why were the people of Shrek Academy stronger than opponents of the same rank? A large part of it was because their physical constitutions surpassed those of Soul Masters at the same rank.

If everyone in this world could improve their bodies, Ye Han's advantage would not be so great. Even if he equipped the Unrivaled War God, he might not necessarily be able to defeat a Soul Saint. After all, his cultivation was only that of a three-ring Soul Elder.

But now, this was his advantage. As he was now, he could take on a Titled Douluo who could not use Soul Skills.

After smugly reveling in it for a while, Ye Han quickly calmed himself and reminded himself not to get carried away. If he ever encountered some monster and got slapped to death, that would be quite the joke.

Slaughter City was located in the north. Ye Han did not know its exact location, but they had mouths and legs. They could ask around and search for it.