Emperor of Ice Hai Bodong

Several days later, Desert City, at dusk.

The lingering glow of the setting sun draped this desert city in a layer of gold. Along both sides of the streets stood distinctive buildings steeped in desert character, gleaming with a golden sheen beneath the sunlight.

A young man in a dark robe walked through the city streets. His handsome appearance often made passersby stop and stare, while some of the passionate married women kept casting coquettish, affectionate looks his way—looks that could be understood but not described.

But Lu Yu never once let his gaze wander. Ignoring them all, he followed the information he had gathered and headed straight toward a certain place in the city.

After turning several street corners, a shop named "Ancient Map" came into view. By now, night had fallen, and the shop's door was already half-closed. Dim light streamed through the gap, falling over Lu Yu.

He stopped before the entrance, swept his gaze over the loosely shut wooden door, raised a hand and knocked three times, then pushed the door open and entered.

Inside the shop, a moonstone emitted a gentle glow, illuminating the map scrolls covering the walls. Behind the counter, a white-haired old man was completely absorbed in drawing a map. So focused was he that he had not noticed Lu Yu's arrival.

There was also a young girl in the shop assisting him. She was quite pretty, and her slender figure stood out vividly beneath the contours of her fitted long dress.

Behind the young girl stood four burly men with respectful expressions. The auras they emitted clearly belonged to Great Dou Masters—and not ordinary ones at that.

Hearing the door open, the young girl casually lifted her eyes and glanced over. Once she saw Lu Yu's plain attire, a trace of disdain flashed through her gaze. She said flatly, "Master Ice doesn't like to be disturbed while drawing maps, so please leave."

Lu Yu froze for a moment. Then his gaze swept across the four guards, and he chuckled. "How overbearing. Anyone unaware might think a princess of the Jama Empire had arrived. May I ask your name, miss? Is there a Dou Wang in your family?"

"You!"

The young girl's face darkened. She lifted her chin proudly and said, "No Dou Wang, but my father is the Desert City Lord, a mighty Seven-star Dou Ling!"

"Oh, how impressive."

"Why don't you leave instead? I'll keep Master Ice company. It wouldn't do for a young lady like you to stay out all night..."

Lu Yu raised a brow slightly, his tone calm.

"Impudence!"

The young girl's delicate brows rose sharply, and a dangerous gleam flashed through her eyes. Her snow-white chin lifted arrogantly, and the four guards immediately understood, surrounding Lu Yu with vicious looks.

The bearded man at the front grinned savagely. "Kid, it's not too late to get lost now!"

Before his words had even faded, the powerful aura of a Seven-star Great Dou Master erupted. His fan-sized hand had already reached for Lu Yu's shoulder.

Lu Yu shook his head slightly. With a flick of his hand, scarlet light gathered in his palm. A snake-shaped mark appeared, transforming into a crimson streak that instantly entered the man's body.

"What is thi—"

The man's pupils suddenly contracted, and all color drained from his face. He felt the Dou Qi within his body drain away madly like floodwaters bursting through a dam, while his aura rapidly declined at a speed visible to the naked eye—

Six-star Great Dou Master!

Five-star Great Dou Master!

Four-star Great Dou Master!

It had all happened within the span of a breath. His cultivation had fallen from Seven-star Great Dou Master to Four-star Great Dou Master!

Even more terrifying was that this was merely the basic Snake Seal Curse, without the power of the Pagoda Tower added to it.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In a flash, Lu Yu lightly flicked his sleeve, sending out four crimson palm strikes in succession. The remaining three Four-star Great Dou Masters, along with the bearded man, were sent flying out the door like kites with severed strings, crashing heavily onto the bluestone slabs in the middle of the street.

The red-dressed young girl's pretty face turned deathly pale, and her legs went limp, nearly causing her to collapse to her knees.

"Snake Seal Curse?!"

At that moment, the white-haired old man, who had remained silent until now, seemed to sense something. He suddenly looked up, and a sharp light burst from his cloudy old eyes.

The pen in his hand snapped with a crack, and a faint but bone-chilling coldness began to emanate from his body.

"Kid, what is your relationship with Medusa?"

The white-haired old man's expression darkened, and a terrifying aura that made one's heart tremble poured from his body!

A Dou Ling expert!

"It was merely passed down by my master. I don't know any Queen Medusa. I only came today to purchase a map of the Tagor Desert."

"With such a display, old sir, are you planning to force a purchase and sale?"

"You should know that it isn't as if I've never killed an ice-attributed Dou Ling before!"

Lu Yu remained calm. A ball of crimson flame appeared in his palm, radiating an intense heat that vaguely stood against the old man's extreme cold aura!

"This kind of power... could it be the legendary Strange Fire?"

The white-haired old man's pupils abruptly shrank, surprise appearing on his face. Yet the vigilance in his heart eased somewhat. To subdue a Strange Fire at such a young age and even kill a Dou Ling across realms—such a genius was likely beyond the Jama Empire's ability to cultivate.

This youth was probably an outsider, and most likely had nothing to do with Medusa of the Snake-human Race.

With that thought, the old man immediately restrained his aura and put on a friendly smile. "Please forgive me, young friend. This sealing technique greatly resembles the methods of an old enemy of mine, so I could not help being overly suspicious."

"Sealing techniques across the world all lead to the same end. It is understandable that you mistook it, old sir. I only came to buy a map."

"Since I am unwelcome here, I shall take my leave."

With that, Lu Yu's expression remained indifferent as he turned and walked away.

The instant he turned around, Lu Yu looked toward the increasingly close doorway. His face remained cold, but inwardly, he began counting silently:

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

He silently counted the footsteps toward the door. Just as he reached seven, an urgent voice suddenly rang out behind him.

"Young friend, wait!"

"Could this old man borrow that sealing technique for a look?"

Hearing Hai Bodong's urgent voice behind him, Lu Yu's steps paused slightly. A nearly imperceptible curve lifted at the corner of his lips as he faced away from Hai Bodong.

By the time he turned around, his face had returned to its indifferent expression. With his brows tightly furrowed, he said somewhat reluctantly, "Old sir, this sealing spell is extremely valuable. If you want to borrow it, I'm afraid you can't afford the price."

Before he had even finished speaking, Hai Bodong hurried forward.

An anxious look appeared on the old man's face. His fingers unconsciously stroked the Storage Ring on his hand, while a complicated gleam flickered in his eyes. "If you have any conditions, young friend, please name them. This old man has operated in Desert City for many years and has accumulated some wealth."

Lu Yu looked Hai Bodong up and down, then said with feigned hesitation, "Do you have an Earth-tier cultivation technique, old sir?"

"This... I truly do not." Hai Bodong looked embarrassed and awkwardly rubbed his fingers together.

"Then what about an Earth-tier Dou Skill?"

"Uh... I don't have one either..."

"You must have a Rank 7 Pill, at least?"

At that, Hai Bodong slowly lowered the hand that had been touching his Storage Ring and let out a long sigh. "To be honest, this old man has been afflicted by a strange seal, and my cultivation has been suppressed at the Dou Ling realm for many years."

He raised his clouded eyes and spoke sincerely. "I wish to borrow the sealing spell precisely to break the seal on myself. If young friend is willing to help, then once this old man recovers his strength, I will surely repay you handsomely."

"So what you mean is, old sir, you want something for nothing?"

Lu Yu frowned slightly and spoke in an unfriendly tone.

"I..."

Hai Bodong's old face instantly flushed red. His withered fingers unconsciously clenched into a fist.

He was the dignified Ice Emperor. Back when he had dominated the Jama Empire, how imposing had he been? Yet now, he was being mocked to his face by some brat for trying to get a free meal.

What made it most stifling was that, with a tiger fallen onto the plains, he truly had no way to refute it with any confidence.

"Fine. Since I'm kindhearted, old sir, hold out your hand. Let me see what kind of seal it is and whether I can break it."

After hesitating for a moment, Lu Yu ultimately sighed, his tone full of helplessness.

"Good, good, good! Young friend, I will never forget your great kindness. If the seal can be broken, I, Hai Bodong, am willing to do ten things for you!"

Hai Bodong was overjoyed and quickly extended his shriveled wrist.

After examining it carefully for a while, Lu Yu slowly withdrew his hand, looking troubled. "The seal itself isn't complicated, but from what I can tell, it was likely placed by a Dou Huang expert. With my current cultivation, I'm afraid I'll have to proceed gradually. It will take a long time to break."

"About how long?"

Hai Bodong's breathing stopped, his heart rising to his throat.

"Half a year."

Lu Yu answered without changing expression.

In truth, he had been able to break it from the start. But a Dou Huang lackey like Hai Bodong was hard to come by—he could not let him off so easily.

"Half a year?"

Upon hearing that, Hai Bodong immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He had no real doubts about Lu Yu's words. A mere Great Dou Master being able to break a Dou Huang's seal was already astonishing enough.

To a Dou Huang expert, half a year was no more than the flick of a finger.