On a training ground behind the academy.
Two figures faced each other.
One of them was a breathtakingly beautiful woman dressed in an ice-blue gown.
She had snow-white hair and crystal-clear skin, as though she had been sculpted from the purest ice and snow.
She merely stood there quietly, yet the space around her seemed frozen, radiating a chilling aura that made hearts tremble.
She was the foremost of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, the Snow Empress, with seven hundred thousand years of cultivation.
Standing opposite her, however, was a young man who appeared to be only in his early twenties.
He wore simple white robes, his ink-black hair casually tied behind his head with a ribbon.
His features were exceptionally handsome, with sword-like brows and starry eyes. A faint smile always played on his lips, making him seem like a refined scholar. Not the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power could be felt from him.
"Lu Ming, be careful."
The Snow Empress parted her vermilion lips, her voice cool and pleasant, like icy pearls falling upon jade.
Before her words had faded, her crystalline hands abruptly rose.
In an instant, the temperature across the entire training ground plummeted. Countless ice-blue snowflakes condensed in the air, transforming into incomparably sharp ice swords that descended upon the man in white like a storm.
Emperor Sword, Ice Extreme Unrivaled!
This strike was enough to instantly kill a level ninety-five Titled Douluo.
Yet Lu Ming did not even blink in the face of this earth-shattering attack.
Unhurriedly, he raised his right hand. A seemingly ordinary Blue Silver Grass silently appeared in his palm.
However, this Blue Silver Grass differed from the usual kind. Faint golden patterns flowed across its leaves, radiating an aura of endless vitality and all-encompassing tolerance.
"Disperse."
Lu Ming softly uttered a single word.
The Blue Silver Grass instantly swelled, transforming into countless golden vines that intertwined in the air to form an enormous net.
The Ice Extreme Unrivaled swords, which could pierce through space itself, struck the golden vines like snow meeting the blazing sun. They instantly melted and broke apart, dissolving into the purest water element and vanishing into the air.
Then, a vine shot forth like a swimming dragon, effortlessly passing through the Snow Empress's defenses before stopping three inches from her smooth forehead.
The victor had been decided.
The entire exchange had taken no more than the blink of an eye.
Looking at the vine glowing faintly with golden light before her, a trace of wonder flashed through the Snow Empress's usually cold eyes before turning into a helpless sigh.
"I lost again."
She withdrew the swirling snowstorm and looked at the man before her, her tone carrying a touch of astonishment.
"Your strength has improved far too quickly. A few years ago, I could still exchange a few moves with you. Now, I cannot even withstand a single move from you."
Lu Ming smiled faintly and withdrew his Martial Soul. The vines filling the sky instantly vanished as though they had never existed.
"Xue'er, you flatter me. I was merely fortunate enough to gain a little insight."
He walked over to the stone table and sat down. Picking up the teapot that had been kept warm on the table, he poured two steaming cups of fragrant tea and gestured for the Snow Empress to join him.
"Come, have some tea and warm yourself up."
Seeing Lu Ming's calm and untroubled demeanor, a ripple stirred within the Snow Empress's heart.
She walked over and sat opposite him at the stone table. Though she accepted the cup of tea, her gaze remained fixed on Lu Ming.
Who would have thought that this man, who could defeat her, the ruler of the Extreme North, in a single move, had been a weak human on the verge of freezing to death when he first arrived more than a decade ago?
Lu Ming raised his teacup and took a gentle sip. His gaze drifted toward the vast snowfield in the distance, and his thoughts could not help wandering back to the past.
He was a transmigrator.
When he arrived on Douluo Continent, the Martial Soul he awakened was the universally acknowledged useless Martial Soul—Blue Silver Grass.
Moreover, his Innate Soul Power was extremely low, and his talent was abysmal.
Yet he had not despaired, because he possessed the standard equipment of every transmigrator—a system.
Only, his system was somewhat special. It was called the Late Bloomer System.
This system had granted him two utterly heaven-defying abilities.
The first was the destiny of a late bloomer.
No matter how poor his talent was, his cultivation speed would grow faster and faster over time. Bottlenecks simply did not exist for him, and his foundation would become incomparably solid.
The second was the ability to summon heroes from the game Honor of Kings from his previous life into this world, where they would become his guardians and instructors.
Back then, because he was weak and had offended powerful nobles, he had been forced to flee into the sparsely populated Extreme North.
Not long after entering, he had nearly frozen to death in the snow because he could not withstand the extreme cold.
The Snow Empress happened to pass by and, in a moment of softness, saved him.
He established Jixia Academy in the Extreme North and quietly checked in and cultivated.
From a Level One Soul Master, he had gradually grown to his current Demigod Realm!
The heroes he had summoned had also continued to grow stronger as his own strength increased.
Old Master, Mozi, Zhuang Zhou... the Three Sages of Jixia now possessed the terrifying strength of Limit Douluo and guarded the depths of the academy.
Even Li Bai, Kai, Hua Mulan, and the others he had summoned later had reached at least the level of Soul Douluo or even Titled Douluo.
It could be said that although Jixia Academy was not renowned across the continent, its top-tier combat strength was enough to sweep across all of Douluo Star!
"What are you thinking about?"
The Snow Empress's voice interrupted Lu Ming's thoughts. She held her teacup with both hands, and an imperceptible tenderness filled her ice-blue eyes.
Lu Ming came back to himself and smiled.
"I was thinking about when I first came here. If it had not been for you, I would probably have become an ice sculpture long ago."
At his words, a faint blush appeared on the Snow Empress's cheeks, making her especially captivating against the backdrop of ice and snow.
"You were not fated to die."
She spoke softly, her gaze growing somewhat unfocused. "You were so weak back then. Who could have imagined that you would become this powerful now? Lu Ming... are you going to stay here forever?"
Lu Ming looked at her and naturally understood the meaning behind her words.
After spending so many years together, they were both teacher and friend. He was not made of wood, so of course he could sense the Snow Empress's feelings for him.
This proud ruler of the Extreme North had long since fallen for him.
However, Lu Ming held even greater ambitions in his heart.
"Of course."
Lu Ming set down his teacup, his gaze deep. "Jixia Academy has only just begun, and I still have a long road ahead of me. The Extreme North is peaceful, making it the perfect place for me."
He paused before adding, "Still, too much quiet makes one restless. It seems the continent will be holding some sort of Soul Master Competition soon. I intend to send a few students out to take a look and let the name of Jixia Academy shine a little in this world."
The Snow Empress was slightly stunned, then broke into a radiant smile. It was like melting ice and snow, like a hundred flowers blooming.
"If your students go out, I am afraid the so-called geniuses of this continent will all be overshadowed."
Lu Ming laughed heartily and did not deny it.
He rose to his feet and walked to the edge of the cliff, standing with his hands behind his back as his robes snapped in the wind.
"Overshadowed? Perhaps."
"After all, my goal has never been this mere Douluo Continent."
Before you continue