The Cold Abyss Branch of the Ice Spirit Clan!

Watching Mu Chen's departing figure, Bing Tianxiao turned his head and looked at Luo Li beside him.

The girl stood quietly at the edge of the cliff, her silver hair fluttering gently in the wind.

Her glasslike eyes gazed into the distance, as if she were pondering something.

"Why? Can't bear to see me go?"

Bing Tianxiao leaned closer and teased her with a grin.

Luo Li came back to herself, glanced at him, and said indifferently:

"You're overthinking it."

"But..."

She paused, a complicated look flashing through her eyes:

"I need to return to the Luo Shen Clan. There are some things I have to deal with."

Hearing this, Bing Tianxiao put away his playful smile, his expression becoming more serious.

He knew that Luo Li carried a heavy responsibility, and that the Luo Shen Clan's situation was far from optimistic.

"Do you need help?"

He asked softly, his tone carrying a trace of concern that was difficult to detect.

Luo Li shook her head, the corners of her lips curling into a faint arc.

Though it was extremely faint, it was enough to make the scenery covering the mountain lose its luster.

"No need. This is my responsibility."

"And..."

She looked at Bing Tianxiao, determination flashing in her eyes:

"The current me is no longer that confused little girl."

"There are things I must protect, and a mission I must complete."

"That's good."

Bing Tianxiao nodded and did not insist.

He knew that although this girl appeared delicate on the outside, she was stronger at heart than anyone else.

Besides, he had things he needed to work hard to accomplish as well!

"Then I should be going too. See you in seven days."

Bing Tianxiao stretched lazily and turned toward the other direction.

"Bing Tianxiao."

Just as he was about to step into the air, Luo Li's voice suddenly came from behind him.

Bing Tianxiao stopped and turned his head.

"Hmm?"

Luo Li stood in the wind, her silver hair flying about. Her glasslike eyes quietly gazed at him, as if she wanted to imprint his figure deeply into her mind:

"Thank you."

Those two simple words contained far too much.

Thank you for keeping me company on the Spirit Road, thank you for trusting me, and thank you...

for being willing to become my friend.

Bing Tianxiao was stunned for a moment, then broke into a radiant smile and waved at Luo Li.

"Why be so polite? We're friends, after all."

With that, he did not linger and turned to leave.

Watching the direction in which Bing Tianxiao departed, Luo Li stood there for a long time. Only after his figure had completely vanished did she slowly withdraw her gaze.

"Friends..."

She murmured softly, the faint smile at the corners of her lips gradually widening until it became a breathtaking smile.

"Then... I'll see you at Northern Cang Spirit Academy."

As the dizzying distortion of the spatial teleportation array gradually faded, the bizarre void passage before their eyes instantly settled into a vast and imposing world of ice and snow.

This was the Xuanming Continent, Cold Abyss Heaven!

The ancestral land of the Cold Abyss Branch of the Ice Spirit Clan.

A magnificent giant city forged entirely from Millennium Mystic Ice sat quietly amid the snowstorm.

The city walls towered into the clouds, radiating an ancient and solemn aura. Countless profound spiritual array runes flickered faintly across the ice walls, swallowing and exhaling the vast ice spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

The teleportation array was located on the most spacious plaza before the giant city's main gate.

The instant Bing Tianxiao's figure solidified in the center of the teleportation array, that familiar, soul-freezing chill rushed toward him.

To ordinary people, this was deadly cold, but to Bing Tianxiao, it was the warmest embrace—the feeling of returning home.

"Vmmm—"

The light of the teleportation array completely faded.

Guarding the teleportation array were two squads of elite guards clad in dark-blue heavy ice armor. Every one of them possessed a powerful aura and held a long halberd, their eyes as sharp as those of falcons.

All of them were in the Three Heaven Realms, and their leader had even reached the Heaven Reaching Realm.

When they saw the face of the person emerging from the array, their originally grim eyes instantly transformed into extreme fervor and reverence.

"Clang!"

The uniform collision of armor rang out.

The two squads of guards dropped to one knee without hesitation and slammed their halberds onto the ground. A deep, resonant voice echoed across the plaza:

"Welcome home, Young Master!"

Looking at the familiar faces before him, Bing Tianxiao curled his lips into a relaxed smile.

He waved casually, signaling for them to rise, and was just about to speak.

Suddenly, a boundless, terrifying fluctuation erupted violently from the deepest part of the giant city!

It was a Sovereign pressure that towered above heaven and earth!

Yet this pressure contained not the slightest trace of aggression. Instead, it was filled with undisguised excitement and joy, sweeping across the entirety of Mingyuan City in an instant.

In the next moment, space before Bing Tianxiao rippled violently without warning.

An aged yet vigorous burst of laughter rang out before its owner appeared, shaking the snow and wind across the sky into stillness:

"Hahaha! My good grandson! You've finally come back!"

Space split open, and an old man in a snow-white robe stepped out of thin air.

The old man's beard and hair were entirely white, but his face was ruddy. Visible halos of ice-blue spiritual energy swirled around him, as if he were the ruler of this icy world.

He was none other than the ruler of the Mingyuan Branch of the Ice Spirit Clan, as well as Bing Tianxiao's own grandfather—the Sovereign powerhouse, Bing Xuanming!

He crossed the distance to Bing Tianxiao in almost a single step.

His usually dignified old eyes were now filled with affection and scrutiny.

Bing Xuanming extended his broad palm and heavily patted Bing Tianxiao on the shoulder. After sensing the spiritual energy within the young man, he nodded with satisfaction:

"Good! Good! Good!"

"Late Heaven Integration Realm, and your foundation is very solid too! Looks like your trip to the Spirit Road wasn't in vain!"

Bing Tianxiao helplessly rubbed his aching shoulder and grinned at his grandfather, a powerhouse even in the Great Thousand World.

"Grandpa, I've only just arrived, and your welcoming ceremony is a little too grand, isn't it? Aren't you afraid of frightening the others?"

"Hmph! Let's see who dares complain!"

Bing Xuanming glared with his tigerlike eyes, then smiled broadly and pulled Bing Tianxiao by the arm.

"Come, come, come. Hurry home with Grandpa. You've been gone for three years, and I've been thinking about you the whole time."

"And tell Grandpa quickly—did you become famous throughout the world on the Spirit Road? And did you find a suitable granddaughter-in-law..."

Looking at his grandfather's appearance, a warm current surged through Bing Tianxiao's heart.

No matter how many life-and-death battles he had experienced outside, no matter how many schemes and conspiracies he had faced, once he returned here, returned to his family, he was still that pampered young man.

"Becoming famous throughout the world was a given."

Bing Tianxiao let his grandfather pull him toward the city as they flew, his voice filled with youthful pride.

"Not only did I make a name for myself, but I also brought you some major news..."

Amid the snow and wind, the figures of grandfather and grandson gradually receded into the distance.

Only the guards on the plaza remained, still holding their respectful postures, their eyes filled with awe and pride.