Invite the Ice Emperor to His Death!

Hah, my wife's reputation is too overwhelming. No wonder no one believes my husbandly authority is lacking.

Hai Bodong's disbelieving gaze was rather piercing, leaving Yan Lin somewhat embarrassed. It only strengthened his resolve to become stronger as soon as possible.

He wanted everyone in this world to know that he was worthy—and that only he was worthy—of being Queen Medusa's man!

"Hand over the other Fragmented Map. Don't think I can't tell just because you split it so seamlessly. Medusa said that the Fragmented Map you stole back then wasn't this small."

Without wasting words with Hai Bodong, Yan Lin turned around, stood properly, and extended his right hand toward him, demanding the other half of the Fragmented Map.

Queen Medusa had never told him about the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map, but that did not stop him from borrowing her name.

No, borrowing a snake's skin.

In any case, Hai Bodong would not dare to ask Medusa about it. No, it should be said that he did not even have the courage to face her.

Yan Lin knew full well about Hai Bodong's "snake phobia," which was why he did this deliberately.

Unaware of the truth, Hai Bodong blurted out, "How did you know?"

The Ice Emperor's astonished gaze swept over Yan Lin.

He had split the Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map perfectly, making it difficult for anyone to notice, yet Yan Lin had identified it at a glance. Something was clearly wrong.

Seeing his surprise, Yan Lin's lips curled into a smile that said everything was under control. He spread his hands. "Didn't I say so? My fiancée told me."

Fiancée?

Hai Bodong's white brows twitched slightly. Medusa?

This kid is Medusa's fiancé?

At such a young age, he's already at the peak of the nine-star Dou Ling realm. With talent like that, it is possible that Medusa took a liking to him...

The Ice Emperor's expression shifted uncertainly. He had begun to believe Yan Lin somewhat, and immediately spread out his senses to check whether any other experts were nearby.

He had obtained the Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map more than twenty years ago. Yan Lin had not even been born then, so it was impossible for him to have seen it.

Furthermore, only Medusa and Hai Bodong himself knew that he had snatched the Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map from Queen Medusa.

Combined with Yan Lin's words, Hai Bodong began to waver.

Even so, he still found it hard to believe that the woman he regarded as a nightmare actually had a fiancé—and a human youth at that.

What secretly relieved him was that he could not sense Queen Medusa's aura nearby...

"Now, you can return it to me, right?"

Yan Lin once again demanded the Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map from Hai Bodong, acting as though he were its true owner.

Now, he was reclaiming what belonged to him.

That attitude was far too arrogant. Hai Bodong's old face sank, and his tone turned cold. "Brat, since you know about what happened between Medusa and me, you should know that I was sealed by her for over twenty years in order to obtain this thing! And now you think you can take it away with a few casual words? Do you think that's possible?"

Hearing that Hai Bodong had no intention of handing over the Fragmented Map, Yan Lin was not surprised. He merely sighed. "As expected, I still have to fight."

Hai Bodong grew wary. His white hair rose and drifted without wind as extremely cold Dou Qi spread from his body and swirled through the surroundings.

Very quickly, the entire ancient map shop was shrouded in icy mist, accompanied from time to time by the crackling sound of freezing ice.

Yan Lin's expression remained unchanged as he drew a Green Profound Iron Stone Sword from behind his back with his right hand.

He had two such swords, both forged from Azure Profound Iron Stone. They were light, sharp, and indestructible.

They had been gifts from the Great Elder of the Snake People Clan, combat weapons specially selected for Yan Lin.

"Hah!"

Gripping the Green Profound Iron Stone Sword's hilt, Yan Lin slashed downward. Crimson Flame Dou Qi burst forth with the swing of his hand, and the scorching heat instantly evaporated the invading chill around him.

"Since Old Hai refuses to cooperate, then I can only... invite the Ice Emperor to his death!"

A cold gleam flashed in Yan Lin's pale violet eyes. He pointed his sword at Hai Bodong as crimson flames surged forth, blazing around the blade and his body.

Facing the battle-ready Yan Lin, Hai Bodong found the situation troublesome, but he was not afraid.

"Boy, I've lived for so many years. Many people have wanted to kill me, but without exception, they all died."

"The great Ice Emperor is truly impressive. I just wonder how you ended up being sealed by Medusa back then, then hid away in this city selling maps?"

With his sword tip pointed at the ground, Yan Lin sneered as he appeared to praise while actually mocking him.

As the saying went, never slap someone in the face. Yan Lin specialized in slapping faces.

The old man immediately snapped.

Queen Medusa was the woman who terrified him so deeply that he no longer dared to step into the desert.

She was Hai Bodong's unbearable dark past, his nightmare.

Yan Lin's words had struck directly at his sore spot. Even Hai Bodong, normally as steady as an old dog, could not help but flare with rage.

He clenched both hands into fists, struck them together, then pulled them apart. Dou Qi immediately condensed into an ice spear. As Hai Bodong whirled the ice spear with a howl, the freezing mist around him rapidly gathered into diamond-shaped ice thorns.

Mysterious Ice Thorn!

Hai Bodong had snapped and actually launched the first attack.

Under the sweep of Hai Bodong's ice spear, the ice thorns tore through the air like a hundred arrows fired at once, blanketing Yan Lin as they shot toward him.

Eight Trigrams Seal!

Watching the countless ice thorns fly toward him, Yan Lin narrowed his eyes. He formed a hand seal, released the Flame Dou Qi within his body, and rapidly condensed and compressed it into a circle, forming a flame Eight Trigrams Seal several meters wide.

With the flame Eight Trigrams before him, the ice thorns pierced forward with whistling winds. One after another, they slammed into the flame Eight Trigrams, only to melt into water the moment they touched it.

The Eight Trigrams Seal, short for the Eight Trigrams Seal, was a high-grade Xuan-class Dou Technique. It could defend and reflect an enemy's attacks.

However, ice melted when it met fire, so there was no reflection.

Whoosh!

A cold glint flashed through Hai Bodong's eyes, making the savage scar on his face seem even fiercer. He stomped hard on the ground, his body shooting toward Yan Lin like lightning.

Wherever the old man flashed past, icy energy flooded the shop like a tide. A faint, cold mist rapidly filled the entire ancient map shop, obstructing Yan Lin's vision.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Hai Bodong closed in to kill, and Yan Lin raised his sword to meet him.

The two displayed sharp swordsmanship and spearmanship, and the clangor of weapons rang out without end.

The cold mist created by Hai Bodong could obscure Yan Lin's vision and make him lose his sense of direction. If it invaded his body, it could even suppress his reaction speed.

But once Yan Lin unleashed his Dou Qi flames, the cold mist was directly melted away. His powerful Soul Perception gave him a god's-eye view, allowing him to ignore the cold mist and precisely lock onto Hai Bodong.

Yan Lin fought him without yielding the slightest advantage!

Hai Bodong might once have been a Dou Huang expert, and his combat awareness and experience naturally surpassed those of an ordinary Dou Ling.

But over the past few years, Yan Lin had been fighting Dou Huangs.

His combat awareness and combat experience had been forged through consecutive real battles with the Four Great Elders of the Snake People Clan and Queen Medusa.

Every one of them was stronger than Hai Bodong. Every one of them could fight better than him.

Naturally, Yan Lin was no weaker than Hai Bodong.

His combat awareness and experience could both be called Dou Huang-level.

Hai Bodong had no advantage at all in that regard.

After exchanging dozens of moves with Yan Lin, he had gained no advantage whatsoever. Instead, because his realm was lower than Yan Lin's, he was suppressed by him at every turn.