The Ice Emperor Will Never Be a Slave!

"Truly, heroes emerge in their youth; each generation surpasses the last. This old man admits defeat."

Severely wounded, Hai Bodong could no longer suppress the blood surging up his throat and coughed twice. After spitting out the blood, he felt somewhat better, but his wrinkled old face had taken on a sickly pallor, making him look even older.

Yet he did not fly into a rage. He only felt the sorrow and lament of a hero in his twilight years. "I never thought that after living for so many years, I, Hai Bodong, would be reduced to such a sorry state by a junior like you. How truly pathetic."

The Ice Emperor was not someone who could not accept defeat. He could accept his loss, but it still felt terrible.

As the mighty Ice Emperor, he had now actually been defeated by a mere boy. That sense of frustration was beyond words.

His voice also carried an unprecedented weariness.

This weariness came from both his body and his mind.

"Ice Emperor, hand over the Fragmented Map. I can spare your life."

Yan Lin could not understand Hai Bodong's feelings. The battle was over, and he had never wanted Hai Bodong's life. He only wanted the other half of the Fragmented Map and to bring Hai Bodong under his command.

However, the Ice Emperor did not know Yan Lin's true purpose. He assumed everything Yan Lin had done was for the Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map, so he probed, "Kid, is this Fragmented Map very important to you?"

"It has some use."

Yan Lin answered with those four words without hesitation.

The Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map concerned the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint and the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame. Gathering all the fragments would allow one to summon the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint and aid in subduing the Demonic Lotus Flame.

Knowing this, Yan Lin also wanted to gather all the Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Maps.

Naturally, he coveted this Heavenly Flame ranked third on the Heavenly Flame Ranking as well.

But for now, the Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map was of little use to him. Even if he gathered every fragment, with his current strength, he was not qualified to set his sights on the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame.

To the current Yan Lin, this map was therefore not all that important.

What he truly wanted was to bring Hai Bodong under his command.

First, he wanted to beat Xiao Huohuo to the punch and poach this angel investor. Second, he wanted Hai Bodong to help him find the Green Lotus Core Flame.

He only knew the Green Lotus Core Flame's general location, not its exact whereabouts.

An ice-attributed expert, especially a sealed Dou Huang expert like Hai Bodong, should have a special sense for Heavenly Flames.

With his help, finding it would clearly be much easier.

More importantly, the fewer people who knew about the Heavenly Flame, the better. And after finding the Green Lotus Core Flame, he would still need someone to help him subdue it.

Though the Green Lotus Core Flame ranked nineteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, even a Dou Huang expert would be injured trying to subdue and take it away.

In the original timeline, Queen Medusa had been injured when she took the Green Lotus Core Flame away.

Yan Lin knew his strength was inferior to Queen Medusa's. If someone else could take the risk in his place and spare him an injury, he was more than willing.

Better a fellow cultivator die than me!

Hai Bodong was undoubtedly the best choice.

"It has some use? Then why would you go to such lengths?"

Hai Bodong clearly did not believe him.

Though he could not figure out how much Yan Lin valued the Fragmented Map, Yan Lin's willingness to spare him for it made Hai Bodong feel that Yan Lin cared far more about it than he appeared to.

Yan Lin did not explain. He was happy to let Hai Bodong continue misunderstanding, and said, "I'll give you a choice. As long as you hand over the Fragmented Map and agree to one condition, not only will I spare you, I can also undo your seal and restore your Dou Huang strength."

"You can undo the seal on me?!"

Hai Bodong was stunned, then urgently pressed for an answer.

Seeing the old man's barely concealed excitement, Yan Lin revealed a smile that said everything was under his control. He knew exactly how to handle Hai Bodong.

"Whether I can or not, won't you find out once you agree?" Yan Lin said slowly, folding his arms.

He had actually prepared for bringing Hai Bodong under his command long ago.

While he was with the Snake People Clan, Yan Lin had used his status as the Snake People Clan's Saint King to specifically learn Queen Medusa's Snake Seal Curse.

He could now cast the Snake Seal Curse, so he naturally knew how to undo it.

However, because his strength was not as great as Queen Medusa's, he could not remove the seal in one go. But he knew of a gradual method.

This method divided the Snake Seal Curse's removal into three stages.

Each stage would release a portion of the sealed power, but six months had to pass before the next stage could be carried out, until the seal's power was completely removed.

At such a young age, he's already close to breaking through to the Dou Wang realm. He even knows everything about me, and he seems to have some connection to Medusa... Perhaps... he really does have a way.

His cloudy yet shrewd old eyes studied Yan Lin. Hai Bodong began to feel a faint glimmer of hope toward this mysterious youth.

After weighing his options, Hai Bodong took a deep breath and finally asked, "Speak. What's your condition?"

The Ice Emperor knew well that since Yan Lin had gone to such lengths, the condition certainly would not be simple. He had already prepared himself to be taken for a ride.

As long as Yan Lin did not cross his bottom line, the Ice Emperor would not give up even if there was only the slightest possibility.

He had been trapped at the Dou Ling realm for over twenty years, and now he had been defeated by Yan Lin. His desire to break the seal and escape his cage had become even more urgent.

Yan Lin understood this well, but he did not immediately reveal his main purpose.

Negotiation was an art as well.

When you wanted to open a window, you could not simply say you wanted to open a window. You should say that you wanted to tear off the roof.

Until the very last moment, one must never reveal one's hand. That was the art of negotiation.

"I want you to obey me from now on and become my most loyal subordinate," Yan Lin said at once.

A flash of anger crossed Hai Bodong's brow. Without a moment's thought, he rejected it. "Impossible! I, Hai Bodong, will never be a slave."

"Then work for me for ten years." Yan Lin had never expected Hai Bodong to agree, so he continued asking for an outrageous price.

This condition did not cross Hai Bodong's bottom line, but working for Yan Lin for ten years was equivalent to being his unpaid bodyguard for ten years. The Ice Emperor found that hard to accept.

After all, he had spent twenty years preparing to undo the Snake Seal Curse.

Everything was ready but the final push.

If he had to work for Yan Lin for ten years, he might as well rely on himself.

"Ten years is impossible. If you undo my seal, I can do one thing for you and owe you a favor."

Hai Bodong bargained, "You should know what a Dou Huang's favor is worth."

"If I don't undo your seal, are you still a Dou Huang?"

Yan Lin was unconcerned and refused to yield.

There were many things he wanted Hai Bodong to do. He could not settle for merely one Dou Huang favor and have him do only one task.

The Ice Emperor also understood that the man before him would not act without sufficient profit.

Understanding that Yan Lin wanted a higher price, Hai Bodong frowned slightly as he considered it. Then he raised one finger and compromised. "At most one year. For that year, I will follow your orders, and I will hand over the Fragmented Map as well."

Yan Lin thought for a moment before finally nodding. "Fine. One year it is."

It just so happened that he would need one year to remove the Snake Seal Curse from Hai Bodong.

After a year, he could use other methods to make Hai Bodong continue working for him.

He had plenty of ways to keep Hai Bodong in line.