Return! The Liu Family of Shrek City?

At that moment!

A powerful surge of Soul Power suddenly erupted from Bai Lan!

He lowered his head and looked at himself.

Three Soul Rings slowly appeared beneath his feet.

The first—black.

Thirty thousand years, Tiangang Bamboo.

The second—golden-red.

Four hundred thousand years, Void Shadow Empress, Yinye.

The third—golden-red.

Seven hundred thousand years, Lord of Eternal Freeze, Ice Empress.

Three Soul Rings: one black and two golden-red.

They shone in harmony.

The aura they gave off was so powerful that the snow and ice around them froze solid.

Mu En narrowed his eyes.

"The Soul Rings have changed..." he murmured. "The third Soul Ring is seven hundred thousand years old."

He looked at Bai Lan, his gaze complicated.

"Kid, you're only level thirty-seven."

"A level-thirty-seven Soul Elder with a seven-hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring."

"Who would believe that?"

Bai Lan smiled but said nothing.

He felt the power surging through his body.

It was the Ice Empress's power.

His Soul Power hadn't increased.

Since the Ice Empress was the fourth Contract Beast, not the first in the third position, her evolution wouldn't directly cause his Soul Power to soar.

But this seven-hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring was astonishing enough on its own.

"Let's go," he said.

Yinye came over and stood beside him.

The Ice Empress stood on his other side.

The three of them stood shoulder to shoulder.

Watching them, Mu En suddenly felt dazed.

Two Ferocious Beasts over four hundred thousand years old, both in humanoid form, stood on either side of a seven-year-old boy.

One had long silver-purple hair: the Void Shadow Empress.

The other had long ice-blue hair: the Lord of Eternal Freeze.

Either of them alone could shake the entire continent.

And now,

they both called him "Master."

"Elder Mu?" Bai Lan called.

Mu En came back to himself.

"I'm coming."

He walked over and raised a hand.

Soul Power surged.

The four figures vanished from the vast snowy plain.

In front of Ice Peak,

the Snow Empress stood still, gazing in the direction they had disappeared.

The wind lifted her ice-blue hair.

Snowflakes landed on her shoulders, then silently slid away.

She simply stood there.

For a long time.

A very long time.

Then she smiled.

"Bai Lan..."

She softly repeated his name.

"I'll wait for you."

She turned and walked back to Ice Peak.

Behind her, the wind and snow began to rise.

They slowly swallowed her retreating figure.

Shrek Academy · Outside the Main Gate

A flash of light.

Four figures appeared out of nowhere.

Bai Lan steadied himself and looked up.

A massive city gate stood before them.

The three characters "Shrek" gleamed in the sunlight on the city wall.

"So this is Shrek City?" the Ice Empress asked beside him.

Bai Lan turned to look at her.

The Ice Empress stood there, gazing up at the city gate.

Her ice-blue hair shimmered faintly in the sunlight. The Ice Crystal Crown had disappeared, but a faint chill still surrounded her.

"What do you think?" Bai Lan asked.

The Ice Empress fell silent for a second.

Then she smiled.

"It's not what I expected."

Bai Lan raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

The Ice Empress looked at him, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"I thought the human world would be noisy and crowded."

"But this place..."

She looked at the people coming and going by the city gate.

"It seems pretty nice, too."

Yinye walked over to her and said softly,

"Once we go inside, you'll find even more interesting things."

The Ice Empress looked at her.

Yinye smiled.

"For example, our master's dormitory."

"It's not very big, but it's warm."

The Ice Empress froze for a moment.

"Warm?"

She had lived for seven hundred thousand years and had never feared the cold.

But the word "warm" was unfamiliar to her.

Watching the two of them, Bai Lan smiled.

"Let's go."

He started toward the city gate.

Yinye and the Ice Empress followed behind him.

One on either side.

One with silver-purple hair, the other with ice-blue hair.

Their stunning figures drew countless gazes.

But neither of them cared.

They simply followed the seven-year-old boy into this unfamiliar city.

Into a new world that belonged to them.

South City Gate, Shrek City.

The midday sun fell on the ancient city walls, coating the thousand-year-old city in a faint golden glow.

People came and went at the city gate. Vendors' shouts, passersby chatting, and horses' hooves clattering over the stone pavement blended together, playing the bustle of the human world.

Bai Lan stepped through the city gate.

Mu En had left on his own after they returned.

He left the rest of the time to Bai Lan and the two girls.

Yinye walked to his left. Her silver-purple hair shimmered faintly in the sunlight, and her silver-purple eyes calmly took in everything around them.

The Ice Empress walked to his right. Her ice-blue hair fell like a waterfall, each strand seeming to hold tiny crystals of ice.

She lifted her chin slightly as she watched the bustling streets inside the gate, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"So this is a human city?" she asked softly.

Bai Lan nodded. "What do you think?"

The Ice Empress was silent for a second.

"Loud," she said. "But... pretty interesting."

Yinye chuckled softly beside her.

"When I first came here, I thought it was loud, too," she said. "After I got used to it, I found that a bit of bustle was actually nice."

The Ice Empress looked at her, thoughtful.

The three of them continued walking.

But they hadn't gone ten steps

before trouble found them.

"Hold on, the three of you."

A voice came from the side.

Bai Lan stopped and turned to look.

A young man of about seventeen or eighteen was walking toward them.

He wore brocade robes, a jade pendant hung from his waist, and four attendants followed behind him.

Each attendant was burly and gave off a formidable aura. They were at least Soul Ancestors.

The young man came up to them, his gaze passing straight over Bai Lan and settling on Yinye and the Ice Empress.

A flicker of admiration crossed his eyes, followed by undisguised greed.

"Ladies," he began, his face arranged into what he thought was a charming smile. "I'm Liu Minghui, the eldest son of the Liu Family of Shrek City. May I ask your names and where you're from?"

Yinye glanced at him but said nothing.

The Ice Empress didn't even look at him.

Liu Minghui's smile stiffened for a moment.

He was used to throwing his weight around in Shrek City. Relying on the Liu Family's influence, he had never been ignored like this before.

But he looked at the two women before him.

One had silver-purple hair and the cool, distant bearing of a moon palace immortal.

The other had ice-blue hair and breathtaking beauty.

Either of them was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Beauties like these were worth a little extra patience.

"Ladies."

"You look unfamiliar. I take it this is your first time in Shrek City?"

"Why not let me play host and show you around?"

"I know Shrek City well. I can tell you where to have fun and where to find good food."

He spoke again, his smile growing even brighter.

Yinye finally looked at him.

Her silver-purple eyes held no emotion.

She looked at him indifferently, as if he were something of no importance.

"No need," she said.

Liu Minghui's smile stiffened again.

His attendants exchanged glances, their expressions turning unpleasant.

When had their young master ever been turned down like this?

Liu Minghui took a deep breath, suppressing his anger.

At last, his gaze fell on Bai Lan.

"And who might this be...?" he asked, his tone carrying a hint of disdain.

Bai Lan looked at him and said calmly,

"I'm their master."

Liu Minghui paused.

Then he laughed.

There was unmistakable mockery in his smile.

"Master?" He sized Bai Lan up and down. "You?"

A seven-year-old kid, dressed plainly, with an unremarkable aura, could be the master of these two peerless beauties?

"Little friend." He shook his head with a laugh. "Even boasting has its limits. Move aside, and stop getting in the way."