Running Away Without Even Calling Me!

About fifteen minutes later.

When the last wave of snow slowly slid down the slope and finally came to a halt at the foot of the mountain, the ice plains regained a strange sort of calm.

The avalanche was over.

The once undulating terrain of the ice plains had been completely transformed.

Countless ice pillars and hills had been buried, leaving only scattered pointed tips exposed.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but deathly white silence, as though the earth-shattering disaster had never happened.

Yet the resilience of life always revealed itself in the cruelest environments.

"Rustle, rustle—"

A snowdrift somewhere suddenly shifted, and a soul beast struggled free from the snow. It shook the powder from its body before fleeing in panic.

Farther away, a massive Ice Plain Mammoth heaved its back out of the snow. It had been lucky, only half its body had been buried. After struggling a few times, it broke free, letting out a long cry of survival before quickly lumbering away on heavy feet.

More fortunate soul beasts crawled out of the snow one after another. Most were injured; some limped, while others still had icicles clinging to their bodies. Yet all of them desperately fled into the distance.

For the moment, this region had become a forbidden zone for life, but it had also become a "buffet" for the survivors.

Beneath a slope buried under snow, rubble, and broken ice pillars, several slender deer legs covered in ice crystals protruded from a snowdrift, twitching weakly.

It was an Ice Horn Deer. It had failed to escape the avalanche and had been buried alive.

Just then, three small mounds suddenly rose from the nearby snow.

"Crack, crack—"

Three tiny scorpions, emerald green all over as if carved from jade, crawled out of the snow.

They were less than half a meter long, their tail hooks crystalline and translucent as they gave off faint chilly mist. They were one of the most common hunters of the Far North—the Ice Jade Scorpions.

The three young Ice Jade Scorpions shook the snow from their bodies, their tiny green eyes warily scanning their surroundings.

After confirming there was no danger, they quickly noticed the Ice Horn Deer with its legs exposed nearby.

"Chirp!"

One Ice Jade Scorpion excitedly waved its pincers, signaling to its companions.

The other two also chirped happily. Avalanches were terrifying, but they left behind plenty of "spoils"!

This Ice Horn Deer did not seem to have fully breathed its last. It was the freshest possible meal!

The three little ones swiftly crawled over and began digging away the snow around the Ice Horn Deer's exposed legs.

Their pincers were small but extremely sharp, cutting through frozen snow as easily as tofu. Before long, half of the Ice Horn Deer's body had been dug out.

Just as they were about to enjoy this unexpected feast—

"Crack—!"

A crisp, nerve-wracking sound of breaking came from the slope nearby.

One of the young Ice Jade Scorpions looked up.

A thick icicle on the slope had caught a gigantic ice boulder weighing several tons during the avalanche. Now, it could no longer bear the weight and snapped at its base!

The unsupported ice boulder began rolling down the steep snowy slope!

It was slow at first, but it quickly accelerated, rolling faster and faster as it crushed toward the three young Ice Jade Scorpions!

"Chirp—!"

That young Ice Jade Scorpion fiercely yanked at the pincer of the companion beside it, dragging it away to flee to the side!

The other Ice Jade Scorpion had been focused on digging through the snow and was a beat too slow.

By the time it looked up, the massive ice boulder was less than ten meters away!

A huge shadow fell over it, and the terror of death instantly seized it!

It froze.

Its little green eyes went wide, its pincers stiffened in midair, and its body could not move under the weight of its extreme fear.

It could only instinctively close its eyes and cover its head with both pincers, preparing to meet its fate of being crushed into pulp.

However—

The agonizing pain and crushing force it had expected never came.

The young Ice Jade Scorpion cautiously opened one eye.

Then, it saw a scene it would never forget for the rest of its life.

The enormous ice boulder that could have crushed it into powder was suspended less than a foot above its head!

And holding up the massive boulder was a pair of human hands!

It was a human boy who looked only twelve or thirteen years old.

His long hair was somewhat disheveled from the intense movement just now, but his eyes shone with astonishing brightness.

Even more strangely, his arms were currently emitting an interwoven glow of four colors.

Jiang Bai gritted his teeth, veins bulging.

The boulder's downward momentum was too fierce. His feet had already sunk deep into the snow, and his knees were slightly bent. It was obvious that he was supporting it with great difficulty.

He lowered his head and looked at the stunned young Ice Jade Scorpion.

"What are you standing there for? Go!"

The young Ice Jade Scorpion snapped out of its daze.

It looked at Jiang Bai, then at the massive boulder hanging above its head. Its green eyes were filled with disbelief. I—I was saved by a human?

But it had no time to think.

Its instinct for survival drove it to crawl away quickly, chasing after the two companions who had fled.

As it crawled, it fumed indignantly.

Those disloyal bastards! They ran away without even calling me!

When I get back, I'm definitely reporting them to the clan leader!

Watching the young Ice Jade Scorpion escape safely, Jiang Bai let out a breath.

As he relaxed, however, he suddenly felt that the pressure on his arms—seemed to have lightened?

Hmm? No, it was not an illusion. It really had become lighter!

He subconsciously eased his strength.

"Crack crack crack!!!"

A rapid series of dense cracking sounds suddenly came from inside the ice boulder!

Immediately afterward, spiderweb-like cracks spread across the surface of the entire massive boulder!

"What?!"

"Boom—!!!"

The ice boulder weighing several tons suddenly exploded right before his eyes without any warning!

It had not merely split into several large chunks. It had been utterly pulverized, turning into countless fist-sized pieces of ice and even finer powder that poured down.

Ice dust filled the air.

Jiang Bai stood there, somewhat dumbfounded.

He looked down at his hands, then at the pile of shattered ice by his feet. How had the boulder, hard as iron just moments ago, suddenly—crumbled into fragments?

Jiang Bai abruptly raised his head.

As the ice dust gradually dispersed, a petite figure had appeared beside him at some point.

She was a girl who looked less than one meter sixty tall, yet her face was so exquisite it seemed beyond mortal creation.

Her fair, delicate skin resembled the finest mutton-fat jade. Four emerald-green demonic markings lay on each cheek, but rather than appearing eerie, they added a touch of mysterious beauty.

Her dark green hair was tied into two playful twin ponytails that fell behind her.

She wore a fitted emerald-green dress, its hem reaching only to her knees and exposing her slender, fair calves.

She withdrew her hand and placed both hands on her hips.

A pair of golden eyes quietly watched Jiang Bai, holding a hint of scrutiny, a hint of curiosity, and a hint of—aloof indifference.

Jiang Bai's heart gave a heavy thump.

This appearance—

Ice Empress.

Jiang Bai's mind raced, but he maintained a calm expression.

He brushed the ice dust from his clothes and slightly cupped his hands toward Ice Empress.

"Thank you for intervening, Senior."

Ice Empress said nothing.

She sized Jiang Bai up and down, a flicker of puzzlement passing through her golden eyes.

A human, and one who appeared to be only at the Soul Ancestor level—how had he entered the core region of the Far North?

That fluctuation of power just now—four kinds of dragon aura? Interesting.

More importantly, this human had just saved one of her clan's young.