The Arrogant Ice Empress

"Crack~"

As he circulated his soul power, the cooling aura of Ultimate Ice flowed through his entire body, melting the thin layer of ice covering him, and Xu Lanqing finally felt a bit better.

"Huh? An Ultimate Ice martial soul?"

Ice Empress was somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected this human child before her to possess such a martial soul.

"Hmph!"

But the next moment, her surprise turned into anger.

A tangible killing intent mixed with terrifying pressure filled the entire hall, crushing down on Xu Lanqing's body.

He was pressed flat against the ground, unable to move, as an endless chill seeped deep into his marrow, causing his blood to stagnate and leaving his body completely numb.

It wasn't just his body; even his soul felt as if it had been frozen, his thoughts seemingly grinding to a halt.

With his head pressed sideways against the icy floor, Xu Lanqing glanced at the miserable state of the old man and swallowed hard; he had no desire to experience what it felt like to be sliced in two by a sword.

"Sizzle~"

Something seemed to be condensing in the air.

An indescribable fear struck his heart, and as his heart hammered wildly, he hurriedly shouted.

"Wait!"

The moment the words left his lips, an ice-blue sword tip appeared abruptly right in front of his forehead.

Xu Lanqing's pupils dilated, and his racing heart skipped a beat.

"Do you have any last words?"

A cold, pure voice drifted down from above Xu Lanqing.

The sharp sword tip rested against the skin of his forehead, causing a faint, stinging pain.

Xu Lanqing suddenly snapped back to reality, his body relaxing as he gasped for air, the breath he exhaled turning into fine ice shards in the frigid air.

The feeling of being alive was truly wonderful!

"Could you move the sword away first? I'm afraid that if your hand slips, I'll be gone."

Xu Lanqing gave an answer that didn't address the question; as long as he wasn't dead yet, there was still a chance.

"Then go ahead and die right now!"

Ice Empress's voice was as sharp as a blade, and the sword tip pierced his skin.

"Wait!"

Xu Lanqing shouted again, his voice filled with indignation.

"I am your savior! If it weren't for my help, you would have already been sealed and captured by that old man!

Then you would have been trapped in a seal forever, waiting to become someone else's soul ring, soul bone, or martial soul, unable to even put up a fight!

I saved you, and now you want to repay kindness with enmity?"

This was essentially holding a favor over her head, but he spoke with righteous confidence.

"That is why you are not dead yet, and why you can still spout so much nonsense. Besides."

Ice Empress paused, her tone filled with fury.

"You humans hunt soul beasts; not one of you is any good, you all deserve to die!"

Xu Lanqing was left speechless.

How was he supposed to respond to that? He couldn't exactly deny the facts, and she wasn't a fool.

So, it seemed he was going to die after all; whether sooner or later, death was inevitable.

He didn't want to die in this godforsaken place.

He struggled to lift his head, ignoring the stinging pain of the sword tip cutting through his skin; the beads of blood that emerged froze instantly and rolled down his face.

The scene that met his eyes was so shocking that he forgot what he had intended to say.

A pair of flawless, jade-like feet hovered less than a meter above his head.

The small, exquisite feet were not only as lustrous as jade but also as white as snow, as if carved from a single piece of mutton-fat jade.

If only he could play with them to his heart's content...

Xu Lanqing hurriedly shook his head, banishing the strange thought from his mind; what time was it, to be thinking of such things?

Honestly, was he really that kind of person?

He shifted his gaze upward.

The embryo, which had originally been a mass of white airflow, had transformed into the shape of a human.

She was a young girl of seventeen or eighteen, with long, snow-white hair cascading down behind her to her feet, and sky-blue eyes so ethereal and clear that they seemed capable of seeing through everything in the world.

Her slender, delicate figure was flawless, and although her simple white dress lacked any ornamentation, it made her appear incredibly noble and stunningly beautiful.

Xu Lanqing's lips parted slightly as he stared in a daze; he was completely mesmerized.

Honestly, in both of his lives, he had never seen a woman so beautiful and with such an aura.

In an instant, he felt as if he had lived his life in vain.

He subconsciously blurted out, "So beautiful..."

"Have you seen enough?"

The Ice Empress's stunning face remained unmoved. Holding an ice-blue longsword, her cold eyes stared at him indifferently, her tone aggressive.

"So, have you thought of your last words?"

Xu Lanqing finally snapped back to reality, his mouth twitching.

Fine, no matter how beautiful a person is, if they want your life, they immediately lose their appeal.

"You can't deny that I saved you, right? Otherwise, the Ice Empress, head of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, would have died in such a humiliating way, unable to even take revenge. So, can't we just talk properly? Must you bring up death in every other sentence?"

The Ice Empress's sky-blue eyes lowered slightly, a flicker of surprise flashing through them.

"You know who I am?"

Even that old man with the Title Douluo rank couldn't recognize her, yet this child actually knew.

"Don't paint yourself as so noble; you were only doing it for self-preservation."

Although the Ice Empress was a spirit beast, it didn't mean she was dull. She only needed to think for a moment to understand the situation.

Having lived for hundreds of thousands of years, even a pig would have become a spirit by now.

"Furthermore, I am curious: how did a weak human like you appear here? Don't you dare tell me this is a coincidence!"

Xu Lanqing was speechless. You've already stolen my lines, how am I supposed to answer?

"Don't worry about how I appeared. Shouldn't you be worried about yourself right now?"

He shifted his body uncomfortably to find a better position, as the surrounding heaven and earth energy had become restless.

"The process of a spirit beast reincarnating as a human is irreversible. This is an ironclad rule. Even for you, Ice Empress, if this process is interrupted, you will inevitably suffer a fatal backlash. If I'm not mistaken, you are already losing control of your own body, aren't you?"

"So what if I am?"

Xu Lanqing was right. After being interrupted by the old man using the God-Sealing Platform, her fate had already been sealed: death.

She didn't understand. The barrier she had painstakingly set up could absorb the energy of this region to strengthen its defense, making it endless. Unless a Limit Douluo were present, it should never have been broken.

Yet, it had been breached by a small tray. She couldn't fathom it and could only blame her own bad luck.

"So what? Don't you want to live?"

Xu Lanqing's emotions were intense, as if his reaction were more dramatic than if he were the one dying.

However, if the Ice Empress died, the explosion from her seven-hundred-thousand-year cultivation would likely leave not even ashes of Xu Lanqing.

"Live? You know this is an ironclad rule; how could I possibly live?"

The Ice Empress's eyes were desolate.

Spirit beasts could only choose to reincarnate as humans after reaching one hundred thousand years. After failing to overcome her seven-hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation, she had exhausted all her efforts to choose this path of reincarnation.

Was it not because she was unwilling to give up, wanting to defy fate and live on?

She wanted to defy fate, but fate always played jokes on her.

Xu Lanqing felt the pressure on his body ease slightly.

He smiled. "But rules are meant to be broken by people. There are exceptions to everything, and I happen to have a way to let you live!"

The Ice Empress froze, as if she had just heard the greatest joke in the world.

Her soft lips curled into undisguised mockery.

"You? I admit you know quite a lot, but even I have no solution. What could a human child like you possibly do?!"

Xu Lanqing's eyes, sparkling like stars, stared into the Ice Empress's beautiful gaze, earnest and serious.

"You're right, I don't have a way, but my teacher does!"

The Ice Empress was stunned, her long, narrow eyes locking with his, remaining silent for a long time.

The air fell into a sudden stillness.

She lifted her head, her lips moving slightly.

"Even if I die, I will never accept the pity and charity of a human!"