Chapter 25

I don't know how much time had passed.

"Ahem, well, Ice Emperor, I'm very sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if you could take me out of here first?"

Xu Lanqing spoke up at a very inopportune moment, shattering the warm and tranquil scene.

There was no helping it; looking at the Ice Emperor like this, she would likely stay this way until the end of time. Was he supposed to just keep waiting here forever?

Besides, he had things he absolutely had to do; he couldn't just remain here indefinitely.

"We will decide once the Ice Empress wakes up."

The Ice Emperor opened her phoenix eyes and cast a glance at Xu Lanqing.

"What if she doesn't wake up for years? Am I supposed to wait here for years?

I have my own matters to attend to, and your heavenly tribulation is coming soon, isn't it? Aren't you worried about that?

If the Ice Empress wakes up and sees that you didn't survive the tribulation, wouldn't she be very sad and heartbroken?"

Xu Lanqing tried to persuade her with earnest, heartfelt words; he had known things wouldn't be this simple.

"How I act is none of your business to criticize."

A voice that seemed capable of freezing a person spilled from the Ice Emperor's lips. She looked at Xu Lanqing, shifted the topic, and spoke in an overbearing tone:

"What could you possibly have to do? Weren't you being hunted down when you came here?

Since it happened once, it will happen a second and third time... Now that you have a connection with the Ice Empress, for her safety, you should just stay here. Rest assured, I won't let you starve to death.

As for the heavenly tribulation, there are at least a dozen years left. We can talk about that when the time comes."

A dozen years?

Xu Lanqing's face turned green. In that much time, who knew how many opportunities would have already slipped through his fingers.

He puffed out his chest and argued his case:

"My teacher fell into a deep slumber to complete the ritual; how could I stay here with a clear conscience?

Furthermore, the things that both my teacher and you need are in the same place, but I am not the only one who knows about that location. Delays lead to complications; what if someone else gets there first?

Besides, the Soul Spirit Method also needs to be promoted in the human world."

The Ice Emperor's beautiful eyes flickered. She recalled the images she had seen in the projection and glanced at the ice-blue crystal once more.

Soul beasts over one hundred thousand years old were never lacking in intelligence; some were even as sharp as humans by the time they reached ten thousand years.

She might be a bit overbearing, but she was reasonable and understood the importance of repaying kindness.

Although the favor was owed to the Ice Empress, in her eyes, the Ice Empress's affairs were her own.

She didn't want the Ice Empress to be in a difficult position upon waking, to say nothing of the Soul Spirit Method.

Moreover, it concerned her own life. Even if she spoke of it lightly, she was actually very concerned.

After pondering for a while, she asked:

"What about the Ice Empress? Besides, I cannot stay in the human world for too long."

In this world, although the Ice Emperor was already a top-tier powerhouse, there were many who were stronger than her.

It would be fine if she stayed in the Far North, but if she were discovered in the human world, she would be a walking one-hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone.

Countless people would surely be driven by greed to hunt her down. She was confident in her strength, but she wasn't foolish enough to stand against the entire human world.

Xu Lanqing smiled, his tone relaxed:

"I've already thought about this problem. There is a way, though it might be a bit of a grievance to you."

"What way?"

"My teacher once created an Undead Plane, though it is incomplete. I can open the Undead Gate to let you and the Ice Empress enter, but my strength is too weak to control the situation inside, so I need you to look after the Ice Empress."

A look of shock flashed in the Ice Emperor's eyes.

As expected of a powerhouse at the divine sense level, he was actually able to create a plane; it far exceeded her imagination.

She couldn't help but sigh that humans were truly gifted by heaven. It was impossible for her to condense her forty thousand years of spiritual essence into a divine sense, yet humans could achieve it in a mere hundred years, or even become stronger.

Though she envied it, if she had to choose, she would still continue to face her heavenly tribulation. After all, humans only lived for a few hundred years, and how many could actually reach that step? She knew she couldn't do it herself.

Xu Lanqing asked: "What do you think?"

The Ice Emperor, having regained her composure, did not answer. There was a hint of hesitation in her eyes.

Xu Lanqing thought for a moment and immediately knew what she was worried about. He gave a faint smile:

"Don't worry, I won't just wash my hands of you once I put you inside. My fate is now tied to the Ice Empress—we prosper together and suffer together. Besides, I need your help as well.

I know you think humans are despicable and shameless, and I won't claim to be a good person. I don't know what others might do, but I can swear to the heavens in the name of my martial soul that I will never deceive or betray you!

So, you can take a gamble. The right to believe or not lies with you."

The Ice Emperor stared into his clear, sincere eyes that did not shy away. The boy's earnest voice reached her ears.

They say the eyes are the windows to a person's soul, where one can see into their heart.

At the very least, the Ice Emperor could not see any issues with him, and the guard in her heart quietly diminished.

However, looking at the face of Xu Lanqing, while he was quite handsome, she found him somewhat repulsive and felt rather displeased.

Especially when thinking about the matters between him and the Ice Empress, the displeasure already in her heart grew even stronger.

In her heart, the Ice Empress was like a holy and cold snow lotus, but now, this snow lotus had been stained with specks of mud, which was incredibly eyesore.

In truth, there was also some jealousy and envy mixed in.

She also wanted to have her soul connected with the Ice Empress; why did it have to be this human?

Thus, she silently walked toward Xu Lanqing, her expressionless, pretty face filled with murderous intent.

She wouldn't kill him, but, heh...

Xu Lanqing's eyelids twitched. Watching the Ice Emperor draw closer and closer, a sense of unease rose in his heart.

"Hey, what are you doing?

You... don't come over!

We can talk things out, don't resort to violence!

Ah!

If you're going to hit me, hit me, but don't hit the face!

Ah!!!"

"Hoo~"

The Ice Emperor let out a long sigh of relief. Mm, that felt good.

The stifling frustration that had been stuck in her chest instantly dissipated without a trace. Her rosy lips curled into a beautiful arc, adding a touch of vitality to the cold, grand hall.

"You are too weak. I am merely training your survival skills."

"Hiss~~"

Xu Lanqing had thoroughly experienced the "intimacy" of physical contact with the Ice Emperor.

He huddled in the corner, looking at the bruised, swollen pig-head face reflected in the mirror-like ice surface, wanting to cry but having no tears.

I believe your big head!

If you wanted to beat me up, just say so; why look for an excuse?

Though he thought this in his heart, he didn't dare to speak out loud, fearing that if she got the wrong idea, she would give him another "training session."

However, this could be considered a good thing; at the very least, they had grown closer, and there wasn't as much of a barrier between them as before.

It was just that the method of getting closer was a bit unique, and his handsome face had suffered for it. Hopefully, he wouldn't be disfigured.

"Wait here. I'm going out to take care of some business."

The Ice Emperor said with a calm expression, as if nothing had just happened. As soon as her voice fell, only a lingering afterimage remained in place.

Xu Lanqing felt a surge of joy in his heart, knowing that she had agreed. Suddenly, even the pain felt much less, though when he touched it with his hand, it seemed to hurt even more.

"Hiss~ She really was ruthless."

Sun Moon Empire, Mingdu, Imperial Palace.

Inside the bedchamber of Xu Tianran, the curtains were still drawn tightly shut.

He habitually stayed behind the desk in the darkness, with the candlelight on the desk flickering dimly rather than using soul-guided lamps.

He held the intelligence report sent by his subordinates, reading it carefully. His morbidly pale, handsome face flickered in and out of the dim candlelight.

"My younger brother really has good luck. If his life or death is unknown, that means he isn't dead."

Xu Tianran smiled faintly. A flash of light appeared on his hand, and the paper report instantly turned into ashes.

"What does the Holy Spirit Cult say?"

The figure kneeling before the desk replied, "Because the cult leader and the various Titled Douluo have died, the Holy Spirit Cult is currently leaderless. They say they must wait for the Supreme Cult Leader to emerge from seclusion before making a decision. According to the members of the Holy Spirit Cult who escaped back, the ones who killed their cult leader were from Shrek, and it was a Limit Douluo."

As expected of the number one academy in the world, Shrek, it really is full of surprises.

On this continent, the strongest are still the soul masters, after all.

"Heh..."

Xu Tianran's eyes were deep, making it impossible for anyone to see what he was thinking.