Soul Tools

Xu Lanqing stepped over the Pangolin's corpse and walked up to the Level 8 Fixed Soul Guidance Shell. A cold metallic aura swept over him.

His fingers brushed across the intricate, exquisite Core Array engraved on its surface. The metal's chill crept up his arm and stabbed into his mind, bringing a faint ache.

In his view, Soul Tools could basically be divided into two categories.

The first was Fixed Soul Cannonballs.

They were fired using fixed Soul Tools. As long as they were loaded with enough Milk Bottles, even a one- or two-ring Soul Master could fire a Level Nine Fixed Soul Cannonball.

They consumed little Soul Power, and their range could reach hundreds of kilometers.

They were absolute weapons on the battlefield. One shot could leave devastation in its wake.

Their only drawbacks were the difficulty of making them and their exorbitant cost.

The other category consisted of all other Soul Tools.

A user had to reach the corresponding level or possess equivalent strength to use a given Soul Tool.

Of course, there were some special Soul Tools, such as the Starry Night Guardian and Red Dust Protection Xu Lanqing carried.

Fixed Soul Cannonballs of Level 8 and above all had special functions. Some might create shock waves, others might conceal themselves, and still others might explode...

Their functions, suitable environments, and power all varied.

Judging by the Core Array engraved on the one before him, this one had an explosive attribute. Its power was enough to destroy a small city.

Its area of effect could reach dozens of square kilometers.

Luckily, Snow Empress and the others were with him. Otherwise, he would have been poisoned to death today if the explosion didn't kill him first.

"Can you remove the ice inside without damaging its structure?" Xu Lanqing withdrew his fingers and turned to Snow Empress.

A free weapon like this was too good to pass up.

"No problem."

As soon as Snow Empress spoke, wisps of white, icy air seeped out from the metal surface of the Explosive Shell.

Xu Lanqing put the Explosive Shell, now restored to its original state, into his Storage Ring. He would ask Kong Deming for a fixed Soul Tool later.

"Delicious... slurp..."

Following the voice, Xu Lanqing saw Xiao Bai devouring the dishes on the table. He hadn't even spared the pot of chicken soup.

"Is he all right?" Xu Lanqing asked worriedly.

He was already pretty dim-witted. What if all that food made him too stupid to function?

"Burp~~"

Xiao Bai rubbed his belly and leaned back in his chair, looking thoroughly satisfied. "That was so good. I've never eaten anything this delicious. Burp~"

"Don't mind him. He won't eat himself to death."

Ice Empress turned to ask, "What are you going to do when that so-called Third Brother of yours shows up?"

"What else can I do? I'll just deal with it as it comes." Xu Lanqing shrugged, looking unconcerned.

"He's already walking all over you and throwing his weight around. You can put up with that?"

A cold glint flashed in Ice Empress's phoenix eyes, along with a bone-chilling murderous intent. "If you ask me, just kill him and be done with it!"

"Bing'er!"

Snow Empress's clear voice carried a stern note. Then she apologized to Xu Lanqing. "Sorry. Bing'er's just like that. Don't take it to heart."

"Hmph!"

At Snow Empress's scolding, Ice Empress's resolve immediately crumbled. She turned her head away and fell silent.

Some people really did know how to keep each other in check.

Seeing Xiao Bai's blissful expression, Ice Empress cracked him on the head.

"Eat, eat, eat. That's all you ever do! Look at how fat you've gotten!"

Xiao Bai looked at Ice Empress innocently, his small eyes full of confusion. What had he done wrong now?

Poor Xiao Bai. He'd gotten caught in the crossfire just for sitting there.

"You can try. I hope you succeed, too. But he won't be easy to kill. Besides, we're in the imperial palace. You might get blasted to bits before you even manage it." Xu Lanqing shot back at Ice Empress.

Before Ice Empress could retort, he smiled at Snow Empress and said, "You don't need to apologize or thank me for the way we are with each other."

"What kind of relationship do you two have?"

Ice Empress's voice suddenly rose. She clung tightly to Snow Empress's arm and watched Xu Lanqing warily, like a cat guarding its food.

"Exactly what you think," Xu Lanqing said flirtatiously.

Ice Empress narrowed her amber eyes, which gleamed beneath the Soul Guidance Lamp. She looked Xu Lanqing up and down, and the atmosphere gradually grew tense.

Snow Empress parted her red lips, about to speak.

Suddenly, Ice Empress burst out laughing. Her smile bloomed like a flower as she clutched her stomach, doubled over, and laughed until tears welled in her eyes. The neckline of her green dress gaped slightly.

Xu Lanqing glanced down at her without drawing attention to himself. He almost got lost in the view and couldn't pull himself back. Well, she wasn't as big as Snow Empress.

Her long, moist phoenix eyes flicked down to Xu Lanqing's crotch. She said scornfully, "You? You haven't even grown hair there yet, have you?"

"I..."

Xu Lanqing was momentarily speechless. He felt as though he'd taken ten thousand points of damage and couldn't help clutching his chest. It hurt.

"All right, Bing'er."

Snow Empress looked at the two of them, her face full of helplessness.

"By the way, my teacher's Soul Tools for you are still with me. I'll give them to you now." Xu Lanqing chose to change the subject.

"Soul Tools? What are those?" Ice Empress asked. Having gotten the better of him, she was in an excellent mood. A faint smile lingered on her usually icy, pretty face, like a snow-covered mountain thawing.

"You should smile more often. Otherwise, what a waste of that face. You're always scowling, so cold you'd think I owed you money," Xu Lanqing retorted casually.

Ice Empress's smile vanished at once.

Xu Lanqing set out the nine Soul Tools on the table one by one. He noticed that they came with instruction manuals, so Kong Deming had clearly thought things through.

He handed the manuals to Snow Empress and smiled. "Six Soul Guidance Shields and three offensive Soul Tools. They're all yours."

Snow Empress read through the manuals. Surprise flickered in her eyes, then she said to Xu Lanqing, "Thank you."

Ice Empress leaned in to look, too. Doubt filled her voice. "Are these Soul Tools really as miraculous as the manuals say?"

Xu Lanqing ignored Ice Empress. He looked past Snow Empress's peerless face and gazed into her eyes. "I told you, you don't have to thank me. What's mine is yours."

He paused. "And what's yours is mine."

A faint, unnatural blush appeared on Snow Empress's flawless face, and her heartbeat quickened slightly.

She didn't know why, but in front of the boy, she felt no defenses at all. Instead, it was as if a bridge had been built from her heart outward, letting him cross without hindrance.

Ice Empress sensed something was off, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. She quickly changed the subject.

"Come on, let me see what these Soul Tools can do."

She picked up one of the Soul Guidance Shields, a metal platform about the size of her palm, and handed it to Xiao Bai. "Use your Soul Power to activate it. I'll punch it and see what happens."

"Huh? Oh, all right."

Xiao Bai quickly did as told. A yellow Soul Guidance Shield immediately spread outward from him, extending to a distance of three meters.

Ice Empress raised her right fist and swung it at the Soul Guidance Shield with no flourish and not a trace of Soul Power.

"Vmm~"

Her slender fist struck the shield, and a low hum rang out.

Ripples spread across the Soul Guidance Shield from the point of impact. Though it shook violently, it stubbornly held firm.

A flicker of surprise crossed Ice Empress's eyes. She put more force into her fist, and Soul Power surged through her like a tide.

"Crack—"

Countless tiny fractures appeared across the violently shaking Soul Guidance Shield. The next moment, it burst apart with a bang, scattering into fragments.

"Barely acceptable. It can withstand one blow at sixty percent of my strength," Ice Empress said coolly.

Xu Lanqing curled his lip. Did she have to show off?

Still, he was impressed. The Soul Guidance Shield adjusted to the user's strength.

Moreover, as long as its Core Array wasn't overloaded, the Soul Guidance Shield could be used repeatedly.

Xiao Bai had needed Ice Empress to use sixty percent of her strength to break it. That was already quite impressive. It might even come in handy at a critical moment.

"As for these offensive Soul Tools, we can test them another time. There's nowhere suitable here." Xu Lanqing glanced at the Soul Tools on the table and said to Snow Empress, "There are three for each of you, so put them away for now."

"Mm."

Snow Empress gave a slight nod, but then she paused and looked at the Soul Tools on the table, unsure where to put them.

The offensive Soul Tools in particular were each three or four meters long.

Just then, another guard returned.

"Your Highness, I've prepared what you asked for."