Return to Sun Moon Academy, the Waters Run Too Cold

The fusion of the Two Emperors of Ice and Snow went smoothly. Nowhere under heaven were there two beings more compatible than them.

A Soul Ring blazing with dazzling light rose beneath the Snow Empress's feet. It was a soul-stirring scarlet, radiating boundless majesty.

The Snow Empress was surprised when the aura belonging to a god flashed by, but she could only focus on the fusion before her.

Crystalline diamond-like particles emerged across her fair palm.

The Snow Empress silently sensed the changes.

After the fusion, Emperor Palm: Great Snow No Cold, one of her Three Ultimates of the Snow Emperor, had become even more terrifying.

Meanwhile,

Xu Tinglan suppressed the excitement in his heart.

Thinking it through carefully, wasn't Elder Yi's use of sacred attributes to drive Necromancy also a form of yin and yang harmonizing?

Soul Spirits could also help him fuse with Soul Beasts, further increasing the potential of his martial soul.

After all,

after Beibei fused with a Heavenly Dragon Horse, his martial soul had completely transformed into a Radiant Sacred Dragon.

Xu Tinglan increasingly felt that the road ahead was becoming broader and broader.

The Snow Empress walked over step by step. The blood-red color of her fourth Soul Ring quietly faded, turning pitch-black.

The youth was somewhat startled.

"What is this?"

The Snow Empress lifted her head slightly. "I used Wind Snow Ice Crystal to refract light and change the color of my Soul Rings."

She said with interest,

"Did you really think my First Soul Ring was merely a yellow hundred-year Soul Ring?"

As soon as she said that,

before Xu Tinglan's astonished gaze,

her Soul Rings transformed one after another, becoming four scarlet Soul Rings. An imposing aura unfolded from the girl.

Apart from the fourth one, which bore golden patterns, the others were simply scarlet Soul Rings.

But those were still hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings!

Xu Tinglan instinctively turned his head away.

This was absurd.

She had cheats.

After settling matters in the Far North, they drove their Soul Tool back into Sun Moon territory.

Nothing else went wrong along the way.

It was just that the ice cream in the girl's hand kept changing, bought again and again.

Xu Tinglan changed into another set of clothes.

The two sat in a Soul Tool Carriage, traveling toward Sun Moon Academy within Ming Capital.

Eighteen days had now passed since they had left the academy.

Xu Tinglan figured that his adoptive father had already returned as well.

Once he entered the range of a Signal Tower, he first replied to messages from his adoptive father, Xiao Hongchen, and Jiang Nannan.

Jiang Nannan was the first to respond.

After telling her he was safe, Jiang Nannan recounted what had happened afterward.

[Xu Jing forcibly entered Sun Moon Academy. Elder Kong and Dean Jing were enraged and erected an execution platform in the Imperial Capital, where Dean Jing personally carried out his death by slow slicing.]

[Elder Kong was merciful and changed it to flaying at the last minute.]

[Other than that, no one dared step forward to plead for him.]

Seeing those words, Xu Tinglan instinctively felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Compared to a gunshot to the head or flaying, death by slow slicing was already a merciful method of execution.

The Snow Empress's brows furrowed slightly.

"What's wrong?"

The youth let out a breath. "That Level 8 Soul Engineer who acted against us is dead."

The Snow Empress nodded in understanding.

He continued.

"He was flayed to death."

A trace of pity unconsciously appeared in the Snow Empress's eyes. She said nothing more and merely turned her gaze toward the window.

Xu Tinglan clearly realized what kind of era he lived in.

Even the Sun Moon Empire, which was gradually becoming civilized, still had brutal punishments.

Yes,

Xu Jing truly had brought death upon himself.

Such punishments could also deter petty criminals.

Forget it.

He stopped thinking about it and shook his head.

In the end, what did it have to do with him?

He quickly adjusted his mindset.

Xu Tinglan inexplicably recalled a saying: to live comfortably, one only needed to do two things.

None of your damn business and none of my damn business.

If he had not possessed a Ninth-Grade Soul Tool, he would have been the one to die.

He should cast off the childish mindset of being a "student" in his previous life as soon as possible.

Thinking that way immediately made him feel much better.

The carriage continued onward.

As the sun was about to set, the gates of Sun Moon Academy appeared before him.

Jiang Nannan stood at the academy entrance.

Her pure white uniform patterned with Sun Moon motifs made her look especially well-behaved.

She leaned against the wall with her hands behind her back, lightly tapping the ground with her toes and glancing toward the road from time to time.

The wind lifted the tips of the girl's golden hair.

She unconsciously pressed her lips together, her eyelashes fluttering like a fledgling bird waiting eagerly for someone's return.

Before Xu Tinglan left Sun Moon territory,

he had spent fifty Gold Soul Coins to have several people each deliver a letter, ensuring that the letters would reach their destinations without error.

It was to tell Jiang Nannan and the others that he was safe and had merely gone out to lie low for a while.

For delivering letters, those Gold Soul Coins were already an enormous sum.

But to Xu Tinglan, it was nothing at all.

He stepped down from the carriage, and the moment his feet touched the ground, he met a pair of bright eyes.

The instant Jiang Nannan turned around, she froze slightly.

Then the girl's eyes slowly reddened.

She bit her lip, jogged over, stopped in front of Xu Tinglan, and examined him several times from head to toe.

Her gaze moved from his face to his arms, then returned to his face.

"You... weren't hurt, were you?" Her voice was quiet.

Xu Tinglan shook his head. "I'm fine."

She circled to his side and looked him over again, confirming that he had no injuries.

Only then did she pat her chest and let out a long breath.

Jiang Nannan turned her face away, her voice muffled. "Why were you gone for so long?"

Seeing the slight redness at the tip of her nose, Xu Tinglan's heart softened as well. "We were delayed on the road."

"Mm."

She raised her head to look at him. Her eyes were misty, yet she tried to curl her lips into a smile. "It's good that you're back."

That forced, casual smile had not even fully formed before the wind scattered it.

She gently leaned into his arms, resting her forehead in the hollow of his shoulder.

Xu Tinglan raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, then finally placed it lightly on the girl's shoulder.

Neither of them said much. The wind curled around them as though deliberately leaving them a quiet space.

After catching up,

Xu Tinglan first had a hearty meal in the cafeteria.

He then returned to his dormitory to wash up. His roommate had not returned yet and was probably still meditating in the Auxiliary Cultivation Room.

After tidying himself up, he prepared to head for the Zero Experimental Zone to see his adoptive father.

That was the bare minimum of courtesy.

Upon learning that he had returned, Xu Tianran also sent someone to offer condolences, along with some supplements and a letter.

After handling all the miscellaneous matters,

with the remaining time,

Xu Tinglan planned to devote himself fully to preparing for the Continental Youth Spirit Master Tournament. His adoptive father's intention was that he wanted to make a trip to Star Luo City as well.

To see the state of the world today,

and just how many talented youths there truly were.

Since that was the case, Xu Tinglan had another reason he could not afford to lose.

Time passed bit by bit.

The uproar over Xu Jing breaking into Sun Moon Academy and being flayed to death completely faded away.

No one spoke up for him, and he gradually disappeared from memory.

The Southern King's title had now been reduced by one rank.

At the present Southern Marquis Mansion,

a middle-aged man sat in the seat of honor. His figure was somewhat plump, and he reclined against a comfortable fur-backed chair.

He ate honeyed fruit, his gaze passing through more than a dozen dancing girls while his thoughts drifted far away.

"Jing really was foolish. If a child dies, you can have another. If a wife dies, you can marry another."

Xu Nan forced his small eyes open, a hint of mockery on his face.

"But once your life is gone, it's truly gone."

"What the hell are you, Xu Jing?"

"You kept wanting to do stupid things that would wipe out three clans. How could you know how deep the waters of this Imperial City are, or how cold they run?"