I'm Just Selectively Hiding...

Before setting off for the Far North, to be safe, he spent 3,000 Subversion Points in the System Mall to exchange for a [Peerless Douluo Experience Card], which he clutched in his hand.

Even if I'm going there to woo someone, I must hold the truth in my hand.

Qian Xunji looked at the remaining balance after the system deduction and calculated silently. It wasn't that he wanted to bully others with power, but when facing a seven-hundred-thousand-year-old fierce beast, if one didn't even have the qualifications for an equal dialogue, the other party wouldn't give one the chance to speak at all.

Stepping into the Far North once again, the biting cold wind was still as sharp as a blade.

Qian Xunji navigated the familiar path to the bottomless Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Abyss.

However, when he retracted the Twelve Wings of Light from his back and slowly descended onto the cliff at the edge of the abyss, the scene before him made him pause in surprise.

There was no world-destroying blizzard, nor was there that cold, imperial sword that seemed capable of cleaving the firmament.

On the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Platform, Snow Empress stood quietly.

She was still wearing that elegant, simple long dress condensed from pure ice and snow elements. Her long, snow-white hair fluttered gently in the breeze. Those ice-blue eyes, which had always looked upon all things as mere ants, were now like a deep, tranquil spring, calmly watching Qian Xunji's descent.

There was no killing intent, no anger; the air was filled only with a sense of scrutiny and a complex serenity.

Seeing this, Qian Xunji immediately dismissed the thought of using the experience card. He completely restrained his aura and, like an ordinary traveler, walked slowly down the ice rock, stopping ten paces away from Snow Empress.

"I said this would be the last time." Qian Xunji's voice was gentle, devoid of his usual sharpness.

"What is your answer?"

Snow Empress did not answer immediately. She lowered her beautiful eyes slightly, looking at the mirror-like ice surface beneath her feet that reflected both their figures, and parted her red lips: "To be honest, I haven't fully considered it yet."

Qian Xunji stood quietly, not rushing her, granting her his full patience.

"Over these past few months, I sent people to the human world to carefully inquire about you and Martial Soul Hall."

Snow Empress looked up again, a flicker of undisguised appreciation flashing through her clear eyes.

"You promoted the General Theory of Martial Souls, broke the monopoly on knowledge held by those great sects, brought benefits to the commoner spirit masters at the bottom, and even protected those mutants who were regarded as trash. This courage and breadth of mind truly made me look at you in a new light."

Snow Empress's tone carried a hint of emotion: "I have seen too many hypocritical humans who act righteous but hunt us spirit beasts by any means necessary for spirit rings and spirit bones. But you seem truly different from those sect masters and emperors who live only for their own selfish desires."

Qian Xunji breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. It seemed that his strategy of focusing on grassroots construction and cultural popularization during this period had been the right path; this wave of favor-building had been remarkably effective.

However, before the smile on his face could fully bloom, Snow Empress's tone suddenly shifted.

The temperature in the previously calm ice abyss dropped by half a degree without warning. A hint of imperceptible coldness appeared in Snow Empress's ice-blue eyes, even faintly revealing a trace of resentment and interrogation.

"However, I also heard about another very interesting matter." Snow Empress looked straight into Qian Xunji's eyes, her tone rising slightly with a cold, oppressive pressure.

"A few months ago at Jialing Pass, not only did you severely damage the Clear Sky Sect, but you also abducted the Star Luo Empress back to Martial Soul Hall in front of all the major powers on the continent?"

Qian Xunji's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a layer of sweat break out on his back instantly.

What kind of situation was this? Was the background check for a blind date really this thorough? Did she go straight to investigating his romantic conduct?

Recalling that night in the secret chamber beneath the Pope Hall... Qian Xunji truly felt a sense of guilt.

Facing Snow Empress's clear gaze, which seemed capable of piercing through his heart, Qian Xunji's brain began to run at high speed.

Lie? To lie in front of this seventy-thousand-year-old, ice-clever spirit of the Far North? Once she discovered even the slightest flaw, all the trust he had built would instantly collapse, and he would never have another chance in this lifetime.

"Hoo..."

Qian Xunji took a deep breath, threw all thoughts of sophistry out of his mind, and decided to confess. He put away all his flippancy and carelessness, his expression becoming serious and open.

"Snow Empress, I do not want to, and I will not lie to you."

Qian Xunji met her gaze frankly, his voice steady:

"That night, I did indeed bring the Star Luo Empress back to Martial Soul Hall. My primary purpose in doing so was to completely crush the royal dignity of the Star Luo Empire and suppress their spirit from a psychological standpoint. However..."

He paused slightly, gave a self-deprecating, bitter laugh, and his tone carried the honest confession of a normal man:

"I must admit that I am, after all, a healthy, normal man. I am still unmarried, and having been turned away by you twice, I was harboring some pent-up frustration. Facing such a stunning beauty, at that moment, I did indeed have a fleeting, wandering thought."

Hearing this, Snow Empress's brows furrowed uncontrollably, and tiny ice crystals began to condense in the surrounding air.

"But!"

Qian Xunji changed his tone, his eyes burning as he stared fixedly at Snow Empress, his voice becoming incredibly firm and fervent: "Just as that impulse was about to spiral out of control, my mind was filled with your proud, lonely figure in this vast wind and snow. That face, that image, made me wake up instantly."

"Therefore, I held my bottom line. I absolutely did not engage in any physical relations with her, and the very next morning, as soon as the sky brightened, I sent people to return her to the Star Luo Empire unharmed." Qian Xunji let out a long breath.

"That is the truth of the matter. I am not lying to you."

I just selectively omitted a tiny bit... just a tiny bit... Qian Xunji muttered silently to himself.

Snow Empress listened quietly, her ice-blue eyes staring unblinkingly at Qian Xunji's face, seemingly judging the authenticity of his words.

After a long while, the chill that had almost frozen the air finally began to warm up again.

Although Qian Xunji had admitted to his momentary wavering, this kind of undisguised honesty, which laid bare the most real weaknesses of human nature, actually made Snow Empress feel a quiet sense of relief.

However, the pride of the Ruler of the Far North made her feel a rare, inexplicable annoyance when she heard Qian Xunji personally praise another woman as a "stunning beauty," along with a sour, jealous feeling she hadn't even realized herself.

"You human men... are all the same, hmph!" Snow Empress turned her head away slightly, her tone carrying a hint of feigned anger, but the killing intent that had kept people at a distance had completely vanished.