Lan raised his eyes and looked at Snow Empress's breathtakingly beautiful face, so close to his own.
Her snow-white hair fell to the ground like a waterfall, and a few strands even brushed lightly against his cheek, tickling him.
Her eyelashes were long, casting faint shadows beneath her eyes. At that moment, her pale blue eyes were filled with focus and tenderness.
So this was... what it felt like to have a mother?
"Look at him. He's such a good little eater."
Ice Empress had changed back to her original form. Crouching beside him, she reached out and couldn't resist poking Lan's puffed-up cheek again.
It was so soft. It felt wonderful.
Snow Empress ignored her mischief and simply answered softly.
"Mhm."
Her gaze never left Lan.
"Little one, you have to grow up quickly."
Ice Empress propped her chin on her hand, her face full of longing.
"When you're all grown up, you'll have to protect your big sister Ice Empress, understand?"
Lan paused in the middle of drinking his milk and glanced up at her.
Snow Empress gave her a cool look and corrected her.
"I'm his mother."
Ice Empress froze for a moment, then realized what she meant. A faint blush appeared on her face, but she quickly puffed out her chest with righteous indignation.
"I'm his mother too!"
Then she looked at Lan again and teased him with a grin.
"You heard me, little one. When you grow up, you can call me Mama Ice Empress. Auntie works too, or Big Sister..."
Snow Empress looked at her shameless antics and shook her head helplessly, though the warmth in her eyes grew ever more tender.
The wind and snow still howled.
But inside the little ice cave, the arrival of this baby had, for the first time, brought the warmth of a place called "home."
Time flew by, and three years passed through the changing seasons.
The blizzards of the Far North seemed never to let up.
On the boundless ice field, two figures crossed paths at high speed, clashing again and again.
One of them was a human boy who looked to be only three years old.
He wore a thin black outfit that made his skin look even fairer, and his short, jet-black hair fluttered lightly in the wind.
It was Lan.
His face was completely expressionless. His dark eyes, unchanged from three years ago, were now as still as the Abyss, fixed on his opponent.
It was a scorpion, emerald green from head to tail, as if carved from jade.
An Ice Jade Scorpion.
One of the three ruling clans of the Far North, naturally gifted with the power of Ultimate Ice.
The Ice Jade Scorpion before him was nearly a meter long. Its raised Scorpion Tail stretched a full seventy centimeters, and the venomous hook at its tip glinted with a deadly, eerie green in the sunlight.
It was a Soul Beast with seven hundred years of cultivation.
"Clang!"
A crisp clash rang out.
Lan's figure flashed, appearing like a ghost at the Ice Jade Scorpion's flank. His palm struck like a blade, landing precisely on the joint of one of its legs.
The Ice Jade Scorpion cried out sharply in pain. Its Scorpion Tail became a green blur, sweeping toward Lan with a shriek that tore through the air!
Faced with a blow powerful enough to shatter stone, Lan's expression remained as still as an ancient well.
He tapped the ice lightly with his toes and leaned backward at an unbelievable angle. The Scorpion Tail swept past, barely grazing the tip of his nose.
The sharp gust of wind even lifted a few strands of black hair from his forehead.
In the blink of an eye, Lan's waist snapped into motion, and his body sprang up like a drawn bow.
Using that momentum, he braced both hands against the ice and crossed his legs like scissors, kicking hard at the relatively soft underside of the Ice Jade Scorpion.
The entire sequence flowed seamlessly, without a single wasted motion.
It didn't look like a fight so much as a deadly dance across the ice, with life itself as the wager.
On an ice mound not far away, Snow Empress and Ice Empress stood side by side, quietly watching the sparring match.
"Xue'er, look!"
Excitement sparkled in Ice Empress's dark green eyes. She couldn't help nudging Snow Empress beside her with her elbow.
"Lan'er's improving way too fast!"
"I remember that just a while ago, he was having trouble dealing with a little centenarian scorpion."
"Now look at him! He can actually fight a seven-hundred-year-old fellow to a standstill!"
Ice Empress sounded so proud, as if she were showing off her family's priceless treasure.
"Where did he learn all those unpredictable moves?"
Ice Empress couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she tried.
The cool, composed face of Snow Empress softened with the faintest smile, like a snow lotus quietly blossoming atop a mountain peak.
"They're things engraved deep within his soul."
She spoke softly, her voice as clear and melodious as ever.
Ice Empress nodded, only half understanding. Then, as if she'd remembered something, she hurriedly shouted toward the battlefield.
"Lan'er!"
"Go easy on it! Don't actually beat it to death!"
She lowered her voice and muttered to Snow Empress.
"This is the great-great-great-great-granddaughter of my seventh great-uncle's daughter's daughter's daughter. She was specially sent over to spar with him. If she gets hurt, I won't know what to tell them."
The Ice Jade Scorpion fighting Lan heard Ice Empress's words. A sorrow too deep for words showed in its enormous compound eyes.
What did I ever do to deserve this?
I was sleeping peacefully when Her Majesty the Scorpion Empress dragged me out of my den and said I was to spar with her precious son.
Fine, I could be a sparring partner.
But Her Majesty had also given me a strict order: I wasn't allowed to hurt the little ancestor, not even a single hair.
And this little ancestor fought dirty, aiming every blow at joints and gaps in the armor—the most painful and dangerous spots!
I couldn't sting him with my venomous hook, and I couldn't use my full strength in case I hurt him.
How was this sparring?
This was clearly like keeping the Crown Prince company while he studied!
A scorpion's life didn't get much harder than this.
At the instant the Ice Jade Scorpion's attention wandered, Lan seized the fleeting opening.
His figure vanished again.
Alarm bells rang in the Ice Jade Scorpion's mind. It curled into a ball, using its hard carapace to shield its entire body.
But the attack it expected never came from any direction.
A cool sensation suddenly touched the back of its neck.
The Ice Jade Scorpion froze.
It could feel a human palm resting quietly where the plates of its nape joined.
If that hand exerted even the slightest force, the hidden power within it could instantly shatter its central nervous system.
The victor had been decided.
Lan withdrew his hand and stood straight, quietly watching it. The killing intent and battle lust in his dark eyes ebbed like a tide, leaving behind the clear gaze of a child.
As if granted a pardon, the Ice Jade Scorpion wasted no time. Its six legs moved at a frantic pace as it darted into the distant blizzard, as though a ghost were chasing it.
"Hahaha, look at how scared it was!"
Ice Empress laughed so hard her whole body shook, hands on her hips.
Snow Empress shook her head helplessly too, though her eyes were full of affection.
Lan toddled over to his two mothers and looked up at them.
"Nicely done!"
Ice Empress stepped forward, scooped Lan up, and planted a firm kiss on his cheek.
"That's my son!"
Snow Empress reached out as well, gently smoothing Lan's wind-tousled hair before asking softly,
"Are you tired?"
Lan shook his head.
He leaned against Ice Empress's chest and looked at the two peerlessly beautiful women before him, one passionate as fire, the other gentle as water.
Then he suddenly spoke, his voice carrying the soft, childish lilt of a young boy, though his words were completely at odds with his appearance.
"It was too slow."
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