Heading to the Ice Seal Forest

"Hey! Shui Yue'er, you dead girl! Why did you sneak a kiss on Ling Yun!"

Huo Wu suddenly shrieked. She had been caught off guard by Shui Yue'er's boldness just now, and only now did she react.

Shui Yue'er, however, wore a cheeky grin. "Hehe, a promise is a promise; I can't go back on my word!"

Huo Wu tugged at Shui Yue'er's mouth, laughing and scolding, "A promise? Heh, I think you're just trying to seduce Ling Yun! Using a beauty trap to strike first while Ling Yun is still young, planning to get him all to yourself, right?"

"Giggle, I won't deny that."

Shui Yue'er let out a silver-bell-like laugh and said, "Who told Ling Yun to be so handsome? And his talent is so incredible; if I don't make my move early, won't I regret it to death later?"

"You dead girl, even rabbits don't eat the grass around their own burrow!"

"I'm not a rabbit, so why shouldn't I eat the grass..."

While Huo Wu and Shui Yue'er bickered, Ling Yun reached up to touch his cheek. Having lived two lifetimes, this was the first time he had been kissed by a girl.

Although it was only a kiss on the cheek, he had to admit, Shui Yue'er's lips were truly soft...

"Hehe, alright, alright, stop messing around, you lot. Brother Huo Li, you must be exhausted after such a long journey, right?

Why don't you go down and rest first? Tomorrow morning, I will take you to the Ice Seal Forest to help these three children obtain their soul rings."

Shui Qingyue chuckled, then cast a deep look at Ling Yun.

She did not oppose Shui Yue'er pursuing Ling Yun; with Ling Yun's talent, he was certain to become a Title Douluo in the future.

And since Ling Yun was still young and ignorant of love, now was the best time to secure him. If she missed this chance, she would definitely regret it to death.

"Alright, then I'll have to trouble you, Sister Qingyue."

Huo Li nodded, and Shui Qingyue prepared to arrange rooms for everyone. But just then, Xue Wu frowned and said, "Wait a moment, Dean. I want to absorb a wind-attribute soul ring, so I would like to go to the Storm Canyon in the Star Dou Great Forest."

"Why, Xue Wu?"

Before Shui Qingyue could speak, Huo Wu, standing to the side, asked with a puzzled expression, "Why would a water-attribute soul master like you want to absorb a wind-attribute soul ring?"

"You should know that my Slender Dance Snow Satin has the ability to manipulate weather. Every time I obtain a soul ring, I can turn the battlefield into a weather condition favorable to our side.

My first three soul skills are Dark Clouds, Rainfall, and Ice and Snow, which can create heavy rain and blizzards. So, for my fourth soul ring, I want to absorb a wind-attribute ring to strengthen the effects and coverage of my first three skills."

After a pause, Xue Wu continued, "As far as I know, the vast majority of soul beasts in the Ice Seal Forest are water or ice-attribute; pure wind-attribute soul beasts are pitifully rare. So I want to try my luck at the Storm Canyon in the Star Dou Great Forest, where there are the most wind-attribute soul beasts."

Hearing this, Ling Yun nodded slightly. He vaguely remembered that in the original work, Xue Wu's fourth soul skill was indeed a storm-manipulation ability.

Thinking of this, Ling Yun suggested, "How about this: tomorrow we go to the Ice Seal Forest first to help me and Sister Yue'er get our soul rings, and then we head to the Star Dou Great Forest to help Senior Sister Xue Wu obtain her fourth soul ring. Dean Shui, what do you think?"

"Hehe, since you've said so, that is certainly fine." Shui Qingyue nodded and agreed with a smile.

Ling Yun had another motive for wanting to go to the Star Dou Great Forest: he wanted to go home and visit Grandpa Ke Lin.

He hadn't been home to check on things since joining Blazing Academy.

Coincidentally, the Five Elements Village wasn't too far from Holy Soul Village. Counting the days, Tang San should have graduated from Notting Academy by now and headed to Shrek Academy with Xiao Wu.

And Tang Hao would inevitably head to Shrek Academy to protect Tang San. This way, he could sneak into Holy Soul Village, find the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone that Tang Hao had hidden, and make it his own!

If everything went smoothly, he would soon possess a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. Thinking of this, Ling Yun couldn't help but curl his lips and giggle foolishly.

"Silly boy, what are you giggling about? Hurry up, Auntie Qingyue is taking us to the dorms."

Seeing Ling Yun's foolish grin, Huo Wu couldn't help but pat the back of his head, then, as if thinking of something, she exclaimed.

"Hey! I'm telling you, kid, don't tell me you're still lost in that fragrant kiss that girl Shui Yue'er gave you?

I'm warning you, Little Brother Ling Yun, you mustn't fall for it! What did I tell you before? Beautiful roses have thorns, and pretty women are all..."

"Oh, I know, Sister Huo Wu, I was just thinking about something else."

Ling Yun shook his head helplessly and said, "Besides, I was only kissed on the cheek, not on the lips; I won't get lost in it."

"You want to be kissed on the lips?" Huo Wu laughed and scolded, "Come to think of it, you weren't just fantasizing about kissing that girl Shui Yue'er to see what her mouth tastes like, were you?"

"I'm not that bored. Besides, didn't Sister Yue'er just say her lips taste like strawberries?"

"..."

Under Huo Wu's speechless expression, Ling Yun followed Shui Qingyue to the guest rooms and collapsed into bed.

He had spent the last half-month bouncing around in a carriage and was exhausted; he slept through the night without a word.

The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Ling Yun woke up early. After a hearty breakfast, he followed Shui Qingyue toward the Ice Seal Forest.

Accompanying them, besides Huo Li and the others, were the Shui Bing'er sisters and Xue Wu.

The group took a carriage and reached the Ice Seal Forest in just one hour.

The place lived up to its name; cold winds howled, biting and bone-chilling. Before them lay a world of silver, with every tree covered in a thick layer of white snow. Despite being a forest, not a trace of green could be seen.

"It's so cold here..."

Huo Wu remarked with a sigh. Her attire was always hot and sexy, but in this Ice Seal Forest, she had no choice but to change into warmer clothing.

Except for Ling Yun, everyone felt the bone-chilling cold the moment they arrived in the Ice Seal Forest.

As for why Ling Yun could withstand the cold, it was all thanks to the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass he had consumed earlier, which allowed him to remain unfazed by extreme cold under any circumstances.

"We are about to enter the Ice Seal Forest. The white snow within the forest serves as a natural camouflage for spirit beasts, so everyone must remain vigilant and stay close behind me!"

Shui Qingyue spoke with a grave expression before turning to look at Huo Li. "Brother Huo Li, I will scout the path ahead, and you will bring up the rear. Everyone else, stay between us. Is that understood?"

"Understood!"

The group replied in unison before stepping into the Ice Seal Forest together.

No sooner had they entered the forest than a pack of spirit beasts began to approach them slowly, drooling as if they viewed the group as nothing more than a meal.

However, these spirit beasts were quite weak; the vast majority were ten-year spirit beasts, with century-level ones being pitifully rare.

Seeing this, both Huo Li and Shui Qingyue released their spirit power, the pressure erupting from the two Spirit Douluos sweeping outward like a gale.

Upon sensing their auras, the surrounding spirit beasts scattered and fled, though there is always an exception to every rule.

One of the spirit beasts, upon feeling the pressure released by the two, did not flee; instead, it charged toward the group like a madman.

Looking closely, it was a massive bear, five meters tall and white as snow.

"This creature is... a Blizzard Bear!"