Heading to Ice Seal Forest

"Hey! Shui Yue'er, you little brat! Why'd you sneak a kiss from Ling Yun?!"

Huo Wu cried out in shock. Shui Yue'er's audacity had startled her, too, and it was only now that she finally reacted.

But Shui Yue'er just grinned cheekily. "Hehe, a promise is a promise. I can't go back on my word!"

Huo Wu grabbed Shui Yue'er's cheeks and teased her with a laugh. "A promise? Heh, I think you just want to seduce Ling Yun. You're trying to use your beauty to get your hands on him before little Ling Yun grows up, so you can claim him first, aren't you?"

"Giggle, I'm not denying it."

Shui Yue'er laughed like a tinkling silver bell. "What can I say? Little Ling Yun is so handsome, and he's incredibly talented, too. If I don't make my move early, won't I regret it to death later?"

"You little brat. Even rabbits don't eat the grass by their own burrows!"

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

While Huo Wu and Shui Yue'er bickered, Ling Yun raised a hand and touched his cheek. In both his lives, this was the first time a girl had kissed him.

It had only been a kiss on the cheek, but he had to admit, Shui Yue'er's kiss had been so soft...

"Hehe, all right, all right. You girls, stop fooling around. Big Brother Huo Li, you've been traveling for so long. You must be tired, right?

"Why don't you go rest first? Tomorrow morning, I'll take you to Ice Seal Forest and help these three children obtain their Soul Rings."

Shui Qingyue chuckled, then gave Ling Yun a long look.

She didn't object to Shui Yue'er pursuing Ling Yun. With his talent, he was sure to become a Titled Douluo in the future.

And Ling Yun was still young. He was clueless about love, so now was the perfect time to win him over. If Shui Yue'er missed her chance, she'd definitely regret it to death.

"Good. Then I'll be counting on you, Little Sister Qingyue."

Huo Li nodded. Shui Qingyue was about to arrange rooms for everyone when Xue Wu suddenly frowned. "Wait, Dean. I want to absorb a wind-attribute Soul Ring, so I'd like to visit Storm Canyon in Star Dou Great Forest."

"Why, Xue Wu?"

Before Shui Qingyue could answer, Huo Wu asked with a puzzled look, "Why would a water-attribute Soul Master like you absorb a wind-attribute Soul Ring?"

"You should know that my Slender Dance Snow Satin can control the weather. Each Soul Ring I obtain lets me turn the battlefield's weather into something advantageous for my side.

"My first three Soul Skills are clouds, rain, and snow. They can create downpours and blizzards, so for my fourth Soul Ring, I want a wind-attribute one to strengthen the effects and range of my first three Soul Skills."

After a pause, Xue Wu continued, "As far as I know, most of the Soul Beasts in Ice Seal Forest have water or ice attributes. Pure wind-attribute Soul Beasts are pitifully rare, so I want to try my luck in Storm Canyon in Star Dou Great Forest. That place has the most wind-attribute Soul Beasts."

Ling Yun nodded slightly at that. He vaguely remembered that in the original story, Xue Wu's fourth Soul Skill was indeed a technique that controlled storms.

Thinking of this, Ling Yun suggested, "How about this? Tomorrow, we'll go to Ice Seal Forest first and help Yue'er and me obtain our Soul Rings. Then we can head to Star Dou Great Forest and help Senior Sister Xue Wu obtain her fourth Soul Ring.

"Dean Shui, what do you think?"

"Hehe, since you've put it that way, of course we can," Shui Qingyue said with a smile and a nod.

Ling Yun also had another reason for wanting to visit Star Dou Great Forest: he wanted to go home and see Grandpa Colin.

Ever since joining Blazing Academy, he hadn't been home in ages.

Five Elements Village wasn't far from Holy Soul Village. Judging by the time, Tang San had probably already graduated from Notting Academy and gone to Shrek Academy with Xiao Wu.

To protect Tang San, Tang Hao would inevitably go to Shrek Academy as well. That would give Ling Yun a chance to sneak into Holy Soul Village, find the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone Tang Hao had hidden, and claim it for himself!

If everything went smoothly, he'd soon have a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. At the thought, the corners of Ling Yun's mouth lifted, and he grinned foolishly.

"Silly boy, what are you grinning about? Come on, Aunt Qingyue's taking us to our rooms."

Seeing Ling Yun grinning like a fool, Huo Wu patted the back of his head. Then, as if something had just occurred to her, she exclaimed in disbelief,

"Hey! Don't tell me you're still lost in the bliss of that kiss from Shui Yue'er? Listen, little Ling Yun, don't let yourself get carried away! What did I tell you before? Beautiful roses all 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. "Besides, she only kissed me on the cheek. It's not like she kissed me on the mouth. I'm not going to lose myself over it."

"So you want her to kiss you on the mouth?" Huo Wu teased. "Come to think of it, were you imagining kissing that girl Shui Yue'er just now, wondering what her lips taste like?"

"I wasn't wasting my time on that. Besides, didn't Sister Yue'er just say her lips taste like strawberries?"

"..."

While Huo Wu stared at him speechlessly, Ling Yun followed Shui Qingyue to the guest rooms and promptly fell asleep.

He'd spent half a month being jostled around in a carriage. He was utterly exhausted, and the night passed without incident.

At dawn the next morning, Ling Yun got up early. After a hearty breakfast, he followed Shui Qingyue to Ice Seal Forest.

Besides the three from Huo Li's group, Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, and Xue Wu came along as well.

They traveled by carriage and reached Ice Seal Forest in just an hour.

The place was exactly as its name suggested. The cold wind howled, biting to the bone, and everything in sight was blanketed in white. A thick layer of snow covered every tree. Though it was a forest, not a trace of green could be seen.

"It's so cold here..."

Huo Wu sighed. She usually dressed in a daring, sexy style, but even she had to put on something warm in Ice Seal Forest.

Apart from Ling Yun, the first thing everyone felt upon arriving in Ice Seal Forest was the bone-chilling cold.

Ling Yun could withstand it thanks to the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass he'd taken earlier. It let him remain unafraid of the cold, no matter the conditions.

"We're about to enter Ice Seal Forest. The snow here is natural camouflage for Soul Beasts, so everyone needs to stay alert and keep close behind me!"

Shui Qingyue spoke with a serious expression, then turned to Huo Li. "Big Brother Huo Li, I'll scout ahead, and you cover the rear. Everyone else, stay between us. Any objections?"

"None!"

Everyone answered in unison, then entered Ice Seal Forest together.

As soon as they entered the forest, a group of Soul Beasts came slowly toward them, drool dripping from their mouths. They had clearly mistaken the group for food.

But these Soul Beasts were all weak. The vast majority were Ten-Year Soul Beasts, and there were hardly any Hundred-Year Soul Beasts.

At this, Huo Li and Shui Qingyue both released their Soul Power. The Soul Pressure unleashed by the two Soul Douluo swept outward like a gale.

Feeling their auras, the surrounding Soul Beasts scattered and fled. But there were always exceptions.

One Soul Beast, instead of running away when it felt their Soul Pressure, charged toward the group as if it had gone mad.

It was a gigantic bear, five meters tall and completely white from head to toe.

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