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Soul masters' way of thinking, especially when it came to choosing partners, was already markedly different from ordinary people; strength, talent, and potential often took precedence.

The youth before her was not only handsome in appearance and gentle and reserved in temperament, but also possessed the one-in-ten-thousand Ultimate Ice martial soul...

Ling Luochen felt that in this lifetime, she would probably never meet a more suitable partner who moved her heart more than him.

"Ling Luochen sis, how are you feeling? A bit better now?"

In his previous life, Huo Yuhao had never cultivated together with Ling Luochen either, which led to this accident that injured her body from over-cultivation.

Yet Ling Luochen's own insistence on pushing through had played a part as well.

"Mm..." Ling Luochen let out a faint nasal hum carrying a peculiar languidness. "My body still feels a bit weak, I can't muster any strength... Yuhao, can you carry me back to the dorm?"

Her fair arm lifted slightly, seemingly powerless yet naturally wrapping around Huo Yuhao's neck as she relaxed her full weight against him.

At this moment, Ling Luochen had already thought everything through completely.

If she didn't make her move soon, Huo Yuhao would inevitably be snatched away by some other more proactive girl in the future.

She hadn't forgotten that there was still a senior in the Inner Court who liked young boys.

At this moment, she seemed to have completely cast aside her usual aloofness that kept others at a thousand li distance, and even her voice carried a trace of soft, tender sweetness she herself hadn't noticed.

If Ma Xiaotao and the others saw Ling Luochen in this state, their jaws would probably drop in shock, suspecting she had been possessed by something.

"Ling Luochen sis, don't move yet."

Huo Yuhao sensed the weakness in the body in his arms and immediately replied, "I'll carry you back to the dorm first, then help you regulate your body properly to ease the damage."

As he spoke, he adjusted his posture and steadily lifted Ling Luochen in a standard princess carry.

Her body suddenly left the ground, and being held in such an intimate position made Ling Luochen's face flush even redder.

Especially when she felt Huo Yuhao's palm touch the bare skin of her thigh, that warm sensation left her mind dizzy.

In all her life, had she ever had such close physical contact with the opposite sex?

Let alone with a boy several years younger than herself.

The thought made her even more bashful, and almost instinctively she buried her burning cheek deep into Huo Yuhao's neck, unwilling to let him see her current expression.

Inside Ling Luochen's boudoir.

Most of the furnishings inside were made of warm wood, yet the room was still decorated in a rather girlish pink.

Huo Yuhao, carrying Ling Luochen into the boudoir, had not expected that the Ling Luochen who always seemed so aloof to outsiders actually hid such a girlish heart deep inside.

The Ling Luochen in his arms breathed evenly, as if she had already fallen into a deep sleep in his embrace.

On the way back from the Mimicry Cultivation Ground, Huo Yuhao had seen that Ling Luochen's brows remained furrowed, clearly still uncomfortable, so he channeled his qi and blood into her body while walking to help soothe her meridians.

He laid Ling Luochen onto the soft bed and tucked the blanket over her.

Huo Yuhao then turned and left, intending to return to the Mimicry Cultivation Ground to continue cultivating.

After all, using the Mimicry Cultivation Ground consumed the quota Ling Luochen had painstakingly accumulated from completing missions; it couldn't be wasted so casually.

"Ling Luochen sis, good night then."

Huo Yuhao walked to the door and reached out to turn off the Soul Guidance Lamp in the room, plunging it into darkness.

Only after hearing the door gently close and the footsteps gradually fade away did Ling Luochen's eyes open, a hint of bewilderment in her ice-blue gaze.

What was going on?

This was completely different from the plots in the storybooks she had read!

Didn't those books say that boys this age were most curious about girls and most easily impulsive?

He just left like that?

Did she really have no appeal to him at all?

Or should she be more proactive?

At the thought of taking a more active approach toward a junior several years younger than herself, Ling Luochen's delicate face grew even redder.

She let out a mortified whimper, yanked the blanket over her head with force, and buried herself completely beneath it.

When Huo Yuhao returned to the small compartment in the Mimicry Cultivation Ground and sat cross-legged on the cushion, a green figure appeared in his arms—it was none other than Ice Empress.

As for Tian Meng, he was already snoring away.

Ice Empress's exquisite little face showed no particular expression; she merely habitually squeezed closer into Huo Yuhao's embrace, adjusted to a more comfortable position, and rested her chin on his shoulder.

She remained silent for a moment before speaking in a firm tone, "Yuhao, what you did today was very wrong?"

"Wrong?"

Hearing Ice Empress's words, Huo Yuhao froze, somewhat puzzled.

"Didn't you see Wang Dong'er today?" Ice Empress continued.

"So?"

Huo Yuhao still didn't understand what Ice Empress was getting at; he didn't feel he had acted any differently from usual.

"Do you think that by distancing yourself from Wang Dong'er, you're acting perfectly normal?" The Ice Empress snorted, mercilessly piercing through Huo Yuhao's subconscious thoughts.

She propped herself up slightly, creating a bit of distance, and looked into Huo Yuhao's ice-blue eyes. "It's precisely because you're doing that that it's not normal. Yuhao, what are you afraid of?"

Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao's body stiffened imperceptibly. He remained silent, his gaze instinctively drifting elsewhere to avoid the Ice Empress's overly sharp stare.

"You're afraid. You're afraid of that Wang Dong'er. If she really is Tang Wutong, what will you do? Isn't that it?"

Seeing Huo Yuhao still turning his head away, not daring to look her in the eye, the Ice Empress reached out to turn his face back, forcing him to meet her gaze.

The distance between the two closed instantly, their breaths mingling, each clearly sensing the other's presence.

"Yuhao, do you still love her?"

As the only one currently possessing Huo Yuhao's memories, the Ice Empress naturally knew that in the end, Tang Wutong had completely betrayed Huo Yuhao, choosing to stand on Tang San's side.

Huo Yuhao's chest rose and fell slightly. After a moment of silence, he said, "I love her as Wang Dong'er."

He loved the Wang Dong'er who had met and accompanied him at Shrek Academy, the one with a touch of pride and awkwardness, not the so-called daughter of the God King, Tang Wutong.

Hearing Huo Yuhao's answer, the Ice Empress clicked her tongue, sounding somewhat disdainful, yet perhaps also laced with an indescribable jealousy that even she had not fully realized.

"Yuhao, then do you love the Snow Empress?"

"I do."

This time, Huo Yuhao's answer came without a moment's hesitation.

Hearing this, the corners of the Ice Empress's previously tense mouth curled up slightly, revealing a playful smirk.

"It seems the Snow Empress holds a higher place in your heart than that Wang Dong'er now."

After a brief silence, the Ice Empress stopped maintaining eye contact with Huo Yuhao and instead rested her cheek against his chest.

She did not continue with the next question she had planned to ask.