"Hey, Xiao Bing, how's the studying going?"
After Xu Qing collected his uniform, student handbook, and all the other odds and ends from the academy, he returned to the villa.
As for Xiao Meng? She'd gone back to class, of course!
Today was her first day of fifth grade, too. Hmm... Xu Qing had to report in tomorrow.
He looked at the Ice Empress, who sat with her arms crossed and a solemn expression, and asked in confusion:
"You can't be so dumb that..."
"Idiot Xu Qing, do you really take me for a human child? I just wasn't familiar with human writing. It's not like I knew nothing at all."
The Ice Empress rolled her eyes at Xu Qing. She had no desire to deal with someone who only knew how to mock her.
"Starting from kindergarten, honestly! Your belly's full of bad water! It took me just one morning to learn everything!"
Clap, clap, clap, clap—
Xu Qing raised both hands and applauded the birth of the Wenqu Scorpion.
"Wonderful. You get a piece of Mystic Ice Marrow as a reward."
As he spoke, he loosely curled one hand. Pale-blue Soul Power surged, the temperature of the air plunged, and the humidity rose noticeably.
The process lasted only a few seconds, ending when a candy-sized piece of deep-blue Mystic Ice Marrow appeared.
"Don't want it. Mystic Ice Marrow of this quality does next to nothing for me. At most, it's on the level of the snacks you humans eat."
"Besides, you haven't even washed your hands."
The Ice Empress pursed her lips and turned her face away in disgust. (￣へ￣)
"Crunch, crunch..."
"Ah... Delicious. Too bad someone doesn't like it."
Xu Qing didn't press his luck. He made it himself, so he ate it himself. His gaze roamed over the Ice Empress's modern clothes before finally settling on her feet, which, against all precedent, were wearing sandals.
"Hmm... You seem to be adjusting pretty quickly, though. I thought you'd have trouble getting used to human society."
"Heh..."
Is this what you call adjusting quickly?!
If I didn't adjust, I wouldn't even have clothes to wear! You did this on purpose!
You knew perfectly well I couldn't use Soul Power to make clothes, yet you pretended not to know!
But you still prepared these for me in advance...
Oh, well... They're comfortable and look pretty good, so I won't give you trouble over it.
No! Ice Empress, how can you let him off? Where's your backbone?
Mm-hmm! I'll remember this grudge!
"Ice Empress, what cultivation level were you at when you formed your Soul Core?"
At some point, Xu Qing had sat down across from the Ice Empress. They shared a table, and he continued as he watched her amber eyes dart away:
"While you're at it, teach me how you did it."
"No."
Her refusal was crisp. Resting her cheek on one hand, the Ice Empress watched the Mystic Ice Marrow in Xu Qing's hand steadily shrink.
Its aura grew purer and purer, making her swallow.
But how steadfast was the will of the Far North's empress?
The strength of will she had forged through tens of thousands of years of bitter cultivation was more than enough to resist a temptation of this degree!
She gathered herself and looked at Xu Qing's expressionless face. Thinking she might have been too abrupt just now, she explained:
"You're only level forty-four... Wait, how are you level forty-five?"
"Forget it. The requirements for forming a Soul Core are ironclad. Your body has to be as strong as a Titled Douluo's, and your spiritual power has to reach the same level."
"And your Soul Power has to reach that level too. So you can only form a Soul Core after becoming a Titled Douluo."
"Foolish Xu Qing, stop dreaming of getting the method of forming a Soul Core out of me."
If you refuse to listen, try it anyway, and blow yourself to death, where am I supposed to find Xue'er?
Yes, the Ice Empress's main reason for agreeing to work with Xu Qing was to find Xue'er.
As for promises of a million years of cultivation, Ten-Thousand-Year Mystic Ice Marrow, ascension to the Divine Realm, eternal life, and the like...
She didn't believe a word of them.
"That's all?"
Xu Qing considered it. It's that simple? The old man had specifically ordered the sect's elders not to reveal any information about it.
He had even torn up the book that recorded the method of forming a Soul Core.
"In that case, Ice Empress, could you share what you experienced when you formed your Soul Core through Spiritual Sharing?"
"With that, I'd be confident I could form one ahead of time."
Before the Ice Empress could mock him for his arrogance, the piece of Mystic Ice Marrow in Xu Qing's hand, now compressed to the size of a grain of rice, gave a sharp crack.
It split open, exposing two pale-blue faces.
Light shimmered across them, held fast by a faint golden thread.
His Soul Power had taken solid form!
He had actually used the properties of his Mystic Ice Marrow Martial Soul to master the solidification of Soul Power ahead of time, something only Titled Douluo could do!
"I don't have enough Soul Power in quantity yet, but its quality has reached the threshold. I also have a way to raise it rapidly in a short time."
Ice-type Soul Beasts could increase their cultivation by being fed Mystic Ice Marrow. In the process, they would also become increasingly unable to do without it.
They would develop a profound dependence on it.
Big Bug was proof enough of that.
Xu Qing intended to make his fifth ring a hundred-thousand-year Titan Snow Demon!!
Not enough cultivation? Have some Mystic Ice Marrow!
Unwilling to sacrifice yourself? Have some Mystic Ice Marrow!
Not pure enough? Sorry, he would have to go down the Earth Dragon Sect's well and rescue some Ten-Thousand-Year Mystic Ice Marrow.
Xu Qing placed the rice-grain-sized ice marrow, now broken in two, in the Ice Empress's palm.
The moment she touched it, bewilderment turned to puzzlement on her face.
How did you do that?!
She lightly sniffed what lay in her palm. That fresh, tempting aroma... had grown several times stronger than before!
"Condensing Soul Power into a solid and giving it an attribute—that's precisely the prerequisite for forming a Soul Core!"
"Phew... You're right. You've crossed the threshold, but only the threshold."
The Ice Empress picked up one half of the ice marrow and extended the tip of her little pink tongue. The instant it touched her tongue, it melted.
In a fleeting instant, incomparable sweetness filled her entire mouth!
Delicious... (´﹃｀)
"Mmm... But... but making even this tiny bit of ice marrow must have nearly drained your Soul Power, right?"
The faintest hint of pink rose to the tips of her ears, almost too subtle to notice.
As she spoke, she put the other half on her fingertip. Then her gaping maw plunged toward it!
She bit down on her finger along with the treat.
The Ice Empress closed her eyes without thinking.
"If you could give me Mystic Ice Marrow of this quality, a steamed bun's worth every day, and let me eat it for a month or two..."
"Then send me back to the Far North, I'd have an eighty percent chance of surviving my Heavenly Tribulation."
Her voice softened a little.
"But that's impossible. You're still too weak to satisfy my appetite."
"Mmm..."
Xu Qing leaned back against his chair. Feeling the ninety-five percent of his Soul Power he still had left, he watched the gluttonous scorpion savor the taste.
Then he said meaningfully:
"Heh, heh, heh... I think we can spend this afternoon discussing how to make Mystic Ice Marrow taste even better."
Before you continue