"I'm not going."
Xu Qing's expression was calm.
"I'm getting ready to lure an Ice Jade Scorpion over. The Titan Snow Demons aren't Ultimate Ice, after all. It's about time I fed my Martial Soul something good."
"I suddenly think A-Tai's people would suit you better."
Ice Empress decisively chose to protect her own people. She silently sighed for the Titan Snow Demons, who were about to suffer a calamity they could hardly escape, then continued:
"The reason you attached Titan Snow Demon Soul Rings to your first four rings wasn't just that they were more compatible with your Martial Soul. There were other reasons, too, right?"
She stretched out and slumped across the sofa. Sherlock Ice was on the case:
"This empress believes you had your eye on the Ice God bloodline hidden within the Titan Snow Demons. You want to attach Titan Snow Demon Soul Rings to all nine rings, then use them to trigger the Ice God Inheritance?"
"If that's really the case, you can give up, Xu Qing."
"The Ice God's inheritance... Xue'er has spent hundreds of thousands of years in the Far North and never found a trace of it."
"A-Tai is the Soul Beast with the strongest Ice God bloodline on this continent, yet he hasn't sensed anything calling to him, either."
"Xue'er and I both think the Ice God left no inheritance behind."
Ice Empress sat upright. Xu Qing was taking up too much space and leaving her nowhere to sit.
Her feet were sticking out, and the dangling feeling made her uncomfortable.
"...Of course, this empress isn't trying to interfere with your decision. I'm just stating my own opinion."
"As for A-Tai's people... the strong prey on the weak. It's the law of nature. After cultivating for tens of thousands of years, I can still understand how things work."
After all, this empress was powerless to resist you, too—A Scorpion Who'd Given Up.
"Oh, right. Give me another popsicle."
This was the only way she could 'fight back' against Xu Qing—the Gluttonous Scorpion.
Haa... His craftsmanship really is getting better and better...
After satisfying Ice Empress, Xu Qing asked:
"Ultimately, you don't know for sure, either, do you?"
"That's right. We don't know, either. The Ice God, worshipped by every living thing in the Far North—why has she never shown herself...?"
Xu Qing saw no reverence for the gods in Ice Empress's face.
The atmosphere fell quiet, broken only by their breathing...
And the slurping sound of Ice Empress eating her popsicle...
Xu Qing summoned the Mystic Ice Marrow. Its eerie blue glow had grown deeper.
Ice God... Heh heh heh. So I've been found out.
Yes, the moment Xu Qing realized his Martial Soul was Ultimate Ice, he had decided to attach nine Titan Snow Demon Soul Rings.
The most important reason was that this Soul Beast was the only clan on the entire Douluo Continent with the Ice God bloodline.
Who knew what kind of weird tastes that Ice God had!?
Did she just love the solid feel of Titan Snow Demon muscles?
Did she enjoy the prickling sensation of their stiff fur?
Back to the point.
Another reason was the existence of his Second Martial Soul, 'Self.'
Titan Snow Demon Soul Rings were of extremely high quality. Every time he absorbed one, his body was nourished in a way that no other ice-attribute Soul Beast could match.
And nourishing his body was, in effect, nourishing his Self Martial Soul.
Xu Qing wouldn't pass up any opportunity to strengthen Self.
What he'd said about the Mystic Ice Marrow was just the icing on the cake. He'd meant it from the heart.
He turned the Mystic Ice Marrow Martial Soul in his hand, watching the image reflected on its surface and feeling the chill constantly radiating from it.
Whether the Ice God Inheritance existed or not—he'd have to find out for himself.
The reason they couldn't sense the inheritance's aura was, at the root of it, that their strength wasn't enough.
If a two-hundred-thousand-year-old Titan Snow Demon couldn't do it, then he'd raise one to a million years.
"Give me another one." Ice Empress pointed to her mouth.
"Got it. I'll make you one when I come back after breaking through to five rings."
Xu Qing stood up. Just moments earlier, he had contacted the old man.
The Du Busi Express was arriving soon.
"The old man will be here any moment. I explained your situation to him a few days ago..."
He hadn't finished speaking when a sharp crack rang out, like a mirror shattering.
A fissure split open in the space before Xu Qing.
Before a figure appeared, a booming voice made the windows buzz.
Du Busi appeared out of thin air.
"Hahahaha!!!"
"Level fifty!!"
"My precious disciple, off to the Far North!"
Before Xu Qing could react, a rough hand seized his shoulder. The crushing grip didn't even make him change expression.
"Whoosh—!!"
In an instant, space tore open again!
The grand villa was left behind, with Ice Empress all alone.
The Far North. The core region. The familiar hill, the familiar temperature, the familiar scenery.
And that familiar, mountain-sized figure.
Xu Qing couldn't help admiring how perfectly the old man chose a landing spot every time. He always locked right onto their destination.
"Roar—!!!"
A-Tai roared at the sky. The snow for miles around was swept up by the shockwaves, blotting out the world in a swirling white storm.
"You're back! You're back again!!! You devil!!"
"Damn you humans!!! You tormented Ice Empress! You murdered my people!"
"You treat the whole Far North like your own backyard! You come and go whenever you please!!"
"So brazen, so utterly shameless!!!"
The hundred-meter giant trembled all over. His white fur stood on end, while strange crimson markings surfaced across his blue-gray skin.
The aura around him began to surge wildly—he was actually burning his life force!
What a temper!
"Let's all die here in the Far North!!!"
Before the words had even faded—
Boom—!!!
A gigantic dark green fist appeared out of nowhere and landed squarely on A-Tai's nose.
Du Busi had used nothing but his body to throw an utterly simple punch.
A-Tai's nose, several meters long, shattered instantly. A force that pierced to the bone tore through his skull and struck his brain.
His eyes began to tremble. His vision blurred, then darkened. A coppery sweetness welled in his throat.
"Thud—!!!"
His enormous body crashed to the ground, kicking up a blinding cloud of snow.
"This Ferocious Beast is a lot stupider than the scorpion you keep."
Du Busi pulled back his fist and flicked the white smoke from it, then strode toward the Titan Snow Demons' territory.
"You've always been methodical, even as a child. You've got more sense than people who've lived for decades. Your master has always wondered why you keep that scorpion around, but..."
Xu Qing followed Du Busi and tossed a snowball. It hit the bald spot on his head dead center. Xu Qing said nonchalantly:
"If you know I have my own ideas, why ask?"
"By the way, Master, give me the secret technique for controlling the seal on her Soul Core."
Du Busi stopped and turned to look at Xu Qing.
He couldn't help wondering if his disciple was about to become one of those humans and Soul Beasts in the storybooks...
"No. You're too young to resist temptation.
"If anything goes wrong and the secret technique fails while I'm not by your side, there'll be serious trouble."
Before you continue