What I Hate Most Is Apologizing After the Fact!

"Strange ceiling. Who are you?"

Ice Empress's clenched fist relaxed. Her gaze swept over the clear bite marks on Xu Qing's collarbone, then moved to the wounds that had already begun to heal.

She let out a long breath of relief.

Physical amnesia...

"I remember now. You deadly scorpion, with that sweet, innocent face, doing such a cruel thing."

Xu Qing got up. The fifth-ring Mystic Ice Marrow swiftly formed in his palm, and he swallowed it. Then he instinctively reached for his collarbone. The wound there had already begun to heal.

"You know, I relieved you of one-thirtieth of your strength. Shouldn't you be bringing me tea and water, rubbing my shoulders and legs, and thanking me properly?"

"You repaid my kindness by hurting your benefactor until I looked like this. Honestly..."

Watching Ice Empress's face grow redder and redder, Xu Qing piled on:

"Tsk, I can understand, really. After all, I, Lord Xu, am a famous and handsome young man. For someone like you, who's spent tens of thousands of years cooped up at home, resisting me would be very—"

"Shut up!"

"Apologize."

"No!!"

Ice Empress folded her arms across her chest and turned away, her mouth crunching as she chewed on the piece of Mystic Ice Marrow. Her long hair swayed with the movement, revealing half of one ear, red to the tip.

"Heh heh heh..."

Xu Qing chuckled and said:

"Ice Empress, you're already acting like that over a piece of Mystic Ice Marrow made from a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. What do you think will happen if I use Ring Fusion?"

As he spoke, he began putting his words into action.

"Watch closely. I'm going to stack the first four Soul Rings onto the fifth. Heh heh heh... A world-shaking delicacy is on its way."

"Heh... You think this emperor's willpower is that weak?"

Ice Empress held up her thumb and index finger, crossing them with just a sliver of space between them.

"Even with only this tiny bit of strength, this emperor can eat it without batting an eye... without being affected in the slightest."

Was Xu Qing's Mystic Ice Marrow really proper Mystic Ice Marrow?!

Ice Empress asked herself that question. It was so difficult to resist, and even its scent alone made her feel that strange sensation.

She couldn't make sense of it...

And then there was that lingering fragrance between her lips and teeth, that heart-soothing, mellow sweetness!

And that flutter that made her heart race...

Could this emperor withstand it?

Ice Empress swallowed, her eyes burning as she watched Xu Qing.

She was ready to snatch it the instant he finished, then take it back to her room and savor it slowly!

"Heh heh heh... You're not planning to snatch it the instant I finish, are you?"

Xu Qing saw right through her, spotting Ice Empress's eagerness at a glance.

That silly scorpion wore every thought on her face!

Wipe away your drool, would you?!

"Slurp... I'm not."

The Soul Power fluctuations around Xu Qing gradually settled. The fusion of the five terrifying Soul Rings was complete, and this super Mystic Ice Marrow was almost ready!

But its fragrance had already wafted ten miles!

The gluttonous scorpion was about to lose control!

At that moment, Xu Qing stopped what he was doing, returned the half-finished Mystic Ice Marrow to the Martial Soul Space, clasped his hands behind his back, and strolled leisurely around the living room.

"Heh heh heh..."

Why did he stop!!?

Had this emperor given him permission to stop??

Keep making it!!

Mmm...!

Ice Empress's cheeks puffed up as if they were being inflated.

Damn it! He'd seen through her!!

"Apologize."

Xu Qing came to stand before the pufferfish scorpion and bent down slightly, his towering figure completely eclipsing Ice Empress.

"No! Way!"

Why should this emperor apologize!

Although he hadn't taken advantage of her in that state, and she was quite pleased about that, he shouldn't forget that he'd caused this whole mess in the first place!

And now he was asking this emperor to...

Ugh, you rude scoundrel!!

Ice Empress kicked Xu Qing hard!

Softness and hardness collided with a fierce thud. Naturally, the former couldn't take the pain first.

Her pink toes grew even more tender and translucent.

That hurt...

"If you won't apologize, fine. You don't get to eat any. I'll cut off your Mystic Ice Marrow for another month."

"I'm sorry!"

Ice Empress admitted her fault in an instant. Her attitude was very serious, her tone sincere, and her expression quite pleasant!

If you ignored that gaze that looked almost like it was staring at... something.

After saying that, she held out both hands, cupped them, and raised them high, urging Xu Qing to make good on his promise.

"So now you'll give me that piece of Ice Marrow, right?"

"When did I ever say I'd give it to you?"

Xu Qing put on his villainous face, narrowing his eyes and smiling faintly.

He slowly pressed those hands down. His strength was so great that the floor beneath them creaked under the strain.

"Heh heh heh. If you're not giving it to this emperor, who are you planning to give it to?"

Ice Empress raised her hands and pushed them back up. Her toes dug hard into the floor, and she put all her strength into it!

"This level of Mystic Ice Marrow is beyond what you can absorb. With your little body, you'd probably explode the moment you ate it! So hand it over nicely!"

"You can't handle an opportunity like this!"

"Hey! You've only been in human society for a few months, and you're already telling dad jokes. Not bad, not bad. Want me to praise you, Xiao Bing?"

Xu Qing chuckled, grabbed those little hands, and lifted Ice Empress right off the ground. Then he turned the Scorpion King around by force.

"I made it myself. How could I not be able to eat it? What a joke. Heh heh heh, I'm going to enjoy that piece of Ice Marrow."

"Go back and wash up, then go to bed!"

"Damn it! You're breaking your promise!"

Ice Empress broke free and turned back around, ready to argue her case with Xu Qing. She was determined to bring that 'poor' Mystic Ice Marrow back to the warm little belly of the Great King of the Far North!

"This emperor apologized! And you still won't give it to me! How can you be so mean!"

"Hmph. What I hate most is apologizing after the fact."

A finishing blow!

Xu Qing strode past Ice Empress, who had turned gray with despair, and walked back to his room, one step at a time.

Tap, tap...

To Ice Empress, those footsteps sounded as if the Mystic Ice Marrow were calling for help, while she could do nothing at all.

Mmm...!

No! This emperor wouldn't give up!

Undead Demi-plane.

Xu Qing sat cross-legged as a prismatic piece of Ice Marrow, radiating a deep blue glow, hovered in the air.

The Mystic Ice Marrow was shuttle-shaped overall, but its edges were exceptionally smooth rather than sharp. It was about half the size of a watermelon.

"Elder Yi, this Mystic Ice Marrow, stacked with five Soul Rings, has an energy density nearly ten times greater than before."

"Its purity has reached an unprecedented level: 99.999%."

"But the most crucial part is the two Soul Skills of the fifth ring."

"The piece Ice Empress snatched and ate contained the effect of the second Soul Skill. Judging by her reaction, it should be a rule-type Soul Skill."

"It ignores the user's level and constitution, and isn't even restricted by their form of existence. Soul Beasts can use it too."

As Xu Qing spoke, he condensed two more pieces, each containing the effect of one of the five-ring Soul Skills.

Their shapes had changed as well.

The first Soul Skill's was oval, about the size of a walnut.

The second Soul Skill's was long and narrow, much like the popsicles Ice Empress liked.