Next door to Ice Empress's bedroom was Xu Qing's room.
Xu Qing had already left the Undead Demi-plane.
He was red as a boiled shrimp and rushed straight for the bathroom the moment his feet touched the floor.
Splish, splash—
The cold water, chilled by the Ultimate Ice, came pouring down over his head. White mist billowed up, and he felt refreshed to the core.
"Elder Yi, I only ate two pieces of ice marrow and added a little mental support. Not only did I break through another level of Soul Power, I even condensed a Soul Core Prototype."
"And most of the elemental energy is still in my body, being slowly absorbed."
Xu Qing lay contentedly in a bathtub piled with ice, his whole body occasionally shuddering.
This time, he had really pushed himself. First, his level broke through repeatedly, then he tested Soul Skills, and then he condensed a Soul Core.
He hadn't had a moment to rest, but it had all turned out well by sheer chance.
Xu Qing had only wanted to go through the process of condensing a Soul Core. He hadn't expected it to actually work.
"Talk about good timing. Haah~ That feels great."
"Now that I've got a Soul Core Prototype, all I need to do is keep pouring ice-attribute elemental energy into it. It's just a matter of time."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Ice Empress was right. This ice marrow really is powerful."
Xu Qing tilted his head and looked through the skylight at the night sky, where a few stars twinkled.
Elder Yi said nothing. He merely scattered specks of golden light, letting pure spiritual power seep into Xu Qing's Sea of Consciousness.
The sudden comfort made Xu Qing feel a little drowsy.
He couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd last slept.
Ever since awakening his Martial Soul, meditation had replaced sleep entirely.
In a daze, Xu Qing climbed out of the bathtub, used his Soul Power to dry himself, then collapsed onto the bed, rolled himself up in the blanket, and fell fast asleep.
At two in the morning, Xu Qing had been in a deep sleep for three hours.
Ice Empress stood before the vanity in her room, tying her hair into a ponytail. Her pretty face was taut, her gaze utterly resolute!
She clenched her fist and felt the familiar Soul Power surging through her body. Her eyes couldn't help but grow a little misty.
"My power is back!!!"
That familiar feeling—the Ultimate Ice Soul Power she had been separated from for months—was slowly flowing through her meridians.
That was enough!
Her gaze turned to the little refrigerator in the corner of the room.
"Damn it... Even though I've regained the ability to leave this place, I still..."
Ice Empress stepped over and opened the refrigerator, pulling out a Mystic Ice Marrow Popsicle.
"But this emperor still bears the arduous mission of saving Xue'er! The evil Xu Qing is trying to blast through this emperor's psychological defenses with ice marrow missiles!"
"He has no idea that this is all part of this emperor's plan!"
She opened her little mouth and bit off a crunchy piece.
Holding the popsicle in her mouth, she worked it around with her nimble tongue, melting it using nothing but the warmth inside her mouth!
"Haah~ Foolish Xu Qing. How could he be so confident in this emperor? To underestimate even one-thirtieth of the Heavenly King of the Far North's power!"
"What arrogance! Hmph, hmph, hmph."
"Doesn't he know that once there's a crack in the seal, this emperor can slowly wear it away on her own?"
"So what if it's a Limit Douluo's seal? This emperor still has Ultimate Soul Power!"
Ice Empress polished off the rest of the popsicle in a few bites and licked the remnants from her lips. Her spiritual power began expanding soundlessly.
The entire villa's layout came into view!
"Your mental fluctuations have settled down now. Heh, heh, heh... My Mystic Ice Marrow~~"
No, no, no. Stay calm!
Ice Empress patted her cheeks and quietly encouraged herself:
"This emperor is borrowing that piece of Mystic Ice Marrow to recover her strength. It's definitely not because she's craving it."
"Of course... part of the reason really is that it smells so good!!"
"It's all Xu Qing's fault for dangling it in front of this emperor!"
Muttering to herself, Ice Empress then drew in her Soul Power fluctuations and hid them completely.
She knew that a 'vicious' human like Xu Qing would surely sleep with his guard up!
Just like those Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the Far North.
They seemed to be asleep, but as soon as someone got close, the Soul Power fluctuations around them would flare up like flames and scorch them awake!
Ice Empress would never make such a rookie mistake!
So this time, she decided not to use her spiritual power at all. She had already memorized the way.
Everything would depend on this emperor's physical body!
"Creeeak—"
Hiss, hiss, hiss!! Why was this door so loud?!
(Ｔ▽Ｔ)
Ice Empress tiptoed out of her room and into the corridor.
Moonlight slanted in through the window at the far end, laying a silvery band across the wooden floor.
Ice Empress kept close to the wall, setting down her toes first, then slowly lowering the rest of her foot.
To keep things absolutely silent, she hadn't even put on shoes!
When it came to being cautious...
Ten minutes passed, and Ice Empress was moving at the speed of a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo.
She was practically crawling!
It normally took only a few dozen steps to reach her destination, but she'd taken this long to get there.
This emperor had her own pace!!!
Her little face was tense, her lips pursed, and she barely dared to breathe.
At last, she made it.
Ice Empress looked at the doorknob, which was level with her, and silently ground her teeth.
Then she viciously stomped all over Xu Qing in her mind again.
Damn it! Why had he deliberately installed the doorknob so high?
To show off how tall he was, huh?!
Hup...
Ice Empress rose onto her tiptoes, put her weight on the doorknob, and gently pushed the door open.
To her delight, Xu Qing's door was silent!
There wasn't a peep. Even the mechanism in the lock was so quiet she couldn't hear it!
Heavens were helping her!!!
Ice Empress's eyes lit up like those of a hungry wolf!
The moment she stepped into the room, her keen nose picked up the incredibly strong scent of ice marrow on Xu Qing!
He actually had it on him!!
Damn it... Was her mission going to fail...
She was so unwilling to give up.
Ice Empress hesitated, Ice Empress thought it over, Ice Empress made up her mind.
Since I'm Here, she might as well give it a try.
And so, adhering to her courage-boosting mantra, 'Since I'm Here,' she carefully made her way to the bed and studied Xu Qing's sleeping face.
Good grief... He really was sleeping carelessly, with his head at the foot of the bed and his feet at the head.
Let this emperor see where you've hidden the Mystic Ice Marrow...
As she thought this, Ice Empress reached out with her wicked little hand and was about to lift Xu Qing's blanket.
But she didn't notice that Xu Qing had already opened his eyes and was staring at her in bewilderment.
The faint, cool fragrance that naturally clung to Ice Empress had woken him.
Clever Ice Empress had forgotten to hide her scent.
'What's going on?'
'Am I dreaming?'
'Or is this an erotic dream? Damn it! Why is this the scenario?!'
'Am I the one being acted upon?'
'No... This doesn't seem like a dream.'
'Sigh... Has this world really become so repressive?'
Heh, heh, heh...
Xu Qing's expressionless hand slapped that little hand away.
"Ice Empress, I admit I underestimated you."
Why can't I move?
That was what Ice Empress was thinking at that moment.
Her whole body was stiff, her limbs cold...
But as befit the Heavenly King of the Far North, she could handle even this awkward situation with composure.
Ice Empress calmly pulled back her hand, then spun around as if nothing had happened and started drifting unsteadily toward the door.
She was pretending to sleepwalk.
Incredible...
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