Ice Emperor Douluo Ling Luochen: Evil Soul Masters Outside the Imperial Capital and Aunt Ling

After leaving Sunset Forest, Qiangu Qing did not take everyone directly back to the Star Luo Empire. Instead, he led them flying toward Heaven Dou City.

Seeing their confusion, Qiangu Qing smiled. "I have an old friend in Heaven Dou City. We haven't seen each other in decades, and since we're already here, I'll take you around."

Qiangu Liting seemed to recall something and asked in surprise, "Grandfather, could this old friend of yours be Senior Ice Emperor?"

Qiangu Qing nodded with a smile. "I nearly forgot that you met that old fellow once when you were little."

Though he wore a smile, Qiangu Yunche keenly caught the fleeting loss and melancholy in his eyes.

Qiangu Qing was already over one hundred and ninety years old, the person from his generation of continental geniuses who had risen the highest and gone the farthest.

After so many years, most of his old acquaintances had been swept away by the tide of time. Very few were still alive.

Watching his old friends gradually wither away was clearly a heavy blow to him.

Sometimes, living a long life was a blessing, but it was also a sorrow.

After saying that, Qiangu Qing spoke no more and simply flew onward in silence. The others tacitly chose not to disturb him.

Yet Qiangu Yunmei could not suppress her curiosity. A moment later, she quietly moved close to Qiangu Liting and asked in a low voice, "Dad, what level is this Senior Ice Emperor? Why have I never heard of his title?"

Qiangu Liting sighed softly before answering, "Senior Ice Emperor is only a little over ten years younger than your great-grandfather. His surname is Ling, and his strength is around Rank 96 or 97. He is the pillar of the Heaven Dou Ling Family and holds an extremely high status in the Heavenly Soul Empire's Soul Master world.

"More importantly, half of the imperial bloodline flows through him. That is all I know. After all, I had not even been born when this senior was dominating the continent."

Qiangu Yunche's heart stirred at those words.

The title Ice Emperor meant that this Ice Emperor Douluo was an ice-attributed Soul Master, while the surname Ling reminded him of someone from the original story.

Ling Luochen—the noble-born girl with an ice-element Martial Soul, known in her hometown as the "Princess of Snow."

If his guess was correct, Ling Luochen should have come from this Heaven Dou Ling Family.

Sunset Forest was only a hundred li from Heaven Dou City. While Qiangu Yunche was deep in thought, a vast city no less grand than Star Luo City had already entered his sight.

However, Qiangu Qing did not lead them directly into Heaven Dou City, instead turning eastward.

After flying for roughly fifty li, an enormous, resplendent complex of buildings appeared before them. This time, Qiangu Qing did not bypass it, leading everyone straight into the complex's core area.

The moment they landed, an angry shout suddenly came from behind them. "Who are you people? How dare you trespass into Ling Family Mansion? Have you grown tired of living?"

He was a middle-aged man with short dark-blue hair. His features were handsome, but his temperament was gloomy. At that moment, nine Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and five black—pulsed around him.

He was unmistakably a Title Douluo.

Qiangu Qing glanced at him, then snorted coldly. A massive pressure immediately descended upon the middle-aged man.

"Y-you..." The middle-aged man's eyes widened in an instant upon feeling that terrifying aura, his face turning pale with horror.

Before Qiangu Qing could speak, another aged voice suddenly echoed from all directions. "Old Qiangu, at your age, stop bullying the younger generation."

As the words fell, an elderly man with white hair and beard, his face marked by ancient simplicity, appeared out of thin air in the courtyard.

The old man leaned on a cane. His face was covered in wrinkles, and a dense air of decline radiated from him, yet his demeanor was exceptionally kind.

The instant Qiangu Qing saw him, his expression changed, his face immediately filling with emotion.

With a wave of his hand, the terrifying pressure that had rendered the Title Douluo unable to move abruptly vanished.

The middle-aged man staggered back several steps and braced himself against a wall as he gasped violently, his eyes filled with lingering fear.

The old man glanced at him. "Zhan Yu, there is nothing for you to do here. Go guard the perimeter and do not let anyone come disturb us."

The middle-aged man swallowed, an unreadable look in his eyes, but in the end, he respectfully bowed and withdrew.

Once he had gone far enough, the old man's gaze swept across Qiangu Liting and the others. Then he smiled. "Liting, it has been a long time. In the blink of an eye, you've grown from a child into an adult with a family. Time truly flies."

Qiangu Liting immediately stepped forward and bowed. "Liting greets Senior Ice Emperor."

Yang Shu and the Qiangu siblings hurriedly bowed as well.

Before such a senior of immense seniority and formidable strength, the necessary respect could not be lacking.

"Enough, enough. No need to be polite with this old fellow. He is like me and dislikes these empty formalities the most."

Qiangu Qing strode forward and patted the old man's shoulder. The tremendous force made the old man roll his eyes before he snapped irritably, "You old fool, go easier. I'm not as thick-skinned and tough as you."

"Hahaha, it's good enough that you're still alive. Let's go inside and talk, let's go inside and talk." Seeing that his old friend was still alive put Qiangu Qing in an excellent mood. He forcibly dragged the old man toward the main hall, with Qiangu Yunche and the others following close behind.

After they took their seats, Qiangu Qing looked Ling Jingfeng, the Ice Emperor Douluo, up and down before saying, "Only a few decades have passed, yet you still failed to take that final step."

Ling Jingfeng smiled freely, unconcerned. "I have remained at Rank 97 for more than forty years. Whether I can take that next step no longer matters to me. Still, being able to see you once more in my final years is a blessing."

The smile on Qiangu Qing's face gradually faded. He sighed softly and asked, "How much longer do you have?"

"About two years. You know that after my battle with that Evil Soul Master back then, I was afflicted by his origin poison. The fact that I have endured this long is already thanks to my good fortune." Ling Jingfeng spoke softly, but his tone suddenly sank. "Old Qiangu, you came at just the right time. Not long ago, I discovered traces of a group of Evil Soul Masters near Heaven Dou City. The leader has at least the cultivation of a Title Douluo."

At those words, everyone, including Qiangu Qing, was stunned.

After recovering, Qiangu Qing frowned. "Old fellow, are you joking? Since when did another Title-level Evil Soul Master appear on the continent? And since when did Evil Soul Masters of that level dare approach a nation's capital so easily?"

"I may be close to dying of old age, but I have not become senile. Besides, I would rather be wrong." Ling Jingfeng shook his head, his tone growing increasingly grave. "Old Qiangu, I won't hide it from you. Evil Soul Masters have now appeared even within Heaven Dou City, and they are not weak. They can even shield themselves from the senses of the imperial family's guardian Douluo. Just a few days ago, I sensed dense blood qi in a village roughly a hundred li north of Heaven Dou City. If nothing unexpected happened, that should be their temporary nest."

Qiangu Qing's expression became somewhat strange. He glanced at Ling Jingfeng, then said, "You didn't deliberately bring this up because you want me to serve as a free thug, did you?"

Ling Jingfeng did not deny it. He merely said softly, "Everyone has the right to kill Evil Soul Masters. I do not believe you would refuse."

Ling Jingfeng was right about that. Qiangu Qing had always been too lazy to deal with the outside world's messes, but he despised Evil Soul Masters from the bottom of his heart.

"I wouldn't say no, but I am curious. Since you have accurate information, why not go directly to the Heavenly Soul Imperial Family? Why insist on calling me?"

Ling Jingfeng gave his answer. "A Title Douluo-level Evil Soul Master is difficult to kill even for an ordinary Super Douluo.

"My vitality and blood have declined too severely. Though I possess Rank 97 cultivation, my actual strength is at most comparable to a Rank 95 Super Douluo. The Heavenly Soul Imperial Family has no Super Douluo among its consecrated experts. I had originally planned to seek aid from the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect or Shrek Academy, but you happened to arrive. If I don't seek you out, who should I seek out?"

Qiangu Qing said nothing more, merely nodding.

"Fine, you win. We'll act tonight. But I do not want to make a move, so I'll have Liting and his wife go instead.

"They have just broken through to Super Douluo and Title Douluo respectively. They should find an opponent to temper themselves against. I'll simply stand by and keep watch."

Qiangu Qing casually mentioned the cultivation of his grandson and granddaughter-in-law. Ling Jingfeng, who knew his true temperament well, twitched at the corner of his mouth. Though surprise flashed in his eyes, there was even more helpless frustration over his own family's disappointing juniors.

Given his cultivation, it was naturally not difficult for him to sense the newly broken-through and still somewhat unstable auras around Qiangu Liting and the others. Qiangu Yunmei was the same.

A layer of mist shrouded Qiangu Yunche's body. Ling Jingfeng could only determine that his cultivation was above the Soul Ancestor level; exactly how high it was remained difficult to tell.

Meanwhile, upon hearing that they would be going to surround and eliminate Evil Soul Masters tonight, Qiangu Yunche and Qiangu Yunmei exchanged a glance. Just as they were about to speak, an extremely light set of footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

Then, a cool and distant voice rang in everyone's ears.

"Grandfather, are you here?"

As she spoke, a tall figure had already entered the main hall.

Everyone's gazes turned toward her at once, meeting a pair of ice-blue eyes.

The girl was tall and well-proportioned, her skin as flawless as ice and jade. Her long ice-blue hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her cool, proud temperament made her seem like a lone winter plum standing in the cold. An aloof distance that kept others away surrounded her.

When she saw the strangers within the hall, her movements paused for an instant, yet her expression did not change in the slightest.

Ling Jingfeng came back to himself and asked softly,

"Luochen, have you finished your closed-door cultivation?"

"Yes, Grandfather. I've broken through to Rank 50."

The girl's voice was as cool and clear as her temperament, like shattered jade stirred by the wind or cold ice struck by flowing water.

Ling Jingfeng smiled faintly and beckoned Ling Luochen over. Then he introduced her to Qiangu Yunche and the others.

"This is my granddaughter and the inheritor of my branch, Ling Luochen."

There was a trace of pride in Ling Jingfeng's tone. Ling Luochen had broken through to Soul King before even turning nineteen. Previously, she had also held one of the Shrek Seven Monsters positions in the Inner Court of Shrek Academy, where experts were as common as clouds, despite only possessing Soul Ancestor-level strength. This proved that both her talent and strength were first-rate. She was absolutely one of the most exceptional geniuses of the current era.

"Luochen, let Grandfather introduce you. This is Grandfather's closest friend, Qiangu Qing. Just call him Grandfather Qiangu. These two are Grandfather Qiangu's grandson and granddaughter-in-law. By seniority, you should call them..."

Before Ling Jingfeng could finish, Qiangu Yunche's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

What kind of joke was this?

After all that, according to seniority, he actually had to call Ling Luochen Aunt Ling?

To have someone from the same generation suddenly become an "elder" felt truly strange...