You Hurt My Little Chun, Shui Bing'er's Killing Intent.

Shui Bing'er returned first. A faint chill swirled around her, and a layer of white frost had even formed on her hair tips, yet she was dragging something in her hand.

It was a giant turtle with a massive frame, its entire body covered in a shell that looked like dark blue ice crystals. Its limbs and head were retracted into its shell, and it was shivering... a giant turtle?

"Found it. A 'Mystic Ice Rock-Armor Turtle' around thirteen hundred years old."

Shui Bing'er dropped the ice-blue giant turtle—which was a full size larger than she was—onto the ground in front of Ning Xiaochun with a heavy thud. She looked at him with ice-blue eyes, a hint of cool, self-satisfied pride in having completed her task.

"This turtle's defensive power is second to none among thousand-year spirit beasts. Its innate abilities, 'Mystic Ice Armor' and 'Earth Pulse,' can greatly enhance defense and create a small-scale ground-slowing effect. Its spirit ring has a high probability of granting you powerful defense-reduction or crowd-control slowing abilities, perfectly aligning with the positioning of 'Foot-Stalling Bane'."

The Mystic Ice Rock-Armor Turtle seemed frozen quite badly, but its life force remained; it was merely temporarily suppressed by Shui Bing'er's Ultimate Ice. Its small, bean-like eyes looked at the humans before it in terror.

No sooner had Shui Bing'er finished speaking than a purple shadow flashed in the woods on the other side, and Dugu Yan returned as well.

She was dragging a giant python as thick as a water barrel, covered in pitch-black scales with a small bump on its head. It was currently on the verge of death.

There were several small wounds on the giant python's body, from which purple-black venomous blood bubbled out, emitting a sweet, fishy stench.

"Mine isn't bad either. An eleven-hundred-year-old 'Shadow-Ghost Black Python'."

Dugu Yan tossed the heavy black python in front of Ning Xiaochun as well and brushed the non-existent dust off her hands. She looked at Shui Bing'er with a provocative glint in her green eyes.

"This snake is extremely fast, coming and going like the wind, and excels at concealment and surprise attacks. Its innate abilities, 'Shadow-Ghost Assault' and 'Serpent Venom Paralysis,' both carry intense speed bursts and neurotoxic effects. Absorbing its spirit ring would be very good for you."

One turtle and one python, one ice-blue and one pitch-black, one focused on defense and one on speed, lay side by side before Ning Xiaochun. They were gasping their last breaths, but their spirit power fluctuations had both reached the thousand-year level.

Shui Bing'er and Dugu Yan stood beside their respective spirit beasts, their gazes burning as they looked at Ning Xiaochun, speaking in unison:

"Xiaochun, pick one!"

Ning Xiaochun looked at the chilling Mystic Ice Rock-Armor Turtle on his left, then at the venomous Shadow-Ghost Black Python on his right, and finally at the fiery "Pick me! Pick me!" expressions on the two sisters' faces. He felt his head swell, his scalp tingling with dread.

This... how was he supposed to choose? If he picked Shui Bing'er's, Dugu Yan would definitely be unhappy, and this turtle looked so tough—would the spirit skill be too defense-oriented?

If he picked Dugu Yan's, then Shui Bing'er... uh, her gaze seemed even colder. And this snake looked so poisonous; would there be risks in absorbing it?

"Um... two sisters, how about... we keep looking? I feel like there might be something more suitable..." Ning Xiaochun tried to play cute to get out of it, flashing a flattering smile.

"No! You have to choose from these two!" The two women spoke in unison again, their attitudes resolute.

Just as Ning Xiaochun was caught in a dilemma, feeling as if he were about to be roasted by the gazes of the two sisters, a sudden change occurred!

"ROAR--!"

A beast roar filled with terror and fury erupted from the dense forest to the side. Immediately following it, a massive figure wreathed in raging flames charged out like a cannonball!

It was a thousand-year spirit beast—a Flame Lion, over four meters long, with a mane dancing like fire and exposed fangs!

This Flame Lion seemed to be fleeing for its life, running blindly and charging straight toward the direction where Ning Xiaochun and the others were standing!

But as its crimson beast eyes swept over the two dying spirit beasts on the ground, they seemed to brighten slightly—an instinctive craving for the spirit power of a peer-level beast.

However, it only took one glance before revealing an even more human-like fear. It jerked its head, its four claws digging into the dirt as it tried to bolt in another direction!

As if to confirm its fear, a gargantuan, scorching fireball over a meter in diameter shot out from the forest the Flame Lion had emerged from, tearing through the air with a shrill whistle!

The fireball's target had originally been the fleeing Flame Lion, but because the lion had suddenly turned, the heavy, powerful fireball flew straight toward where the lion had been heading.

That is, it crashed violently toward the position of Ning Xiaochun, Shui Bing'er, Dugu Yan, and the two spirit beasts on the ground!

"Watch out!"

Shui Bing'er's expression changed drastically; her reaction was lightning-fast! Before she could even think, her body had instinctively shifted, instantly blocking the path in front of Ning Xiaochun!

At the same time, she formed seals with her hands in front of her chest, and ice-blue spirit power surged out like a tidal wave!

"Ice Wall!"

An ice wall half a meter thick, crystal clear and radiating a bone-chilling cold, rose from the ground in front of her in an instant!

BOOM!!!

The massive fireball slammed heavily into the ice wall! A deafening explosion rang out, and crimson flames and violent shockwaves raged wildly!

The ice wall trembled violently, its surface instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks, but supported by Shui Bing'er's evolved, pure, and vast Ultimate Ice spirit power, it held firm against the terrifying explosion without shattering!

Flames and ice crystals scattered everywhere, the scorching heat wave instantly charring the surrounding vegetation. Most of the explosion's aftermath was blocked by the ice wall, but a small portion of the impact and stray flames swept past it toward the rear.

"Ugh!" Shui Bing'er let out a muffled groan, her delicate body swaying as her face paled, but she did not retreat a single step.

Ning Xiaochun, protected behind her, was completely unharmed, save for his hair being ruffled by the shockwave.

However, the two spirit beasts lying on the ground, the Mystic Ice Rock-Armor Turtle and the Shadow-Ghost Black Python, were not so lucky.

They were already on the verge of death. Struck head-on by the aftermath of a thousand-year spirit skill-level explosion and the flames, they couldn't even let out a scream before they were instantly reduced to charred lumps in the fire, their life force completely extinguished.

Two bright purple thousand-year spirit rings slowly emerged from the charred corpses.

Taking the opportunity, the Flame Lion let out a mournful howl and plunged into the depths of the forest without looking back, disappearing from sight.

"YOU BASTARDS!!!"

Two furious, high-pitched shouts rang out almost simultaneously!

Shui Bing'er abruptly dispelled the shattered ice wall. The cold frost that usually resided in her ice-blue eyes had now transformed into tangible killing intent and rage, staring fixedly at the direction from which the fireball had come!

The cold air around her surged madly, frost rapidly coating the ground, and the temperature in the air plummeted!

Dugu Yan's pretty face was also filled with malice, her bewitching green eyes burning with fury!

The Shadow-Ghost Black Python she had worked so hard to capture, intended as a soul ring for Ning Xiaochun, had been destroyed just like that! Furthermore, that fireball from a moment ago had nearly injured Ning Xiaochun!

"Who is it?! Get out here, you bastard!" Dugu Yan shrieked, the phantom of the Jade Phosphorus Serpent Emperor already looming faintly behind her.

"Tch, what bad luck! Can't believe it got away!"

A young man's voice, filled with dissatisfaction and arrogance, rang out. A tall, burly youth with short, flame-red hair that stood on end like a raging fire strode out from the woods.

He appeared to be about fourteen or fifteen years old with rugged features, dressed in dark red combat attire. Waves of scorching soul power still lingered around him, making it clear that the astonishingly powerful fireball from moments ago had come from his hand.

The red-haired youth glanced in the direction the Flame Lion had fled and curled his lip, seemingly annoyed by his own miss.

Only then did he seem to notice Ning Xiaochun and the others, along with the charred corpses of the two soul beasts and the purple soul rings floating above them. He frowned, but there was no hint of apology on his face; he merely waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh, I missed by accident and ruined two pieces of trash. Tough luck for you lot."

Having said that, he turned to leave, as if he had merely stepped on two ants.

"Stop right there!"

Dugu Yan's figure flashed, her purple hair whipping through the air as she blocked the red-haired youth's path. A cold glint flickered in her bewitching green eyes.

"You killed the soul ring we worked so hard to prepare and nearly hurt someone, and you think you can just walk away?! Do you think I'm a pushover?!"

Shui Bing'er said nothing, but her actions expressed an even more extreme fury.

She stepped forward, forming a pincer formation with Dugu Yan to seal off the red-haired youth's retreat.

The cold air radiating from her body grew so intense that the air itself began to crackle. Her ice-blue hair stirred without a breeze, and her frigid eyes locked onto the red-haired youth. Her voice sounded like the collision of ten-thousand-year-old black ice, each word enunciated with chilling precision:

"You. Nearly. Hurt. Xiaochun."

Every syllable carried monstrous killing intent. The name "Xiaochun" in particular felt heavy as a mountain.

To her, Ning Xiaochun's safety now outweighed everything else, including those two precious soul rings.

"I want you dead!"

Before the words had even faded, Shui Bing'er struck! Without a shred of wasted breath, she raised a jade-white hand and pointed it at the red-haired youth.

"First Soul Skill: Ice Seal!"