Even if Sky Dream ultimately refused to become my Wisdom Soul Ring, with Aunt Ice around, helping a lost kid like me find the way out should be a simple favor, right?

"Right! That's the plan! Be polite first, then fight... Uh, no, negotiate politely!"

###

Xue Chen made up his mind, and his mood immediately lightened.

###

He looked at Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's endearingly dopey sleeping face again. The wariness and scheming in his eyes had given way to a little more eagerness.

###

Xue Chen walked over to Sky Dream. The big, plump, white bug was still snoring like thunder, completely unresponsive to his approach.

###

Unable to resist, he reached out and gently poked Sky Dream's round, bouncy head with a finger.

###

"Hey... Brother Sky Dream... Wake up!"

###

His fingertip met a cool, springy surface, but Sky Dream Ice Silkworm only smacked his lips unconsciously. His snores paused for half a second, then resumed their steady "hoo... rrr..."

###

"Tch, sleeping that deeply?"

###

Xue Chen raised his voice and called out a few more times, even patting his body, but his efforts sank like stones into the sea.

###

At a loss, Xue Chen thought it over and decided on a little physical wake-up call.

###

Fine blue lightning began to coil around his hands.

###

He pressed his hands, charged with thunder, against Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's cool, smooth skin.

###

"Zzzzt—"

###

Blue lightning coursed over Sky Dream's plump white body.

###

His enormous body gave a noticeable twitch, several segments curling up and then stretching out unnaturally.

###

The eight-and-a-half golden bands on his body lit up faintly, but... his eyes stayed shut. His snores merely grew a little irregular; there was still no sign he was about to wake.

###

"For fuck's sake, he still isn't waking up?"

###

Xue Chen pulled his hands back and stared at the still-sleeping Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, speechless.

###

Just how deeply was he absorbed in taking in the Profound Ice Marrow to be this numb to outside stimulation?

###

He circled the ice platform twice, glancing at Sky Dream, who was sleeping soundly, when a brilliant idea suddenly struck him.

###

A crafty smile crossed Xue Chen's face. He leaned close to Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's ear, almost buried in his fat cheek, took a deep breath, then called softly in an urgent, enticing tone:

###

"Brother Sky Dream! Time to get up! Your Bingbing's here to see you—!!!"

###

The words seemed to possess some kind of magic. "Bing... Bingbing?!"

###

The thunderous snores abruptly stopped!

###

Xue Chen saw that the trick had worked, but the effect didn't last. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm only gave a little twitch before sinking right back into sleep. His eyes darted about, and he decided to try a stronger dose.

###

He drew breath and shouted with all his might:

###

"Brother Sky Dream! Wake up! Your Bingbing's about to be snatched away by a kid named Xue Chen—!!!"

###

The words struck like a thunderbolt, hitting Sky Dream Ice Silkworm right in his most vulnerable nerve!

###

"Who?! Who's trying to steal my Bingbing?!!!"

###

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's body went rigid, then sprang violently upward!

###

His eyes flew wide open, filled with disbelief, terror, and a raging jealousy!

###

Before he could even make sense of his surroundings, his huge body moved too abruptly and flipped straight off the smooth ice platform!

###

"Thump!"

###

The plump white bug slammed into the cave floor.

###

Dazed, he lifted his head—and found himself face-to-face with Xue Chen, who had come over at the sound and was staring at him curiously, their eyes locked.

###

For an instant, time seemed to freeze.

###

The next second—

###

"Ghost—!!!"

###

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm let out a bloodcurdling shriek. His whole body jerked backward, curling up behind the nearest column of Profound Ice Marrow.

###

Xue Chen was so baffled by his over-the-top reaction that he instinctively felt his own face and wondered, "Do I really look that scary?"

###

He didn't think he was a peerless beauty of a little boy, but he was still handsome and refined. Surely he wasn't scary enough to make someone—or, well, a bug—react like that?

###

"Brother Sky Dream? Brother Sky Dream?"

###

Xue Chen tried calling out, doing his best to sound friendly and harmless.

###

At the sound of his voice, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm cautiously poked his head out a little and stared at Xue Chen, muttering in lingering shock:

###

"Human??? Did I see that wrong?"

###

He blinked hard, confirming that the figure before him really did look like a human child.

###

But... no, that couldn't be right!

###

As a being with the greatest spiritual power on the continent, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's senses far surpassed those of ordinary creatures.

###

Once the initial shock wore off, his vast spiritual power instinctively picked up on something deeper within Xue Chen.

###

It was an intangible pressure rising from the very origin of life, deep in his bloodline—a presence that made the soul of a Soul Beast with nearly nine hundred thousand years of cultivation tremble!

###

"That can't be! How is this possible?!" Sky Dream said, bewildered.

###

The immense confusion and lingering fear left him stumbling over his words:

###

"No, that... that fear coming from the bloodline... and that face... It can't be!!!"

###

He stared fixedly at Xue Chen, his eyes full of bewilderment and suspicion, as if he had seen something that absolutely shouldn't be here.

###

Under Sky Dream's stare, Xue Chen felt distinctly uncomfortable, and his words had piqued his curiosity.

###

Fear from the bloodline? His face?

###

"Brother Sky Dream, what are you talking about? What bloodline fear? What's wrong with my face?"

###

Xue Chen stepped forward, trying to get a straight answer.

###

"Don't come any closer!"

###

Looking at Sky Dream's terrified expression, Xue Chen was utterly confused. Why's this simp so afraid of me???

###

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm then tried to use his powerful spiritual power to see what was going on with Xue Chen. His vast, boundless, intangible spiritual power instantly enveloped Xue Chen from head to toe and probed him.

###

But when his spiritual power touched the depths of Xue Chen's body, it seemed to run into a chaotic fog.

###

After probing him, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's little eyes were full of bewilderment.

###

He withdrew his spiritual power, confusion written all over his insect face, and muttered to himself:

###

"Strange... This is really strange... My spiritual power clearly tells me he's just a human kid with a Soul Power Level in the twenties!

###

"His vitality is as vigorous as a Ferocious Beast cub's, but there's no mistaking his Soul Power Level..."

###

He vigorously shook his plump head, as if trying to shake off the illusion he'd just sensed—the one that had made his soul tremble.

###

"Could I really have slept too long in this Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave and absorbed too much energy, to the point of hallucinating?

###

"Or maybe... I sensed it wrong while I was half asleep?"

###

In the end, he settled on the explanation he found easier to accept:

###

"Mm, that's definitely it!

###

"The energy in the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow is too pure. Taking in too much can occasionally cause hallucinations... Right, it must have been an illusion!"

###

With that thought, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

###

The huge gap in Soul Power Level let him regain the superiority and sense of security befitting a Soul Beast with nearly nine hundred thousand years of cultivation.

###

The fear of the unknown that had gripped him moments ago quickly faded.

###

He looked at Xue Chen again. The uncertainty in his eyes had disappeared, replaced by a gaze tinged with curiosity and scrutiny.

###

After all, for a human child to appear in the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave at the Core Land of the Far North was highly unusual in itself.