Xue Chen continued choosing his words carefully. He had to satisfy Tian Meng's fantasies without making up anything too outrageous, lest he get caught out:
"She said... this Ice Silkworm named Tian Meng is not only incredibly powerful, far beyond the Soul Beasts you see out there, but... he's also pretty witty and funny, unlike those other dull-witted Ice Silkworms."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nodded again and again, happiness and pride shining on his chubby face.
Suppressing a grin, Xue Chen added what he thought was the most devastating compliment for a hopeless simp:
"Aunt Ice also said... she feels like he... seems especially devoted and persistent when it comes to love. Once he sets his heart on something, he won't change it easily.
"And his spiritual power is as vast as the sea, the greatest on the entire continent. Even she... even she feels so impressed by him."
"Impressed?! Bingbing... she's impressed by me?! And really impressed?!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was utterly intoxicated. His enormous body began rolling around on the ground from sheer joy, his chubby form wriggling this way and that as he let out a string of silly, meaningless giggles.
"Devoted! Persistent! Witty! The greatest spiritual power on the continent!
"And she's impressed by me! Hahaha!
"After all these years, Bingbing finally understands me! She can finally see my good points!"
Immersed in the glowing praise Xue Chen had spun for him, he lost all ability to think. Every bit of his earlier wariness and suspicion vanished into thin air.
In his eyes, Xue Chen was no longer some unidentified human kid, but a messenger of good news, bringing him his goddess's glowing praise!
He was the crucial person building a bridge between him and Bingbing.
Watching Sky Dream Ice Silkworm roll around happily on the ground, giggling nonstop, Xue Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, while also finding the sight a little funny.
He knew he had secured the first step.
Xue Chen watched Sky Dream Ice Silkworm roll around in excitement, knowing the moment was right.
He stepped forward and spoke in a voice full of temptation:
"Brother Sky Dream?
"Actually... Aunt Ice mentioned something else to me before. She said... she wanted to see you."
The words were like a spell that froze him in place. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm stopped rolling mid-motion.
He jerked his head up, his eyes brimming with disbelief and desperate yearning:
"R-really?! Bingbing... she actually said she wanted to see me?!"
Xue Chen nodded firmly, his expression utterly serious, as if he were stating an unquestionable fact:
"Of course it's true! I heard it with my own ears!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's heart began pounding wildly, beyond his control. The immense joy almost burst through his chest.
But he had lived for nearly nine hundred thousand years. After his brief elation, a sliver of reason and a deep-seated fear resurfaced.
Xue Chen tossed out the next question at just the right moment, as precisely as an angler casting a line:
"Brother Sky Dream, do you... want to see Ice Empress?"
"Want to! Of course I want to! I've dreamed of it!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm practically roared the words, his chubby body trembling slightly with excitement.
But right afterward, hesitation and retreat crept into his voice:
"But... but if I go see her now, wouldn't it... wouldn't it seem a little abrupt?
"Will she think I'm being too forward? Or... or..."
He was too embarrassed to say it aloud: he remembered the wonderful times when Ice Empress had chased him until he had nowhere to run, neither in the sky nor underground.
His thick skin and good luck had helped him escape time and again, but the terror of Ice Empress's Ultimate Ice and her ruthless nature had already left a deep shadow in his heart.
He had absorbed so much Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow that his cultivation had shot upward. He was almost nine hundred thousand years old now, but as for his combat strength... he knew perfectly well that he probably still wouldn't last more than a few rounds against Bingbing.
What if they met, disagreed over something, and she chased him again? His great big belly couldn't take that kind of punishment.
Xue Chen seemed to see right through Tian Meng's misgivings and worries. He offered a reassuring smile, his voice brimming with confidence and the closeness of a trusted friend:
"Brother Sky Dream, what are you worried about? You've got me, your little brother!"
He patted his chest, looking utterly sure of himself:
"With me there to put in a good word for you and help create some opportunities, Aunt Ice definitely won't treat you the way she used to!
"Don't worry. I know how to talk to Aunt Ice."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow on the ground and atop the ice platform. A sly smile tugged at his lips:
"Besides, Brother Sky Dream, look at this."
He pointed at the Profound Ice Marrow, his voice full of suggestion:
"Isn't all this Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow the perfect gift for Aunt Ice?
"The source energy of Ultimate Ice is an irresistible treasure to her!
"You can bring this generous gift when you go see her. It'll show how sincere you are, and Aunt Ice will be delighted when she sees it!
"And once she's happy, those little misunderstandings and scuffles from before will vanish into thin air, won't they?"
Xue Chen's words were like a devil's whisper, each one striking a sensitive chord in Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's heart.
The desire to see Bingbing + the security of having his little brother arrange things for him + the irresistible gift of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow = an astronomical chance of success!
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He could almost see himself appearing before Bingbing, suave and debonair, moving her with his sincerity and gift, making her smile at him with appreciation, even... admiration...
Xue Chen saw that Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was tempted, but seemed to need one last push to drive away the lingering cowardice in his heart.
His eyes darted about. He decided to play his trump card—making him feel threatened!
He leaned closer to Tian Meng and lowered his voice, his expression turning grave and urgent, as if he were sharing a vital secret:
"Brother Sky Dream! What are you still hesitating for?
"Time waits for no one! As far as I know, quite a few powerful beings have been courting Aunt Ice lately!"
He counted on his fingers, speaking with great seriousness:
"For instance, Snow Domain Lion King—the Po King from the northwestern Snow Domain. I hear he's invited Aunt Ice to visit his territory on friendly terms several times!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's tiny eyes instantly went round, and a trace of nervousness appeared on his chubby face.
Xue Chen piled on: "And there's Far North Sky Phoenix—the Han King, who lives at Peak of Aurora!
"He has the bloodline of an ancient Ice Phoenix, is noble and elegant, and possesses unfathomable strength. He's pursuing Aunt Ice too!
"These two are both renowned figures in the Far North. Their strength and status are not to be underestimated!"
Watching Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's expression grow darker and darker, Xue Chen said earnestly:
"Brother Sky Dream, if you don't go and take the initiative, if you keep worrying about this and that, you really won't have many chances left!
"Someone as peerlessly beautiful and powerful as Aunt Ice has suitors lined up all the way from the Far North to the Star Dou Forest!
"If you still don't show up, if you still don't prove your sincerity, you might not even get a taste of the leftovers!"
The words struck Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's heart like a thunderbolt from a clear sky!
"Snow Domain Lion King, Po King?! Far North Sky Phoenix, Han King?!"
Two rival suitors instantly appeared in Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's mind. An overwhelming sense of crisis, unlike anything he had ever felt, drenched him like a bucket of ice water!
He could almost see Bingbing falling into someone else's arms... No! Absolutely not!
Just imagining it made Sky Dream Ice Silkworm feel as if his heart were being cut by a knife. It hurt worse than being struck by lightning!
Before you continue