Xue'er, You Have Much More Than I Do—You Should Feed Him Instead

"Break the shackles of heavenly tribulation?"

Ice Empress's voice trembled slightly.

She instinctively looked toward Snow Emperor, only to find that Snow Emperor's expression was even more shocked than hers.

Her ice-blue eyes quivered slightly, and her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, yet she found herself unable to utter a word.

Break the shackles of heavenly tribulation.

What did those words mean to soul beasts?

They meant that the shackles hanging over the heads of all soul beasts might be broken.

They meant that the unfair suppression inflicted upon soul beasts by the heavens finally had hope of being ended.

They meant that the heavenly tribulations awaiting her and Ice Empress might be shattered directly by this little thing.

Snow Emperor lowered her head to look at Ling Xiao in her lap.

She looked at his tender little face and the faintly visible lightning patterns in his pupils.

That heart, frozen cold for tens of thousands of years, was once again stirred by raging waves.

"Little thing..." Snow Emperor's voice held some confusion. "Just what is your background?"

Ling Xiao did not answer her question.

He merely looked obediently at Snow Emperor and gave her an innocent smile.

"I don't know. My brain didn't say."

"..."

Snow Emperor fell silent for a long time.

After comparing it with the memories in the inheritance, the Ice and Snow Emperors completely believed what Ling Xiao had said.

It was not because his performance had been flawless, but because of the information contained in those memories.

It was simply too shocking. There was no way an infant like Ling Xiao could have fabricated it.

"Little burden, do you know where the Myriad-Year Profound Ice Marrow is?"

Ice Empress asked impatiently.

Ling Xiao thought for a moment. He could not directly tell them the location of the Earth Dragon Sect in Dragon City of the Heaven Soul Empire.

Those were administrative divisions of a human empire, and the Ice and Snow Emperors might not understand them clearly.

Ling Xiao said to Ice Empress, "It's in a place with lots of humans."

"There's a city there. Inside the city is a sect, and within that sect is a cold spring. The Myriad-Year Profound Ice Marrow is beneath it."

Ice Empress's eyes lit up again after hearing this. She was so excited that even her twin ponytails swung along with her.

"Let's go get it right now! If we're too late, it might be gone!"

Ice Empress's urgency was easy to understand.

The Myriad-Year Profound Ice Marrow was too important to them. Every extra day of delay meant another day of risk.

What if humans discovered it? What if something unexpected happened along the way?

"Bing'er, there's no rush."

Snow Emperor, on the other hand, was not anxious at all.

Ice Empress paused at her words.

"But..."

"Don't worry."

Snow Emperor looked up at Ice Empress, her tone carrying a trace of calm certainty.

"If it has remained there for so many years, then its location must be well hidden. It won't be discovered so easily."

After thinking it over carefully, Ice Empress realized that Snow Emperor was right.

Given how precious the Profound Ice Marrow was, if it had not been well concealed, someone would have taken it long ago.

The fact that it had lain dormant beneath the cold spring for so many years proved that the location was sufficiently secret.

Ice Empress could not help asking, "Then... when do we leave?"

Snow Emperor did not answer immediately. She lowered her head and glanced at Ling Xiao in her arms.

She extended a slender finger and gently scraped the bridge of Ling Xiao's nose.

"We'll talk once the little thing grows a little older. We still need him to lead the way."

"..."

Ice Empress's expression froze for a moment.

"What?"

Ice Empress's eyes instantly widened as she stared at Snow Emperor in disbelief.

"Our combined cultivation is over a million years, and we still have to rely on this little burden to lead the way?"

Ice Empress's tone was clearly incredulous, but Snow Emperor looked as though it were only natural.

"The little thing knows the exact location, while we don't even know what that cold spring looks like. What if we search the wrong place?"

"..."

Ice Empress was instantly unable to refute her.

The exact location of the Myriad-Year Profound Ice Marrow existed only within Ling Xiao's inherited memories.

Without Ling Xiao leading the way, they truly might not be able to find that cold spring.

"But he's only been born for a few days! You want him to lead the way? He can't even crawl steadily yet!"

"That's why we wait," Snow Emperor said calmly. "Wait until he grows a little more."

But you can't wait...

Ice Empress looked at Ling Xiao in Snow Emperor's arms, then at Snow Emperor's composed face.

In the end, she could not help letting out a sigh.

"Fine."

Ice Empress plopped down onto the ice bed, folding her arms over her chest. Her twin ponytails hung stiffly down her back, and her entire body radiated reluctance.

"Then we wait. That thing has waited for so many years already. A few more days won't make a difference."

In the days that followed, Ling Xiao lived a life he would never have dared imagine.

To put it simply, he received imperial treatment, with Snow Emperor and Ice Empress taking turns caring for him.

During the day, Snow Emperor held him as she fed him soul power and accompanied him as he practiced crawling on the ice bed.

At night, Snow Emperor gathered him into her arms and used her own body warmth to drive away the cold.

As for Ice Empress—

No one knew when it began, but Ice Empress started visiting the Ice Crystal Palace frequently as well.

Originally, Ice Empress came only once every so often to chat with Snow Emperor and discuss the recent situation in the Extreme North.

But now, Ice Empress came almost every day, sometimes even several times a day.

The reason, of course, was...

She needed to keep an eye on this little burden and not let him wear out her Xue'er.

At least, that was what Ice Empress herself claimed.

That day—

As Ice Empress watched Snow Emperor feed Ling Xiao soul power, she suddenly spoke.

"Xue'er, this little thing has quite the appetite. How about you teach me how to feed him?"

Ice Empress's tone was somewhat awkward, and her gaze drifted uncertainly. Saying those words made her uncomfortable.

"I see you feeding him every day, and it looks tiring. I want to help share some of the burden."

Snow Emperor was slightly taken aback. Then she smiled faintly and said—

"Alright."

Snow Emperor did not refuse.

Since Ice Empress was willing to help, she naturally would not be stingy with her experience.

Besides, with Ice Empress's strength, feeding Ling Xiao was more than manageable for her.

Thus, Snow Emperor personally taught Ice Empress how to properly feed Ling Xiao.

As Snow Emperor demonstrated, she explained calmly, "The transfer rate can't be too fast."

"Although the little thing has a big appetite, his meridians are still developing."

"If too much soul power is poured into him at once, it will burden his body."

"You have to start bit by bit like this, then slowly increase it based on how much he absorbs."

Ice Empress's expression was extremely serious.

Snow Emperor guided Ice Empress's finger and slowly placed it on Ling Xiao's chest.

"The pressure can't be too heavy or too light. Feel it, like this..."

"Mhm, mhm."

Ice Empress nodded repeatedly in earnest, looking like a diligent student seeking instruction.

No one would have believed that the two great rulers of the Extreme North were gathered together at that moment, discussing how to properly feed an infant.

At first—

Ice Empress had been quite enthusiastic.

She learned quickly. Though her movements were not as natural as Snow Emperor's, they were still fairly decent.

"Hmph, it's not that hard."

Ice Empress lifted her chin somewhat smugly.

However, the good times did not last. Before even a few days had passed, Ice Empress began to find it rather boring.

It was not that feeding Ling Xiao was difficult, but that his appetite was simply too large.

"I'm exhausted!"

Ice Empress lay sprawled weakly across the ice bed, her twin ponytails drooping limply behind her.

"Who would've thought this little burden could eat so much? I don't even want to feed him anymore."

Ice Empress spoke listlessly.

"Xue'er, you have much more than I do. You should feed him instead."

Snow Emperor looked at Ice Empress helplessly.