You Brought Us to Mingdu for Sightseeing? Seeing Her Was the Real Reason, Wasn't It?

By the time Li Changqing left Orange's place, it was already midnight.

The streets were deserted, with only soul tool streetlamps casting a dim yellow glow and stretching his shadow long behind him.

The night breeze carried a slight chill as it brushed past, stirring the loose strands of hair before his forehead.

He walked down the empty street at an unhurried pace, though his mind was occupied with many thoughts.

At present, there was only one nation on this continent capable of ending the conflict and achieving unification.

That was the Sun Moon Empire, which had come from across the sea.

Because the Sun Moon Empire's soul tool technology was simply too powerful.

How powerful was it?

So powerful that even without peak individual combatants, it still took the three nations of the Original Douluo Continent, Shrek Academy, and countless powerful individuals joining forces just to barely contend with it.

If Tang San had not destroyed the Spirit Empire back then...

If Spirit Hall still existed...

Then, with its immense influence and reserves of top-tier experts, it might have been able to stand toe-to-toe with the Sun Moon Empire.

But Spirit Hall had been destroyed, and the power vacuum it left behind led to the division and internal strife of the three nations on the Original Douluo Continent. That was what gave the Sun Moon Empire an opening.

At that thought, Li Changqing could not help sneering as he cursed under his breath, "Damn Tang San. Destroying Spirit Hall was one thing, but you actually left this mess behind. You patted your ass and ascended to the Divine Realm to enjoy yourself, leaving this battered continent for others to clean up."

He shook his head, temporarily suppressing those thoughts as he quickened his pace toward the hotel.

By the time he returned to the hotel, it was already the early hours of the morning.

Li Changqing swiped his keycard to unlock the door and pushed it open.

Yet the moment he stepped into the room, he paused in slight surprise.

The lights were still on.

A familiar graceful figure sat on the edge of his bed, her hands braced against the mattress as her fair calves swayed gently. Clearly, she had been waiting for him for quite a while.

Ye Guyi looked up as he entered, her gaze sweeping over him before she softly asked, "Where did you go?"

Li Changqing closed the door, took off his coat and hung it on the rack, then casually replied, "I went to see a friend."

Ye Guyi's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she pressed on, "A friend? Male or female?"

That question gave Li Changqing a headache.

Orange had just asked him the same thing, and now Ye Guyi was asking it again.

Somewhat helplessly, he answered, "Female."

Ye Guyi's eyes narrowed slightly, and she fell silent for several seconds.

Then she asked, "You brought us to Mingdu. Sightseeing was just an excuse, and seeing her was the real reason, wasn't it?"

Li Changqing turned around and looked into her golden eyes, which held traces of scrutiny and unease. Somewhat impatiently, he asked, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

His retort immediately weakened Ye Guyi's momentum.

She lowered her head and lightly bit her lip, her hands unconsciously clutching the bedsheet. After a long silence, she finally gathered the courage to look up, her voice carrying a trace of unease and nervousness.

"Are... are you close to her?"

Seeing how cautious she looked, Li Changqing's impatience faded somewhat, and his tone softened. "We get along pretty well."

A complicated gleam flashed through Ye Guyi's eyes at his words.

She lowered her head and remained silent for a moment.

Then she lifted it again. Her voice was even softer than before, yet it carried a seriousness that could not be ignored.

"Then... compared to me?"

Li Changqing fell silent at Ye Guyi's question.

The room was quiet for several seconds, with only the occasional sound of the night wind outside the window.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Ye Guyi tightly gripped the bedsheet. Her golden eyes stared unblinkingly at Li Changqing, filled with expectation and unease, like a prisoner awaiting judgment.

"Is this question important?"

Instead of answering right away, Li Changqing asked her that.

"It's very important to me." Ye Guyi nodded, making it clear how much she cared about the answer.

Under Ye Guyi's expectant and uneasy gaze, Li Changqing slowly opened his mouth and softly uttered a single word. "You."

At that word, a brilliant smile instantly blossomed across Ye Guyi's exquisitely beautiful and noble face.

It was like the first ray of spring sunlight after ice and snow had melted—bright and captivating.

Even her golden eyes overflowed with joy she could not conceal.

She did not know whether Li Changqing truly meant it or was simply trying to make her happy.

But she did not care.

She wanted to hear those words. That was enough.

Ye Guyi rose to her feet and reached out to smooth the slightly wrinkled hem of her dress.

Then she walked over to Li Changqing and softly said, "Get some rest early. Don't stay up too late."

With that, she turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Her footsteps gradually faded away, leaving Li Changqing standing there alone.

Li Changqing watched her leave, then withdrew his gaze and walked to the window, pushing it open.

The night breeze, carrying Mingdu's distinct scent, rushed toward him with a slight chill.

He raised his head toward the night sky, but his gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of clouds and mist, landing in the direction of the Far North.

At this point in time, if he was not mistaken, Huo Yuhao should already have entered the Far North under Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's guidance.

It was not as if he had never considered getting to the Ice Empress before Huo Yuhao and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm did, and talking her into joining him.

But after weighing it carefully, he realized it was simply impossible.

Huo Yuhao had only succeeded because Sky Dream Ice Silkworm used its spiritual power and origin power to restrain the Ice Empress, leaving her unable to resist and forcing her to accept the sacrifice.

Otherwise, given the Ice Empress's violent temperament and nearly four hundred thousand years of cultivation, let alone obtaining her soul ring and soul bone, merely leaving the Far North alive would have been a blessing.

In other words, if he wanted to obtain the Ice Empress—or rather, make her willing to sit down and listen to him—the first and most important prerequisite was being able to defeat or restrain her.

But the problem was, if he could already defeat the Ice Empress, would he still need her soul ring and soul bone?

Obviously not.

So rather than painstakingly trying to talk the Ice Empress into it, he might as well find a way to obtain the Snow Empress.

At the very least, the Snow Empress's value and abilities far surpassed those of the Ice Empress.

Whether it was her cultivation of nearly seven hundred thousand years or her influence in the Far North, neither was something the Ice Empress could compare to.

At that thought, Li Changqing slowly closed his eyes.

The next moment, an unfathomable and vast aura quietly spread from within him.

Behind him, an enormous Taiji diagram slowly emerged. Black and white light intertwined and revolved, emanating a mysterious rhythm that seemed capable of encompassing heaven and earth and evolving all things.

"Everything is moving along its predetermined course. I wonder what the future will be like..."