Are You Used to Me Holding You Like This?

Thinking of this, he looked at Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu beside him, who were using Soul Power to fend off the biting wind, and asked, "Do you know about the Ice Empress and Snow Empress?"

"What are those?" A trace of confusion flickered in Shui Bing'er's eyes.

"Never heard of them." Xue Wu shook her head. "They sound like titles for emperors of some empire? Ice Empress, Snow Empress... Pretty imposing names."

Wu Changkong turned his gaze toward the front of the group. "What about the dean?"

Shui Qinghan shook her head. "I haven't heard of them either. The Far North has always been a barren ice field. No nation or regime has ever been established there."

"What book did you read that in?"

"They aren't humans, but the two great rulers of the Far North." Wu Changkong explained evenly. "The Ice Empress is the clan leader of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Clan. Her true form is an Ice Jade Scorpion, and her cultivation is close to four hundred thousand years."

"The Snow Empress is a Heavenly Snow Woman, a lifeform nurtured by the purest ice element in the Far North Core Area. Her cultivation is even higher than the Ice Empress's."

"They usually move about within the core area and rarely leave the deepest reaches of the Far North Glacier."

After hearing that, Xue Wu looked at Wu Changkong as though he were an idiot. "Class monitor, did the heater at the hotel scramble your brains last night?"

"There are Soul Beast emperors in the Far North?"

"Absolutely."

"Then they're stronger than the two great beast kings of Heaven Dou Forest?"

"Stronger. Much stronger."

"If they wanted to, the Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape could be struck from the list of Soul Beast kings entirely."

"If that were true, they should've been famous across the continent long ago. How come I've never heard anyone in my family mention them?"

Shui Bing'er didn't laugh. After quietly listening to Wu Changkong, she shook her head. "Changkong, we really haven't heard of any of this."

"Maybe you saw it in some ancient text, or perhaps it was a legend from a travel journal."

"But we haven't entered the Glacier Belt yet, so there shouldn't be Soul Beasts of the level you described. Don't overthink it. Stay alert."

"You're about to hunt your fourth Soul Ring. If you get distracted now, it'll affect your condition instead."

Wu Changkong glanced at her, nodded slightly, and didn't explain further.

He knew Shui Bing'er wasn't doubting him. She was worried about his state.

To anyone, a Soul Master about to hunt his fourth Soul Ring while dwelling on emperors of the Far North would seem distracted.

But every word he had said was true.

It was simply a truth from ten thousand years in the future. Since they didn't believe him, there was nothing he could do.

After all, if the two Ice and Snow Empresses truly appeared, the Soul Beast hierarchy across the continent would be completely rewritten.

By then, the Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape would no longer be Soul Beast kings. And beneath that mysterious lake deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, even more terrifying dragons still slumbered.

Shui Qinghan gave Wu Changkong a thoughtful glance.

Unlike Xue Wu, she neither laughed nor directly rejected his words, and continued leading them north.

When they reached an open moraine field, Shui Qinghan raised a hand to signal the group to stop.

"Do you see them?"

"We see them."

In the distance, more than a dozen pairs of dark green eyes flickered in and out amid the howling wind and snow.

It was a pack of Ice Wolves, their bodies silver-white and their fur nearly blending into the snow.

The leading Ice Wolf King was fully twice the size of its companions, nearly two meters tall at the shoulder. A low growl rumbled in its throat, and its icy beast eyes remained fixed on the four of them.

Wu Changkong said, "That's a wolf king. It looks like it's around three thousand years old."

"Mhm. I'll drive them away."

Shui Qinghan raised her right hand, and an immense pressure of Soul Power erupted from within her.

When the Ice Wolf King felt the pressure coming from Shui Qinghan, its low growl stopped abruptly. Even its gaze seemed to clear.

"Get lost!"

It faced off against Shui Qinghan for less than two seconds before lowering its tail, turning around, and swiftly fleeing with the pack.

It knew full well that the aura coming from this human was not something it could provoke.

"Let's keep moving."

Xue Wu wiped the snow from her face with her sleeve and let out a long breath of white mist.

Her Snowforged Silken Dance was perfectly suited for such low temperatures, but trekking through knee-deep snow for several hours still took a considerable toll on her stamina.

"Dean, the snow's getting deeper and deeper. We're moving too slowly on the ground."

"How about we just fly over it? The wind and snow are fierce, but it'd still be better than wading through this."

"No." Shui Qinghan shook her head and pointed north at the gray wall of clouds along the horizon. "The airspace over the Far North is far more dangerous than the ground."

"Especially the closer we get to the Glacier Belt. The blizzards at high altitude become much fiercer, and the wind speed is several times stronger than on the ground."

"And there's no cover in the air. If we encounter an emergency... such as a high-altitude cold current..."

Wu Changkong narrowed his eyes at the gray clouds in the north and rapidly calculated the distance and energy consumption in his mind.

"Dean, if we walk, it'll take at least another two days to reach the Glacier Belt."

"Walking is too slow, and flying through the air is unsafe. But we can approach it differently. I'll use my Soul Power to create a barrier against the wind and snow, while Bing'er just focuses on flying forward."

"The barrier can block most of the wind resistance and ice crystals. We can increase our flight speed, and it'll consume far less Soul Power than directly enduring the blizzard."

"Dean, you fly ahead and lead the way. We'll follow behind. If anything happens, we'll send a voice transmission immediately."

Shui Qinghan considered it for a moment, her gaze moving back and forth between Wu Changkong and Shui Bing'er.

The plan did combine the advantages of both options. And with Wu Changkong's level thirty-nine Soul Power reserves, maintaining a barrier for two people for an hour or two while flying wouldn't be a problem.

She finally nodded. "All right. Follow behind me. Bing'er, keep your distance. Don't fly beyond the range of my Soul Power perception."

"If anything unexpected happens, send me a voice transmission immediately. Don't hesitate."

"Got it." The two answered at the same time.

Then Wu Changkong directly extended his right arm and wrapped it around her waist.

Feeling the touch at her waist, Shui Bing'er's body instinctively stiffened. But compared with the last time they took off outside the academy gates, she was much calmer this time.

Shui Bing'er lowered her head to look at the person in her arms and asked, "Ready?"

"Ready."

Shui Bing'er spread her Ice Phoenix Wings and rose into the air.

At the same time, Wu Changkong released his Soul Power. An icy blue barrier enveloped them both, blocking the wind and snow outside.

Shui Bing'er watched Shui Qinghan's figure ahead and followed her through the air.

After flying for a while, Wu Changkong spoke. "Bing'er, are you used to it now?"

"Used to what?"

"Used to me holding you like this."

Shui Bing'er's cheeks heated at his words, and panic flashed across her expression. "Don't talk."

With a red face and a fierce tone, Shui Bing'er repeated, "Don't talk."

"Fine, I won't."

They were quiet for less than a few seconds.

"Loosen your hand a little. You're squeezing so hard I can barely breathe. I'm afraid I'll fall."

"You're a level thirty-nine Soul Elder, and you're afraid of falling?"

"I am." Wu Changkong lied without changing expression.

Shui Bing'er looked at him saying that word with such a serious face, feeling both helpless and speechless.

He was so imposing on the Spirit Battle Platform, yet now he was pretending to be timid.

"Then hold on tighter." She looked away, her voice softening.

"Didn't you just tell me to loosen my hand?"

"You... You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"