Transaction

Xuan Xiao cleared his throat, then spoke.

"Hello, Snow Empress."

Snow Empress stood amid the wind and snow, her ice-blue eyes fixed on him. After a moment of silence, she slowly spoke, her voice carrying a cautious note of probing.

"Hello. Are you my family?"

She asked carefully, like someone who had walked alone through a cold night for far too long and suddenly glimpsed a flicker of fire—yearning to draw near, yet afraid that the flame would suddenly go out.

Seeing her expectant yet uneasy expression, Xuan Xiao felt a little sorry for her, but he still answered truthfully.

"No. I'm just a human."

He pointed at the phantom behind him and continued, "As for it, it is indeed an elf, but an elf from another dimension. I merely obtained a portion of its power."

Snow Empress's eyes dimmed in that instant.

Like a lamp that had just been lit, only to be blown out in a single breath.

She lowered her gaze, her long lashes casting shadows across her eyelids and concealing the disappointment in her eyes.

"Is that so..."

Her voice was soft, so soft that it nearly scattered in the wind.

"I thought... I had finally found my family."

She raised her head and forced out a smile, one filled with bitterness and self-mockery.

"Sorry. I was too presumptuous. For nearly seven hundred thousand years, I've always been alone. Suddenly sensing the aura of my kind, I lost my composure for a moment."

Seeing her look so broken, Xuan Xiao felt an indescribable emotion rise within him.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed the words before they could leave his lips.

He had originally intended to get straight to the point and discuss terms, but seeing her like this, he suddenly found it difficult to speak.

But he still spoke.

"Are you okay?"

Snow Empress shook her head, returning to her usual cold and aloof demeanor.

"It is nothing. Since you have gained its recognition, you can be considered half one of our kind. Tell me, why have you come to find me?"

Xuan Xiao took a deep breath, then slowly spoke.

"I have a batch of Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow. It's enough to help the Three Kings of the Far North withstand one Lightning Tribulation."

The moment those words came out, Snow Empress's pupils sharply contracted.

Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow?

That was one of the most precious treasures in the Far North, containing incomparably pure ice elemental energy. To ice-attributed Soul Beasts, it was simply priceless.

Even she had only seen a few pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow.

And this brat was talking about a whole batch?

Snow Empress's gaze sharpened. She looked Xuan Xiao over from head to toe, as though judging whether his words were true.

"What are your conditions? The fact that you came here means you must have prepared yourself. I don't believe there's such a thing as a free lunch."

Xuan Xiao's gaze swept over her body.

He had to admit, he had absolutely no resistance to mature beauties like Snow Empress.

White hair, ice-blue eyes, a cold temperament, a peerless face, and that tall, slender figure—she was practically made for his tastes.

He took a deep breath, then said each word distinctly.

"You."

Snow Empress froze for a moment, seemingly not hearing clearly.

"What?"

Xuan Xiao repeated himself, his tone firm.

"I want you."

The instant those words fell, the air froze solid.

Even the wind and snow seemed to stop howling, and the entire world fell into dead silence.

Snow Empress's eyes widened, her peerless face filled with shock.

After living for so long, this was the first time anyone had dared say something like that to her.

Even the other two kings of the Far North, Ice Empress and the Titan Snow Demon King, would not dare speak to her in such a tone.

Had this brat eaten a bear's heart and leopard's gall?

Electrolux stood to the side, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. Then he silently looked away, pretending he had heard nothing.

This brat truly had guts.

Snow Empress remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, her voice carrying a dangerous edge.

"Do you know what you're saying?"

Xuan Xiao met her gaze without fear and replied calmly.

"Of course I do. I'll help you survive the Lightning Tribulation, and I want you. That's fair, isn't it?"

Snow Empress narrowed her eyes. A frigid chill spread from her body, and the surrounding temperature abruptly plunged by dozens of degrees.

"Aren't you afraid I'll attack you?"

With a flick of his wrist, a crystalline piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow abruptly appeared in Xuan Xiao's hand.

The ice marrow was completely transparent and emitted a faint blue glow. A pure ice elemental aura radiated from it, irresistibly drawing Snow Empress's gaze.

"Not to mention that even if you killed me, you still wouldn't be able to find where I hid these things."

"Besides, with your speed, you can't catch me."

Snow Empress snorted, her tone tinged with disdain.

"Can't catch you?"

Xuan Xiao smiled faintly, his tone as relaxed as if he were commenting on the weather.

"It took me only three seconds to get from Shrek City to the outskirts of the Far North."

Snow Empress's expression stiffened.

Shrek City and the outskirts of the Far North were separated by more than ten thousand miles.

Even at her speed, traveling at full force would take nearly half a day.

Yet this brat had taken only three seconds?

Seeing her ghost-struck expression, Xuan Xiao continued.

"Don't be surprised. Explosive Giant Fist itself can reach the speed of light—more than three hundred thousand kilometers per second."

"The power I can currently unleash is less than one-tenth of its full strength."

Snow Empress fell silent.

She had seen countless geniuses and countless powerful beings, but she had never seen a monster like this.

The speed of light?

That was something from legend, something even million-year Soul Beasts—

No!

Even gods could not possibly reach such a speed.

But if what he said was true, then she truly could not catch him.

And even if she killed him, she would not be able to find the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow.

She was silent for a long time before slowly speaking, her voice filled with complicated emotions.

"Why do you want to help me?"

Xuan Xiao looked at her, his gaze frank.

"I already told you. I want you."

Snow Empress froze for a moment before finally understanding.

He did not mean that he wanted her to become his subordinate, but rather...

Rather...

Her face instantly turned red.

The blush spread from her cheeks all the way to her ears, even tinting her neck a faint pink.

This was the first time anyone had dared say such things to her.

And it was a human boy who looked only twelve or thirteen years old.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed the words again.

She realized her mind was completely blank. She had no idea what to say.

Seeing this, Xuan Xiao raised the stakes.

"Forty-five pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow. If you agree, I'll use twenty of them as bride price. How about it?"

He refused to believe it.

In his original world, he only had a little money and would never have dared play like this.

But here, he refused to believe he could not smash open a woman's heart with money.

Forty-five pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow—wealth enough to drive the entire Far North mad.

Even Snow Empress could not possibly remain unmoved.

Snow Empress's breathing became slightly hurried. Her chest rose and fell faintly, revealing the turmoil in her heart.

She looked at the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow in Xuan Xiao's hand, then at his young face, her mind a complete mess.

Was this brat serious?

Was he truly going to use forty-five pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow to trade for her?

This was the first time she had encountered such a situation.

She had seen suitors before, but those suitors were either Soul Beasts or powerful humans. Not one had dared be like him and lay the terms openly on the table.

And the price he offered was simply too high.

Forty-five pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow were enough for her to survive the Lightning Tribulation, with plenty left over.

No matter how she looked at it, she was the one profiting from this deal.

But the problem was that she, Snow Empress, leader of the Three Kings of the Far North, was actually going to sell herself for Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow?

If word got out, how could she ever show her face in the Far North again?