The Ice Empress Was Willing to Die. Have You Ever Seen a Dragon?

A beam formed from Ice Emperor's Wrath shot toward the Heavenly Fiend Douluo.

Suppressed by Ultimate Ice, the Heavenly Fiend Douluo could barely circulate his Soul Power. As he watched the terrifying attack approach, only one thought remained:

I'm finished.

At the last possible moment, a crimson figure stepped in front of him.

Whoosh! The figure opened his mouth and swallowed the terrifying Ice Emperor's Wrath whole.

The Heavenly Fiend Douluo stared blankly. The man before him was Taotie Douluo, Xuan Zi, with his Martial Soul unleashed.

Xuan Zi no longer looked old. His body had grown powerfully built, and two enormous horns had sprouted from his head.

He grinned. "So this is the mighty Ferocious Beast Ice Empress? I'm not impressed."

The Ice Empress watched her attack get stopped with such ease.

Her gaze grew colder still.

If she could use the Soul Power of her four hundred thousand years of cultivation, how could she let this stupid ox act so arrogantly in front of her?

But right now, she truly was no match for Xuan Zi.

Xuan Zi looked past the Ice Empress to Chi Hong and said viciously:

"Boy, I'm curious. You can even command a Ferocious Beast-level Soul Beast. Where did you get such an ability?"

"If you hand that ability over to Shrek, along with the Plate, the Ice Jade Scorpion Soul Bone, and the hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast embryo, I may consider going easy on you, human traitor."

Chi Hong swept his gaze around the arena. The Star Luo Empire's emperor, dukes, commoners, and students from the other academies competing in the tournament were all present.

They all looked at him with wary eyes, united against him.

An idea suddenly came to Chi Hong. He gave a soft laugh and clasped his hands behind his back, his bearing turning confident and sharp.

"Since you all want to know, listen carefully. I come from the ancient Beast Taming Sect, the mightiest sect of a bygone age, hidden from the world."

"I am its current young master. I emerged this time to see what the world has become."

Xuan Zi frowned.

"What Beast Taming Sect? I've never heard of it. If you're its young master, why did you come to Shrek and harm my students?"

Chi Hong sneered.

"A frog at the bottom of a well. The Beast Taming Sect has existed since the dawn of humanity. In ancient times, we could form contracts with Soul Beasts and command them. That made us the strongest power of our age."

"Later, we discovered that the Soul Beasts we raised could not become gods and would face heavenly tribulations. So we withdrew from the world to study how to help Soul Beasts ascend to godhood."

"But I never expected that after only a few tens of thousands of years..."

Chi Hong's gaze swept over the crowd.

"You slaughtered Soul Beasts without restraint to increase your own strength. Their numbers have plummeted, and countless species that existed since ancient times are now extinct."

"Have you ever considered what will happen if you keep destroying nature's balance?"

No one answered.

Of course they knew that if this continued, Soul Beasts would go extinct. People would no longer be able to obtain high-age Soul Rings, and their strength would stop growing.

But who could resist the temptation to become stronger?

Chi Hong paused, then continued:

"I know you can't put a complete stop to it. But I never imagined you wouldn't even take basic precautions. Instead, you've pinned all your hopes on Soul Tools and their development. How disappointing."

Chi Hong shook his head with a sigh and turned back to Xuan Zi.

"To prevent a future where Soul Beasts go extinct, the Beast Taming Sect has decided to emerge once more and take charge of this world. We will change the future of humanity and Soul Beasts alike."

Xuan Zi burst out laughing.

"Never mind whether your Beast Taming Sect even exists. Take charge of the world? Have you asked Shrek, the continent's foremost academy?"

Chi Hong's expression did not change. His tone remained calm.

"The Beast Taming Sect values peace. We had no wish to resort to violence as soon as we emerged, so the sect sent me ahead. Naturally, I chose this so-called foremost academy as my first stop."

"If your academy had proved honorable and devoted to humanity's future, willing to work tirelessly and give of itself, I would have done everything I could to help it."

Chi Hong sighed again.

"But I found none of that."

"Your teaching is barely competent, and your academic culture is worse. From teachers to students, nearly everyone is mired in romantic entanglements. And the academy's second-strongest member is a gluttonous fool. What a joke."

"This tournament has gone exactly as I expected. You're all beyond saving."

The people in the arena exchanged glances.

If they could improve relations between humans and Soul Beasts and gain the ability to command Soul Beasts as Chi Hong did, they would gladly accept it.

But they did not want another powerful faction to rise.

That would mean fewer resources to go around, along with shifts in status and inevitable conflict.

So almost no one agreed with Chi Hong.

Only the Ice Empress looked at him with shining eyes.

Emotion rippled through her heart.

She had not been wrong about this man.

For the sake of Soul Beasts, he was willing to proclaim his convictions before the entire world.

In that case, she would not fail the... master she had chosen.

[Ice Empress affinity +7. Current affinity: 89.]

But Xuan Zi's eyes were bloodshot, and he breathed heavily. Chi Hong's insults were all he could hear. "You dare insult Shrek? You've earned your death! Die!"

He stamped his foot and charged at Chi Hong with overwhelming speed and force.

"If you want to kill him, you'll have to go through me."

The Ice Empress's small figure stood before Chi Hong, her gaze fierce and unwavering.

She thrust both hands forward, and Ultimate Ice gathered into layer upon layer of shields before her.

Ice Empress Protection!

Xuan Zi slammed both fists into the ice shields.

Boom!

The clash between two supreme fighters sent a shockwave sweeping across the entire Soul Arena.

Everyone felt its crushing force. It seemed the Soul Arena might be torn apart at any moment.

The two remained locked in a stalemate.

But Xuan Zi laughed wildly. A black hole had formed on each of his fists, steadily devouring the Ice Empress's Ultimate Ice.

Although more of the Ice Empress's power had been unsealed, she was still no match for Xuan Zi.

As they struggled against each other, she sent a message directly to Chi Hong.

"Soon I'll force out my own essence and freeze this old man along with me, trapping us both here. Use that chance to escape. Go as far as you can, and don't come back."

Chi Hong frowned. He understood what the Ice Empress intended at once.

"You want to use Ice Explosion Technique on yourself and take him down with you? Don't be ridiculous. I won't allow it."

After acquiring the Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone, he had immediately had the Ice Empress refine it and learn Ice Explosion Technique.

He had not expected her to want to use it so soon, much less as a one-time sacrifice.

The Ice Empress gave no real answer. She merely smiled.

"Don't worry about me. I do as I please. Now go. Meeting you made me happy. I only regret that I won't see the day you become a God."

Hearing what sounded like the Ice Empress's last words, Chi Hong gave a helpless smile.

Then he walked forward and stood beside her.

"You've forgotten how I took you in, haven't you?" he said softly. "You really are a fool."

The Ice Empress froze. Her eyes brightened. "You mean...?"

Chi Hong looked coldly at the sneering Xuan Zi. Holding an ordinary Poké Ball in his hand, he asked:

"Xuan Zi, have you ever seen a dragon?"