Which Ice Do You Think Spirit Ice Refers To?

The two coordinated their cover stories, though El did most of the talking while Huo Yutong listened.

El's current identity was the heir of a secluded family near Dragon City in the northern Heaven Dou Empire, with only a scant handful of members left.

Huo Yutong was a lost member of that family whom El had encountered on his way to the Star Dou Great Forest for soul hunting, related to them through her mother's bloodline.

That made them distant cousins.

Not long after they finished aligning their stories, the people El had been waiting for arrived.

"Little Yu Tong!"

An anxious note rang through the clear voice as a figure who looked none too bright burst through the dense woods and appeared before them.

Without question, it was the Tang Sect's current sect master-Tang Ya.

"Are you all right?!"

Her high ponytail swayed behind her head as the fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl hurried up to Huo Yutong and examined her from head to toe, paying particular attention to the bandaged wound on her shoulder.

"I'm fine, Sister Xiaoya..."

Huo Yutong lowered her head, her voice soft.

She had received kindness only a handful of times in her entire life, and Tang Ya had been one of those few.

"Young fellow, are you Little Yu Tong's friend?"

Ah, here comes the guy whose seventh, eighth, and ninth rings are all twenty thousand years old.

A boy with short, dark blue hair approached El. He stood tall and straight, with a refined, easygoing smile that made him seem approachable at a glance.

From where the two were standing, Bei Bei could tell that Little Yu Tong definitely knew the boy before her. In fact, she seemed to trust him a great deal.

"Yep, I'm El. Yu Tong and I are distant cousins."

El spoke with casual ease.

"I came out to hunt for a soul ring. Originally, I planned to meet Yu Tong at Shrek Academy, but something unexpected happened, so we split up for a while."

"When I stumbled across her in the Star Dou Great Forest, this girl had actually been ambushed by a ten-year Wind Baboon."

A ten-year Wind Baboon had nearly scored itself an eleven-year God of Emotion soul ring.

El sighed and covered his forehead, putting on an expression that said he could hardly bear to look.

Something unexpected?

Bei Bei narrowed his eyes slightly, but did not press the matter.

"Shrek?!"

Tang Ya, who had been holding Huo Yutong's hand off to the side, finally noticed their conversation and exclaimed.

"Are you two planning to enroll at Shrek Academy? Then we'll be schoolmates!"

"Little El, are you here to hunt for your second ring? Why isn't there an adult with you?"

Her chatter went on without pause, one question tumbling after another.

"Xiaoya, you have to give him time to answer."

With a wry smile, Bei Bei stopped Tang Ya from grilling El and gave him an apologetic look.

"Sorry, little brother. Xiaoya's just like that."

"It's fine, senior." El shook his head, unbothered.

"Still, having a girlfriend like that must be pretty exhausting, huh?"

"Not really. At least things are lively..."

"What's that supposed to mean?! Bei Bei, are you saying I'm noisy?!"

"Xiaoya..."

"Call me Teacher Xiaoya!"

Having successfully redirected Tang Ya's attention back toward Bei Bei, El moved closer to Huo Yutong.

"Yu Tong."

"What is it?"

"I'm starving. I want grilled fish."

Now that I'm in Douluo II, how could I not try Spirit Ice Douluo's grilled fish?

He wanted to see whether its flavor was truly that divine!

"I'll catch some fish!"

Huo Yutong rose, ready to look for a stream.

She was happy that she could fulfill El's wishes.

Even if it was something as trivial as grilled fish.

"Grilled fish!"

At the mention of grilled fish, Tang Ya, who had been fiercely biting Bei Bei, instantly felt the greedy little worm in her belly stir.

Her eyes lit up. Abandoning Bei Bei, she blurred into motion and appeared in front of Huo Yutong.

"Little Yu Tong, grill a few extra! I want some too!"

Although it had not been long since she last tasted Spirit Ice's grilled fish, merely recalling the flavor was enough to make Tang Ya's mouth water.

She could not resist it in the slightest!

"Bei Bei, hurry up and help Little Yu Tong catch some fish."

Considering that Huo Yutong was still injured and quite young, however, Tang Ya's eyes shifted, and she decided to have Bei Bei help.

"No need to trouble Senior Bei Bei."

Before Bei Bei could move, El stepped forward first.

"This all started with my craving. How could I possibly trouble you over it, senior?"

Scales emerged one after another on El's right arm. The sharp ridges of the dark purple dragon scales stood out as he openly released the terrifying aura of his bloodline.

Bei Bei's pupils instantly contracted into draconic slits.

Almost instinctively, his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul was about to possess his body.

What a powerful dragon bloodline!

It can even suppress my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul, despite its trace of Radiant Sacred Dragon blood!

It's definitely a true dragon martial soul!

And even among true dragons, it ranks incredibly high!!

Awed, Bei Bei could only watch El disappear into the bushes. The questions he had wanted to ask refused to leave his mouth.

It took quite a while before he recovered.

Glancing at Huo Yutong, who was being hugged by Tang Ya, Bei Bei sighed and swallowed his questions.

When it came to something like a martial soul, it was more polite to ask its owner in person.

"Hmm-hmm-hmm~"

Within a few minutes, El returned humming a little tune, carrying several large fish that still twitched occasionally.

"Here, Yu Tong. I caught the fish."

"I'll grill them right away."

Huo Yutong, who had been sitting on a thick tree trunk, hurriedly stood up. She took the plump black carp, brought out the White Tiger Dagger and her seasonings, and began preparing the fish.

"That was fast!"

Tang Ya was astonished by El's speed.

El had left in the same direction she and Bei Bei had come from. There was indeed a stream over there, but even the round trip alone would take several minutes.

"Mm-hmm."

El neither confirmed nor denied it.

"Catching fish is easy. Just release a few kilowatt-hours of electricity into the water, and the gods will naturally reward me with some fish."

The only thing El actually had to watch was how much electricity he used, or he might zap the fish straight into charcoal.

A lightning-attribute true dragon?!

Bei Bei was startled once more.

Could this junior be a relative from some branch of our family?

At that thought, Bei Bei asked, "Junior El, may I ask where your family is...?"

"Oh, near Dragon City in the northern part of the Heavenly Soul Empire. Just an obscure secluded family."

A secluded family near Dragon City...

Could they have some connection to the Heaven and Earth Dragon Gate...?

Bei Bei nodded lightly in thought.

Seeing Bei Bei's contemplative expression, El kept his faint smile and walked toward Huo Yutong, who had deftly finished most of the preparations.

Go on, think. Think a little harder.

From the very beginning, El had deliberately revealed his martial soul and bloodline.

Dragon City, where the Heaven and Earth Dragon Gate was based, a secluded family, an absurdly powerful martial soul...

He intended to use those things to reach Mu En directly through Bei Bei.

And then safely gain access to the Golden Tree.

Everything was proceeding steadily.

In a good mood, El sidled up beside little Miss Huo.

"Yu Tong, is it ready?"

The gutted, descaled, and scored black carp had been coated in a light dusting of snow-white salt. Bruised and rubbed perilla leaves were stuffed into their bellies, removing the fishy smell while adding another layer of fragrance to the flesh.

Then Huo Yutong skewered the black carp one by one on small branches, ready to be grilled.

Curious, El poked a fish's belly with his finger, then rubbed off the salt clinging to his fingertip.

Could such simple seasoning really produce the delicious flavor described in the novel?

"It would be best to let them marinate a little longer."

Huo Yutong scratched her cheek sheepishly.

There had not been enough time. To let the flavor soak into the black carp, it would be best to marinate them a little longer.

They could use that brief wait to build a fire.

"They should be about ready once we get the campfire going."

As she spoke, she was about to take out her fire-starting tools and kindle a flame among the dry branches she had gathered.

But El stopped her.

"Did that Wind Baboon knock your brains loose? With me here, why go to all that trouble?"

El snapped his fingers.

A fierce flame appeared above his palm, which was covered in dark scales.

It was clearly just a tiny, seemingly feeble flame, yet as it flickered, everyone present could distinctly feel the surrounding temperature rising slowly but steadily.

"Fire attribute?!"

And an extremely high-level fire attribute at that.

Watching El light the fire, Bei Bei cried out in surprise before he could stop himself.

A true dragon martial soul capable of controlling both lightning and fire!

Could it be a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon that mutated in another direction?!

Remembering his great-great-grandfather's Radiant Sacred Dragon, and putting all the clues together, Bei Bei instinctively made that connection.

After all, tracing their roots back, both their branch and the Heavenly Dragon Sect originated from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, one of the Upper Three Sects ten thousand years ago.

And El had mentioned earlier that he came from a secluded family near Dragon City.

Could he really be a distant relative...?

Although the thought still took the form of a question, Bei Bei had more or less accepted his own guess.

And that made his gaze toward El grow all the warmer and friendlier.