The battle dragged on for a long time.
It lasted until evening, ending only with the Ice Empress's defeat.
Looking at the Ice Empress sleeping soundly on the bed,
Lin Xiao finally nodded in satisfaction.
He returned to another room.
The Snow Empress had been waiting for him for quite some time.
He climbed onto the bed with practiced ease and buried his head straight in the Snow Empress's warm embrace.
"I thought you'd be jealous~" A wave of drowsiness washed over Lin Xiao. He yawned and rubbed his eyes against her snowy white peaks.
The Snow Empress gently stroked his forehead and the hair beside it, smiling.
"Then why did you ask whether I wanted to join in?"
He said nothing, merely giving her a squeeze.
"I know. Why would I interfere with something like that? It's not as if you don't know how close Bing'er and I are.
I'd actually welcome it..."
Lin Xiao gave a couple of muffled murmurs and fell into a deep sleep.
But in Heaven Dou City, someone could not sleep.
Qian Renxue was in the secret chamber within her room's study.
She no longer wore Xue Qinghe's appearance.
Instead, she had returned to her true form.
The two Titled Douluos, Snake Lance and Pufferfish, stood silently nearby, neither daring to speak nor move.
Qian Renxue felt cold sweat pouring down her body, as though she were sitting on a bed of needles.
The information Snake Lance Douluo had brought her was staggering.
So staggering that she had no idea what to do.
Her eyes were bloodshot. Ever since receiving the news, she had not dared rest for a moment.
Her mind raced constantly.
A female Super Douluo who apparently possessed an ice attribute.
Two Peerless Douluos.
And Dugu Bo, who had become vastly stronger after taking who knew what medicine.
On top of that, there was the monstrously gifted Zhang Lexuan.
And their founder, Lin Xiao, who surpassed every monstrous prodigy and could be called unrivaled across hundreds of thousands of years.
Such an enormous force.
Why had it suddenly appeared in the public eye?
Would it affect her upcoming coup?
Whose side were they actually on?
Had that madwoman's people approached them yet?
Qian Renxue could not speculate, nor did she dare to.
Moreover, her teacher's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was also deeply interested in the Spirit Pagoda.
They looked eager to recruit them all day long.
Even that idiot prince.
He was outwardly obedient but secretly defiant, privately sending people to seek them out.
And most importantly,
Lin Xiao knew about her disguise!
That was what truly left Qian Renxue drenched in sweat.
The Spirit Pagoda was powerful, certainly, but the Worship Hall was no weakling either.
If they wanted to cooperate, why should she feel pressured?
As long as they were sincere enough and could maintain friendly relations, what would it matter even if that madwoman came?
But revealing her true form herself to seek cooperation and having the other party expose her outright were two entirely different things.
Even going there and voluntarily removing her disguise to demonstrate her sincerity would have been fine.
But he absolutely could not be the one to expose it directly.
This was the Angel God's fucking legacy Soul Bone.
What did he mean, anyone with a few trump cards could see through it?
Snake Lance was an idiot. Did he think she was an idiot too?
They hadn't even met Xue Qinghe once.
How did he have the nerve to claim he'd seen through it himself?
After all, Grandfather had once told her.
Even someone at his level had to examine this disguise very carefully to see through it.
Even if they had a Peerless Douluo, surely they would at least need to meet her and take a look.
He had exposed her without ever seeing her face.
Hiss... wasn't this a cheat?
She took deep breaths for a long time, forcing herself to calm down.
"Put plainly, what he said was meant to make me go there in person.
A secluded sect with such formidable combat power, and Lin Xiao himself possesses a heaven-defying soul ring configuration.
An ancient once said that when every other possibility has been eliminated, whatever remains, however absurd, must be the truth."
"Lin Xiao definitely possesses a legacy, and there is definitely a god standing behind them! Otherwise, none of this makes sense!"
"I'm the Angel God's heir, so even without meeting me or 'Xue Qinghe' in person,
he could still know about me!
But... why does he want to see me?
..."
Snake Lance and Pufferfish watched Qian Renxue, who seemed to be losing her mind.
They exchanged a glance.
"What's wrong with the Young Master?"
"No idea. Should we tell the Great Enshrined?"
The two communicated through voice transmission.
But Qian Renxue before them only grew more unhinged.
One moment she was deep in thought; the next, she looked as if she had grasped the mysteries of all creation.
She kept muttering things like, "That's it. That must be it. I've done it. I know the truth!"
Only after quite a while did she stop.
She looked at Porcupinefish Douluo.
"Just say the crown prince is ill and cannot attend for the next few days."
Then she turned to Snake Lance.
"We need to get there as soon as possible. Fly me there yourself."
Snake Lance and Pufferfish looked at each other.
They nodded.
Early the next morning, Zhang Lexuan was just emerging from her room.
For convenience at work,
there was a hidden door at the back of her office, with her living quarters beyond it.
She saw Lin Xiao toying with a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
His face was full of amusement.
"Young Master, what's the matter?"
Having just woken up, she was still a little dazed.
But she still asked softly.
Lin Xiao pointed at the large projection screen.
It showed Snake Lance Douluo taking an exquisitely beautiful woman toward the depths of the Sunset Forest.
"Thanks for all your hard work. You get up first thing in the morning and already have so much to do. No matter what, I'll have to find you a couple of others to slave away alongside you."
Zhang Lexuan shook her head.
Not everyone could improve their cultivation merely by drinking water like Lin Xiao.
They generally spent their nights meditating.
It not only replaced sleep but also allowed them to cultivate.
Although she had been very busy these past few days, she was not particularly tired.
She took a sip of iced coffee.
Zhang Lexuan stretched, displaying her lovely figure in full before Lin Xiao.
"Young Master, I'll go meet them."
She nodded, then turned into a streak of light and flew away.
The two old men, Shui Tianyi and Dugu Bo, had still risen very early.
Only this time, they were not playing chess.
Dugu Bo was recounting his exploits with plenty of embellishment.
Shui Tianyi sat beside him like an audience member, listening and offering comments, occasionally letting out an exclamation of admiration.
Dugu Bo rubbed his eyes.
"Am I seeing things? Why is that fellow Snake Lance here again, and with such a pretty young girl?"
"Surely he's not trying a honey trap?"
With a flash, Zhang Lexuan appeared beside him again.
Seeing this, Dugu Bo slumped back into his wicker chair.
He drank a couple of sips of tea, then knocked back a mouthful of liquor.
He continued recounting how awesome he was.
Snake Lance Douluo saw Zhang Lexuan waiting at the entrance well ahead of their arrival.
He nodded and greeted her.
Qian Renxue, however, frowned. An ability to monitor people?
Was it her, or someone else?
But immediately afterward, she put on a look of surprise and delight.
"I've long heard of Young Master Lin Xiao, but hearing of someone a hundred times cannot compare to meeting them once. Since he asked me to meet him with my true face, I, Renxue, have come today."
Whatever the case, cooperation still came first.
This time, Zhang Lexuan did not take them to the entrance of the main hall.
Instead, they took the elevator to the top floor.
The two country bumpkins looked utterly astonished.
As if they had seen something incredible.
Qian Renxue forcibly suppressed her urge to ask questions and looked at the man before her.
Before you continue