"Tian Meng, wake up... wake up..."
In his groggy haze, someone was calling him.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm opened his eyes and found someone before him.
She was a lovely young girl in an emerald-green dress, her dark green hair cascading down her back. Four emerald-green markings adorned each side of her fair face, lending an uncanny beauty to her peerless features.
At that moment, she gently swayed her body, her skin as white as ice and snow, with a translucent quality and emerald light flowing across it.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm could barely tear his eyes away, for the person before him was none other than the goddess of his dreams, the four-hundred-thousand-year-old Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion-
The Ice Empress.
Seeing that he still said nothing, the "Ice Empress" seemed to grow a little anxious and transformed back into her original form.
At this sight, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's eyes shone even brighter. Even his body in the real world began to tremble, making the chains rattle-a clear sign of his excitement.
"Bingbing, is it really you? You've finally come for me! Too bad I can't shed tears, or they'd be streaming down my face~"
Her extra-wide body, her squinty little eyes, her enormous pincers-every one of them tugged at his heartstrings and swept him off his feet.
Although, from a human perspective, there was nothing particularly attractive about a giant scorpion. Perhaps beauty really was in the eye of the beholder; even if the "Ice Empress" turned into a werewolf, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm would still think she was the goddess of his heart~
"Tian Meng, come here... hurry over here~"
Noticing his excitement, the "Ice Empress" stepped up her movements, circling three times left and three times right, wiggling her neck and shaking her butt.
Along with "her" movements, the enormous hook at the base of that massive body's tail swung rapidly through the air.
So enchanted that the corners of his mouth flew upward, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was just about to become one with the "Ice Empress" when he slammed on the brakes at the last moment.
His entranced eyes gradually cleared. "No, you're not Bingbing. Who exactly are you? Why are you impersonating my goddess!"
The more he spoke, the more agitated he became. His already immense spiritual power gradually gathered, ready to unleash something big at any moment.
Afraid he would go berserk, the other party swiftly dropped every disguise and revealed his true form. "Fine, you caught me."
Not only was this not the goddess of his dreams, it was actually a man!
At the thought that he had just been utterly bewitched by a man, indulging in wild fantasies and nearly going for it, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm inwardly swore on the spot and almost threw up last night's dinner.
It was like meeting an online lover in person, expecting a pretty, sweet-voiced girl, cute or mature, only to get the polar opposite-a burly, foot-picking man!
"Bingbing, I've wronged you. I'm sullied... I'm no longer pure... boo-hoo-hoo..."
At that second, he desperately wanted to flee the continent and charge out of the Douluo Star System. Or, to take things to an extreme, he might as well hang himself from a southeastern branch and be done with it!
"Stop, stop, stop! You're a grown man-what are you crying for? Besides, I'm the one who changed sex and did a seductive dance. If anyone got the short end of the stick, it was me!"
Annoyed by all this, Lin Qian hurriedly called a halt.
If a beautiful young girl were crying, he would have taken her into his arms and comforted her, but this was a man. What kind of behavior was all this sniveling?
At that moment, looking at the giant worm before him, he too experienced the feeling of an online romance going wrong at their first meeting. It was as disgusting as swallowing a fly. Damn it!
Interrupted in his crying, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm wiped away tears that did not exist. "Speaking of which, who exactly are you? Why did you pretend to be my Bingbing!"
Seeing that he was about to go berserk again, Lin Qian stopped him in time. "If you don't calm down, you'll never see the Ice Empress again!"
"Fine, you win. Go on, what do you want with me?"
At the mention of the Ice Empress, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm instantly recovered, and his intelligence came back online in a flash. Since this fellow had impersonated his goddess, he knew he would never have come knocking at the temple without a reason!
Once both had calmed down, Lin Qian could finally take a proper look at this soul beast.
Ten golden markings, a white-jade body, vast spiritual power...
One look into his eyes confirmed it: this was definitely no fake!
He let out a long breath.
Cross-dressing and changing sex + coquettish posing + turning into a beast...
Heaven knew how torturous that had been. The second his performance ended, he had truly been exhausted in body and mind, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep and never wake up, to heal his wounded soul!
"I'm a little tired. Introduce yourself first..."
At this, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm instantly perked up. "Now that you've brought that up, I'm not sleepy anymore. I am the embodiment of heroism and chivalry, blessed with both wisdom and beauty, the king of beasts on the Douluo Continent, a peerless powerhouse with a million years of cultivation, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, holder of the record for the longest lifespan!"
At the end, he deliberately paused and solemnly explained, "You may call me Brother Sky Dream~"
Having read the original work, Lin Qian knew exactly what this worm was like. He had let him speak first because he wanted a little rest and, while he was at it, to heal his wounded soul.
Sure enough, once he finished, Lin Qian instantly perked up too, ready to put this narcissist and hopeless simp in his place.
He curled his lips into a slight smile. "Big worm."
"Mm... huh? Don't call me that! Call me Brother Sky Dream!"
Lin Qian kept smiling. "Sure, big worm."
"Aaaargh!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm flew into a towering rage. Unfortunately, he was a spiritual entity, and no matter how wildly his enormous body writhed, he could not stir so much as a ripple.
After raging impotently for so long that even his spiritual form grew tired, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm finally settled down. "Whatever. Call me what you like." Then he changed tack. "If you don't tell me the truth, I'm going back to sleep!"
Whether dealing with soul masters or soul beasts, Lin Qian followed one principle-if he could keep them in line, he would never indulge them!
The tiger hasn't shown its might, and you think it's on its deathbed? Take a good look at who's really in charge!
So he continued smiling. "Sure! Go back. If you want the Silver Dragon King to suck you completely dry, go right ahead!"
"You... hey, wait!" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's eyes rolled. "How do you know about the Silver Dragon King?"
Lin Qian put on a mysterious air. "Heaven's secrets must not be revealed. I only share my secrets with those bound to me by fate. How about this-become my first soul ring, and I'll tell you everything?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm understood instantly. "Oh-ho-ho, the map's unrolled and the dagger's revealed, huh? I could tell at a glance you were up to no good!"
Lin Qian deliberately provoked him. "Just tell me whether you're in!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm thought it over and decided he was bluffing. "Is that really true? Your first soul ring? How could a puny rank-ten weakling withstand my immense power?"
It couldn't be helped. Who had told this fellow to impersonate the goddess of his dreams and leave him with such a bad first impression?
If the Scarlet King hadn't beaten him up that day, judging by this fellow's opening performance alone, he really would have gone back to sleep. So there!
Lin Qian said, "Allow me to introduce myself. My surname is Lin, my given name is Qian, I'm twelve, my innate soul power is rank eighty, and I have the only body martial soul on the Douluo Continent! Brother Sky Dream, give it some thought~"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm thought again. "Your strength is pretty good, but I'm a spiritual-type soul beast. With just a body martial soul, you and I don't match at all!"
Lin Qian said, "Take a closer look. The place where we're talking is my spiritual space."
It really is!
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sensed it carefully and discovered that this person's spiritual power was indeed vast, only a little weaker than his own.
He truly did not want to spend another moment in that rotten place at the bottom of the lake. Following this human would let him go out and see the dazzling world, and look for the goddess of his dreams along the way.
So, turning his goddess into motivation, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nodded firmly-
"Let's do it!"