After taking a deep breath, Luo Chen immediately activated his Netherworld Scorpion Emperor Martial Soul Possession, and a powerful presence erupted from his body.
The Soul Beasts within dozens of meters fell silent the instant they sensed it, curling up in their dens and trembling, not daring to make the slightest sound.
"A top-tier Martial Soul really is great. No pesky bugs coming to pick a fight."
"Still, there's no rush to hunt a Netherworld Stinger Scorpion." Luo Chen withdrew his presence and headed deeper into the forest. "I stink all over. I'll find somewhere to bathe first."
Soon, Luo Chen heard the burbling of running water.
He looked toward the sound and saw a river just ahead.
"That took no effort at all!"
Luo Chen followed the river upstream and found a secluded spot. Only after looking around and confirming there were no signs of Soul Beasts or humans nearby did he strip naked and toss his clothes onto a rock beside the river.
Splash!
He leaped into the river, and the icy water instantly enveloped his entire body.
"Refreshing!" He let out a long breath and began swimming freely through the water.
Moonlight spilled across the shimmering surface. The night breeze brushed softly past, and the shadows of trees swayed. Everything was so peaceful and beautiful.
Meanwhile, not far upstream, a girl in a blue dress was walking slowly along the riverbank, carrying a wooden bucket.
She looked about fourteen or fifteen, with long silver-blue hair cascading over her shoulders, skin fairer than snow, and exquisitely picturesque features.
She was none other than Shui Bing'er, Skywater Academy's chief student, whose Martial Soul was the Ice Phoenix.
She had come to the riverbank partly because her teacher had asked her to fetch some clean water, and partly because she wanted to wash her face.
"The river's just ahead. I knew my senses weren't wrong."
Shui Bing'er walked to the river with a smile. Just as she was about to bend down to fetch water, she suddenly noticed the clothes scattered on a rock beside the river.
"Oh no!" Her pupils contracted slightly. "At this hour, with clothes left on the bank and the person nowhere in sight, what could it be besides drowning?"
At that thought, Shui Bing'er's heart clenched.
Although she came from a distinguished family, had received an elite education since childhood, and was proud and aloof, regarding everything with indifference, she could not stand idly by when actually faced with a life that might be slipping away.
"No, I have to save them right now!"
With that thought, Shui Bing'er instantly activated Martial Soul Possession. A pair of crystalline ice-blue wings unfolded behind her, and the temperature around her plunged to freezing.
"First Soul Skill, Ice Seal!"
She swept both hands sharply toward the river, and a deep-blue wave of light shot into the water.
Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack!
Ice spread outward at a speed visible to the naked eye, stretching from beneath her feet to several li downstream.
In the blink of an eye, the flowing river froze into one enormous slab of solid ice.
Shui Bing'er stared intently at the frozen surface, trying to find the drowning person through the ice.
"Where... where..."
"Why can't I see anyone?"
"Wait!" Shui Bing'er's eyes widened. Only then did she realize that the person had drowned and must have sunk to the riverbed.
"I have to dig them out quickly!"
Just as she was about to break through the ice with her Soul Power and rescue the person, a voice suddenly came from deep within the ice.
"Hey! You upstream!"
"I'm just taking a bath, not drowning. Could you please thaw the ice?"
Shui Bing'er froze upon hearing that.
"Taking... a bath?"
Her fair, translucent cheeks instantly flushed crimson like a ripe apple, the redness spreading all the way to her ears.
"Heavens..."
"What have I done?"
"He was just bathing in the river, and I assumed he was drowning the moment I saw his clothes, then froze the entire river..."
"I even froze him in the water. Bing'er... you've really made a fool of yourself!"
Ever since childhood, Shui Bing'er had always been a favored daughter of heaven.
With the top-tier Ice Phoenix Martial Soul, innate level-nine Soul Power, and her position as Skywater Academy's chief student, she was the center of attention wherever she went.
She was used to being proud, used to being aloof, used to being looked up to, but at that moment, she only wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"Calm down... Bing'er, calm down," Shui Bing'er said, hypnotizing herself. "You were only trying to save someone out of kindness. If you encounter something like this next time, you'll still step in."
After thoroughly hypnotizing herself, Shui Bing'er muttered, "I'll get him out first."
Just as she was about to dissolve the ice with her Soul Power, a tremendous crash suddenly came from beneath it.
Boom!
The ice exploded!
A figure shot skyward from the icy water, half human and half scorpion, with dark-green carapace patterns covering the surface of his skin.
At the same time, a slender scorpion tail extended behind him and hooked around a branch on the bank. Using it to swing himself over, he landed steadily on the riverbank, his back facing Shui Bing'er.
At the sight, countless questions instantly surfaced in Shui Bing'er's mind.
He... he blasted straight through the ice. Is he that strong?
But why does he look like that? Half human and half scorpion-is it Beast Martial Soul Possession?
But that doesn't make sense either. How could a Beast Martial Soul turn his lower half into a scorpion's body?
Could it be a Martial Soul Avatar? But that doesn't make sense either. He looks even younger than me!
Still, I have to say, he really does have a great figure. Much better than those men in Skywater City.
No! No! Shui Bing'er, what are you thinking?!
Haven't you noticed his clothes are right beside you?
Shui Bing'er instantly snapped out of it. Thinking of how the clothes of the person before her were lying at her feet, her cheeks grew even redder, and she instinctively averted her gaze, no longer daring to look at Luo Chen.
"Um..." Shui Bing'er's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. "I didn't do it on purpose."
Luo Chen, however, was not particularly self-conscious. His voice was so calm that it was as though nothing had happened.
"Miss...?"
"Next time you rescue someone, could you first check whether they're actually drowning?"
"I just wanted to take a bath, and you ended up freezing me in the ice."
"The experience of being frozen... really isn't very pleasant."
Hearing that, Shui Bing'er wished she could vanish on the spot.
He's making so much sense... I really should have checked first.
But... but...
Who could have imagined someone would actually bathe in a river on the outskirts of the danger-ridden Star Dou Great Forest in the dead of night?!
That's really strange, all right?!
While Shui Bing'er was caught in her mental storm, Luo Chen was not idle either.
He looked around, and when he saw his clothes beside Shui Bing'er, he hooked them with his scorpion tail and drew them over from the bank.
Seeing Shui Bing'er's eyes fixed on him, Luo Chen smiled. "What, do you want to watch me get dressed too?"
"Huh?"
"Oh!" Shui Bing'er immediately turned around and covered her eyes with her soft, delicate hands. "I've covered my eyes. You can get changed."
Once he had finished dressing, Luo Chen chuckled softly. "It was just a misunderstanding. You can go."
Hearing that, Shui Bing'er turned to look at him. Beneath the moonlight, their gazes met.
Shui Bing'er instantly froze, and the blush that had finally faded resurfaced on her cheeks.
The boy before her looked no more than eight or nine, yet his looks were rarely seen in this world.
The radiant moon fell short of his beauty; brilliant blossoms could scarcely rival his spirit. His bearing was composed, nothing like that of an ordinary child.