"What?" Snow Empress didn't react for a moment.
"I'm asking you, even if I knew the coordinates of the Douluo Continent now, and even all your secrets," Lin Hao spread his hands, his posture languid, as if discussing a trivial matter, "Then what? A large-scale invasion? It's as if... you could bring them back."
Snow Empress trembled.
She stared blankly at Lin Hao, her lips moving. Yes, she didn't even know how she got there, let alone how she brought people back.
Looking at her distraught appearance, Lin Hao nodded slightly, as if confirming his guess.
"It seems you really can't bring anyone back."
The Snow Empress's heart was once again filled with turmoil.
This is yet another test!
He forgave him, not expecting an answer on "how to get back" from him at all; he just wanted to confirm... whether he was "capable" of bringing people back!
Looking into Lin Hao's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, Snow Empress was completely helpless.
She felt like a fish on a chopping board, and every struggle only made the other person see her weakness and helplessness more clearly.
In such a short time, she had been completely and utterly "taken advantage of" by the man in front of her, leaving her with not a single secret.
An indescribable sense of humiliation welled up inside me, but even more so, I felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
Faced with such an existence, resistance seems so pale and powerless.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her turbulent emotions, and prepared to turn around and leave this place that had left her physically and mentally exhausted.
"Yes, Heavenly Emperor."
She whispered, her voice devoid of any emotion, only a deathly silence of obedience remaining.
Just as she was about to take a step, Lin Hao spoke again, this time instructing a maid standing to the side, "Take her to the side hall to rest and make sure she is well taken care of."
The maidservant responded respectfully and then gestured for Snow Empress to enter.
At this moment, Lin Hao flicked his finger, and a streak of light flew towards the Snow Empress.
Snow Empress subconsciously reached out and caught it. It was slightly cool to the touch and was a simple piece of paper that was pure white and as smooth as jade.
She recognized the item; she had seen Zhu Zhuqing use a similar object from the Heavenly Screen.
"This is..." Snow Empress looked at Lin Hao in confusion.
"This is the 'good stuff' I was just about to give you," Lin Hao said casually. "Go back and take a look."
Snow Empress held the jade slip, her mind filled with doubts.
What is he doing with this? What's recorded inside? Is it some kind of control mechanism? Or... something else?
"Oh, right," Lin Hao said casually, as if he had just remembered something, "You should know how to read jade slips, right?"
Snow Empress recalled the image of Zhu Zhuqing affixing the jade slip to her forehead and nodded, "I understand."
"Okay, go ahead." Lin Hao waved his hand, indicating that she could leave.
Suppressing her myriad doubts, Snow Empress bowed to Lin Hao once more, then turned and walked out of the Star-Picking Tower with the maid.
Every step she took was exceptionally heavy; everything that had happened today was a tremendous shock to her.
Just as she was about to step out of the Star-Picking Tower and thought everything was finally over, Lin Hao's voice came from behind her again, making her nerves, which had just relaxed a little, tense up again instantly!
"Other sects generally don't teach their techniques via jade slips..."
Lin Hao's voice carried a faint hint of amusement, as if he were talking to himself, or perhaps making a final test of the Snow Empress, "It seems that among those who have come, some have joined the Heavenly Court..."
Snow Empress's steps suddenly stopped, her whole body stiffened, as if she had fallen into an ice cellar!
"???"
At this moment, only one thought remained in her mind, mixed with boundless terror and utter speechlessness.
Lin Hao... are you a devil?!
They could even capture such details and instantly deduce such astonishing conclusions?!
She dared not turn around, or even breathe, for fear that any slight reaction she made would become a clue for the other party to draw the next terrible conclusion.
Lin Hao seemed quite satisfied with Snow Empress's reaction, chuckled softly, and said nothing more.
"Go down," he said finally.
Snow Empress felt as if she had been granted a pardon, and almost fled with her maid as she left Star-Picking Tower, her back view showing a disheveled state.
Douluo Continent, Under the Heavenly Screen.
Ning Fengzhi, Gu Rong, and all the high-ranking members of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect stared intently at the Snow Empress's disheveled figure in the Heavenly Screen, remaining completely silent.
After a long while, Ning Fengzhi finally let out a long breath, his face so solemn it could drip water.
"That's terrifying..."
His voice was hoarse as he said, "This Lin Heavenly Emperor Hao... he doesn't rely on mind-reading at all, but rather... an almost terrifying insight and reasoning ability!"
Gu Rong nodded, still shaken. "Yes, Sect Master."
You see, he hardly asked any questions from beginning to end, yet he found out everything about Snow Empress!
They could even guess that someone from the Douluo Continent had joined the Heavenly Court!
This person's mind is unfathomable.
In his presence, Snow Empress was indeed like a three-year-old child, with no secrets whatsoever.
No wonder he was able to become a Heavenly Emperor, ruling over such a vast world.
A heavy silence hung over the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Lin Hao displayed not only absolute power, but also a kind of intellectual dominance that sent chills down one's spine.
Faced with such an enemy, do their so-called schemes and alliances really make any sense?
"But..."
A hint of doubt flashed in Ning Fengzhi's eyes, and his brows furrowed. "He finally told the Snow Empress to rest and gave her a jade slip... What does that mean?"
If he truly wanted to invade Douluo Continent, he would never have let Snow Empress, this 'living map' and source of information, go so easily.
"Could it be... that he really doesn't intend to invade us?" an elder asked hesitantly.
"Impossible!" someone immediately retorted. "Those who are not of our kind are bound to have different intentions! Especially someone as powerful as him! His actions must have a deeper meaning; perhaps he's playing hard to get, or perhaps he's casting a long line to catch a bigger fish!"
"But his last sentence about 'joining the Heavenly Court '..."
Ning Fengzhi murmured, "He seems quite interested in people from the Douluo Continent? Perhaps... not entirely hostile?"
Even Ning Fengzhi himself found the idea absurd when it first came to mind.
Would a Heavenly Emperor who readily slaughters an entire race harbor goodwill towards "visitors from another world"?
But if not, how can his series of seemingly "mild" actions be explained?
Within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the debate reignited, but neither side could convince the other.
Lin Hao's true intentions remain shrouded in mystery, a mystery more unsettling than the blizzards of the Far North.
The Far North, the Core Circle.
Ice Empress stared blankly at her sister's departing figure in the Heavenly Screen, then looked at the jade slip "given" by Lin Hao in her hand, her mind still a mess.
"He... he didn't kill his sister?"
Ice Empress's voice trembled with relief, but more so with bewilderment, "You let her rest? You gave her something?"
A-Tai's huge head lolled closer, and he asked in a muffled voice, " Ice Empress, so... so does that mean there's no more fighting?"
"I... I don't know..."
Ice Empress slumped helplessly onto the throne, covering his face with his hands. "What exactly is Lin Hao trying to do?"
My sister is safe for now, which should be a cause for celebration.
However, Lin Hao's unfathomable methods and intentions have made the future of the Far North even more unpredictable and filled with unknown fears.