"No way!"
"I don't want it!"
Gu Wuchen didn't want it at all. Right now, all he wanted was to break through to Soul Elder as quickly as possible.
The Snow Empress frowned. Seeing that he didn't want one, she decided that sometimes she had to be a little forceful.
"If you don't want one, Sister Xue will pull down your pants and spank your butt into two halves," the Snow Empress threatened.
"What?"
"Sister Xue, you're joking, right?" Gu Wuchen thought the Snow Empress was joking, but when he saw how serious she was, he realized she wasn't.
"The thing is, Sister Xue, I really don't know what reward I need."
Some rewards were no use wanting.
"Since Little Wuchen doesn't know, Sister Xue will choose one herself."
The Snow Empress thought it over and finally decided. "How about Sister Xue sleeps with you tonight?"
"I think that's a very good idea."
Pope's Palace
"Nana, what am I supposed to say to you? How could you go off and compete without saying a word? If I hadn't run into you, were you going to keep it from your teacher forever?"
On the raised platform, Bibi Dong wore a stern expression as she scolded Hu Liena below.
She had already been furious because of Gu Wuchen's words, and then she had seen her disciple come out of the Elder Hall after losing to him.
A Soul Elder had lost to a Soul Grandmaster. Wouldn't that be a colossal joke if word got out?
If that old fellow Qian Daoliu found out, he would have one more excuse to laugh at her.
"Teacher, I really didn't lose on purpose. I've cultivated my charm to the point where I can even charm a Soul Ancestor, but against Young Master Gu, I really couldn't do anything."
Hu Liena felt deeply aggrieved.
She had secretly gone to compete with Gu Wuchen, hoping she could show off to her teacher if she won. Instead, she had lost the match, then run into her teacher after leaving the Elder Hall.
It was a bolt from the blue.
"Nana, what am I supposed to say to you?"
Bibi Dong was so angry that her chest felt tight.
Bibi Dong looked at Hu Liena, who stood before her with her head bowed and a deeply aggrieved expression, and her tone grew even sterner:
"Next time, you're not allowed to seek Gu Wuchen out for a match on your own. If I catch you acting without permission again and you lose and disgrace Spirit Hall, I certainly won't let you off lightly."
Honestly, her previous scolding had still been too light. Luckily, Qian Daoliu hadn't found out. If Gu Wuchen had been her disciple...
If he beat Hu Liena, she would only have been happy. But he wasn't her disciple; he was Qian Daoliu's. When Gu Wuchen won, all she felt was helplessness and anger.
The little fox quickly nodded hard, then raised her head and said earnestly, "Teacher, Nana understands."
But she couldn't help muttering to herself that even if she didn't go looking for Gu Wuchen, he would come knocking sooner or later. After hesitating for a moment, she added quietly, "Teacher, there's one more thing... Gu Wuchen said he wants to challenge Yan and Xie Yue."
"What did you say?"
Hearing that, Bibi Dong's brows instantly knitted, and her face filled with disbelief.
She found the claim utterly absurd and couldn't help letting out a cold laugh:
"Challenge Yan and Xie Yue? He's only a Soul Grandmaster. Where does he get the confidence? Yan's Flame Lord Martial Soul alone, with its fire-attribute power attack, has few rivals at the same realm and would be enough to leave him struggling to defend himself, let alone Xie Yue's Moon Blade Martial Soul, whose close-combat killing power is unmatched among the younger generation."
In her eyes, no matter how heaven-defying Gu Wuchen's talent was, he was still only a Soul Grandmaster.
He had the ultimate ice attribute, but even that would be of no use against a fire-attribute power-attack Martial Soul.
Yan and Xie Yue of the Golden Generation had long since reached the Soul Elder realm and were only one step away from becoming Soul Ancestors.
Even if he could beat Nana, he would still have some difficulty beating Xie Yue and Yan.
Hu Liena opened her mouth, wanting to say a few words in Gu Wuchen's defense, to tell her that his strength was far greater than it appeared. But when she met Bibi Dong's icy gaze, she swallowed the words in the end.
She knew full well that her teacher simply wouldn't believe her.
Only those who had actually fought Gu Wuchen knew just how terrifying that young man was.
She had used all three of her Soul Skills at once, yet she had been unable to shake Gu Wuchen in the slightest. And this time, her second Soul Skill had further boosted Gu Wuchen's strength.
Night
The Snow Empress and Gu Wuchen clasped hands, feeling each other's power.
"Sister Xue, can my strength withstand your next boost?"
Gu Wuchen felt the endless power within the Snow Empress. She was a great Ferocious Beast approaching seven hundred thousand years of age.
The Snow Empress's power was terrifying indeed. Though she couldn't compare to Di Tian, she could still put up a fight on the ice plains of the Far North.
Each time he broke through to a new realm, he could also unlock a boost from the power the Snow Empress had given him. Gu Wuchen didn't know just how much of a boost she would give him later on.
What kind of boost would he receive when he reached Soul Saint, Soul Douluo, and Titled Douluo?
"Little Wuchen, you can put your mind completely at ease. Sister Xue's power will bring you a hundred benefits and not a single harm. Besides, it's time for you to gain an initial grasp of some of the extreme cold power inside you."
As soon as the Snow Empress finished speaking, she released the restriction on the origin power in Gu Wuchen's body.
A power of ultimate ice and cold erupted from within Gu Wuchen in an instant, like a roaring tide. It also surged madly into the Snow Empress through their clasped hands.
A terrifying freezing power spread in every direction, and the tables, chairs, and bed in the room were instantly covered in thick ice crystals.
Even the courtyard wall outside the window was coated in solid ice in an instant, and the bone-piercing cold nearly burst beyond the entire courtyard.
The Snow Empress's expression changed slightly. She quickly opened her eyes and released her power, forming a barrier.
She locked every bit of the freezing power leaking from Gu Wuchen firmly within the room, letting not the slightest trace escape.
At that moment, Gu Wuchen only felt a chill sweep through his body, but not the slightest trace of bone-piercing pain.
Instead, all the meridians in his body were nourished by this ultimate ice and cold. The Innate Extreme Cold Physique within him was fully awakened, resonating perfectly with the Snow Empress's origin power.
He slowly opened his eyes. Everywhere he looked, the room was covered in luminous blue ice crystals.
Thick icicles coated the walls and floor, while tiny snowflakes drifted through the air. With cold air swirling everywhere, the scene was indistinguishable from the Far North Ice Plains.
Even the Ice Saint Wuchen Left Arm Bone on his right arm lit up with faint, ice-crystal-colored sacred markings. They echoed the power of ice and cold around him, constantly tempering his body and meridians.
"Well?"
Seeing his astonishment, the Snow Empress couldn't help curling her lips. With a gentle point of her finger, she turned a wisp of ice-cold power at her fingertip into an exquisite Ice Lotus.
"This is one of the marvelous uses of the origin power of Ultimate Ice. Now, try drawing on the power inside you and see if you can control it."
Gu Wuchen looked at the faint icy mist circling his fingertips, his eyes full of delight.
He took a deep breath and, following the method the Snow Empress had taught him, concentrated on drawing out the newly awakened power of extreme cold within him.
With a thought, dozens of sharp ice swords instantly condensed before him. Their blades carried the sharp edge of Dustless Sword Intent, perfectly complementing his sword Dao.
"Good, good. Even better than I expected."
Seeing him get the hang of it instantly, the Snow Empress's eyes filled with a doting smile.
"As expected of Little Wuchen. Come, Sister will reward you with a sweet kiss."