Early the next morning, in the luxurious main hall of the City Lord's manor.
The members of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School were seated in their respective positions, each with varied expressions, clearly ready to watch the drama unfold.
Even though Ning Fengzhi was extremely satisfied with his disciple, he couldn't help feeling distressed for his daughter. At this moment, he remained silent.
Although Li Xun had mentally prepared himself, seeing his Teacher remain wordless and continuously stare at him made him somewhat uneasy.
As for the three women involved, they each kept their heads lowered to the side, neither pleading for mercy nor showing any concern, as if the matter had nothing to do with them.
They wanted to see how Li Xun would resolve this situation.
"Ahem, Teacher, I still need to make a trip to the Far North Land, so I won't be keeping you company. We can talk after I return."
Knowing that Ning Fengzhi might need time to come to terms with things, Li Xun coughed lightly, stood up, and walked out.
Time was the best medicine for the soul; he hoped that by the time he returned, his father-in-law and Teacher would have sorted out his feelings.
As he passed by Huliena, he ignored her flickering eyes and stepped onto the Flying Sword with Sword Douluo.
"Haha..." Before the two could even ascend into the air, they heard the rampant laughter of Dugu Bo from behind.
The eternal white was the unchanging scenery of the Far North Land.
Under the constant cover of wind and snow, the traces from his last visit had already vanished, forcing Li Xun to reorient himself.
This time, only Sword Douluo had come with him.
Firstly, Li Xun's strength had improved; he was no longer the frail youth he once was.
Secondly, someone needed to stay behind to guard the home.
Although Qiandao Liu served as a balancing force, the thought processes of a mentally unstable person were unpredictable—who knew what actions Bibidong might take next?
Even though there were only two of them, Li Xun didn't feel lonely on this boundless journey.
In his spare time, he discussed swordsmanship with Sword Douluo, making the trip feel quite fulfilling.
Li Xun already had a foundation, and with his continuously expanding mindset and Sword Douluo's guidance, he could feel his progress every day.
While his combination of Ninjutsu and Soul Skills remained sharp, his development of Sage Art and Meditation Practice also saw breakthroughs.
Through the continuous research of his clones, he could now bypass the filtration of his Martial Soul and draw some Natural Energy from the vast world.
However, this was still a form of "skipping class" absorption—the extraction speed was slow, and there was still a risk of imbalance with Sage Art, requiring further improvement.
The breakthrough in his Meditation Practice, however, was more significant.
Since the clones were unafraid of death, Li Xun and his clones were reckless, daring to try any meridian pathway.
If someone were to compare, while others might hesitantly begin theoretical research, Li Xun's clones would have already been expended due to meridian chaos.
Through the sacrifices of one clone after another, a new Meditation Method gradually took shape.
This practice, by continuously linking complex meridians, could generate a greater pulling force on the energy of heaven and earth, thereby accelerating the absorption rate.
According to Li Xun's calculations, using this new Meditation Method to draw upon Heaven and Earth Origin Power would double the speed of Soul Power cultivation.
For Soul Masters, this would be a tremendous improvement.
It meant that the time required for a Soul Master to advance from awakening to Titled Douluo would be greatly shortened, and the requirements for Innate Soul Power would be significantly reduced.
Although this was beneficial for humanity, the current continental situation remained unstable. Li Xun temporarily had no intention of publicly releasing this cultivation method, preferring to let his own people use it first or wait until new techniques were developed later.
Li Xun didn't grow complacent over this achievement. His clone continued conducting research, as he believed that even if the technique were made public in the future, he must maintain his leading position on the continent.
The howling snowstorms of the Far North Land couldn't stop two Titled Douluos. Li Xun and Sword Douluo stood at the location where they had slain the Titan Snow Devil King, surveying their surroundings.
Despite the heavy snowfall, the terrain damage caused by Sword Douluo, Bone Douluo, and the Titan Snow Devil King hadn't been completely covered yet.
Here, directions became much easier to distinguish.
Li Xun gazed at the distant ice peaks, recalled the direction Ice Empress had taken when leaving, then ascended into the air.
His caution was warranted.
Although he had made an agreement with Ice Empress, recklessly wandering into Snow Emperor's territory would spell trouble.
As one of the most powerful Soul Beasts currently existing, ordinary Titled Douluos might not even be able to escape if they encountered her.
Even with Li Xun and Sword Douluo's cultivation levels, they wouldn't be her match.
Upon leaving the Titan Snow Devil King's territory, the raging snowstorms immediately diminished significantly.
Transparent glaciers stood everywhere, casting blue shadows under the sunlight.
The deeper they went, the sparser the Soul Beasts along the path became, gradually replaced by increasing numbers of Ice Jade Scorpions.
However, compared to Ice Empress, her fellow clansmen were much smaller in size, with the largest being only about one meter long, their tail hooks less than half of Ice Empress's.
Soul Beasts that hadn't reached 100,000 years had extremely limited intelligence, with rare exceptions like the Blue Silver King.
Sensing human intrusion, the Ice Jade Scorpions emerged one by one from crevices in the hard glaciers, brandishing their sturdy pincers and waiting for opportunities to strike.
Suddenly, centered around Li Xun, a chilling killing intent began spreading in all directions.
Crack crack crack—
Sensing this aura, the smaller Ice Jade Scorpions hurriedly retreated into ice crevices, while the larger ones slowly backed away.
Soul Beasts were most sensitive to danger—they could sense the threat of death emanating from Li Xun.
But just as these Ice Jade Scorpions were retreating, a superior's pressure surged from the distance. Sensing this aura, the Ice Jade Scorpions immediately halted their retreat and glared fiercely at Li Xun and Sword Douluo.
"Getting feisty now."
Li Xun paid no mind to these low-level Soul Beasts, instead looking toward the direction where the aura had appeared.
Whoosh—
In mere moments, accompanied by a sound of breaking air, the Ice Emperor Scorpion appeared atop a transparent glacier.
Compared to the Titan Snow Devil King's massive size, she was faster and more agile.
Soul Beast strength wasn't determined by size—sometimes creatures that appeared small could be exceptionally deadly.
"Ice Empress, long time no see." Li Xun waved at her with a smile, while Sky Dream Iceworm in his spiritual sea began stirring restlessly.
However, fearing Sky Dream might anger Ice Empress, he temporarily refrained from releasing him.
Long time no see?
What kind of "long time no see" was this!
Do humans cultivate this quickly? How much time has even passed!
Sensing the aura emanating from Li Xun, Ice Empress's heart surged with turmoil.
She felt as if the Titan Snow Devil King's death had occurred just days ago, and after merely sleeping a few times, that human child was standing before her again.
"Aren't cultivation realms supposed to progress slower the higher you go? Why is your cultivation speed so fast?" The Ice Empress asked with complex emotions.
Li Xun's appearance meant her life was approaching its end.
Although her soul had been preserved, whether this would ultimately succeed or whether she would become another form of existence remained unknown.
"I should be considered a special case."
"Is that so?"
The Ice Empress fell silent for a moment: "What about that worm? Is he dead?"
Sensing the Ice Empress's hesitation, Li Xun opened his Spiritual Sea of Consciousness, from which the Sky Dream Iceworm immediately emerged: "Ice Empress, I never thought you'd still be thinking of me. I'm truly touched."
"Who's thinking of you? I just wanted to verify whether this human is deceiving me."
The Ice Empress swung her tail hook, dispersing the spiritual form of Skydream who had rushed over, but Skydream quickly reformed.
"Last time, you asked me to deliver a message to the Snow Emperor. I did. But she told me she wants to meet you if you come."
"Certainly, I've been wanting to meet her too." Li Xun's face showed delight.
(End of Chapter)