Chapter 18: Personal Protection!
Twenty stalks of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow were handed out just like that, yet Lin Yun didn't feel the slightest bit of regret.
After all, he had no use for the stuff. He wasn't an ice-element soul master, so the marrow offered him little benefit.
There was no point hoarding every treasure for himself. Lin Yun wasn't truly the Golden Dragon King—just a lucky recipient of a powerful inheritance. Apart from his Golden Dragon King bloodline as a trump card, his only real asset was his mind.
Sometimes, necessary sacrifices were essential. Only then could his influence continue to grow.
Using twenty stalks of Profound Ice Marrow to earn the complete loyalty of the Ice and Snow Empresses—Lin Yun found this trade more than worthwhile.
Forget twenty—what if he gave them forty?
One of them was a 400,000-year-old beast, the other a 700,000-year-old beast!
Had they not just joined him, and were still unfamiliar subordinates, Lin Yun might've handed over all of it without much hesitation.
Besides, he'd picked it up from Earth Dragon Gate anyway...
Of course, Lin Yun had no idea how closely his actions mirrored those of his predecessor. One had traded all the marrow for a stunning wife; the other gave half to gain two powerful subordinates...
What could one say? They were both countrymen—even their logic matched.
But after distributing the marrow, Lin Yun fell into a bout of contemplation.
He clearly felt everything was settled, yet he couldn't shake the nagging sense that he'd forgotten something.
"What haven't I done?" Lin Yun furrowed his brows, lost in thought.
"Respected One, you forgot to obtain your second spirit ring," Di Tian leaned over and whispered.
"Crap, you're right!" Lin Yun slapped his forehead, looking thoroughly speechless.
He'd actually forgotten to get his second spirit ring!
The moment he started scheming to lure away the Ice and Snow Empresses, his mind had been preoccupied with strategizing around these two powerful figures of the Extreme North. He'd completely neglected his original objective.
He had gone to the Extreme North partly to acquire a Titan Snow Demon as his second spirit ring!
"This is ridiculous. Looks like I'll have to head back to the Extreme North again." Lin Yun sighed in frustration. "Why didn't you remind me sooner?"
"My apologies, Respected One. I forgot as well," Di Tian coughed awkwardly.
Damn, he had been so captivated watching the Respected One's brilliant maneuvering in the Extreme North that he forgot the so-called brute of the Golden Dragon King actually had a brain. The whole affair had slipped right past him.
He truly deserved a slap for it.
Snow Empress and Ice Empress, having already stored away the marrow, also walked over. Snow Empress asked curiously, "Respected One, can you not condense your own spirit rings? Why must you rely on absorption?"
"I'm different from you. My transformation is complete—aside from the most fundamental part of my origin, I'm no different from an ordinary human. Only this way can I avoid the God Realm's restrictions on soul beasts and perfectly conceal myself," Lin Yun shook his head and said, spinning a convincing tale.
To his relief, both Snow and Ice Empress believed it—deeply, at that.
"As expected of Respected One. If it were me, I could never achieve that. Even with the help of a hundred-thousand-year Snow Lotus, I still retained beast traits after transformation," Snow Empress said with admiration.
"What? Xue'er, you wanted to transform?" Ice Empress looked at her in shock.
Snow Empress shook her head. "That was my original plan. But after meeting the Respected One, I abandoned that idea."
"Let's not talk about that. Respected One, what kind of soul beast do you need a ring from? Perhaps we can assist," Snow Empress said.
"Yes, Respected One, we can go help you catch the soul beast," Ice Empress quickly chimed in, eager to please after receiving her reward.
"Respected One needs an 8,800-year-old Titan Snow Demon," Di Tian once again spoke on Lin Yun's behalf.
"Titan Snow Demon, huh..." Snow Empress pondered the thought.
Ice Empress, on the other hand, clenched her small fist. "Alright! I'll head back to the Extreme North right now and bring one back for Respected One!"
Snow Empress immediately grabbed the little loli's twin tails and pulled her back.
Sending Ice Empress to the Titan Snow Demon King's territory to capture one of his kin—Ah Tai would definitely clash with her. Even if he couldn't beat her, there's no way he'd let her snatch one of his people so easily.
"I'll go instead. After all, I'm the sovereign of the Extreme North. I'll discuss it properly with Ah Tai," Snow Empress said gently, calming the excited little loli.
"Exactly, little scorpion, settle down and focus on surviving your tribulation and advancing to 400,000 years first. After that, I'll need you to serve as my personal bodyguard," Lin Yun said with a grin.
He was heading to Shrek Academy—it wouldn't make sense to go alone. With the Star Dou Forest as his backing, bringing along a hundred-thousand-year soul beast as a bodyguard was perfectly reasonable.
Zi Ji, the Hell Demon Dragon, was too large. Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan, lacked combat ability. Besides, both were Di Tian's wives. Even if Di Tian didn't mind, Lin Yun wasn't comfortable bringing two 'sister sevens' around with him.
Bringing a male soul beast? Out of the question.
So clearly, Ice Empress was the most suitable choice.
The Ice Jade Scorpion's natural body was already small. Even at full size, Ice Empress was only about 1.5 meters long. She could shrink down to a tenth of that without issue. Add some aura-concealing equipment, and she could hide in Lin Yun's clothes to protect him at any time.
This setup—just like tossing a spirit ball. Ice Empress, I choose you!
"Personal bodyguard?" Ice Empress blinked her wide green eyes in confusion.
"No problem! Whatever Respected One says, Bing'er will do it!"
"Good girl. Di Tian! Give her two more stalks of Profound Ice Marrow!" Lin Yun waved generously.
He was very pleased—and rewarded generously.
Without a word, Di Tian pulled out another two stalks and handed them to Ice Empress, who beamed with joy.
Snow Empress shook her head helplessly at the sight of the grinning little loli.
'Bing'er is still too young…'
"In that case, I'll return to the Extreme North first and bring back a Titan Snow Demon for Respected One." Snow Empress bowed slightly.
"Please wait a while, Respected One."
"Go ahead. I'll wait for your good news in Star Dou," Lin Yun said with a smile, then pulled the little loli Ice Empress over from Snow Empress's arms, pinching her round cheeks fondly.
"Stop that!"
"Respected One, not the face! Yamete!!!"
Di Tian smacked his own forehead. He exchanged a look with Snow Empress, and the two left in helpless silence.
(From the shadows, the Auspicious Beast: !!!)
(End of Chapter)
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