A few days later, evening.
Holding the soft, fragrant Ice Emperor in his arms, Huo Yuhao lowered his gaze to study the Dark Blue Silver King.
Ice Emperor had awakened a few days ago. After being nourished by a sufficient amount of Ultimate Ice energy from Huo Yuhao, her own attributes had returned to the Ultimate Ice level.
In terms of soul power reserves, if translated into Soul Master levels, the current Ice Emperor was roughly at Level 98.
The only issue was that her physical strength couldn't keep up. Once her body returned to its peak after a period of recovery, she would be able to choose her own path.
In his arms, Ice Emperor skillfully shifted into a comfortable position. Her face still wore an expressionless mask of pride, but it was mostly eclipsed by exhaustion.
Having just been "fed" by Huo Yuhao until she couldn't take another bite, she had no strength left. she could only sprawl in Huo Yuhao's embrace, passively absorbing the energy from him to slowly restore her stamina.
She was somewhat puzzled. After all, she had only been asleep for a few months—how had Huo Yuhao's physical strength increased this much?
Just after waking up and sensing the progress in her own strength, she had been eager to test herself against a certain someone to see what level she currently stood at.
However, who could have guessed? While she could barely manage to stay on top for a short while at the very beginning, for the several hours that followed, she had no power to parry at all. She was suppressed so firmly that there was no room for resistance.
She, a Soul Beast, actually couldn't match a human in terms of physical strength?!
Ice Emperor was profoundly perplexed, but the fact remained that she had gone from being "slightly inferior" to "completely defenseless."
She also had to admit that her current physical strength was far too lacking.
So much so that she suddenly felt that what Skydream said about "helping push from behind" might actually be useful.
After a moment of silence, Ice Emperor suddenly asked: "You haven't 'eaten' Skydream yet?"
Huo Yuhao, who was using the study of the Dark Blue Silver King as a form of relaxation, paused for a moment and then sighed:
"Sister Skydream has been avoiding me lately..."
Huo Yuhao lowered his eyes slightly. He seemed to have overestimated his own Sister Skydream. She usually took so many "bites" out of him, yet he only tried to return the favor once—why did she suddenly start dodging him?
For the past two months, basically every time Skydream caught a glimpse of him, she would freeze for a second, then turn red and bolt, giving him no chance to even speak.
For a while, Huo Yuhao even wondered if he had been too hasty, making it impossible for Skydream to accept, which led to her running away. This had bothered him for a short period.
"She's still as cowardly as ever."
Ice Emperor gave her evaluation. Her body, having regained a bit of strength, slowly sat up, directly suppressing a certain someone's "treasure" as she looked straight into Huo Yuhao's eyes.
"Skydream likes you very much."
Ice Emperor's words remained flat, stating a fact.
"I know..." Putting away the Dark Blue Silver King, Huo Yuhao sat up slightly straighter. "I'll find an opportunity."
He currently had quite a lot on his plate, but if he squeezed his schedule, there was still a bit of free time.
"Then, tomorrow night?" Huo Yuhao asked after thinking.
"No. Wait until my next deep sleep before you go. Either way, you have to handle Skydream behind my back."
Ice Emperor vetoed Huo Yuhao's suggestion for tomorrow night.
She was petty, but she also knew that Huo Yuhao would never give up. Rather than watching and feeling miserable, she preferred "out of sight, out of mind." Knowing about it after the fact would be relatively easier to accept.
There was no helping it; she currently couldn't beat Huo Yuhao, and she still belonged to him. The initiative was not in her hands.
Therefore, she had to seize the time to cultivate, return to her peak state as quickly as possible, and start practicing the new system to overtake Huo Yuhao.
Ice Emperor's expression became serious. Behind her, an emerald-green scorpion tail slowly extended, and the aura of the Ice Jade Scorpion Emperor gradually manifested, giving the current Ice Emperor a touch of nobility.
"Continue cultivating."
Ice Emperor's tone was commanding. Even though she was currently weaker, she would never admit it; she would certainly take the "win" verbally at the very least. At most, she just wouldn't be able to get out of bed the next day.
Besides, although that sensation of her body being filled with pure, absolute Ultimate Ice would make her lose consciousness abruptly, the benefits gained were very real.
And even if she lost herself for a bit, once she came to, it was no big deal. She even dared to grit her teeth and say, "That's it?" It just meant lying down for an extra hour or two; it was nothing.
In any case, it was impossible for her to admit defeat verbally—unless her mouth was blocked too.
Moreover, the night was long, making it the perfect time for cultivation. Having finally woken up from her slumber, she naturally had to cultivate fiercely to make up for all the missed daily routines.
How long had they been cultivating? Not nearly enough!
Ice Emperor, having recovered some stamina, felt she was ready again. Cultivation naturally couldn't be slackened.
Of course, she wasn't addicted to the process of cultivation; she cared more about the results! Yes... that was it!
The sharp scorpion tail behind her sliced through her restraints, leaving everything exposed. Ice Emperor sat upright, her figure slightly higher than Huo Yuhao's, barely managing to "look down" on him.
She looked at Huo Yuhao and said calmly: "What, can't keep up?"
As the saying goes, it was absolutely impossible for Ice Emperor to admit defeat with her mouth. The pride she had cultivated over hundreds of thousands of years made her incredibly stubborn.
However, a certain someone would say that no matter how "hard" the mouth was, it was always soft when kissed.
...
The next morning, Huo Yuhao put on his clothes, turned to carefully tuck Ice Emperor in, and then waved his hand to refresh the air in the room.
Turning to leave quietly, Huo Yuhao gently pushed open a side door, only to find Skydream leaning against the doorframe, her head tilted, eyes tightly shut as if she had fallen asleep. The carpet beneath her was damp.
Sighing, and recalling his conversation with Ice Emperor last night, Huo Yuhao knew that if he didn't take the initiative, Skydream would likely keep dodging him forever. After all, that was just her personality.
She would slack off when she could and hide when she could. Although she talked a big game, she would become incredibly timid when the critical moment arrived.
Besides, in terms of duration alone, Skydream was the one who had been with him the longest...
Bending down, he carefully picked Skydream up and turned toward her room.
Ice Emperor was a restless sleeper; her tail always poked people uncontrollably. He was fine, but if he put Skydream there, Ice Emperor might unconsciously try to "eat" Skydream (in the physical sense) if she caught her scent.
So, it was better to take Skydream back to her own room.
Just as he was about to lay her down, Huo Yuhao suddenly noticed Skydream's hands unconsciously clutching his clothes. Her breathing was slightly hurried, and her mouth seemed to be murmuring something—there was no telling what she was dreaming about.
Recalling Ice Emperor's advice from last night, Huo Yuhao slowly came to a decision.
He eased himself onto the bed; the weight of two people was naturally nothing for this large bed.
Even though Huo Yuhao had used the "Special External Pseudo-Dantian" researched via Power of Emotion plus the Soul Ring Bearing Soul Core Method to cultivate Blood Essence Body Cultivation—allowing him to endlessly nourish his body and produce Blood Essence, giving him a physique no weaker than a 100,000-year-old Soul Beast...
Still, after cultivating all night, Huo Yuhao was more or less a bit tired.
Consider this... giving himself a day off.