["Ice God's First Trial: Cross the Ice God Long Steps. Completed. Due to early completion and excellent performance, the reward is doubled, and Ice God Affinity increases by 10%."]
A majestic female voice echoed in Su Yu's mind. Leaning against Shui Lingguang's embrace, Su Yu listened to the voice and pouted slightly.
"I thought the reward would be something better. So stingy."
This first trial of the Ice God had been so difficult, yet after clearing it, the only reward was an increase in Ice God's Affinity. Honestly, this wasn't even as good as Snow Empress's reward.
When the Snow Empress completed her Guardian Trial, she got a 500-year bonus to all her soul rings and an increase in her levels.
And now, all he got was Ice God Affinity.
He knew perfectly well what Ice God Affinity was, but he still wanted to complain about it.
Of course, part of his complaint was intentional.
Although the trial had been tough, it was an excellent tempering experience for him.
Whether in terms of his physical body, cultivation, or spiritual power, he had made substantial progress.
Especially in combining the three aspects together—he was becoming increasingly adept at it.
His Sovereign Dominion Domain had been refined further, and his understanding of his realm had deepened significantly.
Having tasted the benefits, Su Yu naturally wanted to challenge even higher difficulties to push his limits as far as possible.
["I've already prepared to pass my godly seat to him, and he still dares call me stingy?"]
["Hmph! I was considering going easy on him, but now—no way!"]
High above, a certain proud goddess snorted coldly, anger practically radiating off her.
With a flick of her jade-like fingers, runes flickered. The second trial, which had originally been adjusted, was modified again.
["He should suffer a bit more. I even felt sorry for him, but he deserves this!"]
Pouting slightly, the proud goddess swayed her pristine, slender legs as her beautiful eyes remained fixed on the screen below.
In front of the Ice God's main hall, a golden-blue light flickered between Su Yu's brows, and a stream of information entered his mind.
After taking a glance, Su Yu's mouth twitched slightly. As expected, it was the same familiar formula and the same familiar taste.
"Young Master, are you alright?"
Shui Lingguang's cheeks were flushed. Su Yu's masculine aura constantly lingered around her, and his tall figure leaned against her in such proximity that her heart raced uncontrollably.
For someone like Shui Lingguang, who had never experienced such intimacy, this was overwhelming. She felt tense and shy, but also an unprecedented sense of fulfillment.
After all, this was the young master she had admired like a god and secretly thought about for so long.
And now, he was leaning so close to her, his weight resting on her. Shui Lingguang's heart pounded like a deer running wild.
She gently held Su Yu's body, her movements incredibly delicate, as if she were holding an unparalleled treasure.
"I'm fine. It's just a minor injury. A few days of resting and adjusting will do. Lingguang, help me down," Su Yu said softly.
"Yes."
Shui Lingguang's face turned even redder, but a hint of joy flashed in her heart. She carefully supported Su Yu as they descended the steps.
Since Su Yu had completed the trial, all the pressure on the Ice God's Long Steps had vanished.
Shui Lingguang guided Su Yu down slowly, while Mu Wu stood at the entrance of the main hall, wearing an amused smile.
Logically speaking, as the young master's top subordinate, Mu Wu should have immediately carried the young master back for recovery.
But he didn't.
After all, it was rare for Lingguang to have a chance like this. He wasn't about to ruin it.
Besides, the young master hadn't called for him. Ever since young master Su Yu returned nine months ago, Shui Lingguang had been by his side constantly, and Su Yu seemed to have grown used to her presence.
In the past, Su Yu would always call for Mu Wu first whenever something happened. But now, Shui Lingguang was the one he called on first.
Mu Wu didn't feel upset about it. He thought it was a good thing.
Shui Lingguang was no longer much weaker than him and, being a stunning beauty, was surely a better companion for the young master than a rough man like himself.
Rubbing his chin with his right hand, Mu Wu watched the two slowly walk away before returning to the Ice God's main hall to continue his cultivation.
Now that Su Yu had Shui Lingguang to care for him, Mu Wu's priority was to break through to the rank of Ultimate Douluo as soon as possible.
Once he achieved that, the Ice God Palace would grow even stronger.
As for Ye Xishui, that old woman—Mu Wu had already made a note of her.
Since the young master had no interest in that used goods and even found her unsuitable as a servant, the next time they met, he would simply crush her.
No mere Ye Xishui could stand against him once he'd reached Ultimate Douluo.
Did she have any idea what dual-soul-core complementarity was?
Closing his eyes, Mu Wu let his soul power circulate slowly through his body.
Inside a tall, majestic palace, Shui Lingguang carefully helped Su Yu as they entered step by step.
Su Yu leaned heavily against her, and the friction of their movements made her heart flutter uncontrollably, her cheeks flushed red.
On the icy jade bed, Snow Empress was meditating. Suddenly sensing something, she opened her eyes.
Seeing Su Yu leaning against Shui Lingguang, her beautiful eyes trembled, and a touch of urgency appeared on her face.
"Su Yu, you're hurt?"
Snow Empress didn't even bother putting on her shoes. Her crystalline feet lightly touched the ground as she hurried to Su Yu's side, gently helping him.
Holding onto Su Yu's arm, she glanced at Shui Lingguang and asked, "Fourth Guardian, what happened?"
Shui Lingguang softly explained the situation, and only then did Snow Empress breathe a sigh of relief.
"You, you! If it doesn't work this time, there's always a next time. Why push yourself so hard?"
As she spoke, Snow Empress looked at Shui Lingguang again. "Fourth Guardian, I'll take care of him now. You can go back."
Reluctant but obedient, Shui Lingguang carefully let go of Su Yu, allowing him to lean against Snow Empress instead.
"Miss Snow, I'll leave the young master to you."
Shui Lingguang said softly, glanced at Su Yu one last time, and then turned to leave.
Snow Empress helped Su Yu to the icy jade bed, letting him sit down.
"Are you alright?" she asked with concern.
Su Yu smiled. "I'm fine for now, just a bit drained."
"You're crazy! Merging soul rings is one thing, but you fused three ferocious beast rings and two 100,000-year rings at the same time?"
"Who taught you to use soul ring fusion like this? Are you trying to kill yourself?"
Snow Empress felt a lingering fear as she scolded him.
This man was insane when he decided to act recklessly.
Ordinary people used soul ring fusion sparingly and cautiously because their rings were of lower age limits.
But Su Yu's rings were entirely different—just one ferocious beast ring had the age limit of nine rings from an ordinary titled Douluo combined.
And that was just the age limit.
In terms of enhancement, a ferocious beast ring far surpassed nine ordinary rings.
If one ferocious beast ring was already like this, then what about three?
Adding in two 100,000-year soul rings, even a Super Douluo would struggle to handle it.
It was only thanks to Su Yu's incredibly strong body—almost comparable to Mu Wu's—and the help of Life Gold that he barely survived.
Otherwise, Snow Empress felt she might already be mourning him.
Still, she was somewhat grateful that Su Yu hadn't been foolish enough to fuse his third soul ring as well.
If he had dared to merge a million-year soul ring, he would have died on the spot.
Watching him chuckle sheepishly, Snow Empress grew even more irritated.
"You think this is funny?"
She raised her fist as if to punch him but stopped when she saw his weakened state. Her heart softened, and she let out a light sigh, her slender fingers gently massaging his chest instead.
"I must owe you something in a past life."
The Snow Empress rolled her eyes, massaging Su Yu's chest to help him relax. She spoke irritably:
"Su Yu, take it easy, will you?"
Su Yu grinned cheekily and said, "Little Snow, give me a hug."
"Hug your head! You're injured, so stay put. Haven't you hugged this Empress enough? Still not satisfied?"
"With you, it's never enough."
Su Yu chuckled mischievously.
The Snow Empress glared at him helplessly but still stretched out her arms and gently embraced him.
Su Yu took out a roll of dragon ganoderma leaves from his handy treasure pouch, placed it in his mouth, and began chewing gently. The dragon ganoderma leaves were an excellent medicinal herb for healing injuries and restoring vitality. Combined with the life gold within him, even though his injury was serious, he would fully recover in just a few days.
After consuming the dragon ganoderma leaves, Su Yu's complexion became visibly rosier. Feeling the growing strength in Su Yu's aura, the Snow Empress finally relaxed completely. A thought suddenly came to her mind. She gently pinched Su Yu's cheek and teased him:
"Our young master Su Yu is lucky, huh? Was the Fourth Guardian's embrace comfortable?"
"It's all thanks to our young master getting injured. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had the chance to get so close."
Su Yu gave her a side-eye but leaned in to take a deep breath of the faint fragrance on the Snow Empress. He replied, "There's nothing between me and Lingguang. Stop overthinking things."
The Snow Empress said indifferently, "Whether there is or isn't doesn't matter. This Empress doesn't care. Just keep it clear in your own heart."
"But if you truly like her, don't let her worry or feel afraid. This Empress despises men who lack responsibility the most."
Su Yu was stunned. "Little Snow, why are you suddenly speaking up for her?"
He had thought the Snow Empress was jealous, but now it didn't seem like that at all.
"What else would I do? Speak up for you? You little rascal, you should count yourself lucky this Empress hasn't beaten you up yet."
The Snow Empress grumbled.
Su Yu chuckled, then gently and firmly pushed the Snow Empress down. Lying on the bed made of icy jade, Su Yu said softly, "Little Snow, I'll think this through carefully. Don't worry about it."
"This Empress couldn't care less. By the way, has your second Ice God trial been issued yet?"
The Snow Empress asked.
Su Yu nodded and replied softly, "It has. As abstract as ever."
"What's the trial this time?"
The Snow Empress asked curiously. She had already completed the first trial of guardianship, but her second trial hadn't appeared yet. She suspected it might have something to do with Su Yu.
Su Yu smiled and said, "The second Ice God trial is to retrieve the Crystal of Frost from the Ice Chi clan's protection without killing any Ice Chi. The time limit is one year."
As Su Yu finished speaking, the icy blue human-shaped mark on the Snow Empress's forehead flashed, and a message entered her mind.
"Second trial of guardianship: Assist Su Yu in retrieving the Crystal of Frost from the Ice Spirit clan's protection. Time limit: one year."
The Snow Empress murmured softly and then turned her beautiful eyes toward Su Yu. "Retrieve the Crystal of Frost? That means we'll have to go beneath the Frost Abyss, right?"
The Crystal of Frost was the crystallized essence of Frost Abyss water. As the purest form of its energy, it was exceedingly potent but also overwhelmingly harsh. Frost Abyss water was already cold, unbearable for most ice-attribute soul masters. The Crystal of Frost was even worse, its temperature reaching the utmost extremes of cold.
Because it was so frigid, its essence was incredibly difficult for soul masters to absorb directly. Typically, only ice-attribute soul masters at the Soul Sage level or higher could even attempt to refine it. However, the Crystal of Frost was still a highly sought-after material for crafting weapons. Embedding a single Crystal of Frost into a weapon could greatly enhance its power, providing significant benefits to ice-attribute soul masters.
Logically, the Crystal of Frost shouldn't be rare in the Frost Abyss waters, but trials were never that simple. The Snow Empress suspected that the Crystal of Frost they needed to retrieve was a specific one. Or perhaps all the Crystals of Frost within the Frost Abyss waters had already been collected and placed in a single location. And that location was guarded by the so-called Ice Spirit clan. Otherwise, the trial would be impossible to complete.
Su Yu nodded and said, "The Crystal of Frost is indeed beneath the Frost Abyss waters. Currently, all of the Crystals of Frost are in the hands of the Ice Spirit clan."
"Taking the Crystal of Frost from the Ice Spirit clan won't be easy."
"What is this Ice Spirit clan, and how strong are they?" The Snow Empress asked, staring at Su Yu.
Su Yu looked up at the luminous pearl on the palace ceiling and said, "The Ice Spirit clan is the most powerful race within the Ice God Palace."
"If the Frost Dragon Bingbing is the first guardian beast of the hall, the Ice Spirit clan is the first guardian race."
"The Ice Spirit are born as super beasts, inheriting the bloodline of the Ice Dragon clan, though it's not entirely pure. But that doesn't mean they're weak. On the contrary, they're incredibly strong. At the same level, they're even stronger than the Titan Snow Devil Ape."
"One ten-thousand-year Ice Spirit can take on a Super Douluo."
"And beneath the Frost Abyss, there are at least twenty ten-thousand-year Ice Spirit."
"Some of them are even beyond ten-thousand-year cultivation, at the level of ferocious beasts."
"I've said before that the Ice God Palace has the strongest defensive forces, and I wasn't joking. It's the absolute truth."
Hearing this, the Snow Empress fell silent. She looked at Su Yu with a peculiar expression and asked, "Can this second trial even be completed?"
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't see any way to break through. Facing such a powerful clan, a single swipe from one of them would spell defeat for her and Su Yu. Wasn't this trial just designed to mess with them?
Although Su Yu had the combat strength of a Super Douluo, and she could hold her own against a Title Douluo, how could the two of them take on an entire clan? Especially when Su Yu wasn't allowed to kill any of them? This was insane—utterly insane.