Yan Shaozhe's eyes glimmered with excitement—he felt like he had to hold onto this massive thigh for support.
The Nine Trials of the Ice God.
Su Yu had been granted the Nine Trials of the Ice God.
Wouldn't that mean he was destined to soar to unimaginable heights?
After all, there was precedent for this kind of thing.
A future deity—wouldn't it be foolish not to place your bets on him early?
Yan Shaozhe glanced at Xu Jiujiu and noticed that she didn't seem to have much of a reaction. He couldn't help but curl his lips.
This little girl lacked vision.
She didn't understand what the Nine Trials meant.
But that was fine. This way, Shrek Academy could quietly reap the rewards.
If this little girl figured out that Su Yu was the inheritor of a deity, who knows what kind of trouble she'd stir up?
Right now, she was practically walking into their hands. If she knew the truth, wouldn't she lose her mind?
Having one less competitor for Shrek Academy was always a good thing.
As Yan Shaozhe had suspected, Xu Jiujiu indeed didn't understand the significance of the Nine Trials.
She was simply marveling at Su Yu's incredible talent.
Ling Luochen's talent was already quite impressive. After all, being selected as one of Shrek's Seven Devils was no small feat.
Xu Jiujiu felt that she was a bit stronger than Ling Luochen, but not by much.
Yet Ling Luochen only had six trials, while Su Yu had nine.
Just thinking about it was enough to highlight the immense gap between Su Yu and Ling Luochen.
Xu Jiujiu took a deep breath and asked, "Four Guardians, may I ask—what is Young Master Su Yu's current strength?"
Due to Su Yu's overwhelming mental power, which constantly radiated around him, even Yan Shaozhe and Man Yi couldn't discern his exact level.
Shui Lingguang glanced at Xu Jiujiao and replied, "The Young Master is currently a level 66 Soul Emperor."
With just one sentence from Shui Lingguang, everyone present was utterly stunned.
Yan Shaozhe doubted his hearing. Su Yu was already a level 66 Soul Emperor?
What the heck—was he riding a rocket or something?
Just half a year ago, wasn't he only a level 59 Soul King? Yan Shaozhe had personally seen Su Yu in action back then.
And now he was already a level 66 Soul Emperor?
Shui Lingguang calmly explained, "The Young Master's sixth soul ring has a relatively high age, so his growth was substantial."
"How high?"
Xu Jiujiu asked curiously.
Shui Lingguang glanced at Yan Shaozhe and said without hesitation, "It's probably higher than the combined age of all nine of the Pavilion Master's soul rings."
Xu Jiujiao: !!!!
Yan Shaozhe: "..."
Could you please choose your words more carefully?
If you're good at talking, just say more!
But in the next moment, Yan Shaozhe realized something and asked, his voice trembling slightly, "Young Master Su Yu's sixth soul ring—is it a Fierce-level soul ring?"
After doing the math, the combined age of his nine soul rings was close to 300,000 years.
If Su Yu's sixth soul ring surpassed that, then it was undoubtedly a Fierce-level soul ring.
A Fierce-level soul ring as the sixth soul ring?
Yan Shaozhe was truly shocked—he could hardly believe it.
But disbelief wouldn't change the truth.
"You guessed correctly, Pavilion Master Yan. The Young Master's sixth soul ring is indeed a Fierce-level soul ring," Shui Lingguang confirmed without hesitation, as there was no need to hide it.
With Su Yu's current strength, comparable to that of an ordinary Super Douluo, and the entire Ice God Palace backing him, no one would dare to make a move against him.
"A Fierce-level soul ring for the sixth soul ring?"
"Level 66 Soul Emperor?"
"If I'm not mistaken, isn't Young Master Su Yu only 15 years old this year?"
Xu Jiujiu's voice trembled slightly. Each statistic sounded more absurd than the last.
A 15-year-old level 66 Soul Emperor—what kind of godlike talent was this?
And to top it off, a Fierce-level soul ring.
Xu Jiujiu was so stunned that she could barely think.
"No wonder Young Master Su Yu was chosen for the Nine Trials," Yan Shaozhe sighed. "This is truly an eye-opener."
Without exaggeration, according to the ancient records, even the legendary Tang San wasn't this outrageous.
A Fierce-level soul ring for the sixth soul ring meant that all of Su Yu's subsequent soul rings would also be at least Fierce-level.
The thought alone was terrifying.
Yan Shaozhe couldn't even imagine how powerful Su Yu would become once he reached the Title Douluo rank. With such a terrifying soul ring configuration and his Ultimate Martial Soul, his strength would be utterly unimaginable.
Terrifying.
That was the only word to describe it.
But what Yan Shaozhe didn't realize was that Su Yu was even more terrifying than he had imagined.
Of Su Yu's six soul rings, three were already Fierce-level, and one of them was a million-year soul ring.
Even the two lowest-ranked rings, his second and fourth, were 100,000-year soul rings.
This kind of soul ring configuration was unprecedented in the history of the Douluo Continent.
If not for receiving inherited strength from Mu En, Yan Shaozhe suspected that Su Yu could have already beaten him into the ground.
Currently, Su Yu possesses Super Douluo-level combat power.
"It's truly an eye-opener. I can't even wrap my head around this," Xu Jiujiu said with a laugh, her eyes sparkling with amazement.
Su Yu was just too outstanding—like a blazing sun, dazzling and impossible to ignore.
Xu Jiujiao felt like a moth drawn irresistibly to his light, unable to resist the deadly attraction.
Hearing Yan Shaozhe and Xu Jiujiu's continuous praise, Shui Lingguang's eyes gleamed with a faint smile.
In her opinion, Su Yu was already the most extraordinary being in the world. As long as they praised Su Yu, Shui Lingguang would feel happy.
Although she thought little of the two of them, at least they had the good sense to recognize Su Yu's greatness.
Shui Lingguang turned to look at Ling Luochen and noticed that her expression was dazed, as though she had suffered a great blow.
Frowning slightly, Shui Lingguang stepped forward and gently patted Ling Luochen, bringing her back to her senses.
"Luochen," Shui Lingguang said softly, "don't compare yourself to the Young Master. He is extraordinary—no one in this world can match him."
"You are already excellent."
Ling Luochen smiled bitterly. "I'm just feeling emotional. It seems like the gap between us is only growing wider."
She was now a level 62 Soul Emperor, while Su Yu had already reached level 66.
She was already 22 years old, while Su Yu was only 15.
The gap was simply insurmountable.
She did not doubt that by the time Su Yu turned 17 and participated in the next Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament, he would at least be a Soul Sage.
And Su Yu wasn't just any Soul Master—he wielded an Ultimate Martial Soul.
It was terrifying.
How could anyone compete with that? There was simply no comparison.
She couldn't even see Su Yu's shadow in the distance.
"Take things one step at a time and focus on your path," Shui Lingguang advised. "I will guide you in your cultivation moving forward."
"Luochen, would you like to train with me?"
Since Ling Luochen was someone Su Yu had instructed her to take under her wing, Shui Lingguang regarded her with a touch of favor.
No matter Su Yu's reasons—whether it was for a specific purpose or merely to recruit an ice-element Soul Master—if it was Su Yu's request, she would take it seriously.
Just like Jiang Nannan back then.
Jiang Nannan wasn't even an ice-attribute soul master, yet she was still valued, wasn't she?
She was even taken in as a disciple.
It wasn't because she particularly liked Jiang Nannan, but because the one who arranged it was Su Yu.
To Shui Lingguang, anything related to Su Yu could not be taken lightly.
"Is… is that okay?"
Ling Luochen was a little overwhelmed by the favor, not expecting that Shui Lingguang would let her follow and train under her.
"Of course."
Shui Lingguang said with a smile.
Lu Yuan smacked his lips and said, "Luochen, you're incredibly lucky. Lingguang is an Ultimate Ice soul master. Training under her is bound to yield great results for you."
"Ultimate Ice?"
Ling Luochen was shocked, Xu Jiujiu was stunned, and Yan Shaozhe was utterly speechless.
What the heck, Shui Lingguang is also an Ultimate Ice soul master?
Back then, they said only Haibodong and Su Yu had Ultimate Ice power. Was that just to fool him?
Yan Shaozhe suddenly felt like a complete fool, utterly duped by the Ice God Palace.
Perhaps noticing Yan Shaozhe's thoughts, Shui Lingguang gently parted her crimson lips, and her ethereal, resonant voice rang out:
"I only recently evolved to Ultimate Ice, thanks to the young master's help. Without him, there would be no me as I am today."
Hearing this, Yan Shaozhe calmed down.
That's right.
Shui Lingguang's rapid improvement in strength was likely due to her martial soul's evolution.
It was precisely because her martial soul had evolved to the level of Ultimate Ice that she had become a Rank 98 Peak Douluo.
However, how she achieved this evolution remained a mystery.
Su Yu's methods were truly astonishing.
Yan Shaozhe was genuinely curious, but he also knew this matter likely involved the secrets of the Ice God Palace.
Even if he asked, Shui Lingguang and the others probably wouldn't tell him.
It was better not to ask at all to avoid making things awkward.
Shui Lingguang reached out and gently ruffled Ling Luochen's hair. She chuckled softly:
"Luochen, from now on, follow me. As long as it's something you want to learn and I can teach, I will share everything with you."
"Thank you, Fourth Guardian."
Ling Luochen's heart warmed. Shui Lingguang's gentleness eased the faint nervousness in her heart.
Seeming to recall something, Shui Lingguang smiled and said:
"Luochen, you know Jiang Nannan, right?
Nannan is also training under me now, so you won't feel lonely."
"Jiang Nannan?"
A trace of surprise appeared in Ling Luochen's beautiful eyes. She hadn't expected Jiang Nannan to have joined the Ice God Palace.
And by such coincidence, she was also training under Shui Lingguang.
Ling Luochen naturally knew Jiang Nannan. After all, during the competitions, they had encountered each other several times.
From her memories, Jiang Nannan was a girl who appeared outwardly gentle yet was inwardly unyielding. She seemed like someone easy to bully, but in reality, she was very stubborn.
Back then, most of the Shrek group had rejected Su Yu, especially Dai Huabin and Xu Sanshi, who repeatedly slandered him. Jiang Nannan, however, had stood up to defend Su Yu, directly confronting the two without backing down an inch.
It was just unexpected that Jiang Nannan would drop out of school and join the Ice God Palace.
But on second thought, it wasn't all that surprising. After all, Jiang Nannan and Su Yu had grown up together, and their relationship was already very close.
Yan Shaozhe's mouth twitched, struggling to keep his composure.
Case solved.
Jiang Nannan had indeed joined the Ice God Palace.
That extremely unique dropout notice Jiang Nannan submitted had left a deep impression on Yan Shaozhe.
After all, before Jiang Nannan, Yan Shaozhe had only ever seen standard withdrawal applications.
Someone as bold as Jiang Nannan was the first case.
But not the only one.
The more outrageous one was Wang Dong'er.
Now that was truly bold—she nearly stomped all over Shrek Academy's reputation.
Regardless of Jiang Nannan or Wang Dong'er, Yan Shaozhe still harbored some resentment toward them.
But now that they were in the Ice God Palace, even if Yan Shaozhe was upset, there was no outlet for his anger.
Didn't he just hear that Jiang Nannan was training under her?
If Yan Shaozhe made a fuss, he'd probably get beaten up instead.
Sigh, so frustrating.
To be as stifled as Yan Shaozhe was at this moment—truly, no one could compare.
After some more pleasantries, everyone went their separate ways.
During this time, Xu Jiujiu even jokingly asked whether they could join the Ice God Palace and undergo trials, only to be rejected outright by Shui Lingguang.
Unless they were ice-attribute soul masters, other types could not undergo the trials, and thus could not join the Ice God Palace.
As for why Jiang Nannan could join, neither Xu Jiujiu nor Yan Shaozhe dared to ask.
The Ice God Palace had its rules, but Su Yu's word was an even higher rule.
...
Half a day later.
Ice Treasure Hall.
With a flow of icy blue light, a graceful figure appeared before Su Yu.
Snow-white hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she was dressed in an icy veil.
Her face was flawless as if crafted by the heavens themselves—utterly perfect.
Delicate willow-like brows framed her icy blue gem-like eyes.
Her nose was exquisitely sculpted, her crimson lips soft and alluring.
Her tall, slender figure stood nearly 1.8 meters, with graceful curves in all the right places.
Her slender waist, ample chest, and long, smooth legs exuded a striking beauty.
Her skin was like jade, smooth and radiant, with a soft glow.
Her crystal-clear feet touched the ground lightly as she walked toward Su Yu.
Her aura, an extraordinary blend of icy arrogance and queenly elegance, was unmatched—truly captivating.
Su Yu was stunned, blankly staring as she approached.
With a single jade-like finger, she gently lifted his chin.
"Speechless?"
Snow Empress' breath was fragrant, her gaze sharp yet seductive.
"A little too beautiful."
Su Yu exhaled softly, gazing at the perfect woman before him, momentarily lost in thought.
No matter when Snow Empress's beauty in her complete form was always breathtaking.
There were only two women whose beauty could cause Su Yu to lose his composure:
One was Gu Yuena, and the other was Snow Empress.
Their auras were different, but both were equally perfect.
Even Su Yu struggled to decide who was more beautiful.
However, driven by his desire, Su Yu chose to have both.
No matter who was more beautiful, he would embrace them both.
Hearing Su Yu's murmurs, Snow Empress chuckled. At that moment, it was as if a snow lotus had bloomed—stunningly beautiful.
"Do you think I'm beautiful?"
"Then who's more beautiful—me or Zhang Lexuan?"
Snow Empress asked playfully, a teasing smile on her face.
Su Yu took a deep breath, his intellect regaining control.
"Little Snow, I refuse to answer that question."
"I refuse your refusal."
Snow Empress grabbed Su Yu by his clothes and pulled him into her embrace.
PS: Su Yu successfully grooms the little snow empress to the Adult Snow Empress: "It ain't much, but it's honest work."