Shui Lingguang pursed her lips but said nothing, her beautiful eyes flickering slightly.
Hai Bodong looked at her and chuckled, saying, "Are you feeling uneasy because the Young Master rejected Xu Jiujiu, and now you don't dare to take that step?"
Indeed, Shui Lingguang had witnessed the entire process of Su Yu rejecting Xu Jiujiu.
After returning to the Ice God Palace, Shui Lingguang practically took over Mu Wu's duties, becoming the person who spent the most time by Su Yu's side.
Whenever Su Yu needed something done, it was Shui Lingguang he called upon.
This was partly because Mu Wu was focusing on breaking through to the rank of Ultimate Douluo, but there was also the unspoken understanding that Mu Wu might have wanted to help Shui Lingguang in his way.
After all, the nine great guardians were closely connected, and Shui Lingguang's feelings were no secret to anyone.
It was precisely because Shui Lingguang was always by Su Yu's side that she had seen just how decisive Su Yu could be when rejecting someone.
After all, even when Xu Jiujiu had gone as far as to undress herself, she still wasn't able to win him over.
Shui Lingguang couldn't help but doubt herself—if even Xu Jiujiu couldn't succeed, could she stand a chance?
It wasn't that she was afraid of failure. What she feared was that, after failing, she might lose the opportunity to remain by Su Yu's side altogether.
That was something she truly couldn't accept.
"You silly girl, you're overthinking this, worrying too much. Can Xu Jiujiu even compare to you?"
"In every aspect, she's far inferior to you. Silly girl, can't you have a little more confidence in yourself?"
Just by looking at Shui Lingguang's expression, Hai Bodong could tell he had hit the mark.
Shui Lingguang wasn't unwilling—she was just overthinking things.
In Hai Bodong's opinion, Shui Lingguang was worrying needlessly. He had long since understood Su Yu's character.
With Shui Lingguang's pure nature, even if she failed, Su Yu would only smile and comfort her. He would never say a harsh word.
Su Yu had plenty of patience for those close to him.
Besides, if Su Yu had an issue with Shui Lingguang, she wouldn't have been able to evolve her martial soul and experience such a significant increase in strength.
The Rebirth Life Ice Lotus Seed was a precious resource, and Shui Lingguang wasn't the only one who could have used it.
Such blatant favoritism—wasn't that enough to say something?
Even if it was just the Young Master compensating for past regrets toward Shui Lingguang's lineage, it still proved that she held a place in his heart.
So what was there to worry about?
She just needed to go for it.
Hai Bodong despised hesitation in all things. Being overly cautious and indecisive only led to accomplishing nothing in the end.
If it were him, once he made a decision, he wouldn't hesitate. To gain something, you had to have the resolve to cut off all retreat.
"You silly girl, think about it carefully. If you don't take the initiative, it'll never happen. Surely you're not expecting the Young Master to take the first step?"
Hai Bodong sighed softly.
Shui Lingguang's beautiful eyes flickered as she lightly bit her red lips.
"High Priest, thank you. I'll think it over carefully," Shui Lingguang finally said, her voice soft and pleasant.
"Well, think quickly. The Young Master is very popular, you know. Let me tell you a little secret—he has quite a few confidantes."
Hai Bodong glanced around, acting all mysterious, as if saying, "This secret is just for you; I haven't told anyone else."
Shui Lingguang's lips twitched slightly. This High Priest—how could he have such an unserious side?
But she didn't dare voice her thoughts. After a few polite responses, she found an excuse to leave—she still had to stay by Su Yu's side, after all.
As Shui Lingguang disappeared, Hai Bodong rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"She's a good girl, certainly a match for the Young Master," he murmured.
"If it works out, the Young Master will at least owe me a drink. Can't let my efforts in helping today go to waste."
Hai Bodong muttered to himself before letting out a long sigh.
"But then again, the Young Master's heart can be so cold sometimes. He rejects people without hesitation, even if they're crying their eyes out."
"In that way, he's much tougher than that brat…"
"That brat has just as much luck with women—maybe even more—but he's far too soft-hearted."
"If a girl cried in front of him, he'd probably hesitate and end up accepting her. Such a useless guy."
Hai Bodong grumbled under his breath.
...
Meanwhile, in the endless chaos of the void, a white-robed youth fishing suddenly sneezed.
"Achoo!"
"What's wrong?"
Beside him stood a stunning woman clad in a multicolored robe. She was breathtakingly beautiful, almost impossibly so.
Her face and figure were flawless, exuding an innate allure and dominance. Her queenly aura was a perfect blend of seduction and majesty—she was the epitome of elegance.
"Hmph, what else? That old geezer is badmouthing me again," the white-robed youth muttered.
"Was it one of those intercepted projections?" the multicolored-robed woman asked, as if recalling something.
The white-robed youth nodded.
"Where was it intercepted and sent to?"
The woman seemed intrigued but, despite her great power, was unable to break through the endless chaos to pinpoint the exact location across the myriad worlds.
However, the man beside her could.
"A weak and insignificant world, utterly devoid of value. But I did find an interesting child there, someone with a rather unique destiny," he said.
"You're planning to invest again?"
The woman chuckled lightly.
The youth smiled. "The endless chaos has become quite restless. Even in our True Origin Realm, the pressure is immense."
"I've discussed this with the other Heavenly Emperors. The more potential successors we cultivate, the better. It's not just me—they're doing the same."
"This child may come from a weak world, but their unique fate makes them worth watching."
"What do you plan to do?"
The woman asked curiously.
The youth shrugged. "I'll start by putting some pressure on them. They've had it far too easy so far."
"You're so cruel," the woman teased.
The youth laughed heartily. "Nobody rises without challenges. Even I had my share of desperate struggles back then."
"Besides, this is about tempering them, not tormenting them. I'm not some petty troublemaker."
"Who's the petty troublemaker?"
"Just a disgusting individual—not worth mentioning. It's a bit nauseating, honestly."
The youth waved it off, then reached out and pointed. Through the endless chaos, across countless worlds, he found a fragile bubble-like universe.
"So fragile," he remarked, his gaze flickering as a pinpoint of light moved from the bubble's edge toward another direction.
After a moment's thought, he lightly tapped again.
A beam of white light shot into the universe, embedding itself into Hai Bodong without anyone noticing.
Neither Hai Bodong nor the Ice God Palace sensed a thing.
...
At that moment, far away in the Divine Realm, Tang San who was healing exploded into pieces, scattering blood all over Xiao Wu and the Goddess of Life.
Before they could scream in shock, the shattered fragments reassembled into Tang San—only to explode again moments later.
....
...
...
After roughly a hundred attempts, Tang San was on the verge of losing consciousness, nearly forgetting his name. The white-robed youth seemed to have finally had enough fun. With a flicker in his gaze, everything returned to its original state, including the memories of the Goddess of Life and the others, which vanished without a trace.
It was as though nothing had ever happened.
Having done all this, the white-robed youth cast his fishing rod again, humming a jaunty tune, looking utterly at ease.
....
Su Yu's figure was slightly hunched, veins bulging on his forehead, as he struggled to climb upward.
At the 999 steps of the Ice God's Staircase, Su Yu had already reached the 990th step. Today, he intended to conquer this staircase entirely.
By the time he reached the 990th step, the pain was already at its peak.
Every step felt like struggling through a sea of fire and blades, a pain so excruciating that even his soul felt as though it was being torn apart.
On top of that, the omnipresent pressure around him made Su Yu feel like he was deep underwater, unable to breathe.
It was too heavy, too intense, too painful, and too unbearable.
This Ice God's Staircase was far more torturous than anyone could have imagined.
Standing at the entrance of the Ice God Hall, Mu Wu watched Su Yu, who was about to reach the top, filled with admiration.
Even he, when climbing the Ice God's Staircase, had barely made it through without shedding a layer of skin.
Yet Su Yu had reached the 990th step—a feat that was no small accomplishment and truly awe-inspiring.
However, after reaching the 990th step, the pain was said to be comparable to entering hell itself.
The last 9 steps were exponentially more difficult to overcome than all the previous ones combined.
Mu Wu could only hope that Su Yu would grit his teeth and make it through successfully.
Lingguang, standing beside the Ice God's Hall, also watched Su Yu, who was gritting his teeth and enduring the hardship. Her beautiful eyes held a trace of heartache.
She had never seen the young master in such a wretched state before. His usually straight posture was bent; his always composed and handsome face was red and contorted from exertion.
All of this made it clear how dire the situation was for Su Yu.
After the 990th step, the pressure became unimaginably intense.
The dual torment of body and soul was enough to push anyone to the brink of collapse.
Su Yu gritted his teeth and took another step forward.
As soon as he set foot on the 991st step, his legs began to tremble.
But Su Yu forcibly steadied himself, standing firm like a nail driven into the ground.
Then, clenching his fists tightly, he managed to lift his left foot and plant it firmly on the 991st step.
As soon as he stabilized himself, a wave of pressure crashed down on him.
Merely advancing one step caused the pressure to increase dramatically.
No wonder they said the final 9 steps were the hardest to overcome.
If every step brought such a significant increase in pressure, it would be an incredibly grueling challenge.
Su Yu's body wavered but held firm. At last, he unleashed his Martial Soul, which he had been holding back until now.
With the Ice Emperor Martial Soul empowering him, Su Yu advanced to the 992nd step.
Upon reaching the 992nd step, the pressure intensified once more.
Su Yu activated his second soul skill, Ice Emperor's Armor, and climbed to the 993rd step.
Then he invoked his fourth soul skill, Ice Emperor's Guard, managing to ascend two more steps to the 995th step.
At this point, even with the support of two defensive soul skills, Su Yu was struggling immensely.
The remaining four steps seemed like an insurmountable chasm.
Taking a deep breath, Su Yu unleashed two more abilities: Ice Emperor's Domain and Snow Dance Radiance, advancing one more step to the 996th level.
"Hu!"
"Hu!"
"Hu!"
Su Yu panted heavily. The two domains were not augmentation types, so they offered little help in resisting the pressure.
Climbing just one step had already pushed him to his limit.
At this point, with only three steps remaining, Su Yu was utterly exhausted.
The exhaustion was both physical and mental, making it almost unbearable.
However, having come this far, there was no retreat.
The only option for Su Yu now was to conquer the staircase completely.
A fierce determination flashed in his eyes as black and white energies spread out from his body—his Sovereign's Domain, unique for its disintegration and dissolution abilities, briefly alleviated the surrounding pressure.
Under the Sovereign's Domain, Su Yu's blood energy, soul power, and mental strength fused together.
His momentum surged as he climbed to the 997th step in one breath, and then to the 998th step in another.
"The final step! Aaaaah!!!"
Su Yu roared, and soul rings one, two, four, five, and six fused together.
The explosive power from this fusion shocked even Mu Wu.
Su Yu stepped onto the 999th step, shattering the mountainous pressure around him. His left foot followed, completing the climb.
As soon as Su Yu's left foot landed on the 999th step, all the pressure and pain vanished instantly.
Between his brows, a golden-blue mark flickered, as though something had shattered.
Su Yu's body trembled, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His face turned pale as paper.
To conquer this final step, Su Yu used his Soul Ring Fusion ability.
Soul Ring Fusion was a rare talent that allowed soul rings to merge, unleashing immense power.
However, the burden it placed on the user was equally immense.
This time, Su Yu had fused five soul rings at once: three from fierce soul beasts and two 100,000-year soul rings.
The strain was unprecedented, almost horrifying.
Had Su Yu's body not been exceptionally strong, the pressure alone could have crushed him.
Even so, forcing his way through had left him with severe injuries, requiring a long period of recovery.
"Young Master!"
Seeing Su Yu cough up blood, Lingguang's expression changed drastically, and she rushed over.
She caught Su Yu's swaying body, letting him lean against her.
"Lingguang, huh?"
Su Yu managed a faint smile, not pushing her away.
Having forcibly fused five soul rings, Su Yu was already at his limit.
But he had no other choice—on the final step, the pressure had multiplied several times over.
Without Soul Ring Fusion, success would have been impossible.
So Su Yu had steeled himself and gone all out.
Thankfully, his gamble paid off, and he succeeded in the end.
"That crazy guy… bold, but I suppose I can begrudgingly forgive him this once," a certain proud goddess muttered softly in the heavens, her beautiful eyes gleaming with a peculiar light.
At the same time, a majestic and solemn female voice echoed in Su Yu's mind.