"Isn't it just the Ice Spirit clan? When the time comes, just watch how I, the Young Master, handle them effortlessly."
Su Yu patted his chest, speaking boldly and with great confidence.
Snow Empress immediately rolled her eyes. "I believe you're full of nonsense. This is a divine trial, not some ordinary challenge."
"During a divine trial, they won't go easy on you just because you're the Young Master."
"Such a strong race, even stronger than Icey's Ice Jade Scorpion clan. Just the two of us—how are we supposed to deal with them?"
"Or are you relying on our martial soul fusion technique again?"
"While our martial soul fusion technique is powerful, it's impossible to take on so many 100,000-year-old Ice Spirit clans."
"Where do you even get so much confidence from?"
Su Yu chuckled and said, "Since that old virgin Ice God dared to issue this task, it means there's a way for us to complete it."
"When the time comes, we'll figure it out."
Snow Empress didn't seem convinced. Suddenly, she thought of something, lightly parted her lips, and asked, "Did you provoke the Ice God again this time?"
"The difficulty of this second trial is even more outrageous than the first. I suspect the Ice God is deliberately making things harder for you."
Su Yu's eyebrows twitched, and his gaze became evasive.
Snow Empress flipped over in one motion, propping her face up with one hand as she stared at Su Yu. "Turn around and look at me. Be honest—did you say something reckless to the Ice God again?"
Su Yu didn't respond, only turning his back to her in silence.
Having spent so much time with Su Yu, Snow Empress immediately realized she had guessed correctly.
Her delicate brows furrowed, and she gritted her teeth so hard that the sound was audible.
"Su Yu, can't you just act like a decent human being for once?"
"Why do you insist on provoking the Ice God and dragging me into your mess? I'm going to teach you a lesson!"
Snow Empress was furious. No wonder the second trial was so difficult—it turned out to be Su Yu's fault again.
Without hesitation, Snow Empress pounced on Su Yu, her jade-like hands reaching out to pinch him.
Su Yu's eyes darted around, and he immediately cried out loudly, "Ahhh! Pain, pain, pain! I'm dying! My organs are about to split open!"
Snow Empress was startled and quickly remembered that Su Yu was still injured. She immediately let go of him.
"Su Yu, are you okay?"
Just as Snow Empress finished speaking, a figure flashed past her, the resulting gust of wind causing her snow-white hair to sway gently.
When Snow Empress came to her senses, the figure of Su Yu was already nowhere to be seen.
Was this guy as injured as he claimed to be?
"Very good. Very good. Very good indeed."
Snow Empress clenched her delicate fists, her beautiful face now dark and expressionless. Through gritted teeth, she muttered, "I've been tricked by that guy so many times, and today I've fallen for it again."
Standing up expressionlessly, Snow Empress walked outside.
He might have run away, but he couldn't stay gone forever. Today, she was determined to settle accounts with Su Yu.
...
Five Days Later.
After five days of recovery, Su Yu's injuries had completely healed.
Now fully recovered, Su Yu decided it was time to explore the specifics of the second trial with Snow Empress.
On a small island in the heart of the lake, Su Yu and Snow Empress stood side by side. Shui Lingguang hovered nearby, while the massive Ice Dragon Bing Bing sat by the shore, her long, snow-white legs gently swinging, her crystalline feet occasionally splashing in the water.
"Young Master, the Ice Spirit clan's territory is located in this Ice God Lake, just over there."
Bing Bing pointed toward the northeast, where a large expanse of water lay.
Unlike the other parts of Ice God Lake where soul beasts roamed freely, that area was eerily quiet—too quiet.
"Bing Bing, how many ferocious beasts are there in the Ice Spirit clan?"
Su Yu stepped forward and sat next to the Ice Dragon, leaning in to ask.
As the leader of Ice God Lake, no one was more familiar with its inhabitants than the Ice Dragon Bing Bing.
Su Yu only had a general idea of the situation, but he lacked detailed information.
Bing Bing tilted her head slightly, her crystalline dragon horns small and exquisite, looking quite adorable.
"The Ice Spirit clan should have four ferocious beasts. Two of them are around 230,000 to 240,000 years old, one is about 360,000 years old."
"As for the Ice Spirit Emperor, that one has a cultivation of 580,000 years. But don't worry, Young Master. That one probably won't intervene."
"The Ice God has already made this trial difficult enough. It's unlikely they'd allow the Ice Spirit Emperor to participate."
There was a hint of uncertainty in Bing Bing's voice, indicating that even she wasn't entirely sure.
"Young Master, you need to be cautious of the Ice Spirit Emperor. That one has a bad temper, and its relationship with the first and second brothers isn't very harmonious."
Shui Lingguang warned from the side.
Snow Empress frowned and asked, "Would it dare to disobey orders?"
Shui Lingguang shook her head. "The loyalty of all creatures within the Ice God Palace to the Young Master is unquestionable."
"But given the current circumstances, the Ice Spirit Emperor's bad temper and stubbornness might cause it to accidentally injure the Young Master during battle."
"Of course, this is just my speculation. The Ice Spirit Emperor might not even take action. Otherwise, the trial would be far too difficult."
"Underwater, even the first brother would struggle to defeat the Ice Spirit Emperor. As for the second brother, he's already been beaten to the point of running for his life before."
Bing Bing pouted in disdain. "That's because they're useless. If it were me, I'd wipe them out in no time—slash, slash, slash, done."
"They're just impure-blooded sub-dragon soul beasts, after all."
Su Yu couldn't help but chuckle. Truly befitting of a pure-blooded Ice Dragon—her words were as bold as her pride.
Of course, as a true dragon, it was only natural for her to look down on impure sub-dragon bloodlines.
The Ice Spirit clan, while incredibly powerful and close to true dragons in strength, ultimately weren't true dragons. Compared to Bing Bing, there was still a distinct gap.
After gathering this information from Bing Bing, Su Yu stood up and walked over to Snow Empress.
The two exchanged a glance and began heading northeast.
Plop!
Plop!
Two splashes echoed as Su Yu and Snow Empress dove into Ice God Lake.
The freezing cold water of the lake was bone-chilling, unbearable for ordinary soul masters. However, for Snow Empress and Su Yu, it posed no significant challenge.
After all, the two of them had traversed the extreme cold of the Ying Spring before, so the frigid waters of Ice God Lake were relatively mild.
Su Yu held Snow Empress's hand, and a long spear suddenly appeared in his grasp, the weight of the Blue Ancient Spear caused them to sink rapidly.
Fortunately, Ice God Lake was just a lake and not as deep as the ocean.
At its deepest, the frigid waters were about 800 meters below the surface.
At such depths, the water pressure was considerable, but it wasn't an issue for Su Yu and Snow Empress.
Su Yu's physical strength was astonishing, and after consuming the Rebirth Life Ice Lotus Seed, Snow Empress's physique rivaled that of a Super Douluo.
Underwater, they moved freely, though not entirely as if on land.
The icy blue waters of the lake were exceptionally clear. Even at the bottom, Su Yu's keen eyesight allowed him to take in everything around him.
As they moved forward, they occasionally encountered soul beasts dwelling at the bottom of the lake.
These soul beasts seemed to ignore the two of them, swimming past as if they didn't exist.
Exchanging a glance, Su Yu and Snow Empress continued swimming cautiously.
Gradually, the number of soul beasts dwindled. The once frequent sightings now became sparse, like scattered stars in the sky.
Su Yu's heart tightened as he grew more vigilant. They were likely nearing the Ice Spirit clan's territory.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before a massive soul beast appeared in Su Yu's line of sight.
It was a pure white soul beast, its body covered in scales that resembled icy armor with a metallic sheen.
Beneath its body were sharp claws, and its lower jaw was adorned with long, white whiskers.
Its features bore a striking resemblance to the Ice Dragon, even carrying a similar majestic dragon aura.
However, there was one significant difference—it lacked horns.
Unlike the dignified and majestic dragon horns of the Ice Dragon, this soul beast's head was bare, missing that divine aspect.
"So this is an Ice Spirit," Su Yu murmured to himself, careful not to make a sound and risk alerting it.
The soul beast was over 50 meters long, with a cultivation of only a few tens of thousands of years. Avoiding its detection shouldn't be too difficult—or so Su Yu thought.
But he underestimated the Ice Spirit clan's capabilities. Their strength wasn't limited to raw power; their senses were also incredibly sharp.
Even though this Ice Spirit had only cultivated for a few tens of thousands of years, its strength was on par with a Title Douluo.
By the time Su Yu and Snow Empress noticed it, the Ice Spirit, familiar with every corner of its territory, had already sensed the presence of intruders.
The massive head suddenly turned, locking its gaze in Su Yu's direction. In those ice-blue vertical pupils, there was an aura of majesty and wildness.
Su Yu's heart skipped a beat. He knew he had been exposed.
But instead of retreating, he surged forward, swimming rapidly ahead.
It was his first time diving into the water, and he needed to observe as much as possible.
The Ice spirit dragon, seeing Su Yu being so audacious, roared and immediately chased after him.
Strange sound waves rippled through the water as more spirit ice dragons began to swim over, joining the pursuit.
But Su Yu's movements were nothing short of dazzling. Even underwater, his maneuvers were extraordinarily nimble and unpredictable.
Pulling Snow Empress along with him, he dodged left and right, gradually venturing deeper into the territory.
"Roar!"
At that moment, an exhilarating dragon roar echoed, and the omnipresent currents parted in all directions.
Immediately after, a powerful and overwhelming aura descended, causing both Su Yu and Snow Empress to freeze briefly.
In their line of sight, a majestic ice dragon was charging toward them. With just one glance, Su Yu felt his entire body tremble.
This spirit ice dragon's body was over 120 meters long—a bona fide 100,000-year soul beast.
A 100,000-year spirit ice dragon could rival a Super Douluo. For Su Yu and Snow Empress, it was not something they could easily deal with.
What made matters worse was that it wasn't just one. More and more 100,000-year spirit ice dragons were closing in.
"We're doomed."
Su Yu felt a chill in his heart, realizing this might be the end of the road for him this time.
With more than a dozen 100,000-year ice dragons attacking together, he and Snow Empress stood no chance at all.
["Young master, my apologies."]
The leading 100,000-year spirit ice dragon spoke, its voice accompanied by mental energy fluctuations that resonated in Su Yu's mind.
Before Su Yu could say anything, the spirit ice dragons lunged at them.
Moments later.
"Splash!!!"
"Splash!!!"
Two massive splashes broke the surface of the water, sending icy cold sprays more than ten meters high.
Amid the spray, two figures were flung out like discarded garbage, landing heavily on the shore.
"Ouch!"
"Ouch!"
Two groans followed in quick succession, immediately alarming the people on the shore.
Shui Lingguang's face changed, and she rushed forward to help one of the figures up. "Young master, are you alright?"
These two figures were, of course, Su Yu and Snow Empress.
Faced with the onslaught of more than a dozen 100,000-year spirit ice dragons, the two of them had no chance to fight back and were promptly beaten up.
Although the ice dragons had refrained from using their sharp claws, they didn't hold back much in their strikes.
Even with Su Yu and Snow Empress's strong physiques, the pain was unbearable.
Su Yu grimaced, feeling his entire body go numb. It was as if all his bones had been rearranged.
They knew he was the young master, yet they still hit him so hard.
And the worst part? They ganged up on him.
More than a dozen 100,000-year spirit ice dragons teaming up against him and Snow Empress, two young individuals, was utterly dishonorable.
How could this be fair?
It wasn't!
Su Yu's face was numb, and in his heart, he was cursing up a storm.
"Hahaha, this is killing me! That guy finally got what he deserved. Well done!"
In the God Realm, a certain tsundere deity was laughing so hard she was rolling on the floor.
Seeing him suffer made her incredibly happy.
Hmph, he dared to secretly mock her and even call her petty? He deserved a good beating.
The tsundere deity snorted with satisfaction, watching the scene on her screen with great amusement.
Back on the shore, Snow Empress, who had no one to help her, struggled to stand up. Her flawless, delicate face was just as swollen as Su Yu's, if not worse.
Her icy blue eyes flashed with anger as she clenched her fists.
Those shameless spirit ice dragons had dared to hit her face—and hit it so hard.
When had Snow Empress ever suffered such humiliation?
Fine. She would remember this.
One day, she would get her revenge.
Snow Empress touched her swollen face, her anger burning like fire.
At this moment, Su Yu noticed Snow Empress. Gently pushing Shui Lingguang aside, he walked over to her.
Raising his right hand, he channeled the power of his Life Gold, and the bruises on Snow Empress's body began to heal.
The swelling on her face gradually disappeared, restoring her flawless beauty.
Snow Empress touched her face again, feeling that it had returned to normal. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Su Yu then used the power of his Life Gold to heal his injuries.
Snow Empress looked at Su Yu, her delicate brows furrowed. "Su Yu, what now? Those bastards are too strong, and they don't play fair."
Facing so many 100,000-year spirit ice dragons at once, Snow Empress couldn't imagine any way to fight back.
"We'll try again another day," Su Yu sighed. "Let's look for weaknesses next time."
Snow Empress gave him a strange look. "Try again?"
"Haven't you had enough of a beating?"
Su Yu shrugged and said, "What else can we do?"
"We have to try. Otherwise, how will we pass the second trial?"