The Ice Empress pursed her lips, smoothed her skirt, and gave Lin Yun a deep, formal bow."Thank you, my Lord."
Perched on the Ice Empress's tail, Qing'er also lowered her little claws, mimicking a bowing motion to express reverence and submission.
"All right," Lin Yun said with a smile, gently ruffling the Ice Empress's hair. "Don't delay your breakthrough any longer. Let Snow accompany you. I'll be staying here in the Star Dou Forest to cultivate for a while. I won't be leaving, and with Di Tian watching over me, there's no need to worry about my safety."
Truthfully, Lin Yun was quite looking forward to seeing what appearance Qing'er would choose after she reached the two-hundred-thousand-year level. He guessed, though, that she would most likely resemble the Ice Empress—and that idea alone made him grin like a fool.
First there were the "sister flowers" Snow Empress and Ming Li; now there were the Ice Empress and Qing'er, another pair of beauties. Just thinking about it filled Lin Yun with unrestrained joy.
Totally worth it!
So what if he'd spent nearly all of the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow? Worth every drop!
Not only did it strengthen his allies and increase his faction's power, it also boosted their affection for him—and, well, it definitely satisfied certain "private" inclinations of his. No matter how he thought about it, it was an all-around win.
The Ice Empress gained, Qing'er gained, and Lin Yun gained.A perfect three-way win!
Throughout it all, the Snow Empress silently observed. Her red lips curved into a faint, gentle smile, and her gaze toward Lin Yun grew softer and warmer. The Ice Empress, meanwhile, was overflowing with affection—she stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Lin Yun's waist, rose on her toes, and planted a deep kiss upon his lips. Only then did she leave with Qing'er and the Snow Empress, heading back toward the Extreme North.
By now, all of the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow had been officially depleted. Every last drop had been used for the soul beasts of the Extreme North—first to save the lives of the Ice and Snow Empresses under heavenly tribulation, then to rescue the Titan Snow Demon King and the Ice Bear King from death.
And now, it had been used again to nurture a successor for the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan, ensuring that the species wouldn't perish after the Ice Empress's departure.
The Ice Empress and the Snow Empress both saw how deeply Lin Yun cared for the Extreme North. To have such a husband and Soul Beast Lord—someone who carried them and their homeland in his heart—what more could they possibly desire?
When the two empresses vanished over the horizon, Lin Yun turned around to face Xiao Xiao and Zhang Lexuan.
Today's spectacle had far exceeded expectations. The man who usually laughed and joked with them like an ordinary boyfriend had suddenly revealed his true identity—the Soul Beast Lord, the supreme ruler of all soul beasts. The eight surviving Fierce Beasts stood before him like respectful students before a teacher.
It was utterly surreal.
Especially for Xiao Xiao—after learning that the infamous Ice and Snow Empresses of the Extreme North were both Lin Yun's consorts, and that she herself was expected to call them "sisters," her brain had gone completely blank. She still hadn't recovered.
Lin Yun could tell she was uncomfortable. The sudden shift in status was simply too overwhelming. The little girl hadn't yet adjusted to it. Honestly, Lin Yun himself didn't know what to do—across two lifetimes, he'd never really been good at comforting women. In his past life, no one had comforted him; in this one, no one had needed him to comfort them.
Well… except for Di Qiu'er—but coaxing her didn't feel like coaxing a woman. It felt more like taking care of a mischievous daughter.
As Lin Yun stood there, a bit at a loss, his eyes met Zhang Lexuan's. She smiled faintly, calm and composed as always. Seeing Lin Yun's hesitation, she stepped forward with gentle understanding and spoke first.
"My Lord," Zhang Lexuan asked softly, "now that you are the Soul Beast Lord—and I have become your servant—could you tell me what your future plans are? What is your stance toward us humans?"
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Xiao Xiao's confusion seemed to fade. Her eyes turned to Lin Yun as well.
That question was the one weighing on her heart most. No matter what, she was still human—she couldn't simply discard that part of herself. If Lin Yun's plan was to annihilate humanity, to wipe out her entire race, then she knew she could never accept it.
She waited anxiously to hear his answer.
Lin Yun met Zhang Lexuan's eyes with an approving look. After a moment of silence, he began to speak—detailing the ancient Dragon God War, and the countless hardships that had followed for the soul beasts after that catastrophic battle.
Both Xiao Xiao and Zhang Lexuan listened intently. After all, Lin Yun was now an inseparable part of their lives; what he said, and what he planned, mattered deeply to them.
When he finished recounting history, Lin Yun explained,
"So you see, the Soul Master System itself was created by the God Realm—to bind and suppress the soul beast race. It forces endless blood feuds between soul beasts and humans, ensuring they will fight until the soul beasts are completely destroyed."
He sighed. "To be honest, I don't hold any particular hatred toward humans. My goal is simply to restore my full strength, surpass my past self, and lead the soul beasts to counterattack the God Realm—so that they'll never again be oppressed."
To accomplish that, he would need to shatter the restrictive rules the God Realm had imposed upon the Douluo Continent—by force, with his own fists. Once those divine laws were broken, the unnatural soul master system would collapse as well, and the shackles upon the soul beasts would vanish.
Of course, humanity would suffer a dark age without the soul master system—but humans were endlessly creative. Given time, they would surely invent a new cultivation system for themselves, a new path forward.
What the future held beyond that was not Lin Yun's concern.
After all, the universe was vast. Finding another habitable world for the soul beasts wouldn't be too difficult.
Besides, there was something strange about the Douluo Continent itself—a sort of cursed energy. Anyone or anything that came from this place seemed to lose their sanity sooner or later. Having once been a normal person from the modern world, Lin Yun couldn't help but suspect that this planet's feng shui was just… wrong.
The Dragon God, Tang San, all those lunatics and weirdos—every one of them was living proof!
Even the countless transmigrators who ended up here were influenced by this mysterious energy: they either became brainless womanizers or deranged murder machines.
It had taken Lin Yun tremendous willpower to walk his own abstract path—to avoid turning into a brain-dead idiot himself.
If possible, he definitely didn't plan to stay on this cursed world any longer. For his subordinates and consorts—the soul beast race he now ruled—he would much rather find them a new home, a planet with better "spiritual feng shui."
After hearing his explanation, Xiao Xiao and Zhang Lexuan both let out long sighs of relief.
People are pragmatic.
If Lin Yun had declared that he wanted to exterminate humanity, they could never have followed him. But a Lord who merely wanted to liberate the soul beasts from oppression while being indifferent to human affairs—that, they could accept.
At that point, his "identity" didn't matter much anymore.
After all, if shapeshifted soul beasts could betray their kin to serve humans, why couldn't humans marry the Soul Beast Lord and stand by his side?
No double standards, please!
Seeing that both Xiao Xiao and Zhang Lexuan had accepted the situation, Lin Yun finally relaxed.
Considering that the two of them still weren't used to life in the Star Dou Forest, he decided to send them temporarily to a small valley where Xue Qingci and Xixi lived—both of whom were human.
Xixi had once been an inner-court disciple of Shrek Academy, so she and the two new arrivals would definitely have things to talk about. And with the goofy Lao Xue there as well, four women together could at least play mahjong and keep themselves entertained.
Lin Yun didn't need to worry about them at all.
He had other matters to plan.
After three months of deep meditation, Lin Yun had come to a realization—his biggest weakness was a lack of real combat experience. This flaw had to be corrected. After all, he planned to one day challenge the entire God Realm itself. How could he do that without battle-hardened strength?
There were still a few years before the next Continental Soul Master Tournament.
During this time, Lin Yun resolved to break through to Soul Saint—and more importantly…
To sweep the entire Star Dou Forest from south to north, and challenge every single hundred-thousand-year soul beast within it!
(End of Chapter)
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