"You're something else, Ye Feng! How dare you keep this from me for so long? You're despicable!"
Seeing Ye Feng finally admit the truth, the Ice Empress didn't let go—instead, she tugged even harder.
She practically threw herself onto him, pinning him against the wall.
Clearly, she was venting all the resentment and frustration that had built up from being "kept in the dark" this whole time.
"Haha, stop messing around~"
Ye Feng didn't resist. Instead, he reached out to steady the Ice Empress 's soft waist, making sure she wouldn't fall.
After all, the Ice Empress was tiny—she didn't have much strength.
Her tugging just made his face itch a little.
And with the two of them so close, Ye Feng could even catch the faint, delicate fragrance wafting from her.
Who would've thought that even after her Ice Empress Transformation, her natural scent hadn't changed much? It was just that, now that she was younger, the fragrance seemed lighter—not as intoxicating as before.
"Then… you're not going back on what you said before, right?" After fussing for a while, the Ice Empress blinked her bright, pale-yellow eyes and stared at Ye Feng expectantly.
"What thing?"
Ye Feng was confused.
"It's… it's about marrying me! You can't take it back now!" Thinking he was still playing dumb, the Ice Empress pinched him hard.
"When did I ever say—"
Ye Feng was about to deny it, but then he realized—she was talking about what happened in the "Dreamscape," their past life.
He had thought that, after spending so much time together, the Ice Empress would gradually forget about their past and cherish the present more.
But instead, as time passed, she hadn't forgotten at all. If anything, the influence had only grown stronger.
"You—you—how could you…"
Hearing his response, the Ice Empress suddenly felt an inexplicable surge of grievance welling up inside her. Her eyes instantly reddened, and tears—like pearls—began streaming down her face uncontrollably.
"Hey hey hey, don't cry! You're one of the Three Great Overlords of the Northern Icefield—how can you just burst into tears like this?"
Ye Feng quickly pulled her into his arms, gently soothing her, then led her out of the dessert shop.
There were just too many people here—he had already noticed dozens of eyes fixed on him and the Ice Empress .
And now that she was crying, he could practically feel the hostility radiating from the crowd.
Ye Feng wasn't afraid of these people, but he hated unnecessary trouble.
He wasn't about to let a bunch of nosy busybodies ruin his mood today.
...
"Mmm, I don't care! In our past life, you never kept your promise—you made me wait decades! In this life, you're not allowed to go back on your word, or else… or else I'll ignore you!"
The Ice Empress clung tightly to Ye Feng's neck, as if afraid he'd run away.
Even though it was just a hazy Dreamscape—with very few details—she was convinced it was their past life.
"Alright, alright, we'll talk about it when you're older…"
Ye Feng hurriedly tried to placate her.
"Don't brush me off! When I grow up, you have to marry me!" Seeing how dismissive he was being, the Ice Empress grew annoyed, her little hands kneading his face into all sorts of shapes.
"Mhm, mhm. When my Ice Empress grows up, I'll marry you~"
Ye Feng had no choice but to relent, nodding repeatedly.
"Hmph~ That's more like it. You better not go back on your word this time, or I'll be really angry!" The Ice Empress waved her claws menacingly, putting on a threatening act.
"Mmm, definitely won't go back on it~"
Ye Feng leaned in and planted a loud kiss on the Ice Empress 's soft cheek.
"Hmph... you jerk..."
This actually made the Ice Empress a bit shy, and she buried herself in Ye Feng's arms, murmuring quietly.
After shape-shifting into human form, the Ice Empress felt an overwhelming sense of weakness.
Without her formidable strength, she instinctively sought someone to rely on.
She already had a favorable impression of Ye Feng, and coupled with his powerful cultivation and the alluring, potent aura of his bloodline, he naturally became her only choice.
Moreover, various other factors had driven her dependence on Ye Feng to its peak.
For some inexplicable reason, she wanted to grow even closer to him.
...
...
Half a month later.
Ye Feng brought the Ice Empress back to the Star Sect and introduced her to Ning Rongrong and the others.
Although the Ice Empress 's Soul Power had reached level 16, her physique was still developing slowly—she remained petite, even a head shorter than A Yin.
"Ye Feng, who is this? Why have you brought another child back?"
"Ice Empress ... what a strange name~"
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong both studied the Ice Empress with curiosity.
However, the only difference was that A Yin had quietly retreated behind Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, eyeing the Ice Empress warily.
While Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong might not notice, A Yin could clearly sense that this newcomer, the "Ice Empress ," was also a shape-shifted Soul Beast—and an incredibly powerful one at that!
Even though A Yin's current cultivation was at level 25, far surpassing the Ice Empress 's, the latter still gave her an inexplicable sense of dread.
After Ye Feng's enhancements, A Yin's bloodline potential far exceeded the Ice Empress 's.
But...
She was still just grass—gentle and docile by nature.
The Ice Empress , however, was the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, a top predator at the very peak of the food chain.
No matter how strong the Blue Silver Emperor was, she could only reign supreme among plants.
The Ice Empress , on the other hand, was the undisputed ruler of the entire Land of Extreme North.
Even disregarding bloodlines, the sheer dominance and imposing aura the Ice Empress exuded were enough to make A Yin tremble.
It wasn't just A Yin—even Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong could vaguely sense an inexplicable pressure emanating from the Ice Empress .
However, since their cultivation levels were much higher than the Ice Empress 's at this point, they weren't significantly affected.
It wasn't just A Yin who was sizing up the Ice Empress .
The Ice Empress was also studying A Yin.
She had heard from Ye Feng before that there was another shape-shifted Soul Beast in the Star Sect—even a Blue Silver Emperor in human form.
Now, they were finally meeting face to face.
She had assumed that, as fellow shape-shifted Soul Beasts, they would have common ground and quickly become close sisters.
But now, she realized she might have been mistaken.
The other party seemed to harbor quite a bit of hostility toward her—as if facing... a romantic rival.
"That scoundrel Ye Feng... fooling around everywhere, even getting involved with this grass. How infuriating..."
The Ice Empress was sharp-witted and quickly pieced things together, feeling an inexplicable pang of jealousy.
Not just A Yin—even that human named Zhu Zhuqing seemed to have feelings for Ye Feng...
This filled her with an overwhelming sense of crisis.
Lost in thought, the Ice Empress subconsciously tightened her grip on Ye Feng's hand with considerable force.
"She and A Yin are both like my younger cousins. You must get along well with them in the future..."
"..."
After a brief introduction.
Ye Feng took A Yin and the Ice Empress aside separately.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing had no resistance whatsoever to adorable little girls, so they accepted the Ice Empress and A Yin quite readily—there wouldn't be any issues there.
However, the relationship between A Yin and the Ice Empress would require Ye Feng's personal mediation...
(End of Chapter)