Near dusk.
The liveliness in Element City did not decrease but instead increased. Many shops were still brightly lit, and the pedestrians on the road were almost all groups of students or members of academies.
Shen Hanyu pulled the Snow Emperor along through the crowd. The Snow Emperor was quietly led by Shen Hanyu without resisting or getting angry; her calmness was unnaturally serene.
After feeding the Snow Emperor another piece of candy, she spoke softly:
"Let's go back."
Shen Hanyu glanced at the sky and the crowd, nodded, and led the Snow Emperor toward the outside the city.
Only when they were nearing the city gate did the Snow Emperor ask softly while walking:
"Why are you holding my hand?"
Shen Hanyu answered calmly:
"I'm afraid you'll get lost."
The Snow Emperor was stunned for a moment, then shook her head and said:
"You're not that kind of person."
Shen Hanyu's mouth twitched, somewhat helplessly saying:
"Then what do you think?"
The Snow Emperor fell silent. Shen Hanyu curled his lips and continued walking toward the city gate.
"You want to become my partner."
The Snow Emperor's voice came from behind, decisive and firm, making it impossible to discern her current mood.
Shen Hanyu's body stiffened. He turned back, looked at the Snow Emperor, who was a bit shorter than him, and smiled as he said:
"What makes you say that?"
The Snow Emperor gazed straight into Shen Hanyu's eyes and said:
"Your emotions are fluctuating. Don't forget, I am your ninth soul ring. In a certain sense, I can touch your truest inner self…"
"You're moved, but you're desperately suppressing it…"
Shen Hanyu looked thoughtfully at the Snow Emperor. After a long while, he softly said:
"You're right. I do have that intention."
The Snow Emperor glanced at Shen Hanyu, then softly said:
"Let's go. It's almost dark."
...
Silence seemed to become the main theme.
At least between Shen Hanyu and the Snow Emperor, it was like that.
They hadn't walked far beyond the city gate when Shen Hanyu and the Snow Emperor simultaneously stopped in their tracks, their gazes looking ahead.
Three figures emerged from the darkness. The two leading ones were unmistakably Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo, while the elder behind them had an ordinary appearance but a solid aura; he was also a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse.
Shen Hanyu raised an eyebrow, slowly walked to the Snow Emperor's side, and spoke softly:
"I've seen Sect Master Ning and Your Excellency Sword Douluo. May I ask what business brings the two of you here?"
Ning Fengzhi revealed his signature gentle smile. Even Shen Hanyu couldn't help but sigh—Ning Fengzhi, as long as he didn't act foolishly, was indeed a qualified sect master and a perfect leader of a great power.
He possessed both calmness and wisdom, backed by two super Douluos and a deeply rooted top-tier sect. Despite having no combat ability himself, he still moved freely among the continent's absolute top figures, even handling it with ease.
"Just passing by coincidentally. I didn't expect to run into you two here," Ning Fengzhi said with a smile.
He wasn't lying. He really had been nearby with Sword Douluo, listening to a work report from the person in charge of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's industries in the Far North. It was Sword Douluo who sensed Shen Hanyu and the Snow Emperor seemingly "sulking" at each other, so he brought people over ahead of time.
Shen Hanyu nodded. He didn't care whether those words were true or false. He pulled the Snow Emperor along, gave Ning Fengzhi an apologetic smile, and said:
"Then we won't disturb Sect Master Ning's business. Please go ahead. Farewell."
Just as the group was passing each other, a sharp sword qi accompanied by a flash of cold light suddenly struck from the side. Shen Hanyu gripped his spear with one hand, casually twirling a spear flower. With a crisp clanging sound, the cold light revealed its true form.
It was an ancient greatsword about two meters long and half a chi wide. Sword Douluo Chen Xin's ninety-sixth level cultivation was so profound that his soul rings had merged into the martial soul itself, becoming nine stars on the Seven Kill Sword, each corresponding to the color of a soul ring.
"Seven Kill Sword…"
Shen Hanyu held the Cold Heaven Spear in one hand. A cold aura swept out, clashing with the sharp sword qi. For a moment, they were evenly matched.
"What a sharp spear. The spear intent is like a giant dragon, its killing aura actually slightly surpasses that of the Seven Kill Sword."
Sword Douluo's somewhat surprised voice rang out. At the same time, nine soul rings slowly appeared beneath his feet. With simple swings of the extremely sharp longsword in his hand, countless strands of killing sword qi capable of severely wounding ordinary Soul Emperors surged toward Shen Hanyu.
A trace of deep darkness flashed in the Snow Emperor's eyes, but because Shen Hanyu was beside her, she merely stood quietly behind him without taking action.
Shen Hanyu looked somewhat helplessly at the sky full of sword qi. He suddenly thrust the Cold Heaven Spear into the ground. Extreme cold qi spread out, actually freezing all the sword qi in the sky before shattering them one by one.
The appreciation in Sword Douluo's eyes grew stronger, and a hint of joy at finding a worthy opponent flashed through them. He slowly rose into midair and said loudly:
"Young friend, would you be interested in receiving one sword from this old man?"
A spark of ignited battle intent appeared in Shen Hanyu's eyes. He nodded to the Snow Emperor and smiled as he said:
"Since Senior invites me, how could I refuse a battle?"
"Hahaha…"
A trace of a smile appeared on Sword Douluo's face. He held his longsword horizontally and said:
"It has been a long time since this old man met an opponent as much to my liking as you. I hope you won't disappoint me…"
As soon as his words fell, the Seven Kill Sword was already before Shen Hanyu, carrying terrifying killing intent as it slashed down horizontally.
Shen Hanyu leaped up fiercely. The Cold Heaven Spear shot out, carrying terrifying cold qi, its spear intent piercing straight into the clouds.
In the high sky, killing characters quickly formed one after another, directly meeting the unstoppable Cold Heaven Spear.
With a massive boom, countless figures flew rapidly from the city. Leading them were the strongest academy principals.
The Snow Emperor gently waved her hand. An extremely terrifying cold qi blocked everyone's advance, preventing them from moving forward while also serving as a form of protection.
No one spoke. The nine flickering soul rings beneath Sword Douluo's feet in the high sky proved this was a rare Title Douluo battle on the continent. No one dared to make a sound to interfere. Everyone's gazes were fixed on the sky, afraid to miss even the slightest detail.
Shui Ningbing's eyes twitched as she looked at Shen Hanyu in the sky, silently sighing. Right after, the three little girls who had been carried here at high speed by the Ice Emperor without even catching their breath had their attention drawn by the spectacular battle above.
The longspear and longsword clashed continuously in the air, sparking bursts of fire. Soul power surged, affecting the surrounding sky. The clouds rolled violently, and stray strands of spear intent and sword qi shot toward the crowd.
A few Soul Douluo hadn't even had time to panic before the Snow Emperor effortlessly blocked the residual attacks.
Everyone swallowed hard, finally realizing just how terrifying this peerlessly beautiful white-haired woman was.
...
The battle in the high sky continued. As spear and sword crossed, the stirred clouds were completely shattered, revealing the vast battlefield behind…
Everyone couldn't help but hold their breath…
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