Time flowed slowly, in Capital City, within Kong Mingan's laboratory.
At this moment, beside the workbench, the Ice Empress was enthusiastically holding a blank spirit ring, carefully inscribing the Spirit Abilities she had mastered into it.
She was still wearing her signature green and white dress, her petite body seated on a tall lab chair, her legs, encased in black stockings, were not idly swinging as usual, but were suspended properly.
Her golden eyes were fixed on the spirit ring, and Extreme Ice attribute spirit power slowly outlined within the spirit ring until, at a certain moment, the spirit ring glowed with a faint ice-blue light. Only then did the Ice Empress let out a sigh of relief.
She calmed her mind slightly and inwardly examined the contract that linked her to a certain annoying fellow, noting that the progress bar representing "value" had increased a bit. A subtle smile then unconsciously appeared on her lips.
Yes, the Ice Empress ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of the "star ring" path to godhood proposed by Kong Mingan, and she signed a contract with him.
Moreover, to prevent Kong Mingan from scheming against her, she first showed the contract to the Snow Empress to confirm that there were no tricky clauses in it.
Of course, the result was naturally fine; the contract Kong Mingan drafted for the Ice Empress was basically not much different from the Snow Empress's.
Essentially, the Ice Empress would provide Soul Skill Modules and cooperate with research, and she would accumulate value, which she would then exchange for the Energy resources needed for her future formation of a "star ring."
And after signing the contract and trying to condense a spirit power module, the Ice Empress became somewhat addicted to this feeling of "effort visualization."
Beside her, Kong Mingan was holding spirit rings one by one, observing the Ice Empress's Soul Skill Modules contained within them.
"Ice Emperor's Body Protection" can cover the body surface with a layer of ice crystal armor, providing extremely strong defense.
Isn't this just a harder scorpion shell? It mainly relies on the inherent Energy attribute of Extreme Ice, and the Energy utilization rate is average.
"Ice Empress's Pincers" transforms both hands into scorpion pincers, with extremely strong attack power and penetration. Scorpion pincers for physical attack? Not as good as the Snow Empress's Emperor's Palm.
"Eternal Frost Domain," a Domain skill, causes temperatures to plummet over a large area, freezing everything.
A Domain skill is barely acceptable, but the application of rules is too crude. Not as good as the Snow Empress's Emperor's Chill Heaven.
Kong Mingan muttered in his heart as he watched. Perhaps the many Soul Skill Modules provided by the Snow Empress before were of very high quality, making him highly anticipate the Ice Empress's spirit power modules.
However, in reality...
Kong Mingan glanced at the small mountain of spirit rings contributed by the Ice Empress, which had piled up beside him, and came to a conclusion:
The Ice Empress had mastered quite a few Spirit Abilities, but most of them lacked technical content, relying too much on instinct and racial talent.
Unconsciously, he raised his head, looking at the busy Ice Empress with a hint of pity in his eyes.
The Ice Empress seemed to sense something, raising her head, her golden eyes showing a hint of confusion. She wrinkled her delicate little nose and huffed softly:
"What are you doing? Why do you have such a strange look in your eyes?"
Kong Mingan shook his head: "Nothing."
He just wanted to buy her some melon seeds.
The Ice Empress still felt something was off, staring at Kong Mingan suspiciously.
Kong Mingan remained silent, looking at the Ice Empress's simple appearance, full of drive and thinking she could soon accumulate enough "value" to exchange for the "star ring" method.
He seemed to see his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters from his previous life who had just entered the lab, full of confidence that they could change the World.
Hmm. Very simple-minded. He hoped she could maintain this... um, simplicity.
He had originally thought that since the Ice Empress was here, he could trick her into becoming a bodyguard and form the Extreme North Duo with the Snow Empress. Once the Ice Empress also cultivated the "star ring," the two of them, combining their SpiritFusion Skill, would probably be able to suppress even Di Tian.
At that time, he could also take the opportunity to "recycle" high-end materials like the Evil Empress, Ye Xishui, Long Xiaoyao, and those from the Holy Spirit Cult.
But now, it seemed the Ice Empress's strength might not be as strong as he imagined—at least, she wasn't entirely a top-tier combatant.
Kong Mingan pondered for a moment, as if he had thought of something.
He got up, raised his hand to open a portal to the Undead Sub-Plane, walked in, and then returned a moment later.
However, upon his return, he held a crystal-clear bone emitting a biting cold aura—the Ice Jade Scorpion's left arm bone.
The Ice Empress's gaze was instantly drawn, but then she frowned immediately: "Human, why are you holding my kin's Spirit Bone? You really have ill intentions! Naturally evil human, just watch me..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Kong Mingan casually tossed the Spirit Bone to her.
The Ice Empress was stunned, instinctively catching it and holding it in her arms. She looked at the Spirit Bone in her embrace, then at Kong Mingan, her eyes slightly clearer.
"You..."
"The skill attached to this Spirit Bone is 'Ice Explosion Technique.'" Kong Mingan calmly explained, "It was legally purchased by my subordinate at the Mingmeng Chamber of Commerce auction. I didn't kill anyone."
Upon hearing this, the Ice Empress's anger subsided slightly, but she still watched him warily.
"So, is this skill useful to you?" Kong Mingan asked.
The Ice Empress lowered her head to look at the Spirit Bone in her arms, feeling the Energy fluctuations within it that were of the same origin as hers. She hesitated for a moment, then honestly replied:
"It's a bit troublesome. I am not human and cannot directly absorb Spirit Bones, but if I spend a little time carefully studying it, I might be able to comprehend it."
"How long will that take?"
"Not long, probably a few hundred years will be enough."
"..."
Kong Mingan was silent for a moment, then thought for a bit and suddenly asked: "Are you afraid of pain?"
The Ice Empress was taken aback; his topic shifted too quickly, so she didn't quite react. After a brief pause, she said guardedly:
"What do you want to do?"
Kong Mingan smiled slightly, gently stroking his brow with his fingertip, taking out the Life Engraving Knife that constantly nourished his body and enhanced his physical strength.
"I have a way to let you temporarily learn to use the Ice Explosion Technique. It's just that the process might be a bit painful."
Kong Mingan explained.
He planned to attempt a "Spirit Bone shaping surgery." Of course, it wasn't actual Spirit Bone shaping, but rather temporarily inscribing a Soul Skill Module onto the Ice Empress's bones that would be naturally decomposed and absorbed by her body, allowing her to quickly perceive and comprehend it, thereby learning Ice Explosion on her own.
This was a method he had used before to quickly master Soul Skill Modules, but after acquiring "Imprint," this method became useless. However, for the current Ice Empress, it was perfectly applicable.
The Ice Empress looked at the engraving knife, which emanated a rich life aura, feeling that something was amiss. But as soon as she thought about quickly mastering Ice Explosion, that bit of hesitation was instantly suppressed.
Anyway, she had already signed the contract, what was there to be afraid of?
"Just do it!"
The Ice Empress puffed out her chest, which didn't have much rise and fall, her tone devoid of any fear.
Kong Mingan nodded, reminding her again: "Doing it directly will be very painful. Of course, if you're afraid of pain, I can..."
"Less nonsense! Just do it!" The Ice Empress interrupted him.
Kong Mingan raised an eyebrow slightly, chuckling: "Alright, you said it. Just don't beg for mercy."
The Ice Empress sneered: "Me beg for mercy? What a joke!"
Kong Mingan extended his palm, facing upwards: "Come on."
The Ice Empress snorted lightly, then placed her right hand in Kong Mingan's palm.
It's just a bit of pain, how painful could it be?
(End of Chapter)
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