Chapter 181: Shopping with the Ice Emperor, Encountering Huo Yuhao
"Huh? Another Contract Scroll? Nice."
Ye Chen smiled to himself, clearly pleased with the reward.
This Contract Scroll would definitely be saved for the Snow Empress.
According to the original timeline, when the Ice Empress was convinced by Huo Yuhao to form a contract, the Snow Empress had even gone searching for her.
So at this point in time, the Snow Empress hadn't begun her tribulation yet and wasn't sealed in the "Divine Seal Altar." Ye Chen believed he still had a chance.
But he wasn't in a rush. At his current cultivation speed, he would likely reach the Soul Sage realm by the end of the semester.
By then, another trip to the Extreme North would be perfect.
Still, advancing to Soul Sage was tough. Ye Chen needed to get a little closer to Ling Luochen and the others.
After all, the biggest flaw of [Resonance] was that it couldn't be cultivated alone.
…
Ling Luochen, being a Soul King, improved quickly.
Ye Chen spent half a month in the inner courtyard, steadily guiding her cultivation until she finally reached level 60.
However, she still carried a bit of a shadow from Ma Xiaotao's teasing last time. Too shy, she refused to even be in the same room with Ma Xiaotao now—let alone dine together.
Still, breaking through to level 60 was progress.
When Ling Luochen was taken out to obtain her sixth spirit ring, Ye Chen took some time to relax—and to spend the day with the Ice Empress.
As for Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Ning Tian, Ye Chen hadn't visited them recently.
It hadn't been long since his last absence, and he wanted them to get used to training independently in the outer court.
As for the immortal herbs, those would be distributed slowly.
After all, the group had only just reached the Soul Elder level from Grandmaster rank, already drawing noticeable attention from instructors.
If they rapidly advanced again after taking immortal herbs and dual cultivating, reaching Soul Ancestor level would make too big a stir.
Four or five students advancing in quick succession? Ye Chen would end up back in the center of gossip.
And with Ma Xiaotao's evolution into Ultimate Fire, people were bound to suspect Ye Chen possessed some hidden treasure. Some might even get ideas.
Though Ye Chen could protect himself, he preferred less trouble.
Besides, anything gained too easily was rarely cherished.
Like using cheats all the time—fun until the moment they're gone, and then it's unbearable.
If Ye Chen lost his system one day, it would feel the same way.
So while he treated his women very well, he wouldn't hand out all his advantages at once.
…
Shrek City.
A lively afternoon filled the air with noise and laughter.
Ye Chen strolled down the bustling streets with the Ice Empress.
Taking advantage of his rare downtime, he made sure to spend time with her.
After all, she was his soul spirit—building emotional rapport also deepened their combat synergy.
The Ice Empress had taken on the form of a little girl, her hair tied into twin pigtails and a short skirt fluttering as she rode on his shoulders, happily munching on snacks.
Ye Chen held her small white feet gently in his hands, idly playing with them as they walked.
When she first learned to take human form, her demeanor was cold and aloof, but after living in the human world for a while, she'd started acting unexpectedly cute—sometimes even silly.
"Ye Chen! That one, that one!"
"And that one too!"
"And that one looks tasty! I want it!"
Spotting stalls full of food, she pointed eagerly in every direction while patting Ye Chen's head with her little hand, making hollow thumps with each smack.
"Hey, stop hitting me. If I turn stupid, who's gonna buy you food?" Ye Chen said with a sigh.
He honestly couldn't remember ever spoiling her like this—how had she turned into such a handful?
"Hurry up! You promised you'd spend all day shopping with me today!"
The Ice Empress wiggled her legs impatiently, steering him toward another food stand.
After spending so much time together, she had finally come to terms with her situation. Instead of brooding, she'd decided to simply enjoy it.
She also realized Ye Chen genuinely treated her well—never as a mere tool, but with real care and patience no matter how spoiled she acted.
Though she had lived for ages, most of it was spent in long solitude. As one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, she had always been the caretaker of others—never the one being cared for.
Only the Snow Empress used to pamper her.
Now the Snow Empress was gone, but Ye Chen doted on her in a similar way, and she found herself truly enjoying it.
By evening, Shrek City glowed with lively spirit as the two bought small trinkets and food before wandering toward a quiet street to relax.
The Ice Empress still perched comfortably on Ye Chen's shoulders, playing with a shiny bracelet she had just bought.
"You humans are such strange creatures," she said. "Your cultivation isn't that strong, but your craftsmanship is amazing."
She slipped the bracelet onto her small wrist, admiring it proudly.
Ye Chen chuckled. "Humans adapt fast. Even as kids, our intelligence develops earlier than beasts. Soul beasts don't gain real mental maturity until reaching a hundred thousand years of age. There's quite a difference."
The Ice Empress narrowed her eyes, suspicious. "Are you calling me dumb?"
"I didn't say that," he replied with a teasing grin.
Still, she glared at him, clearly unconvinced.
As they chatted idly, they turned a corner—and at that very moment, another figure appeared from the opposite side.
Ye Chen froze briefly when he recognized him.
It was Huo Yuhao.
At the same instant, Huo Yuhao also spotted Ye Chen—and was equally stunned. Of all people to bump into here…
Earlier that day, he had been in great spirits.
That morning, his soul power had finally broken through to level 18.
It was just one level—but to him, every increment was hard-earned, a rare joy that felt like life-breaking drought finally meeting rain.
To celebrate, he had decided to give himself the day off. Instead of setting up his usual grilled-fish stall, he planned to indulge a little, heading into town to buy some pricey spirit beast jerky to treat himself.
He disliked crowds, so he had chosen a quieter route through the side streets.
But unexpectedly… he ran right into Ye Chen.
"Hey, Huo Yuhao—why aren't you selling grilled fish today?" Ye Chen asked, slightly surprised.
Huo Yuhao pressed his lips together but didn't answer. His eyes fixed on Ye Chen, a mix of awe and discomfort flickering there.
Just sensing Ye Chen's unfathomable aura filled him with both reverence and unease.
Ye Chen's talent was monstrous—his single day of cultivation equaled Huo Yuhao's month of effort.
(END CHAPTER)
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