Chapter 20: A Duet of Ice and Fire in the Confinement Room, the Restless Heartbeat of the Shadow Cat Girl and Teacher Mingyue's Late-Night "Exploration"
Teacher Zheng Gong Mingyue's feet
The solitary confinement room at Winter Academy is not a place for reflection in the usual sense. It is located deep underground in the Wind Pavilion, a demi-plane space heavily enveloped by countless ancient soul-guiding arrays.
The air here was not only icy cold, but also carried a viscous, heavy feeling that seemed capable of materializing and crushing an ordinary person's lungs. As the heavy door, forged from deep-sea cold iron, slowly closed behind Ye Feng and Leng Qianqian, the last sliver of faint light from the outside world was mercilessly swallowed up.
The surroundings were shrouded in an almost ethereal silence, with only the faint blue light emanating from the icy wooden floorboards barely outlining the contours of this small, secluded room.
The walls were covered with various mottled marks left by the impact of soul power, and each crack seemed to tell the story of the pain and despair experienced by the students who had been "baptized" here.
Ye Feng held the umbrella in one hand . The Thousand Chance Umbrella emitted a restrained silver light in the dim light. The tip of the umbrella touched the ground, and his breathing adjusted to an extremely steady frequency the moment he entered this place.
深入瞭解
遮
光
光線
貓
冰
He could sense that the energy fluctuations here were unusually active, and the free-floating ice elements in the air were like a swarm of startled bees, constantly crashing against his soul power shield. Standing not far from him, Leng Qianqian was slightly hunched over, her dark yellow cat-like eyes particularly dazzling in the darkness. Her neat short hair was slightly disheveled and stuck to her forehead, and sweat slid down her delicate jawline, dripping onto her chest covered by her tight-fitting clothes, glistening with a faint light.
"That old madman Qin Cang actually activated the 'Millennial Illusion'." Leng Qianqian's voice was a little hoarse, with a hint of barely concealed trembling.
As soon as the words were spoken, a thick white mist suddenly rose from the ground in the center of the secret chamber. Within the mist, a massive phantom, at least three meters tall, slowly materialized. It was a thousand-year-old soul beast covered in crystalline ice armor—the Snowfield Mad Ape.
Although it was just an illusion, the violent aura and the overwhelming wild pressure it exuded were far beyond what those hundred-year-old soul beasts could match. The mad ape let out a silent roar, its massive arms slamming into the ground, causing the entire confinement chamber to tremble violently. Terrifying shockwaves swept up countless ice shards, heading straight for the two men's faces.
Ye Feng's eyes narrowed, and the Thousand Manifestations Umbrella in his hand instantly transformed, its long staff form tracing a sharp arc in the air. He turned his head and shouted at Leng Qianqian, who was preparing to charge alone:
"Don't do anything reckless! It's an energy being with extremely high defense and no sense of pain. You use Shadow Cat's speed to draw its attention to its flanks, and I'll break through its defenses head-on. Remember, this isn't a friendly spar, it's survival!"
Leng Qianqian was used to being alone, and this feeling of being ordered around made her instinctively want to object. However, when she met Ye Feng's deep, unfathomable, and calm eyes, the restlessness in her heart inexplicably subsided. She snorted coldly, her delicate body flashing in place, transforming into a phantom black shadow, swiftly moving along the shadows of the wall.
The battle erupted in an instant. Ye Feng strode forward, and the Thousand Manifestations Umbrella switched forms once more, the tip of its spear form shimmering with a destructive, tremor-like light.
Instead of taking the Snowfield Mad Ape's punch head-on, which was powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, he used the "Shadow Step" movement technique from the game "Glory" to mysteriously slide into the mad ape's blind spot the instant the fist landed.
The spear trembled violently, unleashing a "Dragon Fang" strike straight at the mad ape's knee joint. Simultaneously, Leng Qianqian burst forth from the shadows, her Shadow Cat Martial Soul unleashing its ultimate ferocity. Her claws, leaving three dark streaks of light, gripped the mad ape's neck. This coordinated attack from both sides instantly suppressed this thousand-year-old phantom, a creature capable of giving even a Great Soul Master a headache.
Frustrated, the mad ape wildly waved its arms, instantly condensing the surrounding air into countless enormous ice spikes that swept indiscriminately in all directions.
Leng Qianqian's soul power was slightly weaker, and after dodging continuously, her stamina began to wane. Just then, a three-foot-long ice spike was about to pierce her left shoulder. At this critical moment, Ye Feng's figure appeared in front of her like a ghost, and the Thousand Chance Umbrella suddenly opened, its massive shield completely protecting the two of them behind him.
The icicles struck the umbrella, making a series of clanging sounds, and the huge impact caused the two bodies to press together involuntarily.
Ye Feng could feel the girl's back heaving violently from the intense exercise, and her shapely, warm, and elastic body pressed tightly against his back.
It was clearly the first time Leng Qianqian had been in such close contact with a man. Her breathing became completely disordered at that moment, and her originally cold face turned bright red, even the tips of her ears were tinged with pink.
She stared blankly at the not-so-tall but as sturdy as an iron tower, her definition of "strongman" completely collapsing and rebuilding at that moment.
This boy, who was clearly a few years younger than her, why did he give her a sense of security that even her family elders had never provided under that seemingly strange umbrella?
"Keep spacing out if you want to die." Ye Feng's voice startled the dazed girl. He abruptly closed his umbrella, instantly transforming into the Ice Phoenix Spear, its dark muzzle pressed close to the mad ape's chest.
"Ice Phoenix Spear - Explosive Sweep!"
Ye Feng pulled the trigger, and ice-blue energy bullets poured out like a torrential rain. Each bullet contained the shattering force of extreme ice, exploding into puffs of ice-blue fireworks on the chest of the Thousand-Year Phantom. Leng Qianqian gritted her teeth, suppressing the restless shyness in her heart. She took a deep breath, and her pupils transformed into completely dark gold vertical pupils.
"Second Soul Skill - Shadow Domain Descent!"
The shadows in the entire confinement room seemed to come alive at that moment, countless tiny black chains emerging from the ground, tightly binding the massive body of the mad ape. This was Leng Qianqian's trump card control technique. Ye Feng seized the opportunity, and the Thousand Manifestations Umbrella transformed back into a battle spear, pouring all the remaining energy of the Ice God's Tear into it.
"Soaring Dragon - Afterimage Transformation!"
A miniature, translucent blue phantom of a giant dragon appeared and disappeared as the spear thrust forward. Though incomplete, its all-pervading power was already sufficient. The spear pierced directly through the core of the mad ape, and the energy entity let out a final wail before dissipating into countless points of light into the darkness of the confinement chamber.
When everything calmed down, the two leaned against the corner of the wall, completely exhausted, panting heavily. Ye Feng felt as if the soul power within his body was being repeatedly crushed by some kind of millstone, each cycle bringing a tearing pain, but this was the prelude to breaking free from the cocoon.
Leng Qianqian sat beside him. Her once-neat bodysuit was torn in several places during the battle, revealing large expanses of snow-white skin that exuded a breathtaking allure under the pale blue light. She turned her head and looked at Ye Feng's sweat-dampened hair. Suddenly, as if possessed, she reached out to help him tidy it, but froze in mid-air just as her fingertips were about to touch him.
"Ye Feng... what kind of monster are you?" Leng Qianqian murmured to herself, her voice so soft that only the two of them could hear it.
"I'm just a player who's unwilling to lose the game." Ye Feng turned around and gave her a tired but warm smile. This smile made Leng Qianqian's heart race again. She lowered her head in a panic, hiding the confusion in her eyes. She realized that she not only remembered the boy's name, but even his every subtle expression seemed to have been deeply etched into the depths of their memories from that battle they fought side by side.
Just as the atmosphere between the two became extremely ambiguous, the heavy iron door of the solitary confinement cell suddenly made a muffled rumble and slowly opened a crack.
A figure, more beautiful than the moonlight yet carrying a chilling, murderous aura, slowly entered. Mingyue carried an exquisite mahogany food box, her moon-white dress swaying on the ground. When she saw Leng Qianqian sitting side by side, her clothes torn in several places, and her face flushed as she looked at Ye Feng, a dangerous glint flashed in Mingyue's clear, almond-shaped eyes.
"It seems I, the teacher, have arrived at the wrong time, interrupting the 'exchange' between these two geniuses?"
Mingyue's voice was cold and clear, each word seemingly squeezed out from between her teeth. She slowly walked up to the two of them, and although she still had an elegant smile on her face, Ye Feng could feel that the temperature in the confined room dropped by at least ten degrees in an instant.
This oppressive aura emanating from the master (or some kind of intuition known as the "official wife") was even more terrifying than that of the thousand-year-old mad ape from before.
Mingyue crouched down, seemingly unintentionally placing herself between Ye Feng and Leng Qianqian, blocking their view. She first carefully examined Ye Feng's injuries, and when she saw the redness and swelling on his shoulder caused by the shield's recoil, a genuine pity flashed in her eyes. But then she noticed the faint red mark on the back of Ye Feng's hand, a mark left by the girl's fingertips, and her gentle movements instantly became somewhat heavy.
"Ouch—Teacher, that hurts." Ye Feng couldn't help but gasp.
"If it hurts, learn your lesson so you won't attract any troublesome wildcats outside." Mingyue said, glancing sideways at Leng Qianqian beside her.
Leng Qianqian had regained her aloof demeanor. She stood up, her face still somewhat pale, but her eyes held a defiant glint of youthful arrogance. She looked at Mingyue, her cat-like pupils narrowing slightly, a playful smile curving her lips: "Teacher Mingyue, physical contact is inevitable in actual combat. Ye Feng was injured while saving me. I will repay this kindness in my own way, so you needn't trouble yourself."
These two stunningly beautiful women, renowned throughout Winter City, locked eyes in the dimly lit solitary confinement cell, sparks flying. Ye Feng, sitting in the middle, felt a headache coming on. He finally understood why Qin Cang had said the solitary confinement cell might become his grave; this level of hellish arena was indeed not a place for ordinary people.
"Return it? Little princess of the Leng family, what will you return it with?" Mingyue snorted coldly, elegantly opened the food box, took out a bowl of jade meat porridge that exuded amazing spiritual energy, and even ignored Ye Feng's reaction, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it gently, and then affectionately handed it to Ye Feng's mouth, "Little pervert, open your mouth. I cooked this myself, using three five-hundred-year-old snow frog pearls. As for other favors, he hasn't reached the point where he needs outsiders to tell him what to do."
Ye Feng looked at the crystal-clear spoon in front of him, then at Mingyue's threatening eyes that seemed to say, "You dare not drink this?" He could only obediently open his mouth. The mouthful of porridge went down his throat, and it felt like a gentle flame spreading throughout his body, instantly increasing the speed at which his soul power recovered several times over.
Seeing this, Leng Qianqian's chest heaved with anger. She gritted her teeth, turned to Ye Feng, and said, "Ye Feng, see you tomorrow. Remember, you still owe me a 'deep sparring'!" After saying that, she walked out of the confinement room without looking back, her back view carrying a stubbornness that refused to admit defeat and the restlessness of a young girl experiencing the first stirrings of love.
Only Ye Feng and Mingyue remained in the confinement room. Mingyue put away the food box, quietly watching Ye Feng. After a long while, she sighed softly, her slender fingers gently stroking Ye Feng's face, her fingertips trembling with a coldness: "You, you never give me a moment's peace. You've only been here for a day, and you've already captivated the Leng family's little wildcat. If you go to Tiandou City in three years, won't I have to go to other sects to snatch brides for you every day?"
Ye Feng smiled somewhat awkwardly, took Mingyue's slightly cool hand, and said softly, "Teacher, you're overthinking it. My only goal right now is to become stronger. Only by becoming stronger can I succeed in that competition..."
"I don't want to hear any grand theories." Mingyue suddenly leaned down, their noses almost touching. In the snow-white moonlight, her almond-shaped eyes revealed an almost obsessive affection. "Ye Feng, in this Winter's Academy, in this Northern Territory, you are mine. Anyone who wants to take you away will have to ask the Mingyue Fan in my hand."
Having said that, she unabashedly planted a light, fleeting kiss on Ye Feng's slightly parted lips, leaving a unique mark amidst the faint aroma of the porridge. Before Ye Feng could react, this haughty mentor had already drifted away, leaving only a smug and triumphant statement echoing in the secret room:
"This is a 'reward' paid in advance. If you fall behind in tomorrow's assessment, I'll lock you in this solitary confinement room and personally give you a good lesson."
Ye Feng sat there, dazed, touching his lips, his heart pounding. This night of confinement had allowed him to experience the ferocity of a thousand-year-old soul beast, but it had also given him his first glimpse into the burning passion deep within these two women's hearts—a passion powerful enough to boil ice and snow.
On the top floor of the administration building at Winter's Peak Academy, Dean Feng Rusong stood before a floor-to-ceiling window, toying with a transparent soul-guiding sphere in his hand. The sphere clearly reflected everything that had just transpired in the solitary confinement room. He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, looking at Ye Feng's pained expression, and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"Mingyue, it's rare to see a mentor as deeply involved as you. However, this kid's potential and his luck with women are indeed proportional."
His gaze swept to the other end of the city, where the Snow Demon Sect's branch headquarters was located. His eyes gradually turned cold: "The Snow Demon Sect is making more and more of its underhanded moves. Ye Feng, the peaceful days in the Northern Territory are probably numbered. Before that, I hope you can truly control the power of that umbrella; otherwise, this battlefield will not be a place of gentle pleasures, but a true mountain of knives and a sea of fire."
Outside the window, the snow fell heavier and heavier in Winter City, as if trying to cover all the world's troubles under this silvery white blanket. But beneath this tranquil appearance, the seed called "Happy" was taking root and sprouting at an extremely frenzied speed in this cold frozen earth, accompanied by the boy's soul that did not belong to this era.