The metallic, lingering taste of the act still clung to her lips, a visceral reminder of what she had just done. Elsa still wasn't used to this—the vulnerability, the heat, the sheer physical intensity of it all—but as she felt Li Ke's steady hand on her back, she had to admit that being cared for by him felt surprisingly good.
She found herself wondering: was Li Ke actually "fast," or had he finished quickly just to spare her? Given how his "spear" had sprung back to life almost the moment after he released, it was clearly the latter. Even as a sheltered Queen, she understood enough about the world to recognize the gesture for what it was.
Li Ke really is a good man, she thought, her heart fluttering with a warmth that had nothing to do with her magic.
"But... are you going to be okay?"
Elsa pointed toward where Li Ke was still standing tall. Even though she wasn't a man, she knew that trying to pull your pants back on in that state was incredibly uncomfortable.
"I'll manage," Li Ke sighed. "Honestly, sometimes I just feel helpless. It's the tragedy and the weakness of being a man."
Usually, a man's sensitivity drops significantly after "finishing." But Li Ke was different; his Blood Qi secret arts and Life Return techniques solved that issue entirely. He could essentially claim he was "brand new" every time. His sensitivity never dullled, and while his maximum stamina had increased, his "lower limit" remained—allowing him to switch between "work mode" and "pleasure mode" at will.
Of course, if things felt too good, even he couldn't help but lose control. Such were the perks of cultivation.
"Well..."
Elsa turned her head away. She understood what he meant but didn't know how to put it into words. Even for a Queen, discussing such things as an inexperienced maiden was deeply embarrassing.
Still, she had no intention of going back to sleep. The events of the last few minutes had her heart racing; it wasn't even about love—it was the natural biological response to being so close to a man's hormones. Sleep was the last thing on her mind.
Besides, she had questions for him. She wasn't sure if it was the right time, but after sharing such an intimate moment, the words started to come naturally.
She pulled her knees to her chest and looked at Li Ke. Seeing him still shivering slightly from the cold she radiated, she spoke up.
"I'm sorry. I really can't help it... I can't control this curse."
A large part of why she had been distracted earlier—and why she had ended up choking—was because she was constantly fighting to suppress her own power.
Performing that act for Li Ke had clearly left a profound impact on her.
"Well... it's not a big deal. I have my own ways of staying warm," Li Ke said.
He glanced at her hands, which were still radiating a faint mist of frost. He felt a flicker of envy for her raw power, but remembering everything Elsa had been through, he kept it to himself. Instead, he reached out, converting his physical stamina into mana and then into a flickering flame.
The firelight danced in the room, casting a warm glow over Elsa's pale, beautiful features.
"Fire..."
She had been curious ever since she first saw Li Ke manipulate flames so effortlessly. Watching the fire flicker before her eyes, she finally couldn't help but ask.
"How... how do you view this kind of power?"
"Me? My perspective is a bit different from yours," Li Ke replied, looking at the flame in his palm. "Because of my experiences, I see this as a blessing. It wasn't entirely through my own hard work, but this fire is something I fought to obtain."
He watched the embers dance. "So, my only complaint is that my flames aren't strong enough. It's not something I was born with, nor is it a curse—it's something I actively pursued."
His words were difficult for Elsa to grasp. Thinking of his life as a traveler and how he had acquired his strength later in life, she felt a wave of melancholy and helplessness. If she hadn't been burdened with this uncontrollable power since childhood, so many tragedies could have been avoided.
To her, this power was still nothing but a curse.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I can understand. For me, this power has only ever brought misfortune. It exists only to snuff out passion and hope..."
A chill emanated from Elsa's hand. In the face of her immense mana, the ice energy leaking from her body instantly suppressed Li Ke's flame, shrinking it until it was no larger than a candle wick.
Li Ke tried to surge his mana output, but even at his current limit, the flame refused to grow. It remained a tiny, flickering spark. Elsa hadn't even intentionally increased her output; the mere "leakage" of her frost magic was enough to crush his full strength.
Dammit, why is every woman I meet so much stronger than me? Li Ke grumbled to himself.
Honestly, his pride was taking a bit of a hit. Out of everyone he'd encountered so far, the only ones he could consistently beat were Hermione and Toph.
The former wasn't familiar enough with combat magic yet, and the latter seemed to have her powers suppressed—plus, she was blind. Li Ke figured that even in her own world, Toph couldn't be that formidable. After all, she was just a young, blind girl.
There's no way she's a top-tier master, right? Hahaha...
But as for the others…
Mai Shiranui had faced more than her share of bizarre enemies, and her own strength was top-tier. Li Ke figured if he went head-to-head with her, it would be a toss-up at best; securing a solid win would be difficult.
Nico Robin's ability was a total death trap for him. Between her sprouting arms from his own body to snap his neck or crush his "peaches," Li Ke couldn't think of a single way to counter her.
Then there was Rin Tohsaka. Rin was a textbook honor student with formidable combat skills. She only looked "weak" because she couldn't compare to Heroic Spirits—but then again, Li Ke couldn't beat a Heroic Spirit either.
As for Elsa, the situation was a bit more complicated.
Li Ke sighed, looking at the tiny flame in his hand. In almost any battle-focused world, this girl could be a lead powerhouse—at least in the early stages. She was just lost right now, but as a rational person, her period of confusion wouldn't last long.
Having a rough idea of the Frozen plot, Li Ke knew that even though Elsa resisted her power now, she had loved her magic as a child and would eventually embrace her identity as the Snow Queen.
He decided to speak his mind. "Can you ever be free of it?"
"Hmm?" Elsa blinked, startled.
"I mean, can you ever escape this kind of life? This power?"
Li Ke glanced out at the square-shaped moon. He didn't like this world at all. It might have been fun as a video game, but after enduring back-breaking cultivation, all he wanted was to spend time with cute girls doing this and that—not stuck in a world made of blocks, constantly on guard against monsters and hidden dangers.
But he still had to adapt. He hadn't liked life in 7 Days to Die either, but it didn't matter; he had to go to that world regardless. Whether for profit or to keep his word, he had to follow through.
"No..." Elsa turned her head away.
Her power was innate. Her trauma had already happened. There was no running away. She was destined to spend her life hiding, never receiving recognition or love, because anyone who got close to her would only find misfortune. There would be no joy, no peace.
"Then try to master it, Elsa."
Li Ke spoke from the heart. He hated his own ability to travel between worlds; he even felt it was the very reason for his mysterious displacement. But he had finally accepted it.
"If you feel like your power only brings misery, then master it. Force it to submit to your will until it can no longer defy you. Then, you can naturally use that power to do whatever you want. Because honestly... that's exactly what I did."
Li Ke let out a long, heavy sigh.
"I can travel through worlds, Elsa, but I can't find my original home. I can use this method to send others back, but I can't go back myself. I don't even know where my home is anymore. In fact, the very reason I'm lost in this sea of worlds, far from my homeland, is because of this innate ability to cross dimensions..."
Li Ke felt utterly helpless. He could send everyone else home, but never himself.
Earth didn't have much to offer—no immortality, no magical beauties—but his parents and family were there. Everything that made him "Li Ke" was there. His personality was forged there; he was born, raised, and tempered there. The vast majority of his memories, both painful and joyous, belonged to that place.
A person can walk away from things they've gained or things they're about to gain, but how can anyone walk away from their own origins? Everything he was doing now was because he was "Li Ke the Earthling," not some world-traveling nomad.
As Li Ke's mood plummeted, Elsa's natural Disney Princess intuition kicked in. She could clearly feel the helplessness and grief radiating from him, and it resonated deeply within her.
Even though Li Ke had pursued his fire powers, this tragic ability to drift between worlds was just like her own—an innate part of him that brought only pain.
Yet, he was different from her. Li Ke had clearly used this ability to save others. Though the process was incredibly awkward, his power was having a positive effect.
He was using a power that made him miserable to do something good.
And as for her…
Elsa looked down at the frost swirling in her own palms, and a deeper wave of sorrow washed over her.
"Master your power, Elsa. Don't just suppress it," Li Ke urged.
He let his flame die out and reached forward, firmly grasping Elsa's hand. The chill instantly surged up his arm, frost creeping along his skin and beginning to freeze the very blood in his veins. However, the heat from his Blood Qi and Life Return techniques fought back, pumping warmth into his arm to counteract the bite.
"Do it for the sake of going back—back to the people who care about you. Elsa, power only becomes a curse when you can't control it. Once you bend it to your will, it becomes yours. It becomes the tool that helps you achieve exactly what you want!"
Li Ke pushed through the numbing cold, pleading with her.
Part of this was genuine sympathy, but part of it was cold, hard reality. To be honest, he had just been scared half to death.
Elsa's frost magic wasn't limited to her hands; she only thought it was because of her subconscious habits. That meant if she had lost control for even a second during the intimate act, his "spear" would have been frozen solid and shattered into a million pieces!
One emotional outburst from her could literally blow him apart.
As for fighting back? Not a chance. His full-strength flames had been utterly crushed by her casual, unintentional chill; he wouldn't stand a prayer against her if she actually snapped.
He still had to go through with this at least seven more times. That meant seven more brushes with death. This wasn't just intimacy—it was a life-or-death gamble!
For his own sake, Li Ke had to help Elsa master her magic.
He had to do it... if he didn't want his junk frozen off.