Chapter 22: Coming into My Arms on Purpose?
"So," Lin Yu spread his hands, wearing an expression that said look how thoughtful I am, "I specially brought him here because I wanted you, the Empress, to personally enlighten him."
"Give him some good advice. Tell him that following this Seat means a limitless future, and it's much better than gnawing on ice chunks in this godforsaken frozen wasteland. It would be a pity if his stubbornness delayed his own progress and wasted my time."
He paused. His gaze swept over the Ice Empress's scorpion tail, which was trembling with extreme rage, and her tightly pursed lips. His smile remained, but it now carried a trace of unquestionable dominance.
"Of course, the same goes for you. This Seat is in a good mood today, so I'll give you two choices."
Lin Yu held up two fingers, his golden eyes looking directly into the emerald pupils burning with fury. "One: like Bear Lord, submissively acknowledge me as your Lord. From now on, you'll follow me to greatness, and you can pick any position you want in the God Realm. I guarantee it's much more promising than this frozen throne."
"Two..."
Before the sound of the word "two" could fade, Lin Yu's figure vanished from Bear Lord's back without warning, as if he had teleported!
The Ice Empress's emerald pupils suddenly constricted!
She hadn't even seen how he moved before the black-haired youth with the annoying smile appeared less than an arm's length away from her! That silent, phantom-like speed sent a chill racing from her spine to the top of her head—a coldness far exceeding the frost of the Far North!
"Seek death!"
Shocked and enraged, the Ice Empress reacted almost by instinct! Her stinger, which had been gathering a deep green glow of absolute zero, acted like a lethal ice spear. It tore through the frozen air, stabbing fiercely toward Lin Yu's chest at point-blank range!
She wanted to freeze and shatter this arrogant fool instantly!
However, at the very moment the stinger—infused with Ultimate Ice and capable of freezing the soul—was about to touch Lin Yu's clothes—
Lin Yu's body shifted a mere fraction, as if he had foreseen the move.
That seemingly negligible half-inch was enough to make the Ice Empress's full-strength, certain-kill strike miss completely! The stinger brushed past the edge of Lin Yu's sleeve, the extreme cold air it carried creating fine cracks in the very atmosphere.
Worse still, the Ice Empress had struck out in a fit of rage, using all her strength without reservation. With her lethal attack hitting nothing but air, the massive inertia caused her tall, perfect body to instantly lose balance!
"Ah!"
With a short cry of surprise, the Ice Empress tumbled forward uncontrollably. Unbiased and perfectly aimed, she crashed straight into Lin Yu's open embrace!
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
Lin Yu appeared caught off guard as well, his arms naturally closing to catch the pouncing Empress in a full embrace. An icy fragrance mixed with extreme chill instantly flooded his senses; the touch was freezing yet startlingly soft.
Lin Yu looked down at the exquisite face inches from his own, which was flushing red with shock and shame. Those emerald gemstone eyes were filled with disbelief and a towering killing intent.
The playful smile on his face widened, filled with sheer mockery and lightheartedness. His voice wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly in the silent ice valley, reaching everyone's ears:
"Tsk. Lady Ice Empress, a fight is a fight, but why the sudden passionate hug? This level of enthusiasm... is a bit more than this Seat can handle."
He even deliberately tightened his arms, as if savoring the coldness and the suppleness of her form.
"YOU—!!!"
The Ice Empress felt an indescribable fire of shame and rage erupt from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, instantly eclipsing all other fear and anger!
In her nearly 400,000 years of life, when had she ever suffered such a stinging humiliation?! To be toyed with, to have her attack miss, to fall into the enemy's arms, and then to be teased so flippantly in front of everyone!
"Lowly human! I will tear you into ten thousand pieces! I will turn you into an eternal ice sculpture!!"
The Ice Empress completely snapped! Her voice was warped and shrill with extreme shame. She unleashed her full soul power, and her terrifying Ultimate Ice domain exploded outward with her at the center!
"Permafrost Domain! Wrath of the Ice Empress!!"
The entire ice crystal valley was instantly transformed into a deep blue purgatory of absolute zero! Space solidified; all things froze! Countless giant ice spikes, harder and sharper than refined steel, grew from the ground and air like a forest of thorns. Carrying a coldness that could destroy everything, they stabbed toward Lin Yu from all directions with zero blind spots!
This strike was a full-power eruption fueled by her shame, its power far exceeding her usual limit! Even the distant Bear Lord instinctively shrank his neck, feeling a bone-piercing chill.
However, standing at the eye of the storm, the smile on Lin Yu's face didn't even flicker.
Facing a terrifying attack that could instantly turn a Titled Douluo into ice dregs, he simply raised his free left hand, palm open, as if he were catching a falling snowflake.
"Whoosh—"
There was no earth-shattering collision, no roar of energy explosion. The Ultimate Ice domain and the sky full of Empress spikes—capable of freezing souls and piercing mountains—stopped half a foot from Lin Yu's body, as if they had hit an invisible, eternally burning barrier.
Sizzle—!
A dense sound of melting rang out. The Ultimate Ice that could freeze the world simply disintegrated like boiling water hitting snow the moment it touched the invisible field around Lin Yu! Not a single ice chip was left behind, let alone a scratch on him! He didn't even loosen the arm he used to hold the Ice Empress!
In the Ice Empress's wide emerald eyes, the towering rage was instantly replaced by an unprecedented, cognition-flipping daze and horror!
Ineffective?! How is that possible?!!
Her Ultimate Ice! The absolute zero that even other Ferocious Beasts feared! It was... completely ineffective against this man?! It felt like trying to pierce a void with the hardest ice pick, or stabbing a sun that would never go out.
This was definitely not a power a human could possess! Absolutely not!
"You... who exactly are you?!"
For the first time, the Ice Empress's voice carried a trace of trembling. It was no longer just anger, but a mix of deep fear and incomprehension. The power she took pride in, the power that allowed her to rule the North, was like a child's toy in front of him!
While the Ice Empress was caught between suicidal shame and paralyzing shock, held in Lin Yu's arms feeling the despair of her power being utterly crushed...
Not far away, Gu Yuena, who had been standing silent as an Ice Goddess, felt a tiny ripple cross her amethyst eyes. She watched the black-haired youth holding the Ice Empress of the Far North in such a flippant manner, watching the Empress struggle in vain, flushed with shame yet helpless...
A strange, extremely unfamiliar feeling of irritability rose unbidden from the depths of her heart. It was like a tiny ice needle pricking her—it didn't hurt, but it made her feel incredibly uncomfortable.