Chapter 24: Releasing the Aura, Successful Subjugation
"Oh, maybe the pinnacle of the Snow Empress's Absolute Zero could give me a little cooling breeze? But was it really necessary to... well, timely pull me away?"
Lin Yu intentionally emphasized the word "timely."
Gu Yuena's clone remained as cold and deep as a dark pool, as if that world-shaking rescue maneuver had been nothing more than brushing away a speck of dust. She didn't even look at Lin Yu; her gaze remained focused on the spot she had just blasted, as if confirming whether any hidden threats remained. Her voice was steady and devoid of emotion as she offered a perfectly serious explanation:
"It is my duty. I must remain vigilant at all times. Any potential threat to your safety, no matter how minute, must be eliminated immediately."
She paused and finally turned her gaze toward Lin Yu. Her eyes looked incredibly earnest, perhaps even carrying a trace of sincerity?
"After all, protecting your safety is my most important mission right now. What if... what if an agent of the God Realm was hidden in that ice pillar? Or some unknown poison capable of corroding your defenses? One cannot be too careful. If you were injured because of my negligence, would that not be a failure in my duty?"
Her tone was impeccably logical, filled with professional gravity and concern for her charge, as if Lin Yu had been mere milliseconds away from a fatal ambush.
Lin Yu: "..."
He opened his mouth, looking at Gu Yuena's flawless face—which was written all over with I am a professional bodyguard doing my job seriously—and found himself momentarily speechless. This excuse was so high-sounding that it was impossible to find a flaw!
He could even detect a faint, forced suppression of some emotion in her voice—was it smugness? Or perhaps a warning: Don't you dare mess around under my nose.
Not far away, the Ice Empress finally regained her senses. Seeing Lin Yu suspended in the air, protected so "seriously" by the Silver Dragon King, and then looking at the "innocent" silver-haired woman, a sense of sheer absurdity replaced her previous shame. These two monsters who had invaded her territory... what on earth were they playing at?!
Bear Lord, meanwhile, instinctively covered his eyes with his massive paws—though they could only hide a fraction of his face—while chanting in his heart: Can't see me, can't see me. Whatever is going on between the Master and the Liege, old Bear knows absolutely nothing!
In the spiritual sea, Huo Yuhao and the Daydream Ice Worm were completely petrified, feeling that everything happening before them had transcended their understanding of the world.
Only Gu Yuena's clone maintained her cold, self-possessed, and dutiful facade, as if she wasn't the one who had just precisely interrupted a romantic moment. Only in the deepest depths of her purple eyes did a very faint, almost imperceptible ripple finally, slowly, settle into stillness.
Lin Yu now knew the truth.
"Gu Yuena is almost certainly jealous. My god, besides both being fragments of the Dragon God, what other relationship do we have? Why is she jealous?!"
Then Lin Yu recalled: Tang Wulin wasn't even the Golden Dragon King—he just had the core sealed inside him—and Gu Yuena fell for him. He was the actual Golden Dragon King; wouldn't he just drive her crazy? However, Lin Yu decided to play dumb.
Looking at the Ice Empress's exquisite face—mixed with shame and the daze of being utterly suppressed—Lin Yu's urge to tease her faded. Ultimately, he was here to collect subordinates, not to create a blood feud.
He slightly relaxed his grip but maintained an undeniable posture of control. He looked into her eyes, his voice dropping into a low, unquestionable tone of authority originating from the depths of his bloodline:
"Ice Empress, feel... exactly what is standing before you."
The moment his voice fell, Lin Yu stopped holding back. An aura—though far from its peak due to his injuries, yet still pure enough to make the soul tremble—erupted like a dormant volcano!
Domineering! Noble! Ancient! Ferocious! It carried the suppression of the supreme source of all bloodlines! This aura hit the Ice Empress like a physical flood. She felt her proud Ultimate Ice bloodline wailing, trembling, and bowing in a fear that originated from the very source of her life!
It was an irresistible suppression that made every shred of power in her body feel small and humble. The Ice Empress's body stiffened instantly; the rage and shame in her pupils were swept away like snow in a gale, leaving only pure, unspeakable shock and terror.
She finally understood! Completely understood! Why even a Ferocious Beast as arrogant as Bear Lord—who even dared to talk back to Di Tian—would crawl so humbly and willingly call him Master! Why her Ultimate Ice, capable of freezing Titled Douluos, was a mere toy before him!
This was not a human! This was an unimaginable existence, of the same origin as the legendary Dragon God, perhaps even more terrifying! Before this aura, all her pride and persistence were as fragile as thin ice. Resistance? The very thought seemed laughable and sacrilegious.
"...Mas... Master..."
The Ice Empress's voice trembled uncontrollably as she struggled to squeeze those words through her clenched teeth. She stopped struggling, her body softening completely in Lin Yu's arms. Her emerald eyes lowered, not daring to look directly into those golden pupils of endless majesty. This was a posture of total surrender and reverence.
She finally realized that following such an existence was the greatest opportunity of her life—the only bright path to the unreachable God Realm! What was the throne of a Heavens King of the North compared to the promise of a position in the God Realm? It was just a silly ice toy.
Lin Yu felt her total submission and satisfiedly withdrew the suffocating pressure. He released his arms. The Ice Empress staggered before standing firm, immediately bowing her head respectfully at his side, not daring to make another disrespectful move. On her frost-cold face, only absolute awe and obedience remained.
"Very good." Lin Yu nodded. He glanced at Ah Tai, who was still being slung like a sack by Bear Lord and was currently too terrified to even breathe loudly. "Bear Lord, put him down."
Bear Lord complied immediately. Ah Tai's massive body thudded onto the ice. He wobbled before steadying himself, looking at Lin Yu with unprecedented terror.
"Ah Tai," Lin Yu turned to the honest giant beast, "The Ice Empress has acknowledged me as Master. What about you? Are you still waiting for your Snow Empress to stand up for you?"
Ah Tai's giant head buzzed. He looked at the respectful Ice Empress, then at the unfathomable Lin Yu, and finally at the silent yet even more terrifying silver-haired woman. His massive body shuddered. If even Lady Ice Empress had surrendered... what was the point of his persistence?
"I... I, Ah Tai, am willing to follow the Master!" The Titan Snow Devil King crashed to his knees, his massive head thumping against the ice.
"Mmh." Lin Yu nodded again, accepting this brutish enforcer. He turned to the Ice Empress and asked the crucial question: "Ice Empress, where is the Snow Empress? Why is she not here?"
Hearing this, a trace of confusion and worry flashed in the Ice Empress's eyes. "Reporting to Master, the Snow Empress suddenly announced a period of secluded cultivation. She went deep into the core of the North to a perilous place called the Profound Frost Marrow Cave, saying she needed to comprehend the secrets of her origin. She ordered us not to disturb her unless it was an emergency. Since then, I have lost contact with her. Even my mental sensing of her has become extremely weak, as if she is undergoing some thorough metamorphosis."
Lin Yu's brow furrowed. The timing matches! In the original story, the Snow Empress was captured by humans precisely when she attempted to transform into a human!
"Metamorphosis?" Lin Yu sneered. "She isn't 'comprehending.' She is being too bold—she's gambling with her life! She is attempting to seal her origin and cultivate again as a human!"
"What?!" The Ice Empress and Ah Tai cried out in unison, their faces filled with horror. For a Ferocious Beast, human cultivation was a path with nearly zero chance of survival!
"Foolish!" Lin Yu critiqued bluntly. "With her cultivation and elemental attribute, the chance of success is infinitesimal. Moreover, at this very moment, I fear some blind humans have already followed the leaking aura of her transformation and entered the core!"
The faces of the Ice Empress and Ah Tai turned extremely pale, especially the Ice Empress, whose eyes were filled with anxiety. The Snow Empress was her most important partner and leader!
"Master! We must go save her immediately!" she urged.
Lin Yu shook his head. "The core of the North is vast, and Profound Frost caves are countless. She must have found the most hidden one. Searching blindly is like looking for a needle in a haystack. By the time we find her, the trail will be cold."
He paused, a sharp glint in his golden eyes. "If she has already been taken, the target will be the top human Soul Tool research facility: the Illustrious Virtue Hall! I intend to pay them a visit eventually. However, that is the last resort."
He looked at the Ice Empress and issued his command: "Ice Empress, you stay here."
"Master?"