Douluo: The Throne of Ice

Chapter 40 Star Dou Great Forest, Opening Ceremony

Following last night's unexpected turn of events, Xue Di's attitude towards Shu Yan today seemed to instantly revert to that of their first meeting—cold and distant, leaving Shu Yan somewhat at a loss.

Of course, if Xue Di's earlobes, hidden under her hair, weren't slightly red, the whole thing would seem a little more realistic.

Xue Di watched Shu Yan's retreating figure from behind, her gaze slightly complicated. To be honest, after regaining her senses last night, apart from some annoyance, she didn't feel any other discomfort. However, an inexplicable and strange feeling in her heart made her restless. But the moment she saw Shu Yan, that feeling vanished completely...

Shu Yan felt a faint gaze watching his back. He could guess who it was, but he didn't know how to start a conversation. The two of them were like this, both wanting to say something, but neither was willing to speak first.

……

It was nearly noon when Xu Jiu returned from the palace, her face showing a hint of fatigue. But upon seeing Shu Yan, she quickly smiled, nestled against him, and said:

"Everything you wanted is in the dark dungeon. Senior Shattered Star sealed their soul power. I also told my brother about our trip to the Star Dou Great Forest. He couldn't argue with me, so he finally agreed."

Shu Yan kissed his forehead for a long time and whispered:

"Thank you for your hard work, Jiu Jiu."

Xu Jiujiu let out a soft hum. She looked at Shu Yan's lips and swallowed. Clearly, she was not satisfied that Shu Yan had only kissed her forehead. She liked the feeling of their lips touching. However, there was an "outsider" beside her, so Xu Jiujiu had no choice but to force herself to endure it.

Hyotei watched the two being affectionate with a slight pout, then tugged at Yukiteri's hand and said expectantly:

"Xue'er, can you...?"

"Don't even think about it, you can't."

Well, Hyotei knew this would be the outcome. Yukiteru could accept close physical contact like best friends, but if she wanted to take things further, she would definitely be sternly rejected, leaving no hope of any breakthrough.

On the other side, Xue Di watched Shu Yan being intimate with Xu Jiujiu in his arms as if no one else was around, and suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. She snorted coldly, instantly sobering up Xu Jiujiu who was still in a sweet reverie. After regaining her senses, Xu Jiujiu quickly got out of Shu Yan's arms, her flushed face showing a slightly charming and shy look. She was so busy being shy that she didn't notice Xue Di's somewhat strange expression.

"Now is not the time for you to be affectionate; get on with your business first."

"I am the Snow Emperor," Xue Di said in a deep voice.

Shu Yan coughed lightly, then said:

"Alright, now that everything is ready, go and bring those guys along. Let's set off immediately."

Xu Jiujiu nodded repeatedly, and then led the three of them to the Star Luo Empire's death row. After Xue Di froze all those evil soul masters, she put them into her storage soul tool.

In this day and age, finding evil spirit masters is not difficult. Xu Jiujiu simply sent someone to a remote village a few hundred kilometers outside Xingluo City to spread the word that a genius born there possessed an evil martial spirit and had an innate soul power of level eight. That very night, the group of people showed up on their own. Just as they were preparing to massacre the village and search for the people, the royal guards suddenly took action. After killing several people, they detained the entire group of evil spirit masters and brought them into Xingluo City only after completely sealing their soul power and martial spirit.

Nebula Douluo was not brought along on this trip, and Shattered Star Douluo's offer to accompany and protect them was also declined. Although the two titled Douluos were worried, looking at the Ice and Snow Emperors, well... actually, they didn't really want to go. After all, standing next to these two really gave them a feeling of trepidation. Since they didn't need them, they shouldn't rush to join in, lest the two of them be unhappy and beat them up.

……

The journey to the Star Dou Great Forest is not too far. The Star Luo Empire is located in the southeast of the continent, and a long section of its border is close to the sea. This results in a relatively mild and humid climate in most parts of the country. Most of the world-famous Star Dou Great Forest is also within the territory of the Star Luo Empire.

Over the course of ten thousand years, the once magnificent Star Dou Great Forest has shrunk considerably. Large tracts of land on its periphery have been occupied by the original Douluo Three Kingdoms, and the entire area of ​​the Star Dou Great Forest is shrinking day by day. This is a fact and a concrete manifestation of the conflict between humans and soul beasts.

Even with the Ice and Snow Emperors' speed, and with Shu Yan and the other two with them, the four of them still arrived at the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest by the morning of the second day.

Ancient trees reach for the sky in the lush forest, vines hang from the treetops and twine around the branches, chirping incessantly, and a rich life force permeates the air. This is a vast and prosperous forest, but also one of the most feared forbidden zones for humankind. However, for the strong, this forest also holds countless opportunities and even treasures.

It seemed that it had just rained, as the forest floor was still damp and muddy. Xue Di landed on the outer edge with the three of them, her brows slightly furrowed, and she looked into the depths, as if she had something on her mind.

"Hurry up and do what you want to do. I think I just sensed the aura of that guy Di Tian. This isn't the far north. If I were to face him, I could only barely hold him off for a while. Not to mention, those guys below Di Tian are equally troublesome."

Xue Di stood on a boulder and spoke calmly.

Shu Yan had already said that there was no need to enter the mixed zone, and that she only needed to stay on the outer edge. Naturally, she was too lazy to go any deeper. The deeper she went, the more dangerous it would be. Since they were not in the far north, the gap in combat power between her and Di Tian had widened considerably, and she did not want to take any further risks.

Ice Emperor stepped back a little, and the silver light flowed in Shu Yan's hand. The next moment, the level eight soul tool Yinming Zhidu slowly rose into the air. The silver-white metal was dazzling under the sunlight. The other three also squinted their eyes and watched this scene, wondering what Shu Yan would do next.

After the Yinming Fallen rose to a certain height, Shu Yan slightly flipped his palm, and the next moment, those unconscious evil soul masters appeared on the ground.

There were about twenty of these evil soul masters. The one with the highest soul power level had reached the Soul King level, while the one with the lowest strength was still a Great Soul Master. The combat power of evil soul masters was generally far higher than that of ordinary soul masters. These guys usually hid in the deep mountains and forests. The Star Luo Empire hated them to the bone. This time, they were lured out under the pretense of "evil soul master genius", which can be regarded as eliminating a scourge for the people.

A glint of sky-blue light flashed in Shu Yan's eyes. The next moment, countless sharp ice spikes suddenly rose from the ground. Blood splattered, and severed limbs lay scattered on the ground. These evil soul masters lost their lives while still conscious. The thick smell of blood drifted away on the breeze. After watching this scene for a long time, his face turned slightly pale, and he gently turned his head away, no longer wanting to look at it.

The Snow Empress and the Ice Empress simply watched this scene quietly, as if watching a play, without any change in emotion whatsoever. They were merely curious about what Shu Yan would do next...

……

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(End of this chapter)