Douluo Continent: I can overdraft the future in advance

The ice falcon disappeared behind the distant ice peaks, and Luo Yun remained still.

He squatted down beside Master Fang, staring at his deathly pale face. Master Fang's breathing was shallow, his chest barely rising and falling. The skin on the wound on his left arm had turned bluish-purple, like frostbite.

"Master Fang," Luo Yun called softly.

no respond.

He pulled out the last few strips of cloth from the package and rewrapped Master Fang's arm wound. After he finished, his hand hovered in mid-air, unsure of what to do next.

The healing medicine was gone. The strips of cloth were gone too. Of all the soul tools on Master Fang's body—some were broken, some had exploded—all that remained was the broken disc handle in his hand.

Luo Yun sat down beside Master Fang and draped a thick coat over him. The wind blew from the north, cutting like knives against his face. He stared at the distant ice peaks, only one thought in his mind—

Wait until Master Fang wakes up.

---

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn has passed.

Master Fang's finger twitched.

Luo Yun immediately leaned closer: "Master Fang?"

Master Fang slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was unfocused, and it took him a while to see the person in front of him clearly.

"Ice Falcon..." His voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

"It got away," Luo Yun said. "You blew it away."

Master Fang's lips twitched, as if he wanted to laugh, but he didn't. He tried to sit up by bracing himself on the ground, but as soon as he moved, he groaned and fell back down.

"Don't move." Luo Yun pressed him down. "You're badly injured."

Master Fang didn't move. His eyes were half-open, and his breathing was still shallow. Luo Yun pulled the thick coat up to cover his shoulders.

Just then, a sharp cry came from afar.

Luo Yun's body stiffened.

He looked up in the direction the sound came from—behind the ice peak, a black dot was growing larger. The ice falcon had returned.

Master Fang heard it too. His eyes snapped open, and he struggled to sit up: "Quick, let's go..."

"Don't move," Luo Yun said, pressing him down.

The ice falcon drew closer. Its flight was more erratic than before, its leg with the broken talon tucked under its body, and the gap in its wing caused it to veer off course with every flap. But it still flew back.

Beside Luo Yun, Master Fang's level four soul-guided cannon still lay on the ground. The muzzle still retained the warmth of the previous attack, and Master Fang's blood stained the black outer shell.

He picked up the cannon.

It was very heavy. Much heavier than he had imagined.

"No..." Master Fang's voice was weak, "Your soul power isn't enough... Use it for a while..."

Luo Yun didn't hear what was said after that. The ice falcon had already swooped down, its golden eyes filled with hatred, its severed talons dangling in the air, and its other claw outstretched, aimed at him.

He raised the cannon and poured his soul power into it.

The cannon shuddered violently, and a tremendous suction force emanated from its muzzle, as if trying to uproot his soul power. The soul power within his body surged outwards like water bursting its banks.

The ice falcon was getting closer and closer.

Luo Yun gritted his teeth and poured in the last bit of his soul power.

The cannon muzzle lit up.

A blinding white light shot out from the cannon muzzle and struck the Ice Falcon squarely in the chest.

"boom--"

The ice falcon was engulfed by the white light, its feathers and flesh exploding in mid-air. It let out a mournful cry, its body plummeting like a kite with a broken string, crashing onto the ice and sliding for more than ten meters, carving a deep furrow in the ice.

It struggled twice, its wings flapping on the ground, kicking up a cloud of ice shards. Then it lay still.

The cannon in Luo Yun's hand fell to the ground with a clatter. His legs went weak, his vision blurred, and he collapsed to his knees beside Master Fang.

His soul power was depleted. Not a single ounce remained.

"Baby bottle..." Master Fang's voice came from the side, "The baby bottle in my arms..."

Luo Yun reached into Master Fang's arms and touched him, his fingers trembling violently.

"Inject soul power..." Master Fang said.

Luo Yun held the baby bottle in his hand and tried to inject soul power into it—but he had no soul power left in his body, and he couldn't squeeze out even a trace of it.

He froze for a moment.

Without soul power, you can't even use a baby bottle.

"Master Fang... I'm out of soul power..."

Master Fang didn't speak. His eyes closed again, and his breathing was weaker than before.

Luo Yun gripped the baby bottle tightly, her fingers turning white.

The wind grew stronger, whipping up snowflakes that stung our faces like needles. The ice falcon's carcass lay a dozen meters away, blood seeping from beneath it, spreading across the ice and quickly freezing into dark red shards.

Luo Yun looked at the baby bottle in his hand, then at Master Fang.

He took a deep breath and put the baby bottle into Master Fang's hand.

Master Fang didn't take it. His hand hung limply at his side, he didn't even have the strength to clench his fist.

Luo Yun stared at him for a few seconds, then put the bottle back in her hand.

He closed his eyes, trying to sense the tiny bit of soul power within his body—not from the baby bottle, but his own. As long as there was even a sliver of soul power to activate the baby bottle, it could quickly replenish his soul power; he was waiting for his soul power to recover naturally.

He waited a long time.

His soul power finally recovered slightly, like a drop of water seeping from a dried-up riverbed. He dared not waste it and immediately poured it into the baby bottle. The magic array patterns on the bottle's surface glowed briefly.

The bottle finally reacted, and Luo Yun immediately began absorbing the soul power inside.

After absorbing the energy, Luo Yun retrieved the soul power shield that Master Fang had given him when facing the wolf pack and erected a small light barrier. The barrier was only half a person's height, barely covering the two of them, and its edges were still flickering, as if it might go out at any moment. But the wind and snow were blocked.

Master Fang's body stopped trembling.

Luo Yun sat down beside him, staring in the direction of the Ice Crystal Grass.

Then he noticed something else.

The leaves of the Ice Crystal Grass are larger than before.

He remembered clearly that the leaves were only half a foot long before, thin and slender. Now, the longest leaf was almost a foot long. Moreover, the icicles on the edge of the leaf had become thicker and stronger, gleaming with a faint blue light in the twilight.

It is absorbing ice marrow.

The ice marrow in the crack was less than half of what it used to be. The few ice crystal grasses took root at the edge of the crack, their roots extending into the ice marrow, and their leaves shimmered with blue light, as if they were breathing.

"Master Fang..." Luo Yun's voice was very low, "The Ice Crystal Grass is absorbing Ice Marrow."

Master Fang's eyes snapped open.

He followed Luo Yun's gaze and his pupils contracted slightly.

"It's evolving." His voice was deep, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth. "It wants to drain the ice marrow dry. If this drags on any longer, the age will increase."

Luo Yun glanced at the spirit ring—its color had faded slightly compared to before. If the Ice Crystal Grass continued to evolve and its age exceeded a thousand years, it would become a thousand-year spirit ring that he couldn't absorb.

"I'll go." Luo Yun stood up.

Master Fang grabbed his wrist. He wasn't very strong, but he held on tightly.

"In your condition," Master Fang stared at him, "going there would be suicide."

"Then what do we do? Once it finishes evolving, there will be absolutely no hope."

Master Fang did not answer. His hand hung down, his eyes were fixed on the ice crystal grass, and his lips were pressed into a thin line.

The leaves of the Ice Crystal Grass have grown even larger. Blue light flows across the leaves, becoming brighter and brighter.

Luo Yun gripped the short stick in his hand tightly.

The ice crystal grass stirred. The longest leaf slowly rose, like a snake awakening, the ice spikes on its edge gleaming coldly in the twilight. It aimed at Luo Yun.

A ring of icy thorns appeared around it, protecting its master as he made his final stand.