Just as Qiur was still wondering where a certain someone had run off to, on the other side, within the Divine Kingdom of Order, beneath the tree of billions of silver radiance, a petite figure quietly hovered in mid-air. Around her, circles of dazzling ice-blue spirit power swirled like living creatures. Finally, before the girl, they transformed into a slowly rotating vortex of ice-blue starlight, shining in concert with four other equally magnificent star vortices surrounding her. At a certain moment, accompanied by a clear, crisp hum, the star vortex before the girl solidified completely. The fifth Star Ring had successfully coalesced!
And almost at the very instant the fifth Star Ring coalesced successfully, the Star Ring began to nourish the girl herself. The spirit power within her body surged like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, wildly pouring into the newly born Star Ring. The fifth Star Ring accepted it all without refusal, devouring the spirit power completely, then fed back a more refined, even reaching a certain limit of higher-quality spirit power. Immediately, the spirit power flowed through her entire body, cleansing her limbs and bones, and driving changes in her Soul and spirit as well.
Ice Empress carefully sensed the changes within herself and roughly formed a judgment in her heart. Following this trend, there might be a chance when coalescing the sixth one to allow her own spirit power to completely transform into a higher level of —
Divine Soul Power. And once the transformation is completed, it would mean she truly possesses the qualification to coalesce a Divine Core. By then, her Cultivation speed would undergo another qualitative leap!
Ice Empress let out a slight sigh of relief, a flicker of pleasure passing through her ice-blue eyes. Then, her gaze fell downward and she happened to see the figure that had appeared beneath the tree at some unknown time. Her eyes moved slightly, and her mood grew even more pleasant.
Her figure descended lightly. Ice Empress did not land completely but hovered at a position slightly higher than Kong Mingan, allowing herself to meet his eyes at the same level. Then, she crossed her arms, striving to maintain her usual cool and aloof appearance, before slightly raising her chin: 'You came?'
Kong Mingan nodded slightly: 'I've been here for a while.'
Ice Empress let out a soft hum, her tone carrying a hint of delight. Although this guy always liked to annoy her, he could be quite considerate at times. At least he knew to come back specifically to watch her Breakthrough. She had previously thought that if he didn't come, she would ignore him for the next period. But now...
She looked at Kong Mingan, paused for a moment, then suddenly opened her arms. Her golden eyes stared directly at him, and she spoke in a tone that was almost brazen: 'Come on, check me.'
Upon hearing this, Kong Mingan paused, a flash of strangeness passing through his eyes. It wasn't that he didn't understand Ice Empress's meaning. On the surface, she wanted him to routinely check her physical condition, but in reality, she just wanted a hug. But... he had just coaxed Qiur away not long ago. Now, turning around to find Ice Empress and then hugging again...
To be honest, he increasingly felt he was heading towards a dismembered end.
Of course, thinking was one thing. Kong Mingan still reached out and gently embraced the petite figure hovering in mid-air. Immediately, Ice Empress seemed to lose all her bones, tightly hugging him back. Her entire soft, cool body pressed against him, her head skillfully burying into his warm neck, rubbing against it with exceptional satisfaction.
Hmm, Ice Empress was like this. On the surface, she always appeared icy and unapproachable, but when hugged, she was soft. In his arms, Ice Empress's small nose twitched slightly as she sniffed the pure Energy aura on him, feeling a strange sense of peace and satisfaction. However, at a certain moment, she abruptly frowned slightly, leaned in closer, and sniffed carefully again. Then, she suddenly loosened her embrace a little, raised her head, and her golden eyes stared suspiciously at Kong Mingan, her tone carrying a hint of alertness: 'Why is there the scent of another woman on you again?!'
Kong Mingan: '————'
So how did you manage to sniff out someone else's scent?!
He fell silent for a moment, his gaze shifting to the side without answering. Immediately, Ice Empress's frown deepened. Damn it! A thieving cat! Taking advantage while she was diligently breaking through and had no time to pay attention!
She leaned in again, almost pressing her nose against Kong Mingan's collar. Using some identification methods Snow Empress had previously taught her, she sniffed carefully again and again, distinguishing that faint, elusive scent belonging to another female. After a moment, she relaxed slightly. Fortunately, the scent was very light, without the strong traces of deeper intimacy. Probably just hugging, or perhaps some close proximity?
But!
Ice Empress snorted coldly, raised her eyes again to look at Kong Mingan, her gaze filled with obvious displeasure and a hint of pique. Then, in an indisputable tone, she announced word by word: 'Now, I — want — Dual Cultivation!'
Hmph, stealing a taste while she wasn't around, right? Fine! Now she was going to dye this guy inside and out with her scent! Ya!
'...
'
Kong Mingan fell into an even deeper silence. He didn't quite understand Ice Empress's peculiar yet straightforward train of thought.
Was this considered using more intimate behavior to overwrite the previous scent? Or was it simply possessive desire acting up?
Kong Mingan felt it was both. But... it was still so strange...
And so, time quietly passed in the Dual Cultivation demanded so brazenly by Ice Empress. Contrary to Qiur's initial expectation, the Sun Moon Team did not immediately depart to return to the Sun Moon Empire the day after the tournament ended. Instead, they stayed in Star Luo City for a while longer. During this period, the entire team was on holiday, allowed free activity. The Star Luo authorities also fulfilled their duties as hosts, arranging specialized guides to lead the team members on tours. Only after a full week did everyone formally embark on the return journey. Before leaving, the Star Luo Empire side even dispatched representatives of considerable standing to see them off under the grand pretext of 'bidding farewell to the champion team.' Under the gaze of the Star Luo Empire crowd, the Sun Moon Team boarded a large flying spirit tool and slowly ascended, leaving Star Luo City. Unnoticed by anyone, the Sun Moon Team leaving Star Luo City this time seemed to have a few more people compared to when they first arrived.
The giant flying spirit tool flew steadily above the clouds. Inside the cabin, Princess Xu Jiujiu stood by the window, her gaze complex as she watched the gradually shrinking outline of Star Luo City below, silent for a moment. As a princess of the Star Luo Empire, she had represented the royal family on visits to many places, but the Sun Moon Empire—this was truly her first time going.
The purpose of her trip was very clear: to secretly establish cooperation with the Sun Moon Empire on behalf of the Star Luo Empire. At the same time, while ensuring her own safety, to probe the Sun Moon Empire's true national strength and gather any other potentially useful intelligence. If the Sun Moon Empire showed strong willingness to cooperate and possessed formidable strength, then they could go a step further, attempting to draw the Sun Moon Empire into a strategic alliance to jointly target the Heavenly Soul Empire, thereby achieving balance. In short, it was to strive for benefits for the Star Luo Empire as much as possible.
(End of Chapter)
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