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“Ye Xishui, you don’t want to go your whole life without getting revenge, do you?”

“Jie, jie, jie, jie!”

The black shadow let out a strange, mocking laugh.

Ye Xishui’s blood-red eyes were crazed as she roared, “What exactly do you want?!”

The mysterious black shadow replied, “It’s simple. All you have to do is pledge allegiance to my clan, and you’ll naturally gain the power for revenge.”

“And all my clan needs is your loyalty.”

Ye Xishui asked suspiciously, “Why should I trust you?”

The black shadow sneered, “Do you have a choice?”

“You’ve seen the power of those people. With your ability, you’ll never be a match for them in your entire life.”

“Only my clan can help you.”

“Oh, right. If I remember correctly, your son was killed by them, right? Tsk tsk, the hatred of a murdered son and the humiliation you suffered—if I were you, I wouldn’t be able to endure it.”

“Enough!”

Ye Xishui snapped coldly, “No need to provoke me. I know what your goal is.”

“You aren’t creatures of Douluo Continent, are you?”

“No matter what you are, you need me now.”

“Without me, I’m afraid you can’t achieve your objective, can you?”

The black shadow squinted, a bit surprised that this madwoman could think.

But on second thought, it was even better if she had a brain.

If they’d chosen an idiot, it would have been inconvenient.

Seeing the shadow silent, Ye Xishui continued, “I don’t care where you’re from or what you want.”

“I only want to know—do you have the power to help me?”

“If not, then don’t talk to me about cooperation. I, Ye Xishui, hate useless people the most.”

The black shadow let out another strange laugh, “Our clan’s greatness is beyond your imagination.”

“As long as you do as we say, you could even reach level 100 and become a god—it’s not impossible.”

“By then, you can do whatever you want.”

“Become a god at level 100?”

Ye Xishui’s pupils shrank, her face showing shock.

A god?

That was a realm she’d never even imagined.

That was a level even the continent’s strongest, Beast God Di Tian, couldn’t reach!

But Ye Xishui quickly sneered, “Become a god at level 100? Such big talk! Don’t you know no god has appeared on the continent for ten thousand years?”

“And you dare boast about becoming a god?”

The shadow chuckled, “A frog at the bottom of a well knows nothing of the vast sky.”

“You keep saying there are no gods, but do you know that the kid who killed your son is a god’s inheritor?”

“Otherwise, why do you think a mere Soul Sage could kill a peak Super Douluo?”

“What did you say?!”

Ye Xishui was shocked, even trembling.

“That brat is a god’s inheritor?”

The black shadow replied flatly, “Is that so strange?”

“They’re from the Ice God Palace, who worship the Ice God. That kid has some talent and was chosen by the Ice God. It’s not impossible.”

“Ice God…”

Ye Xishui’s face shifted between hatred, jealousy, resentment, and fear.

She looked at the shadow coldly, “You just said his backer is a god. How could we possibly fight an ancient god?”

“How can I trust your promises?”

Although the black shadow was strong, Ye Xishui didn’t think he was stronger than the Ice God!

She didn’t know much about the Ice God, but she’d heard of the Sea God and Angel God.

This ancient Ice God was as mighty as any of them.

While the shadow was strange, he didn’t have that same aura of invincibility.

Ye Xishui wasn’t truly confident in him.

The black shadow said indifferently, “Normally, a main god-level being is indeed hard to provoke.”

“But the situation is special now!”

“You don’t need to fear the Ice God. The God Realm has been sealed; the Ice God can’t descend.”

“The strongest on that kid’s side is just that Hai Bodong.”

“As long as you follow my instructions, defeating him is not difficult.”

“The God Realm has been sealed?”

Ye Xishui was shaken again.

The God Realm sealed?

What kind of being could do such a thing?

Ye Xishui couldn’t even imagine it.

But then she frowned with worry, “What if the God Realm is unsealed one day…”

The black shadow cut her off impatiently, “Why are you so hesitant and timid?”

“Ye Xishui, don’t forget—this is your only chance!”

“And as long as you follow my plan, even if the God Realm opens again, my clan will protect you!”

“It’s just the Ice God. My clan has supreme beings, too!”

He spoke with great confidence as if truly relying on something.

Ye Xishui was skeptical—were these strange things really that strong?

But regardless, one thing was true: she had no other options.

“Don’t try to trick me. If you do, I’ll haunt you even as a ghost.”

Ye Xishui finally made up her mind.

She was already neither human nor ghost—how much worse could it get?

Making deals with tigers, with wolves—what did it matter to her?

She knew the shadow and those behind him had no good intentions for Douluo Continent, but what did she, Ye Xishui, care?

As long as she could get revenge, Douluo Continent meant nothing.

The black shadow grinned, “Allying with my clan is the wisest choice you can make.”

Ye Xishui snorted coldly, “Listen, it’s cooperation, not surrender.”

The shadow didn’t mind, “Same difference.”

Ye Xishui frowned, “So how are you going to help me?”

The black shadow said, “Here’s what you do first: find a place to heal your injuries.”

“After that, I’ll have ways to help you grow stronger.”

Ye Xishui nodded, then added, “And I need Xiaoyao’s help.”

The black shadow teased, “Long Xiaoyao?”

“Isn’t he your loyal dog? If you call him, won’t he come running?”

Ye Xishui’s expression changed, “Don’t talk about Xiaoyao like that!”

“And I want to rebuild the Holy Spirit Sect—I need Xiaoyao’s help. He must not die!”

The shadow waved lazily, “Don’t worry, he’s alive—they didn’t kill him.”

Ye Xishui relaxed, but then her blood-red eyes narrowed.

Those people hated them, and were ruthless—why didn’t they kill Xiaoyao?

Ye Xishui’s paranoia flared.

A moment ago, she worried for Long Xiaoyao. Now, she suspected him.

He hadn’t shown up to save her when she nearly died. Had he betrayed her?

Xiaoyao, are you abandoning me too?

No, I won’t allow it!

Ye Xishui truly was mentally unstable—her thoughts always ran differently from others.

She stared at the shadow, “I want you to bring Xiaoyao back. There are things I want to do together with him!”

The black shadow smacked his lips—truly, the most poisonous hearts are women’s!

Ye Xishui was a good seedling!

The shadow didn’t mind—Ye Xishui’s increasing cruelty only excited him.

“No problem!”

He agreed without hesitation.

Ye Xishui nodded, her blood-red gaze cold. “So, I really can’t just go kill that brat right now?”

The thought that Su Yu was a god’s inheritor filled her with uncontrollable killing intent.

She feared that if Su Yu kept growing, it would ruin her plans.

“That Hai Bodong is troublesome. I can’t descend in my true body yet—so not for now.”

“That won’t do! That brat has a god’s inheritance—what if—”

“There’s no ‘what if.’ That kid is just a Soul Sage, still far from level 100 and becoming a god.”

“Even as a god’s inheritor, passing the god’s trial and inheriting the god’s position is no easy task.”

“As long as you fully cooperate with my clan, I guarantee you’ll become a god before he does!”

“All right, let’s get to business.”

The black shadow said.

“He’s getting off easy!” Ye Xishui gritted her teeth, unwilling, but still followed the shadow’s instructions and fled into the distance.

…

Illustrious Virtue Hall.

In a metal-themed hall, several figures were gathered.

Jing Hongchen sat at the main seat, holding a cup of tea, looking at the young man below with a teasing smile.

“It’s been seven days—you finally showed up! I thought you were seriously injured or something.”

“So, did you lose any body parts?”

Su Yu smiled lightly. “A few days of rest and I’ve mostly recovered. Thank you for your concern, Hall Master.”

Jing Hongchen snorted, “You’re asking for it, being so reckless.”

“You dared to detonate your soul ring. You’re crazy!”

“Weren’t you afraid of crippling yourself for life?”

“If you ended up crippled, that’s one thing. But if you made Meng a widow, I wouldn’t let you off easy!”

“Next time, think of those around you before you act. Do you know how worried Meng was?”

Su Yu looked over at Meng Hongchen. She looked back, and their eyes met—Su Yu with guilt, Meng Hongchen with a sweet, comforting smile.

“But on the other hand, your achievements this time are astounding.”

“You even killed Zhongli Wu—impressive.”

Jing Hongchen sighed.

Su Yu’s feats this time had taught him a lesson.

Zhongli Wu—a level 98 peak Super Douluo.

For his final attack, he even touched the realm of Ultimate Douluo.

Yet he was killed by Su Yu on the spot.

No doubt, Su Yu was now a true top expert.

Looking at the whole Sun Moon Empire, perhaps only one person could match Su Yu now.

As for himself—he knew his limits. He was no longer Su Yu’s match.

He felt a mix of emotions, but mostly pride.

Su Yu was his granddaughter’s husband—family.

With Su Yu around, the Hongchen family had a powerful pillar.

The more Jing Hongchen looked at Su Yu, the more satisfied he became.

“Thank you for the praise, Hall Master!”

Su Yu received it with a smile.

Jing Hongchen laughed and asked, “Now that the tournament is over, what are your plans?”

“Don’t forget you’re still a member of Illustrious Virtue Hall!”

“You’ve been missing all the time—it’s not right.”

Su Yu smiled, “I plan to return to the Ice God Palace.”

Jing Hongchen paused, “So soon?”

“Not staying a little longer?”

Su Yu shrugged, “I can’t. This last battle showed me I still have many weaknesses—I need to go back and work on them.”

Jing Hongchen: “…”

Do you think you’re not strong enough?

How do you expect anyone else to live?

Jing Hongchen was speechless.

After a while, he said, “When you leave, don’t forget to take Meng and Xiao with you. They’ve been here long enough—it’s time they saw more of the world.”

With Su Yu’s strength and background, Jing Hongchen was confident in leaving Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen in his care.

“No problem.”

Su Yu agreed immediately.

Even if Jing Hongchen didn’t say so, he would have taken Meng Hongchen with him.

With the continent’s situation so unstable, only with Meng by his side could he feel secure.

As for his brother-in-law—he’d bring him along too.

“That’s more like it.”

Jing Hongchen smiled, then with a flick of his wrist, a few unfamiliar, icy auras swept over.

Su Yu frowned for a moment, then relaxed.

Jing Hongchen had placed several soul tools in front of him.

“Hall Master, these are…?”

Jing Hongchen smiled, “You have a short memory. Did you forget? Your Holy Slayer Palace won the tournament.”

“According to the rules, the champion gets a level 9 soul tool.”

“The runner-up gets a level 8 soul tool.”

“Third place gets a level 7 soul tool.”

“Because of the special circumstances and disruptions this tournament faced, as compensation, the Empire is awarding two extra soul tools to the winners.”

“So, here’s your reward: one level 9 soul tool, and two level 8 soul tools.”

“This level 9 soul tool, an ice-attribute sword.”

“It’s made from…”

Jing Hongchen began introducing the level 9 soul tool, explaining its properties.

“In short, it’s an excellent soul tool—very rare, and it suits your attributes well.”

“As for the two level 8 ones, one is ice, one is fire—just bonuses, but both are high quality.”

What Jing Hongchen didn’t say was that this level 9 soul tool—Han—was made by his teacher.

If the Ice God Palace hadn’t revealed such overwhelming power this time, and the imperial family wasn’t trying to win Su Yu over, he’d never have gotten this sword.