Wang Dong didn’t seem like he was afraid of his second uncle at all. However, he was much more respectful towards his eldest uncle. He said urgently, “You can’t hurt him, eldest uncle, second uncle! Yuhao doesn’t have any ulterior motives with me. You can test him, but you absolutely cannot hurt him. Otherwise, I will refuse to continue living!”

Wang Dong displayed acute determination and strength when he uttered that last sentence.

The man in white, “eldest uncle”, said plainly, “I will handle things with your second uncle. We really won’t do anything to him—even if we discover that he does have ulterior motives, we’ll probably just teach him a lesson and throw him out. You’ve just returned from a long trip, go and get some rest. I will discuss how to test that little fella with your second uncle. He’ll have to pass our assessments if he wants to be with our little Dong’er—if he doesn’t, it’s impossible, and your relationship is not worth mentioning.”

His eyes flickered with azure light, and his tone was equally determined. However, the pressure emanating from his body rendered Wang Dong speechless, and all he could do was leave with a look of dissatisfaction.

The short-haired man watched Wang Dong leave, and when he was gone he turned towards the man in white. “Big brother, it seems like Xiao Dong really has something for the guy. But this fella’s identity is unknown, and he possesses such special powers—we should just throw him off Clear Sky Peak. His looks are so average, how can be a match for Xiao Dong?”

The man in white glared at him and said, “How old are you? How can you still be so reckless? Can’t you tell that Xiao Dong really does truly like him? It doesn’t really matter what abilities he has—his personality and thoughts are more important. Can a normal person be a match for Xiao Dong?”

The short-haired man seemed afraid of his big brother, and said hurriedly, “What should we do then, big brother? I’ve tested his abilities—his cultivation isn’t high, but his foundations are solid. His cultivation feels continuous, nigh endless even. Furthermore, he cultivates the Mysterious Heaven Technique, and I can’t detect any other techniques on him. However, what surprises me the most is his spiritual power. I wanted to teach him a lesson with a show of strength, but this guy was actually able to fuse his spiritual power with his soul power to resist my pressure, and eventually succeeded in doing so. The level of his spiritual power is quite impressive.”

The man in white nodded and said, “Our assessments will have to focus more on his nature and personality, not just on his abilities. We’ll have to discuss this carefully.”

… 

Huo Yuhao had no idea that unwittingly releasing his Ice Empress Jade Scorpion would bring so much trouble. He washed his face, and walked over to the room’s only window, casting his gaze outwards.

The window frame was shaped in an arch, and there was a layer of crystal-like glass covering it. The rolling clouds outside that fell into his eyes made him feel like he was in a saintly paradise. Their beauty stunned and dazzled him. He thought about when he released his spiritual power to resist the pressure from that “second uncle” earlier, and Huo Yuhao felt his spiritual improvements.

He leapt onto the stone bed and sat down with his legs crossed. He would have to consolidate his gains today with meditation, so that he could securely remember these improvements.

He’d only just sat down when the Ice Empress’ voice rang out in his mind. “Yuhao.”

“Eh? What’s wrong, Ice Empress?” Huo Yuhao asked in surprise.

The Ice Empress muttered solemnly, “That person is very powerful and extremely frightening.”

Huo Yuhao replied, “Are you referring to Wang Dong’s second uncle?”

“Yes,” the Ice Empress continued, “His aura frightens me, and even Skydream. I am sure that his martial soul isn’t a spiritual-type one, but his spiritual power has reached a level of consolidation and coalescence—higher than yours. That’s not all, I couldn’t feel his cultivation in the slightest, which means that he’s probably stronger than I was at my peak. He is at least as strong as that Elder Xuan from Shrek Academy.”

“Ah?” Huo Yuhao was taken aback. He could tell that the short-haired man was extremely powerful, but had never expected that even the Ice Empress would hold him in such high regard.

The Skydream Iceworm chimed in. “Ice Empress is right. That person is mighty indeed—even though his spiritual power isn’t as vast as my former spiritual powers, his level of coalescence and consolidation is superior. I could also sense that his spiritual power contained intense brutality, a tinge of invasiveness and hostility. It also had an aura as if it were high above everything. If he were a soul beast, he would definitely be ranked amongst the Ten Great Savage Beasts, and probably amongst the top five. However, he’s definitely a human, not a soul beast. Of all the humans that I’ve seen, only Elder Mu’s spiritual power was superior to his. And this person’s soul power seems far more terrifying than his spiritual power.”

Huo Yuhao said, “The Clear Sky Sect has more than ten thousand years of history. Ten thousand years isn’t much for soul beasts, but ten thousand years is extremely long to humans. Wouldn’t you say it’s normal for the Clear Sky Sect to have such substance? After all, the Clear Sky Sect used to be as reputable as the Body Sect, and was perhaps even more famed at some points. The fact that Wang Dong’s family is mighty is not a bad thing—so why do I feel like you guys are worried about me?”

The Ice Empress said, “I’m not worried—I just feel that he is extremely dangerous. With power like that, he can probably discover my existence if he tried. I felt that Elder Mu could probably sense my existence, except he didn’t mention it to you. Perhaps he didn’t do so because he guessed my intentions, but Skydream’s spiritual power was stronger, so he remained undetected.”

“He can detect your presence?” Huo Yuhao was astonished when he heard her words. The Skydream Iceworm, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, Elder Yi, and even the Snow Lady were his biggest secrets, and they were secrets that people simply couldn’t know. He instantly started to feel nervous.

At this moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt cold, and even the soul power circulating through his body slowed down, almost as if there were some resistance.

“Eh? Why do I feel cold?” Ever since he had fused with Ice Empress, he no longer knew what it felt like to be cold. But this was already the second time today that he’d felt chilly.

The Ice Empress said, “Wang Dong is truly nice to you. The water that you just used to wash your face is a kind of spring water, and if I’m not wrong, it should be a Frozen Spring. Something that’s born from absorbing the cold between heaven and earth, so even though it’s water, its coldness can rival the Manifold Mysterious Ice in the core regions of the Extreme North. However, it contains much more energy of heaven and earth—you must have felt invigorated when you washed your face just now. However, this isn’t a luxury that anyone can have—if someone else had been in your shoes, he or she would’ve been frozen solid from a single touch. The stone bed beneath you is even more impressive. It should be made from the jade essence of a piece of Frigid Jade, and that is rarely seen even in the core regions of the Extreme North. This is the first time that I’ve seen a piece as large as this.”

The Skydream Iceworm said, “I’ve seen jade essence like this before, during my first hibernation and my first transmutation. However, that piece of jade essence cracked, and the liquid within flowed onto my body, so I entered my first hibernation. The fact that I have lived for so many years is strongly related to that ten-thousand year jade essence. You should guide these icy energies into your body and merge them with your soul power. Cultivating while sitting on something like this will probably resolve the Ultimate Ice martial soul’s speed problems most effectively.”

Huo Yuhao said, “Then your worries…”

“There’s nothing much to be worried about.” Electrolux’s elderly voice could be heard. “That person harbors no hostility at all against Yuhao. I could feel his aura of justice and righteousness. The most he will do is chase you away because of the number of secrets that you have. My guess is that he will continue testing you, and all you have to do is face them properly. The only thing you can’t reveal is what I’ve taught you, Necromancy—everything else is usable. That person’s spiritual level is higher than the bug’s estimation, and is very unique.”

“High to what kind of level?” The Skydream Iceworm asked curiously.

However, Electrolux didn’t respond, it was as if he’d returned to his deep slumber.

Huo Yuhao was no longer able to communicate with the two soul beasts at this moment, because the chills coming from beneath him were increasing in intensity. He needed to focus everything he had on circulating his soul power to resist the cold.

The chill didn’t rush into him all at once. Instead, it diffused into his body gradually. Huo Yuhao didn’t feel much of anything at the start because of his Ultimate Ice martial soul, but this cold was different from his own.

Ultimate Ice was the most powerful ice-type existence, but the cold diffusing into his body was like the pure and pristine origin energy of heaven and earth, which belonged to no one. It wasn’t invasive, but it was fundamentally different from the Ultimate Ice’s nature.

Simply put, Huo Yuhao’s Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was like a weapon, but the chill from this bed made of Frigid Jade essence was more akin to a delicacy made from the origin energy of heaven and earth—except this delicious food’s temperature was a little on the low side, to the point where Huo Yuhao had to channel every ounce of his strength to fuse his soul power with this extremely cold and pure energy, and eventually guide it to fuse with his own martial soul.

The Ice Empress’ voice rang out again in Huo Yuhao’s mind. “It doesn’t matter whether that person is a threat to you or not. This opportunity is too great for you to let it slip by—with this bed made of Frigid Jade essence, no ice-type force would rebel, and it can calm the fires in your heart. You will never run the risk of going mad. If I had this manifold Frigid Jade essence back then, breaking through the bottleneck to four hundred thousand years wouldn’t have been a problem. Pay attention, Yuhao. I’m going to open a seal, and release some of the power that I have suppressed in your body. I will use the cold of this bed and its mystical properties to interact with you. Use your soul power to protect your meridians.”