NOVEL NEXT Chapter 126: Subduing the Ice Empress
The ice that had once held him in place began to crack, the delicate frost shattering under the force of his awakening. The woman staggered back, fear flashing across her face for the first time since their encounter. She had been certain that he would remain frozen in time, a mere vessel for her plans. But now, his eyes glowed with an intensity she had never expected, and the coldness in the room felt like it was being pushed back by the sheer force of his will.
"What is going on?" The woman's voice faltered for the first time, filled with a mixture of fear and astonishment. Her eyes widened as she stared at Wen Ran, her expression betraying a deep, unsettling confusion. "He was supposed to remain suspended in ice for a few thousand years... How could this happen in just a few days?" Her words trailed off, and yet, despite the fear in her voice, the corners of her lips curled into a subtle, almost delighted smile. There was something undeniably satisfying in the unfolding situation, as though she had been waiting for this very moment, even if she couldn't fully comprehend how it was happening.
Wen Ran, still disoriented from the strange, frozen state he had been trapped in, remained motionless for a moment. His gaze locked onto the place where the woman's eyes had been when he was frozen, the spot where his life seemed to have flickered out. Slowly, his body began to stir, his limbs aching from the intense cold. The ice had preserved him, preventing him from truly dying, but now he was awakening with a force he hadn't anticipated. It felt as though his body was alive once again, moving at full capacity, the pulse of energy coursing through him.
However, this was not the same energy he was used to. Something new, something foreign, flooded his veins—a chilling force that seemed to freeze his very bones from within. Yet, as soon as he released this icy power, a wave of energy shot out, creating a perfect circle of frost beneath him and around him. It spread outward, freezing the ground, the air, and everything in its path. But just as quickly, a surge of fire energy followed, wrapping around the ice in a protective, fiery embrace. The two forces, ice and fire, did not clash. Instead, they coexisted in perfect harmony, each bending to his will, their wild, elemental natures tamed and unified under his command.
The Ice Empress, watching from the shadows, dared not approach him. A deep fear clawed at her heart as she sensed something shifting, something irreversible unfolding within Wen Ran. The very inheritance she had given him, passed on through that cold kiss, was now rippling through his being, manifesting inside him with a terrifying power. She could feel it—her essence, her power, slowly being ripped away, devoured by the force within him.
"This boy..." Her voice trembled, barely more than a whisper, but it was filled with both awe and dread. "He will go far. Far beyond what I ever anticipated. When he rises to power, the heavens themselves will drown in blood. The day he reaches his peak... the catastrophe will descend upon all nine worlds. And when those worlds are destroyed, life itself will cease to exist..." She paused, the words heavy with a bitter understanding of what was to come. "But... perhaps he will be the one to create a new world. A world where he is the god. Yet, I highly doubt it." A wistful smile tugged at the corners of her lips, but it was tinged with sadness. "All I ask of him... is that he never abandons my legacy. I care not for anything else. The hatred I have carried, the work I've done over the years, it cannot be in vain." Her voice softened, almost a whisper now. "Let me fade away now, and watch him from the shadows..."
The words, though gentle and inaudible to anyone else, reverberated through the room, filling the space with a strange, calming energy. But to Wen Ran, they were a catalyst. He turned, his gaze fixed on the direction of the wall where she hid, as if her presence had drawn him like a magnet. A wild smile stretched across his face as a surge of energy filled him, and he extended his hand, channeling the raw power coursing through his body.
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The moment his fingers curled, a powerful, invisible pull shot out, wrapping around the woman with an unrelenting force. She gasped, her eyes widening in panic as the energy took hold of her, its touch like fire and ice mixed together, impossible to see yet undeniable in its strength.
"What is going on?!" The woman's voice broke into a scream, her body fighting against the pull, but it was futile. Wen Ran's power surged, and her resistance crumbled, unable to match the force that was now pulling her toward him.
Suddenly, before Wen Ran's eyes, a system window materialized, glowing faintly:
[New energy added]
[Ice]
[Frostfire control technique has been added]
[Reward: Soul tame technique]
"So you are useful sometimes after all," Wen Ran muttered under his breath, his tone sharp with a mix of disbelief and bitter amusement. "Perfect timing."
His heart surged with an unsettling blend of hatred and gratitude, the emotions he wished he didn't have to feel. But as the feeling of power rushed through him, he knew exactly where to channel it. The woman in front of him, the one who had pushed him into this state, was the source of all his turmoil. And now, it was time to return everything she had forced upon him. He would make her regret ever coming across his path.
"How about you now tell me everything you know," Wen Ran's voice was smooth, laced with a quiet, chilling malice. "And maybe then, I'll spare you. If not..." His smile stretched unnaturally, a twisted, crazed expression that made the air around them freeze. "Heh... I've been itching to test a new pill fusion for the soul. I think it would be beneficial to me in the future. To feed on you."
As he spoke, a shiver of intense cold rippled through the woman's very essence, a fear unlike anything she had ever experienced. The warmth she once commanded, the pride of her lineage, now felt like a fragile illusion in the face of Wen Ran's power. His words hung in the air like an unspoken death sentence, and for the first time, the Ice Empress could feel her own soul tremble under the weight of his threat.