Ling Luochen's original martial soul was the Ice Element, allowing her to effortlessly condense the ice elements in the air into offensive forms.
Her first soul skill, Ice Staff, summoned a two-meter-long staff made entirely of crystalline ice.
Within Qian Ran's Eternal Frozen Domain, Ling Luochen truly became the Ice Princess.
Dressed in her snug school uniform, her graceful figure was perfectly outlined. Ling Luochen had worn her uniform throughout the competition.
To Qian Ran, however, even this simple attire held a unique charm. As an inner court senior, Ling Luochen, like Ma Xiaotao, already had an impressive figure. Even in school uniform pants, the alluring curves of her rounded hips stood out clearly.
Beneath the hem of her pants, her calves were sheathed in ultra-thin white stockings, peeking out above her sneakers. All the women around Qian Ran now knew of his fondness for stockings—especially tearing them. As a result, even when wearing pants, they sometimes wore stockings underneath.
When Ling Luochen leapt into the air, the slight glimpse of stockings beneath her pants caught Qian Ran's attention, and he couldn't help but glance a few more times.
After all, beautiful things always warrant a second look.
"Senior Ling Luochen is so cool!"
In the rear, Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan, Ning Tian, and Zhu Lu gazed at Ling Luochen holding her ice staff with awe. She looked every bit the Ice Princess, beautiful and majestic amidst the snow. Her elegance, coldness, and resilience were as striking as plum blossoms in the snow—noble, graceful, and shockingly powerful.
"This looks almost like a martial soul fusion technique," Xiao Xiao couldn't help but remark.
"It's not a fusion technique, but the effect is even better," Jiang Nannan analyzed. "Qian Ran's Eternal Frozen Domain provides Ling Luochen with an endless supply of extremely cold elements, and her Ice Element martial soul allows her to multiply her strength in this frigid environment."
The Ice Element martial soul was already stronger than ordinary ice-type martial souls, and Ling Luochen had now reached the level of Ultimate Ice. Even Qian Ran couldn't help but marvel at her current power.
"Ice Empress, why do I sense your presence on Qian Ran? That deep red soul ring of his—it's from you, isn't it? Did you sacrifice yourself to him? But no, that doesn't make sense. If you didn't, you should be dead by now."
"And yet, your strength is even greater than it was when you left the Extreme North. This doesn't add up."
The Snow Empress muttered to herself, her brows furrowing as she stared at the deep red soul ring beneath Qian Ran. She was utterly shocked.
If the Ice Empress weren't standing right next to her, the Snow Empress would have suspected she had truly sacrificed herself to Qian Ran.
"Hehe, this is one of Qian Ran's greatest secrets!" the Ice Empress said with a sly smile, her gaze lingering on the deep red soul ring beneath Qian Ran.
"What secret?" the Snow Empress asked, her curiosity piqued. As one of nature's favored children, she prided herself on her intelligence. Yet ever since meeting Qian Ran, she felt like a perpetual curious child.
"By the way, have you thought more about what I suggested last time?" the Ice Empress asked, holding the Snow Empress's hand.
"Don't bring that up again! It's impossible for me!" the Snow Empress retorted, her cheeks flushing red. How could she possibly act like the Ice Empress? While she held a good impression of Qian Ran, that didn't mean she was ready to...
"Sigh, then there's no point in me telling you," the Ice Empress teased.
"Qian Ran has a mysterious method to obtain soul rings and soul bones from us soul beasts without harming our bodies. I can't explain the principle, but the fact that I'm still here proves it's real. Snow Empress, don't you want to help Qian Ran?" The Ice Empress blinked her big eyes, her tone suddenly coaxing.
"Of course. If it's truly as you say, I wouldn't hesitate. My life was given back to me by Qian Ran, and I've yet to find a way to repay him," the Snow Empress mused. Qian Ran had not only saved her but also granted her a method for reincarnation. She always lived by the principle of repaying kindness, and Qian Ran's benevolence was something she could not ignore.
"Then just go find Qian Ran when the time comes and say you want to repay him. You'll understand then why my soul ring ended up on him," the Ice Empress said with a knowing smile, her gaze sweeping over the Snow Empress's exquisite figure.
She knew Qian Ran's preferences all too well, and the Snow Empress was precisely the type of beauty he favored.
The Ice Empress could already tell that the Snow Empress harbored feelings for Qian Ran. She was merely nudging their relationship forward. What harm could it do?
"I refuse to believe they can hold out for much longer," one of the Sun Moon Battle Team members muttered, fidgeting in his seat. Each of them was now emanating powerful energy from at least three soul tools simultaneously.
An even fiercer barrage of firepower rained down on Qian Ran and Ling Luochen.
Compared to direct close-range combat, this long-range attrition strategy was far more advantageous for soul engineers. Most soul engineers preferred to deal with opponents from a distance, as close combat significantly reduced their chances of victory. Seeing that Qian Ran and Ling Luochen hadn't made a move, they decided to simultaneously recover their soul power with milk bottle soul tools while continuing their barrage.
The spectators were completely dumbfounded. None of them had ever witnessed such a terrifying scene—it was more like a small-scale war than a tournament.
The audience could only watch as Ling Luochen singlehandedly held off seven opponents without losing ground, giving them a direct glimpse of her astonishing power. Many had previously thought Ma Xiaotao was Shrek's most formidable female soul master, but now they couldn't decide who was stronger—Ma Xiaotao or Ling Luochen.
"This woman is destined to become a peerless powerhouse in the future," Xu Jiawei praised, with Dai Hao nodding in agreement.
"Who would've thought Ling Luochen had grown so strong? Qian Ran must be truly remarkable. If only I hadn't offended him…" Dai Yaoheng sighed, lamenting the missed opportunity.
Hearing his words, Zhu Ying couldn't help but feel a strange sensation in her heart.
"That guy still has time to play around? Why hasn't he just ended this already and dealt with the Sun Moon team? The longer this drags on, the riskier it gets," Cai Meier muttered, pouting as she watched Ling Luochen suppress the entire Sun Moon team alone.
Qian Ran had taken plenty of liberties with her, but she had gained nothing in return—just empty promises. Thinking about it, Cai Meier felt she had been thoroughly taken advantage of. Seeing how much Ling Luochen had improved, she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.
He'd touched her, teased her, and yet when would she finally receive the promised youth-retaining pill or the dragon soul from the Yin-Yang Eyes? Did he really expect her to... No, that would be too much of a betrayal to Yan Shaozhe.
Still, as thoughts of Qian Ran's strong physique and endless tricks crossed her mind, Cai Meier felt a faint shiver course through her body.
(End of Chapter)
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