Chapter 1462: Frost God Water

When Li Luo emerged from his cultivation state, the battle in the Inner Shenzhou Saint Academies war zone in the distance had long since reached a fever pitch. Saint Academy teams were being eliminated one after another, and the intensity was many times greater than what they had faced in the Outer Shenzhou.

But this was normal. Even someone like Fang Xingyun, a Lower Seventh Rank Marquis Realm cultivator, had been able to dominate all the major Saint Academies of the Outer Shenzhou, yet if such strength were placed among the Inner Shenzhou Saint Academy teams, it wouldn't even crack the top ten. One could imagine just how vast the gap between them was.

Li Luo's gaze swept across, then suddenly fixed on a light screen, where he saw the figure of Lv Ruyan. At that moment, she was locked in a fierce battle with a Seventh Rank Marquis Realm powerhouse.

It was a middle-aged woman with somewhat piercing eyes. Li Luo still remembered that when he had previously met Lv Qing'er, she had been guarding at her side.

He hadn't expected her to actually run into Lv Ruyan.

Li Luo turned his head and looked at Lv Qing'er beside him. She had been watching the battle on that light screen all along, and she clearly sensed Li Luo's gaze. Casually, she glanced at him and asked, "Your condition seems to have recovered?"

She could keenly sense that the phase force fluctuations emanating from Li Luo's body at this moment seemed to have suddenly grown much stronger.

Li Luo smiled and nodded, saying, "Your 'Aunt Zhu' ran into Lv Ruyan?"

Lv Qing'er lightly tapped her snow-white, pointed chin and said, "Their mission was originally to stop Lv Ruyan from acquiring more 'Heavenly Mirror Sand'."

"But it seems she isn't Lv Ruyan's match." Li Luo looked into the Crossing Space, where Lv Ruyan was clearly holding an absolute advantage, completely suppressing the 'Aunt Zhu' whose strength had reached the Seventh Rank Marquis Realm.

At this rate, victory was only a matter of time.

Lv Qing'er said calmly, "Although Lv Ruyan is only at the Upper Sixth Rank Marquis Realm, she has forged one Ten-Pillar Golden Platform, and the other five are all Nine-Pillar. This foundation is top-tier among her peers. Aunt Zhu cannot possibly be her match."

"One Ten-Pillar, five Nine-Pillars."

Li Luo's face showed solemnity. This foundation was countless times stronger than a Lower Seventh Rank Marquis Realm cultivator like Fang Xingyun. If Fang Xingyun were to fight Lv Ruyan, he would likely be crushed within ten exchanges.

Moreover, even Li Luo had to admit that if the current him were to face Lv Ruyan, even if he poured out every trick and trump card, his odds of winning would not be high.

"Lv Ruyan was originally a heaven's favored daughter of the Lv Branch of the Golden Dragon Mountain. She is less than ten years older than me, yet her current strength has already caught up to some of the older generation powerhouses. Before I returned to the Golden Dragon Mountain, many people felt she would become the person most suited to the 'Holy Ice Seed'." Lv Qing'er's voice was faintly melancholy.

"So she has always been jealous of me, feeling that my return stole what belonged to her."

Li Luo consoled her, saying, "You should tell her that if you had grown up at the Golden Dragon Mountain from childhood, there would have been even less room for her. So she should be thanking you for coming back so many years late—it's only because of that she got to enjoy so much glory that never originally belonged to her."

Although Lv Qing'er's exquisitely beautiful face was still covered in frost, her eyes glanced at him with a hint of helplessness. This person always had so many crooked arguments.

"She already finds me an eyesore as it is. If I were to go provoke her like that, with her temperament, she'd probably go mad."

Li Luo smiled, then suddenly asked, "I heard that the reason you came to this Heavenly Mirror Pagoda is that she wants to contest something with you?"

"Why ask so much? It has nothing to do with you. I'll handle it myself." Lv Qing'er said coldly.

Li Luo said, "We're friends, right? Helping each other out is only natural. Besides, you've helped me so much over the years. Helping you is just returning the favor."

"I don't need you returning any favors." Lv Qing'er said expressionlessly.

Li Luo could only let out a helpless sigh.

Lv Qing'er was silent for a while. Seeing that Li Luo had stopped talking, she finally smoothed out the emotions in her heart, forcing herself back into that icy state. Her red lips parted slightly, and a clear, cold voice emerged, like a mountain stream flowing through in the early morning, carrying a heart-penetrating chill: "I myself am extremely compatible with the Holy Ice Seed, but Lv Ruyan is not far behind, so she has never given up. At the same time, there are people behind her supporting her, and this involves some of the internal struggles within the Lv Branch."

"This time we came to the Heavenly Mirror Pagoda for the 'Frost God Water'. It is an ancient divine water passed down from the Faceless Holy Sect, and it greatly enhances ice-phase affinity. If Lv Ruyan obtains the 'Frost God Water', her compatibility with the Holy Ice Seed will also increase significantly, and at that point she will infinitely close the gap with me. With this opportunity, the faction behind her will be able to use it to contend with my father, fighting for control of the Lv Branch."

"'Frost God Water'?" Li Luo muttered, then patted his chest and said, "I'll help you obtain this thing."

Lv Qing'er said indifferently, "If I obtain this thing, I will almost be able to fully inherit the Holy Ice Seed. At that time, I will completely freeze my heart and sever emotions, sealing away all stray thoughts. But perhaps such an outcome is not bad either."

Li Luo's smile instantly stiffened, and he said, "That's not what I meant."

Lv Qing'er said calmly, "It doesn't matter. Such an outcome is inevitable and bound to happen sooner or later. Only after I went to the Golden Dragon Mountain did I realize that, regardless of my own wishes, I already carry many things on my shoulders. The Holy Ice Seed is my opportunity, and also my shackles."

Li Luo was briefly silent, then said, "Is there no way to avoid that kind of outcome?"

Lv Qing'er countered, "Why avoid it? For me, it might actually be a bit easier this way, and it won't cause you any more trouble or distress."

Li Luo opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything. He knew that Lv Qing'er liked him; this feeling had sprouted back in their days at the South Wind Academy, but he was unable to give her a response.

So he could only make clear his relationship with Jiang Jiang Qinge, and Lv Qing'er indicated she understood. Thus she chose to go with the flow, relying on the Holy Ice Seed to freeze her heart and sever emotions, while also cutting off these feelings of her own, allowing their relationship to return to that of ordinary friends.

Such an outcome might be the best for them.

But...

If it were so, that once lively and mischievous girl would be completely transformed into ten-thousand-year-old glacial ice, and her face would never again show that once radiant smile.

And all of this was because of him.

So at this moment Li Luo suddenly felt that he really was a good-for-nothing bastard who ruined people's lives.

As if sensing Li Luo's suddenly sinking mood, even though Lv Qing'er's emotions were currently filled with frost, a trace of reluctance still surfaced in her eyes. She said softly, "Li Luo, this has nothing to do with you. You haven't done anything wrong. It's just some youthful foolishness of mine back then. Besides, whether you were in the picture or not, I would still inherit the Holy Ice Seed. I knew this from the moment I returned to the Golden Dragon Mountain."

"So, before inheriting the Holy Ice Seed, being able to have these memories is actually something that makes me happy. Otherwise, wouldn't it be too pathetic if, before freezing my heart and severing emotions, I hadn't even experienced what it felt like to like someone?" On her frost-flowing cheeks, a faint smile appeared at this moment.

Li Luo was speechless. Although she was smiling, her words were so heavy they felt suffocating.

Both of them fell silent.

Time quietly slipped away.

Suddenly, a resounding bell chime came from the Inner Shenzhou Saint Academies war zone in the distance—the Crossing Battle had ended.

Li Luo looked at the light stele. On it, the Saint Mist Academy team led by Lv Ruyan had directly seized the brilliant achievement of first place among the Inner Shenzhou Saint Academies, and the top ten on the light stele were all led by Seventh Rank Marquis Realm powerhouses.

Lv Ruyan was in high spirits. Her gaze shot from afar, sharp and piercing, aimed at Lv Qing'er.

And Lv Qing'er, in a very foul mood, returned an equally icy gaze.

The eyes of the two women met, and even the air seemed to turn freezing cold.

In the end, Lv Ruyan disdainfully curled her rosy little mouth, turned around, and led her group away.