Zhou Sichen had expanded his Spiritual Detection to the fullest extent and had been searching for three whole hours. By now, the sun was high in the sky, but he showed no signs of stopping.
Finally, as he approached a canyon, he noticed something unusual.
This area was already at the heart of the Sunset Forest. A faint green poisonous mist hung in the air. Although thin, the toxicity it carried was terrifying.
But Zhou Sichen wasn't afraid. The power of his Ultimate Ice was the bane of all poisons. In fact, with the presence of Ultimate Ice, the toxic mist couldn't even get near him—it was instantly frozen the moment it approached.
From deep within the canyon, intense soul power fluctuations could be felt. Among them was an aura Zhou Sichen was all too familiar with.
"Such a pure Light element… I've found her!"
Sensing the pure, radiant aura of the Seraphim Martial Soul, Zhou Sichen finally broke into a smile.
The soul tool propulsion system on his back suddenly accelerated. Stepping on his Ice Blades, he transformed into a streak of icy blue light and dashed into the canyon.
The surrounding poisonous mist froze instantly under the terrifying chill of his Ultimate Ice, rendering it completely harmless.
Fifteen minutes later, deep inside the canyon, Zhou Sichen saw the Seraphim flying in mid-air, locked in fierce combat with a monstrous Medusa Snake Emperor, whose body was nearly ten meters long.
At that moment, the Snake Emperor's eyes shot out two beams of gray-white light directly at the airborne Seraphim.
The Seraphim remained calm and fearless, raising her golden holy sword and unleashing a terrifying slash.
"Holy Light Slash!"
Several radiant strikes followed one after another, only to be petrified by the gray-white beams.
However, the petrifying beams also weakened with each clash.
"Ice Explosion!"
Just then, Ye Guyi sensed a terrifying aura rapidly approaching. A beam of icy blue light burst forth from behind her, carrying an unimaginably frigid force that made her involuntarily furrow her brows.
Her reaction was swift. With a powerful flap of her angelic wings, she soared into the sky, narrowly avoiding both the terrifying incoming attack and the gray-white beam.
Ye Guyi's combat instincts were sharp, but this time her evasion had been unnecessary. The icy beam wasn't aimed at her—it was directed at the Medusa Snake Emperor.
Caught completely off guard by the sudden sneak attack, the Snake Emperor had no chance to react. It was instantly turned into an ice sculpture.
The terrifying Ultimate Ice invaded its body, freezing its meridians and destroying its internal organs. In just a split second, the already severely injured ten-thousand-year-old Medusa Snake Emperor was completely rendered powerless.
"Sister!"
Zhou Sichen approached, eyes blazing with emotion, as he looked up at the Seraphim high above.
The moment Ye Guyi saw Zhou Sichen, her stunning face froze in shock, then lit up with surprise.
"Sichen? What are you doing here?!"
The next instant, this goddess-like figure who usually seemed untouched by worldly concerns turned into a stream of light and dove straight down toward Zhou Sichen.
He opened his arms, and she fell right into his embrace.
Who could understand the emotions she was feeling in that moment?
Just when she was nearly at her limit, the person she had been longing for appeared at the perfect time—and saved her from danger.
The two embraced tightly. The longing from their months of separation erupted in an instant. But soon, Ye Guyi gently pulled away—this was no place to be affectionate. Danger could strike again at any moment.
"Sichen, we should first—"
Ye Guyi tried to suppress her excitement as she prepared to finish off the Medusa Snake Emperor.
But Zhou Sichen pulled her back into his arms.
"Don't worry, it can't move anymore. And I've already scanned the area—there are no other soul beasts nearby."
Seeing how tired she looked, Zhou Sichen couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
He wasn't normally a sentimental person, but he had always kept a soft spot in his heart for Ye Guyi.
Even with his body covered in Ultimate Ice, Ye Guyi could still feel the warmth of her little brother's broad chest and gentle embrace—so she didn't resist.
Though they were nominally siblings, their feelings had long since gone beyond that.
After a long while, Zhou Sichen finally released her. He retrieved a porcelain bottle from his soul tool and fed her a jade-green pill.
"This is the Hundred Blossom Jade Dew Pill Elder Zhuang gave me. Take it."
Ye Guyi didn't refuse. She slightly opened her cherry lips and swallowed the pill in one gulp.
As the pill dissolved in her stomach, a warm current spread throughout her limbs and bones, bringing some color back to her face and relieving her physical exhaustion.
Feeling the bone-chilling cold of Zhou Sichen's power and recalling how he had instantly killed the Medusa Snake Emperor, Ye Guyi was overwhelmed with both surprise and joy.
She was too smart not to understand what it meant for Zhou Sichen to appear here, and even bring such a rare pill. It clearly showed his current status within Shrek Academy.
But she wasn't entirely surprised either. As someone chosen by the Seraphim Martial Soul and now a disciple of Elder Mu, she knew that her little brother—with even greater talent than her—would be treated like a treasure at Shrek.
"Sister, I missed you so much!"
Zhou Sichen smiled warmly.
Ye Guyi playfully patted his head.
"You've grown bold, haven't you? Daring to tease me like this now."
As she spoke, her eyes glanced at Zhou Sichen's hand wrapped around her slim waist, a playful scolding glimmering in her gaze.
Zhou Sichen didn't look the slightest bit embarrassed. He'd held her before—just not this assertively.
If the inner court students saw this scene, their jaws would surely drop.
The holy, untouchable Angel Goddess, now acting like a spoiled little wife in a man's arms?
After a long while, Zhou Sichen finally let her go and stood guard while she focused on recovering her soul power.
After consuming the Hundred Blossom Jade Dew Pill, Ye Guyi meditated to restore her soul power while also using the purifying light of the Seraphim to cleanse her body of the poisonous mist.
An hour later, she opened her eyes, a glint of vitality returning. Her condition had mostly stabilized, and the toxins had been nearly cleared by the pill and her purification abilities.
She turned to look at Zhou Sichen again, and the two naturally began to chat.
Zhou Sichen told her about his first month at Shrek Academy. Ye Guyi wasn't surprised at all by his rapid progress or the amount of attention he'd received from the teachers.
After all, she had grown up constantly shocked by his monstrous talent. Now, she was just sincerely happy for him.
With only the two of them present, they spoke openly.
The truth was, both of them had come to Shrek Academy for one reason—resources.
While the Zhou family held the resources of a city, it wasn't nearly enough to nurture all four of their top talents: Zhou Sichen, Ye Guyi, Cao Jinxuan, and Long Xiangyue. And there were still many others in Tianyuan City.
The Zhou family's resources were no longer sufficient—but Shrek's were.
After all, Ye Guyi was already at Rank 55, and after joining Shrek, her soul rings were among the highest quality.
As Elder Mu's disciple, she naturally received the best resources possible.
After hearing about Zhou Sichen's recent experiences, Ye Guyi looked over at the frozen Medusa Snake Emperor.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Sichen, are you planning to bring it back for Xianmeng's fifth soul ring? I didn't expect you two to get along so well in just a few days."
Zhou Sichen chuckled and gently brushed a strand of her hair aside.
"The Zhou clan is small and weak. We'll need the new generation to support us in the future. Xianmeng has excellent talent and rare abilities. She's worth investing in."
Ye Guyi understood. If that weren't the case, she wouldn't have gotten along so well with Du Gu Xianmeng herself.
But still—
"Xianmeng?"
She gave Zhou Sichen a sweet but knowing look.
Zhou Sichen kept a straight face.
"I'm the teacher's disciple now, so I outrank her. Naturally, I can call her by name."
"Don't you agree, senior sister?"
Ye Guyi gave him a glare.
"Senior sister?"
Zhou Sichen leaned in, clinging to her like a playful wolf pup.
"Come on, my beautiful sister… don't be jealous, alright?"
Ye Guyi turned her head away with a huff.
"Jealous? I don't know what you're talking about."
****
If you want to support me or read advanced chapters (21+), consider checking out my pat.
patr*on.com/Salsita2k