"I have my ways to test this kid!"

Facing the teasing from the six elders, the Grand Elder left his shattered seat and walked up to Juxi, placing his right hand on his shoulder as he asked, "Do you have a definite plan for curing the princess of our country, or are you just playing tricks on everyone present?"

"I am fully aware of the significance of this matter, how could I dare to play around?"

Although young, Juxi had Dragon Spirit backing him up, so he wouldn't back down easily.

"Good awareness. Then... take this palm strike from me!"

The Grand Elder suddenly unleashed a palm strike with a power enough to shatter Juxi's spiritual body into pieces, the Ice Poison Palm!

"This move, the Ice Poison Palm, is our clan's secret skill. It was bestowed upon me by the previous emperor I served. If you can withstand it, I will acknowledge your ability!"

The terrifying cold poison rapidly spread from Juxi's shoulder throughout his body!

In a flash, frost began to form around his neck.

Beside Juxi, Long Ling took out a Dragon Ball, releasing Dragon Qi in a controlled manner around him, and within ten seconds, Juxi returned to normal.

Not only the Grand Elder, even the Ice King Bei Dou and the Prime Minister Tian Ti were shocked. The elders sitting below exchanged glances and whispered among themselves.

The elders present could be described as having mixed feelings; the one most anxious was Tian Ti, sitting in the Prime Minister's seat.

His teeth clenched, his expression seemed as if he wanted to devour Juxi along with that space.

However, the Grand Elder and the Ice King were ecstatic, especially the Grand Elder, who immediately abandoned his high status, crouched down, and placed both hands on Juxi's shoulders, not emitting any domineering power but instead kindly greeting him.

"Young brother, you are truly outstanding. It is said that aspiration knows no age. We old fellows have practiced the Ice Poison Palm for so many years, sigh! In the end, we couldn't even solve it ourselves."

Hearing the Grand Elder's self-reproach, Juxi couldn't help but feel secretly delighted.

He leaned close to the Grand Elder's ear and whispered softly, a smirk on his face, "Grand Elder, your sincerity is truly touching, unlike some people..."

Some people?

The Grand Elder glanced sideways at the Prime Minister's seat, and suddenly realized the terrified looks on Tian Ti and the six elders beside him, "Oh, young brother, I understand your meaning now. You may rest assured!"

"Then Juxi takes his leave from the senior Elder!"

Thinking back on the Prime Minister's expression, it seems Juxi is going to have a tough time before searching for the Ice Fierce Beast!

"Hehe, you little rascal truly live up to being my disciple. Don't try to hide anything from me, you want the Grand Elder to block Tian Ti, choosing the Grand Elder in Nandou Mountain was the right decision."

Juxi lounged leisurely on a tree branch outside the city, a piece of salted fish jerky in his mouth, asking, "The right decision? How so?"

Kneeling next to Juxi in the air, Long Ling sat close to him, mysteriously pointing his thumb downward towards the direction of the Ice Crystal Palace, where a group of people on horseback was flying towards the Ice Rugged Valley.

Is that guy finally going to make a move?

(Capital)

"Oh? Is Martial Heaven preparing to conquer the rebellious small countries?"

The silver-haired man reclined on the rocking chair, studying the military action routes laid out in front of him.

"I didn't expect you to observe quite carefully... Hm? Is the West Province also among the targets for the Holy Divine Army's conquest?"

"Yes."

"Then you better see what these narrow-minded fools can really achieve!"

(West Province Great Plains)

"The food here is really delicious!"

Wearing a purple dragon robe, the middle-aged man sat there delicately savoring the 'delicacy' of unknown origin and let out a satisfied exclamation.

"Mmm, delicious! So delicious!"

The people around had no idea why His Holiness would spend his days indulging in such strange foods, yet hesitated to give the order to attack, causing numerous complaints to ripple through the camp.

"Could it be true? His Holiness conquered the three empires just for the sake of the delicious food here?"

The guards stationed at His Holiness's command headquarters were starting to lose their patience.

Bishop Ares, seeing the chaos in people's hearts, had to reprimand, "What do you know? His Holiness would never be swayed by something so trivial..."

"No, you underestimate me too much, my dear Ares. I have indeed come here for the food."

With that, he stuck out his tongue, licked the juice seeping from his lips, and ignored Ares, continuing to give instructions to Hodis.

"High Priest!"

"Here I am!"

Hodis fell to his knees with a thud before the stern sky, awaiting orders.

The sound of demonic origin, symbolizing evil and greed in the darkness, echoed throughout the entire camp for a long time.

"Go! Fetch...No, capture some food and bring it back, hahaha!"

The Ice Cold Valley was located in the northern region of the Ice Crystal Empire, less than ten kilometers from the main city. The Ice Cold Valley had appeared in the Ancient Sacred Domain over 180,000 years ago and was under the jurisdiction of the spiritual beasts, where humans had no right to interfere.

If Juxi wanted to extract the essence of the Ice Cold Beast's birthing period, it would indeed require considerable effort.

In a flicker of shadow, a figure appeared at the top of the valley, where the people and horses from the Ice Crystal Empire seemed to be observing someone's figure.

The corners of Juxi's mouth twitched slightly, and the tension on his face could not be relaxed at all.

"It seems I was right; Tian Ti has indeed sent someone to take my life."

Reflecting on the recent danger, Juxi sighed in relief. If they hadn't taken a short break, the enemy might still have been lying in wait in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Don't get too pleased. So what if you know? They are a total of nineteen people, with the highest reaching the Intermediate Nine Hearts level, and the lowest at least at a Transcendent level. You'd be doomed if you die!"

Even though he understood the enemy's motives clearly, the gap in strength left him clueless on how to proceed, making Long Ling shake his head in despair.

"Hmph, we can use illusion mist to create illusions, changing into my appearance to confuse them, right?"

"The snow is perfect for cleansing their sins."

As Juxi proposed the idea, brilliant and transparent snowflakes began to drift down from the sky, as if they had long been prepared to shield Juxi for this operation.

"Ah! Just cleanse your own neck and let them slaughter you. What difference can snow make? The Nine Hearts' spiritual perception will instantly pierce through our deception..."

"Whoa whoa whoa!"

Juxi interrupted Long Ling's various impractical explanations with a mysterious gesture and pointed towards the depths of the Ice Cold Valley, where the Ice Cold Beast's habitat was located.

"No need to deliberately deceive them; just lure them into the cave!"

"Aha! I understand, Master."

"Just under..."

As Juxi was feeling triumphant, a chestnut came flying towards his head, catching him off guard.

"One more thing," the image of the girl warned Juxi in a deliberate manner, emphasizing each word.

"Never put your finger on the teacher's lips again! Don't think that just because you have a guitar on your back, you are an artist. Experience is the best teacher, so don't try to outsmart me."

The look of disbelief on Long Ling's face quickly made Juxi realize the situation, and he chuckled in response.

"Huh? Are you jealous of my intelligence?"

"Uh, well..."

"Isn't that the case?" Juxi's emotions suddenly soared, "Whether in past lives or as a savior, the protagonist, without the most awesome power or intelligence, wouldn't the legend of the underdog's counterattack be the greatest masterpiece of all time!"

Watching Juxi indulging himself and dancing in place, Long Ling, with a worried expression, gently patted his head, offering comforting sympathy.

"No illness, my disciple? Just spouting a lot of nonsense... and the protagonist, you're at most a pig's hind leg! Hahaha!"

The girl mischievously sent a handful of invisible rocks flying towards his forehead and out of reach, provoking him to stomp in frustration.

"Hehe!"

Long Ling blinked her eyes and teasingly mocked Juxi, "You do have a little bit of a male lead aura, I must say."

"What bit?"

Long Ling occasionally would praise herself, finding it rarer and more unique than wonders.

"Oh, just... adding Inni this time, anyway, take your pick!"

A wicked grin crept onto the corners of Long Ling's smiling lips.

"How about it? Something to consider!"

After a long pause, Juxi blushed and finally leaped up, exclaiming,

"What? Just three!"

"Ah! Do you need four more? Me?"

Despite being as old as the hills, Long Ling still swayed her hips playfully like a young girl, making suggestive gestures, but in such a beautiful setting, the shocking age gap between her and Juxi was starkly apparent, even greater than his own grandmother's.

"Don't underestimate me. A human-shaped spirit in a spirit body is quite rare."

Long Ling's face glowed with a peculiar radiance, tinged with a hint of resignation, as she waved her hand coyly.

"And, I'm still a virgin! Ugh!"

Not having traveled through the mainland, Juxi naturally didn't understand the meaning of a spirit body, and Long Ling never brought it up either, as he had no interest in the matter, but the mention of being a virgin...

he had heard about, and such coyness made him lose all interest in other aspects.

Juxi was finally so disgusted that he vomited up his breakfast.

"So, remember..."

The former emphasized solemnly.

"Old things will eventually be despised, leading to betrayal and change."

Just like when someone stays around for too long, their trusted confidant becomes unwilling to play the fool and resorts to this treacherous trick – betrayal, the trusted one changes allegiance.

(In the depths of the Ice Cold Valley)

"Uh, why hasn't that guy shown up yet?"

In the coldest part of the Plain Continent, the Ice Cold Valley, the extremely cold weather made the stragglers among the assassins struggle to withstand the hunger and cold, nearly passing out.

"Boss, it's better to finish the job at this point; that kid probably won't last long. Even if the Lord of the City personally takes action, it might not be enough to handle the Ice Cold Beast! What's more the kid?"

The straggler pulled back his frostbitten and deformed thumb, ready to retreat with the others. As for Juxi, there was indeed a gap in strength, but after hearing this, the mercenary leader Gia Dan Dong, hesitated.

"Smack!"

Gia Dan Dong's palm struck the little monkey's face, turning it into a pig's head immediately, bruised and swollen.

"Is your face cold under all that thickness? Need me to add some more?"

Gia Dan Dong sternly stared at the straggler, who quickly used snow on the ground to soothe his face, holding his burning cheeks, apologizing with a forced smile.

"Hehe, Boss, see, I'm not hurt... cold, I'm not cold anymore."

The rearmost of the march waved and patted his swollen cheek to signal his satisfaction before getting back to the main point.

To boost morale, he brandished his great sword and growled in a low voice, "If we can't even handle such trivial matters well, once that noble finds out, our reputations as disciples will be tarnished, and we'll be left out in the cold! Don't forget, earning the title of the best mercenary group in Ice City wasn't easy! If we've taken someone's money, we must deliver results!"

"Isn't it just the first and only mercenary group founded by oneself in Ice City?!"

A contemptuous voice pierced through Nadan Dong's boasting.

"Who dares talk back to me? Come out and face me!"

Nadan Dong, the boss and master of the group, erupted in anger, determined to regain his dignity!

But the others just exchanged puzzled looks, seemingly unaware.

"Oh? Which noble are you referring to?"

Suddenly, that eerie voice echoed among them again. Nadan Dong's eyes widened in horror as he turned to see the shadowy figure smirking and answering his own question.

"Could it be Lord Tianti, the Chancellor?"