Chapter 1657, Aftermath

-Pure Ice Island-

Inside a rebuilt ice palace, all the leaders of Ice Heart Valley gathered.

Luo Li sat at the head of the hall with Bing Long, Ran Yun Ting, and the other Elders all sitting to either side of her while one Elder was reporting on the progress of restoring the various barriers and Spirit Arrays on the island.

The last shocking battle had destroyed almost every barrier around Pure Ice Island, so the disciples had been busy repairing all of them until today, when they finally finished.

However, the collapsed ice peaks could never be returned to their former glory. Fortunately, the disciples had all evacuated early so there were no casualties, the only bit of good news from the entire incident.

Luo Li kept her eyes closed until the Elder finished her report before gently nodding but not speaking.

Bing Long glanced at her, then turned to look at another person and asked, “Thirteenth Elder, is there any news about that person?”

Hearing this, Thirteenth Elder Yu Xue Qing shook her head solemnly, “No, we looked for him for an entire year before but never found any trace of him. If he had not shown up at that time of his own accord, we might still be unable to find him. This time, if he wants to deliberately conceal his location, there is nothing we can do to find him.”

“En!” Bing Long sighed.

“There’s no need to look for him!” Luo Li suddenly opened her eyes and said lightly.

“Supreme Elder…”

“He doesn’t want us to find him, so how could we? Besides, after such a battle, he must be busy healing.”

“Healing?” Bing Long and the others raised their brows as they looked a little surprised, but they quickly understood, “What Supreme Elder means is…”

“He used a power far beyond his own means, so he clearly must have paid a heavy price as well,” Luo Li said lightly.

“So, he’s currently wounded?” Ran Yun Ting’s eyes lit up and a hint of eagerness flashed across her face, “If that is the case, then we could…”

Before she could finish her words, however, Luo Li suddenly opened her eyes and shot her a cold glare, causing Ran Yun Ting to immediately fall silent, unable to speak a word.

“My Ice Heart Valley enduring until this day has not been easy, and my most earnest wish is not to make Ice Heart Valley rise, but to ensure our ancestral foundation is not destroyed. Do you understand?” Luo Li’s beautiful eyes swept around, revealing an endless majesty.

Everyone shivered as they understood the meaning of Luo Li’s words, quickly getting up and respectfully saying, “Disciple understands.”

“As long as you understand, don’t go provoking disaster for Ice Heart Valley.”

Ran Yun Ting’s face turned pale as she tremblingly spoke, “Disciple knows her wrongs!”

Luo Li nodded lightly, satisfied with her attitude, before suddenly smiling, “Let all those who we sent out to look for him return, he will come back on his own eventually.”

“He’ll come back?” One Elder’s complexion changed drastically. The day Yang Kai killed Luo Hai in battle, he had truly frightened them, so the thought that he would return to Pure Ice Island again at some point suddenly made them a little nervous.

Bing Long seemed to understand and smiled, “He left someone here on Pure Ice Island, so naturally he’ll come back for her.”

Ran Yun Ting thought for a while before positing, “Valley Master means that disciple named Qing Ya?”

“En, Qing Ya and Su Yan joined Ice Heart Valley together and share a very close relationship, so even if Yang Kai doesn’t want to return, Su Yan will definitely come back.”

“Should we try talking to Qing Ya?” Ran Yun Ting frowned.

“This Queen has already tried to speak with her a few days ago,” Bing Long gave a wry smile.

“Oh? And what did she say? Does she know the whereabouts of Yang Kai and Su Yan or what Yang Kai’s attitude towards our Ice Heart Valley is?” Ran Yun Ting asked.

“Although this Queen went to find her, she was unable to meet her,” A slightly embarrassed look appeared on Bing Long’s face.

“What happened?” All the Elders were surprised.

“Yang Kai left that stone man to guard her. When this Queen tried to approach, she was beaten back by that stone man,” Bing Long explained with a wry smile and some slight fear on her face. “If it wasn’t for Qing Ya hastily stopping it at that time, this Queen may have been wounded.”

“That stone man is so strong?” Ran Yun Ting’s face changed drastically.

She too had seen the stone man. When she ordered Bing Die to kill Qing Ya, it was the stone man who protected Qing Ya, but at that time, all her attention was focused on Yang Kai and Su Yan, so she hadn’t paid much attention to this strange creature.

Now, however, from Bing Long’s description, it seemed this stone man was quite extraordinary in its own right.

“In a head-on confrontation, I am not its opponent,” Bing Long declared solemnly.

Gasps sounded throughout the hall.

Bing Long was the strongest master among all of Ice Heart Valley’s Origin Returning Realm cultivators. Even taking all of Scarlet Wave Star into consideration, she was one of the greatest masters, but if even she was not this stone man’s opponent, didn’t that mean it was close to an Origin King in strength?

Just what kind of existence was it?

Everyone turned their eyes to Luo Li, hoping that she could enlighten them.

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know the origins of that stone man either. Perhaps it is a puppet that survived since ancient times, or perhaps it is an independent lifeform of some kind.”

[Even Supreme Elder does not know what it is?] Everyone was shocked. They always thought Supreme Elder was almost omnipotent, but today, that illusion was broken.

And the root of all of this was none other than Yang Kai.

“That disciple called Qing Ya must still hold some gratitude in her heart towards Ice Heart Valley, otherwise, she wouldn’t have stopped that stone man from attacking Bing Long. Don’t bother her anymore, just ask someone to attend to her needs. Yang Kai and Su Yan will come here again and take her away soon enough.”

“Yes!” Bing Long nodded respectfully.

“When he appears next time… make sure not to act disrespectful again!” Luo Li left this sentence before her figure flickered and suddenly disappeared.

The Elders all exchanged silent glances before they dispersed, leaving only Ran Yun Ting behind, who was still wallowing in endless regret.

…..

Inside the Sealed World Bead, in the loft where Xia Ning Chang lived before, Yang Kai and Su Yan sat cross-legged across from one another, their palms overlapping.

Saint Qi flowed between the two of them and blended together, forming a profound and endless cycle.

Both of their faces were slightly pale.

The battle with Luo Hai might have seemed simple and easy, but in order to use such terrifying power, both Yang Kai and Su Yan had paid a huge price.

It was for this reason that after that great battle, Yang Kai left Ice Heart Valley immediately, not even stopping to pick up Qing Ya, and went to find a place to recover.

Luo Li’s insight was quite sharp.

Fortunately, he had only used the Star Emperor Token after joining forces with Su Yan, so even though the cost paid was enormous, with the two of them sharing the burden, it was not unbearable.

Yang Kai felt quite lucky.

If Su Yan had not shared the burden with him this time, and he had instead used the Star Emperor Token all on his own, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

The power of the Great Emperor was not something he could bear.

Around the two of them, Saint Crystal Sources were scattered, and several empty jade bottles lay nearby, all the pills inside of them already taken.

Pure energy poured into the two of them as they carefully healed their wounds. As time passed, their complexions gradually recovered and the fluctuations in their auras slowly stabilized.

One day, Yang Kai exhaled a long breath and opened his eyes.

Facing him were Su Yan’s beautiful eyes.

The two smiled at each other. After more than three months of healing, they had finally recovered.

“Junior Brother, did you break through?” Su Yan eyes flashed with a hint of surprise.

“It seems so,” Yang Kai only then realized the changes he had undergone.

Before the battle with Luo Hai, he had reached the peak of the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm, and after the first battle, he had broken through and reached the Third-Order.

Truthfully, he didn’t even know when he broke through. It may have been that the Great Emperor’s divine might was too great, so when he took it into his body, it shattered his bottleneck all on its own without him realizing.

Moreover, his current cultivation was extremely stable, so Yang Kai did not need to spend any time consolidating it.

“You did as well,” Yang Kai looked at Su Yan and suddenly found that her cultivation realm was the same as his own, having reached the Third-Order as well.

Su Yan smiled.

The light from the entire world seemed to gather on Su Yan, making her look even more noble and glamorous.

Yang Kai could not help staring for a while before stretching out his hand to hold hers, his emotions rising rapidly, “Su Yan…”

Su Yan blushed, naturally aware of what he was thinking, and managed to mutter haltingly, “Honored Master and everyone else are waiting outside.”

Yang Kai released his Divine Sense to investigate and quickly discovered that his acquaintances and friends had already heard the news and were now waiting outside.

The masters of the Human, Monster, and Demon races were waiting silently outside the loft.

Yang Kai scratched his cheeks for a moment before making up his mind and grinning, “They’ve waited for so long already, there’s no need to rush out and see them.”

Saying so, he leapt like a wolf onto Su Yan and pinned her to the ground.

…..

When the loft door opened, Yang Kai and Su Yan appeared in front of Ling Tai Xu and the others.

Everyone ran forward and asked about their situation, while Xia Ning Chang’s beautiful eyes were filled with anxiety and concern.

On that day, Yang Kai and Su Yan suddenly appeared inside the Sealed World Bead, with both their auras fluctuating wildly, as if they had been seriously injured. Naturally, Xia Ning Chang was shocked and quickly arranged a place for them to heal their injuries while at the same time spreading the news.

That was three months ago, and only now had the two of them emerged.

“Yang Kai, are you two all right?” Ling Tai Xu asked first.

“I’ve worried Grand Master unnecessarily; Disciple is fine now.”

“Smelly brat, you almost worried… your mother to death!” Yang Ying Feng also breathed a sigh of relief. Originally, he wanted to say that he was worried, but feeling like that would make him lose face, he quickly pushed that charge onto Dong Su Zhu.

Dong Su Zhu stood beside Yang Ying Feng, biting her red lips, her nose sniffling slightly as big tears threatened to leak from her eyes, seemingly wanting to cry but not daring to make a sound.

“Mother, don’t worry. I’m fine, really,” Yang Kai grinned and thumped his chest strongly to prove he was healthy.

Seeing this, Dong Su Zhu finally could not hold back and began weeping loudly.

If it were not for the presence of so many people, she would likely have rushed forward, embraced her son into her arms, and refused to let go for some time.

“Little Brat!” Yang Ying Feng became irritated and glared at Yang Kai.

“Why are you shouting? Who said you could shout!” Dong Su Zhu punched him with her pair of delicate fists, “Why are you shouting at my son!”

Yang Ying Feng’s face turned dark, thinking, [He’s not just your son but mine too! And he wouldn’t lose anything from being shouted at a bit!]

The entire matter quickly became noisy.

However, depressed as he was from all the injustice, Yang Ying Feng knew not to say anything and simply allowed Dong Su Zhu to punch him, not daring to move away.