Chapter 149: Meanwhile, Wang Rui is Working Overtime (2)

Sometimes, Wang Rui felt that his job was no different from those simulation management games where you build something from scratch.

...Except in games, buildings would instantly appear with a biu, and NPCs wouldn't give him high blood pressure.

"…(Dried mud)… Land-dwelling soul beasts fought by the river, damaging the plants, severely affecting daily life…"

Expressionless, Wang Rui stamped the document from the Blue Catfish King with a fire-attributed claw print, indicating it needed a complete rewrite. Then, he pulled out another report—this one about a newly established soul guidance laboratory embezzling funds.

—Radiant Glowing Gold was primarily used for carving the cores of light-attributed soul tools, so what exactly was this lab trying to make that required two whole tons of it?

The Gold Wolf King in charge of the lab must have been craving it himself!

Eat, eat, eat—that's all you know! The three-eyed golden lion let out a cold snort, ruthlessly burning a charred claw mark into the paper with fire-attributed soul power.

"…Rui Beast?" Ice Emperor asked from the side.

Wang Rui was feeling a little irritable.

Partly because of the endless reports, but also because he really didn't know how to answer Ice Emperor's question.

He couldn't just say, Your bestie foolishly swung her Emperor Sword at me, got her arm crushed by Di Tian, had her ultimate move broken by my father, suffered severe injuries, and in the end, I manipulated her into becoming a six-year-old girl's personal granny.

It wasn't until Ice Emperor, unable to hold back, asked again that he finally answered without looking up, "There was some misunderstanding. Ice Sky Snow Woman attacked me directly, and Di Tian only retaliated appropriately."

"Are you okay?" The Skydream Iceworm asked nervously. He had never faced Snow Emperor directly and wasn't familiar with her domineering nature. In his simple worldview, there wasn't a single soul beast that would dare attack the Emperor Rui Beast.

Ice Emperor's face also changed.

She instinctively wanted to argue, but knowing Snow Emperor's personality—absolute and unwavering—it wasn't impossible that she would take action against the Rui Beast. In the end, she clenched her teeth and asked, "…Then what about Xue'er? Was she injured?"

Wang Rui glanced at her in surprise.

She genuinely cared about Snow Emperor.

Ice Emperor suddenly felt a surge of irritation. The three-eyed golden lion's gaze carried a certain patience, as if he were indulging a naive child. But under this roof, she had no choice but to endure.

"She's alive. I made a promise." Wang Rui picked up another document and answered concisely.

"But—" Ice Emperor still didn't believe that Snow Emperor had won the battle.

Summoning a blizzard in the Extreme North was not difficult. However, for Di Tian to summon such a terrifying celestial anomaly there—one that plunged the world into darkness—no matter how much she idolized Snow Emperor, she wouldn't think she had the upper hand.

Ice Emperor's tone sank. "Snow Emperor was already on the verge of her tribulation. If she was injured, it would bring her calamity forward! Rui Beast, you can't go back on your word, or I—"

"Ice Emperor!" The Skydream Iceworm's eyes widened as if he wanted to pounce on her and cover her mouth.

Seeing how much she worried about Snow Emperor, the three-eyed golden lion let out a long sigh.

It was ironic. As a human, Wang Rui had never liked the superficiality of human relationships. But after becoming a soul beast, he found himself wishing these beasts, who merely wore human skins, would adopt some level of human tact.

Besides, Di Tian's reckless clash with Snow Emperor's ultimate move had cost him dearly. Even with the Emerald Swan's help and Wang Rui's accumulated celestial treasures, his frostbitten claws still hadn't fully healed. The rest could only be left to time.

Thinking about Di Tian's injured claws, Wang Rui's irritation flared again.

"You worry so much about Snow Emperor, but I wonder—does she hold you in the same regard?" His voice lost a bit of its courtesy.

Wang Rui could have easily fooled Ice Emperor, whose thinking wasn't the sharpest. But right now, the three-eyed golden lion was simply too annoyed—he wanted to provoke her.

With that, he ruthlessly burned a hole in a request from Gu City for further research into "neurotoxic compounds capable of inducing lovesickness."

—This project had no future at all. The Douluo Continent already had too many people with innate lovesick constitutions. No such poison was necessary.

"Snow Emperor has already found a way to safely pass her tribulation. But it seems she hasn't told you?"

The golden lion smirked as he lifted his head, his gaze locked onto Ice Emperor's green silhouette.

"You—if Snow Emperor had found a way to overcome her tribulation, she wouldn't have kept it from me!" Ice Emperor retorted.

"Well…" Wang Rui wanted to flick his tail but remembered that Huo Yuqing was holding onto it, so he forcefully held back.

"Since we're already in the same boat, I don't want any misunderstandings to affect our cooperation. Snow Emperor did indeed find a method. She found a nearly 100,000-year-old Ice Glacier Snow Lotus."

"A 100,000-year-old snow lotus does have immense energy, but it's nowhere near enough to resist a high-rank soul beast tribulation. Eating it would be suicide—it would trigger the calamity immediately before she could even absorb its power. At least come up with a more believable lie." Ice Emperor scoffed.

"Snow Emperor doesn't plan to eat the snow lotus." The Emperor Rui Beast pulled out another document.

"Perhaps you don't know this, but plant-type soul beasts don't just appear out of nowhere. For a celestial herb to develop intelligence and cultivate for 100,000 years is exponentially harder than for a regular plant-type soul beast… That snow lotus is about to take human form."

"I see!" The Skydream Iceworm suddenly understood. "A celestial herb's energy is pure, its nature highly malleable, and its mind a blank slate… Snow Emperor's spiritual power is extremely strong. She's probably planning to seize the undeveloped embryo of the snow lotus the moment it transforms, compressing her own strength into its martial soul and forcibly merging with it. That way, she wouldn't need a second martial soul as a vessel—unlike how we fused with Xiao Yuqing. It's a more aggressive method, but also more dangerous. However, since she would be in full control, the snow lotus wouldn't retain any will of its own."

The Iceworm clicked his tongue. "This method is risky. If she mistimes it, she'll be completely helpless, unable to resist or escape. Anyone who finds her in that state would be able to… well, take a bite out of her, so to speak. I wouldn't dare try it."

Ice Emperor's expression darkened.

She suddenly realized something but instinctively resisted the thought.

Moments ago, when Skydream Iceworm had mentioned her obtaining the snow lotus and reincarnating instead, for just an instant—she had considered it.

If she could think that way, what about Snow Emperor?

Wang Rui quietly observed the phantom of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion.

Snow Emperor must have already had a plan for transcending the tribulation. At the very least, that Snow Lotus couldn't have been something she found at the last minute. As the ruler of the Extreme North, even if her grasp of the region was only half as strong as Wang Rui's understanding of the Star Dou Forest, she would have undoubtedly discovered that Snow Lotus long ago.

Plant-type soul beasts don't just appear out of nowhere.

Yet, the Ice Emperor, who considered herself Snow Emperor's best friend, had displayed an excessive amount of concern. In the original timeline, she had been completely unaware of Snow Emperor's plans. Now, she was even willing to give up an opportunity for survival for the sake of her friend, despite knowing nothing about Snow Emperor's intentions.

Regardless of what Snow Emperor truly intended, one thing was clear—when it came to matters of life and death, she did not fully trust the Ice Emperor. She hadn't revealed even the slightest hint of her plan, which meant that their emotional investment… was completely unequal.

As someone who was once human, Wang Rui could understand why Snow Emperor wouldn't trust anyone with something as critical as her survival. But the Ice Emperor was more sincere, more emotionally pure… She saw things in black and white. Would she be able to accept such a reality?

The more one cares, the greater the harm caused by even a sliver of distrust.

If he were to expose this fact now, even the slightest crack in the bond between Snow Emperor and the Ice Emperor would ensure that he no longer had to worry about the Ice Emperor siding with Snow Girl in the future.

With cold detachment, he scrutinized the emotions between the Ice Emperor and Snow Emperor, searching for something he could exploit. Wang Rui acknowledged that his actions were somewhat despicable, but he had too much at stake. He had to use every possible method to guarantee his success.

The only thing left was to see how much charm Huo Yuqing could wield—though, that was the part Wang Rui was least concerned about.

"The process of reincarnation is indeed dangerous, but you don't have to worry."

The golden lion-dragon had already guessed what she was thinking, but he deliberately misinterpreted her expression. A subtle smile appeared on his face, though, given that no one present was particularly adept at reading lion-like microexpressions, no one realized that his tone was less sincere than his words suggested.

He was happy to add another burden onto the Ice Emperor's shoulders.

"The Ice Bear King, who had been roaming the northern borders of the Extreme North, has already returned to Snow Emperor's snowy mountain residence. I suspect that Snow Emperor has chosen the Ice Bear King as her guardian. From what I've heard, she raised the Ice Bear King herself, so there's no doubt he'll protect her and ensure she successfully reincarnates."

The Ice Emperor's expression darkened instantly.

Xue'er had clearly been preparing this method of transcending the tribulation for a long time—this was not something that could have been arranged overnight. And yet, she hadn't breathed a single word of it to her?

Did she see her as no different from any other soul beast in the Extreme North?

Even that dimwitted white bear knew about it before she did! Was she really beneath that fool in Xue'er's heart?

What am I thinking?

The Ice Emperor quickly suppressed the inexplicable resentment rising within her and forced herself to shift her thoughts.

She should be happy that Xue'er had found a way to survive.

She glared at Wang Rui with a hint of hostility. "You're just saying things without proof. When can I see Xue'er?"

Wang Rui lifted his head, gazing in the direction of the Extreme North. The blood-red Eye of Fate on his forehead closed and then reopened.

A vast and chaotic weave of threads and mist—manifestations of fate—intertwined before him.

In the direction of the Extreme North, the brightest mist, representing Snow Emperor, was beginning to dissipate, merging into another burgeoning platinum-colored aura. Nearby, the Ice Bear's mist lingered as well.

A clear thread of causality linked Wang Rui to a newly forming embryo in the distant north.

Well, since he had interfered in Snow Emperor's reincarnation, it was impossible for him to escape unscathed.

Wang Rui smirked internally.

"You'll see her soon. Once the Beast Sect Council ends, I'll head to the Extreme North to bring Snow Emperor back to the Star Dou Forest, where she'll be under my protection until she safely completes her reincarnation."

The Ice Emperor locked eyes with him for a long moment. Eventually, she begrudgingly nodded before transforming into a streak of emerald light and disappearing into Huo Yuqing's body.

"Rui Beast, she…" Tianmeng Iceworm hesitated, seemingly wanting to say something in defense of his beloved scorpion. However, Wang Rui cut him off.

"Just focus on your own affairs."

The golden feline looked at him with pity, shaking his head.

Tianmeng Iceworm choked on his words and, looking somewhat deflated, disappeared as well.

"Wow, Rui Beast, you're truly devious," a sharp-tailed swift suddenly flew in, landing on the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's horn. It chirped teasingly.

"Thanks for the compliment," Wang Rui said indifferently. "Oh, by the way, I have an idea that might let you see Ma Hongjun sooner."

Bai Chenxiang dug her claws into her perch, trying to keep her voice steady. "What idea?"

"It's not guaranteed to work—just a preliminary concept. But I think it's worth a shot."

As he spoke, a soul tool hanging from his horn flickered, and a bowl-sized black stone floated out. "Here, take this."

Bai Chenxiang swooped down to catch the black stone, her small, feathered body sinking under its weight. Damn it, she was a hundred-thousand-year-old sharp-tailed swift!

"…Lovesick Heartbroken Red?!" she shrieked.

"Yeah." Wang Rui yawned lazily. "This thing doesn't have many uses, but it can conceal a soul beast's aura, enhance cultivation, and aid in the transformation of flesh and blood. Since you were originally human, you cultivate much faster than soul beasts. Your cultivation is already close to two hundred thousand years, so consuming this should allow you to achieve perfect transformation."

"But in ten thousand years, counting the mother plant from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and what we've cultivated in our medicine garden, there have only been six of these, right…? And you're just giving one to me?"

Bai Chenxiang recognized this as the oldest piece of Black Absolute Stone—the most potent one.

"Remember to revert to your past appearance," Wang Rui instructed. "Preferably, how you looked when you first met Ma Hongjun."

Bai Chenxiang's beady eyes were filled with confusion.

"I only just realized that the threads of causality between gods and their descendants in the mortal world can be manipulated," Wang Rui said. "If, at the right moment, we amplify the connection between them, it may even allow a god in the Divine Realm to sense the condition of their descendant in the human world."

"And then?" Bai Chenxiang seemed to have an inkling of what he was suggesting.

"There is one person in this world who still shares a bloodline connection with Ma Hongjun."

Ma Xiaotao and Ma Hongjun had the same martial soul and were officially recognized as relatives by Shrek Academy. However, the causality between them was so weak that it was almost negligible.

But that didn't matter. Right here sat a three-eyed lion capable of manipulating fate—perhaps even…

"Get close to Ma Xiaotao. Become her best friend, love her, guide her—and when she's on the brink of death, sacrifice yourself for her."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's Eye of Fate glowed a deep, blood-like red.

"I bet Ma Hongjun won't stand idly by when he senses that happening. And Ma Xiaotao, with her Phoenix martial soul, is already nearly a Soul Saint before turning twenty—a natural heir to the Phoenix God."

"What do you think Ma Hongjun will do?"

He gazed at the violet mist swirling along the wooden walls and smiled at Bai Chenxiang.