Chapter 241: Blade of Ice and Will

Bing Lan Xi laughed at Lan An's outburst, amused by Advisor Tran's penchant for such tactics. Wasn't her own relationship with Lan An proof? She, too, had been the target of his charm.

"Fifth Sister is a peerless beauty, clever and sociable, admired by many geniuses in the Empire. Most importantly, she's on the Golden Ranking," Bing Lan Xi said, her breath like orchids.

Lan An snorted, playfully smacking her mischievous rear. Did this stinky woman think so little of him? He wasn't that easy.

"Let's drop that for now. I've got plenty to do without chasing skirts," Lan An said, feigning righteousness.

Bing Lan Xi pouted. This man's face was thick—moments ago, he was entangled with a Western beauty, now acting the gentleman.

"I've noticed the Palace Tree's halls filling up. Still claiming you're picky?" Bing Lan Xi teased, her voice sultry.

Lan An's gaze grew distant, adopting a roguish air. "It's a long story, full of trials. My bonds with them weren't forged for politics, unlike your Fifth Sister."

Bing Lan Xi sighed inwardly. He was right. She knew his character—he loved women purely, never for gain, especially not for Bing Yong's benefit. They let the topic fade. Bing Lan Xi felt odd pushing her husband to chase others, so she shifted gears.

"I sensed Ling'er's aura surging. You've spoiled her with treasures, haven't you?" she said.

Lan An smirked, unfazed. "Ling'er's your close maid. Of course I pamper her. Just a robe and a High Spirit-Grade dual ice-body cultivation technique."

The Heavenly Ice Myriad Forms Art, Tier 1, equated to High Spirit-Grade, blending ice spiritual power and body cultivation. Bing Ling'er was a dual ice-body cultivator.

"High Spirit-Grade?" Bing Lan Xi's eyes widened, then she glared, feigning a neglected wife's resentment. Her maid now practiced a technique superior to hers. In the Ice Mysterious Empire, only the Crown Prince and Emperors could access Spirit-Grade techniques, part of why the title was so coveted.

"Don't worry, stinky woman. Serve your husband well, and I won't skimp on you," Lan An said, patting his chest with a laugh.

"Hmph, the pet should serve his mistress," Bing Lan Xi retorted, her lush lips curling provocatively.

Lan An's heart warmed. His haughty stinky woman was back. He wrapped his arm around her willow-like waist, and they vanished.

Outside the Spirit Realm Pearl, on Dwarf Island:

"This is… Dwarf Island? Why are we here?" Bing Lan Xi asked, curious.

She'd learned from Le Wen Lian and Luo Wu that Lan An was in the Sea Continent, but Dwarf Island was unexpected.

"Ever been here?" Lan An asked, smiling.

"Never, only heard of it," Bing Lan Xi replied, her lips curving.

"I'll show you around. Buy whatever catches your eye," Lan An said, encircling her slender waist.

Bing Lan Xi smiled gently, linking her arm with his. Lan An could've shopped for her at the Lucky Shop, but their time together was scarce. He wanted memories just for them. And shopping? A woman's delight.

They strolled the island, browsing the Dwarf Clan's stalls, brimming with diverse treasures. Most were Earth-Grade or lower, with occasional Heaven-Grade items, as not all dwarves were master artificers.

"Stinky woman, besides your zither, what weapons do you like?" Lan An asked as they walked.

He'd never forget her entrancing zither play amid a storm of blood and wind. Her instrument was a guzheng, like Ling Long and Yu Qing's, distinct from Tuo Mi's pipa.

Bing Lan Xi tucked a strand of ebony hair behind her ear, smiling. "The guzheng's for ranged attacks. In close combat, I'm quite skilled. I can wield most weapons."

Lan An nodded. An Empire's princess, trained from youth, was versed in combat beyond the arts. They continued, soon spotting a crowd at a stall, voices clamoring over a treasure.

"I'll buy it for 100,000 Top-Grade Spirit Stones!" a portly merchant declared, eyes gleaming.

"Scram! 100,000 for a Spirit-Grade treasure? Greedy swine!" the crowd jeered.

"Master Dwarf Xuan, I'm passionate about this sword. Please reserve it for me," a young man pleaded earnestly.

Lan An and Bing Lan Xi approached, their overpowering presence parting the crowd. Like a golden couple, their aura marked them as extraordinary. In the Sea Continent, few didn't know Lan An.

"Heavens, it's the monster Lan An with another beauty!" someone gasped.

"Damn, didn't he just get engaged to Lady Ai Xin? Now he's flaunting another woman? Outrageous!" a middle-aged man growled.

"How's Lady Ai Xin so blind, falling for a playboy?" a handsome youth lamented, tears streaming.

Lan An and Bing Lan Xi ignored the chatter, accustomed to it since arriving. "I heard he's entangled with the Elf Queen. Why hasn't lightning struck him?" another whispered.

Lan An coughed violently. Who spread such nonsense? The Elf Queen was alluring, and he wouldn't deny wanting closer ties, but that was future talk. Rumors already?

"What's this? Even the Elf Queen?" Bing Lan Xi blinked, curiosity piqued.

"Jealous?" Lan An teased, grinning.

"Why would I be? If you could win her, I'd be thrilled. She's stronger than my father," Bing Lan Xi giggled, doubting his chances with such a woman.

Lan An shrugged, a flash of the Elf Queen's peerless beauty crossing his mind. One day, he'd bring her to his harem to tend his medicinal fields. He admitted his greed and lust—he wanted this planet's finest flowers for himself.

They turned to the stall. Its keeper was a white-haired dwarf woman, barely a meter tall, her dark skin draped in black robes, her aura concealed, her cultivation unreadable.

"She's an Early Body Integration expert," Jin'er said, chuckling.

Lan An started. A senior of Dwarf Island, no doubt.

"You, boy! Where's Ai Xin, and here you are flirting?" the dwarf woman barked, spotting Lan An and Bing Lan Xi.

Lan An blinked, bowing respectfully. "May I ask who Senior is?"

"Hmph, I'm Ai Xin's master-mother," she replied coldly.

Lan An's eyes widened. The Dwarf Clan Chief's wife, no wonder her cultivation was so high. "Junior greets Master-Mother. Tâm'er is in secluded cultivation. This is my prior wife, Bing Lan Xi," he said respectfully, treating Ai Xin's elders as his own, especially one who cared for her.

"Greetings, Senior," Bing Lan Xi said, her princess's grace captivating the men, fueling their envy of Lan An.

How many wives did this man have? Ai Xin was a later addition?

The Clan Chief's wife softened slightly. Her husband was a romantic too, and at her level, she understood that exceptional men had many consorts. Lan An's deeds were known, and his aid had pushed her husband toward a breakthrough to Peak Eighth-Grade Artificer, delighting her.

"That old fool Ai Guo lucked out. When he emerges, his artificing might surpass mine," she huffed.

Lan An stayed silent, leaving elders' squabbles alone. The Dwarf Clan didn't lack high-grade techniques, so he refrained from gifting anything, avoiding embarrassment.

Bing Lan Xi's attention locked onto a floating treasure at the stall—a longsword over a meter long, its hilt gleaming nobly, its blade transparent, thin as a cicada's wing, nearly invisible. Its tip, sharp as a needle, radiated bone-chilling cold, prickling even her Void Refinement Mid-Stage skin.

The sword exuded a lonely, desolate aura, brimming with killing intent. Space around it cracked faintly under its presence.

"Peak Spirit-Grade… no, slightly beyond," Lan An murmured gravely.

"You've got an eye, unlike these vulgar fools," the Clan Chief's wife said, sneering at the crowd.

The onlookers gasped, hearts trembling. "Beyond Peak Spirit-Grade? What is it?"

"Senior, does this sword have a name?" Lan An asked, recognizing it as a Low True-Grade weapon—terrifyingly powerful.

"It's unnamed. Its future master will decide," the Clan Chief's wife said proudly. Forged by her hand, it was a masterpiece, crafted from Ten-Thousand-Year Ice, a Seventh-Grade Early-Stage beast core, and countless rare materials. Her artificing, though below her husband's, was top-tier on Dwarf Island.

"May I have the honor of becoming its master?" Bing Lan Xi stepped forward, her ocean-like eyes dazzling.

The Clan Chief's wife studied her, noting her resolve. As Ai Xin's family, and with Lan An's favor to her husband, she nodded decisively. "Conquer it, and it's yours as a meeting gift."

"Are you sure?" Lan An asked, gripping Bing Lan Xi's hand, worried. A weapon with such killing intent surely had proud spirituality. Unlike System items, it would test its master. Bing Lan Xi, only Mid Void Refinement, was taking a risk.

Unlike the Seven Seas Mysterious Zither, crafted for mermaids and compliant with Ling Long and Yu Qing, this sword would resist.

"Besides my guzheng, the longsword is my favorite weapon. I won't let it go," Bing Lan Xi said firmly.

The Clan Chief's wife nodded approvingly, waving the crowd away. They vanished, swept off, as the sword's claiming needed secrecy.

Bing Lan Xi took a deep breath, grasping the hilt and dripping blood to claim it.

Boom!

The sky froze, ice encasing Bing Lan Xi's slender form. Despite her ice spiritual power, she was being frozen—a terrifying phenomenon. The sword thrummed, trembling in her grip.

Lan An clenched his fists, anxious but ready to intervene. Bing Lan Xi's rosy face paled, bloodless, as the sword nearly broke free. Gritting her teeth, she seized it with both hands.

Clang! Clang!

The sword buzzed fiercely, snowflakes forming in Bing Lan Xi's ebony hair. Space around her shattered into slivers, cuts smooth and chilling. Lan An sensed even Mu Zi Yin's Wood Turtle would be bisected effortlessly. This sword's power far surpassed her Purple Wood Sword.

Slash!

Sword qi struck Bing Lan Xi, shredding her Snow Ice Robe—an Earth-Grade garment, no match for a True-Grade weapon—baring her flawless, jade-like body. Lan An understood why the crowd was cleared, preserving her dignity.

The stall was shielded by the Clan Chief's wife's barrier, but the surroundings turned desolate. Bing Lan Xi, like a willow in a storm, bore gruesome sword wounds, frozen by ice, blood sealed within—a brutal sight. Unlike the Purple Wood Sword's deep wounds, this blade froze flesh and blood.

Time dragged, a web of spatial cracks spreading around her, the ground frozen, scarred with bottomless gashes. Bing Lan Xi collapsed, her aura flickering, her state dire. Yet her hands clung to the hilt as it thrashed, its transparent qi ravaging her body.

Lan An's heart bled. He couldn't believe his stinky woman's willpower was so formidable. Unable to bear it, he prepared to drag the sword into the Spirit Realm Pearl and suppress it.

"Don't be reckless. This is her choice," the Clan Chief's wife said, shoving him back, admiring Bing Lan Xi's resolve.

"I don't care!" Lan An roared, Emperor Flame surging to crush the defiant sword.

But he stopped. The sword stilled in Bing Lan Xi's hands, its aura merging with hers, becoming one.

"She did it. Who is she, boy?" the Clan Chief's wife asked, curious. A normal Void Refinement cultivator couldn't endure such a trial. Bing Lan Xi's blood had frozen, the pain unimaginable. Only supreme willpower could succeed.

Lan An ignored her, rushing to cradle his battered wife, eyes red with anguish. He wanted to scold her but couldn't. He knew her resilience—her childhood trials had forged an iron will, much like Qing Xuan's.

"Damn it, I can't let them be so reckless again," Lan An swore inwardly.

Bing Lan Xi gazed at him weakly, her cracked lips struggling to smile. "Husband, name this sword for me," she whispered, then fainted.