Chương 378: Hua Liuli's struggles

Li Yue'er nodded subtly without a change in her expression as he flew off without slowing down, her mere presence causing the temperature to fall even more. The woman easily kept up though.

"Yue'er, have you made a decision? We don't have much time left!" She questioned worriedly.

"What decision?" Li Yue'er replied calmly as he kept rushing deeper into the forest.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. Everyone, including the Sect Master awaits your decision and hope you rethink it carefully."

"There is no decision to make. I already made my choice clear several months ago." Li Yue'er replied with a tinge of coldness in her tone before she suddenly accelerated. The woman frowned slightly and caught up to her again.

"Yue'er, you need to think about it. The Frozen Heart Mantra is the ultimate treasured manual for any Ice Dao cultivator. All of your progress in several months wouldn't compare to a single month of cultivating the manual! Do not let your divine talents go to waste!"

"We're not going over this once again. I've said all that needs to be said." Li Yue'er replied curtly.

"You…! Yue'er, why are you being so stubborn? Your emotions are nothing but distractions. You've undoubtedly left that brat in the dust already. Why are you still holding on to it?"

"This is pointless." Li Yue'er coldly muttered before speeding up yet again, stirring up a cloud of snow into the air. The woman paused and watched her as she vanished in the world of white before sighing and shooting straight into the sky. High up in the sky, at a height where even Dao realm masters would struggle to reach, a different woman floated, overlooking the entire massive Ice Forest.

Her aura was completely sealed within her, yet she possessed an overwhelming presence that seemed to replace the sky and lorded over the earth. It was an indescribable presence that couldn't be explained my mere aura alone. Her entire figure was concealed by a faint mist which hid her from the entire world. The woman by Li Yue'er's side rushed up from below and floated behind this celestial woman, going down on one knee with near fanatic respect.

"Master!" She greeted.

"Rise, my child." An ethereal voice sounded from the woman surrounded by mist. The voice contained a mystical feeling, one that could enchant anyone with even a single flaw in their hearts. The kneeling woman rose to her feet but kept her head lowered.

"Master, Yue'er is too stubborn. I am unable to change her mind at all."

"Hm. She has made up her mind, and it'll be hard to make her determination to waver." The woman paused then continued.

"We'll let her do as she pleases. It's just unfortunate that her great talents won't be fully unleashed."

"Indeed, master. I haven't heard of anyone progressing as fast as she is. In a short few months, she has refined her cultivation once and returned to the mid stage deity realm again, yet her combat power equals that of a normal peak deity. Once she refines it three times, she will tower above the entire deity realm. Her comprehension abilities are also ridiculous. From the Dao concept level to the major ice intent stage only took her a few months!"

"Her potential is quite frightening." The woman nodded, then continued.

"Binglan… what have you found out regarding that continent?" Mu Binglan lifted her head slightly and replied, "Master, I did everything I could and dug up everything about the continent, but there is absolutely nothing strange or noteworthy to speak of."

"What about her background?"

"It's even more ordinary. The Li clan existed for about two hundred years and was annihilated a few years ago. Throughout the existence of the clan, they never produced a single Spirit realm warrior, and there is absolutely no hidden bloodline or special trait. It's just a clan of mortals."

"That is ordinary… a little too ordinary. How were they destroyed?"

"Apparently, by a Spirit realm assassin. His title was Limitless blood. And from what I know, he is very likely dead already - possibly killed by Yue'er." Mu Binglan replied.

"Something isn't adding up… if the entire clan was destroyed, why was Yue'er alone spared?" The mist covered woman asked lightly. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Mu Binglan lowered her head, having no answer to that.

"Her background conflicts against her very existence. It is impossible for such an ordinary clan to produce someone with talents of such calibre. We're missing something crucial." The woman added with a pondering tone.

"Master, what was the results of the talent test?" Mu Binglan couldn't help but ask softly. The woman was silent for a few seconds before she replied with mild surprise still in her voice.

"At least peak emperor grade… the talent testing stone reached it's absolute limit. And that's not including her mysterious divine constitution. Even now, she hasn't yet begun to awaken it. If she does awaken it, only heavens knows to what extent her talent will reach." Mu Binglan raised her head sharply at those words, revealing extreme astonishment on her face as she repeated the woman's words in her head, trying to comprehend them.

"Peak emperor grade…?" She couldn't believe it. What was the concept of a peak emperor grade talent? That was the very limit the talent testing stones could measure, and in several thousand years of the Mainland's history, the highest talent belonged to the legendary low grade Sword Spirit Body, which was a mid emperor grade talent. In other words, Li Yue'er's talent had surpassed anything the Mainland had ever seen in ten thousand years!

Even the current Dynasty crown princes and the low grade sword spirit body of this generation couldn't hold a candle to her! At least a mid grade sword spirit body or another constitution on that level would be required to measure as a peak emperor grade talent!

"My shock was similar to yours when I found out. That's why I refuse to believe that her background can be so ordinary. No matter how much luck they have, a clan of mortals can never birth an emperor grade talent. It just doesn't make sense." The woman continued, awaking Mu Binglan from her shock.

"Go back to the continent zone and dig up more. Use every means possible, even soul searching everyone related to the Li clan." The woman ordered softly. Mu Binglan nodded heavily, still trying to suppress the endless shock in her heart.

"Yes, Master. I'll not return unless I find out something substantial!" Saying that, he didn't waste even a second more and turned around to fly away, leaving the woman floating alone in the sky. A soft sigh escaped the woman's lips after Mu Binglan left.

"Yue'er… the Valley is facing a crisis, and the heavens decided to send you with your overwhelming talents. Given enough time, I believe you can walk over the entire Mainland, including the four Royal Clans. Unfortunately, we don't have much time. The pressure is building up, and the valley can no longer hold on." Her gaze seemed to be able to penetrate through the vast forest and focus on the lone figure traveling through it, rushing towards the center of the forest.

Another sigh echoed through the sky, causing the falling snow to freeze and scatter away, not falling for nearly a thousand miles around the woman.

Somewhere else, a massive clan that was built in the center of a large city that spanned thousands of miles. Large city walls towered into the sky, leaving four different gates where thousands of people followed in and out of the city. The clan itself occupied nearly half of the city, turning the inner city into a restricted area. This was the famous Hua clan, a three star clan that had the same power as any other two star force.

The only thing they lacked was a strong enough heritage and time to become a true two star clan. At this moment, in the center of the clan, a middle aged man sat in the lotus position, drinking wine. Before him sat four men, each of them emanating mid boggling auras, as they spoke in low and respectful tones to the man. Beside the man sat a youth, about twenty years old. His aura was impressively at the late stage deity realm, and it was likely that he had passed two refinement stages successfully.

As they discussed, the palace doors were suddenly pushed open and a square faced old man rushed in with a smile and whispered,"Great elder, Young Miss Liuli has successfully passed her first refinement, and her foundation leaves this old me in shock."

"Hahahahaha! Excellent news!" The middle aged man roared with laughter, gulped down a mouthful of wine before turning to clasp the shoulders of the youth beside him.

"As expected of my future daughter in-law! Hahahaha!" The youth's face lit up with a smile as he grinned widely.

"Of course, father. I have extremely good eyesight. I would never choose someone mediocre to be my wife!" He laughed.

"Good! Good! I will prepare a good present to be sent to my daughter in-law! Son, go ahead and congratulate her. I'll take care of everything here." The man patted the youth's back and laughed. The youth nodded excitedly and rose to his feet before following the square faced old man out of the palace. The two of them passed by several magnificent buildings, and the dozens of youths they met along the way all bowed in respect to the young man.

After a few minutes, they reached a place which was devoid of people and even the buildings where were few and in between. The youth walked towards the largest palace and confidently pushed open the door. Alas, the moment he placed one feet into the palace, a powerful attack infused with great killing intent rushed towards him. The youth easily blocked the attack, but an ugly expression surfaced on his face as he stared into the hall, where a pair of cold eyes glared back with immense animosity.

"Take a step in and I'll kill you!" The person, or rather, the lady standing within the hall was shockingly Hua Liuli! Her appearance hasn't changed much. In fact, she had gotten more mature, gaining a nearly transcendent level of beauty. Her every expression, even the current hatred on her face could cause men to lose their senses. The young man stared at her with narrowed eyes before smiling faintly.

"What are you saying, Liuli…"

"Don't you dare call me that!" Hua Liuli snapped, cutting him off. The Young man's expression froze slightly before he continued with a forced smile.

"I'm here on my father's orders to congratulate you on your breakthrough!" He tried to take a step into the palace. Instantly, Hua Liuli's killing intent erupted, causing the air to warp.

"Do you really think I won't kill you?" She asked with gritted teeth. The young man's expression finally turned dark as he stared at her.

"You don't have that ability. I fail to understand why you dislike me so much…" he was once again interrupted by a Hua Liuli's laughter.

"Dislike? No. I hate you with ever fibre of my being. I hate that I cannot kill you where you stand!"

"Why so? What have I done? Ever since you joined the clan, I've done everything I can to take care of you, strengthen you without regard for anything else. Without my help, it would be impossible for you to become a refined deity from the spirit realm in just the span of several months. Where exactly did I go wrong? All I did was fall in love with you. Is that a reason to hate me so much?" Hua Liuli didn't reply. Instead, she glared at him coldly, her eyes giving him all the answers he needed.

A dark glint flashed through his eyes as he stared at her with a cold gaze.

"Regardless of how much you hate me, you can't change anything. The great elder is my father, and he has agreed to give you to me as my wife. Go ahead and do whatever you want, but you won't be able to do anything about it."

"I will never marry you, unless you wish to marry my corpse!" Hua Liuli snorted with disgust.

"Very well. We'll see about that. When I marry you in a few month's time, I'll make sure I carefully tame that rebellious personality of yours." He grinned before turning around and walking off, closing the doors shut behind him. Before he left, he glanced at the square faced old man.

"Keep a tight watch. Do not let her leave, otherwise, you might as well send your head to me." He uttered icily. The old man shivered and lowered his head respectfully.

"Yes, young master." Snorting coldly, the young man walked away, leaving the deserted area. After she confirmed that he was gone, Hua Liuli's strong font broke apart and she collapsed to the ground helplessly. The extreme sadness and despair in her eyes was nothing similar to the free and light hearted girl she once was. No matter what she said or did, she knew that there was nothing she could achieve. The young man was right.

The great elder was only beneath the clan chief and above all other elders in the Hua clan. How exactly was she to resist on her own? The thought of committing suicide was growing stronger with each day the so called marriage drew closer. What kept her from doing so was the flickering embers of hope still lit up in her heart. The thought of him… how would he react when he came to take her and found her dead? That thought kept her strong untill now.

But she didn't know for how long she could persist against the overwhelming odds. If only he was here. Nothing would bother her. No matter what it was, if he was by her side, she would always feel safe. The world could be crumbling and she would still laugh it off, because he would find a way to hold it up. But even if he was here… could he change anything? She didn't think so, and because of that, she hoped he would never come looking for her.

"Big brother Long Feng… where are you? …"