Douluo Continent: The Ruler of Time, Reigning Supreme

Chapter 123 Senior Sister with Complicated Feelings
Its head was like a small mountain, its snout was thick and long, and its sharp teeth were like inverted icicles, emanating a chilling white aura.

Its limbs were like pillars supporting the sky, thick and powerful. Its claws scratched across the ice surface, leaving deep grooves. The edges of the grooves instantly froze into solid ice that would never melt.

A long tail, like a giant ice-forged meteor hammer, easily swept away the ice mounds blocking its path with a casual swing.

Those eyes, as large as cartwheels, were a pure, unblemished white, devoid of any arrogance, containing only a cold indifference as if looking down upon ants.

The aura emanating from its body was like a moving glacier of extreme cold. Wherever it passed, the moisture in the air condensed directly into ice crystal powder and fell down. The space around its body was in a slightly distorted and frozen state.

A 100,000-year-old soul beast—the Ice Armored Giant Crocodile.

One of the overlords of the far north, besides the Three Kings of the Far North.

It seemed completely uninterested in the trembling little creatures at its feet; its icy white eyes gazed only towards the core battlefield, as it was about to join the fight.

It moved with heavy steps, unhurried yet with an unstoppable momentum, passing directly past the iceberg where Zhang Lexuan and Yin Chen were hiding.

The shadow cast by that massive body, like a curtain of death, briefly and completely enveloped the small ice crevice.

The terrifying pressure, like tangible seawater, squeezed through the ice, making it almost impossible for the two people inside the ice crevice to breathe.

Zhang Lexuan's palms were already sweating, and her soul power was silently circulating within her body as she prepared for the worst.

Yin Chen was also tense, ready to unleash his soul skill at any moment.

Fortunately, perhaps the aura left by the soul beast tide was too mixed, perhaps the ice crevice was well concealed, or perhaps the ice-armored giant crocodile was completely attracted to the main battlefield... Its cold gaze did not linger on the ice mountain, and its massive body, with footsteps that shook the earth, gradually disappeared into the distance.

Only when the terrifying pressure completely disappeared from their perception range did the terrified soul beasts outside dare to let out whimpers of relief again, and chaos spread once more. But the two people inside the ice crevice remained still, without making a move for a long time.

In the darkness, Yin Chen could clearly hear the woman in front of him exhale a long, soft breath of relief.

Her tense body finally relaxed slightly, and the soft touch made Yin Chen's heart skip a beat.

The crisis was temporarily averted, but the ambiguous and awkward silence within the ice crevice seemed to grow even more intense.

"boom!"

The broken ice blocking the entrance to the ice crevice was shaken away by a gentle yet powerful palm strike. Amidst the swirling ice powder, Zhang Lexuan hurriedly slipped out first. The cold air rushed in, but it didn't seem to immediately dispel the unnatural heat on her face.

She didn't turn around, but instead straightened her slightly disheveled robes with her back to the ice crevice, trying to calm her racing heart.

Yin Chen followed her out, watching his senior sister's back as she tried to remain calm but couldn't hide her panic. He shook his head helplessly, a faint bitter smile appearing on his lips.

The intimate yet awkward contact in the ice crevice had also had a significant impact on him.

The atmosphere between the two became noticeably somber for the rest of the journey.

Zhang Lexuan continued to lead the way, but her pace seemed faster than before, as if she wanted to use distance to dispel some kind of invisible ambiguity.

Yin Chen remained silent, simply following along.

Fortunately, the passage of that 100,000-year-old ice-armored giant crocodile was like an emperor's procession. Its terrifying pressure dispersed the soul beasts in a large area, thus temporarily clearing out a relatively safe area for them.

Zhang Lexuan found a sheltered recess in the ice wall and, after confirming that there was no immediate danger, finally stopped. She turned around, her gaze somewhat unfocused, but finally, as if she had made up her mind, it settled on Yin Chen. Her tone was calm, but a subtle tension could be detected upon closer listening:

"Turn around."

Yin Chen was slightly taken aback, somewhat confused, but when he met Zhang Lexuan's gaze, which had returned to its usual coldness, he obediently turned around and faced away from her.

"Take off your shirt."

Zhang Lexuan's voice rang out again, calm and even, yet it made Yin Chen's lips twitch involuntarily.

He subconsciously wanted to turn around to check if his senior sister was joking, but he held back in the end. With a strange feeling in his heart, he unbuttoned his clothes and took off the student uniform that was covered with ice shards and dust.

The biting wind from the far north swept in instantly, raising goosebumps as it touched exposed skin.

Yin Chen couldn't help but shiver, but his physical condition was far superior to that of ordinary people, and his soul power circulated on its own, so he was not so cold as to catch a chill.

However, when he took off his shirt and exposed his entire back to Zhang Lexuan, a very soft, almost inaudible gasp came from behind him.

Yin Chen's back has smooth lines, and his muscles are well-proportioned and firm. They are not exaggerated, but full of power. His skin has a healthy color, like the finest white jade.

But at this moment, on this "white jade", from below the shoulder blade all the way to the waist, there is a large area of ​​shocking bluish-purple.

The color was deep and the edges were irregular, as if it had been smashed by a huge ice hammer or soaked in extremely cold ink, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding intact skin.

Frostbite, and deep frostbite at that.

Zhang Lexuan's gaze instantly froze on that bruise. The slight blush that had appeared when she saw his strong upper body quickly faded, replaced by a complex and indescribable emotion: guilt, heartache, and above all, a sense of understanding.

She remembered how, in the ice crevice, Yin Chen had pressed his entire back against the icy wall to avoid getting too close to her.

In order not to reveal the slightest fluctuation of his soul power and attract the attention of that 100,000-year-old soul beast, he did not even activate the most basic soul power protection, let alone use his exquisite airflow manipulation to isolate himself from the cold air.

He endured the extreme cold of the millennia-old ice, which was enough to freeze blood and erode bone marrow, with his bare physical body, until the crisis was over.

"Sure enough, he got frostbite."

Zhang Lexuan's voice lowered, with a hint of barely perceptible hoarseness.

Her eyes were slightly lowered, her long eyelashes concealing the turbulent emotions within them.

Yin Chen himself didn't feel anything; the nerves in the frostbitten area were almost completely numb by the cold, so the pain was very slight.

He smiled nonchalantly, trying to ease the tension:

"Senior Sister, I'm fine. I just looked scary. It's just a minor injury."

As he spoke, he picked up his clothes and put them back on.

(End of this chapter)