A cave lay hidden here, clearly man-made, and soul sense couldn't detect it at all.
The Yun Clan member was utterly shocked. It was obvious now—this had to be Lin Qian's hiding place. No wonder they hadn't been able to track him down despite their best efforts. His soul sense had been useless all this time.
"I need to alert the others, or if he escapes…" The thought had barely crossed her mind when a figure suddenly shot out from the cave, appearing right before her.
Smack!
A hand shot out, grabbing her face, and clamped down over her mouth with unyielding strength. The force coming from the hand was overwhelming, rendering her completely powerless to struggle.
It was as if her face had been caught in an iron vise.
The figure that had surged out of the ice cave was none other than Lin Qian.
Wearing a calm smile, Lin Qian effortlessly took the communication token from the Yun Clan woman's hand and crushed it to dust. "I'd suggest not resisting. Why risk your life for something so trivial, big sister?"
The words "big sister" ignited a fury in the Yun Clan woman's eyes.
She wanted to fight back but was completely helpless. Lin Qian's soul power and pressure bound her in place, locking her down completely. She couldn't even lift her hand.
How was this possible? Lin Qian was only at the Awakening Realm, fourth stage. How could he so easily subdue her?
Carrying the Yun Clan woman, Lin Qian walked back into the ice cave and tossed her inside. "Watch her. Don't let her escape."
Lin Qian wasn't sure if the Yun Clan members had some kind of curse or tracking formation on them that would alert the others if she were killed. For now, he didn't want to risk it.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Two Shield Bearers immediately stepped forward, moving to guard the Yun Clan woman closely.
She slowly stood up, staring blankly ahead, unable to say a word.
All this time, they had been scouring the valley for Lin Qian, and he had been hiding here, beneath the glacier. But the way he had hidden—it was something she had never seen before.
The ice cave had been carved into a massive hall, with intricate, mysterious formations glowing in the space. In the center of the hall hovered a model of an unknown terrain, suspended within the formation.
Caves branched out from all sides of the hall, leading who knew where, and figures bustled through these passages. Soldiers clad in heavy armor stood in formation, while scholarly figures continually adjusted the formation's structure.
And there, overseeing everything like a master of the entire scene, was Lin Qian, with his hands clasped behind his back, watching quietly.
Not only that, but the Yun Clan woman was horrified to see that the formation's light had projected a virtual landscape—a detailed, life-like map of the Extreme Cold Zone, with marked figures representing none other than the Yun Clan members.
This projection wasn't part of Lin Qian's system interface but a tool the scholars used to fine-tune the formation. Thus, the Yun Clan woman could see it clearly as well.
Realizing what she was looking at, she shivered with fear. The Yun Clan had been entirely under Lin Qian's watchful eye this whole time.
The roles of hunter and prey had been reversed long ago.
Every move of the Yun Clan had been monitored by this young man, and around him were so many subordinates, all working on some massive project she couldn't begin to comprehend.
If this wasn't a calculated plan targeting the Yun Clan, she wouldn't believe it, even if she were beaten to death.
Now, it was clear that being lured into the Extreme Cold Zone was no accident. Lin Qian had done this on purpose!
"You deliberately led us into the Extreme Cold Zone, didn't you? You weren't fleeing in desperation, as the rumors said," the Yun Clan woman spoke after a long silence, her voice heavy with realization.
Lin Qian turned to her with a mocking smile. "Your Yun Clan once used my father's blood essence to try and track me through a curse formation, and you paid dearly for it. Why can't you understand?"
"Your Yun Clan is far too arrogant. That's your greatest downfall. The glaciers in the Extreme Cold Zone are easy to carve tunnels through, and the cold numbs all senses, even soul senses." As Lin Qian spoke, he stepped closer to the Yun Clan woman. "Why else would I lure you here?"
The young woman trembled as the imposing young man loomed over her, his oppressive aura overwhelming her. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
As Lin Qian stood before her, his emperor's presence radiated in full force. He was a ruler, an entire empire embodied in one person—far too much for the Yun Clan woman to bear.
"I've learned all about my grandfather's past," Lin Qian continued, his voice cold and angry. "He served your Yun Clan loyally as an adopted son, giving everything he had. But your Yun Clan treated him like a dog, hunted him down, and now you're pursuing my parents in this valley."
His eyes gleamed with a golden light as his voice thundered, "You've got some nerve!"
The overwhelming pressure of his words shattered whatever remained of the Yun Clan woman's resolve. She fell to her knees with a thud, trembling uncontrollably, unable to speak.
"I will personally see to the destruction of the Yun Clan," Lin Qian declared, his voice filled with determination. "The Hua Xia Empire will expand its territory once again. I've already conquered the Southern Region—what's one more Yun Clan to me?"
With that, Lin Qian shot the kneeling woman a disdainful glance before turning his back to her, resuming his observations of the model within the formation.
Despite the bitter cold of the Extreme Cold Zone, the Yun Clan woman was drenched in sweat, which quickly froze into shards of ice.
It took her several moments to regain her composure. As she stared at Lin Qian's back, fear welled up inside her.
He had conquered the entire Southern Region? The son of Lin Di and Yun Yunyan had brought an entire region to its knees? How old was he?
Was he lying? No, she didn't think so. The sheer number of soldiers under his command was evidence enough.
Then, she noticed something on the projected map of the Extreme Cold Zone—the figures of Lin Di and Yun Yunyan were now visible.
As they entered the Extreme Cold Zone, their speed had noticeably slowed, but under the guidance of someone, they were steadily moving closer to Lin Qian's location.
Their path had cleverly avoided all the Yun Clan members, and they were drawing nearer and nearer.
Seeing this, the Yun Clan woman let out a bitter, hopeless laugh. It dawned on her that the Yun Clan had provoked someone they never should have.