Chapter 7: The Beloved of the Genius Summoner 7

"Yu Xuan, you are nothing but a block of ice—cold and heartless. No one will ever be able to endure you; you are destined to be alone for the rest of your life."

Lu Ningshi hazily recalled the venomous taunt of the original host just before her death.

Is Yu Xuan cold?
Yes, he is aloof, keeping everyone at a distance with an unfeeling indifference.
She acknowledged this. He is cold, yet he is not heartless.
The more she interacted with him, the more she discovered his capacity for tolerance. He treated every task and person with earnestness and possessed an inexhaustible supply of patience.
At his core, he was actually gentle.

A wave of self-loathing suddenly washed over Lu Ningshi.
The good life in the Space-Time Administration was not meant for her, and playing the role of the wicked female supporting character was not a choice she had made.
She had only wanted to live as she pleased, but she had unknowingly fallen into a trap, truly beginning to act as a toxic vine, attempting to ensnare Yu Xuan in trouble.

"What are you thinking about?"
Yu Xuan had emerged from the crowd at some point and was standing before her.
"You don't look well. Is something bothering you?"
He reached out tentatively, but Lu Ningshi slapped his hand away with a sharp "smack."
As he frowned, Lu Ningshi looked at him and suddenly asked, "Yu Xuan, do you have any friends?"
During the time she had lived with him, aside from dealing with matters related to the competition, he had had no social life whatsoever.

"Friends?"
Yu Xuan froze for a moment, a faint, imperceptible trace of irony touching his lips. "I don't need them."
He did not need friends.

"Yu Xuan, the Polar Frost Domain is about to open! Stop chatting, you two—come over here and train!"
Sun Le cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone, shouting at them from a distance.
Lu Ningshi smoothed her dress, stood up, and gave him a relaxed, carefree smile.
"Let's go."
She walked ahead briskly, as if her question had been nothing more than a casual curiosity, devoid of any hidden emotion.

Yu Xuan watched her lively figure, his eyes darkening.
He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but she seemed different somehow.

The Polar Frost Domain was one of the four regions in the team competition.
The Blazing Fire Team had simulated the tournament environment to train and hone the chemistry between their members.
The biting wind felt like a knife scraping against bone, and everywhere one looked, there was an endless expanse of ice.
In the unbearable cold, the Polar Frost Wolves were in their element, excitedly circling the ice, while the Green Vine drooped, its branches limp.
The wolf and the vine battled on the glacier. The Green Vine’s movements were stiff; unable to match the agility of the wolf, it was pierced through by a launched pillar of ice.

Lu Ningshi frowned as she watched. "The Green Vine isn't suited for the ice plains. It belongs in the Green Wild Forest."
Its roots needed support; soil was their best combat medium.
The ice plains were cold and slippery. On them, the Green Vine was nothing but a rootless duckweed, destined only to be beaten.

Yu Xuan glanced ahead but did not end the training session despite the Green Vine's injury.
He explained calmly, "This year's team competition features four war zones: the Polar Frost Domain, the Barren Desert, the Green Wild Forest, and the Scarlet Flame City. You aren't always lucky enough to be assigned to the one you prefer."
Only by adapting and strengthening one's own power could one hope to win.

Lu Ningshi asked, frustrated, "But you have other summon beasts to choose from. Why must it be the Green Vine?"
Yu Xuan glanced sideways. "Are you taking its side?"
"Yes, what's wrong with that?"
Lu Ningshi admitted it openly. "I like it, and I'm worried because it's hurt. What's wrong with sticking up for it?"
"You..."
Yu Xuan’s lips moved; he wanted to ask why her temperament had shifted so suddenly, but he didn't know how to phrase the question.

"I what?"
Lu Ningshi touched her face, looking confused.
Yu Xuan silently looked away.
"In the team competition, a Summoner is not allowed to carry more than three monsters. One match a day is fine, but if there are two or more, it becomes a burden on the beasts," he continued, addressing her previous point.
While the rules stated no more than three, no serious contestant would bring only two.
He could not decide for others, but the only thing he could do was ensure he was prepared for every eventuality.
Being a Level Six Summoner was his advantage; by not forcing his beasts into continuous combat, he could conserve their stamina to the greatest extent and ensure the competition proceeded smoothly.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?"
Lu Ningshi immediately sensed something wrong and pointed at herself, asking in shock, "Are you planning on making me fight too?"
His words were a blatant admission that she was part of his plans.
"I don't want to compete. Count me out." Lu Ningshi turned her head to the side and huffed in refusal.
She was only responsible for looking beautiful; she had no intention of participating in a competition and ending up in a disheveled mess.

"You are capable of fighting, too," Yu Xuan replied flatly.
"I don't care, I won't do it."
As the two locked eyes, the temperature of the Polar Frost Domain dropped another degree.
The Green Vine collapsed onto the ground, frostbite visible on its branches.
Lu Ningshi looked away and said, pursing her lips, "The Green Vine can't take it anymore."
The cold of the Polar Frost Domain changed; it didn't drop to its lowest point immediately, but instead intensified by one degree every half hour until all the beasts reached their limit.
Yu Xuan did not react, and Lu Ningshi said indignantly, "I'm talking to you."

"Green Vine, return."
Facing Lu Ningshi, Yu Xuan finally issued the command.
After the Green Vine vanished, he stared at her and asked seriously, "Xiao Man, what are your skills, and what is your true form?"
"I use poison, and my original form is a Datura flower. Don't you already know that?"
Lu Ningshi blinked innocently, her eyes full of confusion.

Yu Xuan’s hand, which had been hanging at his side, suddenly moved. He grabbed her wrist and held it between them.
"The Green Vine is not weak and has years of combat experience. Even it couldn't withstand this extreme cold, yet you can."
He looked straight at her, his gaze deep and heavy with an unspeakable emotion.
"Xiao Man, I don't like it when you keep things from me."
Lu Ningshi followed his gaze to her own hand and laughed dismissively. "If you don't believe me, that's your problem."
"Since you don't trust me, why don't we just dissolve the contract—hiss..."
Before she could finish, a sharp pain shot through her wrist.
She looked up at him, frowning, and said coldly, "Let go!"

"Take it back."
"What?"
Lu Ningshi’s brow furrowed into a deep crease.
Yu Xuan’s eyes were filled with coldness as he repeated, "Take back what you just said."
"Why should I?"
Seeing that he not only refused to let go but held her even tighter, a surge of anger rose in her heart.
She felt no fear, looking up to meet his gaze directly. "Have you still not understood after everything I've done?"
"Yu Xuan, you are nothing but a block of ice—cold and heartless. No one will ever be able to endure you; you are destined to be alone for the rest of your life."
She repeated the words of the original host verbatim, dripping with sarcasm.
"I never wanted to be contracted to you in the first place."
"If you have any shred of dignity left, you’d better set me free..."

In an instant, Lu Ningshi vanished from the ice plains.
Inside the different dimension, the night still cloaked the entire sky.
A crack appeared on Lu Ningshi’s otherwise expressionless face.
She stared at everything before her and gritted her teeth, saying, "Yu Xuan, you are truly something else."