Third Person’s POV

She neither retreated nor showed any sign of discomfort.

Instead, she merely smiled gently and answered in a calm voice.

"Then you won’t get your freedom. It is as simple as that."

Her smile remained elegant, and her posture remained graceful.

Yet there was a firmness behind her words that made it clear she was not joking.

"Didn’t I already explain that earlier, young master? Then why are you asking the same question again?"

Her tone remained respectful and courteous, and anyone listening from the outside might even think she was speaking kindly, yet beneath that politeness was an unmistakable layer of coldness and arrogance.

The smile remained on her lips, but her eyes no longer carried warmth.

A similar chill had appeared within them, one not unlike the cold currently radiating from Ethan.

She had finally grown somewhat irritated.

From the beginning, Ethan’s attitude had been arrogant and confrontational.

He seemed to assume that everyone around him existed merely to answer his questions and satisfy his demands.

And seeing that look in his eyes and his icy display just now, finally made her patience wear thin.

The moment Ethan noticed the growing anger hidden beneath her calm exterior, a cold laugh escaped his lips.

The sound carried no amusement whatsoever while his crimson eyes flashed with a sinister gleam.

He slowly stopped laughing and spoke in a low, menacing voice.

"Do you really think you and your elf can stop me from leaving and going wherever I want, woman?"

The confidence in his tone was absolute, and not a trace of doubt existed within it.

He did not boast loudly, nor did he threaten her openly.

Yet the condescending look in his eyes was enough to irritate Shixea far more than any insult.

It was as though he genuinely believed she lacked the ability to stop him.

For a brief moment, anger flickered through her heart.

At the same time, however, another thought surfaced within her mind.

The more she observed him, the more convinced she became that his background had to be extraordinary, as only someone who had grown up protected by an unimaginably powerful force could remain this calm after learning that he was currently inside the territory of the Ice Emperor himself.

It was common knowledge that only forbidden existences who were beings at the Heaven Connection Realm were qualified to have the title of ’emperor’.

And upstarts who dared to crown themselves as emperors in their arrogance and foolishness always met bad ends without exception.

So, it was also not the case that since he might be from some other era, he might not have heard or understood the might and the weight of the title that the Ice Emperor carried, so she was sure about that.

Most people in his place would have become cautious, and others would have become fearful, yet Ethan displayed neither emotion.

He behaved as though the name of the Ice Emperor and the IceHeart Royal Family carried no weight whatsoever in front of him.

That realization warned Shixea not to act recklessly.

If this mysterious young man truly belonged to some hidden powerhouse, provoking him unnecessarily could create problems even she did not wish to face.

Nevertheless, she also understood that allowing him to continue looking down on her would weaken her position in this negotiation.

She did not intend to threaten him, but she did intend to remind him that she was not a powerless woman and he could not treat her as someone he could take out his anger on.

Suddenly, the nearly transparent blue of her eyes began to change, and the blue shade in them faded rapidly.

Within moments, her irises transformed into an eerie, deathly white, with only a faint blue pupil remaining at the center.

At the same time, a strange aura emerged from her body.

It was entirely different from Ethan’s overwhelming cold that affected the material world.

Her chill seemed to belong to another world.

Her already pale complexion became even whiter, and for a brief moment, she no longer resembled a living human.

Instead, she looked like a mysterious ice spirit that had stepped out of some forgotten legend, or perhaps a resentful ghost wandering the frozen lands.

Even Ethan’s eyelid twitched slightly at the sight as this image of hers was genuinely unsettling.

The cold she released did not affect the physical world.

Instead, it invaded the astral plane.

As a result, a strange numbness spread across Ethan’s consciousness.

His thoughts slowed, and his mind became colder and colder.

Soon afterward, a sharp headache began to form behind his eyes.

The warning signs immediately made Ethan alert.

Without hesitation, he activated the pool of devilish soul energy hidden within his soul space.

Waves of silver soul power surged outward and formed a protective barrier around his soul.

The pressure pressing upon his consciousness instantly weakened.

At the same time, anger rose within him because this woman had actually dared to attack him.

The goodwill he had barely maintained toward her immediately began to disappear.

However, just as he was preparing to retaliate, the oppressive sensation abruptly vanished.

The chill lingering around his consciousness disappeared as though it had never existed, while Shixea’s eyes also returned to their normal color.

The ghostly pallor faded from her face.

Within moments, she once again looked like the beautiful and elegant woman who had entered the room earlier.

She had withdrawn her display of power.

Although she had wanted to remind Ethan of her strength and not take her lightly, she had no intention of pushing him into becoming her enemy. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Until Ethan made the first hostile move and completely shattered the possibility of negotiation, she was still willing to maintain this fragile conversation between them.

She suddenly smiled at him.

A crafty glint appeared within her almost transparent blue eyes, startling Ethan slightly as he looked at her.

The smile arrived without warning and carried a strange confidence behind it, making him feel as though she had suddenly discovered some new way of dealing with him.