# Chapter 1020: Ice Wind Nation Lord
“…Lan Lan!?” As Mu Xiaolan called out, the people on the mysterious ark were also looking at them. The leading couple, both surprised and overjoyed, flew up from the ark and came before Mu Xiaolan and the other two, causing the ice boat to also stop.
This couple were none other than Mu Xiaolan’s parents — the domain master of an independent domain east of the Ice Wind Empire, and also the current clan head of the renowned Situ Clan throughout the entire Yin Xue Realm — Situ Xiongying, along with his wife, Lady Situ.
“Lan Lan, is it really you?” Lady Situ rushed up excitedly, grabbing Mu Xiaolan’s small hands, still too agitated to fully believe it.
“Lan Lan, why are you here?” Situ Xiongying’s expression was steady, but his barely concealed excitement was still visible.
“I came with Senior Brother Hanyi. Master specially arranged for me to reunite with Father and Mother.” As Mu Xiaolan spoke, her eyes were already turning red. Having grown up under her parents’ doting care, she hadn’t seen them for several years since joining the Ice Phoenix God Sect.
“Senior Brother Hanyi?” This name caused Situ Xiongying’s gaze to snap sharply towards him. His originally calm eyes suddenly changed drastically: “Could it be that this is…”
“Ah! Let me introduce you, Father and Mother. This is Senior Brother Mu Hanyi — you’ve definitely heard of him.”
“Mu Hanyi?” As expected, the moment Mu Xiaolan finished speaking, both Situ Xiongying and his wife turned their gaze directly onto Mu Hanyi, their eyes filled with admiration, even excitement and joy. Situ Xiongying quickly stepped forward and said with a sigh: “So you’re the legendary Lord Mu Hanyi. Rumors say you are not only unparalleled in handsomeness and elegance, but also possess extraordinary talent — truly rare in this world. To meet you today is indeed a great fortune I never dared to hope for!”
But before he could finish, Situ Xiongying interrupted: “It’s too cold on the ice boat — it might freeze my little Lan Lan. Let’s talk aboard the ark instead… Lord Hanyi, if you don’t mind our humble ark, would you care to join us?”
Mu Hanyi replied with refined courtesy: “Then Hanyi shall gladly accept.”
Situ Xiongying extended a sincere invitation to Mu Hanyi, yet showed no intention of asking Yun Che, nor did he spare him another glance after Mu Xiaolan’s introduction.
The aura of a Divine Origin Realm Level 1 cultivator, no bestowed surname “Mu,” referred to as “junior brother” by Mu Xiaolan… All these signs, in Situ Xiongying’s eyes, indicated that his status in the Ice Phoenix God Sect was far below Mu Xiaolan’s. And coming from the lower realm made him even more inferior.
“Great, great! I’ve been missing our family’s ark for so long.” In her excitement at reuniting with her parents, Mu Xiaolan remained completely oblivious to these undercurrents, hopping cheerfully onto the ark. Yun Che pinched his nose and followed silently behind.
Although the ark was small, its decoration was quite luxurious. The attending servants and guards all had strong auras, showing that the Situ Clan possessed considerable strength — otherwise they wouldn’t have been invited to the Ice Wind Nation Lord’s millennial birthday celebration.
Once on their own ark, it felt like being home. Mu Xiaolan became especially cheerful and excited. She naturally grabbed Yun Che’s sleeve and said with a smile: “Though the sect’s ice boat is impressive, our family’s ark is the most comfortable. When I was little, Father and Mother always took me on trips with this ark. Yun Che, did you ever ride a mysterious ark like this in the lower realm?”
“The arks in my world weren’t as fast as this, but otherwise they were pretty much the same.” Yun Che answered casually.
Situ Xiongying, who had been talking with Mu Hanyi, glanced over and instantly saw Mu Xiaolan pulling Yun Che’s sleeve with a bright smile. His face immediately darkened. He quickly walked over, patted Yun Che on the shoulder, and said: “Young friend, I believe your name is… Yun Che, right? Come, let’s have a word in private.”
“Huh? Father, what do you need to talk to him about?” Mu Xiaolan looked surprised.
“…Just some trivial matter. Don’t worry about it.”
With a perfunctory reply, Situ Xiongying half-forcedly pulled Yun Che aside.
“What advice does Uncle have for me?” Seeing Situ Xiongying’s expression, Yun Che could roughly guess what he was about to say.
Facing Yun Che alone, Situ Xiongying’s face instantly turned dark: “You said earlier that you’ve only been in the Ice Phoenix God Sect for less than four months, yet you seem very familiar with my Lan Lan. It seems she’s been looking after you quite a bit, hasn’t she?”
“…Mm, Junior Sister Lan has been very kind to me.” Yun Che nodded politely and answered formally.
“Hmph!” Situ Xiongying suddenly let out a heavy snort, his thick eyebrows deeply furrowed: “Lan Lan is pure and kind-hearted, but she is my only daughter, and the sole disciple of Ice Cloud Fairy. Her background is not something you can compare to, and her future is far beyond anything you could ever reach. Don’t you dare have any ridiculous improper thoughts!”
“…” Yun Che let out a long, slow breath and said: “Uncle, I think you might be misunderstanding something.”
“Misunderstanding?” Situ Xiongying sneered: “Hmph! I am ten times your age — do you think you can hide your intentions from me? A boy who just joined the sect not long ago, with such low profound strength and hailing from the lower realm, yet tagging along with Lan Lan all the way here — what other explanation could there be besides you clinging to her relentlessly?”
“You’d better cut off any inappropriate thoughts right now. Lan Lan is someone a person like you could never be worthy of. Otherwise… don’t blame me for not warning you when the time comes!”
Situ Xiongying glared fiercely at Yun Che, then turned and walked away.
Yun Che stood there, speechless for a long time.
What prompted Situ Xiongying to so urgently warn Yun Che was not his words or actions, but Mu Xiaolan’s natural gesture of pulling his sleeve… that kind of subconscious intimacy was clearly the most dangerous sign.
Mu Xiaolan and Lady Situ, reunited after a long separation, had endless things to talk about. Situ Xiongying practically fawned over Mu Hanyi, while Yun Che was left to the side. As the ark advanced, they had already flown into the Ice Wind Imperial City and were rapidly approaching the central palace.
“Yun Che, what did my father say to you just now? It seemed so mysterious.” Mu Xiaolan secretly sent him a sound transmission.
“Oh, your father said he wants to betroth you to me.” Yun Che replied languidly.
“You… you’ve become the Master’s personal disciple and you’re still talking nonsense like this! I’m not going to bother with you, hmph!”
After a short while, Mu Xiaolan transmitted again: “Ah? I think I forgot to introduce your status to my parents. It’s such an important thing…”
“You’d better not.” Yun Che’s voice was even more feeble: “I’m worried about your father’s heart condition.”
Mu Xiaolan: “???”
As the wind howled past, the ark arrived above the imperial palace. In a single glance, they saw several hundred people waiting before the main gate, surrounding a person dressed in silver robes and wearing a golden crown… It was none other than the current Ice Wind Nation Lord — Feng Huituo!
Situ Xiongying was momentarily surprised, then understanding dawned. He smiled and said to Mu Hanyi: “The Nation Lord must be missing his son dearly. Hearing that you would be returning, he came out to greet you in person.”
Mu Hanyi smiled without speaking. He knew full well that the reason his father had personally come out was because he had sent a sound transmission, saying he was bringing two distinguished guests from the Ice Phoenix God Sect.
The ark descended. Situ Xiongying and his wife stepped out and bowed together: “Situ Xiongying pays respects to the Ice Wind Nation Lord. May the Nation Lord enjoy boundless longevity, and may the Ice Wind Empire prosper for all ages.”
Although Situ Xiongying was an independent domain master, his domain bordered the Ice Wind Empire and he was somewhat subordinate, so he performed a half-bow.
“Ah, it’s Domain Master Situ. Please rise, please rise.” Feng Huituo stepped forward personally to help them up.
“Ice Wind Nation Lord,” Situ Xiongying said as he straightened up, smiling: “Take a look and see who has come.”
He stepped aside, and at that moment, Mu Hanyi, Mu Xiaolan, and Yun Che walked down from the ark.
“Yi’er!” Seeing Mu Hanyi, Feng Huituo called out in joyful surprise.
“Imperial younger brother!” Behind Feng Huituo, another young man also dressed in silver robes with an air of nobility exclaimed. This person was the Crown Prince of the Ice Wind Empire and Mu Hanyi’s elder brother — Feng Hange.
Mu Hanyi strode forward and knelt heavily: “Your son pays respects to Imperial Father and Imperial Brother! I have been away too long without inquiring about your health — Hanyi deserves death.”
“As long as you’re back, that’s what matters.” Feng Huituo reached out and slowly helped him up, looking him over from head to toe. Though he was an emperor, his eyes were slightly moist.
Mu Hanyi, however, kept his head lowered and said guiltily: “These years, I have rarely returned home, focusing all my efforts on cultivation, hoping only to be fortunate enough to become one of the Realm King’s personal disciples, bringing glory to Imperial Father and our mother nation. But… I was useless and failed to achieve that. I truly am ashamed to face Imperial Father.”
“Ah, what are you saying?” Feng Huituo gently shook his head: “Even if my son was not blessed enough to become the Realm King’s personal disciple, he still surpasses millions upon millions of men in the Yin Xue Realm.” His gaze shifted behind Mu Hanyi to Mu Xiaolan and Yun Che, both also dressed in Ice Phoenix God Sect snow-white robes: “Are these the two distinguished guests from the Ice Phoenix Sect who came with you?”
Mu Hanyi quickly composed himself: “Indeed, it is these two.”
Before Mu Hanyi could introduce them, Yun Che stepped forward on his own: “Ice Phoenix disciple Yun Che pays respects to the Ice Wind Nation Lord.”
“Ah…” Mu Xiaolan was a bit slow and then hurriedly said: “Ice Phoenix disciple Mu Xiaolan pays respects to the Ice Wind Nation Lord.”
Sweeping his spiritual sense over their auras, Feng Huituo felt a deep disappointment. They were indeed from the Ice Phoenix God Sect, but these were hardly distinguished guests — clearly their status and position were far below Mu Hanyi’s. If he had known this, he would never have come out in person with anticipation and reverence.
But he did not show his disappointment on his face. Instead, he smiled and said: “Since you are from the Ice Phoenix God Sect, you are honored guests of my Ice Wind Empire. Domain Master Situ, if I am not mistaken, this Mu Xiaolan is your beloved daughter, is she not?”
Situ Xiongying laughed heartily: “Exactly right. Truly worthy of the Ice Wind Nation Lord — your eyes are keen as a torch.”
“At such a young age, already granted the surname ‘Mu’ — her future prospects are truly limitless.” Feng Huituo smiled: “Domain Master Situ, you have raised a fine daughter. Please, come in, come in.”
Under the personal guidance of Feng Huituo and Feng Hange, the group soon entered the main hall.
Since Mu Hanyi had delayed his journey by a day, they arrived slightly past the scheduled start time of the birthday celebration. The main hall was already filled with guests. And those who had been invited were naturally all major figures renowned throughout the Yin Xue Realm.