C723 Lost in the Water

“Splash...”

Woo Zhengyang fell into the water, sending up a spray. The water was beneath the ice layer, and the two of them could splash around because they had broken through a section of it. By sheer chance, Woo Zhengyang was standing right at the edge of the broken ice when Bing Yue gave him a shove, causing him to slip into the water. The current carried him further under the ice.

Instinctively, when someone falls into water, they try to get their head above the surface. Woo Zhengyang was no different. Unfortunately, the surface above him was solid ice, and he bumped his head against it. After a brief moment of panic, he regained his composure. Being trapped underwater wasn’t a big deal for him; with his skills, he could stay submerged for hours without a problem. Still, he was annoyed at how he ended up in the water in the first place.

What made it worse was Bing Yue standing above on the ice, laughing at his predicament. Frustrated, Woo Zhengyang decided not to swim to the edge. Instead, he punched the ice.

“Thud…”

To his surprise, the punch didn’t have the effect he expected. Bing Yue had broken the ice earlier without much effort, so Woo Zhengyang thought a simple punch would do the trick.

Unexpectedly, when Woo Zhengyang threw his punch, it didn't break through the ice layer, barely leaving a mark. You'd think, given that Zhengyang is a Body Tempering cultivator, even without using his full strength, his punch could easily exert over a thousand pounds of force.

Yet, over a thousand pounds of force couldn't break through what seemed like a relatively thin layer of ice?

"Haha... You blockhead, you should soak in water more often. Haven't I made it obvious enough for you? I created this whole emotional farewell scene, and you still don't get it?" Bing Yue laughed heartily above the water, clearly annoyed.

Meanwhile, Zhengyang, submerged, threw another punch. This time, he held back again, wanting to test just how much force the ice could withstand.

Two thousand pounds! Three thousand pounds! The ice turned slightly white but showed no signs of breaking.

Four thousand pounds! Five thousand pounds! Cracks began to appear on the ice, indicating it was on the verge of breaking.

For Zhengyang, five thousand pounds is a piece of cake, but needing that much force to break a single layer of ice was baffling. According to Bing Yue, the deeper the ice layers, the harder they become. This was just the surface layer. The deeper ice must be incredibly formidable, which explains why no one has ever found the source of this peculiar ice water.

“Bam...”

Another punch landed, shattering the already webbed ice layer.

“Why did you push me into the water?” Woo Zhengyang asked Bing Yue, clearly annoyed.

“I thought you needed some hydration, so I figured a dip would do you good. Plus, a soak in this water is great for the skin and perfect for training!” Bing Yue replied with a straight face, making it up as she went along.

“I need hydration...”

Woo Zhengyang was speechless. What kind of excuse was that?

“If this water is so great, why don't you join me for a soak?” Woo Zhengyang said, reaching for Bing Yue's foot.

“No way... I’m plenty hydrated!” Bing Yue yelped, trying to dodge. But she was too close to Woo Zhengyang to escape and he caught her foot.

“Why enjoy it alone when we can both have fun? You dared to push me in, so it's only fair I return the favor!” With that, Woo Zhengyang pulled Bing Yue into the water...

“Woo Zhengyang, how dare you drag me in! I’ll get you for this!” Bing Yue was furious, lunging at Woo Zhengyang like an angry little tiger.

Woo Zhengyang wasn't about to give in easily and dove underwater...

Bing Yue, not one to back down, quickly followed suit.

Since they were already in the water, neither of them was in a hurry to get out. They started playfully chasing each other around. Who knows how much time passed as they were caught up in their fun, completely losing track of time. Suddenly, they realized they'd been swimming under the ice for quite a while. The hole they had entered through was nowhere to be seen, and even the light filtering down from above was growing dim.

The main issue was that during their playful antics, they had drifted into an area where underground streams converged, creating a small lake-like space beneath the ice, with tributaries branching off in all directions.

Woo Zhengyang looked at Bing Yue, wanting to ask if she remembered which stream they had come from. Unfortunately, before he could say anything, Bing Yue shook her head with a resigned expression and communicated, "I was just chasing after you and didn't think about anything else. Everything looks the same under the ice—who can remember which way is which?"

Now, they were truly at a loss, and it was a genuine predicament. Being submerged in water, even if they wanted to cry, it would be impossible. Any tears they managed to squeeze out would be indistinguishable from the water around them.

If it were just an ordinary ice layer, they wouldn't have been worried. They could easily break through it. But this ice was anything but ordinary; it was incredibly strong. Earlier, Woo Zhengyang had needed to exert a force of about 11,000 pounds to break through the top layer, and who knew how deep they were now?

They were in the water, with no way to find leverage and many restrictions, making it even harder to break through the ice above. If they couldn’t break through and exhausted themselves first, it would be even more troublesome.

“Woo Zhengyang, do you think we might end up drowning here? That would be embarrassing! I’d probably be the first king to drown, the first leader of the Ice Heart Sect to die in the water.”

“Don’t worry! Over the ages, stranger things have happened. You definitely won’t be the first king to drown, and maybe someone else has already drowned here before,” Woo Zhengyang replied with a chuckle.

“Hmph, you’re still joking at a time like this. But if we do drown, it wouldn’t be so bad. We could die in each other’s arms, and maybe the ice would preserve our bodies. When people find us later, they might think we were lovers who died together.” Bing Yue laughed, moving closer to embrace Woo Zhengyang.

“What are you doing? Are you really in such a hurry to die? There’s no need to rush!” Woo Zhengyang was used to Bing Yue’s antics, and while he said this, he didn’t resist.

“Hehe... I’m just holding on to you. If we get separated, we can’t die together!”

Bing Yue said this as she held on tighter, almost pressing her entire body against Woo Zhengyang...