She knew this principle all too well.
While she was on Blue Star, all her appearance fees and capital were controlled by her family.
Liu Muxue wanted to refuse, but under the continuous mental pressure from her parents, she silently endured it all.
Now that she had come to this world, it seemed to give her a chance to break free from her original family and start over.
Moments later, Liu Muxue nodded seriously, "I will, Axing."
Having said that, the two of them each sat on the bed.
But because of what had happened before, sleep was nowhere to be found.
At that moment, Liu Muxue seemed to remember something and suddenly stood up, walking over to the stove.
The stove was lit, and the iron pot was boiling water.
In a short while, Liu Muxue was holding a small bucket of hot water next to Cao Xing.
Her face carried a bashful expression as she said softly, "Axing... I see your feet are a bit frostbitten. Soaking them in hot water before sleeping will feel more comfortable."
Cao Xing, who indeed felt his feet nearly frozen numb, said, "Okay, Saozi."
He was just about to reach for the wooden bucket.
But then he heard Liu Muxue say softly, "Let me help you..."
Her voice was very light; Cao Xing even thought he had heard wrong.
However, Liu Muxue had already squatted down and placed the small wooden bucket beside the bed.
She blushed, awkwardly lifting Cao Xing's feet to the edge of the bucket.
Cao Xing was having another girl help him soak his feet for the first time, and he felt a strange sensation.
"Thanks, Saozi."
Liu Muxue shyly said, "No... no trouble at all."
The warm water poured over Cao Xing's icy feet while steam kept rising.
Liu Muxue knelt down, her shapely buttocks prominently displayed, and her waistline revealed with no secrets, which could be described as a devilish figure.
Her delicate palms continually slid over the top of Cao Xing's feet, each time sending an electric shock through him.
As the steam rose steadily, Cao Xing distinctly felt their body temperatures rising.
"Saozi."
Hearing the call, Liu Muxue lifted her head, her face clouded with steam.
"Hmm..."
At that moment, she saw Cao Xing's face gradually closing in.
Liu Muxue seemed to realize something, her face flushing deeply as she looked down.
But soon, she lifted her head again to look at Cao Xing.
Her exquisite face revealed shyness and, it seemed, a bit of anticipation.
From this angle, Liu Muxue's blushing cheeks were incredibly alluring, and her slightly trembling lips made one want to taste them on the spot.
Their distance gradually closed, and they could even feel each other's warm breaths.
Liu Muxue, amidst her nervousness, felt some anticipation as well.
"Axing..."
Liu Muxue still wanted to say something, but she saw the man in front of her face loom larger and larger.
Moments later, Liu Muxue moved from initial sluggishness to a youthful response.
The night was fiery.
In the small room, the temperature rose gradually.
A few minutes later, Liu Muxue's chest heaved, and she collapsed into Cao Xing's arms, exhaling softly like orchids.
Then, she stood up from Cao Xing's embrace and, with a face full of shyness, burrowed into her own little quilt...
...
...
After Liu Muxue hung up the phone.
Father Liu and Mother Liu were immediately beside themselves with frustration.
They tried many times to call Liu Muxue, but each call was directly rejected by her.
Mother Liu dejectedly said, "Old man, what should we do now?"
"Little Xue refuses to give us food, and Dabao and Xiaobao have been crying from hunger; we don't even know what to eat tomorrow..."
Father Liu, Liu Zhenjie, also thought deeply.
At that moment, he seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "Yunlan, don't you think the boy staying with Little Xue looked familiar?"
At these words, a look of remembrance also came into Mother Liu's eyes.
After a moment, Mother Liu gasped, "I think I remember now!"
"That boy, he seems to be a driver from Chen Jiang's company, often sent to pick up our daughter!"
The two were suddenly shocked.
Mother Liu said angrily, "Well! A mere driver dares to insult us!"
"When I find the chance, see how I'll teach you a lesson!"
Liu Zhenjie calmed down and said, "Don't be hasty, I just noticed Fang Long speaking; he seems to be in the same area as us."
Mother Liu was surprised, "Fang Long, the one from the Three Heroes Association?"
Liu Zhenjie nodded, "Yes, he seems to have already started uniting other members of the Three Heroes Association; it looks like he's doing pretty well."
Mother Liu's face lit up with joy, "That's great; I remember Fang Long was also an avid suitor of Little Xue. Let's contact him first and see if we can get some food from him."
...
The next day...
A system prompt appeared.
[All survivors please note, you have survived the first night of the Ice Seal Age.]
[Newbie protection period remaining: 4 days 22 hours.]
"There are 5 more days of safe time."
Cao Xing opened his eyes and saw the beauty lying beside him.
There seemed to be a trace of sweetness lingering on his lips.
Last night, they hadn't crossed the final threshold.
Having just arrived in this world, neither was mentally prepared yet.
Cao Xing shook his head to dismiss the jumbled thoughts.
He then glanced at the area channel.
[174 Area Channel]
[Online Number: 38024/40173]
Compared to yesterday, more than a thousand people had died.
They had not survived this world's first night.
The World Channel and Area Channel were filled with various cries for help.
Liu Muxue also woke up at that time and apparently remembered the events of last night, once again becoming unbearably shy.
She poked her head out and asked softly, "Axing... what are we doing today?"
Cao Xing said, "Today, we need to upgrade the Polar People Hut first and then recruit 4 Polar People to work."
"Then get the Tailor Shop, Blacksmith Shop and the like up, but we don't need to work on these ourselves."
"Now, let's go out and assign work to those Polar People."
"Mmm..."
Liu Muxue responded softly.
Then the two got up from the wood bed together and walked out of the Lord's Hut.
The sky of this apocalyptic world remained dim, with little sun even at bright daylight.
Four Polar People were already standing outside the bonfire, waiting.
"Lord, may you be in good health!"
"Good morning, Second Lord!"
Four Polar People called out respectfully.
Cao Xing nodded and then assigned them all work.
He had the four Polar People split into two groups, each starting to upgrade a Polar People Hut.
A System Prompt appeared.
"Would you like to consume the following materials: Wood*50, Stone*30, and upgrade Polar People Hut to Level 2?"
"Yes."
[Upgrading Polar People Hut..., 27 minutes remaining...]
The Polar People began their work.
As for Cao Xing, he took out the Recruitment Scroll that had dropped yesterday from his backpack.
[Frost Wolf Knight Recruitment Scroll (Blue): This scroll can be used to recruit a Level 10 Frost Wolf Knight.]
The reason he hadn't recruited it yesterday was that it was close to night, and there was no need for battle.
Moreover, such a powerful creature would consume a large amount of food each night, so saving any bit of food was beneficial.
A System Prompt appeared.
"Would you like to use the scroll to recruit a Frost Wolf Knight?"
"Yes."
Cao Xing promptly clicked confirm.
The next moment, a gigantic Hexagram Array appeared beneath his feet.
Then the Hexagram Array began to emit an even more dazzling light.
"Wow, this commotion seems even more terrifying than when I summoned Yilena!"
Cao Xing's eyes sparkled with surprise.
Through the blinding light of the Teleportation Array, Cao Xing faintly saw a towering figure over two meters tall, radiating a formidable presence.
A powerful aura emerged.
Then, the light dissipated.
A massive white wolf, covered in snow-white fur and nearly three meters long, appeared.
Its robust limbs and exposed fangs showcased the enormous wolf's ferocious power.
And looking up,
On the back of the white wolf, there sat a Frost Wolf Knight clad in white Armor and wielding a Longsword!
At that moment, the Frost Wolf Knight pulled on the reins.
The Frost Wolf below him raised its head and howled.
"Awooo!!!"
The sound was resonant and wide-reaching, spreading for kilometers.
Compared to the oppressive presence of the Snake-man Tribe Priest, it was more than twice as formidable!
When he noticed Cao Xing below,
The Frost Wolf Knight removed his Helmet, revealing a head of wild, dark brown hair that resembled weeds.
He then leaped down and performed a flawless Knightly salute toward Cao Xing.
"Knight Assam at your service!"
Cao Xing gazed in awe at this pairing of man and wolf.
Attribute stats then appeared before him.
[Frost Wolf Knight: Assam (Not Advanced)]
(Note: After reaching Level 10, can advance to Second Order entity through the Heart of Power!)
[Race: Human Clan]
[Level: 10 1722/10000]
[Life Value: 1020]
[Attack Power: 137~146]
[Armor: 24~27]
[Attributes: Power 57, Agility 54, Spirit 48, Constitution 51]
[Skills: Riding Mastery (When fighting on a mount, Power and Agility are boosted by an additional 10%.)
Frost Wolf Swordsmanship (When using sword weapons to attack, deal an extra 20% Damage.)]
[Talent: Polar Physique]
[Hunger Level: 72]
[Loyalty: 71]
...
...
[Frost Wolf: Frost (Not Advanced)]
[Race: Beast]
[Level: 10 273/10000]
[Life Value: 1540]
[Attack Power: 134~138]
[Armor: 12~14]
[Attributes: Power 67, Agility 71, Spirit 57, Constitution 77]
[Skills: Frost Bite (When attacks hit, adds 1 layer of Frozen status to the enemy. When Frost layers reach 5 or more, the enemy's blood freezes, causing them to be Frozen for 3~5 seconds.)
Frost Claw Strike (When attacks hit, adds 1 Bleeding Effect layer to the enemy, losing Life Value equal to Agility*0.3 every second, lasting for 3 seconds.)]
[Talent: Wolf Pack Will (When the number of Frost Wolves gathered surpasses 10, Move Speed increases by 20%, Attack Power by 20%.)]
[Hunger Level: 65]
...
Cao Xing's eyes gleamed with intense delight as he reviewed the attributes of these two colossal beings.
"Not bad, a buy one get one free deal?"
"And both are such powerful creatures, this is indeed a jackpot!"
The sudden appearance of two Level 10 entities was something Cao Xing had not anticipated.
At this moment, the Frost Wolf Knight maintained his saluting pose, seemingly waiting for Cao Xing's orders.
After a moment of thought, Cao Xing did not rush to command the Frost Wolf Knight.
Instead, he first applied four permanent buffs to Assam and the Frost Wolf beside him: Ice Armor Skill, Ice Healing Skill, Scale Armor, and Snake-man Tribe Frenzy.
The Frost Wolf Knight felt four strange energies suddenly surge within him, greatly enhancing his survivability and combat abilities.
Assam immediately knelt on one knee, saying in awe, "You are the greatest Lord I have ever seen, Assam pledges his Loyalty to you!"
[By helping Territory Member: Assam improve his strength, his Loyalty has increased, current Loyalty: 80]
Assam's Loyalty soared.
Cao Xing was thrilled.
This SSS-tier Talent was incredibly useful; in the future, no matter what type of unit he recruited, he could give them a round of buffs.
Then, Cao Xing said to the Frost Wolf Knight, "Assam, I have an exploration task for you."
"Head northeast from the base camp, and mark any resource points or wild creatures you encounter along the way."
"After you've explored a range of ten kilometers, return and report to me."
The Frost Wolf Knight stomped his feet in respect and said, "I will follow your command, Lord!"
With those words, he jumped onto the wolf's back, then raised his Longsword and pointed forward.
"Frost Wolf Warriors, move out!"
...