As his words fell, aside from the sizzling of fat and the howling wind and snow, all the beasts present fell silent.
If the first sentence meant Su Wen dropped all pretenses—he was aiming for the Ice Empress's soul bone; one could even say he was disgusting, more so than Skydream—at least the latter didn't dress it up. Su Wen said so much, didn't take the Ice Empress in, and still eyed her soul bone...
But the second sentence left them all dumbfounded.
Especially the Snow Empress—her eyes, once dangerous, now showed astonishment.
"You mean... help the Ice Empress get through the fourth tribulation?" she asked suspiciously. Could this be a trap laid for the first option?
Even with the Rui Beast and Soul Beast Master here, she remained wary of Su Wen.
"Yes." Su Wen still nodded calmly.
He flipped the sizzling meat. His tone didn't ripple.
This was the core of the Extreme North, close to minus 200°C, but with a group of ice powerhouses present, his barbecue might as well have been indoors—the flames leapt, unaffected.
He looked at the Ice Empress and spoke lightly.
"You just choose. Leave the outcome to me."
"This world is a great treasury. Often you're stuck at a stage simply because you haven't found the right key... And those keys—I have them, many of them."
"But why would you help me?" the Ice Empress asked, confused.
If he was after her soul bone, that would make sense. But he was offering a second option—no benefit to him, likely at considerable cost.
"We're friends, aren't we?" Su Wen suddenly asked.
"I... suppose," the Ice Empress said, thinking of his first words upon arrival—let's be friends. Somehow, she felt shy saying the word.
"For friends, nothing is a hassle," Su Wen grinned.
He extended his fist.
"Long live friendship."
"Long... live friendship." The Ice Empress turned her head aside. Speaking of friendship under everyone's gaze felt embarrassing, but she still raised a claw to bump his fist.
The Titan Snow Demon King lumbered closer.
He didn't dare speak and disturb the big shots, but his eyes stayed on Su Wen. With his brain, he might not grasp "evolution," but from their talk he'd learned this evolution seemed to be bloodline evolution.
In the future... there was a good chance to restore his ancestor's glory.
To evolve to the level of the Ice God.
This tempted him greatly, so he stared at Su Wen, hoping for a response. But Su Wen didn't dare look up. He could fulfill the Ice Empress's tribulation—and he wouldn't take her because he had the Ice Emperor already. But the Titan Snow Demon King... he just didn't measure up. Su Wen feared hurting his pride.
So, even catching the silent, self-pointing plea from that big guy out of the corner of his eye, he didn't betray it—he kept his head down, eating roast Snow Spirit Pig.
"That's an almost 400,000-year soul bone and a huge amount of origin power. You're not a bit tempted?"
In Su Wen's spiritual sea, Electrolux smiled.
"Tempted, sure. But as a friend, I should respect her choice," Su Wen smacked his lips.
He did hope the Ice Empress would pick the first—her torso bone would hugely boost the Ice Emperor. But obviously—this ruler of the Extreme North wouldn't bow unless cornered.
So he'd do his best to help her through the tribulation.
…
Whoosh—
Clear skies suddenly turned to a blizzard.
The weather dimmed. Sight was swallowed by the storm. Only Su Wen and a few others remained untouched—the blizzard seemed to avoid this small area.
Su Wen blinked.
"A blizzard—unique to extremes of cold and heat. The hot-land version is a sandstorm," the Ice Empress explained.
Su Wen pursed his lips.
He knew that—he was just surprised the Douluo world had such natural "disasters." Of course, it might also be the rulers' passing mood?
"The Snow Empress's mood can indeed affect these..." the Ice Empress added.
"Ah, that explains it."
...
"It's actually the Extreme North storm—how unlucky, Lengye. This once-in-a-century thing, and we grandpa and granddaughter run into it..."
An old man in finery smiled bitterly.
A white storm rolled from afar—even dozens of km away, one could hear its roar.
A girl of around sixteen or seventeen pressed her lips, worried. "Grandpa, is the Extreme North storm that scary?"
"It's not that its force is deadly. We're ice-type soul masters— even in the core, we can swim like fish. But the storm's terror is in getting lost—like traveling at night yet having to keep going. Once an Extreme North storm starts, it lasts at least two months. If we can't get out, we'll be trapped to death... or run into the most terrifying beings here."
The old man sighed.
"Let's go. Dangerous or not, we must hurry out."
But even retracing their steps, the storm caught them like a creeping night that swallowed light. Bracing into the blizzard, they pressed on...
...
Su Wen quietly plotted how to ask the Earth Dragon Sect for Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence.
That place was a hidden Earth Dragon Sect secret realm where many disciples trained. In the original story, if not for that location, the sect's station was occupied by the Sun-Moon Empire and Huo Yuhao slipped in; otherwise, getting the Ice Marrow wouldn't be easy.
Going under Shrek's banner would be ostentatious, arousing suspicion—more trouble.
Should he wait until the Sun-Moon Empire occupied it, then act with justification?
Su Wen rubbed his chin.
What did the Earth Dragon Sect lack...
"Grandpa, there's light ahead!"
A voice rang out.
Two figures stumbled in.
Su Wen looked up. An old and a young one—the old man had the soul power of about a Soul King, the girl at peak Soul Elder.
Looks like they got lost in the blizzard.
Unlucky to have wandered into the core.
As Su Wen sized them up, they also sized up him.
The old man's heart thumped. From afar, he hadn't seen clearly—thought they'd exited into a nearby village. Closer, he saw a group.
One man, three women, and two Ice Jade Scorpions (about a meter long, thus not eye-catching).
They looked leisurely, like on an outing—sharply contrasting his bedraggled pair. More importantly—even the blizzard roaring around diverted obediently, forming a vacuum around them.
This was not something ordinary soul masters could do!