"This is the place."
Back courtyard of the Earth Dragon Sect.
Nanshui Shui pointed at a well, still shaken. When she looked again at the Snow Empress and Ice Empress, a trace of fear crept into her gaze.
She was certain they were the overlords of the Extreme North. Their identities were easy to guess too: the third and seventh-ranked among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts were both here—and both brought by this youth… Truly strange.
"That's right, this feeling!" The loli Ice Empress's eyes lit up. With a flick of her ponytail, she pointed downward.
"Mhm…" The Snow Empress nodded. Her tranquil eyes took on a touch of softness when they landed on Su Wen.
So it's true…
From beneath the well she could sense a familiar aura. It had to be Myriad-Year Profound Ice Marrow.
The quantity couldn't compare to Skydream's encounter, but it would be more than enough for the Ice Empress to overcome her fourth heavenly tribulation.
At the moment, Su Wen's calm face and detached air—as if everything naturally fell into place—made her trust him a bit more.
…
On the way back.
The Ice Empress, in her little loli form, hugged several slabs of ice marrow taller than herself. She took a bite from the left, then the right, happily sitting on Ah Tai's shoulder, her fair calves swinging.
"Su Wen, I'll remember you as a friend. If anything happens, come to the Extreme North to find me. Big sis will help you…"
"So sleepy…"
Before she finished, the Ice Empress dozed off.
Ah Tai moved her into his palm, nodded to the Snow Empress and Su Wen, then shot into the distance like a cannonball, bounding away.
He needed to deliver the Ice Empress back to her lair. After devouring Profound Ice Marrow, falling into slumber was normal. For instance, Skydream slept his way to over nine hundred thousand years.
"Thank you."
The Snow Empress watched Ah Tai's figure fade, her red lips parting slightly.
"If you ever need anything, you can also seek me in the Extreme North."
"Alright!"
Su Wen nodded without hesitation.
Snowflakes danced across the Extreme North.
Four soul beasts followed behind him, taking in the snowy scenery.
Since Su Wen advanced to level forty, the four beasts hadn't ascended in cultivation, but their physiques had changed somewhat.
Gale's purple markings at the sides of its pupils extended toward its ear-plates, and its size surged to five and a half meters. Oddly, its originally sharp claws showed faint signs of regression. Its hands were more defined, more human-like—fundamentally different from ape-type soul beasts.
Little Gold grew to six meters, a towering, impregnable wall at Su Wen's back. Its fleshly bulwark was terrifying; its bear claws were razor-sharp. Many hard materials were like tofu before it, easily rent apart. Its needle-like fur pricked like steel, and its defense had soared.
Its next evolution was Behemoth—a race that could tear dragons apart—leaving Su Wen full of expectations.
And… the Ice Emperor Scorpion.
The little fellow's body was verdant green. Little? It was nearly two meters long, but beside the other two it looked like a mini doll.
That verdant hue seemed to be subtly shifting toward a more profound "azure." Once its entire body turned azure, that would likely mark the next evolution—into the Ice Extreme Emperor Scorpion.
He was curious about the Ice Emperor Scorpion's final form.
Could it become the ancient Ice God of legend…
Also—
Su Wen frowned.
He felt something was missing.
Right! He lacked a truly terrifying trump-card technique.
As the main body, he could only draw out two-thirds of his soul beasts' skill power. As for true "killer moves," besides a nerfed "Golden Left Arm," he basically had none.
Wait—the Snow Empress's three ultimate arts!
Su Wen's eyes lit up.
…
"You want to learn them?"
The Snow Empress looked at Su Wen, who had come back again, surprise flickering in her beautiful eyes.
After a moment's thought, she nodded slightly. "Alright."
"Empress' Sword, Empress' Palm, Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice."
"Empress' Sword is ice to the extreme, peerless. Its meaning is that one sword is without equal. Its power does not lie in cleaving, but in freezing…"
The Snow Empress's slender hand tightened, and an icy longsword formed in her palm. With a casual motion, she swung it forward.
"…"
The air solidified.
Seconds later—
An ancient, far-stretching ribbon of pale-blue sword intent condensed ahead, then swept outward. Wherever it passed, the white snowfield crystallized into rime. From the sky, one could see the pale blue racing outward, freezing the entire world—ten thousand li truly sealed in ice.
"This is the Empress' Sword?!!" Su Wen gasped.
No wonder it could serve as one of Huo Yuhao's late-stage main damage skills. Its might was extraordinary.
While part of it was the Snow Empress's own terrifying cultivation, the skill itself was indeed formidable.
"I won't demonstrate Empress' Palm; even restrained, it might injure you. The same goes for Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice. The former is my strongest trump card. Once it makes contact, the frost in my palm erupts with terrifying power. Unlike the Empress' Sword, which focuses on freezing, it focuses on damage…
"The last, Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice, is a domain skill, used to amplify the first two."
"Alright, I'll teach you Empress' Sword first."
The Snow Empress spoke softly.
…
…
One month later.
The Extreme North.
"Empress' Sword!"
With a low shout, a blade of ice condensed in the youth's hand. He slashed forward.
Extreme frost burst forth, layering thick rime across a radius of dozens of meters, sealing everything.
"Hah… hah…"
Su Wen blew out a breath of white mist, panting, joy on his face.
True to its source in the Snow Empress—and as one of the top skills in the original—this technique greatly drained his soul power even at Rank 44 Soul Ancestor. But its power was indeed delightful.
And the Empress' Palm—
He had tested it on Xiao Bai.
Even a hundred-thousand-year soul beast had a momentary disruption of soul power within, forced to focus to stabilize meridians and blood flow.
By his estimate, even a Soul Emperor taking a direct hit from his Empress' Palm would most likely die on the spot. It's hard to learn and has strict requirements (at least the Ultimate Ice attribute), but once mastered, the returns are generous.
"Not bad." The Snow Empress nodded slightly.
She was quite pleased with this half-apprentice of hers.
"Snow Empress, are you going to assume human form?"
The Empress' Sword faded from Su Wen's hand as he looked at the still-proud Snow Empress.
"Mm?"
Surprise crossed her face.
After a brief hesitation, she nodded gently.
"Those Profound Ice Marrows are only enough for Bing'er to surpass her fourth tribulation. They're useless to me. Even if there were more, they'd still be useless. As a spirit of ice and snow born of the Extreme North, external force does little for me. I can only rely on myself…
"But overcoming the sixth tribulation has exhausted all my talent and potential. The seventh stands before me like a mountain. Perhaps fate wills it so. Since the Ice Empress has resolved her own crisis, I can begin preparations I've made for millennia."
"…"
Su Wen was silent.
"Take care. If you assume human form, it's best to have Xiao Bai and Ah Tai guard you together. Without you and the Ice Empress, the Extreme North's core isn't safe…"
"Mm…"
The Snow Empress nodded lightly.