The night after the Snow Empress awakened as a soul spirit, the Ice Empress emerged from her cocoon — the eve of the finals of the Continental Elite Soul Master Tournament.
Compared to the Snow Empress's human form, the Ice Empress was far wilder in appearance. Although the Ice Jade Scorpion was one of the more aesthetically pleasing soul beasts, nothing stirred Zhu Ziyang's heart more than a beautiful human face.
That wasn't to say the Ice Empress was ugly — quite the opposite. Her entire body gleamed like flawless emerald jade, every inch shining like a gemstone. Her scorpion tail glistened with a diamond-like luster. She resembled an exquisite piece of art, the kind that made one want to reach out and hold it.
Of course, this was merely her non-combat state. Once she entered battle mode, she would revert to her original form and size — a massive Ice Jade Scorpion over two meters long.
In fact, all three of them — the Ice Empress, Snow Empress, and Er Shuang — had different forms for battle and non-battle states. Snow Empress's non-combat form was that of a three-to-four-year-old toddler, while her battle state appeared like a child of five or six. This form would gradually age as her strength recovered. As for Er Shuang, the difference was purely in size, much like the Ice Empress. Her battle form was her true Silver Dragon form — grand and majestic.
With all three soul spirits gathered, Zhu Ziyang decided it was time to set some ground rules.
"You can call me 'Master' from now on," he said. "Or just use my name if you prefer — whatever suits you. But there's one thing you must always remember. You must follow my commands."
"Master? Pah!" Er Shuang tilted her chin proudly. "No way! I'll call you Ziyang instead."
"Then Ziyang it is," the Ice Empress responded coldly, her voice crisp and direct.
"Can I call you something else?" Snow Empress's little face blushed faintly. Her voice lacked its usual commanding tone and instead matched her appearance — a shy, timid little girl, asking hesitantly.
"Oh?" Zhu Ziyang blinked in surprise. "What do you want to call me?"
"Da… Daddy…" Snow Empress mumbled, sounding like a child caught doing something wrong and fearing punishment.
"What?" Zhu Ziyang thought he'd misheard and looked at her in stunned disbelief.
"I said, I want to call you Daddy!" Snow Empress suddenly gathered her courage and shouted.
"Er…" This time, Zhu Ziyang heard her clearly. His face filled with a mixture of confusion, curiosity, and disbelief.
"You're not joking?" he asked.
"No!" Snow Empress replied firmly. "You gave me a second life and a future filled with light. So you're the father of this new body of mine — I want to call you Daddy!"
Zhu Ziyang confirmed she was serious. Though helpless, a smile spread across his face.
"If that's what you want, I don't mind. I suppose I've gained a daughter."
"Thank you," Snow Empress's eyes sparkled. She stepped forward and leapt into his arms. Nestled in his chest, she whispered, "Daddy…"
Holding her close, Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but feel sympathy and tenderness for this once-untouchable empress of the Far North.
"Mhm. I'm here," he answered gently.
The father-daughter embrace brought tears to the Ice Empress's eyes. Er Shuang, on the other hand, kept pouting in confusion. She couldn't understand why Snow Empress would want to recognize someone as her father. But the Ice Empress, who shared a deep bond with her, understood perfectly.
"Shuang'er," she said, "I know you're wondering why Snow Empress would call Ziyang 'Daddy,' right?"
Er Shuang nodded.
"You know she's an Heavenly Snow Women — a spirit born of heaven and earth. Only one can exist in the world at a time, which means she has no kin, no family. But as a fully sentient elemental being, her yearning for family has been there since the moment she was born."
"Before I met her, she had lived alone for 300,000 years. That kind of loneliness is something soul beasts like us — who have clans and families — can't even begin to imagine."
"I see…" Er Shuang clicked her tongue, admitting, "Looks like I misunderstood her."
"Daddy, can you give me a name?" Snow Empress looked up, eyes sparkling with hope. "Please?"
"Why?" Zhu Ziyang blinked. "I think 'Snow Empress' sounds fine."
"But I heard human fathers give each of their children a nice name!" she replied sweetly, smiling like a little girl — so pure, so innocent, completely indistinguishable from a human child.
"I see!" Zhu Ziyang laughed. "Alright, from now on, you'll be called Zhu Lingxue. And your nickname will be Xue'er. How's that?"
"Mhm! From now on, I'm Xue'er!" she replied, beaming with joy.
—
As the sun rose in the east, Star Luo City, capital of the Star Luo Empire, was in complete gridlock — something that hadn't occurred in a decade. Every street was packed with people, traffic utterly halted.
There was only one event that could cause such chaos — the finals of the Continental Elite Soul Master Tournament.
However, despite the crowding, the teams from Shrek Academy and Sun Moon Academy had already arrived at Star Luo Square via special access.
In truth, Star Luo Square had the densest population in the entire city. From the moment the semifinals ended, lines had begun forming outside the square. Some had been waiting for two days and nights, just for a chance to witness the final match. For many, this might be the only chance in their lives to see such an event.
Shrek Academy's team wasn't bothered by the crowds. They were seated comfortably in a luxurious waiting area, discussing strategies for the upcoming matches.
The tournament final followed a unique format. Unlike any other competition on the continent, it featured three rounds: team battle, individual duel, and cooperation match.
That's right. The finals required both teams to go through a best-of-three setup. First a seven-versus-seven team battle, then seven individual duels in turn — a knockout format — and finally, if needed, a three-part cooperative battle in 2-2-3 segments.
Usually, the finals didn't even reach the cooperation match. Shrek Academy's dominance was simply overwhelming. Even though Sun Moon Academy was strong this year, they still fell short against Shrek.
Most spectators didn't expect the final to go to a third round either. After all, Shrek Academy had a secret weapon — a monstrously strong competitor.
The Golden Moon Sovereign — Zhu Ziyang!
To show respect to both academies, Emperor Xu Jiawei of the Star Luo Empire arrived early and took his seat atop the imperial viewing tower. Behind him stood the nobility and ministers of the empire — and a surprise figure no one had expected — Duke White Tiger, Dai Hao.
Dai Hao stood respectfully by the emperor's side, speaking in hushed tones. His loyalty was evident even without close observation.
On the emperor's other side sat Princess Xu Jiujiu. Her eyes immediately found Zhu Ziyang. Her feelings toward this genius Soul Emperor with ten-thousand-year soul rings were complicated. Last night's words from Elder Luo still lingered in her mind, and her face flushed with a mix of anger and embarrassment.
"Silence! The match is about to begin. His Majesty will speak." Dai Hao's voice rang out firmly. Though he hadn't used a sound-amplifying soul tool, his voice carried across the entire square, filled with iron-blooded authority.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The soldiers maintaining order shouted in unison, raising their weapons. A chilling aura spread throughout Star Luo Square.
Xu Jiawei smiled and said, "The last time I watched the Continental Elite Soul Master Tournament in Star Luo City was twenty years ago. Back then, both I and my dear brother Dai Hao were mere youths."
"Time has flown. Today, I am emperor, and he is the empire's greatest general."
"And now, we are about to witness a battle between the continent's finest young talents. I am excited. I hope both teams deliver a splendid performance for all who have gathered here."
"As tradition dictates, the winner of today's final will receive three soul bones and one million gold soul coins. Ten soul bones have been selected from the imperial treasury, from which the champion team may choose three."
"As always, today's match will be officiated by Heavenly Fiend Douluo."
"That's all. Now let us witness together a match that will surely go down in history!"
(End of Chapter)
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