Shu Yan raised his head, gazing at the Snow Empress's almost perfect, beautiful face. He then let out a soft laugh and shook his head.
"Impossible, Snow Empress," he said. "Your dislike and resistance toward humans are obvious. The only reasons I'm special to you are the Ice Sky Snow Woman Martial Soul I possess and the bloodline within me that originates from almost the same source as yours. Without these, there would likely be four more corpses on the edge of the Extreme North Land today."
"Humans and Soul Beasts are naturally enemies. The path of human advancement requires stepping on the lives of Soul Beasts. You're the Emperor of the Extreme North Land. Compared to ordinary Soul Beasts, your hatred for humans will only be more, not less."
Unbeknownst to Shu Yan, the Snow Empress's slender, jade-like fingers began to gently tap the throne beneath her, which was made from thousand-year-old cold ice marrow. The crisp sound echoed continuously within the grand hall and resonated in Shu Yan's heart.
The next second, the Snow Empress's slender phoenix eyes swept over Shu Yan. Shu Yan felt a tingling sensation on his scalp, as if all his secrets were exposed before her, but he still forced himself to meet her gaze.
After a long while, a slight ripple appeared in the Snow Empress's eyes, which were usually as calm as stagnant water. She parted her red lips lightly and spoke word by word: "This Emperor will not allow a human with the Ice Sky Snow Woman Martial Soul to leave the Extreme North Land, unless you can personally defeat this Emperor."
Regarding Shu Yan's existence, her heart was clearly conflicted.
On one hand, she intensely disliked and was averse to humans. Yet, the aura and bloodline on Shu Yan's body made her uncontrollably feel a sense of closeness to him. Even though she did have killing intent, she could never bring herself to act.
The conflict within her left her completely clueless on how to deal with Shu Yan, so she simply decided to imprison him directly in the Extreme North Land. This saved her the trouble of him potentially harming the Extreme North Land after his rise in the human world in the future.
As for the reason on the other hand, it was truly difficult to explain.
Since her birth, the Snow Empress had lived in the Extreme North Land for hundreds of thousands of years. From her initial weakness, she had step by step become the Emperor revered by all races in the Extreme North. The loneliness and pain in her heart were beyond anyone's imagination or understanding.
Even the Ice Empress could only manage to slightly ease this feeling. A piece was missing from her heart, and that missing piece came from a yearning for companions and warm happiness. She saw a faint possibility of all of this in Shu Yan.
Therefore, Shu Yan had gambled correctly. The Snow Empress would not kill him; in some ways, she couldn't bear to kill him.
But regarding this, Shu Yan just smiled lightly, feeling no surprise. Since such bizarre things like transmigrating had already happened to him, it was hard for other matters to cause him significant emotional changes anymore.
Shu Yan looked at the Snow Empress seriously. After this complete awakening of his innate Domain, his appearance had become even more handsome than before, and he had gained a unique, clear, and ethereal temperament. Even from the Snow Empress's current perspective, the elegance and composure Shu Yan showed in his every movement were still captivating. No wonder Xu Jiujiu's feelings gradually changed during their childhood friendship, eventually becoming uncontrollable.
"Snow Empress, let's be straightforward," Shu Yan proposed. "Perhaps besides these pleasantries, we have something else that both of us might find more interesting to discuss."
Shu Yan coughed twice again. The sound was not loud, but it made the Snow Empress clearly feel that the young man before her seemed to have suddenly changed into a different person, and the aura around him abruptly became sharp.
The Snow Empress slowly sat up, her expression showing no change.
Shu Yan's gaze met hers again. Both of them felt a tremor simultaneously. The next moment, Shu Yan spoke word by word: "Your origin is damaged, and you no longer have the strength to pass the 700,000-year heavenly tribulation. Between life and death, you should make a choice. My words should be correct, right?"
Boom!
The Snow Empress's aura surged violently. The surrounding palace also shook, and countless ice shards fell. Shu Yan uncontrollably retreated more than ten steps before finally stabilizing himself. The next moment, the Snow Empress's voice, seemingly laced with ice shards, sounded from above: "Human, tell this Emperor how you know these secrets, and this Emperor can leave you a complete corpse."
Hearing this, Shu Yan showed no panic on his face; he merely continued: "You can relax, the only people under the heavens who know about this are me and the Ice Empress. No one else knows. As for how I found out, I have no comment."
The Snow Empress just coldly stared at Shu Yan, and only after a long while did she speak: "Your words, this Emperor does not believe."
Shu Yan looked up, facing the Snow Empress directly, and then said: "As the most devout believer of Lord Sea God, I swear to the great Lord Sea God that every word I speak is true. If there is a single falsehood, my form and spirit shall be utterly destroyed."
Hearing this, the Snow Empress's pupils slightly narrowed, as if she recalled that scene from ten thousand years ago. She still had a deep impression of that event. The world changed color, and an aura that suppressed all living beings, preventing them from raising their heads, permeated above the entire Continent. That was a true God-level aura, powerful beyond imagination.
And the God who emerged victorious in the subsequent divine battle, if the Snow Empress remembered correctly, was the Sea God.
Perhaps Shu Yan's oath was too resolute; the Snow Empress's expression softened slightly. Shu Yan's lips curved into a barely noticeable arc.
The Sea God... an existence described as a savior in the legends of the Continent, but Shu Yan never saw him that way. Right and wrong, black and white are all decided by the victors. No one cares about the rightness or wrongness of the losers; from the moment they fail, their fate is already sealed.
But what did any of this have to do with him?
Regarding God, he had no reverence whatsoever, let alone faith. Without faith, the essence of these oaths didn't exist, so what use were they? They were just tricks to deceive people.
The Snow Empress looked at Shu Yan. The calmness in her eyes was gone, replaced by a complex emotion. "What exactly do you want to say, and what do you want? Heh heh... Only now has this Emperor realized that throughout such a long time, this Emperor has never truly seen through you humans, this race favored by heaven and earth."
Shu Yan's expression slowly softened. He looked at the Snow Empress's face and said softly: "Whether human or Soul Beast, their lifespan is ultimately limited. In this era, even among humans, a plant-type Soul Master known for longevity, even if they successfully cultivate to the Limit Douluo level, their lifespan can only reach around four hundred years at most. Although Soul Beasts are different, it's roughly the same."
"The shackles of bloodline prevent many Soul Beasts from even breaking through ten thousand years. Even if they are lucky enough to break through to the hundred-thousand-year level, they might still perish under the heavenly tribulation.
The life of a Soul Beast might seem long to humans, but in your eyes, it's just like a grand dream spanning thousands of years. Hundreds of thousands of years sound distant, but looking back, they seem pitifully short."
"To break the upper limit of life and strength, one must break through the limits and ascend to the God level. Only then can one gain the qualification to change from a chess piece to a player."
Shu Yan's voice became gentle like the spring breeze, carrying a seductive meaning as it sounded beside the Snow Empress's ear. The Snow Empress listened blankly, her thoughts drifting away unconsciously. She seemed to have entered a state of deep contemplation, temporarily losing perception of the outside world. Meanwhile, Shu Yan stepped onto the long ice stairs one by one, finally reaching the first step below the main seat.
While the Snow Empress had not yet recovered, Shu Yan's voice sounded again: "The hundred-level illusion flows in the blood of every generation of strong individuals on the Continent. You have at most a hundred years left in your life.
We share the same obsession with eternal life. In the final time, why not fight for yourself one last time? Join hands with me and gamble on the path to godhood for that ethereal God level.
If successful, eternal life will no longer be an illusion. If we fail, at least we will leave brilliant traces in this world, and there will be an endless stream of descendants who walk the path we once walked. We will live on in the memories of future generations, regardless of the image."
The Snow Empress's consciousness seemed to clear up instantly upon hearing the word 'godhood'. She raised her head, and their gazes met in the air. For some reason, her heart inexplicably trembled slightly. These two words, like a curse, echoed in her ears.