Snow Empress Shen Yixue
[Snow Empress, seven hundred thousand years of cultivation, foremost of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, ranked third among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts.]
[Unable to break through the seven-hundred-thousand-year bottleneck, she happened to find a Hundred-Thousand-Year Tianshan Snow Lotus without intelligence. Before her Human Transformation, the Ice Empress happened not to be by her side, having sacrificed herself to Huo Yuhao. During her Human Transformation, she happened to encounter a wild Level 9 Soul Engineer in the heart of the Far North.]
[This wild Level 9 Soul Engineer also happened to have a Level 9 Soul Tool on hand: the God-Sealing Platform.]
[Through countless "coincidences," the Snow Empress Embryo was captured.]
At the very center of the Far North's heartland.
The wind and snow here were not so violent. Instead, they drifted lightly like feathers.
The Snow Empress stood atop a snowy mountain, gazing at the falling snowflakes with unfocused eyes.
There really were far too many coincidences.
She had thought the turmoil of the outside world could not disturb this tranquil land of snow.
But she had still thought too simply.
[Did you think the coincidences ended there?]
[No, no, no, the coincidences kept coming!]
[Through some unknown connection, this Soul Engineer from the Sun Moon Empire got in touch with the Star Luo Empire, and the Snow Empress Embryo ended up in the Star Luo Empire's hands.]
[During the Soul Master Tournament, the Star Luo Empire happened to want to use the embryo to lure in the Sun Moon Empire's Illustrious Virtue Hall.]
[If the coincidences had continued to unfold, Huo Yuhao would likely have obtained the embryo from Illustrious Virtue Hall through another chance encounter, and then the Snow Empress would have sacrificed herself. Huo Yuhao would have gained another super Soul Ring, with an Age of seven hundred thousand years!]
[Unfortunately, that man appeared!]
Shen Yichen swept his brush across the page, a corner of his mouth curling upward. This... was the opening he had found!
Next up was Shen Yichen's theater!
[Xuan Zi led the team, and the regular team members were either injured or killed in an explosion set off by the Evil Soul Master, the Death Messenger.]
[After Xuan Zi returned to the Sea God Pavilion with several critically injured regular team members, Shen Yichen, the Sea God Pavilion's successor two generations down, came out to defend Shrek's glory.]
(PS: Actually, it was to show off~)
[Shen Yichen gave the reserve team members chances to gain experience while ensuring Shrek's advancement.]
[Until, at the auction, he recognized the vast energy of an embryo far beyond the hundred-thousand-year level!]
[Others might have hesitated over whether Shrek's glory or the Snow Empress Embryo was more important. But the Personal Disciple Mu En had personally taught clearly had no such hesitation.]
[To hell with the Soul Master Tournament. Carrying the Golden Cudgel, he followed them all the way, blasted three Titled Douluo to death en route, and seized the Snow Empress Embryo.]
As he wrote, Shen Yichen sneakily opened his eyes a crack and glanced at his teacher, Mu En.
His gaze happened to meet Mu En's. Mu En chuckled. "Little fellow, you did the right thing! Compared to Shrek's vague, intangible glory, the seven-hundred-thousand-year Snow Empress Embryo is a real, tangible benefit!"
Hearing Zhang Lexuan read the diary to this point, Mu En felt gratified.
The disciple he had personally taught was indeed growing into the Sea God Pavilion Master he had envisioned.
If he had not fallen along the way, surely he would have taken Shrek to even greater heights!
[After snatching the Snow Empress Embryo, he released the Snow Empress without another word.]
[The little box in the God-Sealing Platform had long since driven the Snow Empress mad with confinement. As soon as she came out, she wanted to fight Shen Yichen for three hundred rounds.]
[It ended in a crushing defeat!]
Snow Empress: ???
That quickly?
What happened to the fight? She had lost just like that?
[Du Busi: Wait, Shen Yichen was strong enough to defeat the Snow Empress, and he went to the Soul Master Tournament? Wasn't that bullying?]
[Soul Engineer: Bullying or not, wasn't the age limit for the Soul Master Tournament under twenty?]
[Huo Yun'er: He could defeat the Snow Empress, which means he was a Titled Douluo?]
[Black Dragon: Titled Douluo? He was a Limit Douluo at the very least!]
The diary had described it as a crushing defeat!
Judging by Du Busi's battle with Xuan Zi a few days ago, even outside the Far North, the Snow Empress could have whipped Xuan Zi around like a spinning top!
In the Far North, the Snow Empress could even fight a Limit Douluo!
[Soul Engineer: A Limit Douluo under twenty...]
Elsewhere, Mu En and Zhang Lexuan were not surprised.
Forget the little fellow six or seven years from now; even the little fellow as he was now could exchange a few blows with the Snow Empress.
"Limit Douluo-level combat strength..." Mu En murmured.
Who could leave someone with the combat strength of a Limit Douluo with his fate unknown?
An old thing like him had no need to keep deceiving himself...
"Sea God, Tang San."
What gives you the right to strike at Shrek's successor!
Ancestor Tang San?
No! He was merely a student from Shrek Academy's first class!
Shrek belongs to the people of Shrek. It is an academy that teaches and nurtures people!
In six years, little Yichen will be able to defeat a Limit Douluo.
Given another six years, little Yichen might even be able to defeat Sea God Tang San!
It's all the fault of these old bones of mine. I can't even hold on for another dozen years or so...
Mu En's face was calm and serene, its wrinkles bunching together. He stuck out his tongue, gently licked his cracked lips, and chuckled.
"Child, don't worry!"
Don't worry...
Mu En repeated it to himself.
[After her crushing defeat, the Snow Empress backed down and curled up into a ball.]
[Even if he killed a seven-hundred-thousand-year soul beast, no one could absorb its Soul Ring. Judging by the Snow Empress's behavior, she did not seem willing to sacrifice herself either. Killing her just for a Soul Bone seemed like a bit of a loss.]
[So Shen Yichen began protecting the Snow Empress during her Human Transformation. Half a year later, her Human Transformation succeeded, and he gave her the name Shen Yixue.]
[The two then traveled the continent together for another half a year.]
[Until one day, Shen Yichen left without saying goodbye.]
[The next news Shen Yixue heard of him was a message containing his last words.]
[At the end of Peerless Tang Sect, all that was known was that Shen Yixue had returned to the Far North and cultivated to the Limit Douluo level. She helped Huo Yuhao destroy more than half of the Holy Spirit Cult.]
With that, he set down his brush!
[Du Busi: By comparison, the Snow Empress's ending seems pretty good?]
[Great Sage Equal to Heaven: What if Shen Yichen hadn't been there?]
[Little Nobody: The Ice Empress sacrificed herself to Huo Yuhao. With a few more "coincidences," the Snow Empress could have sacrificed herself to Huo Yuhao too.]
[Huo Yun'er: Wouldn't that ending be even better? She would have become a god alongside Yuhao!]
Standing atop the mountain, the Snow Empress was lost.
Better... was it?
Indeed, if she sacrificed herself to Huo Yuhao, she could gain an eternal lifespan and never have to worry about Heavenly Tribulations again.
But...
If I had to choose...
The Snow Empress's expression grew resolute. That ending is not what I want!
[Little Nobody: Rather than become a god that way, the Snow Empress would probably prefer to cultivate anew as a human!]
[Black Dragon: Exactly! How is that becoming a god? Huo Yuhao became a dog himself. Could anyone who sacrificed themselves to someone like him possibly come to a good end?]
Shen Yichen nodded as well. He did not know who Little Nobody was, but Di Tian's analysis was correct.
Even in the original story, if the Snow Empress's sealed origin had not been ignited at the Clear Sky Sect, she would not have chosen to sacrifice herself to Huo Yuhao.
It was just that, after becoming a Soul Spirit, she lost all her intelligence. With the time she spent alongside Huo Yuhao day and night added to that, she could only follow that one path into the darkness...