Three Kings Forge a Core, Qian Renxue's Will

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... Crack!!

Purple-black threads entwined around an Ice Scorpion, suspending it in midair. Under the crushing pressure of warped space, the hundred-meter-tall snowman could not move even a finger.

The Herrscher of Space and the Herrscher of Erosion had merely employed a few tricks, yet the two so-called Heavenly Kings of the Far North had already been beaten senseless. As for the other weaker soul beasts, some were dead and some were wounded.

Lu Xueling stepped out from the shadows at that moment and swept his gaze around. "Sirin, Shi Bao, did you have fun today?"

The Herrscher of Erosion sat atop an icy cliff and beamed at her god. "Mm-hmm, today was really fun. Thank you, My God, for bringing Shi Bao out to play."

Sirin clapped her hands, still somewhat unsatisfied. "It felt inferior to... killing those ants just now."

Crack, crack...

"Humans... you will die horrible deaths!!"

The Ice Empress Scorpion was still struggling. She paid no heed even as the scales covering her body shattered. Under the control of the Authority of Erosion, she actually forced herself half a step forward!

You two really are lesbians...

Lu Xueling inwardly mocked them, but since you sisters are so deeply attached, I might as well let you stay together forever.

Crack!

He crushed the soul beast embryo containing Snow Empress in his palm!

Snow Empress died instantly, leaving behind only an orange-gold soul ring and an arm bone floating before Lu Xueling.

He activated the system's authority once more. In an instant, intense Honkai Energy erupted. Under his control, the enormous bodies of the Ice Empress Scorpion and the Titan Snow Demon King were swept up along with large numbers of their clansmen. Dark-blue streams of light began frantically devouring their bodies, and before long, their soul rings and Soul Bones were likewise stripped away.

The Three Kings of the Far North had been utterly annihilated!!

"Merge!" Lu Xueling first stored the three Fierce Beast Soul Bones in Imaginary Space. Then, using the three Fierce Beast soul rings as a medium, he filled them with Honkai Energy and fused them together, beginning the creation of the Ice Herrscher Core!

About half an hour later, the terrifying energy fluctuations in the core region of the Far North finally subsided. Yet the icy-blue radiance shining at its center was incomparably dazzling. Even the human towns thirty kilometers away could see that strange, oppressive icy-blue glow.

The ground beneath Lu Xueling's feet had frozen into an ice layer three meters thick and a hundred meters in radius. Fortunately, all three of them were floating in the air.

At the moment the Ice Herrscher Core was born, the intense Honkai Energy it unleashed swept across the entire Far North once more. Every soul beast, whether dead or alive, was devoured by this terrifying power and transformed into ice-element Deadwalkers or Honkai Beasts below Chariot-class!

Lu Xueling stared at the icy-blue gemstone floating above his hands. His face was somewhat pale, but it could not conceal his smile.

As for the three ice-element Soul Bones that had dropped, he had other plans for them, so he would keep them for now. Then, who should receive this Ice Herrscher Core...?

Lu Xueling currently had two choices: first, give it to a dead person, just as he had done with the Herrscher of Erosion. However, the Herrscher created this way would be like Shi Bao—merely a Herrscher who obeyed orders unconditionally, with only the most basic blank-slate strength.

Second, find someone whose loyalty to him exceeded 85% and who possessed extremely high Honkai Energy resistance. In that case, the Ice Herrscher born would start out far stronger than the Herrscher of Erosion! Lu Xueling would also receive more Honkai Energy through the Core's feedback, allowing him to create more Sacred Marks, Valkyrie Armor, and other equipment later on.

After putting away the Ice Herrscher Core, Lu Xueling let out a heavy breath and looked over the devastated Far North. There was not much turbulence in his heart.

If he wanted to survive on Douluo Star ten thousand years later, or even vie for supremacy, he absolutely could not be softhearted or merciful!!

"The Far North will serve as the first step toward success."

Lu Xueling withdrew his gaze and solemnly instructed the two Herrschers, "Sirin, Erosion, keep these Deadwalkers and Honkai Beasts under control. For now, do not let the outside world notice the changes in the Far North. But if anyone intrudes, kill them on the spot! We'll return to the Sun Moon Empire first. As for who gets the Ice Herrscher Core, we can discuss it later."

The Herrscher of Erosion raised her hand. "My God, what about me? Should I go back and find Little Golden Mane now?"

Lu Xueling pondered for a moment before asking, "How much time is left until the leave you requested from Shrek ends?"

"Still a while. Twenty-seven days."

Lu Xueling nodded slightly, his tone softening somewhat. "You can go back, but do not let Qian Renxue discover that you have returned. Show yourself on the twenty-fifth day."

Shi Bao tilted her head. "Why, My God?"

"...Because just now, I sensed that the Honkai Crystal I left with Qian Renxue was activated. Her consciousness holds a desire to become a Herrscher. She is using her own will to resist the erosion of Honkai Energy, and her resistance is continuously increasing! I want to see just how strong that little girl's will can be. If she is still holding on and has not suffered a backlash by the twenty-fifth day, then I think you and Sirin may gain another colleague."

"Little Golden Mane might awaken on her own?" Both the Herrscher of Space and the Herrscher of Erosion were stunned for a moment.

It seemed the natives of this planet were not as fragile as they had imagined.

Sirin smacked her lips. "I really underestimated her. Human, what kind of Herrscher do you think Little Golden Mane will awaken as?"

The Herrscher of Erosion chimed in, "I'm curious too."

Lu Xueling smiled but did not answer directly. He looked toward the skies above the Far North, his expression complicated.

"I can sense hatred, unwillingness, anger, and all kinds of negative emotions coming from Qian Renxue's feelings. Yet in the deepest depths of a thousand layers of darkness, she has always held fast to a glimmer of light that belongs to her alone."

"That outer darkness is like the fundamental shadow that exists in the human heart, seeking to destroy, imprison... and dominate everything. It is the distortion and union of countless malicious intentions. As someone from ten thousand years ago, someone who should have become dry bones and died amid despair, madness, and pain, she had given up, struggled, and despised her own powerlessness and weakness. Now, she is merely a failure who does not know why she lives..."

"Once this immense malice spreads out of control, Qian Renxue will fail completely... But the angel has always held fast to herself, to that final light deep within her heart."

"Whether she becomes a puppet controlled by malice or transforms into a light that controls malice, it all depends on Qian Renxue herself. No one can help her—not even me."

Her parents' deaths, her grandfather's sacrifice, her shattered family, and... her failed self. Perhaps no one in this world had suffered more than Qian Renxue, but unlike Bibi Dong, she had not inflicted all the misfortunes she endured upon the world.

A light tormented in every possible way by the countless malice of the world had seemingly never been completely brought down. If she could overcome this trial as well, what would she become?