Snow Empress, Empress of the Extreme North

"What did you say?!"

The moment Xiao Qiang mentioned the Snow Empress, the Ice Empress, who had been about to sleep, immediately flew wide awake.

"Wuwuwu... If only Bing Bing cared about me this much."

"Shut up! I'm not in the mood to talk to you right now!" As she spoke, the Ice Empress casually smacked Tian Meng with her tail.

"Xiao Qiang, what happened to the Snow Empress?" Xiao Qiang's words had sent the Ice Empress's heart straight into her throat. As someone secretly in love with the Snow Empress, she cared about the Snow Empress's condition almost as much as Tian Meng cared about her own.

However, compared to her attitude toward Tian Meng, the Snow Empress treated her far better. If not for the terror inspired by the Titan Snow Demon Ape having every bone in its body shattered after confessing to the Snow Empress, the Ice Empress might have confessed to her long ago.

"Ice Empress, I know you're anxious, but don't panic yet. What's happening with the Snow Empress isn't something that will unfold in just a day or two. We still have time." Xiao Qiang comforted the Ice Empress within his spiritual sea.

Hearing this, the Ice Empress, who knew some details about the Snow Empress, calmed down somewhat. "What exactly is going on? What are you trying to say?"

"It's like this. I told you before that my Sharingan can occasionally see certain fates that are difficult for me to explain."

"Mm, I remember. Are you saying you saw the Snow Empress's fate as well? You two haven't even met."

"That's true, but I can occasionally see things that would benefit me. Before you fused with me, I could only make out something that could greatly extend my lifespan, along with a vague, ethereal sensation."

"But after you fused with me, that vague sensation gradually became clearer. Now I'm certain that it's a treasure that can allow me to reach Titled Douluo in a relatively short amount of time."

"A treasure that can let you reach Titled Douluo in a short time?" The Ice Empress thought for a moment, then cried out, "Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow!"

"Most likely. Although I've never actually seen Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow and what I saw wasn't very clear, that thing which might have been useful to me—or might not have been—suddenly became immensely useful after you fused with me. Other than Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow, I can't think of anything else."

"Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow... If there really is Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow, then I..."

"Don't even think about it, Ice Empress. I can sense that if you were given that Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow, you could definitely break through to the 400,000 Years level. But under normal circumstances, Soul Beasts don't even have the Fortune to live for ten thousand years. Not to mention that Titan Snow Demon Ape would definitely be turned into a soul ring and soul bone. Besides, without my senses, you wouldn't be able to find that place anyway."

The Ice Empress sighed. "You're right. In nearly 400,000 years, I never found Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow. The one time I finally encountered it, it was eaten clean by some hateful giant bug. It's really..."

The Ice Empress looked at Tian Meng, lifted her foot, and stomped directly on his face.

"Ice Empress, be gentler. What's done is done, and there's no point talking about it now..."

"Ah, Bing Bing stepped on me! Bing Bing's foot, it smells... so good!"

Xiao Qiang: "..."

"Tch, hateful bastard. Forget him. Let's continue."

Watching the Ice Empress kick Tian Meng away, Xiao Qiang, who had wanted to say a few words for Tian Meng, found himself utterly unable to open his mouth.

"Where were we?"

"Where we were isn't important. I'm thinking about something else now. Ice Empress, if I help the Snow Empress successfully overcome her 700,000 Year Heavenly Tribulation, could I make her protect me until I become a Limit Douluo?"

"Of course not. The Snow Empress isn't like me. She is the true Uncrowned Empress of this Extreme North, the absolute ruler of this land. With her pride, she could never become a human's Guardian."

Xiao Qiang: "..."

Xiao Qiang had already breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the first two words, but the Ice Empress's next words cut that breath short completely.

From what the Ice Empress said, the thing Xiao Qiang feared most had finally come to pass.

What Xiao Qiang would face was not the Snow Empress of the middle and later stages, but the Snow Empress from the story's original early setting.

When the Snow Empress first formally appeared in the original novel, she had become a gentle older sister after undergoing Humanoid Transformation. At that time, she was in a weakened state and facing someone who had saved her life. Anyone with a functioning brain would not act arrogantly under those circumstances.

Later, after nearly being killed by the Clear Sky Sect and becoming a Soul Spirit in infant form, the Snow Empress had seemed just as gentle.

But that had all been because she was facing her benefactor—and the Child of the Plane, no less.

When the Snow Empress's consciousness truly awakened, the one who nearly slapped the Infernal Delicate Apricot to death without a word was the real Snow Empress.

The Snow Empress of later years, especially the Snow Empress in Legend of the God Realm, was practically a completely different person from the Snow Empress of the present.

Xiao Qiang could understand that. The things one thought about as a child, as an adult, and in old age were completely different.

This was even more obvious in novels. Zhou Weiqing, the protagonist of Heavenly Jewel Change, was the best example. As a protagonist written by Tang Jia San Shao before his reputation collapsed, Zhou Weiqing might not have been some perfectly righteous hero, but at the very least, he would not betray his own benefactor. Yet after later experiencing the terror of death, he had betrayed his benefactor without the slightest hesitation.

The Snow Empress from the middle and later stages of The Unrivaled Tang Sect, as well as the Snow Empress in Legend of the God Realm, could not be used as references at all. If Xiao Qiang went to find the Snow Empress, he could only face the Snow Empress from the early setting—the Empress of the Extreme North who would not tolerate any affront to her majesty.

Perhaps she liked the Ice Empress back then too, but Xiao Qiang had no idea how deeply that affection ran.

"Xiao Qiang, how about we just don't go looking for the Snow Empress? She's not someone easy to provoke. If things go wrong, we could end up with only a slim chance of survival," Tian Meng said quietly within the spiritual sea.

Xiao Qiang: "..."

Not seek out the Snow Empress? Then what would he do without a bodyguard afterward?

It would not have been much of a problem after Mu En died. But with Mu En's early strength and astonishing ability to act, Xiao Qiang's martial soul might not be able to hide from him. And once Mu En saw it, Xiao Qiang could be certain that he would be dead beyond doubt.

Even if Mu En acted according to his supposedly righteous character setting, Xiao Qiang, as a native of the Sun Moon Empire, would still be dead beyond doubt as an enemy genius. There was nothing to discuss when it came to a confirmed enemy. Killing him required no reason at all.

If he hid away now and developed slowly...

Leaving aside what would happen to Xiao Qiang's family and friends in the Sun Moon Empire, a Rank 9 Soul Master would inexplicably appear here half a year later. Xiao Qiang wanted to stay safe, but this was a chaotic era. Who knew where an Evil Soul Master or something similar might suddenly appear? Hiding for a lifetime might have a high chance of success, but a single mistake would mean losing everything.

To flee from everything and everyone just so he could barely survive, then somehow grow up through sheer luck and look back upon a road filled with nothing but regret—that was not the life Xiao Qiang wanted.

With that thought, Xiao Qiang rejected Tian Meng's suggestion. "We have to go to the Snow Empress." If he could not negotiate the best terms, he could settle for something less. But if he ran into Mu En, he would not even have the right to negotiate.