"Why?"
At Ice Empress's question, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's plump body twisted in midair.
The cheerful, grinning expression vanished, replaced by the weariness and helplessness of someone who had lived through the ages.
"Because I'm afraid to die, too."
It sighed, its gaze sweeping over the two former overlords of the Extreme North who had once struck terror into its heart.
"Although I slept for a million years and was lucky enough to become the first million-year Soul Beast in Douluo Continent, I know very well that, at my core, I'm a useless creature with cultivation but no fighting ability."
"When the next Heavenly Tribulation comes—the great tribulation of my millionth year—I'll surely die."
As it spoke, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm pointed at the tiny Huo Yuhao beside it. A near-mad gambler's gleam shone in its eyes.
"So I chose to Sacrifice myself."
"I turned this million-year-old body into his Wisdom Soul Ring, making it his First Soul Ring."
"I'm going to stake the fortune and Spiritual Power I've accumulated over a million years on a chance at the future."
"As long as he becomes a god, I can gain eternal life! Then, Bingbing, we'll be together forever!"
Those words exploded through the ice cavern like a bomb.
"A million years?!"
Ice Empress cried out in shock. Her emerald pincers trembled, and the astonishment in her eyes even eclipsed her loathing of Tian Meng.
"You useless Ice Silkworm... You actually broke through the million-year mark?"
She was shocked not only by Tian Meng's unbelievable cultivation, but also by the cruel, despairing truth—
Even a Soul Beast with a million years of cultivation couldn't survive the Heavenly Tribulation?
Then what did that make the Ferocious Beasts like them, still struggling through hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation?
Ants? Or livestock waiting for the butcher's blade?
"Bing'er, who is that?"
Snow Empress had been listening in bewilderment. Her weak voice held a note of confusion.
She spent most of her time in seclusion and didn't know Tian Meng. She had never seen such a strange being, one made entirely of Spiritual Power.
Ice Empress drew a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart. Then she turned to Snow Empress, her expression complicated and strange.
"Xue'er, do you remember the kind of Ice Silkworm I told you about before?"
"That's him."
Ice Empress hesitated, as if the words were hard to say. "Back then, he was the entire Extreme North's biggest... walking supplement."
"I hunted him for a long time because I wanted to eat him and break through the bottleneck at four hundred thousand years. I never expected him to hide underground and escape, let alone cultivate all the way to a million years."
Supplement?
At those two words, even Snow Empress's usually placid eyes rippled violently.
An Ice Silkworm at the very bottom of the food chain had actually made it farther than every other Soul Beast?
And it had chosen such a defiant path—to Sacrifice itself to a human and create a god!
It was absurd.
Yet it was precisely that absurdity that let Snow Empress, trapped in a desperate situation, glimpse a different sort of light.
If even a bug dared to stake its life, then could she, the dignified Lord of the Extreme North, really not do the same?
"What are you still hesitating for?"
Just then, Gu Yuejin, who had been watching coldly, suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
He clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze haughty and his lips curled in a mocking smile. His tone carried an arrogance that was somehow convincing.
"Snow Empress, face reality. You have no choice."
"Either your soul scatters right now, and you become a speck of dust between heaven and earth, leaving not even your name behind."
"Or you put aside that so-called pride of yours, take a gamble, and become my Apprentice's Second Martial Soul."
"As for becoming a god..."
Gu Yuejin let out a cold laugh, pointing at himself and then at Huo Yuhao. His voice rang like thunder:
"With me here, his becoming a god isn't a possibility. It's inevitable."
"If my Apprentice can't become a god, then all the gods in the heavens may as well die."
His words were domineering to the extreme.
But with the terrifying pressure of a Seven-Ring Soul Saint radiating from him, and that glaring crimson Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, no one could refute him.
It was confidence built on absolute strength.
Snow Empress fell silent.
She looked at Huo Yuhao, the human boy so weak that a single breath could seemingly blow him away.
He was frail, but the longing for power in his eyes burned like a flame.
Then she looked at Tian Meng, feverishly enthusiastic like a salesman, and at Gu Yuejin, overbearing and powerful, in control of the entire situation.
After a long while,
a faint sigh drifted through the wind and snow, filled with endless desolation and relief.
"Very well."
"I'm afraid to die. I don't want to disappear just like this."
Snow Empress slowly raised her head. The last trace of hesitation vanished from her ice-blue eyes, replaced by resolve.
"I'll take the gamble."
"Human, I hope you won't disappoint me."
At those words, Huo Yuhao clenched his fists, trembling with excitement. He bowed deeply to Snow Empress.
"Thank you, Senior Snow Empress! I, Huo Yuhao, swear I won't let you down!"
Gu Yuejin's lips curved slightly as he said calmly, "A wise choice. You'll be glad you made this decision someday."
"Since you've decided, don't waste time. Let's begin."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm excitedly flipped through the air and urged her impatiently. "Snow Empress, release your Spiritual Origin. We're starting! This is the first step in creating a god!"
By now, Snow Empress had nothing left to hesitate over.
"Bing'er, guard me."
Snow Empress gave Ice Empress, whose eyes were filled with worry, one last look and smiled faintly, her expression heartbreakingly beautiful.
Buzz—!
In an instant, Extreme Cold erupted from Snow Empress.
But this time, it wasn't an attack. It was pure energy being released.
Snow Empress's already ethereal body began to burn, transforming into countless ice-blue specks of light. They were as dazzling as the aurora, yet carried a sorrowful beauty.
As her Origin was stripped away, Snow Empress's exquisite features quickly faded. Her body grew more transparent, bit by bit, until she turned into a pure, flawless streak of light that shot toward the space between Huo Yuhao's brows.
"Ugh..."
Huo Yuhao groaned. It felt as if a massive ice chisel had stabbed into his brain, and his soul trembled.
Inside the Sea of Consciousness.
Snow swirled through the air.
Snow Empress's proud, ethereal figure appeared out of nowhere. As she looked at the golden ocean, surprise flashed through her eyes.
"What a vast Sea of Consciousness... No wonder Tian Meng chose you."
She lowered her head and looked at Huo Yuhao, whose consciousness had taken human form. Her voice was cool and stern, filled with unquestionable authority.
"Listen carefully, Huo Yuhao."
"Since I've chosen this path, I'll hold nothing back."
"I'll Sacrifice myself and become your Second Martial Soul—the Heavenly Snow Woman."
"At the same time, I'll grant you a seven-hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring and a Torso Bone."
Snow Empress paused, her tone turning incredibly solemn, like the wind in the depths of winter.
"But with your body's current strength, bearing my power will be no different from being cut to pieces by a thousand blades."
"The process will be extremely painful. It may even make you wish you were dead."
"If you can't endure it, you'll die, and my soul will scatter as well."
"You can still change your mind."
Huo Yuhao drew a deep breath. Though his body trembled, his gaze was firmer than ever.
He thought of the days he had endured humiliation at the Duke Mansion, his mother's eyes as she lay dying, and his Master's hopes in bringing him here.
"Come, Senior Snow Empress."
"I'm not afraid of pain. I'm only afraid of being powerless!"
"Good. You've got courage."
Snow Empress said no more. A hint of approval flashed in her eyes.
The next moment, an endless force of ice erupted inside the Sea of Consciousness.
Outside.
Huo Yuhao's body stiffened instantly. A thick layer of frost formed over his skin at a visible speed, and he arched like a cooked shrimp.
"AAAAH—!!!"
A shrill scream tore through the wind and snow, echoing across the vast ice field.
The agony wasn't just the tearing of his flesh. His soul was being crushed, frozen, and shattered again and again by the extreme cold.
Every breath felt like swallowing a blade.
"Xue'er!"
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