Destiny: Deprivation

Even Ice Empress had agreed, so Huo Yuhao made his final request.

"Ice Empress, so you can properly experience this power..."

"Let's each make an oath. I'll have Tian Meng release you early. How does that sound?"

"All right!" Ice Empress agreed without hesitation and made her oath at once.

"With Ice God as my witness, I, Ice Empress, swear in the name of ice that if this human fulfills the wager we made, I will offer him everything I have."

"If I break our agreement, attack either of them, or fail to keep my word, I am willing to have everything taken from me!"

Huo Yuhao immediately followed suit. "With the Divine Realm as my witness, if I, Huo Yuhao, fail to uphold my wager with Ice Empress or break our agreement, I am willing to have everything related to my Martial Soul taken from me."

While Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's mind was still reeling, the two of them completed their oaths one after the other.

Huo Yuhao then signaled to Tian Meng to release Ice Empress. He could feel Tian Meng's power rapidly dwindling.

Tian Meng was also beaming as he released his hold on Ice Empress.

Free once more, Ice Empress stretched her body.

"All right, human. Show me the threat you were talking about."

"With pleasure!" Seeing everything unfold as he had anticipated, Huo Yuhao opened the third eye on his forehead.

Over the past three years, as his body adapted to the Eye of Destiny, his connection with the Power of Destiny within him had grown stronger and stronger.

The Eye of Destiny on Huo Yuhao's forehead had also awakened two powerful Soul Skills. One of them was...

Destiny: Deprivation!

A thread of golden light appeared in the Eye of Destiny on Huo Yuhao's forehead. In moments, the demonic crimson eye turned brilliant gold.

The golden Eye of Destiny fixed its gaze on Ice Empress.

For the first three seconds, nothing happened.

On the fourth second, Ice Empress felt a powerful, sudden sense of dread. This feeling was...

"Stop! I give up. I'll join you. Stop it!"

Hearing Ice Empress call out, Huo Yuhao stopped stripping away her Power of Destiny and closed the vertical eye on his forehead.

As soon as the Eye of Destiny shut, Huo Yuhao sat down and gasped for breath.

This was his first time using Destiny: Deprivation. The Soul Skill took an enormous toll on his stamina, Soul Power, and spiritual power!

He had used it for less than ten seconds, yet it had drained more than half of his physical, mental, and spiritual energy.

The effect was unmistakable: Ice Empress had surrendered outright.

But what exactly did Huo Yuhao's Soul Skill do?

It was simple, just as its name suggested: Destiny: Deprivation temporarily stripped a person or beast of their protection from good fortune.

Fortune was an elusive, intangible, yet undeniably real and mysterious thing.

Every person and Soul Beast was born with fortune. It protected them all, though some had more of it than others.

Why had Huo Yuhao dared to make a wager with Ice Empress? Because her 400,000-year Heavenly Tribulation could strike at any moment.

A Soul Beast that was on the verge of a run of terrible luck would be in serious danger if it lost the protection of the Power of Destiny.

Huo Yuhao admitted there had been an element of gambling in his plan, but the result hadn't disappointed him.

Ice Empress must have sensed the presence of her Heavenly Tribulation before she surrendered.

Tian Meng was ecstatic. "My Bingbing, you gave up! Hooray! Now we can be together forever!"

Ice Empress was still shaken. She really had sensed that her 400,000-year Heavenly Tribulation could strike at any moment.

During her last, 300,000-year Heavenly Tribulation, Ice Empress had barely survived at the cost of damage to her very essence.

Her eyes were full of the fear of having narrowly escaped death. She had made countless preparations for that tribulation, yet had only barely managed to survive.

If she had faced the 400,000-year Heavenly Tribulation right then, not even her ashes would have remained.

"Human... No, Yuhao, what is the name of your Soul Skill?"

From this moment on, Ice Empress belonged to Huo Yuhao. In high spirits, he smiled.

"Destiny: Deprivation!"

"Destiny: Deprivation... Destiny..." Ice Empress murmured it over and over, then asked, "Yuhao, can I take a look at your eye?"

"Of course." Huo Yuhao opened his Eye of Destiny.

Ice Empress stepped up to him and examined his third eye with her topaz-like eyes. "You've mastered the Power of Destiny!"

Huo Yuhao replied, "More or less!"

Ice Empress's expression showed sudden understanding. "No wonder Tian Meng is so devoted to you."

"The Power of Destiny! What a pity that no Auspicious Omen ever came to our Extreme North."

Tian Meng butted in. "Bingbing, now we can be together forever."

"Tian Meng, don't say such mushy things to me. My heart will always belong to only one person."

"Say one more word and, I swear, I'd rather die than go along with you!" Ice Empress snapped.

"How could you?" The lovestruck Feiyangyang, the little lolita, was so crushed by Ice Empress's words that he crouched in a corner, tracing circles with his finger.

Huo Yuhao continued with his plan. "By the way, Ice Empress, is the Snow Empress you mentioned the one who leads the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North?"

"That's right... No, wait." Ice Empress suddenly smacked her head with a pincer. "Sorry, Yuhao. I may not be able to fuse with you just yet."

Huo Yuhao was puzzled. "What happened?"

Knowing she would be following him from now on, Ice Empress didn't hide anything. "Snow Empress is attempting to form Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Soul Cores."

"I've been guarding her while she does it. I'm sorry, Yuhao, but we'll have to delay our agreement for a while."

"Don't worry. I can come back as soon as Snow Empress reaches the final stage."

"Wait here for a few hours. Just a few hours." Ice Empress started to walk away.

Huo Yuhao spoke up. "Wait, Ice Empress. You said Snow Empress is attempting to form Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Soul Cores."

"I don't mean anything by it. I just want to ask whether she has a chance of succeeding."

Ice Empress looked at him warily. "Human, what are you getting at?"

Huo Yuhao dropped the pretense. "Once you come with me, you won't be able to stay with Snow Empress."

"So tell me: do you want to stay with Snow Empress forever?"

"What are you planning to do to Snow Empress?" Ice Empress looked ready to attack at the slightest provocation.

Huo Yuhao spread his hands. "Relax. I have no intention of deliberately disturbing Snow Empress or ruining her attempt to form Dual Soul Cores."

"We're in this together. Why would I hurt someone you love?"

Ice Empress's expression softened a little. "Then what are you trying to say?"

Huo Yuhao pointed to his Eye of Destiny and spoke frankly.

"For certain reasons, I learned the secrets of Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Soul Cores from somewhere."

"That thing is difficult to construct, isn't it? Even Di Tian, the strongest of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, only barely managed it."

"Snow Empress has a high chance of failure, doesn't she?"

A surging killing intent rose around Ice Empress. "Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you, human?"

Huo Yuhao remained unhurried. "If Snow Empress fails to construct them, the backlash will be severe, won't it?"

"She's rushing to form Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Soul Cores. That must mean her time is running out, just like yours, Ice Empress."

"I'll put it plainly: do you want to stay with Snow Empress?"