The Drawbacks of Extreme Attributes, Snow Empress's Change

Life in the Core Circle of the Extreme North Land was somewhat dull and monotonous.

Although Shu Yan felt that his somewhat PUA-like words had stirred Snow Empress's obsession with godhood and immortality, Snow Empress was still Snow Empress. Over her hundreds of thousands of years in the Extreme North Land, she had witnessed far too much. A brief lapse in composure and momentary stirrings were not enough to completely move her. Shu Yan had expected as much. His original plan had merely been to plant a seed in Snow Empress's heart. He had never expected her to foolishly trust him outright.

Though Shu Yan's final action that day had been somewhat presumptuous, Snow Empress seemed not to care. She thoroughly proved that her words had not been empty promises. As long as Shu Yan stayed willingly, he could have as many precious cultivation resources from the outside world as he wanted. That even included three precious Thousand-Year Cold Ice Marrows.

Shu Yan accepted everything without hesitation. After absorbing his fourth soul ring, his cultivation soared straight to rank forty-three. In just three days, with the support of abundant resources, he had stabilized his cultivation and begun advancing toward rank forty-four.

Snow Empress would occasionally come to see him. The two sat across from each other at an ice table, and rarely did either take the initiative to speak. Yet whenever one of them did, they could exchange a few words. As time passed, they gradually came to understand each other a little better.

Shu Yan's cultivation had not yet reached the level of Grain Avoidance, but this was the heart of the Core Circle in the Extreme North Land. Fresh fruits and vegetables were out of the question. At most, Snow Empress would bring back a few small soul beasts like Snow Rabbits from outside each day to barely satisfy his appetite.

As for why he did not hunt for himself, the reason was simple. Such weak soul beasts were almost nowhere to be seen in the Core Circle. His range of movement was limited to this palace. Once he stepped beyond it and his human aura spread outward, trouble would inevitably follow.

Unexpectedly, Snow Empress, as aloof as an Empress, was extremely interested in the simply roasted food Shu Yan made. At first, she had followed the scent here. Later, after they had spent a little more time together, whenever the time came, Snow Empress would proactively wait in the usual spot. Her expression had changed from initial restraint and coldness to casual familiarity. Occasionally, when Shu Yan spoke of interesting things from the outside world, a faint smile would even appear on her face.

Though the smile vanished in an instant, Shu Yan always caught it precisely. Snow Empress's changes were visible to the naked eye. This was exactly what Shu Yan wanted to see. As long as he brought Snow Empress into his camp, many things would become simple in an instant.

Sometimes, Shu Yan regretted how little patience he had possessed in his previous life. He had transmigrated here, yet only retained a rough understanding of the plot, unable even to sort out its general course.

But that no longer mattered. His transmigration was destined to disrupt the original plot's development. Snow Empress was the best example. In this increasingly chaotic situation, only his own strength was the true foundation.

Shu Yan did not consider himself a good person. He could even become a pure villain to achieve his goals. Good or evil, it all depended on a single thought. Rules and restraints existed for someone like him, but the reason they existed was shaped only by his own heart. The rules and constraints in the eyes of the world seemed especially laughable to him.

Before he knew it, three months had passed in a flash. Shu Yan had already cultivated peacefully in the Core Circle for three full months, and his soul power had broken through to rank forty-four. With the boost from his environment, his cultivation speed had become much faster than before. Of course, Snow Empress's feeding was certainly part of the reason for that increased speed.

Extreme Attribute martial souls cultivated much more slowly than ordinary attribute soul masters between ranks thirty and seventy. With every level gained, the following breakthrough became harder by another degree. This was why Extreme Attribute soul masters, despite their exceptional talent, lagged behind others in cultivation speed during the early stages.

But everything in this world sought balance.

Ordinary attribute soul masters indeed cultivated far faster than Extreme Attribute soul masters before rank seventy. But once a soul master's cultivation exceeded rank seventy, the situation would be completely reversed. Extreme Attribute soul masters would then cultivate more easily, advance more readily, and even possess a considerably higher upper limit than ordinary attribute soul masters.

The Heavenly Snow Woman was born with command over Extreme Ice and was a true spirit of heaven and earth born from ice and snow. But if one truly examined the Heavenly Snow Woman's attributes, the Heavenly Snow Woman Clan actually possessed the Extreme Ice and Snow attribute, rather than merely Extreme Ice.

Without question, Extreme Ice and Snow was stronger than Extreme Ice. This also meant that those with the Heavenly Snow Woman Martial Soul faced greater difficulties on the path of cultivation than ordinary Extreme Attribute users. Shu Yan could not agree with this more.

His daily interactions with Snow Empress were still growing more familiar and gradually warming. Shu Yan had plenty of patience in this regard. Before he possessed sufficient strength, winning someone's heart was always the best strategy. Yet at the same time, he could not help feeling somewhat moved deep down.

The birth and budding of feelings always had prerequisites. Whether it was the affinity and stirrings between their bloodlines or the little moments from their three months together, Shu Yan had already clearly sensed a difference in Snow Empress.

She was slowly adapting to this change, and her mindset was gradually shifting and sinking deeper. How could someone who had experienced warmth and happiness be willing to throw herself back into coldness and loneliness? The subtle changes were the most terrifying, because they reflected the reality a person longed for in their heart. Snow Empress's transformation was precisely like this. Shu Yan's efforts had not been in vain.

In his fifth month in the Extreme North Land, Shu Yan still knew nothing of the outside world. His world was buried beneath endless wind and snow, cut off from the rest of the world, yet it possessed a unique flavor of its own.

Snow Empress once again began discussing godhood with Shu Yan. Unlike last time, they exchanged many different opinions this time. Shu Yan laid out nearly all his thoughts, and the emotion in Snow Empress's eyes was genuine. She was clearly deeply tempted.

At the same time, Snow Empress also told Shu Yan her own thoughts.

She already had a premonition that she would absolutely be unable to survive the Seven Hundred Thousand Year Heavenly Tribulation. Yet her desire to live made her think of another path: taking human form and, with a human body, climbing to greater heights once more, gambling on that illusory immortality.

But that was easier said than done... Only Snow Empress herself likely understood the bitterness and suffering behind it.

Soul beasts could not become gods. This was an ironclad law. Even if they took human form, they were still soul beasts to a certain extent. Wanting to become gods was nothing more than a fanciful dream. In contrast, Shu Yan's path of "creating gods" held greater hope of success.

Perhaps because she understood her own circumstances too deeply, Snow Empress finally formed an alliance with Shu Yan after careful consideration.

Rather than sit and wait for death, she would make one final desperate attempt before death arrived. That was Snow Empress's thinking, and it suited her character. After she and Shu Yan swore the Ice and Snow Great Oath to each other, they were truly bound to the same boat at that moment. From then on, they would share both loss and glory, until their lives were completely extinguished...