Born in the Far North, Adopted by the Snow Empress

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

A knife-like freezing wind swept up ice slurry and burrowed into the cracks between his bones.

Xue Lingyun curled up inside a tattered animal-hide swaddle, feeling as though he were about to turn into a popsicle.

Damn it, reincarnation was one thing. He could accept being reborn as a baby, but couldn't he at least have gotten a warmer start?!

Even a toilet stall in some vocational school would have been fine. Come to think of it, where the hell was this? The Antarctic Research Station?

He wanted to curse, but all that came from his mouth was a weak string of babbling. Even the air he drew into his lungs hurt as if he had swallowed ice slurry.

His vision was a vast expanse of white—nothing but snow as far as he could see. Occasionally, windblown ice pellets struck his face like needles.

He could feel a strange warm current slowly flowing through his body, as though he had a hot water bottle tucked against him. It was weak, but it truly held back the chill that felt cold enough to split steel apart.

That was probably why he had not immediately reincarnated again.

But the warm current would not last much longer. His consciousness had begun to drift, and his eyelids felt glued shut, growing heavier and heavier.

Just as he was about to embark on his second reincarnation, the blizzard suddenly seemed to weaken.

A shadow silently fell over him.

With great effort, Xue Lingyun cracked open a sliver of an eye.

Was that... a woman?

She wore a white dress that nearly blended into the surrounding snow, yet its whiteness was especially striking, as if all the purity and cleanliness in the world had been woven into its fabric.

Her face was even more flawless, her skin smooth as cream and her brows like distant mountains. Most striking of all were those sky-blue eyes, cold as an ice lake that had not melted for ten thousand years. Yet beneath that icy surface lay a depth that made one's heart tremble.

What made his heart jolt even more was the aura around her.

It was not ordinary cold, but an Extreme Ice intent that seemed capable of freezing the laws of heaven and earth themselves—pure, vast, and carrying the majesty to look down upon the Far North.

He had never encountered such a frigid aura before, yet something deep in his soul throbbed uncontrollably, as if he had been born knowing this overwhelming pressure that stood above ice and snow.

She simply stood there in silence, looking at him. She gave off no killing intent at all, yet Xue Lingyun somehow felt that this woman was even more terrifying than the blizzard that could have blown him away just moments ago.

"Extreme Ice..."

A clear, cold voice rang out, like ice striking a jade plate, making Xue Lingyun shudder.

That voice, that aura, that Ice Crystal on her forehead... why did it all feel so familiar?

Then something huge came thundering over from nearby, each step shaking the ground. Its body was like a moving little snow mountain, its white fur fluffy as an enormous ball of cotton candy. It panted heavily as it ran, each step smashing a deep crater into the snow.

Most eye-catching were its eyes. They were not the usual brown-black of bears, but a deep, intelligent blue, like stars in the Far North's night sky.

"Mother! Why were you running so fast? I've been looking for you forever—Huh--? What's this thing?"

The giant bear leaned closer, its massive head nearly covering Xue Lingyun entirely.

Its pink little nose stood out conspicuously amidst all that white. It twitched wetly now, and the cold breath from its pink nostrils carried a faint scent of ice and snow as it struck his face with a cool chill. Clearly, it was carefully sniffing his aura.

Mom?

Xue Lingyun's mind buzzed.

The Snow Empress's traits had already been obvious enough. Then there was this bear—a mountain-like body, deep blue eyes, a pink nose, and the way it kept calling her "mom"...

Ice Bear King Little White! There was no mistake!

He had... transmigrated to the Extreme North Land of Douluo Continent? And run straight into the Far North's top dogs?

Then when this woman had said "Extreme Ice" earlier, had she been talking about him? How could he, a transmigrator, possess the Extreme Ice attribute?

The Snow Empress ignored the noisy Xiao Bai beside her. Bending down, she extended a pale finger that was almost translucent and gently touched Xue Lingyun's frost-reddened cheek.

A cool aura flowed from her fingertips. It was not cold; instead, it felt rather comfortable, like holding a cup of freshly brewed ginger tea on a freezing night. Xue Lingyun immediately felt more alert, his little mouth splitting into a grin as he nearly laughed aloud.

"A human infant, surviving in the heart of the Far North, and even born with Extreme Ice..." The Snow Empress looked at him, a hint of surprise flashing through her sky-blue eyes. "Quite an interesting little fellow."

Xiao Bai grew anxious beside her. "Mom, this little runt is human! Humans are all terrible! They capture us and turn us into Soul Rings!"

"He is only an infant," the Snow Empress said calmly. "Besides, don't you find the aura around him... quite familiar?"

Xiao Bai sniffed hard and frowned. "It does seem... a little familiar? But he's an innately evil human cub!"

The Snow Empress ignored him again and carefully lifted Xue Lingyun into her arms.

Her embrace was cool, yet it carried a strange sense of security. It was far warmer than that tattered animal hide. Xue Lingyun gave a comfortable little hum, kicked his tiny arms and legs, and instinctively snuggled deeper into her embrace.

The Snow Empress lowered her head to look at the well-behaved little one in her arms. The corners of her lips seemed to curve slightly, so quickly that it might have been an illusion.

"From now on, you will follow me," she said softly. "Since you were born in the Far North, your surname shall be Xue. Lingyun—Xue Lingyun. May you carry the resilience of ice and snow, soar beyond the firmament, and not betray what heaven and earth have bestowed upon you."

Xue Lingyun?

That seems fine. It's pretty close to my name in my previous life.

He breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like the Snow Empress had picked him up to raise as her "son"?

Although the Snow Empress had ended up with Huo Yuhao in the Original Work, it seemed he had gotten ahead of him this time!

With a seven-hundred-thousand-year powerhouse backing him, would he not be able to swagger sideways everywhere in the future?

Listening from the side, Xiao Bai suddenly realized something. "Mom, then what will he call you from now on?"

The Snow Empress said nothing.

But Xiao Bai became anxious. His enormous claws scraped at the ground as he said pitifully, "He can't call you mom! Mom belongs to me alone!"

Xue Lingyun: "..."

This bear cub was rather possessive.

The Snow Empress glanced at Xiao Bai, her tone carrying a trace of helplessness. "Xiao Bai."

"Mom!" Xiao Bai lowered his head in grievance.

Looking at Xiao Bai's tearful expression, then at the Snow Empress's cold eyes, Xue Lingyun suddenly felt that this scene was somewhat... warm?

He stretched out his tiny hand and rubbed against the Snow Empress's chest, babbling as though trying to comfort her.

Sensing his movement, the Snow Empress's gaze softened slightly. Holding him, she turned and walked deeper into the blizzard.

There, the faint outline of a palace built from Ice Crystal could be seen.

"Come. We're going home."

Xiao Bai immediately followed, staying close beside the Snow Empress. From time to time, he secretly glanced at Xue Lingyun in her arms, his gaze extremely complicated—as if he were looking at an intruder who had stolen his toy, yet was also curious about what made this little runt so special.

Nestled in the Snow Empress's arms, Xue Lingyun listened to the howling wind by his ears and felt the cool security of her embrace. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

The Extreme North Land, the Heavenly Snow Woman, the Ice Bear King...

His journey through Douluo seemed to have begun in a completely unexpected way.

As for what the future held?

Who cares? Now that things have come to this, I should sleep first.

With a powerhouse looking after him, it was not as if he could go hungry.

The little fellow yawned, a satisfied smile on his lips, and fell into a deep sleep.