"Heavenly Tribulation."
"After a Soul Beast reaches 100,000 years of cultivation, it faces a Heavenly Tribulation once every 100,000 years."
"The Ice Empress is 400,000 years old. She's already survived three Heavenly Tribulations. But the next one will be harder."
"The Snow Empress is 700,000 years old. She's already survived six. The seventh will be almost certainly fatal."
He turned around and looked at Bai Lan.
"If you can help them survive their Heavenly Tribulations—"
"Then a contract might not be out of the question."
Bai Lan fell silent.
Of course he knew all that.
In the original story, the Ice Empress had been driven to the brink by the Heavenly Tribulation and ultimately chose to merge with Huo Yuhao.
The Snow Empress had been surrounded by powerful humans and met a tragic end.
But now—
He had the Contract Book.
And Yinye, a 400,000-year-old Soul Beast.
She was the best proof!
And he had Mu En, a Peerless Douluo.
"Elder Mu," he said. "I want to give it a try."
Mu En looked at him, his gaze profound.
"Do you know what kind of place that is?"
"The Core Circle of the Extreme North. The cold there is more than even a Titled Douluo can withstand."
"A 400,000-year-old Ferocious Beast could kill you with a single thought."
Bai Lan nodded. "I know."
Mu En asked, "And you still want to go?"
Bai Lan was silent for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"Elder Mu."
"I need to get stronger."
"As fast as possible."
He met Mu En's eyes, his gaze calm.
"How much longer can you protect me?"
Mu En froze.
Yan Shaozhe was stunned, too.
Bai Lan continued:
"There will always be times when you can't look after me."
"There will always be enemies the Dean can't defeat."
"Only by growing stronger myself can I truly be safe."
"A 400,000-year-old Ferocious Beast is dangerous, that's true."
"But if I can contract with them..."
He paused, his voice calm but resolute.
"Then I won't have to hide behind anyone ever again."
Silence fell over the office.
Mu En looked at him, complex emotions flickering in his eyes.
Pride.
Heartache.
And a kind of pride he couldn't quite put into words.
At length, he smiled.
"Good," he said. "You're a fine young man."
He walked back to the window and gazed north.
"We can go to the Extreme North."
"I'll take you myself. With me there, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Let's leave in three days."
Time passed in a flash.
Three days later.
Two figures stood quietly outside Shrek City's gates.
Mu En stood with his hands behind his back, wearing nothing but a thin robe, as if they were heading to his own backyard instead of the Extreme North.
Bai Lan stood beside him, with Yinye behind them.
Her long silver-purple hair shimmered softly in the morning light. Her silver-purple eyes gazed quietly north, with a hint of anticipation in them.
"Master," she said softly. "I've never been to the Extreme North."
Bai Lan looked at her. "Would you like to go?"
Yinye nodded. "I want to see what happens when ice and snow meet shadow."
Bai Lan smiled but said nothing.
Mu En turned to look at them.
"Are you ready?"
Bai Lan nodded.
Mu En raised his hand, Soul Power surging.
In the next instant—
The three of them vanished.
When Bai Lan opened his eyes again, a bone-chilling cold swept over him.
Before them lay a vast white world.
Snow and ice covered the ground. Snow-capped mountains stretched into the distance, and clouds of snow that never dispersed filled the sky. Sunlight filtered through them, glinting off the snow with a blinding brilliance.
The Extreme North.
They had arrived.
"So cold..." Bai Lan instinctively wrapped his arms around himself.
He was only at level thirty-seven. His body was much stronger than an ordinary person's, but the cold of the Extreme North was no ordinary chill.
It was a cold that could freeze Soul Power solid.
Yinye reached out and gently took his hand.
A warm current flowed into him.
"Master, is this better?"
Bai Lan nodded. "Much better."
Mu En stood in front, surveying the world of ice and snow.
"The Core Circle of the Extreme North is half a day's journey from here," he said. "That's where the Ice Empress is."
Bai Lan took a deep breath.
The Ice Empress.
The 400,000-year-old Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.
The target he had come to contract with.
"Elder Mu, how do we find her?"
Mu En smiled.
"We don't need to."
He raised his hand, and a surge of Soul Power shot into the sky before exploding!
Golden light illuminated the entire snowy plain!
"She'll come to us."
Sure enough.
Less than fifteen minutes later, a distant mountain began to tremble.
Snow tumbled down its slopes, as though something deep beneath the ground were awakening.
Then—
A beam of emerald light shot up from within the mountain!
It was so dazzling that it forced them to shut their eyes!
When the light faded—
A woman was standing before them.
She stood quietly on the snow.
Her long emerald hair fell like a waterfall, each strand gleaming faintly, as though carved from the purest jade.
Her hair fluttered gently in the cold wind. A few strands brushed her face, making her features seem even more strikingly cold.
Her features were delicate and sharp.
An innate arrogance showed in her eyes and brows. Her nose was high-bridged, and her lips were a pale shade of emerald, their corners turned down slightly in a distant, icy expression.
Her emerald eyes were deep as an ancient, frozen pool, and the faint mark of a scorpion could be seen in her pupils.
As she looked at you, you felt like prey in the sights of a venomous scorpion, unable even to summon the courage to flee.
Her skin was as white as snow, yet glimmered with a faint emerald light, like fine mutton-fat jade steeped in jade-green hues.
She was tall and graceful, dressed in an emerald-green gown that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. Scorpion-tail patterns were embroidered along its hem.
She stood there, perfectly still.
The ice and snow around her parted on their own, as if making way for her.
No—not making way.
Submitting.
She was one of the rulers of the Extreme North.
The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion—the Ice Empress.
"Human."
The Ice Empress spoke, her voice as cold as ice.
"You've come to my territory. What do you want?"
Her gaze passed over Mu En and paused.
A Peerless Douluo.
Then she looked at Yinye, her pupils contracting slightly.
A 400,000-year-old Soul Beast.
Void Shadow attribute.
Finally, she looked at Bai Lan—
Level thirty-seven.
A human child.
Her gaze returned to Mu En.
"A Peerless Douluo, a 400,000-year-old Ferocious Beast, and a human child," she said coldly. "Looking for a fight?"
Mu En smiled.
"No," he said. "We'd like to discuss a deal."
The Ice Empress raised an eyebrow. "A deal?"
Mu En nodded and looked at Bai Lan.
Bai Lan stepped forward.
He raised his head and looked at the emerald-haired woman before him.
A 400,000-year-old Ferocious Beast.
In the original story, she had eventually been driven to the brink by the Heavenly Tribulation and chosen to merge with Huo Yuhao.
But now—
"Ice Empress," he said. "I can help you survive your next Heavenly Tribulation."
The Ice Empress froze.
Then she laughed.
There was a mocking edge to her smile.
"You?" She looked him up and down. "A level-thirty-seven human child, helping me survive a Heavenly Tribulation?"
"Do you even know what a Heavenly Tribulation is?"
Bai Lan didn't get angry.
He simply raised his hand.
The Contract Book appeared in his palm.
"This is my Martial Soul," he said. "The Contract Book."
Before you continue