The Two Emperors of Ice and Snow

"Human, go on..."

Snow Empress's cool voice fell, and the howling wind around them seemed to freeze in an instant.

Her fingertips still rested on Ice Empress's smooth, pale forearm. Her ice-blue eyes gazed calmly at Xue Yuheng. The pressure of a nearly seven-hundred-thousand-year-old Soul Beast was enough to make an ordinary Titled Douluo drop to their knees.

Ice Empress reluctantly withdrew the nails pressed against Xue Yuheng's neck. Her jade-green Scorpion Tail swayed behind her, its venomous stinger gleaming with a chilling light. Her amber eyes were full of killing intent. She would never tolerate a human daring to threaten her.

Xue Yuheng raised a hand to brush the frost from his shoulder and spoke evenly.

"Crown Prince of Douling, Xue Yuheng, pays his respects to Snow Empress."

As expected, two profiles—one for Ice Empress and one for Snow Empress—appeared in the Wordless Heavenly Book in Xue Yuheng's mind.

Each profile now had an additional race entry listing the Soul Beast's name.

What surprised Xue Yuheng was their talent.

Ice Empress had [Mediocre Talent], which corresponded to the level of a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast. As expected, the Ice Jade Scorpion's racial attributes were simply too low.

Then how had she cultivated for three hundred and ninety thousand years?

[Name: Snow Empress

Race: Heavenly Snow Woman

Talent: First-Class Talent (Deity Level)

Bone Age: 704567

Cultivation: 690,000 years

Possible Deduction Paths: Transformation, Past and Present Lives, Damaged Origin]

After the Wordless Heavenly Book confirmed their identities, Xue Yuheng took Xiao Xiao's hand and smiled confidently. "Xiao Xiao, don't be nervous. These two are our seniors. We're only six-year-old children; they wouldn't stoop to bullying the weak."

Xiao Xiao wore a complicated expression. The Soul Power within her surged as she resisted Snow Empress's pressure.

The two big sisters in front of her were full of openings, yet Xiao Xiao had a strange feeling deep down.

If she used Goddess Transformation, she would definitely die.

She pressed her cherry lips together and nodded at Xue Yuheng.

Xiao Xue wouldn't let her get into danger. All she had to do was trust him.

Noticing the little girl's hopeful gaze, Xue Yuheng looked at the two peerless powerhouses before him and said calmly, "I have a Myriad Year Mysterious Ice Cave."

The Two Emperors of Ice and Snow exchanged a glance. They were clearly very interested. Ice Empress suppressed her agitation with great effort. "Human, state your terms."

She was now incredibly glad she hadn't killed Xue Yuheng. That was the Myriad Year Mysterious Ice Cave!

It was the key to keeping her alive.

Humans with lifespans of only a hundred years still clung to life. How much more so would Soul Beasts who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years?

"I have a question, if you don't mind. The Ice Jade Scorpion's racial talent isn't enough to get it past the twenty-hundred-thousand-year life tribulation. Ice Empress, how did you cultivate to your current level?"

"You're asking for death!" Ice Empress roared furiously. Xue Yuheng's words had struck a wound deep in her heart.

"Bing'er, stop." Snow Empress spoke again, halting Ice Empress.

She stepped forward half a pace. The fitted ice-blue dress accentuated her alluring figure, making her look even more statuesque against the snow. On her long, snow-white legs, Xue Yuheng even caught sight of translucent, ice-like stockings that gleamed in the light.

"That's Bing'er's private matter. Does it have anything to do with your terms?"

A private matter?

Xue Yuheng turned to Snow Empress, his tone grave.

"Soul Beasts face a bottleneck every hundred thousand years, and each life tribulation grows more powerful than the last.

"Lady Snow Empress, your origin is damaged. I'm afraid you won't survive this coming tribulation."

They had lived for hundreds of thousands of years. They had seen too many powerful Soul Beasts fall beneath the life tribulations, and they knew better than anyone that they had reached a dead end.

Ice Empress's Scorpion Tail slowly drooped. The killing intent on her face faded, replaced by deep unwillingness.

She was unwilling to have a lifetime of bitter cultivation end with her soul scattered. Even more, she couldn't bear the thought of Snow Empress meeting the same end alongside her.

Snow Empress's cool, beautiful face remained expressionless, but her eyes rippled.

Xue Yuheng continued, "Lady Snow Empress, you've also prepared a second path: Soul Beast Transformation. Unfortunately, without sufficient life force, your hundred-thousand-year Snow Lotus alone won't be enough."

For some reason, Snow Empress felt a chill in her heart. It was as if Xue Yuheng could see right through her. She frowned.

"The Douling Royal Family's intelligence network is impressive.

"Let me guess... Your price for helping us survive the tribulation with the Myriad Year Mysterious Ice Cave is... our submission to you?"

It really was convenient talking to smart people.

Of Snow Empress's three possible deductions, Xue Yuheng had chosen transformation.

After careful consideration, Xue Yuheng had concluded that the path of a Soul Beast wasn't right for Snow Empress.

After all, the Douluo World was constrained by the rule set down by a certain old dragon, which prevented Soul Beasts from becoming gods.

He had more than fifteen hundred points of the Power of Creation. After making deductions without regard for the cost, he had spent more than three hundred.

The Wordless Heavenly Book's profile for Snow Empress now contained a complete method of transformation.

Xue Yuheng said, "The Douling Royal Family has been passed down for thousands of years, and possesses a secret method that can help you transform into a human and rebuild your origin. That would break the natural limits imposed on Soul Beasts and give you the hope of becoming a god."

"Nonsense!"

Seeing Snow Empress fall into thought, Ice Empress feared she would fall into Xue Yuheng's trap and immediately objected. "Snow Empress and I have lived on the continent for hundreds of thousands of years. We've never heard of a secret method so powerful it defies the heavens.

"Today, tell Snow Empress and me the location of the Myriad Year Mysterious Ice Cave.

"Otherwise, I'll unleash a beast tide from the Far North and flatten Douling!"

Ice Empress unleashed the full aura of a Soul Beast king. In her words, the billions of lives in the Douling Empire were as insignificant as mayflies.

Xue Yuheng drew Xiao Xiao into his arms and said calmly, "I dared to come alone because I have a few trump cards.

"Have you ever heard of the Sun Moon Empire's Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shell?

"It doesn't matter if I die, but the habitats of several major races in the Far North will be devastated."

A circle of golden light shielded Xue Yuheng and Xiao Xiao. The Power of Creation protected them.

Xue Yuheng had tested it before. Each time he used it to block an attack from Canyue Douluo—Yue, who was equivalent to a Super Douluo—it consumed three hundred points of the Power of Creation.

That was another trump card that gave Xue Yuheng the confidence to come alone.

Snow Empress sensed what was happening. In the Far North, the laws of ice and snow between heaven and earth were at her command. In that instant, her Spiritual Power scanned a radius of fifty thousand kilometers, centered on their current location.

Sure enough, in the four directions—north, south, east, and west—of the Far North's core region, a Soul Master carried a power that made even her heart tremble.

They were too far away. Even if she and Ice Empress set off at full speed now, they wouldn't reach them in time.

Ice Empress suddenly realized something. "Those four maids of yours?!

"Xue Yuheng! You're asking for death!"

Just before Ice Empress could strike, Snow Empress barked a reprimand.

"Bing'er! Enough!"

"You've said so much. What are your terms?" Snow Empress asked directly, getting to the heart of the matter.

There was no such thing as a free lunch. After living for seven hundred thousand years, she understood that better than anyone.

Xue Yuheng smiled. "I'll use the natural treasures in the Myriad Year Mysterious Ice Cave to help Ice Empress survive her tribulation and help you, Snow Empress, transform and cultivate anew.

"In return, the Far North will become my backing in the future. When I unite the continent, all I'll ask is that the Far North provide resources and intelligence to the fullest."

"You want to turn the Far North into your backyard? Human boy, what a ridiculous dream." Ice Empress laughed furiously. She couldn't understand how someone so small had the nerve to make such grand claims.

Didn't he know that the power of the Far North could flatten all of Douling within a month?

Xue Yuheng tried to persuade Snow Empress.

"The Far North has been able to remain in peace thanks to the Three Great Heavenly Kings.

"But this peace is as fragile as a bubble. It will end when you two die in your tribulations within the next hundred years."

Xue Yuheng's words were like a bucket of cold water, dousing Ice Empress's anger.

Ice Empress opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word. She had to admit Xue Yuheng was telling the truth.

The wind and snow continued to howl, but the four of them fell silent for a long time.

Everyone waited for Snow Empress's answer.

Ice Empress looked at Snow Empress, her eyes full of struggle.

She was unwilling to submit to anyone, but she was even less willing to watch Snow Empress die in her life tribulation.

Snow Empress lowered her eyes and considered it for a moment. When she looked up again, she had made her decision. A serene smile added a touch of radiance to her breathtaking beauty.

"Your Douling has a secret method, but my Far North has one too." Snow Empress drew an ancient parchment scroll from the snow.

She explained, "This is a contract scroll left behind by the ancient Ice God. All we have to do is drip our blood onto it.

"If I die, you'll die too."

Snow Empress left one thing unsaid: if Xue Yuheng died, nothing would happen to her.

It was a master-servant scroll.

Meeting the gaze of the Two Emperors of Ice and Snow, Xue Yuheng glanced at Xiao Xiao beside him. She silently shook her head as she held his hand, but he finally stepped forward.

For Xiao Xiao's sake, Xue Yuheng had already risked his life once.

This time, he would gamble once more for himself.

He hoped the method deduced by the Wordless Heavenly Book wouldn't disappoint him.

Red and blue blood intertwined across the scroll. Then the ancient parchment suddenly burst into flames, eventually turning to ash.

A thread of connection and understanding now linked Xue Yuheng's mind to Snow Empress's.

The sensation felt strange to Xue Yuheng. In his perception, Snow Empress was like a block of solid ice.

A cold, frigid woman.

A phrase suddenly came to mind.

As the master in the master-servant contract, Snow Empress sensed far more than Xue Yuheng did.

She even saw a corner of Xue Yuheng's Spirit Sea.

Was that strange power enveloping the boy coming from the White Jade Scroll in his Spirit Sea?

Was that his Martial Soul, or... a divine artifact?

As an Ice and Snow Elf favored by the heavens, Snow Empress had a profound understanding of the laws.

One reason she had compromised, apart from the irresistible allure of the Myriad Year Mysterious Ice Cave, was the strange power surrounding Xue Yuheng. She couldn't see through it at all.

It was at least a higher form of power than Soul Power.

This Crown Prince of Douling was unfathomable.

As for the brash Ice Empress, she didn't think that far ahead. She just wanted to get on with it.

"Xue Yuheng, tell me what you need for the secret method that can help me transform," Snow Empress said.

"Snow Empress!" Ice Empress cried out.

"Bing'er, this is my only way out."

Snow Empress's voice was weary. "We've lived together for hundreds of thousands of years. Do you really want to watch me die in my life tribulation, and watch the Far North be destroyed?"

Ice Empress bit her lip. She looked at Snow Empress's resolute gaze, then at Xue Yuheng, and finally stamped her foot hard.

"Fine! I agree! But if you dare play any tricks, even if my soul is scattered, I'll drag you down with me!"

Xue Yuheng gave an awkward smile. "Snow Empress and I are bound to live and die together now. Why would I do something so much trouble for so little gain?"

Xue Yuheng cleared his throat and loudly recited the ice-attribute natural treasures required by the Wordless Heavenly Book.

"Ten jin of Myriad Year Mysterious Ice Marrow, a hundred jin of Millennium Mysterious Ice Marrow, three Ice God Flowers, twelve ninety-thousand-year ice-attribute Soul Bones, a hundred five-thousand-year ice-attribute Soul Beast cores, three hundred grams of Ice Spirit Sky Sand, one hundred-thousand-year Snow Lotus..."

Xue Yuheng sounded like he was reading off a menu. Each item was a peerless treasure that would send ice-attribute Soul Masters across the continent into a frenzy. He spent two minutes listing more than a hundred of them.

Xiao Xiao pouted. Why was Xiao Xue lining his own pockets at a time like this? If he made these two humanoid monsters angry, they wouldn't even be able to run away.

Snow Empress and Ice Empress's faces grew darker and darker.

The resources required amounted to nearly one-fifth of everything in the Far North.

That was a storehouse of resources built over millions of years, ever since the ancient Ice God had led the Soul Beasts to claim the Far North.

Xue Yuheng let out a long breath. "All right, those are roughly the materials for the transformation. As for the method, you'll need to draw down a seventy-thousand-year lightning tribulation, then use the tribulation to temper a new body.

"If you survive it, you'll succeed."

There were also more than a thousand points of the Power of Creation needed as a fusion catalyst, but Xue Yuheng didn't mention that.

In the distant sky, the sounds of Heavenly Dancing Maiden and the Titan Snow Demon King fighting drew closer. Black and white light flashed across the heavens as the snow beneath their feet trembled.

After a brief discussion, Xue Yuheng safely left with Xiao Xiao on a snowmobile. He needed to tell the Moon Shadow Squad to wrap things up.

He had lied to Snow Empress about the four Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shells. There was actually one Level 9 shell and three Level 8 shells.

Soul Guidance Shells were controlled weapons in the Sun Moon Empire and were strictly forbidden from being exported to the three original kingdoms on the Douluo Continent.

Xue Yuheng had traded a minor piece of intelligence for them with an old man in the Sun Moon Empire two years earlier.

Even that powerful figure had gone to great lengths to acquire the four shells.

On the ice field, Ice Empress watched Xue Yuheng and Xiao Xiao disappear into the distance, then couldn't help asking Snow Empress, "Snow Empress, are we really going to trust him?

"That boy seems like a lunatic to me. What if he's willing to do whatever it takes to die with you..."

Ice Empress had a terrible impression of Xue Yuheng, though she also admired him a little. If it had been her, she wouldn't have dared to do something like that.

Even now, Ice Empress believed that experts from the Douling Empire must be hiding nearby, following behind Xue Yuheng.

Snow Empress glanced at Ice Empress and shook her head. "Xue Yuheng doesn't seem to care about the Douling Empire at all.

"But when you speak with him, you can sense his sense of responsibility.

"If I die, with your temper, you'll definitely unleash a beast tide.

"The monks may flee, but their temple won't. Xue Yuheng wouldn't gamble with the Douling Empire."

"Then why go to all this trouble to help us Soul Beasts?" Ice Empress asked, puzzled.

If Xue Yuheng was a responsible person, why strengthen the Soul Beast side?

After all, over the past tens of thousands of years, Soul Beasts and Soul Masters had been locked in an irreconcilable conflict.

Snow Empress had her own thoughts, but didn't answer. Instead, she asked, "Bing'er, that little girl who came with Xue Yuheng seems to be a Soul Master, doesn't she?"

"As far as I could sense, yes. She seems to be a Soul Master who hasn't acquired a Soul Ring. There's no trace of having killed a Soul Beast on her," Ice Empress replied confidently.

Ice Empress's words only deepened Snow Empress's confusion.

What was that thing the little girl had been charging up?

Why did it make Snow Empress's heart tremble?

How could a little girl who wasn't even a One-Ring Soul Master possess such terrifying power?

The Snow Empress sighed. Were there really such freakish people in the human world now?

Once this transformation was over, she supposed she could go for a walk around the continent.

That First Academy of the Continent seemed like a pretty good place to start.

The Snow Empress turned and glided over the snow without leaving a trace. "Come on. Let's gather the materials on the list."

"Hmph! That brat Xue Yuheng is definitely trying to rip us off! Why would we need so many materials?

"If I ever catch him with his pockets full of ill-gotten gains, I'll crush him with my pincers!"

The Snow Empress: "..."