Heavenly Tribulation, That's All—What's There to Panic About?

"Hey, bastard, keep me company for a while." Watching the dark, oppressive Tribulation Clouds in the sky, Ice Empress spoke to Ye Qing.

"Oh? You're in quite the mood. Shouldn't you be adjusting yourself and preparing for the Heavenly Tribulation?"

"There's no need. Honestly, this is already my best condition."

"Are you sure?" He had not forgotten how Ice Empress had nearly burst from excessive energy before. After all, he did not have the memory of a fish, much less the memory of the internet.

"It's not a serious problem. Storage organs can regenerate for Ice Jade Scorpions. Besides, whether I prepare or not makes no difference." If she had been given enough time to slowly digest the remaining energy, she might still have had a chance. But the Heavenly Tribulation had not given her that time. From observing the Tribulation Clouds just now, she had already made a direct judgment about this Heavenly Tribulation's power—it far surpassed the first one she had faced years ago.

She was stronger than she had been back then, but another layer of Tribulation Clouds was brewing above the first. As the target of the Heavenly Tribulation, Ice Empress could feel it with absolute clarity. She understood that under the assault of a double Heavenly Tribulation, she had no chance of surviving. In that state of mind, she naturally had no desire to adjust herself.

"Actually, sometimes I envy you."

"Hm? Did a fever fry your brain? That's not something you should be saying. Where did the stubborn Ice Empress from before go?" As Ye Qing spoke, he reached over and touched her forehead. It was still icy cold—perfectly normal.

Ice Empress casually slapped Ye Qing's hand away and continued.

"I'm perfectly normal. How could something like a fever happen to me? I only envy your talent. You absorbed that excess energy again, didn't you? I still don't know what kind of Spirit Beast a Hou is, but being able to draw energy out of someone else's body without harming them... that's a terrifying talent."

"And I don't know where you learned so much random nonsense. You can always make Xue'er laugh. This past year or so was probably the happiest year of Xue'er's life. If you can win Xue'er over, that doesn't seem too bad either..."

At that point, Ye Qing realized what was going on. This girl thought she had no hope of surviving the Heavenly Tribulation and was making her final arrangements. Snow Empress was practically Ice Empress's bottom line, yet she had actually said something like that. It completely defied common sense.

After ruling out the possibilities that either he or Ice Empress had gone mad, Ye Qing understood. No wonder she had not even looked at Snow Empress when they left earlier—she was probably afraid she would not be able to bear parting from her. But that was also the sorrow of Spirit Beasts. Under the suppression of heaven and earth, even a top-tier Spirit Beast like Ice Empress could lose hope.

"Hey, it's just a Heavenly Tribulation. It's fine. At worst—"

"Enough. You don't need to comfort me." What Ye Qing had actually wanted to say was that it was no big deal. It was only a Heavenly Tribulation; he could block it in minutes.

When it came to enduring tribulations, Ye Qing was a professional. A Heavenly Tribulation had struck him the moment he arrived in this world. Later, he had been accidentally caught up in Di Tian's Heavenly Tribulation once, and after that, in the Extreme North, he had also taken part of Snow Empress's Heavenly Tribulation. If they really counted, this would already be his third time. He had plenty of experience.

Especially when it came to taking other people's Heavenly Tribulations, there was not another person like him on the entire continent. But Ice Empress took his words entirely as comfort. In her understanding, a Heavenly Tribulation had never been something one could rely on others to overcome, so she did not care what Ye Qing had been about to say and simply continued speaking on her own.

"Who would have thought that one day, I would be comforted by a bastard like you? Oh, and you saved me once before too. But you also took my first kiss, bastard. That should count as repaying your favor, right?"

"Oh, and later, tell Xue'er that I got tired of things and returned to the Extreme North first. If she finds out I fell, she might be sad. She'll probably stay with you for a long time, won't she? That's good too."

"And although I don't know why you don't eat bugs, those little bugs of yours were the most delicious things I've ever eaten. It's not bad for a final meal either... Is it time?"

The clouds in the sky began to gather further, and lightning began to converge. Ice Empress could also tell that the Heavenly Tribulation meant for her was about to arrive.

"Hey, bastard, you should leave."

"Don't be so pessimistic. It's only a Heavenly Tribulation. It'll be fine," Ye Qing replied as he put away the things in his hands. Ice Empress had been facing away from him, talking to herself the entire time, so she had never seen the snail and shell in his hands. They were a Video Den Den Mushi and a Sound Shell, things Ye Qing had exchanged for earlier to record Xiao Wu's childhood. He had not expected to use them on Ice Empress first. He planned to show them to her afterward, so she could see what she had said.

"Enough, enough. At a time like this, I never expected you to be the one accompanying me through my final moments... In the future, treat Xue'er well. Otherwise, even if I become a ghost, I won't let you off."

As she spoke, frigid power gathered. In the height of summer, a massive pillar of ice erupted from the ground. Though she believed she would fail, she had no intention of retreating. Instead, she directly faced the approaching Heavenly Tribulation. The lightning in the sky seemed to sense something as well and surged down from the long-accumulated clouds...

The heaven-piercing lightning came to a temporary end, but the black clouds did not disperse at all. Instead, they condensed even more tightly. That meant Ice Empress had survived the first layer of the Heavenly Tribulation, while the second layer was slowly gathering.

The ice pillar from before had long since been shattered. Its fragments had melted and evaporated in the intense heat. On the cliff struck by the Heavenly Tribulation, Ice Empress had lost her earlier composure and struggled to rise from the ground.

Ice-blue and emerald-green shells lay scattered across the ground. This was the price she had paid to face the Heavenly Tribulation. Her hard crystalline scorpion armor was shattered and broken, and her body was covered in seeping blood.

After trying again, she lay back down on the ground. Her strength no longer supported her standing.

Is this it...? I never thought I would fall here... Without me, that bastard will probably be very happy.

Ice Empress did not know why, but at a time like this, what surfaced in her mind was neither the Spirit Beasts of the Extreme North nor the Snow Empress she had been thinking of so dearly. Instead, it was Ye Qing, the guy she had spent more than a year with.

"No, no, no. Without you, I'd have far less fun. No one else would come over just to get beaten up. You'd better honestly stay alive."

"Cough... cough! Why are you still here, bastard? Didn't I tell you to leave? Get the hell out! You're not needed here. Do you know this is a Heavenly Tribulation?!" Seeing Ye Qing appear before her again, Ice Empress coughed up several mouthfuls of bloody filth and angrily cursed him. She had not expected Ye Qing to come looking to die.

"Oh? Is that concern for me? But this tough-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside act of yours is really interesting."

"It's too late. Get out of here!" Looking at the lightning that was about to finish gathering, she somehow found the strength to struggle to her feet and tried to push Ye Qing away.

At that moment, the even more powerful Heavenly Tribulation in the sky finished gathering once more. Scarlet lightning snaked downward, aiming directly at the two of them below.

I think you can all guess what happened next.