"Snow Maiden!"
Ice Empress excitedly grabbed Xue Tianyu's arm, her voice trembling.
"I sensed her—without a doubt, that's her aura! Snow Maiden has come to Spirit City!"
Xue Tianyu let go of Ice Empress and slowly straightened up.
The lazy look in his eyes, left over from their flirtation, had turned razor-sharp.
Of course he had sensed it too.
That utterly pure power of ice and snow had even stirred a resonance with the Ice Heaven Snow Lotus Martial Soul inside him.
The foremost of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North, Snow Empress.
An unparalleled Ferocious Beast with a terrifying cultivation of seven hundred thousand years.
She had actually left the Extreme North Core Circle alone and come to the heart of the human Soul Masters' world.
Xue Tianyu swept out a hand.
The pure white robe beside the pool transformed into a streak of light and settled precisely over his shoulders.
His frigid Soul Power instantly evaporated every trace of moisture from his body.
Ice Empress leapt out of the water after him.
As her Soul Power flowed, her gauzy bathing robe transformed into a dry, jade-green dress.
Impatiently, she tugged at Xue Tianyu's sleeve.
"Tian Yu, let's hurry and meet her! Snow Maiden rarely leaves the Far North. If she's suddenly come all the way to a human city, she must have encountered something urgent. If those old fools from Spirit Hall provoke her, we'll be in trouble."
Xue Tianyu glanced sideways at her, his tone calm.
"Trouble? If Spirit Hall's people provoke her, Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu will be the ones with a headache."
With Snow Empress's seven-hundred-thousand-year cultivation, who on Douluo Continent could withstand a single move from her, aside from those few old monsters who kept themselves hidden from the world?
Xue Tianyu reached back and took Ice Empress's little hand, lacing their fingers together.
As soon as he finished speaking, powerful ice-attribute Soul Power burst from beneath both their feet.
Space rippled faintly.
The two of them vanished from the Hot Spring Palace courtyard in an instant.
Only the rose petals frozen into ice sculptures across the pool remained as proof of what had just happened.
The main street in the center of Spirit City.
The bustling thoroughfare had fallen into an eerie silence.
The vendors and Soul Masters on either side had all retreated in terror, clearing a wide path.
Every eye was fixed on the white-haired woman strolling down the middle of the street.
Snow Empress lifted her chin slightly and gazed at the distant, towering Pope Palace.
A trace of disdain flashed across her beautiful face.
"Human architecture is certainly gaudy. Pity it's all useless decoration, too fragile to withstand a single blow."
She looked away and carefully sensed the familiar aura in the air.
The reason she had left the Far North and traveled all this way was entirely because of the man who had changed the balance of power there.
The human youth who possessed the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul.
The Far North could not go a single day without a ruler. But now, neither her heart nor Ice Empress's remained on that frozen plain.
"Snow Maiden!"
A voice brimming with delight rang out from ahead.
Snow Empress stopped. At last, a ripple stirred in her cool eyes.
Tens of meters away, a man and a woman appeared out of thin air on the street.
Ice Empress let go of Xue Tianyu's hand and flew straight into Snow Empress's arms like a lively little green bird.
"Snow Maiden! What brings you here? I missed you so much!"
Faced with Ice Empress throwing herself into her arms, the ten-thousand-year-old iceberg that was Snow Empress finally thawed a little.
She raised a hand as smooth as jade and gently stroked Ice Empress's emerald hair.
Her voice held a rare tenderness and indulgence.
"You little rascal. You've been following him around for so long, and you never once came back to the Far North to visit me. I thought you'd forgotten your home."
Ice Empress stuck out her tongue and hugged Snow Empress tightly around the waist.
"Of course not! I think about you every day! I was just telling Tian Yu that once this stupid tournament is over, we'd go back and see you."
Snow Empress raised her head and turned her gaze to Xue Tianyu, standing a few steps away.
Dressed in white, he was handsome and imposing.
His aura was even more unfathomable than when he had left the Far North.
Even she, a seven-hundred-thousand-year-old Ferocious Beast, felt a hint of instinctive awe when facing this man.
Xue Tianyu held one hand behind his back, his tone as casual as if he were greeting an old friend.
"You're here."
Snow Empress eased Ice Empress out of her embrace and stepped forward twice, meeting Xue Tianyu's gaze.
"You made too big a commotion in Heaven Dou City."
"The Soul Beasts in the Far North are restless. Your Extreme Cold Domain has already affected its very foundations."
Her tone was cool, without the slightest trace of pleasantries.
Xue Tianyu chuckled.
"What, did I disturb your sleep?"
Snow Empress shook her head.
"No. I came to tell you—"
Suddenly, she dropped to one knee, her white dress spreading across the icy ground.
Under the horrified gazes of countless Soul Masters lining the street, the Lord of the Far North lowered her noble head.
"From this day forward, the Far North is willing to take you as its master. I, Snow Empress, swear to follow you to the death."
Hearing Snow Empress's words, Xue Tianyu accepted her submission without hesitation.
"Get up."
His tone remained calm, without the slightest trace of surprise or flattery.
The Lord of the Far North submitting to him was only natural.
In the end, all things under heaven would prostrate themselves at his feet.
Snow Empress slowly rose, a sincere reverence now showing on her beautiful face.
The surroundings fell silent.
The Spirit Hall Soul Masters lining the street were so terrified that their hearts nearly stopped. They wished they could bury their heads in the paving stones.
Not one dared breathe too loudly.
Ice Empress laughed until her whole body swayed, then linked her arm through Snow Empress's.
"Snow Maiden, I knew you'd come looking for us!"
"With Tian Yu here, the Far North will never have to fear those damn Heavenly Tribulations again!"
Xue Tianyu didn't linger in the street.
He turned and left with the two women.
The three of them walked along the broad avenue toward the Hot Spring Palace.
They had just passed a street corner.
A group of Spirit Hall members approached them from the opposite direction.
At their head was a woman with a chic short haircut.
Her figure was alluring, and her fitted clothes showed off every curve to perfection.
Each step she took carried a natural, bewitching charm.
She was Hu Liena, the core member of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation and the Pope Bibi Dong's personal disciple.
Two red-robed Cardinals at Soul Saint level followed behind her, reporting on security arrangements for the tournament.
Hu Liena was somewhat distracted.
The moment she looked up, however, her gaze locked onto the three people approaching.
The young man in the middle was dressed in snow-white clothes, with an imposing presence as unfathomable as an abyss.
The green-haired girl on his left was petite and sprightly.
The white-haired woman on his right was so breathtakingly beautiful and cool that she seemed no mortal creature.
Hu Liena stopped.
A fierce competitive streak welled up inside her.
She prided herself on being unmatched in beauty and bearing in Spirit City, yet these two strange women had just appeared and outshone her soundly.
"Stop."
Hu Liena's red lips parted, her voice carrying the natural allure of her Demon Fox Martial Soul.
The two red-robed Cardinals behind her immediately hurried forward and blocked the path.
Xue Tianyu didn't even look at her.
He kept walking, heading straight toward them.
"I said stop. Didn't you hear me?"
Hu Liena's brows drew together, anger flaring in her heart.
No one had ever dared to ignore her in Spirit City.
A pink gleam flashed in her eyes.
Her Demon Fox Martial Soul possessed her in an instant, and her fluffy fox tail swayed behind her.
A powerful mental bewitchment shot straight toward Xue Tianyu's face.
"Presumptuous."
Snow Empress parted her lips.
She didn't need to make another move.
A blast of frigid air exploded outward around her.
Crack!
The two red-robed Cardinals in the way didn't even have time to scream before they turned into two glittering ice sculptures.
Their lives were extinguished.
Hu Liena's expression changed dramatically.
The mental power she prided herself on was smashed to pieces the instant it touched the frigid air.
The backlash made her groan, and a thread of bright-red blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
She staggered backward several steps, completely out of control, and nearly fell to the ground.
"You..."
A storm raged through Hu Liena's heart.
Her opponent hadn't even released her Martial Soul. Just a wisp of her aura had instantly killed two high-ranking Soul Saints?
What kind of terrifying power was this?
Only then did Xue Tianyu stop. His gaze fell on the woman before him, Spirit Hall's Saintess.
He walked over slowly until he stood in front of Hu Liena.
He looked down at her from above.
"Little fox, who gave you the nerve to probe me with your mental power?"
"Against absolute strength, your little tricks of seduction aren't even worth trash."
Hu Liena suppressed the trembling deep in her soul and lifted her head to stare at him.
"This is Spirit City!"
"You killed Spirit Hall Cardinals in the middle of the street. Aren't you afraid the Pope Palace will punish you?"
Xue Tianyu let out a mocking laugh.
He reached out and seized Hu Liena's smooth chin.
His grip was so strong that Hu Liena's brows knit tightly with pain, and she couldn't break free.
"The Pope Palace?"
"Even if Bibi Dong were kneeling in front of me right now, I'd still kill her without hesitation."
At those wildly arrogant words, a flash of realization suddenly struck Hu Liena.
"You're... Xue Tianyu of Skywater Team!"
For the past few days, the senior members of Spirit Hall had been discussing this man's name at almost every meeting.
He had instantly crushed Blazing Fire Academy and crippled Thunder Academy's captain. Even Qian Renxue, that woman who thought the world beneath her, had been turned away at the door.
Her teacher, Bibi Dong, had even issued a strict order: the Golden Generation had to give it their all and must never underestimate him.
Xue Tianyu let go.
Hu Liena stumbled back a step and gasped for breath.
"Seems my reputation has really grown."
Hu Liena pressed a hand to her heaving chest, her foxlike eyes fixed on the man before her.
This man was a hundred times more arrogant than the rumors claimed.
Yet the domineering air of one who looked down upon the world made her heart beat a little faster, against her will.
Women were naturally drawn to the strong.
Yan of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation circled around her all day, but she found him childish and ridiculous.
This man before her, who could crush a Soul Saint with a flick of his hand, treated her like dirt and showed no mercy.
That sharp contrast stirred an intense curiosity in Hu Liena.
Hu Liena drew a deep breath, forcing her surging blood and energy to settle.
"You really are strong."
"But on the finals stage, Spirit Hall will never admit defeat."
"I'll defeat you with my own hands and wash away today's humiliation."
Xue Tianyu glanced at her as if she were an idiot.
"With those third-rate fox-charm tricks of yours?"
"Keep your neck clean and wait. On the day of the finals, I'll turn the foundation Spirit Hall is so proud of into one enormous joke."
With that, Xue Tianyu left with the two women.
Hu Liena was left standing where she was.
She watched that white figure gradually recede, her gaze growing extraordinarily complicated.
Anger, unwillingness, wariness.
There was even a trace of fervor she herself had not noticed.
Just how many hidden trump cards did this man have?
Before long.
The three returned to the Hot Spring Palace.
The women of Skywater Team had already prepared a lavish dinner.
Shui Bing'er led her teammates in dropping to one knee in unison to welcome them.
"Greetings, Master."
Seeing Snow Empress beside Xue Tianyu, the girls all felt their hearts jolt.
The terrifying pressure that came from deep within the bloodline of a superior being left them unable to summon even the slightest courage to look directly at her.
Shui Yue'er was so frightened that she even slowed her breathing.
Xue Tianyu waved a hand.
"You may all leave. We don't need you to attend to us here."
Shui Bing'er answered respectfully, then quietly led everyone away, closing the hall doors behind them.
Ice Empress led Snow Empress to a seat in the luxurious hall.
"Snow Maiden, what exactly brought you all this way?"
Ice Empress poured a cup of hot tea and handed it over, curiosity written all over her face.
Snow Empress accepted the teacup and looked toward Xue Tianyu, seated at the head of the table.
"A strange spatial rift recently appeared deep in the snowy plains of the Far North."
"The aura seeping from the rift doesn't belong to Douluo Continent."
"Your Extreme Cold Domain is simply too powerful. It stirred the source of the Far North's fortune and ended up accelerating the rift's expansion."
Xue Tianyu tapped his fingers lightly against the sandalwood armrest, making a soft knocking sound.
"The Divine Realm's reach certainly is long."
"It's nothing. Once I've dealt with those jumping clowns at this tournament, I'll go back to the Far North with you."
"There's no place in this world I can't flatten. Whatever is hiding inside that rift, I'll crush it with my own hands."
Snow Empress looked at his utterly confident face, a trace of gentleness passing through her eyes.
"With you here, I have nothing to worry about."
The three chatted for a while, discussing the Far North's current situation.
As night deepened, Xue Tianyu sent Snow Empress to rest in a side hall.
Night settled heavily over the city.
The clamor of Spirit City gradually faded into stillness.
In the luxurious bedroom at the deepest part of the palace.
Xue Tianyu had just washed away the day's fatigue and was reclining on the spacious couch with his eyes closed.
The door lock gave a faint click.
Someone quietly pushed the bedroom door open.
A petite figure slipped inside like a thief.
Ice Empress had changed into a thin, emerald-green silk nightdress.
The hem barely covered the tops of her thighs.
Her fair, luminous skin glowed alluringly in the bright moonlight.
Barefoot, she crossed the soft carpet and quickly locked the door.
Then she pounced straight onto the bed.
"Tian Yu!"
Ice Empress clung to Xue Tianyu like an octopus.
She rubbed her head against his broad, sturdy chest.
"Snow Maiden's gone to bed. Finally, no one will disturb us."
Xue Tianyu opened his eyes and naturally wrapped an arm around her slender waist.
"You little minx. Ever since we got to Spirit City, you've been getting bolder and bolder."
Ice Empress lifted her head, desire blooming across her exquisitely beautiful face.
Her emerald eyes rippled with light.
"You promised me yourself at the hot spring today."
Before you continue