Birth in the Far North

Douluo Continent, the Far North.

This is a forbidden zone for humanity, a wasteland of death.

Perpetual snow that never melts blankets this vast, boundless land. Bitter, frigid winds rage like blades, and the temperature in the air has long since plummeted to a terrifying degree where even a Spirit Emperor would be frozen into an ice sculpture the moment they stepped inside.

There is no alternation of the four seasons here, only eternal day and night, and a biting cold that seems capable of freezing the soul itself.

Within this core circle, even a hundred-thousand-year-level spirit beast must lie low with the utmost caution, for here sleeps the supreme monarch who truly rules this world of ice and snow.

However, on this very day, this ancient, unchanging silence was shattered.

"BOOM--!!!"

Without the slightest warning, from the deepest part of the core circle of the Far North, a pillar of ice-blue light, brilliant to the extreme, suddenly tore through the thick wind and snow like a divine sword cleaving the heavens, shooting straight into the clouds!

This blue light was so bright that it even eclipsed the aurora that flickered year-round on the horizon of the Far North.

It illuminated the entire frozen plain of the Far North; for tens of thousands of miles around, the ice and snow seemed to be dyed with a layer of sacred blue radiance in this very moment.

Accompanying the rise of this light pillar, the surrounding blizzard seemed to hit a pause button. The violent ice elements in the air trembled and bowed, as if welcoming the arrival of some supreme existence.

In this sacred moment where all things were silent and only the blue light reached the heavens, a graceful figure slowly emerged from the depths of the swirling snow.

Her pace appeared slow, but with every step she took, the ice and snow beneath her feet would automatically condense into a crystal-clear ice lotus, gently lifting her jade-like feet. She was none other than the absolute hegemon of this Far North, the leader of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, possessing nearly seven hundred thousand years of terrifying cultivation—

The Heavenly Snow Woman, Snow Empress!

The beauty of the Snow Empress cannot be described by the pale language of humanity.

She possessed a head of long silver hair that cascaded down to her ankles like a waterfall, the strands fluttering slightly in the wind, shimmering with a luster purer than ice crystals.

Her skin was even more translucent than the purest first snow of the Far North, appearing as if it would break at a touch, yet it contained a terrifying power capable of destroying the world.

A simple, unadorned white dress clung to her figure—a body that could be called the Creator's most perfect masterpiece—outlining graceful curves that were breathtaking, yet inspired not a shred of profane thought.

Her eyes were a deep, icy blue, like two of the purest sapphires, yet that gaze held an extreme coldness and indifference that had seen through the vicissitudes of the world, as if nothing in existence was worthy of being reflected in her eyes.

With her appearance, a terrifying aura that defied description quietly permeated the air.

It was not a pressure deliberately released, but the suppression of status naturally radiated by a spirit of heaven and earth, the sovereign of the Far North.

Under the shroud of her aura, all spirit beasts within a hundred miles, even those of the hundred-thousand-year level, buried their heads deep into the snow, trembling all over, not daring to even draw a full breath.

The Snow Empress's cold gaze followed the gradually dissipating brilliant blue light and cast itself toward a crater buried by the wind and snow.

She slowly extended her right hand, as flawless as mutton-fat jade, and her slender, jade-like fingers hooked slightly.

"HUM--!"

A gentle yet irresistible force of Ultimate Ice spirit power surged out, lightly brushing away the snow in the crater.

Immediately following, a small swaddle wrapped in a faint layer of blue light flew slowly out of the snow pit, hovering until it arrived before her.

In the Snow Empress's cold eyes, which had remained calm for ten thousand years, a rare ripple of surprise flashed.

"A... human infant?"

Her ethereal, crisp voice, as melodious as an ice spring striking jade, rang out softly in the wind and snow.

This was simply an incredible thing.

In the core circle of the Far North, in the absolute zero cold, let alone a newborn human infant with no cultivation, even a human Spirit Douluo-level powerhouse would have their blood congeal and their meridians shatter within moments if they lacked special means to ward off the cold.

Yet, this male child before her completely defied common sense.

The faint layer of blue light wrapping him seemed to have the effect of insulating him from the blizzard, but what made the Snow Empress feel even stranger was that the boy's body was directly exposed to air that could freeze the soul. Not only was there no sign of him being frozen stiff or turning purple, but his white, rosy little cheeks even held an expression of comfort and enjoyment, as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

He kept his eyes closed, his tiny mouth twitching slightly, his breathing even and long.

The Snow Empress's eyes narrowed slightly. She released a wisp of extremely faint, gentle origin power, falling upon the infant like a spring breeze, attempting to probe the secrets within his body.

However, the moment her power touched the infant's body, the look of astonishment on the Snow Empress's beautiful face deepened.

"This aura..."

She had actually sensed an extremely familiar, extremely intimate aura from this fragile human child!

This aura did not repel her power in the slightest; instead, like a traveler in a long drought encountering sweet rain, it greedily and instinctively absorbed and drew close to her Ultimate Ice aura.

What made the Snow Empress find it even more inconceivable was that this sense of intimacy was not one-sided.

Even her own cold heart, which had been silent for hundreds of thousands of years, felt an inexplicable throb upon sensing this aura, making one unable to help but want to protect and draw near.

This feeling... it is somewhat like a bloodline bond between kin. A stormy sea surged within the Snow Empress's heart.

But her reason told her this was absolutely impossible.

Throughout the entire Far North, and even the entire Douluo Continent, the race of the Heavenly Snow Woman was a unique elemental spirit born with the favor of heaven and earth's fortune.

The Heavenly Snow Woman is not born of a womb or an egg; she is only born after the Ultimate Ice and Snow power of the Far North condenses to the extreme and is nurtured over countless years.

She, the Snow Empress, is the only Heavenly Snow Woman in this world.

She has no parents, no siblings, and certainly no kin.

If so, why would this human infant carry an aura similar to the origin of a Heavenly Snow Woman?

The Snow Empress stood where she was, letting the wind and snow blow through her silver hair, lost in long contemplation.

Light flickered in those icy blue eyes as she deduced various possibilities.

A long time later, the Snow Empress's cold gaze fell upon the infant once more, and she suddenly thought of a very special concept in the human Spirit Master world—

Martial Souls.

Human Martial Souls are strange and varied; there are Tool Martial Souls, Beast Martial Souls, and even the extremely rare Body Martial Souls and Natural Elemental Martial Souls.