The Ice Empress Begs Me Not to Die in Douluo, Tears!

Su Hui had completely lost all sense of time.

Within his consciousness, nothing remained but pain.

Endless, boundless pain.

The energy from the Ice Empress Torso Bone sacrifice was like a burst celestial river.

Even though he had sealed away the vast majority of its origin, the residual power was still constantly threatening to burst his blood vessels.

Blood would freeze the moment it surged out, layer upon layer, forming thick, icy scabs of blood across his skin.

What was even more terrifying was the fusion of the torso bone.

He could feel his ribs being smashed one by one, his spine being crushed inch by inch, and his tailbone being forcibly extracted.

Then, a force of extreme cold surged into the gaps of those shattered bones, reshaping them and taking their place.

That was not healing; it was replacement.

It was using the Ice Empress Torso Bone to completely reconstruct his skeleton from the inside out.

In this abyss of excruciating pain, Su Hui did not know how long he had held on.

His consciousness teetered on the brink of collapse time and again, only to be pulled back together at the very last moment by gritted teeth.

He could not die!

If he died, everything would be over!

The God-Making Project, ascending to the throne of gods, immortality—all these grand blueprints and ambitions could only be realized if he remained alive.

He did not know how much more time had passed.

Within the icy blood scabs, a pair of eyes snapped open.

"Crack!"

Shards of the icy blood scabs peeled off Su Hui's body, hitting the stone floor of the cave with crisp, rhythmic sounds.

He stepped barefoot onto the gravel and looked down at his palms.

As he splayed his fingers, the pale blue veins beneath his skin were clearly visible, and beneath them lay the outline of translucent white bones.

That was no longer the texture of human bone—it was too dense, too clear, like jade birthed from some land of extreme cold.

A chill radiated from his back.

An Emerald Scorpion Mark emerged from the center of his spine, extending to the ends of his ribs, its scorpion claws splayed to the sides, perfectly clamping onto his entire ribcage.

The markings shimmered with icy mist, flickering in rhythm with his breathing.

Su Hui clenched his fist.

Soul power surged through his meridians, the sensation of fullness making his scalp tingle.

He had reached level thirty!

Two soul rings rose from beneath his feet.

One purple, one black.

Su Hui stared at the four golden scorpion patterns on the edge of that black soul ring, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Fifteen thousand years."

His voice was horribly hoarse, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing against each other.

"A fifteen-thousand-year soul ring, just like that, hanging on me."

A soft hum echoed in his mind.

"Look at how little ambition you have."

The Ice Empress's tone remained as condescending as ever.

But the tail end of her voice lacked its usual cold rigidity, replaced by a trace of imperceptible exhaustion.

"A mere fifteen thousand years has you looking like a fool?"

"Tsk."

The Ice Empress's voice sounded in his mind, the tone carrying less coldness and more a sense of reflection.

"I really am impressed you managed to endure that bone-piercing pain."

"At the very least, it seems I didn't choose the wrong person."

"Uh."

Su Hui tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to grin.

The muscles on his face still retained the phantom sensation of his bones being crushed inch by inch, making his smile somewhat stiff.

"Listen well now."

The Ice Empress straightened her tone.

"Your second soul ring is now at fifteen thousand years."

"As your cultivation realm improves, the origin I have sealed will gradually be released."

"By the day the seal is completely undone, this spirit ring will reveal the true might of a 400,000-year spirit ring."

A 400,000-year spirit ring.

Su Hui's breathing hitched slightly.

On this continent, spirit masters capable of possessing a ten-thousand-year spirit ring were already as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns, and a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring was a legendary existence.

But 400,000 years—that was a number sufficient to drive the entire spirit master world into a frenzy.

"There is one more thing."

A hint of confusion laced the Ice Empress's voice.

"Your martial soul is powerful in a way that is somewhat abnormal."

Su Hui raised an eyebrow.

"The spirit skill currently provided by my spirit ring is named 'Ice Empress Pincer', which belongs to the offensive category."

"When activated, your hands and forearms are covered in diamond-crystal ice armor, possessing both hardness and sharpness, and it can even evolve into a wing-like form to assist in combat."

The Ice Empress paused, her tone growing increasingly puzzled.

"But sense it for yourself; you currently possess more than one spirit skill."

Su Hui was stunned, closing his eyes to perceive carefully.

"Ice Empress Pincer."

He whispered the name of the spirit skill.

A layer of diamond-crystal ice armor instantly condensed on the surface of his hands, covering them from his fingertips to his forearms.

Thin, cicada-wing-like ice blades extended from the sides of the ice armor, resembling a pair of translucent wings.

Su Hui flexed his fingers, and the ice armor emitted a faint crackling sound as the ice at the joints continuously shattered and refroze.

A moment later, he opened his eyes again, his pupils filled with astonishment.

The 'Ice Element Manipulation' skill from his second spirit ring had not disappeared as he had expected.

Not only that, but the effect was even stronger than before.

His affinity for ice elements and the precision of his control had leaped to a much higher level.

The water vapor in the air, the moisture seeping from the depths of the stone cave, and even the breath he exhaled had all become ice elements available for him to manipulate.

That sense of control no longer required deliberate guidance; it was as natural as breathing.

"Ice Element Manipulation..."

Su Hui murmured, "This was the skill from my second spirit ring; how is it still here?"

"This is precisely why I said your martial soul is special."

The Ice Empress snorted, "Forget it, you can study that yourself."

"Once the spirit ring upgrades to 100,000 years, my ring will grant you a second spirit skill named 'Ice Emperor Possession', which belongs to the defensive category."

She stopped dwelling on the issue and turned to another urgent matter.

"My 400,000-year torso bone is different from ordinary spirit bones; it possesses the dual characteristics of both a torso bone and an External Soul Bone."

"It replaces not only your spine but also your entire ribcage and sternum, providing an all-encompassing enhancement to your physical constitution."

Su Hui subconsciously touched his chest.

Beneath his skin, the Ice Empress's bones lay quietly dormant, ready to erupt with terrifying power at any moment.

"This torso bone grants you two spirit bone skills."

"The first is 'Eternal Frozen Domain', a domain-type skill that releases an extreme cold field to freeze enemies and suppress their movements."

"The second is 'Ice Emperor's Wrath', my strongest offensive spirit skill. It can be unleashed through three methods: the scorpion pincers, the chest, or the scorpion tail—the chest release has the greatest power. Remember that clearly."

The Ice Empress's voice suddenly dropped, and a clear weariness seeped through her cold, arrogant tone.

"Everything that needs to be said has been said. I need to stabilize my spiritual form and will be entering a deep slumber for a period of time. Before I wake up..."

She was silent for two seconds.

"Kid, don't you dare die out there."

"..."

Su Hui stood in the dim stone cave, his bare feet pressing against the cold rock, while fragments of shattered icy blood scabs drifted in the surrounding air.

He stared at the dark red ice chunks by his feet for a long time.

"Rest assured."

He said.

"I am determined to live until the day you find me annoying."

"..."

There was no longer any response from within the Sea of Consciousness.

The fluctuations of the Ice Empress's consciousness had fallen completely silent, with only a faint, lingering chill remaining to prove her existence.

Su Hui took a deep breath.

He clenched his fists and released them, repeating the motion several times.

Level 30 spirit power, a 15,000-year second spirit ring, and a 400,000-year torso bone.

This was the capital he had traded his life to obtain.

"As of now, there is no one who desires to live better than I do."