The tranquility within the ice palace did not last long.
A series of heavy footsteps came from outside the ice palace. Each step made the ice beneath the ground emit a faint hum, and even the slices of fish sashimi on the ice table trembled slightly.
Those footsteps were deep and heavy, yet they did not seem to be deliberately releasing pressure. Rather, the visitor's body was simply too enormous; even walking normally was enough to make the surrounding ice feel oppressed.
Immediately after, a deep, rich voice pierced through the ice walls and carried in from outside the palace gates, bearing a deliberate, somewhat clumsy eagerness.
"Snow Empress—are you there?"
Ice Empress had been lifting a slice of sashimi to her mouth. The instant she heard that voice, her movement abruptly stopped, and her emerald eyes rolled.
"Here again."
She muttered under her breath.
Snow Empress's expression did not change much, but a trace of nearly imperceptible helplessness flashed through her eyes, which were usually as still as an icy lake.
She did not turn toward the palace gates. She merely lowered her eyes slightly and raised the ice cup before her for a sip, as though using the motion to conceal something.
Gu Linyuan set down his chopsticks and tilted his head slightly toward the palace gates.
"Who is it?"
He asked casually, but the aura coming from outside the palace was clearly no ordinary presence.
Heavy, frigid, and carrying the oppressive force of a mountain.
"Who else could it be? Titan Snow Demon King. Another old fossil of the Extreme North. He has a bit of strength and keeps running to the ice palace every few days, calling it a 'visit.' Everyone knows he's here for Snow Empress." Ice Empress spoke irritably, her voice brimming with undisguised