Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was in such a state that its whole being felt wrong. It spun frantically around the Sea of Consciousness, trembling as it went.
"Madness! You've gone mad! Do you know what kind of being the Snow Empress is? She's the leader of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North! Third among the Ten Great Beast Kings! With the advantage of the Far North's terrain, she could even fight Beast God Di Tian!"
It stopped and looked at Su Chen as if he were a lunatic. "You actually dare plot to make the Snow Empress your Second Martial Soul? How is that any different from asking for death? No, it's even worse than asking for death! At least if you ask for death, you might leave a whole corpse. If you anger the Snow Empress, we won't even be left as scraps!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's fear wasn't without reason.
As a million-year soul beast, it knew all too well how terrifying those two in the Far North were. The Ice Empress was one thing. Although she had a fiery temper, her strength was within manageable limits. But the Snow Empress...
She was the true ruler of the Far North! She commanded Ultimate Ice and snow, freezing a thousand miles with a single thought!
Could a being like that really be "packed up" just like that?
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm seriously suspected that Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire had roasted Su Chen's brain today.
But Su Chen's next words gradually calmed it down.
"Sky Dream," Su Chen's voice rang through the Sea of Consciousness, steady and forceful. "Weren't you always clamoring for eternal life?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm froze.
Su Chen continued, "Without the Snow Empress, how am I supposed to stand against the gods of the Divine Realm? Don't forget, I have the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, and I'm enemies with Sea God Tang San from ten thousand years ago. Every single god in the Divine Realm is a potential enemy."
He paused, his tone turning more serious. "Without sufficient foundations, how can we fight Tang San? How can we survive under the Divine Realm's watchful eye?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fell silent.
Su Chen had seized on its deepest desire—eternal life. Yes, it had chosen to sacrifice itself to Su Chen because it saw his potential and his Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, hoping to use him to attain eternal life.
But if Su Chen fell before his time or failed to become a god, its dream of eternal life would be shattered too.
Su Chen pressed the point further. "Besides, if I weren't confident, I wouldn't say something like this. I never do anything unless I'm sure of it. I'll prepare a backup plan by then. Even if we can't reach an agreement, I'll make sure we can leave the Far North safely."
He wasn't making empty promises. To guard against the unexpected, he would send the Limit Douluo from the Holy Heaven Sect. Though a Level 98 Super Douluo could protect him, the Far North was the Snow Empress's home turf. He would have to plan carefully before going there.
After all, he didn't want to die either.
With a Limit Douluo there, he would indeed have some leverage to negotiate with the Snow Empress. That was his trump card.
Su Chen had seized on Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's desire for eternal life. He knew full well that if it really had to choose between the Ice Empress and eternal life, it would choose eternal life without hesitation—that had been its obsession for a million years.
By now, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was beginning to ponder his words, though its body was still trembling. It was the fear of a creature at the very bottom of the food chain!
"B-but..." it stammered. "The Snow Empress's temper... You have no idea! They say the Titan Snow Demon King once confessed his love to her, and she broke every bone in his body. He nearly died in the Far North! If the Snow Empress hadn't spared him for the sake of his Ice God bloodline, there'd be one fewer of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North!"
Just picturing it made Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shudder.
Su Chen only smiled. "That's perfect. It proves the Snow Empress has high standards. A lout like the Titan Snow Demon King isn't good enough for her."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm: "...Is this really the time to discuss that?!"
Still, there was no denying that Su Chen's words made sense.
Without sufficient strength, how could they stand against the Divine Realm? How could they secure eternal life? The Ice Empress was strong, but she was still a cut below the Snow Empress.
Besides... it believed Su Chen wouldn't rush headlong into a death trap. After all, in Sky Dream's eyes, Su Chen was a clever kid who never did anything unless he was sure of it.
Fine, then...
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sighed inwardly. It was already aboard this pirate ship, so it might as well go crazy with the kid! Set their sights on the Snow Empress!
Without Su Chen, it might have already died in the Star Dou Great Forest. As the saying went—take a gamble, and you could turn a bicycle into a motorcycle! Then turn that motorcycle into a Land Rover!
It didn't believe Su Chen's life would end here. There were too many secrets and too many unbelievable things about him. Maybe... he really could work a miracle?
"Good kid..." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm finally spoke, its voice full of complicated emotions. "Your ambition is no ordinary thing."
It paused, its tone turning resolute. "But since I, Tian Meng, chose you, I'll face this together with you! It's just the Snow Empress, right? I'll take this gamble with you!"
A hint of a smile flashed in Su Chen's eyes. "You've made up your mind?"
"I have!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm gritted its teeth. "But we can't rush this. Raise your Soul Power to Level 30 as soon as possible and absorb your third Soul Ring first. Once you're Level 30, we'll plan our trip to the Far North in detail."
"Okay," Su Chen replied.
The two reached an agreement in the Sea of Consciousness. Su Chen left his mental world and opened his eyes to find that the sky outside was already beginning to brighten.
He looked at the bed across from him. Wang Dong was still asleep, but she had gone from sprawled out in every direction to curled up in a ball like a kitten. Moonlight shone on her face, her long eyelashes casting faint shadows on her eyelids.
Looking at Wang Dong's peaceful sleeping face, Su Chen gave a soft laugh, lay back down, and closed his eyes too.
Deep in the Sea of Consciousness, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was excitedly drawing up its grand plan to "pack up the two ice-and-snow empresses." Its little eyes shone more brightly than they had in a million years.
Far North, Snow Empress, Ice Empress... Just you wait. I'm coming!
And Tang San in the Divine Realm... You'd better pray we succeed. Otherwise, once Su Chen grows strong enough, you'll be in for it!
Far away in the Far North, a white-haired woman in an icy palace suddenly woke from her slumber. A hint of confusion flickered in her ice-blue eyes.
She had a strange feeling... as if some troublesome thing had set its sights on her.
She shook her head and closed her eyes again.
It must have been an illusion. Who in the Far North would dare target her?
The next morning, sunlight poured through the windows into Dormitory 108.
Wang Dong was still curled up in bed, sleeping like a bear in hibernation. Su Chen had already washed up and changed into his school uniform. He stood before the mirror, arranging his long golden hair.
"Hey, wake up." He went over to Wang Dong's bed and gently nudged the edge with his foot.
Wang Dong groaned, rolled over, and pulled the blanket over her head. "Five more minutes..."
"First period is Teacher Mu's theory class. If you're late..." Su Chen drawled. "I think the punishment is twenty laps around the field?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Dong shot up from the bed. Her eyes weren't even fully open, but her hands were already instinctively reaching for her clothes.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner!" she complained as she hurriedly pulled on her shirt. "Teacher Mu seems gentle, but she's not soft at all when it comes to punishments! Last time Shi Hao was late, she punished him so badly he could barely get back up..."
Watching her panic, Su Chen couldn't help laughing. "I lied. Teacher Mu has something to do this morning, so class was rescheduled."
Wang Dong froze in the middle of pulling on her pants.
Three seconds later.
"Su Chen—!!!!"
The entire dormitory building heard her furious roar.
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