Bai Chenxiang immediately stopped cultivating. Her figure flickered, and she appeared in front of Venti as if she had teleported.
She was more than twice as fast as before.
"Your Grace!"
Her young face was filled with awe and reverence.
Ever since she awakened her Second Martial Soul, she felt as if the whole world had changed.
The wind was no longer an obstacle. It was her eyes and ears, her hands and feet.
"Don't be so formal."
Venti waved a hand and said with a broad smile:
"We have guests. They're at the north gate."
"The two ladies might be a little temperamental."
"Could you go greet them for me?"
Bai Chenxiang was taken aback.
Guests?
And temperamental ladies?
"Understood, Your Grace."
Bai Chenxiang didn't ask any further questions.
Now, she obeyed Venti's commands without question.
The transparent Wind Glider behind her unfurled in a rush. She turned into a streak of azure light and sped toward the north gate.
Outside the north gate of Godwind City.
The air, usually warm and humid, suddenly plunged dozens of degrees.
The Wind Sword Sect disciples guarding the gate shivered with cold, staring at the sky in terror.
There.
Two peerless figures descended slowly.
They weren't deliberately releasing their auras, but the air of superiority about them and the bone-deep cold were impossible to conceal.
"So this is Godwind City?"
The Ice Empress hovered in midair, arms crossed as she surveyed the city with a critical eye.
"It doesn't look like much."
"There isn't a single decent ice sculpture. It's all stone and wood."
The Snow Empress gave her younger sister a helpless look.
"This is the human world. Naturally, it doesn't have scenery like the Far North."
Just then.
A gentle voice came from the city gate.
"Two distinguished guests have come from afar. Godwind City is honored by your presence."
Bi Ji emerged gracefully, dressed in a long, jade-green gown.
She carried no weapon in her hands, only a pot containing a newly sprouted plant.
The Vision on her chest, glowing with an azure light, drew the eye.
The moment they saw Bi Ji.
The Snow Empress and the Ice Empress both narrowed their eyes.
As Ferocious Beasts, they were all too familiar with each other's auras.
"The Emerald Swan?"
The Ice Empress's eyes widened, as if she'd seen something unbelievable.
"Bi Ji? You're really here?"
"And..."
The Ice Empress's gaze fell on the Vision on Bi Ji's chest.
"Why has your aura changed?"
"Besides your life force, why is there also... a trace of wind about you?"
Bi Ji smiled gently, unbothered by the Ice Empress's rudeness.
She was a Ferocious Beast who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years. In terms of seniority, she was no junior to the Ice Empress.
"This is a gift from the Wind God."
Bi Ji extended a hand and lightly tapped with her fingertip.
A gentle breeze, entwined with life energy, danced on her fingertip.
"Ice Empress, Snow Empress."
"It seems you've made your choice, too."
The Snow Empress looked at Bi Ji, a hint of relief passing through her ice-blue eyes.
If even Bi Ji, the core figure of the Star Dou Forest, was here—and seemed to be doing well, having even gained a new power—
then it meant the Wind God was indeed as the Sky Curtain had claimed: he held no prejudice against Soul Beasts.
"We've come to form an alliance."
The Snow Empress spoke, her voice cool and resolute.
"And to thank the Wind God for his gift."
Just then, an azure figure came speeding from within the city.
Bai Chenxiang landed, folded away her wings, and bowed to the two rulers of the Far North.
"Esteemed seniors, His Grace invites you in."
Bai Chenxiang didn't know who the two of them were, but the terrifying chill around them told her they were no ordinary people.
And besides, these two women were unbelievably beautiful.
One was as aloof as a fairy, while the little one was as cute as a porcelain doll.
The Ice Empress glanced at Bai Chenxiang.
"So this is the little bird ranked fourteenth on the list?"
"Not bad speed."
"Lead the way."
The City Lord Mansion, main hall.
Venti wasn't seated on the city lord's throne, the symbol of authority.
Instead, he sat casually on the steps, holding the half-eaten apple in his hand.
When the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress entered the hall, this was what they saw...
A boy who looked utterly lacking in dignity.
Was this the Wind God?
The powerful being who had shattered a star with one arrow?
The god who had bestowed countless miracles?
The Ice Empress raised an eyebrow, a hint of doubt on her little face.
The Snow Empress, however, was even more cautious.
She realized that she couldn't see through the boy at all.
He was like a breath of wind.
Though he stood right before her, he also seemed to be everywhere, his true form impossible to grasp.
"Snow Empress of the Far North Ice Plains."
"I pay my respects to the Wind God."
The Snow Empress inclined her head slightly, offering the noble courtesy of the human world.
She turned her palm over.
A box carved entirely from ten-thousand-year-old black ice appeared in her hand.
The temperature in the hall dropped several degrees at once.
"This is a specialty of the Far North: 100,000-Year Ice Marrow."
"Consuming it can cleanse the soul and strengthen one's spiritual power. It can also be used to forge divine weapons."
"It's a small gift. I hope you'll accept it."
Venti's eyes lit up.
He beckoned, and a gust of invisible wind swept past, carrying the box lightly into his hand.
He opened it.
Inside lay a crystalline blue shard, glowing with a captivating radiance.
"Wow."
"This looks perfect for chilling some apple cider."
Venti said with a cheeky grin.
At that, the Snow Empress's mouth twitched.
100,000-Year Ice Marrow.
For chilling apple cider?
What a waste of a heavenly treasure!
The Ice Empress finally couldn't hold back.
She stepped forward, hands on her hips, and met Venti's gaze with her emerald-green eyes.
"Hey!"
"You're that Barbatos?"
"Besides being pretty, you don't seem all that special to me."
"Although you helped me, and I'm grateful."
"But!"
The Ice Empress lifted her chin, revealing two adorable little tiger teeth.
"We of the Far North have always respected the strong."
"If we're going to follow you, we need to see whether you can protect us!"
"That fellow with the hammer just now looked fierce."
"With those skinny arms and legs, can you really handle him?"
The hall fell deathly silent.
Bai Chenxiang turned pale with fright.
Was this little girl crazy? How dare she question a god?
The Snow Empress didn't stop her.
Truthfully, she had the same thought.
Hearing was not believing; seeing was believing.
The scenes on the Sky Curtain had been shocking, but they were still one remove away.
If they were to entrust the fate of the entire Far North to one person, they had to confirm his strength with their own eyes.
Venti crunched into his apple.
Not only was he not angry, he seemed even more amused.
"You've got a lot of spirit."
"I like children with personality."
"However..."
Venti swallowed the mouthful of fruit, his eyes turning playful.
"You want to test my strength?"
"You're not quite up to it yet."