The Ninth on the Golden Ranking Revealed!

"Haa... haa..."

A series of rapid gasps broke the deathly silence.

In the center of the ruins.

A woman dressed in a jade-green gown hovered in mid-air.

She did not appear to have suffered any major injuries, though her hair was somewhat disheveled.

Most eye-catching of all was the gemstone pendant hanging at her chest, emitting a cyan glow.

The light was not blinding, yet it contained an extremely profound rhythm.

Every time the light flickered, the violent wind elements in the surroundings would grow a fraction more docile, like obedient subjects paying homage to their king.

Emerald Swan, Bi Ji.

And opposite her.

The ground was covered in a thick layer of frost.

Ice Emperor knelt on one knee; she had been defeated.

Godwind City, backyard of the City Lord Mansion.

Before Feng Xiaotian could withdraw, the jade-green figure from the horizon had already drifted down.

There was no earth-shattering pressure, nor any overbearing posture.

Bi Ji retracted the emerald wings behind her, her toes touching the grass so lightly that she did not even bend a single blade of tender green.

Her face was gentle, yet her eyes held a hint of undisguised exhaustion and a trace of deep reverence.

Walking to the stone table, this Beast of high status in the Star Dou Forest actually performed a formal, respectful salute to the youth drinking wine.

"Your Excellency."

"I have fulfilled the mission."

Venti set down the goblet in his hand, his emerald eyes sweeping over Bi Ji before resting on the Vision flickering with cyan light at her chest.

"It seems that was a very troublesome little scorpion."

Venti said with a smile, his tone as relaxed as if he were discussing the weather.

"Sit."

"Feng Xiaotian, pour this beautiful lady a glass of apple cider."

Feng Xiaotian scrambled to grab a fresh glass; in front of this Beast, whom even a Titled Douluo might never see, he felt his palms sweating.

After thanking him, Bi Ji did not decline, merely taking a light sip.

The sweet wine slid down her throat, slightly soothing the turbulent soul power within her.

"That Ice Emperor of the Far North Ice Plains is indeed hot-tempered."

Bi Ji set down her glass and reported in a soft voice.

"If not for the wind element affinity bestowed by Your Excellency, coupled with the amplification of this Vision, I fear that with my attainments in healing alone, I would have truly been frozen into an ice sculpture by her Ultimate Ice."

"However, by the end of the fight, she had no choice but to submit."

Speaking of this, a complex look flashed in Bi Ji's eyes.

Just a few hours ago.

Above the Far North Ice Plains.

She had not completely crushed the Ice Emperor with brute force, but rather relied on the ceaseless wind elements, which could neutralize the Ultimate Ice, to forcibly exhaust all of the Ice Emperor's soul power.

That power did not belong to her, nor did it belong to the realm of any Soul Beast.

It was a gift from a god.

"As long as she submitted, that is fine."

Venti dangled his legs, even whistling a tune contentedly.

"Since she has submitted, I imagine they should be making their decision soon as well."

Far North, core circle.

The cold wind howled, and heavy snow flew.

The temperature here was so low it was outrageous; even steel would become as fragile as glass in this place.

Inside a crystal-clear Ice Palace.

Two stunning figures stood facing each other.

One of them wore a jade-green gown with twin tails hanging playfully behind her; she was none other than one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, the Ice Emperor.

Yet at this moment, her face was pale, a trace of dried blood hung at the corner of her mouth, and her originally arrogant eyes were filled with defeat.

"Sister!"

"I refuse to accept this!"

Ice Emperor gritted her teeth and slammed her palm hard against the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Bed beneath her.

"We both know what level that Bi Ji was at before!"

"She's nothing but a giant Milk Bottle! What else can she do besides heal people?"

"But today... today she was actually able to control that bizarre wind!"

"That wind was like it had eyes; no matter how my Eternal Frozen Domain erupted, she could easily neutralize it, and she could even drain my soul power in return!"

"This is absolutely not her own power!"

Opposite her.

A woman dressed in a snow-white gown stood silently.

She had long hair as white as snow, skin fairer than frost, and eyes as ethereal as the void. She was like the very embodiment of the Far North Ice Plains—noble, holy, and untainted by a speck of dust.

The ruler of the Far North.

Snow Empress.

Listening to Ice Emperor's complaints, the Snow Empress's cold, clear face showed little emotional fluctuation, save for a soft sigh.

"Bing'er."

"Do you still not see it clearly?"

The Snow Empress's voice was cold and melodious, yet carried a power that pierced straight to the heart.

"As you said yourself, that was not Bi Ji's power."

"A healing-type fierce beast who has never been good at combat can easily defeat you, a three-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-year fierce beast, after receiving a gift from that person."

"That person..."

"What kind of existence must he be?"

Ice Emperor froze.

Her overflowing rage was extinguished completely in an instant before this question.

Indeed.

The one who bestows power is always more terrifying than the one who wields it.

Bi Ji was merely a chess piece casually placed by that human named Venti, perhaps even just a messenger.

If even a messenger could rub her face in the dirt, what of the master himself?

"Furthermore..."

The Snow Empress turned around, her gaze passing through the window of the Ice Palace to look toward the distant south.

"The Sky Curtain has appeared, and the King of Ten Thousand Monsters and Xiong Jun have appeared on the Strength Ranking one after another."

"This world has changed."

"Star Dou Forest has Di Tian holding the fort, and now it seems they have made contact with His Excellency Venti."

"What about our Far North?"

"Aside from the two of us sisters, who else can hold up this sky?"

Ice Emperor opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but found she had nothing to say.

That big oaf, the Titan Snow Demon King?

Counting on him to contend with those terrifying monsters would be like waiting for the sun to rise in the west.

"Then... Sister, what do you mean?"

Ice Emperor asked cautiously.

"Bi Ji delivered a message earlier, saying that His Excellency Venti invites us to form an alliance."

"Should we agree?"

The Snow Empress was silent for a moment.

She looked up at the golden, shimmering Sky Curtain in the heavens.

Just then.

The image on the Sky Curtain shifted once more.

The dark green haze dissipated, replaced by a pure, extreme snow-white.

Amidst the swirling snow, a line of golden characters slowly emerged.

[Strength Ranking · Ninth Place]

[Name: Snow Empress]

[Race: Heavenly Snow Woman (690,000 years of cultivation)]

[Affiliation: Far North · Sovereign]

[Martial Soul (Body): Ultimate Ice and Snow, Emperor Palm, Emperor Sword, Emperor Cold Heaven]

As the rankings were unveiled, the peerless visage of the Snow Empress was reflected in the eyes of every living being across the entire continent.

Beautiful.

It was a pure beauty that transcended race and gender.

Yet, beneath this beauty lay a terrifying chill capable of freezing the very soul.

690,000 years!

Compared to the tenth-ranked King of Ten Thousand Monsters, her cultivation was a full hundred thousand years higher!

This was the true weight of the Sovereign of the Far North.