Qian Renxue hesitated for a moment, then sat down.
Looking at the seemingly harmless young man before her, she felt that the thought she'd had of testing him now seemed a little ridiculous.
Test what?
Test someone who could play with the Far North Ice Plains like building blocks?
Just then.
The enormous golden Sky Curtain in the sky trembled once more.
The image of Snow Empress, which had been frozen in place, began to cycle through new information.
It was a detailed introduction to the ninth-ranked contestant, Snow Empress.
[Snow Empress] [The ruler of the Far North, a Heavenly Snow Woman born of heaven and earth.] [Noble from birth, she had no need to hunt Soul Beasts; she grew by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.] [Ability Evaluation: In the Far North, she is an invincible presence. She commands the most extreme snow and can freeze time and space.]
As the text appeared, the image began to show clips from Snow Empress's past battles.
It was a boundless blizzard.
Snow Empress stood alone, facing several Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts that had trespassed into the Extreme North Core Circle.
She didn't even use her Martial Soul. She simply raised a hand.
The snow filling the sky froze in an instant.
Those enormous Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts didn't even have time to scream before turning into lifelike ice statues.
Then Snow Empress gently blew a breath.
Crack—
The ice statues shattered, turning into countless sparkling fragments that vanished into the cold wind.
The entire process was graceful and silent, yet carried a suffocating sense of despair.
Countless Soul Masters in Godwind City watched with their scalps tingling.
Was this the strength of the ninth-ranked contestant?
Was this the neighbor who had just moved in next door?
If not for Venerable Venti's wind wall keeping them apart, the cold radiating from Snow Empress alone would have been enough to turn Godwind City into a city of the dead.
As Qian Renxue watched the scene on the Sky Curtain, her hands, resting on her knees, clenched unconsciously.
She considered herself exceptionally gifted and possessed a god-level Martial Soul, the Six-Winged Angel.
But facing Snow Empress in that state, she had no confidence of victory.
And Snow Empress was only ninth.
"She's powerful, isn't she?"
Venti's voice sounded beside her.
Qian Renxue turned her head and saw Venti propping up his chin, watching the Sky Curtain with an appreciative expression.
"The most extreme ice and snow, a pure Elemental Lifeform."
"She truly is a masterpiece of nature."
Venti gave her the highest praise.
On the Sky Curtain, the image gradually faded, and new golden text appeared.
[Reward for Making the List] [In recognition of Snow Empress as the ruler of the Far North, and her willingness to seek change.] [Special Reward: Ice God Godhead Fragment (one).] [Note: Gather the Godhead to comprehend the Law of Ice. No faith required; become a god on the spot.]
Boom!
As those words appeared, all of Douluo Continent erupted into a frenzy.
Godhead Fragment!
Become a god!
Those words held a fatal allure for every Soul Master.
In Spirit Hall's Worship Hall.
Qian Daoliu, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, abruptly opened them. A terrifying glint flashed in his golden pupils.
"A Godhead Fragment..."
"They actually gave out a Godhead Fragment as a reward?!"
Even he, after guarding the Angel God's inheritance for a full hundred years, had only become a high priest.
And now, the reward for a mere ranking list offered the hope of godhood.
The Far North Ice Plains—no, now the North Glacier outside Godwind City.
Inside the Ice Palace.
When Snow Empress, whose expression was usually cold and composed, saw the words "Godhead Fragment," even her unchanging icy heart began to pound violently.
A blue orb of light, exuding an intensely chilling aura, appeared out of thin air before her.
Within the orb was a high-level power of law that made even her soul tremble.
"Is this... the power of a god?"
Snow Empress reached out with a trembling hand. The instant her fingertip touched the orb, an unprecedented revelation surged into her mind.
It was a power that transcended Soul Power.
Ice Empress, standing beside her, stared with envy.
"Big Sister! We've struck it rich!"
"With this, who needs to care about that Wind God's mood?"
Snow Empress abruptly pulled her hand back, her gaze instantly clearing.
She turned and looked through the Ice Palace window at the azure wind wall that separated their two worlds.
"Bing'er, watch your words."
"This reward is tempting, but we have to be alive to claim it."
"Do you think the being who can casually move glaciers would care about a single fragment?"
"Besides..."
Snow Empress's gaze grew profound.
"If the Sky Curtain can grant rewards, it can just as easily take them back."
"Right now, we need that person's protection more than anything."
"Otherwise, this fragment will only become our death warrant."
Godwind City, back garden.
Qian Renxue watched the reward on the Sky Curtain, her breathing quickening as well.
As a successor to the Angel God, she understood better than anyone how difficult it was to become a god.
And now, this opportunity lay right before her.
"You... aren't tempted?"
Qian Renxue looked at Venti.
It was a chance to become a god.
Even a Limit Douluo would fight tooth and nail for something like this.
Venti merely pursed his lips, looking completely uninterested.
"It's just a piece of broken glass. What's there to get excited about?"
"Besides, I'm more concerned that I might've used a little too much force when I moved house just now."
Too much force?
Qian Renxue was stunned.
Before she could figure out what Venti meant, the ground suddenly shuddered.
It wasn't a localized tremor. It was a deep, muffled vibration from beneath the earth, as if the entire world were shaking.
The wine glasses on the table bounced slightly, and ripples spread across the wine.
"What's going on? An earthquake?"
Feng Xiaotian hurriedly grabbed the table, his face full of panic.
Venti scratched his head, an awkward smile appearing on his face.
"Well..."
"To cut the glacier out intact and move it here, I used a little too much wind."
"Maybe... probably... perhaps..."
"I shifted the tectonic plates."
Qian Renxue's eyes widened.
He shifted the tectonic plates?!
Was that even something a person could say?!
She shot to her feet and looked south.
As a top-tier powerhouse, her senses were far sharper than an ordinary person's.
She could clearly feel an unimaginably vast presence rapidly approaching from the distant southern sea.
It felt as if two enormous landmasses were hurtling toward each other at full speed across the ocean!
West of Douluo Continent, in the Endless Sea.
The sea, which had been calm before, was now turbulent, with waves a hundred meters high pounding the coastline.
This wasn't a tsunami.
Some irresistible force had drastically shortened the distance between two continents that had once been separated by tens of thousands of miles.
Sun-Moon Continent.
It was a continent with highly advanced Soul Guidance Technology, but a relatively backward Soul Master system.
At that moment, chaos reigned in the imperial palace of the Sun-Moon Empire.
"Report—!"
"Your Majesty! For some unknown reason, our tectonic plate is drifting eastward at an accelerating rate!"
"At this speed, it will connect with Douluo Continent to the east in half an hour!"