Far North, Rewards Issued!

On the Sky Curtain Golden Ranking, the characters writhed like dragons and snakes as new golden text crashed down with a boom.

[Power Ranking Fifth Place--Far North, rewards distributed!]

[Lord of the Far North Snow Empress: Granted immunity to three Heavenly Tribulations! Received 100,000 years of cultivation infusion! Granted the ability "Heaven and Earth Transformation," allowing for a switch to human form at any time while retaining full combat power!]

[Ice Empress: Granted immunity to one Heavenly Tribulation! Received 50,000 years of cultivation infusion! Granted the ability "Heaven and Earth Transformation!"]

[All Soul Beasts belonging to the Far North: Bone structure purified, comprehension heightened! Bloodline shackles weakened by thirty percent!]

In the Far North Ice Plains, the wind and snow came to an abrupt halt.

Golden light spilled across the sky, illuminating this frozen purgatory—which never saw the sun—until it shone like a paradise.

Snow Empress stood atop the highest peak of the ice mountain, her peerlessly beautiful face, usually as calm as an ancient well, now filled with astonishment.

Immunity to Heavenly Tribulations?

And to be able to transform into a human at will without losing any cultivation?

For soul beasts, the Heavenly Tribulation was a Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads, occurring every 100,000 years and offering a slim chance of survival.

Transformation was an even greater gamble, requiring one to dissipate their cultivation and start anew; the slightest mistake meant death and total annihilation.

Yet this Golden Ranking had directly leveled these two insurmountable chasms!

This... how is this possible?

Ice Empress stood beside Snow Empress, her petite frame bathed in the golden light.

She could clearly feel the previously unbreakable bottleneck within her body dissolving. A warm current flowed through her limbs and bones, and the comfort deep within her soul made her want to cry out.

The anxiety she had felt over the approaching 400,000-year limit vanished in an instant.

"Big Sister!"

Ice Empress turned her head sharply, her emerald twin-tails whipping through the air in a lively arc. Her large eyes sparkled with a brilliance never seen before:

"It's real! It's all real!"

"My cultivation has increased, and... I feel that with just a thought, I can become a true human!"

Snow Empress took a deep breath, steadying her surging state of mind.

She looked up, her eyes, deep as the frozen sea, fixed upon the Golden Ranking as it gradually faded from the sky.

This gesture was too grand.

So grand that it made her feel a trace of unease.

"An innocent man is innocent, but his treasure makes him a criminal."

Snow Empress's voice was cold and ethereal, like ice beads falling onto a jade plate:

"Although this Golden Ranking has given us a heaven-defying opportunity, it has also completely exposed the Far North to the eyes of the entire continent."

"Humans are greedy."

"A 700,000-year and a 400,000-year soul ring and soul bone possess a fatal allure for those human powerhouses."

Hearing this, the excitement on Ice Empress's small face dimmed slightly, replaced by a touch of murderous intent:

"Hmph, what is there to fear!"

"Since our strength has greatly increased, if those humans dare to come, I will kill one for every one that arrives, and a pair for every two!"

"It will be the perfect chance to test this 50,000 years of added cultivation!"

Snow Empress shook her head slightly, her gaze drifting toward the southern horizon.

That was the direction of the human world.

"You don't understand."

"Although humans are weak as individuals, they are adept at forming arrays and possess an endless supply of Soul Tools and schemes."

"If the world were to unite in an attack, the Far North might not be able to stand alone."

As she spoke, a figure involuntarily surfaced in Snow Empress's mind.

It was a young man dressed in green and white robes.

He was also the only human she had ever encountered in her long life who was truly special.

Unlike other humans, his eyes held no greed or bloodlust.

He was like a gust of wind that could not be caught—free, spontaneous, yet powerful enough to be unfathomable.

When he traveled here years ago, it was merely to search for an Ice Crystal Fruit used for brewing wine.

"If you ever encounter trouble, you can come find me."

The young man had said this to her with a smile before leaving.

At the time, she had taken it as mere polite conversation.

But thinking back now, the young man's eyes had been clear as crystal, without a hint of impurity.

"Big Sister, who are you thinking about?"

Ice Empress leaned in, staring at Snow Empress with a mischievous smirk:

"It wouldn't happen to be that drunkard, would it?"

A rare, faint blush bloomed across Snow Empress's breathtakingly beautiful face; though it vanished in an instant, Ice Empress caught it nonetheless.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Snow Empress offered a light reprimand, yet there was little true reproach in her tone.

"I'm not talking nonsense at all."

Ice Empress circled around Snow Empress, her gaze unscrupulously sweeping over her sister's perfect form.

It had to be said, her sister was truly stunning.

Those long, slender legs were visible through the slit of her snow-white gown, her skin fairer than snow and translucent, as if it had gathered all the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Her waist was slender, a mere handful.

Especially that cold, noble temperament—even Ice Empress, a woman herself, couldn't help but feel her heart race when looking at her.

"All these years, you've been muttering that name whenever you have a spare moment, and you even go out of your way to collect those Ice Crystal Fruit he likes."

"Now that we can transform into humans, it's perfect."

"With your figure and your face, if you went to the human world, wouldn't that drunkard be completely bewitched by you?"

"And then, picking up where you left off—wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Ice Empress grew more animated as she spoke, her eyebrows dancing with excitement.

Snow Empress, unable to keep a straight face, reached out a jade finger and flicked Ice Empress lightly on the forehead.

"You talk too much."

"However..."

Snow Empress paused, her expression turning serious:

"It is indeed time to find him."

"Not just to catch up on old times, but for the future of the Far North."

"He seems to hold a position of great influence in the human world; if we could gain his help, or form an alliance, the crisis facing the Far North might be resolved."

Having said this, Snow Empress looked at Ice Empress:

"Bing'er, you go."

Ice Empress froze for a moment, pointing at her own nose:

"Me? You aren't going, Sister?"

Snow Empress shook her head:

"I am the Lord of the Far North. Having just received the rewards, who knows how many eyes are fixed upon this place? I cannot leave easily."

"You have a human form; if you conceal your aura, it won't be difficult to blend into the human world."

"Go to Godwind City."

"Find the man named Venti."

"Tell him an old friend is in trouble, and ask if he still remembers the promise from back then."

Though Ice Empress was reluctant to part with her sister, she knew the gravity of the situation.

She pouted:

"Fine, fine, I'll go."

"But Sister, what if that heartless man refuses to honor his word?"

At these words, the image of that youth's lazy smile surfaced in Snow Empress's mind once more.

The corners of her mouth curled upward, and that smile seemed to melt even the surrounding ten-thousand-year black ice.

"He won't."

"The wind never lies."

Godwind City, main thoroughfare.

Bai Chenxiang, Shui Bing'er, and Shui Yue'er stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking Dugu Yan's path.

Although the three of them were still young, under Venti's tutelage, their cultivation had long since surpassed their peers.

Especially Shui Bing'er; at this moment, a chilling aura surged from her body, and the faint phantom of a massive Ice Phoenix emerged behind her, its momentum not losing out in the slightest to the powerful expert opposite them.