The Ice Empress fell silent for a few breaths, then gave a cold snort.
"You really think I'll believe the thing in your hand is comparable to a heavenly tribulation?"
Luo Yun's lips curved slightly.
The gesture was faint, not quite a smile. It was more like, "Then let me show you."
He raised his hand slightly and pointed a finger toward the Ice Empress.
In the sky, the purple-red vortex of thunder shuddered violently. A bolt as thick as a giant dragon crashed down from its center, striking straight toward the Ice Empress.
It was so fast that the Ice Empress had no time to dodge. She could only raise her pincers over her head, concentrating all her Soul Power in them as she tried to withstand the blow.
The thunder slammed into her pincers.
At the first breath, cracks appeared in them.
At the second, the cracks spread across their entire surface, and jade-green shards flew in every direction.
At the third, the thunder pierced through her pincers and struck the Ice Empress directly.
"Ah!"
The Ice Empress let out a scream as the thunder blasted her off the ground. She crashed heavily into the ice wall behind her, leaving a deep crater in it.
She slid down the wall and fell to the ground. Jade-green blood seeped from the cracks in her pincers, dripping onto the ice with a faint sizzling sound.
Luo Yun lowered his hand and walked over to her step by step. He crouched in front of her, meeting her gaze.
"Submit, or die."
The Ice Empress raised her head and looked at the child before her.
He wasn't threatening her or trying to scare her. He was seriously offering her two choices.
The Ice Empress's lips moved. She wanted to say, "Die."
She was the Ice Empress, one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North. She had lived for 390,000 years. Her pride would never let her bow her head to a six-year-old human child.
But before the word could leave her lips, Luo Yun reached out with his left hand.
Jade-green light welled from his palm, flowing into the Ice Empress like a gentle stream.
Wherever it passed, the meridians torn apart by the Destruction Thunder began to heal, shattered bones began to knit together, and fading energy began to stir back to life.
Warm, gentle, and brimming with vitality.
The Ice Empress stared at Luo Yun, shock written all over her face.
The power that had just destroyed everything and the power that was now healing everything—did they really come from the same person?
Could two utterly opposing powers exist within one person?
Luo Yun withdrew his left hand and stood up.
"Stay by my side. Submit to me."
"I can make you a god."
The Ice Empress's body trembled slightly.
It wasn't from fear. Those four words had struck the softest place, deep in her heart, like a hammer.
Become a god.
She had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, all for the chance to break through her limits one day.
But she knew that with her talent and bloodline, the path was nearly impossible to walk.
Perhaps 400,000 years was her limit.
But if this human was telling the truth...
The Ice Empress raised her head and looked at Luo Yun.
His scarlet eyes were fixed on her. He didn't urge or pressure her; he simply watched her quietly, as if waiting for an answer.
The Ice Empress remained silent for a long time.
Then she spoke slowly, her voice soft.
"Can you guarantee it?"
"No." Luo Yun answered crisply. "But you can take a gamble."
The Ice Empress froze for a moment, then the corners of her mouth curved slightly.
"Fine," she said, her voice calm again. "I'll take the gamble."
Luo Yun nodded slightly.
The Moon Eclipse Sword appeared in his palm. Thunder leaped between the runes on its purple-black blade.
He touched the tip of the sword to the ground, and a complex magic formation spread out in every direction from that point.
Its patterns were ancient and intricate, glowing with a dim violet light as the formation slowly rotated across the ice.
This wasn't his power. It came with the God Trial.
The Fifth Trial of the Destruction Nine Trials and the Life Nine Trials allowed the inheritor to establish a soul-level connection with a Soul Beast that had submitted to them.
The Ice Empress looked at the formation, her azure vertical pupils narrowing slightly.
There was a power within it that she couldn't resist.
"Step inside," Luo Yun said.
The Ice Empress hesitated for a breath, then stepped into the formation.
Violet light swallowed everything.
Luo Yun could feel a cold, powerful soul establishing a connection with him. It was a strange sensation, as if something were taking root in his Sea of Consciousness—or as if his awareness were extending a tendril that touched the deepest part of another life.
The Ice Empress felt something from Luo Yun's side, too.
Half an hour later, the formation's light faded.
The Ice Empress's body turned transparent and transformed into a jade-green beam of light, sinking into the blade of the Moon Eclipse Sword.
Luo Yun could feel her there, inside the sword's Contract Space.
Most of her strength had been preserved, but she would need time to recover.
Luo Yun drew the Moon Eclipse Sword back into his body and closed his eyes to check on her. Only after confirming that her condition was stable did he open them again.
He summoned the Ice Empress from the Contract Space.
Jade-green light welled from his palm and coalesced into the beautiful, dangerous Jade Scorpion.
The Ice Empress stood on the ice and flexed her pincers, sensing the power linking her to Luo Yun. Her expression was complicated.
"Where's the Snow Empress?" Luo Yun asked.
The Ice Empress froze for a moment. Looking into Luo Yun's scarlet eyes, she suddenly understood.
"You're going after her, too?"
"Don't worry," Luo Yun said calmly. "She'll be just like you."
The Ice Empress fell silent for a moment, then sighed. She raised one pincer and pointed farther north.
She told Luo Yun the route to the Snow Empress's territory, leaving nothing out.
When she was done, she looked at Luo Yun, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself.
"What is it?"
"Nothing." The Ice Empress looked away, then turned into a jade-green beam of light and returned to the Contract Space.
Following the Ice Empress's directions, Luo Yun headed farther north.
The farther he went, the lower the temperature fell.
The wind was no longer wind. It was a knife.
The snow was no longer snow. It was shattered ice.
A layer of white frost formed on Luo Yun's eyelashes. Each time he blinked, he could hear the faint crackle of ice crystals breaking.
After another two hours or so, the world ahead suddenly opened up.
Luo Yun stood at the edge of the Ice Plains, gazing at the Ice Palace. His scarlet eyes were utterly calm.
"We're here," he murmured.
Then he raised his right hand before him and spread his fingers.
Jade-green light welled from his palm and coalesced into the beautiful, dangerous Jade Scorpion.
The Ice Empress landed on the ice. Her six slender legs supported her body firmly, her pincers slightly open and her tail arched high as she warily surveyed her surroundings.
"The Snow Empress's territory."
"Mm." Luo Yun lowered his hand and looked at the Ice Empress. "Go talk to her."
The Ice Empress turned around. Her azure vertical pupils fixed on Luo Yun, studying him for a long moment. "You want me to help persuade her to submit?"
"Not persuade her." Luo Yun's voice was calm, as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary. "Just tell her the situation. She can decide for herself."
Before you continue