"Sky Dream, do you think you can help me survive my tribulation?"
The Ice Empress's voice turned icy in an instant. Hostility flared anew in her blue eyes, and her tone brimmed with contempt and anger.
"You two think you can? One's a cripple with no Soul Power, and the other's a good-for-nothing who does nothing but eat, drink, and laze around!"
"Bingbing, trust us! My lord and I really can help you!"
Seeing that the Ice Empress was truly angry, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm panicked. In his haste, he blurted out exactly what she found most unforgivable: the bond between Soul Beasts and humans.
"What lord? Sky Dream, I can't believe I ever trusted you. You're a million-year Soul Beast, yet you've made a lowly human your master. You've disgraced the Extreme North and all Soul Beasts!"
The Ice Empress's gaze turned even colder as she looked at Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Cao Longyan.
"Bingbing, that's not what you think! Just hear me out!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm hurriedly wriggled up to the Ice Empress and frantically blinked his adorable, golden, round eyes.
The Ice Empress showed him no mercy. She lashed out with her tail again, sending Sky Dream Ice Silkworm flying. Once more, he plunged headfirst into the snow.
Looking at Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who had disappeared into the snow beside him once again, Cao Longyan pressed his right hand to his forehead, shook his head helplessly, and sighed.
Tian Meng really was as consistent as ever. He hadn't let him down...
"Good-for-nothing, you traitor to the Soul Beasts! What could you possibly have to explain? Human, it seems I'll have to leave not a single piece of you intact today!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the Ice Empress swung her pincers. Two blades of ice, infused with Ultimate Ice, instantly formed and shot toward Cao Longyan and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
The blades tore across the ground, carving two deep crevasses through the ice. Their power was terrifying.
Having learned from his first experience, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm struggled free with ease this time, without Cao Longyan's help.
His head was still spinning a little, but when he saw the two blades of ice rushing toward him and Cao Longyan, he came to his senses at once.
He knew he couldn't possibly stop the Ice Empress's full-force attack, yet he still stepped in front of Cao Longyan. His voice trembled, but he remained stubbornly defiant.
"Bingbing, don't do anything rash! It's all true! We really can help you!"
At the same time, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm leisurely turned to Cao Longyan, winked, and sent him a voice transmission.
"My lord, don't worry. With my charm, Bingbing would never actually kill us."
Even on the brink of death, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was still so full of himself. Cao Longyan was at a loss for words.
How had he ended up with such a clown...
"Sky Dream, are you sure? Why is the Ice Empress putting even more power into those attacks...?"
Cao Longyan pointed toward the ice blades.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm looked back and realized Cao Longyan was right. His eyes widened, his face full of question marks.
Huh?!
"Bingbing, you're serious? Hurry and pull back!"
The Ice Empress didn't answer. She merely stared at them coldly.
The ice blades were about to strike. Cao Longyan's pupils contracted, and a wave of helplessness welled up inside him.
At that critical moment, Electrolux's reassuring voice rang out in his Spiritual Sea of Consciousness.
"Longyan, let me take control of your body. You have neither Soul Power nor spiritual power, but you still have your mental strength. I can use it to activate that giant bug's Million-Year Spirit Head Bone and the 300,000-Year Chi Wang Left Arm Bone. That should be enough to break this attack!"
"Understood, Elder Yi."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's normally round eyes narrowed into long rectangles.
This made him look completely useless, all right...
The next second, gray-black Undead Aura surged around Cao Longyan. The Million-Year Spirit Head Bone activated at full force, and his dense mental strength condensed into a sharp black blade that sliced through the swirling ice mist.
At the same time, dazzling crimson-gold light flared from his left hand. The power of the 300,000-Year Chi Wang Left Arm Bone erupted completely. Scorching dragon power, Ultimate Fire, and Undead Aura intertwined, forming a keen beam.
"Boom—!"
The ice blades slammed into the beam. The violent explosion shook the snowfield, scattering snow in every direction.
The Ice Empress's pupils contracted. Her body trembled slightly, her face filled with disbelief.
Her attack, infused with Ultimate Ice and launched with almost all her strength, had been stopped by a human with no Soul Power, who hadn't even seemed to use his Martial Soul?!
As the smoke cleared, Electrolux immediately returned control of Cao Longyan's body to him.
Without Electrolux's power sustaining him, Cao Longyan collapsed at once. His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, bracing himself against the icy snow with both hands as he gasped for breath. His face was pale, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
He had exhausted all his mental strength, but in the end, he couldn't hold on. His vision went black, and he passed out completely.
In truth, the moment before the ice blades would have struck Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, the Ice Empress had already felt a trace of reluctance.
She was proud and quick-tempered, but how could she not know that Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's feelings for her were sincere?
She had planned to call off the attack at the last moment. But the sight before her left her completely frozen, her face filled with shock and disbelief.
At the same time, she keenly sensed the presence of a Ferocious Beast in Cao Longyan's burst of power.
A Ferocious Beast? Why was a Ferocious Beast's aura coming from this human? And it seemed to be coming from a Soul Bone...
What shocked her even more was that Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's aura had grown weak because Cao Longyan had passed out. This wasn't his true body at all, but merely a condensed spirit form.
"Sky Dream!"
The Ice Empress roared. Her blue eyes blazed with anger and confusion.
"What on earth are you up to? What's that Ferocious Beast's aura doing inside him? Where's your true body? Tell me!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shrank his neck under the Ice Empress's roar. He no longer dared to argue and could only lower his head meekly. Starting with how he and the Scarlet King had become Cao Longyan's Guardian Spirits, he confessed everything, then finally worked up the courage to add:
"Bingbing, it's all true. Even the Silver Dragon King, the ruler of the Soul Beasts, approves of Longyan. She's entrusted the future of the Soul Beasts to him!"
"The Silver Dragon King?"
The Ice Empress shuddered. The anger vanished from her face, and she fell into brief contemplation.
It was hard for her to imagine that this ordinary human, with no Soul Power and a ruined Martial Soul, could make a Ferocious Beast like the Scarlet King willingly become his Guardian Spirit—and earn such high hopes from the Silver Dragon King, ruler of the Soul Beasts.
What Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had said earlier had been blunt, but it wasn't wrong.
The Ice Empress knew all too well that she had barely survived her last tribulation with Snow Empress's help, and it had left her with hidden injuries.
In her current state, she had almost no chance of surviving the next tribulation. She might even perish—and that next tribulation was coming soon. It meant her time was nearly up!
After a moment's thought, the Ice Empress looked down at Cao Longyan, unconscious on the ground. A note of resolve flashed in her eyes.
She thought of the tribulation drawing near, of Cao Longyan's unyielding resolve, and of the secrets and trump cards hidden within him.
Better to take a gamble than sit waiting for death. She would wager that this human, whom even the Silver Dragon King approved of, could bring her a different future.
"Sky Dream, what do I have to do?"
The Ice Empress's voice rang out slowly. The fury and arrogance were gone, replaced by a hint of determination.
Seeing that the Ice Empress had yielded, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm perked right up again and explained the plan to her.
"You want me to become his third Martial Soul and his Guardian Spirit?"
The Ice Empress furrowed her brows and shot Sky Dream Ice Silkworm a displeased look.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who had only just perked up, wilted again.
"Bingbing, I'm already my lord's Guardian Spirit, and so is the Scarlet King. There are also four other generals, and you..."
"All right, all right. Sky Dream, stop rubbing it in. I agree, but remember this: if you dare deceive me, I'll make sure you pay, even if I have to perish completely!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was overjoyed. He nodded again and again.
"Bingbing, don't worry! I'd never lie to you! Besides, my lord is a really good person!"
The Ice Empress rolled her eyes at Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
Meeting this guy really had been the worst luck of her life...
She even felt a little sorry for the lord he kept talking about, Cao Longyan, who was still unconscious...
Before you continue