Far North, I've Returned (Extra Chapter for Mr. Shi Huang)

The Far North was a land of swirling snow, shrouded in ice year-round. It was a paradise for ice-type spirit beasts and a forbidden zone for humanity.

Across the endless, snow-covered plains, the Ice Plain Wolf Emperor, wounded and desperate, led a frantic charge. Its paws left deep prints in the snow as its kin scrambled to keep pace behind it.

The Ice Plain Wolf Emperor could not fathom how this had happened; less than a year had passed.

The quasi-Title Douluo who had once fled the Far North while being hunted by the wolf was now back with a vengeance, wielding the power of a 99th-rank Limit Douluo to hunt the wolf in return.

If only time could be reversed, it would never have wasted its time indulging in the meat of a Soft Bone Rabbit.

It would have hunted that human spirit master to the ends of the earth to nip this threat in the bud.

It would not have ended up in this predicament today.

Qian Xunji soared through the air, manipulating a golden short sword to pursue the Ice Plain Wolf Emperor.

His actions were driven by nothing more than a desire for revenge.

When he had first entered the Far North to track the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, he had been hunted twice by the Ice Plain Wolf Emperor and its pack.

Back then, he was merely a lowly quasi-Title Douluo who hadn't even mastered flight, forced to run for his life across the snow.

In this world where the strong preyed on the weak, being bullied while he was powerless was one thing.

But now, he was a 99th-rank Limit Douluo. He had mastered flight and could skillfully employ a variety of combat techniques.

Returning to the Far North and encountering the Ice Plain Wolf Emperor again—how could he not pay back the favor?

Wasn't fairness simply treating others the way they had treated you?

However, after ten minutes of chasing the Ice Plain Wolf Emperor, Qian Xunji grew bored.

He immediately unleashed his eighth spirit ability, "Angel Roar," an area-of-effect attack.

With a single roar, the pack of wolves collapsed onto the snow.

Qian Xunji used his spiritual power to guide the golden short sword to finish off the Ice Plain Wolf Emperor, then stepped forward to collect its remains, spirit ring, and spirit bone, storing them all within his system space.

[Target: 100,000-year spirit beast Ice Plain Wolf Emperor killed.]
[Asura God Trial, Second Trial: Kill nine 100,000-year spirit beasts within one month. Progress: 6/9.]
[Remaining targets: 3.]

There were three Great Kings and one Ice Bear King in the Far North, all fierce beasts with lifespans exceeding 100,000 years.

Killing three of them would complete the second Asura trial.

But fighting the Snow Empress in the Far North...

That was no different from fighting Bo Saixi on Sea God Island.

The Snow Empress was not some fragile mage like Bo Saixi, who could only sit in a wheelchair and play with turrets, incapable of melee combat.

While Qian Xunji certainly wouldn't shy away from a long-range artillery duel—given his own Convergence Cannon skill—it would be a contest of range and destructive power.

But attacking the Snow Empress would draw the Ice Empress into the fray, and the combination of a mature beauty and a loli using a fusion skill was trouble.

There is a risk of being frozen, Qian Xunji thought, shaking his head.

If he attacked the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress would surely arrive in an instant.

As for relying on a sneak attack to one-shot the Ice Empress—a fierce beast with over 300,000 years of cultivation, covered in diamond-hard armor and possessing immense defense—that was nearly impossible.

Unless he used the Convergence Cannon to blast her.

But a sneak attack with the Convergence Cannon?

What was he thinking? With a magic circle that large and the sheer disturbance of compressed spirit power, it would be a miracle if she didn't sense the danger.

Anyone who couldn't sense that level of danger might as well sit at the children's table with the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, which only knew how to eat and sleep.

"I recall that the original Douluo records mentioned that the Tai Tan Snow Demon clan contains more than just the Tai Tan Snow Demon King among its 100,000-year beasts," Qian Xunji whispered to himself.

With that, he took action, climbing higher into the sky and flying toward the location of the Tai Tan Snow Demon gathering as indicated by the system map.

The Tai Tan Snow Demon gathering was located within the Ice God Mountain Range.

Self-proclaimed descendants of the Ice God, they naturally resided in a place named after their ancestor.

As the tallest humanoid creatures on land, Tai Tan Snow Demon cubs were ten meters tall at birth, and once they reached adulthood, they exceeded fifty meters.

Many Ultramen didn't even reach fifty meters in height.

As the king of the tribe, the Tai Tan Snow Demon King A-Tai stood over a hundred meters tall.

Any individual reaching eighty meters in height was a Tai Tan Snow Demon with over 100,000 years of cultivation.

At this moment, there was just such an individual in the gathering, standing over eighty meters tall.

The system identified it as a nameless 100,000-year Tai Tan Snow Demon, not the Tai Tan Snow Demon King A-Tai, one of the three Great Kings of the Far North.

Qian Xunji's eyes lit up at the sight.

It wasn't the Tai Tan Snow Demon King, but an extra 100,000-year spirit beast—a stroke of good luck.

Taking advantage of the creature as it feasted on a Mammoth Giant Elephant, he unleashed a foot technique that descended from the heavens.

Qian Xunji's entire body was enveloped in golden light, radiating intense heat like a meteorite plummeting from the sky, striking the ground with terrifying speed.

The 100,000-year Tai Tan Snow Demon, head bowed in its meal, suddenly sensed a crisis. It had just stopped eating when a heavy blow landed on the back of its head.

With a crunch, the skull shattered.

As its brain was pulverized, the Tai Tan Snow Demon died.

Before its body could even fall, the bright red spirit ring that had just emerged was collected along with the spirit bone by Qian Xunji and stored away into his system space.

The Tai Tan Snow Demons within the gathering place let out roars of fury upon seeing their kin hunted by a human.

For a moment, roars echoed one after another.

But having killed his target and collected the spoils in a single strike, Qian Xunji slipped away rapidly.

He had no intention of staying behind to waste time with the rest of the Tai Tan Snow Demons.

It was not that he couldn't defeat them, but rather that there was no need to waste the time.

Everything was prioritized around completing the Asura God Trial.

Ice Bears were spirit beasts designed based on polar bears.

They primarily lived in the sea ice regions near the coast of the Far North.

The thick sea ice served not only as a platform for them to walk on but also as their hunting ground.

At this moment, on the ice sheet near the sea, two giant beasts were clashing.

[Name: Tai Tan Snow Demon King A-Tai]

[Name: Ice Bear King Xiao Bai]

The character identification that popped up automatically from the system let Qian Xunji know the origins of the two beasts before him.

One of them was Tai Tan Snow Demon King A-Tai, who had devolved from a suitor of the Snow Empress into a pathetic sycophant.

The other was the Snow Empress's adopted son, Ice Bear King Xiao Bai.

Qian Xunji restrained his aura and hid within the clouds.

He prepared to reap the benefits of the snipe and the clam locked in battle.

Once the two beasts were both battered and exhausted, he would strike to hunt them both and complete the second trial of the Asura God Trial.

Taking advantage of the break while watching the battle, he took out a warm roujiamo to eat.

Paired with a bowl of clear Northwest mutton soup, it was delightful.

When the two beasts had fought for three hundred rounds, were covered in wounds, their internal spirit power nearly depleted, and they were at the point of calling a truce and trading threats, Qian Xunji made his move. It was his familiar, ultra-high-speed sneak attack, something both humans and spirit beasts found impossible to guard against.

Tai Tan Snow Demon King A-Tai looked down at Xiao Bai from his height, revealing a triumphant, smug smile: "Today, considering that you are the adopted son of my beloved Snow Empress, I will spare your life."

"You're full of..." Ice Bear King Xiao Bai's retort remained unfinished before he felt a wave of dizziness, as if his head were about to explode.

Before losing consciousness and dying, he saw the scene of A-Tai's head being severed by a beam of golden light.

And he, too, became a bear who couldn't keep his head on straight.

"Who! Who killed my adopted son!" A cold, furious roar erupted from the deepest part of the Far North.

Qian Xunji knew who the owner of that voice was. After collecting the bodies, spirit rings, and spirit bones of both beasts, he decisively flew toward the south.

He did not want to face the enraged Snow Empress right now or fight her in the Far North.

He had already completed the goal of the second Asura God Trial—to hunt nine 100,000-year spirit beasts in one month.

There was no need to stir up more trouble or create unnecessary overtime for himself.

Besides, he didn't want to stay a second longer in a place as cold as the Far North.

Wouldn't it be much more comfortable to return to the warm human territories sooner?