Orange-Gold Soul Ring, Ice Empress's Grief

Meng Chen's voice transmission rang out by her ear again. After checking Shui Bing'er's condition once more and confirming that she was safe and sound, Leng Qishuang finally calmed her anxious heart.

Because it involved That Great One, Leng Qishuang concealed the truth from Shui Yue'er. "She... she merely fainted. She must have lost her way in the blizzard, exhausted her strength, and passed out."

After explaining, Leng Qishuang hoisted Shui Bing'er onto her back. "Come on, let's return to town first."

At an inn in town, Leng Qishuang settled Shui Bing'er onto the bed in their room, helped her remove her outer clothes, and tucked her beneath the blankets.

Shui Yue'er brought over a basin of warm water. Leng Qishuang dipped a towel into it and gently wiped her daughter's face and hands.

As she wiped her, Leng Qishuang looked at her daughter's face, her heart filled with tenderness and pain.

As her daughter, Shui Bing'er had never disappointed her.

Blessed with exquisite features, outstanding talent, and remarkable Soul Power, Shui Bing'er had displayed astonishing talent and an unwavering temperament from the day she awakened her Martial Soul.

She cultivated diligently and never slacked off. She was responsible toward her teammates and loyal to the academy.

She was Skywater Academy's undisputed leading figure.

Leng Qishuang had always been proud of this daughter.

"Auntie, when will Sister wake up?" Shui Yue'er sat at the bedside, holding her sister's hand as she asked softly.

"Soon. She's just too tired. Once she's rested enough, she'll wake up."

Shui Yue'er nodded and did not ask again. She simply sat there quietly, holding her sister's hand, her eyes full of worry.

Looking at the two girls, Leng Qishuang felt a wave of motherly affection rise in her heart.

Although they had different mothers, the sisters had always been close. That was another thing that made Leng Qishuang proud.

She said gently, "Yue'er, you're tired too. Go rest in the room next door. I'll watch over your sister."

Shui Yue'er shook her head. "If Auntie isn't leaving, neither am I."

Leng Qishuang could only indulge her helplessly.

The night gradually deepened.

At some point, Shui Yue'er fell asleep leaning against the bedside. Leng Qishuang sat in a chair by the bed, gazing at the two girls with tender, aching eyes.

Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. At last, unable to hold on any longer, she leaned against the chair back and fell into a deep sleep.

After the mother and daughter had both fallen asleep, Meng Chen emerged from Shui Bing'er's chest. He looked at the pair and shook his head.

Then, he used his power to support them and carried them back to their respective rooms before returning to the Chaos Bead.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Shui Bing'er's eyelashes trembled.

Then, she slowly opened her eyes.

Before her was an unfamiliar ceiling and dim yellow lamplight.

Shui Bing'er was stunned for a moment, her mind completely blank.

She was in... an inn?

Wasn't she in the Extreme North Ice Plains? Wasn't she with the Snow Empress...

Her memories surged back like a flood.

She instinctively checked her Soul Power Level.

Level forty-seven.

She had actually jumped straight to level forty-seven!

Shui Bing'er was overjoyed, her heart leaping with excitement.

What she did not know was that this was already the result of the Snow Empress using a sealing method. Otherwise, with the Snow Empress's six hundred thousand years of cultivation, how could she have increased by so little?

Of course, if the Snow Empress had not sealed her power, the current Shui Bing'er would not have been able to endure it at all. She would only have exploded and died.

Only as Shui Bing'er's strength gradually increased could the Snow Empress's power gradually be released.

"Then my Soul Ring..."

Shui Bing'er immediately wanted to summon her Soul Rings.

Previously, the highest-level Soul Ring she knew of had been a hundred-thousand-year one, red in color.

The Snow Empress's strength had completely surpassed her understanding, so she immediately wanted to summon it and see for herself.

Ding, ding, ding, ding!

Shui Bing'er lowered her head and looked beneath her feet.

Her Soul Rings appeared as normal—two yellow and one purple, with the fourth Soul Ring at the end, slowly rotating.

Her fourth Soul Ring was orange-gold, engraved with six golden patterns and radiating a heart-palpitating pressure.

This was the Soul Ring of a Six Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast?!

Feeling the extraordinary aura of the Soul Ring, Shui Bing'er was extremely excited.

One of a Spirit Master's ultimate dreams was a red hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring, yet she had gained a Soul Ring surpassing a hundred thousand years at level forty!

Master had given all of this to her!

At that thought, Shui Bing'er felt a trace of sweetness bloom in her heart.

She covered her chest and smiled dreamily, unable to stop herself from voicing the words in her heart. "Master... thank you..."

"You should thank the Snow Empress too!"

Meng Chen suddenly appeared.

Shui Bing'er cried out in surprise, and her face immediately turned crimson.

Ahhh!

Master had actually seen her looking so lovestruck!

For a moment, Shui Bing'er wanted nothing more than to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

Just as Shui Bing'er was feeling embarrassed, an icy-blue light flew out from her chest and condensed into an illusory figure within the room.

It was none other than the Snow Empress.

Silver-white hair, a snow-white dress, icy-blue eyes, and a cold, noble bearing—she looked exactly as she had before the Sacrifice.

She was merely more ethereal than before, like a thin layer of ice crystal glowing faintly beneath the lamplight.

Shui Bing'er immediately cast aside her embarrassment, sat upright, and bowed. "Thank you, Snow Empress!"

The Snow Empress floated at the foot of the bed, her icy-blue eyes settling on Shui Bing'er as she examined her from head to toe.

Even the Snow Empress could not help but smile when faced with a pure and adorable girl like Shui Bing'er.

Though the smile vanished in an instant, it was like spring wind thawing ice, breathtakingly beautiful.

The Snow Empress said reservedly, "There's no need to thank me. I am not doing charity; I am making an investment. Cultivate well and become a god as soon as possible. That will be the best repayment for me."

"I will." Shui Bing'er nodded forcefully, her voice resolute.

Seeing the determined light in her eyes, the Snow Empress nodded in satisfaction and said no more.

Meng Chen, the Snow Empress, and Shui Bing'er were enjoying a harmonious moment, but deep within the Extreme North Ice Plains, the situation was entirely the opposite.

Inside a massive ice cavern, frigid air filled the space and ice crystals coated the walls.

At the deepest part of the cavern slept another ruler of the Extreme North Ice Plains.

The Ice Empress.

The Snow Emperor's Sacrifice could not have happened silently. Such a tremendous disturbance immediately woke her.

The Ice Empress abruptly opened her eyes.

Confusion and bewilderment first filled those emerald-green eyes, followed by shock.

"Snow Empress?"

"She... sacrificed herself? No... impossible!"

The Ice Empress's voice echoed through the ice cavern, filled with grief and disbelief.

The Snow Empress, foremost among the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, a being with six hundred thousand years of cultivation—how could she have sacrificed herself?

"Snow Empress!"

The Ice Empress let out an enraged roar that shook the entire ice plains.

What had happened? Her Snow Empress...

"What exactly happened?!"

The Ice Empress's voice was filled with pain and unwillingness.

The Snow Empress had only recently broken through to six hundred thousand years. She was nowhere near the seventy-hundred-thousand-year calamity.

Why had she chosen to sacrifice herself? Why had she chosen to become a human's Soul Ring?

What kind of person was worthy of the Snow Empress doing such a thing?

The Ice Empress was overwhelmed with grief. She swore that she would uncover the reason. If someone had used despicable means, she would slaughter that person's entire clan to vent the hatred in her heart!

The Ice Empress was not the only one grieving over the Snow Empress's sacrifice.

The White Bear King, the Snow Empress's adopted son, let out a heaven-shaking roar the instant it sensed the Snow Emperor's Sacrifice.

That roar was filled with incomprehension, fury, and... sorrow!

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!

The White Bear King had always regarded the Snow Empress as its mother. Her sacrifice brought it the pain of losing a mother.

The Extreme North Ice Plains were colder than ever before...