The Ice Empress's Sacrifice

The difficulty of the Nine Trials of the Ice God exceeded your expectations. Having consumed numerous rare treasures and grown under the meticulous cultivation of the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress, you had assumed completing the trials would not be a difficult task, but in reality, you found every single trial to be an arduous struggle.

To help you cope with the Ice God's trials, the Snow Empress decided to help you fully master the three unique skills for which she was renowned.

The Three Absolutes of the Snow Empress: Empress Palm, Empress Sword, and Empress Cold Heaven.

Soon, you had mastered the rudimentary forms of the Three Absolutes, but because your martial soul lacked the final sliver of the Ultimate Ice attribute, you were unable to unleash the true power of the Snow Empress's techniques.

Even so, you still successfully passed this trial from the Ice God.

Soon, the trials progressed to the seventh stage—pulling out the long-sealed Ice God Scepter.

You made many attempts, but no matter how hard you tried, you could not shake the Ice God Scepter in the slightest. You gradually realized that without the Ultimate Ice attribute, you would never be able to pull out the scepter.

You were deeply unwilling to accept this, unwilling to let years of hard work fall at the final step. You locked yourself in a room within the Ice and Snow Palace, racking your brain for a way to evolve your martial soul into Ultimate Ice.

"Bing'er..."

The Snow Empress looked at the exquisite face before her, one she had seen countless times, her voice trembling slightly, to the point that it could be described as painful.

Hearing this, the Ice Empress reached out her palm, touching the Snow Empress's face for the first time.

This was something she had always wanted to do, yet never dared.

Her fingertips gently caressed the Snow Empress's face, not daring to use any force, as if she were carefully protecting a piece of fine porcelain.

A moment later, the Ice Empress's arm slowly slid down, and her voice gradually grew firm: "Yu Tianjue has reached level eighty-nine, only a step away from becoming a Titled Douluo. With the solid foundation he has already built, my sacrifice will not cause him any harm."

"In the entire Far North, only by me sacrificing myself to Yu Tianjue can his martial soul bridge that final gap, allowing him to cross that threshold and become a master with the Ultimate Ice attribute."

"Only by becoming a master of Ultimate Ice can he pull out the Ice God Scepter, attain the godhood of the Ice God, and take you, Xue'er, to ascend to the God Realm and achieve eternal life."

"No..."

The Snow Empress shook her head, her usually calm face showing intense emotional fluctuations for the first time.

But the Ice Empress did not give the Snow Empress another chance to speak; she reached out and gently pressed her hand against the Snow Empress's lips, her eyes filled with near-supplication.

Soon, you were called out of your room by the Ice Empress, who told you that they had found a way to evolve your martial soul into Ultimate Ice.

At first, you did not know what method the Ice Empress was referring to, until she began her sacrifice.

Finally realizing what the Ice Empress was about to do, you looked up and met the Snow Empress's face, which was filled with a mixture of sorrow and heartache. You instinctively wanted to struggle, but you were powerless to stop it.

You could only passively endure the Ice Empress's gift, accepting her burning life as it transformed into your ninth soul ring.

Soon, everything settled. You successfully obtained a ninth soul ring of nearly four hundred thousand years, and your martial soul successfully evolved into the top-tier Ultimate Ice martial soul after the Ice Empress's sacrifice, but the price was that you would never see the Ice Empress again.

You did not understand; you had originally set out to become a god to help the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress achieve eternal life, yet in the end, it required the Ice Empress's life as the price to help you ascend.

You dared not look into the Snow Empress's eyes again, and you were even less willing to accept your fate. You rushed toward the Ice God Scepter with all your might, determined to become a god as soon as possible and find a way to resurrect the Ice Empress.

Possessing the Ultimate Ice martial soul, you pulled out the Ice God Scepter with ease, and you easily completed the eighth trial that followed.

As for the final ninth trial...

Yu Tianjue took a deep breath, his entire being feeling somewhat incredulous.

The content of the ninth trial was, shockingly, to kill the Snow Empress of the Far North to attain the godhood of the Ice God.

The time limit was one year; failure meant death.

Yu Tianjue was instantly stunned on the spot.

The Ice Empress's sacrifice had been completely beyond his expectations, and now, the final trial of the Ice God was to force him to kill the Snow Empress with his own hands?

"Snow Empress..."

Yu Tianjue looked at the Snow Empress in disbelief, but by now, she had already regained her composure. Her face no longer held the sorrow of losing the Ice Empress, nor the shock of the trial's content; there was only calm.

Amidst the wind and snow filling the sky, the figures of Yu Tianjue and the Snow Empress stood facing each other.

Yu Tianjue could not help but ask himself if he really wanted to follow the requirements of the god trial and complete it.

Not to mention whether he could truly defeat the Snow Empress here in the snowy Far North. Even if he could, could he really bring himself to do it?

Every little detail of his life with the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress surfaced in his mind.

At first, the Ice Empress had not actually given him a warm welcome, often treating him with cold eyes. But as time passed and they spent more time together, her attitude gradually changed. She began to take joy in his growth, praised his combat talent, and even worried about his safety.

The Snow Empress had always taught and cared for him with the same meticulous devotion.

A deep bond had long since been established between them.

When the Ice Empress chose to sacrifice herself for him without his knowledge, he could still deceive himself that he would surely find a way to resurrect her after becoming a god.

But now, the Ice God's trial was demanding he kill the Snow Empress himself.

Yet, giving up the trial meant death, and this simulation would come to an end.

Yes, this was merely a simulation, not the real world.

Yu Tianjue could completely cast everything aside and choose the most utilitarian path: kill the Snow Empress, complete the trial, and attain the godhood of the Ice God. As an Ice God with the strength of a first-tier god, he could thrive in the God Realm, perhaps even aspire to become a God King and obtain even richer simulation rewards.

However... if he truly did this, could he really be at peace?

Yu Tianjue took a deep breath, seemingly knowing what he had to do.

"Tianjue."

Yu Tianjue heard the Snow Empress's calm voice, yet her eyes seemed to reveal a trace of sorrow. "I carried you back from the blizzard, raised you, and nurtured you into an outstanding soul master."

"Now, I only hope that after you attain godhood, you will offer more protection to the soul beasts of the Far North."

Did the Snow Empress also believe he could kill her... or was it that she had already resigned herself to death?

Had the Snow Empress decided to sacrifice herself to fulfill his path to becoming the Ice God?

Yu Tianjue pressed his lips together, remaining silent.