[The difficulty of the Nine Trials of the Ice God had exceeded your expectations. You had taken many rare and precious herbs, and grown under the careful care of the Snow Empress and Ice Empress. You had thought completing the trials wouldn't be difficult, but in reality, every trial had been incredibly arduous.]
[To help you face the Ice God's trials, the Snow Empress decided to teach you the three signature techniques she was renowned for.]
[The Three Absolutes of the Snow Empress: Emperor's Palm, Empress Sword, and Emperor's Cold Heaven.]
[Before long, you had gained a basic grasp of the Three Absolutes of the Snow Empress. But your Martial Soul fell just short of the Ultimate Ice attribute, and you were never able to unleash the techniques' true power.]
[Even so, you still passed this trial from the Ice God.]
[The trials soon progressed to the seventh: drawing the Ice God Scepter, sealed away for countless years.]
[You tried everything, but no matter how hard you struggled, you couldn't budge the Ice God Scepter in the slightest. Gradually, you realized that without the Ultimate Ice attribute, you would never be able to draw it.]
[You were deeply unwilling to accept it. After years of effort, you had fallen at the final hurdle. You shut yourself away in a room in the Ice and Snow Palace, racking your brain for a way to transform your Martial Soul into Ultimate Ice.]
"Bing'er..."
The Snow Empress looked at the exquisite face before her, a face she had seen countless times. Her voice trembled slightly, and pain laced her words.
At the sound of her voice, the Ice Empress reached out and, for the first time, stroked the Snow Empress's face.
It was something she had always wanted to do, but had never dared.
Her fingertips brushed gently over the Snow Empress's cheek. She didn't dare press too hard, as if she were tenderly caring for a fine porcelain vase.
After a moment, the Ice Empress slowly lowered her arm. Her voice gradually grew resolute. "Tian Jue is already at level eighty-nine, just one step away from becoming a Titled Douluo. And he laid a solid foundation long ago, so my sacrifice won't harm him at all."
"Throughout the entire Far North, only my sacrifice to Tian Jue can make up for the final shortcoming in his Martial Soul, let him cross that threshold, and become an Ultimate Ice Soul Master."
"Only by becoming an Ultimate Ice Soul Master can he draw the Ice God Scepter and ascend to the Ice God's divine throne. Then he can take you, Xue'er, to ascend to the Divine Realm and attain eternal life."
"No..."
The Snow Empress shook her head. For the first time, powerful emotions surged across her usually tranquil face.
But the Ice Empress gave her no chance to speak. She gently pressed a hand to the Snow Empress's lips, her eyes almost pleading.
[Before long, the Ice Empress called you out of your room and told you that they had found a way to evolve your Martial Soul into Ultimate Ice.]
[At first, you didn't know what method the Ice Empress meant. Not until she began her sacrifice.]
[When you finally realized what the Ice Empress was about to do, you looked up and met the Snow Empress's face, stricken with grief and pain. You instinctively tried to struggle, but there was nothing you could do to stop it.]
[You could only passively accept the Ice Empress's gift, as she burned up her life and became your ninth Soul Ring.]
[Before long, it was all over. You had successfully obtained a ninth Soul Ring approaching four hundred thousand years old, and after the Ice Empress's sacrifice, your Martial Soul had evolved into the highest-grade Ultimate Ice Martial Soul. But the price was that you would never see the Ice Empress again.]
[You didn't understand. You had first aspired to become a god so you could help the Snow Empress and Ice Empress attain eternal life. Why, in the end, did the Ice Empress have to pay with her life to help you become a god?]
[You didn't dare look at the Snow Empress's eyes again, and you refused to accept this fate. You rushed desperately toward the Ice God Scepter, determined to become a god as soon as possible and find a way to resurrect the Ice Empress.]
[With a Martial Soul bearing the Ultimate Ice attribute, you drew the Ice God Scepter with ease. You also easily passed the next trial, the Eighth Trial.]
As for the final Ninth Trial...
Yu Tianjue drew a deep breath, his face filled with disbelief.
The Ninth Trial's task was to kill the Snow Empress of the Far North and claim the Ice God's divine throne.
He had one year. Failure meant death.
Yu Tianjue froze in place.
The Ice Empress's sacrifice had been completely beyond his expectations. And now, the final trial of the Ice God demanded that he kill the Snow Empress with his own hands?
"Snow Empress..."
Yu Tianjue stared at the Snow Empress in disbelief, but she had already regained her composure. There was no longer any grief over losing the Ice Empress, nor any shock at the trial's demands. She was calm.
Amidst the swirling snow, Yu Tianjue and the Snow Empress stood facing each other.
Yu Tianjue couldn't help but ask himself: should he really follow the divine trial's demands and complete it?
Even setting aside whether he could truly defeat the Snow Empress in the endless snowfields of the Far North, if he could, should he really do it?
Scenes from the time he had spent living with the Snow Empress and Ice Empress surfaced in his mind.
At first, the Ice Empress had shown him little kindness, often treating him with cold indifference. But as time passed and they spent more time together, her attitude gradually changed. She began to delight in his growth, praise his talent for battle, and even worry about his safety.
The Snow Empress, as always, had carefully taught and cared for him.
They had long since formed a deep bond.
When the Ice Empress had chosen to sacrifice herself for him without his knowledge, he could still deceive himself, telling himself that once he became a god, he would find a way to bring her back to life.
But now, the Ice God's trial demanded that he kill the Snow Empress with his own hands.
Yet giving up on the divine trial meant death, and this simulation would end as well.
Yes, this was only a simulation. It wasn't the real world.
Yu Tianjue could cast everything aside and choose the most pragmatic course: kill the Snow Empress, complete the trial, and claim the Ice God's divine throne. As an Ice God with the strength of a First-Level God, he could thrive in the Divine Realm, perhaps even vie for the position of God King and earn far greater simulation rewards.
But... if he really did that, could he truly live with himself?
Yu Tianjue drew a deep breath. He seemed to know what he had to do.
"Tian Jue."
Yu Tianjue heard the Snow Empress's calm voice, but a hint of sorrow seemed to show in her eyes. "I carried you back from the snowstorm, raised you, and nurtured you into an excellent Soul Master."
"Now, I only hope that once you become a god, you'll protect the Soul Beasts of the Far North."
Did the Snow Empress think he could kill her... or had she already resolved to die?
Had the Snow Empress decided to sacrifice herself so he could claim the Ice God's divine throne?
Yu Tianjue pressed his lips together, but said nothing.