The "Zi Ji" from the Star Dou Great Forest finally came back to her senses.
She forced herself to suppress the turmoil in her heart and stared at the other version of herself before her, speaking without a hint of courtesy.
"You... who are you, exactly?! Why do you look exactly like me?! Why does your bloodline aura come from the same source as mine?!"
Zi Ji from Legend of the Dragon King continued to hold Gu An steadily in her arms, her expression utterly unruffled.
"I am you."
"Or rather, I'm you ten thousand years from now, a Zi Ji from another Douluo Planet."
"Bullshit!"
"Zi Ji" practically shouted the words, nearly laughing from sheer fury.
What a lousy excuse!
"What do you mean, ten thousand years from now? What do you mean, another Douluo Planet? I'm the only surviving member of the Hell Demon Dragon Clan! I'm the last of my kind!"
"How could you possibly be me?!"
She suddenly raised a hand and pointed at Gu An.
"And who is this human brat?! Why are you holding him? If you're me, why are you so affectionate with a human child?!"
"He is my Lord."
Zi Ji's tone was calm, as though she were stating the simplest fact in the world.
It was the complete opposite of "Zi Ji," whose emotions were all over the place.
"Your Lord?"
Hearing that, "Zi Ji" was thunderstruck, her eyes shrinking to pinpricks.
She repeated those two words, then her face flushed scarlet. An uncontrollable fury surged up from her chest.
"Are you insane?! Do you even know what you're saying?! Lord! There is only one Lord of the Soul Beast Clan! That is the Silver Dragon King!"
"Only Her Majesty the Silver Dragon King is worthy of being called Lord! And you've made a human brat your Lord?! Have humans controlled you with some despicable trick?!"
She was practically shrieking, flames of fury blazing in her vertical pupils.
The pride of the Hell Demon Dragon Clan, the dignity of the Dragon Clan, and the backbone of the Soul Beasts all turned into a blazing fire of rage in that moment!
Now she was completely convinced that the being before her couldn't possibly be herself!
How could she ever betray her Lord and become the pet of a human toddler?!
Where was her dignity?!
Zi Ji glanced at the furious "Zi Ji," her tone still calm.
She even found time to nuzzle Gu An. "I'm perfectly clear-headed."
"My Lord is my Lord. That has nothing to do with whether he is Her Majesty the Silver Dragon King."
"And the idea that I'm being controlled is utter nonsense."
"Zi Ji" sneered, knowing that the version of herself before her had gone mad.
She couldn't believe she would ever do something like this.
Forget ten thousand years! Even in a hundred thousand years, she wouldn't turn out like this.
She exhaled a breath and decided she would beat some sense into the one in front of her.
But there was still one question on her mind.
"What are you doing in the Far North?"
"I came to save the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress."
"Heh heh heh." "Zi Ji" was at a loss for words. "What are you even talking about?!"
"That's complete bullshit!"
"Do the Ice Empress and Snow Empress need you to save them? Do they need a human brat to save them?!"
She had no intention of wasting any more words.
Purple dragon scales began emerging from beneath her skin, and a violent Dragon Might spread out from her.
"Move! Humans have clouded your mind. I'll kill this human brat right now and bring you to your senses!"
As soon as she finished speaking, "Zi Ji" stamped down hard and shot toward Gu An like a purple blur!
Her fingers curled into claws, sharp dragon scales covering their tips as she lunged with a shrill whistle that tore through the air!
"Hey, sis, what does this have to do with me?" Gu An asked, bewildered.
Zi Ji frowned and pulled Gu An closer to her chest, preparing to act.
But before she could move, a jade-green figure had already stepped in front of the Zi Ji from the Star Dou Great Forest.
The Ice Empress had made her move.
Her fist looked so small and almost adorable, but she slammed it without hesitation into the claw tips of the Zi Ji from the Star Dou Great Forest.
Jade-green icy power collided with dark-purple dragon power with a thunderous crash!!
"Boom!!"
The surrounding air shuddered, sending out a visible shock wave. The ten-thousand-year-old ice beneath their feet exploded, scattering shards everywhere.
"Zi Ji" was forced back more than a dozen steps by the punch, her feet carving two deep furrows across the ice.
She jerked her head up and glared at the Ice Empress, shocked and furious.
"Ice Empress! What do you mean by this?! This is the business of the Star Dou Great Forest. Is the Far North planning to interfere?!"
The Ice Empress withdrew her fist and interlaced her fingers, rolling her wrists with a series of crisp cracks.
Her big jade-green eyes were full of irritation. She lifted her chin slightly, a cold sneer tugging at her lips.
"What do I mean? I should be asking you that!"
"This is the Far North, my territory! You're an outsider from the Star Dou Great Forest, barging onto my turf and shouting about killing people?"
"And you're trying to start a fight right in front of me? Who gave you the nerve?!"
The Ice Empress stepped forward, and the freezing aura around her erupted!
Jade-green light turned half the sky green.
"And besides, even if we're fighting, you don't get to go first! Ever heard of first come, first served? I haven't even finished settling things with this other version of you, so why are you cutting in line?!"
The Ice Empress's merciless words made "Zi Ji" tremble with rage!
Yet the force of that punch had chilled her to the bone.
She had cultivated for only a little over two hundred thousand years, while the Ice Empress was a Ferocious Beast with over three hundred thousand years of cultivation, nearly a hundred thousand years stronger.
On the Ice Empress's home ground, surrounded by snow and ice, she stood no chance!
And the Snow Empress, with six hundred and ninety thousand years of cultivation, was standing right there too.
She shouted with more bluster than confidence.
"Are you of the Far North going to shield this human and this impostor?!"
"Think carefully! Once word of this gets back to the Star Dou Great Forest, Di Tian won't let it go!"
"Are you trying to start a war between the Far North and the Star Dou Great Forest?!"
"A war? Hah."
The sneer on the Ice Empress's lips grew even colder.
She tilted her head and looked at the Zi Ji from the Star Dou Great Forest as if she were an idiot.
"Get this straight: you came to the Far North to cause trouble. We didn't go to the Star Dou Great Forest looking for a fight."
"Even if Di Tian demands an explanation, you have no grounds to complain!"
"Zi Ji's" expression darkened.
She had come to help the Ice Empress and Snow Empress!
Surely those two hadn't actually believed a lie that could be seen through at a glance!
She wanted to argue, but she had to admit the Ice Empress was right. She had been the one to come to the Far North.
Just as she was wondering what to do, the Snow Empress, who had remained silent all along, suddenly spoke.
The Snow Empress's pale-blue eyes shifted away from the Zi Ji from the Star Dou Great Forest. Her brows drew together slightly.
She slowly turned her head and looked behind an unremarkable ice mound nearby.
"So there really is a little bug hiding back there." Her voice was cool.
She extended her slender hand.
Behind the ice mound, Huo Yuhao held his breath, concealed beneath the spiritual power of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
He was curled up in a ball, hiding behind the mound.
His heart pounded wildly in his chest, making his eardrums buzz.
He had never imagined he would run into Gu An in a godforsaken place like the Far North!
The brat brought along by the woman who had nearly killed Brother Sky Dream in the Star Dou Great Forest!
The guy who had trampled him underfoot on the Soul Fighting Platform at Shrek Academy!
His lifelong enemy!
Huo Yuhao's face was ashen, and his fists clenched without him realizing it.
If the situation weren't so bad, he really would have charged out and fought Gu An to the death.
"Brother Sky Dream! Brother Sky Dream! What the hell is going on?!"
"How did Gu An end up here?! Who are those women?! Why are there two women who look exactly alike?!"
He desperately called out to the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in his sea of consciousness.
But the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm seemed to have lost its soul and didn't respond at all.
At that moment, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was curled up inside Huo Yuhao's Spirit Sea, its two little golden eyes nearly popping out of its head.
Only one thought filled its mind.
Two Zi Jis! How could there be two Zi Jis?!
It couldn't possibly be mistaken!
That Dragon Clan aura that had given it nightmares for countless years in the Star Dou Great Forest was unmistakably that of Zi Ji from the Hell Demon Dragon Clan!
But why were there two of her here at the same time?!
Could they be twins?
No! The Hell Demon Dragon Clan had long since gone extinct. There was only one survivor. Where would twins come from?!
The next moment, the Snow Empress's cold words—"So there really is a little bug hiding back there"—reached both of their ears, clear as day.
Huo Yuhao felt all the blood in his body freeze in an instant.
Before he could react, an irresistible force closed in around him from every direction!
It was as if an invisible hand had grabbed him in its palm, then yanked him backward!
Huo Yuhao and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm cried out in alarm at the same time!
Against their will, they were pulled toward the middle of the clearing.