Snow Empress swiftly departed with Yan Hongchen, their figures like two flickering streaks of light amid the wind and snow. Yan Hongchen was carried by the collar, unable to open his eyes against the gale as his robes snapped loudly in the wind.
Yan Hongchen's voice was torn into fragments by the wind. "Senior Snow Empress... put me down... I can fly on my own."
Snow Empress glanced down at him. There was no excess emotion in those ice-blue eyes. Her figure paused, and she landed steadily on the snow.
"No need to fly. We'll do it here." Snow Empress's gaze passed over him toward the faint outline of a forest in the distant blizzard.
She spoke in a cool, even voice. "All right, little fellow. You've reached rank thirty. What kind of soul beast soul ring do you need? Aside from me, Xiao Bai is currently at the coastal edge of the outer region, catching fish. It's rather gluttonous and not the sort to stay idle."
Standing opposite Snow Empress, Yan Hongchen gave a slight bow and spoke respectfully. "Senior Snow Empress, it has been a long time. Now that I've reached rank thirty, I want a cleansing-type soul skill that can remove negative effects. Preferably, one obtained from a pure water-attribute soul beast."
Snow Empress did not answer immediately. The blizzard howled around her, lifting and dropping her long silver-white hair. She raised her right hand, palm upward, fingers slightly spread.
Wind and snow gathered in her palm, condensing and taking shape. A thin tome of ice appeared from thin air, crystalline throughout. Its icy pages were hard without being brittle, their edges glowing with a faint deep-blue light.
She handed the ice tome to Yan Hongchen. "After I took control of the Extreme North, I had records