The Far North

In the snow-covered wasteland, wind and snow howled as Huo Yuhao lay buried beneath the snow, his ears red from the cold.

"Brother Sky Dream, has the Snow Demon King Titan left yet?"

Huo Yuhao's body had gone numb with cold. Although Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's shed skin had helped shield him from some of the bitter cold, it still couldn't fully protect him from the low temperatures of the Far North.

"That bastard finally left. Yuhao, you can come out now." After detecting that the Snow Demon King Titan had gone, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm hurriedly called to him.

"Phew, I'm freezing to death. Brother Sky Dream, let's get going and find the Ice Empress as soon as possible, so we can move on to the next step of our plan."

Huo Yuhao sprang out of the snow and continued in the direction Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had indicated, heading for the home of the Ice Empress, one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North.

After Electrolux entered the Eye of Life to repair the fragments of his divine consciousness, Huo Yuhao told Sky Dream Ice Silkworm some of the events that would unfold in the original story.

Learning that the Ice Empress would agree to join them in the future, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was overjoyed and hurried to take Huo Yuhao on the journey to find her.

They'd run into a minor snag along the way: the Snow Demon King Titan had been patrolling his territory. Fortunately, they'd made it through safely without being discovered.

"Yuhao, this should be about right." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm estimated the distance and told Huo Yuhao to stop.

"Okay, Brother Sky Dream. I'll leave the rest to you."

The moment Huo Yuhao finished speaking, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm temporarily left his body and transformed into a young man, floating in midair.

The young man Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had become waved a hand. The remaining essence inside Huo Yuhao flew out for a moment, swirling around him.

"Ice Empress, do you dare come out and meet me?" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice rang out. As he released his essence, the entire sky was dyed gold.

"Tian Meng, you dare come back?" A woman's furious shout rang out. The sky, which Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual power had just turned gold, instantly became emerald green across half its expanse.

A crystal scorpion, emerald from head to tail and nearly as tall as a person, sped across the snowfields, like a streak of green light shooting toward them.

Only a few seconds later, the Ice Empress stopped in front of Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. She looked twice at the young man he had become.

"A body condensed from spiritual power? It seems your real body is nearby. I might have a chance of surviving my Four Hundred Thousand Year Tribulation." The Ice Empress spoke in a frigid tone.

Seeing Sky Dream Ice Silkworm about to exchange pleasantries with the Ice Empress, Huo Yuhao, hidden in the snow, immediately interrupted him through the Spirit Sea:

"Brother Sky Dream, stop wasting time and get to it! The shed skin's set a trap for you. I can't hold on much longer."

"All right. Bing Bing, we'll talk later." As soon as he finished speaking, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm used the shed skin to trap the Ice Empress temporarily.

"Yuhao, run! Her people will be chasing after us soon."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm merged his essence back into Huo Yuhao's body and guided him as he sprinted toward a snow-covered mountain.

"Phew, we should be safe here, right? Brother Sky Dream, let me talk things over with the Ice Empress."

After running for about half a day, Huo Yuhao brought the Ice Empress to the foot of a mountain, intending to speak with her first.

"Tian Meng, you good-for-nothing. You actually became a Soul Ring for a Soul Master."

The Ice Empress glared at Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who had merged with Huo Yuhao, and demanded an answer, her anger plain.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm didn't respond. Huo Yuhao was the first to speak instead.

"Ice Empress, I know your situation. Your Four Hundred Thousand Year Tribulation is about to arrive, and you have no confidence that you can survive it on your own. In other words, you're about to die."

Hearing Huo Yuhao's words, the Ice Empress sneered. "Oh? So, according to you, I should become your Soul Ring and help you out, so all my cultivation doesn't go to waste?"

Huo Yuhao didn't mind her hostile tone and continued explaining.

"Brother Sky Dream and I are preparing to embark on the road to godhood. He used his million years of cultivation to condense my Second Martial Soul. We plan to use it to turn you into a Wisdom Soul Ring, much like him, so we can walk this road to eternal life together."

"Oh? How do I know you'll actually become a god? And why should I choose you?" The Ice Empress was somewhat tempted, but still hesitated.

"First, with Brother Sky Dream's help, my First Martial Soul, the Spirit Eye, is about to evolve. Add the Ultimate Ice you'll bring if you join us, and I'll become an unprecedented genius on the Douluo Continent."

"Second, my teacher is a god. He has experience and methods for becoming one—enough to help me take that final step."

"Third, you don't actually have a choice. Your life is already like a candle flickering in the wind, and you don't have the time to wait for anyone else."

After Huo Yuhao finished speaking, he asked Elder Yi to let the Ice Empress feel the pressure of the divine realm for an instant.

Feeling the pressure of divine-level spiritual power, the Ice Empress immediately changed her attitude. Her hesitation vanished, leaving only resolve.

"Fine. If that's the case, I agree. But Sky Dream Ice Silkworm must swear to the Ice God that he'll help me become a Wisdom Soul Ring."

Hearing the Ice Empress's words, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm excitedly popped out. "Bing Bing, I knew you'd agree! I, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, swear to the Ice God that I'll help the Ice Empress become a Wisdom Soul Ring."

Seeing Sky Dream Ice Silkworm take the oath, the Ice Empress finally set her mind at ease and began preparing for the fusion with him.

"With your body as it is now, once I've sealed away my essence, you'll be able to absorb the torso Soul Bone I form. The process probably won't be pleasant, though, so you'll have to endure it."

After speaking, the Ice Empress's Spiritual Origin entered Huo Yuhao's Spirit Sea. Her enormous body transformed into an emerald-green torso Soul Bone and slowly merged with Huo Yuhao's body.

A moment later, intense pain shot through Huo Yuhao's nerves, making his entire body tremble.

"Whoa, this bone-replacement pain is something else. It really packs a punch." Huo Yuhao muttered a couple of words to distract himself.

As the fusion deepened, the Life Gold finally began to take effect. A great deal of green life energy welled up inside Huo Yuhao, working alongside the Ice Empress's torso Soul Bone to strengthen and repair his body.

With the Life Gold's help, Huo Yuhao felt the pressure ease considerably and let out a long breath.

Two hours passed, and Huo Yuhao finally completed his fusion with the Ice Empress's torso Soul Bone. His physical strength had improved by a great deal once again.

"Absorbing a Soul Bone worked well. I had to seal away less of my essence than I expected. Now we just need to fuse the Soul Ring."

The Ice Empress praised Huo Yuhao after seeing him finish absorbing the Soul Bone.

Huo Yuhao drew on the Ice Empress's Four Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and gradually guided it toward himself. It was a red Soul Ring marked with four golden lines.

After Sky Dream and the Ice Empress had discussed things, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had used some of his essence. While Huo Yuhao fused with the Ice Empress's Soul Bone, he had raised her cultivation to a full four hundred thousand years.

As Huo Yuhao absorbed the Ice Empress's Four Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, his previously formless Second Martial Soul, his ice Martial Soul, gradually took the shape of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

The Soul Power throughout Huo Yuhao's body gradually acquired the properties of Ultimate Ice.