The Tide Turns

"B-Bing'er?"

Feeling a familiar presence, Snow Empress suddenly looked up at the sky and murmured softly.

Perhaps knowing that the person she could rely on had arrived, the flames burning atop her source began to slowly die down. Her injuries were too severe, and she closed her eyes and fainted.

Ice Empress's petite body floated in midair as she stared coldly at the Soul Engineer squad, now reduced to just over a dozen people.

The middle-aged man recognized Ice Empress and sensed her aura. His expression tightened.

"Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion! Ice Empress!"

The dozen or so others were startled by his words. "What? She's Ice Empress, ranked second among the Three Great Kings of the Far North and seventh on the Ferocious Beast rankings?"

"I can't believe we've encountered two beasts on the rankings in a single day!"

Ice Empress looked at them with disdain, her voice devoid of emotion. "Since you know who I am, get out of the Far North at once!"

The middle-aged man's expression grew grave. His original plan had been to capture Snow Empress while she was badly wounded, and Ice Empress's sudden appearance had certainly been unexpected.

But only a moment passed before a cold glint flashed through his eyes. He spoke to Ice Empress in a chilling tone.

"Ice Empress, our only target is Snow Empress. If you know what's good for you, let us take her away. Otherwise, I won't mind reducing the Three Great Kings of the Far North to just one."

"What an arrogant claim. Do you really think a bunch of ants like you can kill me?" Ice Empress snapped, but she had no intention of attacking. What she needed to do now was buy time—to give Yao Shi a chance to reach Snow Empress.

When this Soul Engineer squad started moving toward Snow Empress, Yao Shi had immediately suggested that Ice Empress distract them while he used the opportunity to approach Snow Empress and heal her. That was why Ice Empress had used the Eternal Frozen Domain to freeze her enemies at the start.

Meanwhile, on the snowy ground, Yao Shi kept using snowdrifts as cover as he crept toward the severely injured Snow Empress.

"Hah. We'll see who dies first." The middle-aged man gave a cold snort. "Snow Empress took the heavenly tribulation head-on and was gravely wounded, so she can't fight. And you've only cultivated for a little over three hundred thousand years. Do you really think you can defeat my Soul Engineer squad all by yourself?"

Almost there.

So close.

Yao Shi saw that Snow Empress was less than a hundred meters away and quickened his pace. He'd wasted time earlier by staying behind snowdrifts to avoid being spotted.

Just as he was about to reach Snow Empress, a Soul Cannon shell shot from behind him and slammed straight into his back.

Boom—

A deafening blast erupted, sending up a cloud of black smoke.

The middle-aged man shook the cannon mounted on his right arm, his tone mocking. "I didn't expect there to be a little rat hiding here besides Ice Empress and Snow Empress."

"Yao Shi!" Seeing him take the blast head-on, Ice Empress shouted anxiously.

"Hmph, stop shouting. A mere three-ring Soul Master dared to come here—admirable courage, but what a pity. I hit him head-on with a Level 6 Soul Cannon shell. I doubt there's anything left of his corpse! Hahahahaha!"

Seeing Ice Empress so worried over a human, the middle-aged man kept taunting her.

As the smoke cleared, Yao Shi's body came into view. Only his upper half remained.

Seeing this, Ice Empress concluded that Yao Shi probably couldn't survive. Her fury surged to its peak, and the pressure of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion's three-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-year cultivation burst forth in an instant.

Everyone in the Soul Engineer squad was crushed beneath her pressure, struggling to breathe. The middle-aged man quickly activated a Level 9 defensive shield, finally blocking that overbearing force.

"Brothers, activate your Soul Tools!" the middle-aged man shouted.

At his words, the dozen Soul Douluo and Titled Douluo layered themselves with Level 7 and Level 8 Defensive Soul Tools, forming an energy shield. They also took out several Level 8 Soul Cannons and arranged them in formation, their barrels aimed at Ice Empress.

As the two sides faced off, Yao Shi lay in the snow with only half his body left, his wounds healing at an astonishing speed.

"Motherfucker, they ambushed me and shot me in the back! I'm never forgetting this!"

As his body healed, Yao Shi slowly wriggled toward Snow Empress.

He'd been only a dozen or so meters from Snow Empress, but that shell had sent him hurtling dozens of meters away.

"Heal."

When he was two or three meters from Snow Empress, Yao Shi decisively raised his hand and sent a healing spell her way. Unfortunately, because Snow Empress had just burned her source, she healed slowly and didn't wake immediately. His healing only repaired the injuries she'd suffered during the tribulation.

Forget it. I'll put her in the Pure Land first.

With that, Yao Shi opened the Abundance Glazed Pure Land and tossed Snow Empress inside.

Above them, Ice Empress had already begun fighting the Soul Engineer squad, whose weakest members were Soul Douluo.

Ice Empress was now completely enraged. First Snow Empress had been gravely wounded, and then Yao Shi had died.

"I'll tear every last one of you to pieces!"

As Ice Empress spoke, ice crystals formed across her body and turned into a suit of armor. This was her Soul Skill, Ice Emperor's Protection.

She then shot toward the squad. A gigantic scorpion-tail ice spike formed behind her and slammed into the enemy's energy shield.

The blow was powerful enough to pierce straight through the shield, but only for an instant. A new shield immediately covered it.

"Tch." Seeing the shield reform, Ice Empress reluctantly retreated dozens of meters.

"Didn't expect that, did you, Ice Empress? My shield has more than one layer." As the Level 9 Soul Engineer spoke, the giant Level 9 Soul Cannon strapped to his back slowly rose, bolstered by the dozen Level 7 and Level 8 Soul Engineers. Along with the smaller cannons from earlier, they all took aim at Ice Empress.

Ice Empress could easily dodge the smaller Soul Cannons by turning slightly, but the moment the Level 9 Soul Cannon fired, she felt a sudden pang of dread and hurriedly flew backward, trying to evade the shell.

But it was useless. No matter how fast Ice Empress flew, the shell stayed locked onto her. It was so fast she had no time to use a Soul Skill to block it.

Just as it was about to hit her, a voice rang out...

Emperor Sword: Peerless Ice Edge!

A long ice-crystal sword appeared and instantly cleaved the shell in two. It still exploded, but its power was greatly diminished.

Ice Empress used the opening to put some distance between herself and the shell. The weakened blast's shockwave struck her Ice Emperor's Protection, but barely fazed her.

Recognizing the familiar move, Ice Empress turned toward where it had come from and shouted, "Xue'er, is that you?"

But when she turned, she saw Yao Shi standing where Snow Empress had fallen earlier, smiling at her.

"No, it's Yao Shi."

Ice Empress:...