The Snow Empress had barely pushed herself up from the snow when Jiang Qingyu teleported in front of her.
The Sea God Trident gleamed coldly, its tip held steady a hair's breadth from her throat. Cold metal brushed her skin, and even the surrounding chill was driven back by golden divine power.
"Snow Empress, you've lost."
Jiang Qingyu's voice was calm, without a ripple.
The Snow Empress bit her lip, her eyes brimming with defiance.
She stared fixedly at Jiang Qingyu, her voice icy.
"You've won, but I am the Lord of the Far North. I will never let you have your way so easily. If it comes to it, I'll ignite my essence and take you down with me."
The cold around her began to churn wildly. Clearly, she was preparing to burn her essence and stake everything on one final strike.
At that very instant, the ice behind him suddenly exploded.
A dark green figure burst out of the ground. It was the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, who had yet to assume human form-the Ice Empress, one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, with a full three hundred and ninety thousand years of cultivation.
Her enormous scorpion tail, tipped with a dark blue venomous stinger, silently thrust toward Jiang Qingyu's back. It moved at blinding speed, and the extreme cold radiating from the stinger froze even the surrounding air.
Just as the tail was about to strike, a silver-purple figure suddenly appeared behind Jiang Qingyu.
Gu Yuena flashed into motion, sweeping her long right leg out with force and kicking the side of the scorpion's tail with pinpoint accuracy.
Thud!
With a dull impact, the Ice Empress's massive body was sent flying by that single kick. She hurtled across dozens of meters of snow