Ice Empress forcibly stopped in her tracks.
Snow Empress was right.
If she barged in now, she might make the situation even worse.
So all she could do now was wait anxiously.
However...
For Ling Xiao in the center of the icefield, the Heavenly Thunder was nothing much.
He only felt a slight discomfort.
Yet it was precisely that discomfort that made him even more excited.
Boom~
Another bolt of Heavenly Thunder struck down.
Ling Xiao chose to meet it head-on again, swallowing the entire bolt whole.
"More!"
Ling Xiao's eyes lit up.
He looked like someone who had been starving for ages and had finally gotten a good meal.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bolts of Heavenly Thunder fell one after another. Ling Xiao refused none of them, devouring them one after another.
Ling Xiao swam through the sea of lightning.
Whenever the Heavenly Thunder surged into his body, the Thunder Spirit Origin instantly digested it, turning it into pure energy that in turn nourished his origin.
Under the baptism of the Heavenly Thunder.
Ling Xiao's cultivation began to soar rapidly, reaching ninety thousand years in an instant.
But he showed no intention of stopping and continued devouring without pause.
The Ice and Snow Emperors in the distance.
Had long been left dumbstruck.
Ice Empress's lips parted slightly, her jade-green eyes filled with disbelief.
The "little burden" she had spoken of was single-handedly withstanding the fatal tribulation of a Soul Beast.
Ice Empress muttered, "Th-this... what kind of monster is this?"
Snow Empress did not answer.
She stared intently at Ling Xiao within the lightning formation, a trace of complicated emotion flickering in her eyes.
The Heavenly Thunder gradually weakened.
It seemed even the Heavenly Dao had realized.
The lightning punishment it had sent down was not punishment for this little thing at all; it was simply giving him a feast.
If it continued striking, it would just be feeding Ling Xiao.
Thus, after the thunderclouds rumbled unwillingly a few times, they could only disperse in indignation.
The thunderclouds vanished.
As sunlight once again spilled across the icefield, Ling Xiao slowly descended from the sky.
A few arcs of electricity still coiled around his body, while a faint thunder pattern had appeared between his brows.
His entire aura had undergone a subtle change, becoming deeper and more restrained.
Not far from Ling Xiao, Xiaoqing lay quietly on the ground.
Xiaoqing's shell was somewhat charred, but the wounds on her surface had already begun to heal.
Her jade-green carapace had become even more vibrant, and her tail hook had grown several inches longer than before.
With a cultivation of one hundred thousand years, Xiaoqing had successfully passed her one-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz."
Xiaoqing let out a weak cry and waved her tail hook toward Ice Empress in the distance.
Ice Empress flashed over and carefully scooped Xiaoqing up in her hands.
"Xiaoqing... you succeeded?"
The little scorpion gently rubbed herself against Ice Empress's palm, producing a string of buzzing sounds.
Ling Xiao's voice rang out beside her ear.
"Auntie! I did it!"
Seeing Ling Xiao's smug little expression, Ice Empress immediately snorted.
"Hmph! Look how pleased you are with yourself. There are still two more over there."
Yet after Ice Empress said that, the corners of her lips still curved upward slightly.
Snow Empress also walked over from afar and reached out to pat Ling Xiao's head.
"Little thing, you did well."
"Mhm, mhm, mhm."
Ling Xiao's successful aid in helping Xiaoqing overcome her tribulation caused enormous ripples throughout the Extreme North.
Over the following days.
Ling Xiao went on to help Xiaocui and Xiao Lu successfully overcome their one-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulations as well.
With the experience from the first time, Ling Xiao appeared far more composed the second time.
While devouring the Heavenly Thunder, he also guided the lightning to temper the bodies of those undergoing tribulation.
The three Ice Jade Scorpions successfully broke through to one hundred thousand years, and not a single scorpion was lost.
This news exploded through the Extreme North like a bombshell.
The Ice Jade Scorpions were a powerful clan.
Under Ice Empress's leadership, their individual combat strength had already far surpassed Soul Beasts of the same rank.
Now, with three more powerful members appearing at once, the clan's strength rose to another level.
"Good, good, good."
"As expected of my people."
The three little scorpions respectfully said.
"Thank you, Clan Leader. Thank you, Snow Empress. Thank you, Little Lord Ling Xiao."
Hearing how the little scorpions addressed him, Ling Xiao could not help but chuckle.
The matter of Ling Xiao helping Ice Jade Scorpions overcome their tribulations quickly spread throughout the Extreme North.
It spread with a speed and reach beyond the imagination of every Soul Beast.
At first.
Quite a few Soul Beasts refused to believe it, but they were soon proven wrong.
Because the three powerful Ice Jade Scorpions were standing right there, alive and real.
The Extreme North was instantly thrown into an uproar.
Those Soul Beasts with no hope of breaking through to one hundred thousand years began seeking Ling Xiao's help one after another.
Some were too old and simply could not take that final step.
Others had limited talent and had no hope of reaching one hundred thousand years in their lifetimes.
Faced with these Soul Beasts who came seeking help, Ling Xiao did not help just anyone.
He had his own standards.
He only helped Soul Beasts of upright character who felt a sense of belonging to the Extreme North.
Those with ill intentions, who only wanted to use him to increase their strength, were all turned away.
The Ice and Snow Emperors also gave their full support.
Over the following period, the strength of the Far North improved remarkably.
Tribulations were overcome again and again, and one hundred-thousand-year powerhouses were born one after another.
The Far North welcomed unprecedented strength.
Logically speaking, such explosive growth in strength should have caused turmoil.
Ling Xiao had considered this issue as well.
The answer he reached was no.
Because as long as the Ice and Snow Emperors remained in the Far North, its power structure would not change.
They were the Far North's peak combat power, two towering mountains pressing down upon every Soul Beast.
No matter how many Soul Beasts broke through to one hundred thousand years, they were still not worth mentioning before the Ice and Snow Emperors.
On the contrary, thanks to Ling Xiao's appearance, the Far North was more united than ever before.
Because Ling Xiao had given them hope—the hope of becoming gods after one million years.
The shackles pressing down upon every Soul Beast could be shattered by Ling Xiao.
The Soul Beasts of the Far North had all witnessed Ling Xiao's growth rate firsthand.
In less than two months, his cultivation had soared from zero to over one hundred thousand years.
At this rate, one day he would possess the power to shake the Heavenly Dao.
After this happened, the Soul Beasts of the Far North became exceptionally respectful toward Ling Xiao.
They regarded Ling Xiao as the young lord of the Far North, as their hope of escaping the fate of Soul Beasts.
As for the Far North's current hierarchy:
First was still Snow Empress.
The six-hundred-ninety-thousand-year Heavenly Snow Woman, the absolute ruler of the Extreme North—unshakable by anyone.
Second was still Ice Empress.
The three-hundred-ninety-thousand-year Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, the Extreme North's second great ruler.
Third and fourth remained disputed.
Because the Titan Snow Demon King and the Ice Bear King, Xiao Bai, had always fought fiercely over them.
Their strengths were evenly matched. Neither accepted the other, and they fought every few days, with no winner decided to this day.
Fifth place belonged to Ling Xiao.
Although his cultivation had only just surpassed one hundred thousand years, he was not among the very strongest in the Far North.
However.
His background, his potential, and his Heavenly Thunder were enough to secure his place at fifth.
Before you continue