Mu En's gaze rested on the Snow Empress for a moment before he asked gravely:
"Is she the powerful figure you mentioned?"
"Yes."
Li Changqing nodded and introduced her.
"The Snow Empress."
The moment he spoke that name, Mu En's expression changed again.
The Snow Empress.
Ruler of the Far North.
Foremost among the legendary Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North.
A supreme soul beast who had survived countless Heavenly Tribulations yet had never truly entered the human world.
Even Mu En had only encountered her name in ancient texts and secret records.
Yet now she stood before him in the flesh.
More importantly, she had taken human form and possessed power no weaker than his own.
"Snow Empress..."
Mu En spoke slowly, his voice tinged with a complexity he could not conceal.
"I see."
The Snow Empress remained calm.
"You know me?"
"I've heard of you."
Mu En tightened his grip on his cane.
"Ruler of the Far North, the strongest of the Heavenly Snow Woman lineage. I never expected you to survive your final Heavenly Tribulation."
"I was fortunate."
The Snow Empress spoke evenly.
Her tone was calm, but there was no trace of modesty in it.
She had not come this far through luck.
Mu En's eyes narrowed.
"What are you now, human or soul beast?"
"Does it matter?"
The Snow Empress answered with a question of her own.
"If I'm a soul beast, will Shrek Academy attack me?"
Mu En did not answer at once.
An irreconcilable conflict did exist between Shrek Academy and soul beasts.
For countless years, human Soul Masters had hunted soul beasts for soul rings, while soul beasts had attacked human cities.
The hatred between them had grown beyond measure.
But the Snow Empress before him was different.
She had reached