Rewards Distributed, Ice Empress Wins a Prize

[Daily Diary entry recorded. Rewards are now being settled.]

[Today's mention tally: Ice Empress, mentioned the most.]

[Settlement reward issued: Ice Empress receives a ten-thousand-year cultivation increase. Reward distribution begins...]

Far North.

Two figures sat facing each other, surrounded by terrifying Ultimate Ice auras.

The green-haired, jade-eyed Ice Empress frowned as she listened to Snow Empress's instructions, her fingers unconsciously clutching the hem of her clothes.

Just then, the Diary's settlement announcement exploded in both their minds at once.

A dazzling ice-blue sphere of light appeared out of thin air before Ice Empress. Before she could react, it shot directly into her body at an unstoppable speed.

Rumble—!

Vast Soul Power erupted through Ice Empress's meridians in an instant. The power was gentle yet incomparably domineering, like a surging river that instantly shattered the cultivation bottleneck that had stalled her for years.

Her cultivation, which had been firmly stuck at 390,000 years, began soaring wildly at a visible rate.

In the blink of an eye, it steadily crossed the chasm that countless Soul Beasts could never touch in their lifetimes, stabilizing at the threshold of 400,000 years!

Before the wild joy of her skyrocketing cultivation could rise in her heart, Ice Empress's face turned pale as paper.

Above the entire Far North, the once-clear ice-blue sky was instantly swallowed by pitch-black tribulation clouds.

Heavy dark clouds churned and gathered like spilled ink. Silver-blue bolts of lightning darted madly within them, while deafening thunder rolled forth, carrying a destructive pressure capable of crushing everything as it firmly locked onto Ice Empress below!

The 400,000-year Heavenly Tribulation had descended!

"Not good!"

Snow Empress sprang to her feet, panic impossible to hide in her voice as her expression turned icy to the extreme.

Ice Empress's body trembled uncontrollably, not from excitement, but from fear buried deep in her bones.

She knew better than anyone what this Heavenly Tribulation meant for her.

The 400,000-year Heavenly Tribulation had always been her fatal weakness. Now that it had arrived without warning, she did not even have a ten-percent chance of surviving!

"Damn it! This ten-thousand-year cultivation boost came at the worst possible time!"

Ice Empress gritted her silver teeth, violently pulled free of Snow Empress's hand, and flashed out of the ice cave, landing upon a vast, empty ice plain.

Looking up at the tribulation clouds that seemed ready to devour the entire Far North, feeling the mountain-like pressure bearing down from the depths of her soul, even Ice Empress's fingertips grew cold.

She took a deep breath and pushed her Ultimate Ice Soul Power to its limit. The air around her instantly froze into solid ice crystals, and the true form of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion appeared as she prepared to fight to the death.

But just as she focused and prepared to receive the first tribulation lightning bolt, the clouds overhead suddenly became violent again!

Rumble—!

A terrifying bolt of lightning as thick as a water barrel, carrying an aura capable of destroying everything, crashed down!

Ice Empress squeezed her eyes shut and drove her Soul Power to its limit, but the agony and impact she expected never came.

She abruptly opened her eyes, only to see that the lightning bolt—which should have severely wounded her and left her at death's door—had brushed past her side and struck the ice plain a hundred meters away. It instantly blasted a bottomless crater through the thick ice, sending shards of ice flying everywhere.

Ice Empress was completely dumbfounded.

Before she could recover, the second, third, fourth... dozens of terrifying tribulation lightning bolts followed.

They crashed down from the tribulation clouds one after another like a torrential downpour, each carrying enough terrifying power to kill a 400,000-year Soul Beast.

Yet these lightning bolts seemed to have eyes and somehow be blind at the same time. Not a single one struck Ice Empress!

Even the closest bolt landed dozens of meters away, never touching so much as one bit of the ice crystals protecting her body.

Thunder roared endlessly over the ice plain. The hard ice was blasted full of holes by the tribulation lightning, while icy mist filled the sky.

Yet Ice Empress, standing at the center of the storm, remained completely unharmed. Not even a single hair had fallen.

She simply stood there in a daze, watching the tribulation clouds overhead vent lightning wildly. Her initial shock gave way to confusion, and eventually, all that remained was an indescribably complicated emotion.

No one knew how long passed before the tribulation clouds, seemingly drained of all their power, finally began to stop their outpouring.

The dark clouds slowly dispersed like receding tides. The silver-blue lightning gradually vanished, and the sky returned to its clear ice-blue hue. Warm sunlight once more shone upon the ravaged yet unharmed ice plain.

The Heavenly Tribulation... was over?

Ice Empress stared blankly up at the clear sky, then lowered her head to look at her uninjured body. Feeling the stable 400,000 years of cultivation within her, she even thought she was dreaming.

She had... passed it just like that?

The 400,000-year Heavenly Tribulation that had kept her awake at night, the fatal obstacle she feared most, had passed in such a muddled way?

"I... I succeeded?"

Ice Empress's voice trembled with disbelief, and her eyes instantly reddened.

The next second, she could no longer hold back. Turning into an ice-blue streak of light, she threw herself into Snow Empress's arms just as Snow Empress arrived.

Her voice carried a sob, yet it was full of uncontrollable ecstasy. "Xue'er! I succeeded! I really succeeded! I survived the 400,000-year Heavenly Tribulation!"

Snow Empress finally came back to her senses from the shock. She wrapped her arms around Ice Empress, genuine joy appearing on her face as the heart she had held in suspense finally settled completely.

She gently patted Ice Empress's back, her voice carrying a barely noticeable tremor. "Mm, you succeeded!"

Only now did Snow Empress truly understand just how heaven-defying and terrifying the Diary that existed solely within their sea of consciousness truly was.

Simply because she had been mentioned the most in the Diary, Ice Empress had gained ten thousand years of cultivation out of nowhere. Even the 400,000-year Heavenly Tribulation, which should have been certain death, had been safely overcome in such an unimaginable manner.

This was no mere fortuitous opportunity. It was a power that could rewrite fate itself!

Holding the tearful Ice Empress in her arms, Snow Empress's eyes suddenly flashed with a burning light.

Ice Empress had survived her 400,000-year Heavenly Tribulation, but what about her? Her 700,000-year Heavenly Tribulation was already close at hand.

She had even less confidence in facing that tribulation than Ice Empress did. A 700,000-year Heavenly Tribulation was enough to leave the vast majority of hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts unable to even think of resisting.

It was precisely because of this that she had considered taking human form. If she truly happened to find a Hundred-Thousand-Year Ice Snow Lotus, she would definitely choose to transform.

But she knew better than anyone what fate awaited her if she truly chose the path of transformation.

The Diary in her sea of consciousness had written it clearly. In the end, she would fall into Tang San's trap and, after many twists and turns, become the Soul Spirit of a human named Huo Yuhao. Her 700,000 years of cultivation would all become another's wedding dress, and even her own consciousness would be controlled by someone else.

That was an ending she could never accept.

But now, things were different.

Ice Empress had relied on the Diary to safely survive even a Heavenly Tribulation that should have meant certain death. Could she do the same?

Snow Empress looked toward the distant reaches of the Far North, the light in her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Haotian Sect, Sect Master's Hall.

Er Ming spoke in a deep, booming voice. "Big Brother, are you still thinking about Dong'er's situation?"

Da Ming slowly nodded, his low voice echoing through the hall. "Yes. Dong'er was acting very strangely when she returned this time. She shut herself in that boy Lin Ye's house in the Outer City and talked with him for a long time."

"Isn't he just an outer sect kid? What's so special about that?"

Er Ming was somewhat confused. "He's an utterly ordinary fellow with Innate Soul Power of level 2.5. There's nothing remarkable about him."

"Something is definitely wrong."

Da Ming shook his head. "Have you forgotten? That incomparably sacred beam of light erupted from the Outer City area. I suspect Dong'er knows something."

Er Ming's expression finally turned serious. "You mean that beam of light is connected to that kid named Lin Ye?"

"Most likely." Da Ming said slowly, "This kid is not simple. He's merely the son of an Outer City steward, yet Dong'er was willing to stay with him for so long. He definitely isn't an ordinary person."

Er Ming immediately grew anxious. "Then should I capture him and question him? If he dares set his sights on Dong'er, I'll flatten him with one punch!"

"No."

Da Ming immediately stopped him. "Setting aside whether we can uncover the secret on him, even if we can, what if acting rashly causes trouble and harms Dong'er?

"Besides, with our current cultivation, no matter how great the secret he carries is, it holds no attraction for us. As long as he doesn't harm Dong'er, there is no need for us to investigate further."

Er Ming frowned. "Then what do we do? Just watch?"

Da Ming fell silent for a moment. A gleam flashed through his enormous eyes before he slowly spoke. "How about this? Give the order and make arrangements for this kid Lin Ye to go to Shrek Academy together with Dong'er."

"Huh?"

Er Ming froze, his face full of question marks. "Let him go to Shrek with Dong'er? Why?"

"To test them." Da Ming's voice was steady and unquestionable. "First, ask Dong'er what she thinks. If she does not refuse and is willing to let him travel with her, then there is definitely something unusual about this kid. Dong'er must know something, and we can observe them slowly afterward.

"If Dong'er refuses outright, then all this was merely a coincidence, and there will be no need for us to concern ourselves with him anymore."

Er Ming suddenly understood and nodded fiercely. "All right! I'll handle it right away!"