Extremes Reverse

Snow Empress watched the azure-gold stream within the Glazed World, a trace of approval appearing in her golden eyes. "Not bad. But this is only 'going with the flow.' True control means being able to make the stream 'change course.'"

Her fingertips moved again, and a denser current of light suddenly surged up from the Life Star Sea, racing along the band of light toward Huo Yuhao's consciousness. Several times more powerful than before, it carried vigorous life energy. The instant it touched the icy surface of the Glazed World, white mist billowed up—the sign of a fierce clash between life energy and Ultimate Ice.

"Steady yourself!" Snow Empress's voice abruptly turned stern. "Use your spiritual power to carve Guiding Patterns into the ice. Make the current split according to your will. Let one part nourish the ice, and another flow into your soul power core!"

Huo Yuhao's heart tightened, and the Spirit Eye suddenly erupted with brilliant light. His spiritual power was no longer merely a "net"; it turned into countless invisible carving knives, swiftly etching the ice. He recalled the pattern logic he had used when designing Ning Tian's Glazed Ring, weaving those defensive and guiding ideas into it—the ice instantly filled with radiating patterns, each carrying the distinctive spiral curves of the Far North Icefield. They could cushion the impact while also directing the energy's path.

Buzzz—

The current struck the Guiding Patterns, but rather than exploding, it was guided into branching channels and split into several streams along the lines. Two of them seeped into the ice, tinting the frozen layers of the Glazed World with a faint green, as though life were awakening beneath the ice; several others followed the main patterns toward Huo Yuhao's consciousness, where his Ice Soul Power slowly wrapped around and absorbed them.

When the final wisp of light merged into his soul power core, Huo Yuhao could even feel a faint resilience added to his Ultimate Ice soul power—it was no longer purely biting and cold, but possessed an added reserve of unceasing vitality.

"It worked!" Skydream Iceworm patted his round belly and excitedly rolled around on the band of light. "These patterns are incredible! Snow Empress, don't you think he's talented?"

Snow Empress ignored Tian Meng's praise. She merely stared at the gradually fading patterns within the Glazed World. Both she and Huo Yuhao knew that this was something he should have been capable of all along.

Snow Empress raised her fingertips slightly, and the currents in the Life Star Sea abruptly churned like tides stirred by an invisible hand. This time, it was no longer a single mass of light rushing forward, but countless fine threads of light pouring down the band like a torrential rainstorm, every one carrying life fluctuations of a different frequency.

"Now, weave them into a net across the ice." Snow Empress's voice was calm and still, yet it carried unquestionable pressure. "Every thread has a different frequency. Your Guiding Patterns can no longer remain fixed and radial. They must change with their rhythm."

Huo Yuhao's pupils contracted slightly, and the blue light of his Spirit Eye instantly deepened. He did not rush to act. Instead, he let his spiritual power spread outward like ripples, carefully catching the fluctuations of every thread—some were rapid as drumbeats, some gentle as streams, and some even trembled faintly, like the heartbeat of something on the verge of death.

So that was it... He suddenly understood Snow Empress's intention. These threads of light clearly simulated the life rhythms of different living beings. To merge them, he could not rely on forceful guidance. He had to use his spiritual power to "understand" their frequencies, then use corresponding patterns to "respond" to them.

His spiritual power was no longer a carving knife, but became a nimble brush. Across the ice, the vanished Guiding Patterns reappeared, yet they were no longer fixed spirals. Instead, they shifted continuously as the threads descended—when faced with rapid threads, the patterns narrowed and grew denser, like reins restraining a galloping horse; when faced with gentle threads, they widened and stretched out, like shallow channels catching rainwater; when faced with trembling threads, the patterns formed fine ripples, like a mother's hand gently patting an infant.

Skydream Iceworm's eyes went wide as he watched, lying atop the band of light and muttering, "Th-this... Is he applying a Soul Tool's Frequency-Tuning Formation to spiritual power? The little guy's ability to draw inferences is pretty impressive!"

The threads landed upon the shifting patterns without the slightest conflict. Instead, as though they had found resonant strings, they transformed into gentle streams of light and wove a vast net across the ice. At its intersections, azure-gold and ice-blue intertwined, blooming into flowers that were half ice and half fire—their petals were crystalline ice, while their stamens were dancing particles of life light.

Snow Empress looked upon that net of light, and clear warmth finally rippled through her golden eyes. She slowly walked to the edge of the band of light. Her fingertips touched those of Huo Yuhao's consciousness through the band, and the two currents of energy merged at the point of contact into a rainbow glow.

"This is not 'something you should have been able to do all along.' It is 'something you have finally achieved.'" Her voice came through their resonance, carrying a trace of nearly imperceptible relief. "Ultimate Ice fears rigidity most, while life energy fears disorder most. Only by finding stability amid change have you truly touched the threshold of Twin-Sea Symbiosis."

Huo Yuhao could feel Snow Empress's soul power flowing in through their fingertips. It carried pure icy intent, yet it was no longer bone-piercingly cold. Instead, it was like melting snow in early spring, nourishing the source of his spirit. His Spirit Eye trembled softly, and the ice flowers within the net bloomed even more brilliantly. Even the currents in the Life Star Sea began to ripple with delight.

"Tian Meng was right. You do have talent." Snow Empress withdrew her hand. As she turned, her silver hair traced a graceful arc through the current of light. "But talent that is not carefully polished will ultimately be nothing but an illusion. From today onward, use your spiritual power to copy this net of light every day, until you can make any life energy 'bloom' within your Ice Soul Power."

Skydream Iceworm immediately crowded forward. "I'll be the supervisor! I'll watch him practice every day. He can't miss even once!"

Huo Yuhao smiled and nodded, his gaze settling on the half-ice, half-fire flowers in the net.

When things reached their extreme, they reversed. Even within ultimate ice, the seed of ultimate fire could bloom. It also meant that Huo Yuhao's ice element had truly reached the pinnacle of its attribute, surpassing even the Ultimate Ice attribute of his previous life.

Huo Yuhao stared at the dancing life-light particles within the ice flowers. They were clearly azure-gold life energy, yet when they fell upon the icy petals, they gave off a faint orange-red glow, like sparks wrapped in ice crystals. He suddenly extended a hand of consciousness and lightly touched one particle of light—the sensation at his fingertips was no longer pure cold or warmth, but a strange balance, as though he had grasped the boundary between ice and fire.

"This is not fire." Snow Empress's voice sounded at just the right moment. At some point, she had turned back, her golden eyes reflecting the net of light. "It is Ultimate Transformation. When an extreme reaches its end, the possibility of transformation naturally emerges. Your Ice Soul Power is no longer a one-way force of freezing. At its utmost limit, it can conceal an opportunity for 'living change'—that is the key to surpassing it."

Huo Yuhao suddenly understood. The Ultimate Ice of his previous life had been powerful, certainly, but it was like a sealed icefield that could tolerate no trace of foreign substance. Yet now, a narrow crack had appeared in that icefield, and what shone through was not melting water, but sparks capable of igniting change. He tried pouring more spiritual power into that particle of light. The icy petals trembled slightly, and the particle's orange-red color slowly spread, branding an extremely fine fire pattern onto the ice crystal.