Sneaking In-Will the Ice Empress Turn the Tables on Tian Meng?

A bitter wind howled past.

Chi Hong and Greninja made their way through the snow.

Besides the harsh conditions, dangerous Soul Beasts were far more numerous here, and they had more ways to hide and hunt than those in other regions.

Fortunately, Chi Hong could naturally sense the general presence and location of Soul Beasts. Otherwise, he would never have dared cross the Far North with only two thousand-year Soul Beasts.

Now, the closer he came to the heart of the Far North, the stronger his sense of the Ice Pillar Plate grew.

The trouble was that a powerful Ferocious Beast aura lingered near the Ice Pillar Plate.

That aura stood out unmistakably.

Unlike Mu En, whose strength and cultivation were difficult for him to gauge, this Ferocious Beast's powerful aura shone like a beacon to his senses.

The Titan Demonblood King's aura, meanwhile, was far away.

If he wanted the Ice Pillar Plate, he would have to take it while they were gone.

They traveled a little farther.

Greninja called out and pointed into the distance.

Chi Hong narrowed his eyes and looked that way too. Through the white blur of wind and snow, he could make out a colossal pillar of ice stretching from earth to sky.

"No way. The Ice Pillar Plate is inside that thing?"

Chi Hong was surprised. He had planned to have Charizard stir up some trouble, then hide in a Poké Ball and lure the Ice Empress away, saving himself a Legendary Pokémon Ball.

Now that seemed like a foolish idea.

If he was seeing correctly, the glittering gems around the pillar were probably a colony of Ice Jade Scorpions.

Should he use Ho-Oh right away?

That felt wasteful. He had meant to save it for a life-or-death emergency.

Chi Hong watched and thought for a while, then decided to wait for the perfect opportunity.

After all, the Flame Plate protected both him and Greninja from the cold.

Several more days passed.

Not far from Chi Hong's position, an extraordinarily powerful Soul Beast aura appeared.

"Finally."

Chi Hong sensed that the Soul Beast had a million years of cultivation. It was Tian Meng, who had brought Huo Yuhao here to seek a second Martial Soul.

To the other Ferocious Beasts, though, he was an irresistible meal.

Suddenly,

A column of emerald light erupted beside the ice pillar, turning the already dim sky green.

Its terrifying pressure drove every Soul Beast within a hundred miles to cower and flee, trembling.

"Tian Meng, you're still alive? And you dared come back?"

A crisp voice rang across the land as an emerald streak shot into the distance.

"Ice Empress, I've missed you for so long. Every day, I could hardly wait to see you again."

Elsewhere, Tian Meng took the form of a golden phantom resembling Huo Yuhao. His Inner Focus washed over the world behind him, turning it gold.

The Ice Empress appeared: a scorpion of breathtaking beauty.

Ice and emerald were the only colors on her body. She looked as though she were made entirely of finely cut diamonds, gleaming with incomparable brilliance in the reflected light of the snow.

The Ice Empress gave a cold snort.

"So you came back to be my food?"

Tian Meng smiled.

"No. I know you have less than a hundred years before your final limit. I came to help you gain eternal life."

Then Tian Meng unleashed all his Inner Focus. Using his Remains, he wove a pale white membrane that trapped the Ice Empress.

The Ice Empress was stunned.

"Since when could a filthy bug like you do that, Tian Meng? You can wield your Inner Focus like this, but aren't you afraid you'll never be able to return to your body?"

Tian Meng smiled.

"I've already lost my body. This is the new master I chose."

Huo Yuhao emerged from his hiding place below. He was a little frightened. Tian Meng was so formidable that he could even trap the Ice Empress.

The Ice Empress focused her aura on Huo Yuhao and said with disdain,

"You've sunk low enough to become a human's pet."

While the two were talking, Chi Hong had quietly slipped close to the ice pillar.

"The Ice Empress is finally gone. She probably won't be coming back. That leaves only these Ice Jade Scorpions."

Hidden from sight, Chi Hong discovered that the colony contained quite a few ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts. As creatures at the top of the Far North's food chain, they had almost no natural enemies, and there were plenty of them.

They were packed together like a field of diamonds.

"No choice, Charizard. You know you're the only one here who can fly, and you're Greninja's big brother. For our future, you'll have to lure these scorpions away."

Chi Hong summoned Charizard and gave him the assignment solemnly.

Charizard glanced at the Ice Jade Scorpions below and beat his wings with confidence, signaling that these crawling scorpions could never catch him.

"All right. Greninja, you and I will get the Plate."

Chi Hong made up his mind.

He had pinpointed the Plate's location: the center of the ice pillar's base.

Charizard fired a Flamethrower at the Ice Jade Scorpions, then waggled his backside at them in a taunt.

That enraged the whole colony. As overlords of the Far North, when had they ever had a Soul Beast dare provoke them?

And a Fire type at that—the kind they hated most.

Rumble!

The furious Ice Jade Scorpions immediately charged after Charizard.

Charizard waggled his backside and flew off, continuing to breathe fire at them below to keep their anger burning.

"Nicely done."

Chi Hong silently praised Charizard.

Then he and Greninja headed for the base of the ice pillar.

Standing before the pillar that reached into the heavens, Chi Hong realized it was formed entirely of Ultimate Ice. It was so vast he could not see where it ended.

"At this diameter, just walking to the center will take time."

Chi Hong sighed.

Greninja slashed the ice pillar with his sword. He left no mark at all, knocking loose only a few ice chips.

For any other Soul Master who came here, breaking through the pillar to reach its core would be next to impossible.

Without being a Hyper Douluo who possessed Ultimate Fire, there was almost no chance of breaking through it.

Fortunately, he had the Flame Plate.

Chi Hong drew on the Flame Plate's power. Firelight radiated from his body, forming a thin crimson film around him.

He stepped toward the pillar. The moment the firelight touched it, the ice formed from Ultimate Ice melted instantly.

As Chi Hong walked on, a small tunnel gradually opened beneath the pillar.

Elsewhere, the Ice Empress spoke coldly.

"What a load of crap about humans becoming gods. Why should I believe a walking meal and a weak human? You just want me to sacrifice myself, don't you? Wouldn't I be better off refining you, breaking through my limit myself, and then cultivating my way to godhood? Now die."

With that, blue-white light burst from the Ice Empress's body, and a terrifying icy aura swept across the land.