Didn't You Promise Not to Mess with Xue'er?!

Now that he was actually threatening her with Xue'er, the one she cared about most, the Ice Empress truly couldn't hold out any longer.

Moreover, judging by the strength he had displayed earlier, the Ice Empress had no doubt that he could overpower the Snow Empress.

"Don't... don't hurt Xue'er. I'll agree to anything!"

The Ice Empress's voice trembled, carrying a hint of pleading.

She had thought she had no weaknesses, yet Ling Han had seized upon the one that mattered most to her.

Ling Han kneaded the Ice Empress's cheeks with both hands, an amused smile on his face. "Will you really agree to anything?"

The Ice Empress nodded, a measure of grim resolve already entering her eyes.

She had prepared herself to agree to whatever Ling Han demanded, even if it was something truly awful.

"All right, then. I want you to sacrifice yourself to me."

Ling Han released the Ice Empress's cheeks and looked at her as he spoke.

Sacrifice myself?!

The Ice Empress's eyes widened as she stared at Ling Han in a daze.

He really had come for her life.

Seeing the despair in the Ice Empress's eyes, Ling Han smiled and continued, "Don't look so down. Sacrificing yourself to me isn't a bad thing."

As he spoke, Ling Han intensified the divine aura emanating from him.

"With my talent, do you really think I won't be able to become a god someday?"

The Ice Empress stared blankly at Ling Han, utterly stunned as she sensed his divine aura.

She had never felt anything like it before, but she was certain it belonged to neither humans nor soul beasts.

Is this the aura of a god?

At that thought, the Ice Empress began to waver.

If Ling Han really became a god in the future, she could ascend with him.

Thinking of it that way, the Ice Empress felt more at ease.

For Xue'er's sake, and for the sake of her own future, the Ice Empress finally compromised.

"Fine, I agree. But you have to promise me that you won't hurt Xue'er!"

Ling Han smiled faintly and nodded. "Don't worry, little girl."

Then the Ice Empress began the sacrifice.

First, she waved her hand and erected a soul power barrier, keeping the disturbance as small as possible so she wouldn't alert Xue'er. Only then did she truly begin the sacrifice.

"Which part do you want the soul bone for?" the Ice Empress asked.

Ling Han considered it. He already had the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Dragon Right Arm Bone and the Ice Dragon King Torsobone, so he might as well take a left arm bone.

"A left arm bone, little girl."

The Ice Empress ignored what Ling Han called her, nodded, and began the sacrifice.

A blood-red pillar of light shot into the sky, but the Ice Empress deliberately suppressed it, preventing it from causing much of a disturbance.

Within the bloody light, the Ice Empress transformed into her true form, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion.

Her translucent, emerald-green body began to turn insubstantial.

"Remember your promise."

With those words, the Ice Empress's body vanished completely, leaving only a red soul ring marked with three golden lines and an exceptionally complete left arm bone.

The soul ring and soul bone flew toward Ling Han together.

Ling Han sat cross-legged and began absorbing the Ice Empress's soul ring and soul bone.

Vast soul power poured into Ling Han's body, rampaging through his meridians.

Ling Han circulated his soul power and gritted his teeth as he endured it.

Having obtained the Ice Dragon King Inheritance and absorbed the Ice Dragon King Torsobone, Ling Han's physique was already far stronger than before, enough to withstand the Ice Empress's soul power.

And because this was a sacrifice, it would not cause Soul Shock.

The Ice Empress's soul appeared in Ling Han's Sea of Consciousness. Having accepted her fate, she simply sat there.

Absorbing the soul ring and soul bone took an entire day and night.

A 380,000-year soul ring and soul bone were no easy things to absorb.

A day later, Ling Han finally opened his eyes.

A powerful force erupted from his body, blasting away the surrounding ice and snow.

Ling Han stood and assessed his current condition.

His physique had made another tremendous leap.

His soul power level, meanwhile, had reached level 89 peak.

As for breaking through to level 90, he intended to accomplish that alongside something else.

He was going to do something unprecedented that would be difficult for anyone to repeat: condense soul cores, and not just one, but Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Soul Cores in a single attempt.

"All done! Nothing feels better than finishing absorbing a soul ring and soul bone!"

Ling Han stretched, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

"Can you leave now?"

The Ice Empress asked warily from within his Sea of Consciousness.

"Leave? Why would I leave? I haven't gone to see the Snow Empress yet!"

Ice Empress: ???

"You... didn't you promise not to mess with Xue'er?! How can you go back on your word like this?!"

Ling Han chuckled. "Hey, didn't I promise not to hurt her? I never said I wouldn't go find her or take her away. Isn't that right, little girl?"

Ice Empress: I'm already crying with panic!!!

"You bastard! I'll kill you!"

Ling Han completely ignored the Ice Empress in his Sea of Consciousness. With the Ice Dragon King's dragon soul there, she couldn't cause any trouble anyway. Besides, he thought the little girl's crisp voice sounded rather pleasant.

As for what she's saying? What's all that gibberish? I'm human. I can't understand an Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion!

Ignoring the Ice Empress in his Sea of Consciousness, Ling Han walked onward.

Ahead lay the deeper reaches of the Far North, where the Snow Empress resided.

Within Ling Han's Sea of Consciousness, the Ice Empress was nearly frantic.

"How can this guy go back on his word? He's going to find Xue'er just like that!"

The Ice Empress wanted to wreak havoc in Ling Han's Sea of Consciousness, but she didn't have the courage.

The Ice Dragon King's own dragon soul was right beside her, watching her.

The Ice Empress could only fret helplessly.

The once-proud, prickly little girl had lost all her haughtiness.

"Human, can't you consider this me begging you? Please don't go find Xue'er, all right?"

Ling Han continued walking as though he hadn't heard her.

Then Ling Han suddenly stopped.

Thinking he had changed his mind, the Ice Empress sounded a little excited. "Have you decided not to find Xue'er? That's more like it. You promised me!"

But Ling Han shook his head. "I just thought of a quicker way."

The Ice Empress froze, unsure what quicker way Ling Han meant.

The next moment, Ling Han raised his left hand, the part of his body that had absorbed the Ice Empress's soul bone.

Then Ling Han circulated his soul power, activating the Ice Empress's aura within the soul bone.

In an instant, the overbearing aura unique to the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion spread through the surrounding area.

The Ice Empress instantly realized what Ling Han intended and shouted anxiously, "Don't! Xue'er really will come!"

Yet at that moment, the Ice Empress was utterly powerless. She knew exactly what was about to happen, but could neither prevent nor change it.

Before long, an aura even stronger than the Ice Empress's came rushing toward them.

"She's here!"

Humans and soul beasts did not share the same joys and sorrows.

While Ling Han rejoiced, the Ice Empress in his Sea of Consciousness had completely withdrawn into herself.

She seemed to have already foreseen what would happen next.

"Xue'er... my Xue'er!"