"Oh?"
"Xue'er."
The Ice Empress's voice held a trace of worry. She had never heard this friend of hers mention it, but when she noticed the other woman heave a long sigh, certain things suddenly became clear to her.
"Ah..."
"Don't tell me..."
"Huh? The Ice Empress didn't know the Snow Empress couldn't break through?"
This scene left Lin Mo somewhat surprised.
"How did you know I couldn't break through?"
The Snow Empress did not answer the Ice Empress. She merely turned a slightly scrutinizing gaze on Lin Mo.
"Not only do I know you can't withstand this heavenly tribulation, I also know you tried cultivating a Yin-Yang Complementary Soul Core like Di Tian to survive it-and failed."
"?!"
"?!"
"..."
"Xue'er, is that true?"
The Ice Empress stared at the Snow Empress before her in disbelief, and the latter responded with a slight nod.
Upon hearing her answer, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm also looked at Lin Mo in disbelief.
"You-holy shit, are you a prophet? You even know things Bingbing doesn't!"
In response, Lin Mo merely cleared his throat twice.
"My martial soul is rather unusual. When I cultivate, I occasionally see fragments. They might be from the past, or they might be from the future. I saw the Snow Empress's past and future just before I was about to reach the second ring. That was also why I kept insisting on coming to the Far North."
After thinking it over, Lin Mo decided to use the unique nature of his martial soul as an excuse.
"Still, it looks like things worked out pretty well."
He chuckled sheepishly and rubbed his nose, while Huo Yuyao stood to one side, watching blankly.
"I came precisely because I knew the Ice Empress would become Little Yao's soul spirit, and because I knew about the relationship between the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress."
"Oh? Since you claim to know my past and my future, what will I do in the future?"
The Snow Empress still did not quite believe him.
"You know full well that you can't survive your seven-hundred-thousand-year tribulation, and you also know the Ice Empress won't survive her approaching four-hundred-thousand-year tribulation. So you resolve to trade your life for hers, transferring your power to the Ice Empress so she can withstand her four-hundred-thousand-year tribulation."
The Snow Empress did not argue upon hearing this. She simply closed her eyes in silence.
The Ice Empress, however, paled in shock.
"Xue'er, have you gone mad? You actually considered something like that?"
"I haven't. But that would certainly be the best method. My cultivation has already reached seven hundred thousand years, and the heavenly tribulation could descend at any moment. Rather than die beneath it, I might as well become your strength. With my power, not only four hundred thousand years-even five hundred thousand years might be possible."
"But have you ever considered how I'd feel? I would never allow it. I absolutely refuse to let you die so I can live."
"But there would be no other choice."
"Even if you really thought that way, I would never agree to let you do something so foolish. If I had to choose, I'd rather become your energy and help you break through seven hundred thousand years."
"I wouldn't allow that either."
Seeing the Ice and Snow Empresses begin arguing over this, Lin Mo stepped between them and waved his hands.
"Come on, I only said the Snow Empress planned to do that in the future. She never actually carried it out. Don't forget, by the time the Snow Empress came looking for the Ice Empress, the Ice Empress had already completed her soul spirit contract with Little Yao and left the Far North."
"Exactly, exactly. You both want what's best for each other. There's no need to argue, right?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm also floated over to stand between them, then asked Lin Mo,
"And you, hurry up and tell us! What happened afterward?"
"Actually, this was how the original future went."
Over the next while, he carefully recounted what happened to the Snow Empress.
For instance, after failing to find the Ice Empress, she decided to use a secret method with an extremely low chance of success to reincarnate as a human. Instead, she was captured by a human soul master and brought to an auction, before ultimately becoming Huo Yuyao's soul spirit through a strange twist of fate.
Of course, he had made all of this up based on the original story, especially the last part.
After hearing what the Snow Empress experienced in the future, all three soul beasts fell silent.
A million-year soul beast, a seven-hundred-thousand-year soul beast, and a four-hundred-thousand-year soul beast-their reasons for becoming soul rings or soul spirits all came down to one thing.
Heavenly tribulation.
After they briefly comforted one another, the Snow Empress raised another question.
"According to you, I will eventually become your sister's soul spirit in the future. Then why are you telling me all this now?"
This was what puzzled the Snow Empress most.
According to Lin Mo, his sister would benefit the most in the end, yet he had now told her everything about the future.
"Now that I know what will happen in the future, I could easily hide somewhere extremely secluded. As long as I succeed, your sister would effectively lose a seven-hundred-thousand-year soul spirit. That would be no small loss for you."
The Snow Empress looked at Lin Mo, but his face bore a calm smile.
"The reason is simple. The Ice Empress chose Little Yao, and they're one now. You're the Ice Empress's most important friend, so whether out of feeling or reason, I think I should tell you. As for the future..."
Lin Mo gave a meaningful smile.
"Those are heaven's secrets, and they cannot be revealed."
Hehe, all right, I admit I'm talking pure bullshit. She doesn't have much time left. Even if she found some heavenly treasure right now, with her heavenly tribulation so close, she wouldn't have time to absorb it. As for recultivating as a human, the original story already showed that wouldn't succeed. Her only remaining choice will be to become Little Yao's soul spirit.
Lin Mo did not consider himself some great philanthropist. He would always put himself and those close to him first. Only when he and his loved ones were safe or secure would he consider anyone else.
Besides, his reasoning was grounded in fact. Even if he intervened, he currently had, first, no heavenly treasures, and second, no divine abilities. Even if he wanted to help her, he was powerless to do so.
"Ah, so there are heaven's secrets involved too?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was somewhat surprised, and even the Ice Empress was taken in.
After all, they knew Lin Mo's martial soul could actually view the past and explore the future, so they naturally believed he must have other secrets.
The Snow Empress looked at her two foolish close friends and sighed.
"Honestly, you two."
Then she looked at Lin Mo. "It seems you're quite certain that I'll really become your sister's soul spirit in the future."
"For you, this would definitely be the best choice. After all, soul beasts being unable to become gods is an ironclad law. Even Di Tian, who is now over eight hundred thousand years old, can't change it. After failing at Yin-Yang Complementarity, condensing your origin to transform into a human is impossible without a suitable heavenly treasure."
The Snow Empress let out a long sigh after hearing this. She did not deny his words. In fact, she had never held much hope for transforming into a human either.
"Then let me see your strength. Once this girl reaches the third ring, come to the Far North again."
"Then thank you, Snow Empress."
With the matter settled, the Snow Empress gazed in the direction they had left, remaining lost in thought for a long time.
"A martial soul that can view the past and explore the future, a god-level expert as a teacher, and that girl already has twin martial souls, a ferocious beast soul ring, and a Million-Year Soul Ring."
"Those two... really are remarkable."
On their way back, the four of them found an ice silkworm that was nearly four thousand years old to serve as Huo Yuyao's second soul ring. The skill she gained was likewise Simulation.
Its range was stronger, however. After all, it had come from a soul beast nearly four thousand years old.
Coming to the Sun Moon Empire really was the right decision. All the Gold Soul Coins from this past month went into improving Little Yao's body. The heavenly treasures bought with nearly five thousand Gold Soul Coins really were incredible. On top of that, thanks to the soul spirit contract, she absorbed the Ice Empress's soul ring and soul bone under absolutely perfect conditions this time, gaining an enormous improvement to her physique.
Since the contract had only just been signed and was not yet stable enough, the Ice Empress had to return to the Sea of Consciousness and sleep for a while to stabilize her origin. The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm also went to sleep, as he needed to stabilize the Sea of Consciousness.
Now it truly was just the brother and sister making their way back to Dragon City.
Watching Lin Mo walk half a step ahead of her, Huo Yuyao felt wave after wave of dejection wash over her.
I keep saying I'll protect my brother, but every time, he's the one helping me... I already have a Million-Year Soul Ring and a ferocious beast soul spirit, yet I still haven't helped him with anything. Even with that Snow Empress today, he did all the talking.
She suddenly felt truly weak. All along, she had relied on others.
Just as she was thinking this, Lin Mo suddenly stopped in front of her, and the girl walked straight into his back.
"Oof!"
The sudden collision made the girl instinctively close her eyes and stumble back two steps, nearly losing her balance.
But the next moment, before she had even opened her eyes, a hand steadied her.
"Hm?"
She slowly opened her eyes to find Lin Mo holding her steady. Then he reached out and stroked her head.
"What is it? Something on your mind?"
"Hmph, it was your fault, Brother Xiao Mo. You suddenly stopped halfway through walking."
"That's because I noticed you seemed unhappy."
As they walked, he had noticed that the girl seemed down.
"N-no, it's nothing."
"Mm-hmm. You little dummy, you still think you can hide it from me?"
Hearing Lin Mo's words, Huo Yuyao pouted in displeasure and retorted,
"Hmph, I'm not a dummy! I'm very smart."
"If you're not, then don't overthink things. We're both only nine-no, come to think of it, I'm almost ten. Anyway, people need time to grow. At the end of the day, I'm your older brother, so naturally there are some things I understand better. But in the future, there will be plenty of things only you can do. I'll really need your help then, so stop letting your thoughts run wild. All you need to do now is slowly grow stronger."
As Lin Mo spoke, he gently pinched her soft little cheeks. His tender smile left Huo Yuyao a little dazed.
"Understand?"
Huo Yuyao had not quite gathered her wits yet and nodded woodenly.
Seeing that she understood, Lin Mo took her hand and began hurrying toward Dragon City.
"Whoa! Brother, why are we suddenly running so fast?"
"Ah, I don't want to either, but do you know how far away the Ice Empress took us? From here, it'll take at least two days to get back to Dragon City, but there's only one day left until the time we agreed on with Senior Ye."
"Huh?!"
"Well, it wouldn't really matter if we walked back slowly, but I'm afraid he might get anxious. After all, Elder Kong arranged this. If I'm right, he's probably already pacing in circles at the city gate."
"Hehe, of course, that's all just my guess. There might be a little artistic exaggeration, but not much."
Sure enough, just as they were about to enter the city gates, a familiar bald figure instantly scooped them both up and rushed back to the inn.
"Hm?"
"Huh?"
After 0.25 seconds, the two blinked again and discovered they were already inside the inn from eight days earlier.
Ye Yulin held one in each hand like a pair of chicks, checking them for injuries.
"Senior Ye, put us down. We really aren't hurt."
"We agreed on seven days, but you just had to come back a day late! Do you know what these eight days have been like for me?!"
Listening to Ye Yulin's scolding, Lin Mo and Huo Yuyao exchanged a glance, then scratched their heads awkwardly.
"Although we did come back late this time, the gains were absolutely enormous."
"Really?"
He looked the two of them over, though his attention was mainly on Huo Yuyao. After all, this trip to the Far North had primarily been for her soul ring.
"All right, Senior Ye, let's hurry back to the academy first. Once we're there, we'll show everyone."
Ye Yulin glanced at Lin Mo, then nodded. Although he was indeed very curious, getting back to the academy was more important right now. These two were precious treasures within the academy, but taking them outside turned them into hot potatoes.
However curious he might be, he did not want his curiosity to cause trouble. After briefly freshening up, he took the two of them toward the Sun Moon Empire at the fastest possible speed.
Aboard the Soul Guidance Aircraft, the two sat down together in a corner.
After all, they were only at the second ring. Several days without sleep or rest had still left them mentally exhausted, so this was the perfect opportunity to rest properly.
They leaned against one another. Huo Yuyao rested her head lightly against Lin Mo and soon fell asleep. Looking at the girl beside him, Lin Mo gently stroked her head.
"All these things, one after another... honestly."
He inadvertently recalled everything that had happened since he had transmigrated here. Although it still felt unbelievable when he thought about it, his body had grown surprisingly accustomed to it.
He also realized that he seemed to have forgotten some things from his previous life, but he did not pay much attention to it at the moment. After all, so many years had passed. It had already been a full four years since he came to this world, and that really was enough time to forget a great deal.
As his thoughts wandered, drowsiness washed over him. His eyelids fluttered, and in the end, he too drifted into a deep sleep.
Before you continue