Ning Fengzhi signaled Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo to rein in their auras.
The Firmament had explicitly revealed that Tang San carried the Clear Sky Sect's bloodline. If they fell out with Tang San over the Tang Sect Secret Arts now, they might also find themselves facing the Clear Sky Sect.
For the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the losses would outweigh the gains.
"Let's play it safe for now." Ning Fengzhi changed his approach, his face filling with a smile as pleasant as a spring breeze.
"Tang San, Uncle Jian and Uncle Gu were merely testing your character just now. Please don't take offense."
"Since the Tang Sect Secret Arts are your family's secrets, I naturally won't force your hand. The doors of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect are always open to you."
He made up his mind to befriend Tang San first. There would be plenty of time later to slowly coax the Tang Sect Secret Arts and hidden weapons out of him.
The Firmament's golden light gradually receded. Snowflakes drifted across it as a preview of the next appraisal appeared.
[Tang San's appraisal concluded.] [Next master to be appraised-] [Ruler of the Far North, Heavenly Snow Woman: Snow Empress!]
At the very center of the Firmament, a breathtakingly beautiful figure appeared.
She was a woman who resembled a spirit of ice and snow, with long, snow-white hair fluttering gently in the wind.
Her skin was crystalline and translucent, like pure ice jade.
Her ice-blue eyes were cold and noble.
Merely standing within the image, she exuded the majesty of the ruler of the Far North, making countless Soul Masters tremble.
Lines of large, ice-blue text coalesced beside the Snow Empress:
[Ruler of the Far North: Heavenly Snow Woman-Snow Empress!] [Cultivation age: 750,000 years! (Her strength and reserves are sufficient to rival a rank-99 Peerless Douluo among human Soul Masters!)] [Renowned master's achievements: Broke the shackles of race and accepted a human Soul Master as her disciple. Her personal disciple is currently only 24 years old, yet his Soul Power has already reached the astonishing peak of rank-89 Soul Douluo, just one step away from Titled Douluo!] [Calculating appraisal rewards...] [Rewards granted:] [Cultivation Empowerment: Unconditionally adds 100,000 years of cultivation!] [Source Ascension: Ultimate Ice attribute transforms and evolves into-ice and snow godhood!]
A Soul Beast!
A Soul Beast with a staggering 750,000 years of cultivation had made the Master-Disciple Ranking.
Moreover, she had accepted a human Soul Master as her disciple and even raised him to rank 89 by the age of 24.
In the great hall of the ice palace in the Far North.
Shui Bing'er stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly. She tilted her head up and looked at the breathtaking figure on the Firmament, whose might overshadowed the world.
Then she stiffly turned her head toward her grandmaster, who stood before her with a lovely smile.
The enormous flood of information battered Shui Bing'er's mind, leaving her momentarily dazed.
Seeing Shui Bing'er's adorably dumbstruck expression, the Snow Empress's exquisite face blossomed with a gentle smile.
She linked her arm through Ye Wuchen's, tilted her head, and teased:
"What, did the information on the Firmament frighten you, Bing'er? Do you think your grandmaster is terrifying because she's a Soul Beast who has lived for so long?"
Shui Bing'er snapped out of her daze and shook her head repeatedly, her eyes filled with wonder and admiration.
"No, no, no! You're so beautiful, Grandmaster. How could you be frightening? I'm just so surprised. I never imagined you were the ruler of the Far North, with such a high cultivation age..."
Seven hundred and fifty thousand years of cultivation, plus the hundred thousand years rewarded by the Firmament.
Wouldn't that bring her grandmaster's cultivation to eight hundred and fifty thousand years?!
The Firmament's reward became a shaft of ice-blue divine light spanning heaven and earth. It descended upon the Far North's ice palace, enveloping the Snow Empress completely.
The Snow Empress closed her eyes, bathing in the boundless blessing of the Heavenly Dao.
Her already unfathomable aura soared wildly.
The surrounding ice elements leaped for joy, prostrating themselves in worship before their deity.
"Master, congratulations," Ye Wuchen said softly. "With this ice and snow godhood, you truly have the foundation to ascend to divinity. You'll no longer have to be constrained by the rules of this world."
Soul Beasts couldn't become gods?
That was nothing more than a shackle imposed on the Soul Beast Clan after the Dragon God's defeat all those years ago.
The Firmament was different. It was the manifestation of the true will of the Heavenly Dao.
The Dragon God's rules could govern the lower realm, but not the Heavenly Dao that stood above all creation.
The godhood bestowed by the Firmament was a legitimate pass to divinity!
A Soul Beast had not only made the ranking but also obtained godhood. It completely overturned human Soul Masters' understanding.
Nowhere was more shocked or delighted by this news than the Star Dou Great Forest.
In the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest, beside the Lake of Life.
Ripples spread across the tranquil lake, and a dazzling shaft of silver light shot into the sky from its depths.
As the light dispersed, a breathtakingly beautiful woman stood beside the lake.
Her long silver hair, as brilliant as the Milky Way, fell to her ankles.
Her mysterious, noble purple eyes seemed to hold endless elements.
Her flawless features and cold, aloof bearing were in no way inferior even to those of the Snow Empress on the Firmament.
She was none other than the sovereign of the Soul Beast Clan.
The Silver Dragon King-Gu Yuena!
As Gu Yuena appeared, the surrounding space warped.
Several terrifying figures emerged one after another, respectfully dropping to one knee behind Gu Yuena.
The Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear Xiong Jun, the Emerald Swan Bi Ji... the Star Dou Great Forest's foremost Ferocious Beasts had all gathered.
Gu Yuena raised her head slightly, her purple eyes fixed on the Snow Empress's figure on the Firmament. Her ethereal, melodious voice echoed beside the Lake of Life:
"You've all seen the Firmament as well. The Snow Empress of the Far North has not only received a hundred thousand years of Cultivation Empowerment, but also ice and snow godhood."
"This Firmament isn't just an opportunity for humans. It's also a perfect opportunity for our Soul Beast Clan to attain divinity!"
The burly, hot-tempered Xiong Jun scratched his head. "My liege, those Firmament rewards certainly make my mouth water, but what's being appraised now is some 'Master-Disciple Ranking.' We Ferocious Beasts spend all day sleeping and fighting in the forest. We haven't taken any disciples, so how are we supposed to get onto that Firmament and claim rewards?"
Beside him, Bi Ji, whose manner was gentle and whose entire body radiated the aura of life, explained softly:
"Xiong Jun, don't be impatient. Although it's only the Master-Disciple Ranking now, since the Firmament is a manifestation of the Heavenly Dao, perhaps it will introduce all kinds of rankings later, such as a Combat Strength Ranking or a Bloodline Ranking. If we wait patiently, we'll get our chance."
At their head, Di Tian furrowed his brows deeply. He stepped forward and said gravely, "My liege, there's something I don't understand."
"A thousand years ago, I traveled to the Far North and had the good fortune to meet the Snow Empress once. I clearly remember that her cultivation age hadn't even touched the threshold of seven hundred thousand years back then."
"The heavenly punishment lightning tribulations of Soul Beasts are terrifying. The higher one's cultivation, the more sharply the difficulty of overcoming them rises. In just a thousand short years, how could she possibly have broken through to seven hundred and fifty thousand years without a sound?"
"I suspect that within these thousand years, she must have obtained some tremendous, heaven-defying opportunity. Moreover..."
Di Tian paused, looking toward the introduction of that 24-year-old human disciple on the Firmament, his tone certain:
"Moreover, this tremendous opportunity is very likely connected to the human disciple she accepted!"
Gu Yuena nodded slightly, a trace of appreciation flashing through her purple eyes. "Di Tian, you're very observant."
"I noticed that introduction on the Firmament as well. A human capable of reaching rank 89 at the age of 24 possesses talent rarely seen in this world. There must be a deeper meaning behind the Snow Empress breaking convention to accept him as her disciple."
Before you continue