"This is a combined strike from me and the Snow Empress. Be careful!"
Within the Sea of Consciousness, the Ice Empress spoke with no small amount of worry.
When the Snow Empress borrowed her Spiritual Origin, she had guessed this move was coming. She could have refused to lend it, but her master, Lin Qian, had agreed.
Of course, Lin Qian lending out the origin was not an old god of longevity swallowing arsenic because he had lived too long.
To improve his chances of winning over the Snow Girl, some risks were worth taking. A seven-hundred-thousand-year Soul Spirit harboring ulterior intentions would be impossible to guard against. Being careful never hurt.
On the other side, pure white and jade green shone in the air, and two female figures seemed to merge into one.
An instant later, the dazzling light vanished, and the rapidly spinning snowflakes stopped falling. Immediately afterward, the snowflakes danced again, turning into ice blades that hurtled toward Lin Qian!
Everything along their path was ground to pulp by the ice blades. A massive tornado engulfed everything, sweeping in all directions with the power to swallow heaven and devour earth!
"There's still time to surrender. Any later, and I won't be able to stop!"
She had never unleashed her full strength before. Even against the Titan Snow Demon King, it had merely been a one-sided thrashing by the Snow Empress. Lin Qian's appearance marked the first time she had truly fought.
She had a rather favorable impression of this reasonable human, and if possible, she did not want him to kick the bucket.
"Bring it on. I'm terrifyingly strong!"
Afraid she would not attack him, Lin "Hardheaded" Qian beckoned as he spoke, urging her to hurry.
Every part of him was hard except his mouth. He could hardly wait to let the Snow Empress experience it~
"???"
She did not know whether this was a common human affliction or simply Lin Qian's nature. Since he had asked for it, wouldn't refusing to attack be disrespectful?
So the Snow Empress held nothing back, sending the supercharged tornado surging forward as though it cost nothing!
"Roar!"
As the wind reached its greatest speed, the whirlwind let out a wild beast's roar, as though looking for someone to devour.
Ice and snow intertwined in turn. Even the shock waves produced at the storm's center could tear a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast apart!
Even Lin Qian had to use the Golden Bell Shield to withstand it.
"If we can't do it, let's surrender! We can find another Soul Ring, but once your life's gone, it's really gone! Say something... Tian Meng!"
Seeing him make no move, the Ice Empress thought he had given up and resigned himself to death. Frantic, she stamped her feet in the Sea of Consciousness.
Tian Meng said, "All right, Bingbing. Have faith in little Qian-Qian. He's the best!"
Faced with this bootlicker, the Ice Empress's expression immediately soured. "The greatest misfortune of his life was meeting a bootlicker like you! A disgrace to the household, a worthless drinking buddy..."
While the Ice Empress was having a grand time cursing over there, Lin Qian's heart here was as still as water.
Facing the enormous whirlwind before him, inspiration suddenly struck, bringing him a new insight.
No self in his heart, no desires or demands, no fear or dread, no resentment or regret. Man and sword as one, nothing could withstand him.
The wind rose.
Blowing in precisely the opposite direction from the Snow Empress's, this wind rose from Lin Qian's side.
His second Soul Ring shone continuously. Soul Power condensed into a crimson longsword, its radiance growing ever more intense until it swiftly transformed into pure Ultimate Fire.
Lin Qian raised the longsword, pointing its tip toward the sky, and boundless fiery power began to spread.
"This is..."
Hearing the sound, the Ice Empress, who had been giving Tian Meng a one-sided beating, looked up. Stunned by the extraordinary sight, she stopped mid-assault.
The Snow Empress also sensed something amiss, but out of respect, she continued her attack at an unhurried pace, giving her opponent ample time to gather power.
At the storm's center.
Lin Qian floated into the air as well. Flames spread and surged from his sword, layers upon layers of crimson light enveloping him.
Like a crimson sun in the night, it set even the air burning. Every snowflake that swept through this region melted into vapor without exception, steaming away and burning into nothing.
So hot...
The Far North Ice Plains were on the verge of transforming into boundless floodwaters that would merge with the ocean beyond the continent.
The red sun slowly rose, driving the surrounding air currents into an ever greater frenzy. They swept through heaven and earth and scoured the eight wildernesses, growing from a tiny cluster of clouds into towering waves of air.
The two storms, one ice and one fire, were like eternally incompatible poles, each seeking to conquer and devour the other.
"Self-Created Soul Skill-Hell Demon Flame Transformation Wu Whirlwind!"
The wind's biting force and the fire's ravages were all compressed into a single point. Once compressed to the utmost limit, it was time to bloom!
Rumble!
The two storms finally met, devouring and engulfing each other. For a time, neither could overcome the other.
But this was only temporary.
Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire were each sovereigns of their own domain. Neither would submit to the other; a final victor had to be decided.
Ice and snow melted, and the earth sank thirty feet.
As the two storms completely merged, victory and defeat were about to be revealed.
"Ah-"
A clear, mature woman's cry pierced the sky. After the brief deadlock, Lin Qian had ultimately proved stronger.
Her ultimate move failed, and the ice and snow she relied on for enhancement melted for a short time, maxing out her debuffs. The Snow Empress was sent flying backward uncontrollably, traces of blood spilling from her mouth. Her Soul Power had actually rebounded on her!
Seeing this, Lin Qian, tender toward beauties, immediately dismissed the Huo Wu Whirlwind. With a teleport, he caught the Snow Empress in midair and slowly descended, spinning as he landed.
Wind and snow swept in again, brushing their faces with waves of cold, but neither of those within it cared.
Looking at the young man holding her, the Snow Empress felt her heartbeat quicken for the first time in her life, and her lovely face involuntarily flushed slightly.
At that time, she had little experience of the world and did not yet understand what change had taken place in her heart.
"Are you all right? Is it serious?"
Lin Qian tailored his approach to the person. He did not dare joke with the seven-hundred-thousand-year-old Snow Empress as he did with Qian Renxue. Instead, he gently wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, looking at the beauty with heartache.
This had not been a fight to the death, and he had held back at the last moment. The Snow Empress had no external injuries and was actually quite all right.
For some reason, however, she clung to the young man's warmth and remained unwilling to get up. Lin Qian was also a warmhearted man who turned no one away-beautiful women only-and since she said nothing, he did not move either.
Time passed, second by second, minute by minute.
Lin Qian said, "Xue'er, I like you. Come with me. I'll take you soaring to become an Immortal and break free of the shackles of this Human Realm!"
Whether on a momentary impulse or because her brain had short-circuited, the Snow Empress froze for only a few seconds before nodding solemnly. "All right."
Hum-
No sooner said than done. As her words fell, the Snow Empress's body gradually vanished, becoming a Soul Ring suspended high in the heavens, its light brilliant.
No... not one...
Four whole orange-gold Soul Rings appeared, bobbing up and down in the air, dancing and circling. One after another, they slipped over Lin Qian and tightened. Surging Soul Power and Spiritual Power moved from the surface into the depths.
Perhaps because of the Snow Empress's wholehearted devotion, the fusion process was far easier than the Ice Empress's, without even the slightest impact. Lin Qian closed his eyes and opened them again, and his body felt filled with energy.
When the Sacrifice was complete, the four Soul Rings reappeared, flashing rhythmically on the ground, exceptionally dazzling.
The seven-hundred-thousand-year orange-gold Soul Rings displayed their might without concealment. Wherever they passed, every beast bowed its head, and all things pledged allegiance.
I alone reign supreme!