The Snow Empress was furious at this moment. After all, what Tian Meng had done had completely crossed his bottom line.
No matter what happened between Soul Beasts, it was a matter between Soul Beasts. Yet Tian Meng had helped a human hunt down an overlord of the Far North.
As its ruler, she naturally could not stand for it.
With a flick of her finger, she looked as though she would destroy heaven and earth themselves. Tian Meng almost instinctively and very cautiously hid back inside the Sea of Consciousness.
It could not be helped. Faced with an existence like her, Tian Meng knew all too well what he was worth.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao watched the rampaging Snow Empress and spoke up as well.
"Um, I know you're anxious, but could you please hold off on being anxious for a moment?"
The Snow Empress froze at his words. All that remained in her eyes was disdain and a touch of indifference at being provoked by an ant.
Was he seriously pulling that on her?
Her true attention turned to Electrolux.
In the Snow Empress's eyes, he was also the most troublesome one there: an existence who had condensed divine consciousness, but whose true strength was unknown.
So, after a brief hesitation, the Snow Empress made what she considered a concession. Looking at Electrolux, she spoke softly.
"You trespassed in my Far North and hunted down an overlord of my Far North. We can let those matters pass without further discussion today."
"But you must let me draw out Tian Meng's power. After all, he only grew to this point by taking resources from my Far North. Now he's betraying his own to serve outsiders, and I must deal with him today."
Hearing this, Tian Meng was genuinely somewhat afraid. If the Snow Empress tried to forcibly draw out his power, she might actually be capable of it.
Huo Yuhao soon gave an answer that made Tian Meng breathe a sigh of relief.
He glanced at the Ice Empress and spoke softly.
"First of all, I definitely won't give up Tian Meng. Second, before you get so angry, why don't you ask her what she thinks?"
His words finally drew the Snow Empress's gaze to the Ice Empress.
With a flick of her finger, lustrous white Soul Power carrying an ultimate might tore a rift in the million-year-old ocean of spiritual power that Tian Meng was so proud of.
After the Ice Empress escaped, the Snow Empress had expected her to act as she had in the past and immediately join forces with her, or something along those lines.
Then something happened that left the Snow Empress momentarily dazed, even making her doubt the Ice Empress before her.
The Ice Empress hesitated briefly. Though she felt the exhilaration of breaking free and wanted to kill Tian Meng when she looked at him, she soon remembered that Electrolux had already condensed divine consciousness, and there was no telling exactly how strong he currently was.
Acting rashly and leaving no room for retreat would likewise cost more than it was worth.
So the Ice Empress sighed and spoke softly to the Snow Empress.
"Xue'er, that damned worm did trick me at first, but afterward, I saw his talent."
The next instant, the Ice Empress felt the Snow Empress's spiritual power fall upon her, as though examining her. The Snow Empress's eyes were full of confusion.
The Ice Empress was the most hot-tempered of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, yet now she was willing to sit down and reason things out?
And the one she faced was Tian Meng, a good-for-nothing whom the Ice Empress had previously looked down on the most, yet who possessed such powerful vitality.
To the Snow Empress, this was naturally bizarre, even incomprehensible.
Then, at a glance, Huo Yuhao's many Martial Souls possessed him, and she felt the suppression they exerted on her after his Second Awakening.
Even the Snow Empress was stunned for a moment. His origin was that of a Heavenly Snow Woman, a darling of heaven and earth formed by these snowy plains.
Even a true dragon could not suppress her in the Far North, unless it possessed a fully mature Dragon King bloodline.
Now the Snow Empress could somewhat understand the Ice Empress. The Martial Souls of the human before her were indeed powerful enough.
Probing him with his spiritual power, he found that his bone age was indeed young enough: he was only ten, and had even nearly reached the Soul Ancestor level. His talent was truly frightening.
Of course, the most important factor, or rather, what the Ice Empress would have considered besides Tian Meng's restraints at the time, was Electrolux.
Though he had neither moved nor spoken the entire time, he stood there like a divine pillar holding the sea in place, exerting immense pressure on both of them.
After taking a deep breath, the Snow Empress looked at Electrolux and asked in a low voice once more.
"Your Excellency, are you certain you want to fight?"
It could not be helped. For the Snow Empress, there was now almost only one way to survive: draw Tian Meng's power out of Huo Yuhao's body. Though difficult, it was at least possible.
It was the only path that did not require her to choose transformation.
"I don't mind, but if we fight, the ice plains you rule may be buried alongside you."
Electrolux's tone remained as indifferent as a hegemon's.
Deathly gray and silvery white each occupied their half of heaven and earth, and a great battle seemed ready to break out the very next instant.
But Huo Yuhao stepped forward and spoke softly.
"There's really no need to take things this far."
"Snow Empress, even if you survive your next great tribulation, what then? Seven hundred thousand years, and then what? Eight hundred thousand years, eight hundred thousand years, nine hundred thousand years."
"Can you guarantee you'll keep breaking through?"
"The shackles of this world are right there: Soul Beasts cannot become gods."
"With my talent, as long as you're willing to help me, you can enjoy eternal life all the same. Wouldn't that be good too?"
Hearing Huo Yuhao's offer, the Snow Empress hesitated only a moment before instinctively looking at the Ice Empress.
She also remembered that she still had a way out: the path of transformation. Rather than depend on a human, the Snow Empress now preferred to rely on herself.
Of course, the most important thing was that although the Snow Empress could sense that he had not a trace of a divine soul when he released his spiritual power, if they really fought, the entire Far North Ice Plains might truly fall. That was something she, as ruler of the Far North Ice Plains, could never accept.
"Bingbing, since you've already made your decision, go ahead and begin."
With that, the Snow Empress started to turn and leave, but Huo Yuhao seemed to have seen through something.
"Snow Empress, if you choose to transform in this era, you might as well just hand your Soul Ring and Soul Bone over to someone."
Hearing that the Snow Empress intended to transform, the Ice Empress instinctively wanted to deny it. But she remembered how the Snow Empress had recently-or rather, the last time-begun disappearing from sight and searching for something to eat.
Thinking of this, the Ice Empress felt it was quite possible. At the same time, the Snow Empress could not help trembling slightly. She sneered and asked in return,
"There's another path. Let me draw that worm's power out and refine it."
"I won't take her path."
Hearing this, the Ice Empress could not help being moved. Huo Yuhao, however, rolled his eyes and muttered, "Who said I was going to separate you two? My goal is for both of you to become my Martial Souls, because only then might their grade barely be high enough."
"Before that, take a look at this."
As Huo Yuhao spoke, he tossed the Soul Spirit Method directly to the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress.