A massive tide of soul beasts surged toward them with astonishing speed. Only when they were about a thousand meters from the Snow Empress and Ice Empress did they finally come to a halt.
Every soul beast of the Extreme North, upon reaching the perimeter, slowly prostrated itself, lying flat on the frozen ground in the most reverent pose possible as they faced the Snow Empress's direction.
Gradually, the arriving soul beasts formed a perfect circle around them, two thousand meters in diameter. This encirclement thickened by the second, with more and more soul beasts gathering by the moment.
Most soul beasts of the Extreme North were white in color. If one didn't look carefully, they might assume these creatures were just mounds of snow scattered across the ice fields. Only the especially massive ones stood out prominently.
The Snow Empress stood there silently, her beautiful face once again returning to its frosty, cold expression. She stood tall and proud, a figure of absolute authority. Not a single soul beast dared to raise its head, let alone match her posture.
They were all bowing—bowing to their queen.
It had been a very long time since the Snow Empress last appeared in the Extreme North, yet none of the soul beasts here had forgotten her presence. It was she who guarded this land, her existence alone enough to make every soul beast in the region submit without resistance. None dared oppose her.
Ever since the Snow Empress had taken command of this land, the Extreme North had been mostly free from strife. No one dared to provoke her wrath. Every soul beast here knew that she was the Ice Snow Empress, the spirit of the snow itself. Anywhere ice and snow existed, so too did her perception. At first, they feared her. Eventually, that fear transformed into reverence. The few once-dominant beasts who had tried to defy her authority had all perished under her legendary triad of techniques—Snow Empress's Three Absolutes.
From that day on, silence reigned. There was no more resistance. The only law that remained was the voice of the Ice Snow Empress.
Even as soul beasts poured in from all directions, the vast expanse of the tundra remained eerily quiet. Only by listening closely could one hear the breathing of the beasts—heavy, excited breathing. For most soul beasts, laying eyes upon the Snow Empress even once in their lives was the greatest honor they could imagine.
Surrounded by a veritable sea of soul beasts, Huo Yuhao and his companions were suddenly made acutely aware of the immense pressure. Even the Auspicious Beast had never seen such a scene—not even in the Star Dou Forest had she witnessed such a grand, solemn convergence of the beast clans. And as a former emperor of the Star Dou Forest, she could feel the sincere, overwhelming admiration these beasts held for the true queen of this land—the Ice Snow Empress, the ruler of the Extreme North.
Among the kneeling horde, one figure stood out—a massive ice bear. Its sheer size made it appear like a snow-covered hill. Even moving on all fours, it stood over fifteen meters tall. Its huge frame was covered in dense, silver-tinged white fur.
As this enormous bear approached, the other soul beasts instinctively cleared a path for it. It lumbered slowly to the inner circle and, like the others, lowered itself to the ground before the Snow Empress. Its massive head gently swayed side to side, and it let out a low whimper, almost like a child reunited with its mother.
Seeing it, the Snow Empress's cold face softened slightly into a smile. She lifted her hand and waved gently at the enormous bear.
Immediately, every soul beast on the ice field turned its eyes to the bear, their gazes full of envy.
The giant ice bear was overjoyed. It stood back up and let out a thunderous roar of delight before charging toward the Snow Empress like a mountain on legs. Despite its bulky frame, it moved with surprising agility. Every step left deep impressions in the frozen ground.
In just a few seconds, it crossed the thousand-meter distance. When it was fifty meters from the Snow Empress, it abruptly slowed down and began to crawl the rest of the way, inching forward on its stomach until it came to a stop directly in front of her. Its massive head alone was over two meters wide, and its snout—slightly pink compared to the rest of its snowy fur—nuzzled up against her gently. Huo Yuhao even felt that the beast's breath alone could whip up a small storm.
There was no need for spiritual detection—Huo Yuhao could tell at a glance that this bear was definitely a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. Though it might not be on par with the Bear Lord of the Star Dou Forest, it couldn't be far behind. Yet, despite its strength, it bowed to the Snow Empress with such sincere reverence that even the Bear Lord's deference to the Beast God paled in comparison.
The Snow Empress smiled. That smile was like a plum blossom blooming amid the frozen tundra, scattering its delicate fragrance across the ice. All the soul beasts of the Extreme North exhaled softly in relief. They had all felt it simultaneously—her joy.
She raised a hand and gently placed it on the massive snout before her. Her voice was soft and affectionate.
"Xiao Bai, you've grown chubbier again."
Xiao Bai…
That massive beast was named Xiao Bai?
"Oh," Huo Yuhao recalled suddenly. Xiao Bai was the small ice bear the Snow Empress had raised when she first ascended to her throne. It had lived with her ever since—for over two hundred thousand years. Though Xiao Bai had long become a regional overlord in its own right, it still regarded the Snow Empress as a mother.
Its power was said to rival the Titan Snow Demon King. However, at the Snow Empress's request, Xiao Bai had never pursued fame or power, and thus the outside world only recognized three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North.
In the original timeline, Xiao Bai had eventually become one of Huo Yuhao's soul spirits.
Under the Snow Empress's gentle touch, Xiao Bai looked utterly content, letting out soft, satisfied hums. Its massive, fluffy backside wiggled happily—it was the very picture of bliss.
Just then, the hundreds-of-meters-thick ring of soul beasts parted once more, revealing another towering figure. With it came a host of equally massive shapes in the distance.
The encircling soul beasts instinctively made way, opening a wide path. The leading figure strode boldly into the inner circle.
This soul beast, at first glance, was even larger than Xiao Bai. Its sheer height made it appear more like a tower than a beast.
What was more startling was its vaguely humanoid form. Its arms were long and muscular, covered in dense white fur, and its face bore an unsettling resemblance to a human—save for the wrinkles on its forehead, the bluish-gray skin, and the two massive tusks protruding from its mouth, which gave away its true nature.
(End of Chapter)
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