Shu Yan looked up at the Snow Empress, gazing at her nearly flawless, elegant face. Then, unexpectedly, he chuckled softly and shook his head.
"Impossible, Snow Empress. Your hatred and aversion toward humans are no secret. The only reason I hold a special place in your eyes is because of my Ice Maiden Spirit and the bloodline within me that nearly mirrors your own. Without those, I fear there'd be four more corpses lying here on the edge of the Extreme North."
"Humans and soul beasts are natural enemies. The human path to advancement is built upon the lives of soul beasts. And you… you are the Empress of the Extreme North. Compared to ordinary soul beasts, your hatred for humans runs far deeper."
At some point, the Snow Empress had begun lightly tapping her throne, carved from millennium ice marrow, with her slender jade-like fingers. The crisp tapping echoed through the palace and within Shu Yan's heart.
A moment later, her sharp phoenix eyes swept over him. Shu Yan felt his scalp tingle as if all his secrets had been laid bare before her gaze but he held his ground and met her eyes without flinching.
After a long silence, the emotionless calm in her eyes wavered. She parted her red lips and slowly said, one word at a time:
"I will never allow a human with the Ice Maiden Spirit to leave the Extreme North… unless you defeat me yourself."
Her feelings toward Shu Yan were undoubtedly conflicted.
On one hand, she harbored deep disgust and resentment toward humans. But on the other, the aura and bloodline within Shu Yan stirred an involuntary sense of kinship. Even if she had the intention to kill him, she couldn't bring herself to do it. The contradiction tore at her, leaving her with no clear path forward. In the end, she chose to confine him to the Extreme North to prevent him from becoming a future threat to this land once he rose in the human world.
And yet… there was another reason she could not easily explain.
The Snow Empress had lived in the Extreme North for hundreds of thousands of years. From weakness, she had clawed her way to the top, becoming Empress over all soul beasts of the north. But no one could truly understand the loneliness and pain that weighed on her heart. Even the Ice Empress could only barely soothe her emptiness.
Something had always been missing—a longing for companionship, for warmth and happiness. And in Shu Yan, she saw a faint glimmer of that possibility.
So Shu Yan had gambled right: she wouldn't kill him. In some ways, she couldn't bring herself to.
But Shu Yan only smiled faintly, unsurprised.
After all, he had already experienced something as unbelievable as transmigration. Very little could stir strong emotion in him anymore.
He looked seriously at the Snow Empress. Since his innate domain had fully awakened, his appearance had grown even more striking, and he now radiated a refined, ethereal aura. Even by the Snow Empress's lofty standards, his every gesture exuded elegance and composure. No wonder his childhood friend had gradually fallen for him once it started, it became unstoppable.
"Snow Empress, let's stop dancing around the issue. Enough with the small talk. There's something far more important that both of us are interested in discussing…"
Shu Yan coughed twice, the sound quiet, yet it made the Snow Empress feel like the youth before her had transformed completely. His presence turned sharp and intense.
The Snow Empress slowly straightened, her expression unreadable.
Their gazes met again, a silent tension passing between them. Then Shu Yan spoke, his words slow and precise:
"Your origin has been damaged. You no longer have the strength to survive the tribulation at 700,000 years. Standing at the edge of life and death, it's time for you to make a choice. Am I wrong?"
Boom—
The Snow Empress's aura erupted, shaking the entire palace. Ice shards rained from above. Shu Yan was forced back several steps before barely regaining his footing. Her voice, like the sharp crack of splintering ice, echoed from above:
"Human! Tell me—how do you know such secrets? If you answer truthfully, I'll leave your body intact."
But Shu Yan's expression remained calm. He replied evenly:
"Rest assured. Only the Ice Empress and I know of this. No one else. As for how I found out… I can't say."
The Snow Empress glared at him coldly for a long while before finally speaking:
"I don't believe you."
Shu Yan raised his head and met her gaze.
"As the Sea God's most devout follower, I swear upon the great Sea God himself: every word I've spoken is true. If there is even a single lie, may I be destroyed in both body and soul."
The Snow Empress's pupils contracted slightly. Clearly, the mention of the Sea God brought back memories a scene from ten thousand years ago. She could still recall it vividly: the sky turning dark, the land trembling beneath an overwhelming divine aura that forced all living beings to bow their heads. It was a true god's presence—so powerful it defied imagination.
And in the god war that followed, if she remembered correctly… the Sea God had emerged victorious.
Perhaps Shu Yan's oath had been too absolute, because her expression softened slightly. A faint, almost imperceptible curve appeared at the corner of Shu Yan's lips.
The Sea God hailed as a savior in human legends but Shu Yan had never seen him that way. Right and wrong, black and white… these were defined by the victors. No one cared about the losers' truth. From the moment they lost, their fate was sealed.
But what did that matter to him?
He held no reverence for gods. Faith? That was a joke. Without belief, an oath meant nothing just another illusion to deceive others.
The Snow Empress looked at Shu Yan. Her once-placid eyes now held something more complicated.
"What is it you really want? What are you trying to say?" She chuckled coldly. "After all this time, I finally realize… I've never truly understood you humans favored by the heavens as you are."
Shu Yan's expression gradually softened. He looked at her gently and spoke:
"Whether human or soul beast, our lifespans are ultimately limited. In this age, even the plant-type soul masters known for their longevity can only live to about 400 years at the peak of cultivation. Soul beasts may live longer, but not by much."
"The shackles of bloodline prevent many soul beasts from ever surpassing 10,000 years. Even those who manage to reach the 100,000-year mark may still perish under the tribulation. To humans, that seems like an eternity but to you? Thousands of years pass like a dream. Even hundreds of thousands of years… seem pitifully short when you look back."
"To break free from the limits of life and power, there's only one path—transcend the limit and ascend to godhood. Only then can one become the chessmaster instead of a pawn."
His voice turned soft and mesmerizing, like a spring breeze. It caressed her ears, stirring her thoughts. The Snow Empress stood in a daze, her consciousness drifting, momentarily unaware of the world around her. Shu Yan stepped onto the frozen stairway—rising step by step until he stood on the first step below the main throne.
Before she could recover, his voice rang out again:
"The dream of reaching Level 100 flows in the blood of every generation of the continent's strong. You have, at most, a hundred years left. We both crave immortality. So why not take one final chance… join forces with me. Walk the path of godhood. If we succeed, immortality will no longer be a dream. If we fail… at least we'll leave a legacy that will shine through history. Others will walk the path we forged—we will live on, in memory, no matter what form that takes."
At the words path of godhood, the Snow Empress's dazed expression sharpened instantly. Her eyes rose to meet his.
Something about those words made her heart tremble.
Like a spell, they echoed in her ears...