Chapter 173: Snow Empress, Qian Xunji, Save Me
After traveling for three months, the air gradually grew colder, though still far warmer than the outskirts of the Extreme North. It was a promising sign, indicating she was getting closer to that frigid land.
Following a mountain trail, the Snow Empress approached a small town. It didn't look large, with only a few hundred people. Sweeping it with her spiritual power, she saw figures moving about, most of them possessing spirit power. She sensed a special chill emanating from them—something other than the cold of an ice-attribute spirit.
Beyond that, the Snow Empress detected a dangerous aura in town, towering above everything else and impossible for her mental energy to penetrate.
"This town seems to be hiding something," she thought.
She decided to skirt around it and continue north.
"A goddess, right? She must be a goddess!"
"Never had a woman this gorgeous before!"
"This Slaughter Town is really paradise—coming here was worth it!"
Before the Snow Empress could step away, several greedy voices sounded behind her. Turning, she saw a few soul masters—some tall, some short, some with scars—looking at her with lecherous grins. They all shared one trait: an unattractive appearance, be it protruding mouths or fleshy faces. Greed shone in their eyes as they eyed the Snow Empress's figure.
Soul masters below Soul Ancestor level receive subsidies, and once someone becomes a soul master, they're considered nobles of a sort—most of them male. If they had comfortable lives in the human world, aided by their subsidies, good looks, or talent, who would risk heading for the Slaughter City, that place of nightmares where your ticket in is a cup of Bloody Mary—human blood? It was obviously no paradise.
"Brothers, grab this woman—let's have some fun tonight!"
"She's so beautiful, I don't care if I die on top of her!"
One white ring, one yellow, two yellows… all Great Soul Masters with filthy grins, some even wiping away drool as they approached her.
"Disgusting, filthy humans!"
Her face went frost-cold, her voice like shards of ice. A formidable surge of mental power burst from between her brows. The few soul masters halted, eyes bulging as blood spurted from their orifices. Their spiritual seas had been crushed by her mental strength.
Just as the Snow Empress was about to leave, an unexpected crowd had gathered at the entrance to Slaughter Town. All of them stared at her with the same greed, and their numbers were rising.
"Damned humans!"
She again saw that all-too-familiar, detestable gaze she'd encountered countless times on her journey. Releasing a powerful mental storm, she struck out at the newly arrived men from Slaughter Town. More than ten black-clad figures, each radiating a frigid aura, collapsed with blood gushing from their facial orifices.
"Her spiritual power is strong—but it seems she can only attack with it!"
A battle-worn man in black eyed the Snow Empress, who now looked fatigued. Indeed, she could crush her opponents' spiritual seas, but even as a six-hundred-thousand-year fierce beast, her mental strength wasn't infinite. In the original stories, Tang San could focus his mental power into Purple God Light to kill, but there was always a limit to how many times he could do it. The Snow Empress lacked a spirit like the Ling Eyes for specialized mental attacks, so destroying enemies this way rapidly drained her reserves.
"Everyone go at once—wear down her mental strength! Then we can each try our luck. Whoever wins gets the woman!"
Another black-clad man shouted, revealing one white, two yellow, and one purple ring—he was a Soul Ancestor.
"What is this?" the Snow Empress wondered. On her journey, she'd gained some small insight into human nature. Typically, once people realized she had some strength, they would fear for their lives and back off. Why were these people acting so differently?
She wasn't entirely wrong: many soul masters who associate with nobles, living luxuriously, valued their own lives. But Slaughter Town was a gathering place for outlaws, people who earned every bit of pleasure by risking their necks. As a result, they rarely feared death.
The Snow Empress unleashed mental tempest after mental tempest, killing dozens. Yet Slaughter Town was home to hundreds of desperate rogues, so slaying a few dozen meant little.
A wild laugh erupted:
"She's finished—she's done for! Hahaha!"
She clutched her forehead, her ice-blue eyes streaked with blood. Her face was full of unwillingness. Was this truly where she would meet her end—falling to these foul, nauseating humans? If that horror came to pass, even regaining her powers later might not give her the will to live.
At that moment, the Snow Empress spotted a familiar silhouette atop the town's gate—a figure she had once wanted to butcher a thousand times. Who else could it be but Qian Xunji?
He sat on top of the gate, one leg dangling, the other bent so he could rest an elbow on it. With a hand propped against his cheek and his long hair spilling behind him, he looked strikingly carefree.
"Qian Xunji, save me!"
She clutched at this final lifeline, crying out loudly.
"Qian Xunji? Isn't that the Pope of Spirit Hall's name?"
Everyone in the soul master world knew that famed man, hailed as the foremost genius of the previous generation. Following the Snow Empress's gaze, they indeed spotted a graceful, golden-haired figure perched there.
While they wondered if he was truly Qian Xunji, a Title Douluo, he curled his lips into a slight smirk. "Save you? Why should I? Because you're a fierce beast, not human? Or because we're partners? Heh. Keep going. I'm not interfering. After she's dead, I'll just take a spirit bone."
None of these desperate rogues understood what "fierce beast" meant; they only heard there might be a spirit bone to claim. Hearing that Qian Xunji would not step in, their eyes blazed as they looked again upon her flawless figure.
The Snow Empress nearly fainted from fury. She roared, "I accept! I accept! The solid soul power in my body is called a soul core, and I'll tell you how to form it—just save me!"
Friends, if you enjoyed the novel, you can subscribe to my Patreon channel.
Until November 30th, get 40% off your subscription and the purchase of the novel.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Johanssen