Li Xue's Perspective
It has been exactly one thousand four hundred forty-three years, six months, and… well, I'm not counting the days because that would be far too depressing.
The important thing is that I have finally reached the cultivation level of a ten-thousand-year soul beast. Ten thousand! That should be enough for Elder Sister, the Snow Empress, to finally let me go explore the outside world.
Because yes… living surrounded by the Ice Palace sounds majestic and epic, and it is… for the first twenty years. After that, the routine kills any excitement. I've memorized every crack in the ice walls, every shade of blue in the stalactites, every sparkle reflected by the northern lights on the polished floor. I can even tell, just from the sound, whether a blizzard is coming from the northeast or the south.
Adventures? Zero. Social interaction? Only with Elder Sister and occasionally Bing Bing, and that's if they aren't meditating or ruling. The rest of the time… silence, ice, and more ice.
Today, however, is no ordinary day. Today, I will stand before Xue Di and demand—well, politely request—my freedom to leave. And to do so, I've decided to make my entrance with style.
I close my eyes, take a dramatic stance: one foot forward, one arm pointing toward the ceiling, the other bent before my chest. The snow blowing in through the open door swirls around me as if part of an invisible stand. The pose is perfect—truly worthy of a hero…
Snow Empress's Perspective
I was meditating, with the same calm I've kept for decades. The silence was absolute, broken only by the faint creak of the ice beneath my controlled breathing.
Until hurried footsteps approached. Very hurried. Followed by a dull thud against the door. I opened my eyes and, in front of me, stood Li Xue… frozen in a ridiculous pose.
"…" I stared at her in silence for several seconds, trying to understand.
"It's a manly pose… from something called JoJo," she said with the utmost seriousness, as if that explained anything.
I sighed deeply.
"Stop doing foolish things. What do you want, Li Xue?"
Her eyes gleamed with excitement.
"I've reached ten thousand years of cultivation! I want to go outside!"
I studied her carefully. Ten thousand years… far too fast for someone like her. Her mutation—extreme ice combined with extreme star energy—normally slows cultivation. Even humans with rare martial souls take decades to reach this stage.
"How did you achieve it so quickly?" I asked, a mix of suspicion and curiosity.
She smiled like someone who's been keeping a secret for centuries.
"Six hundred years ago, I created a cultivation technique for soul beasts."
My lips tightened.
"So that's why you asked Bing Bing to capture a human soul master… You said you wanted to learn their language and writing."
She looked away, clearly nervous.
"That wasn't a lie… but there was also something else…" Her voice dropped. "I kind of forgot to mention the technique."
"You forgot?" I emphasized each word, letting the temperature in the hall drop a few degrees.
She shrugged, tapped her head lightly, and stuck out her tongue, as if that would lessen her guilt.
"Show me this technique," I ordered, my tone leaving no room for excuses.
Snow Empress's Perspective
Li Xue instantly brightened and began explaining her method. Her words overflowed with enthusiasm, but the content… was convoluted, full of strange analogies that seemed to come from another world.
"It's like charging the dantian, but with spiritual energy," or "it works like visualizing the dao while absorbing soul power." I didn't understand half of it, but the concept itself was solid.
When I tested it, the shock was enormous. The absorption rate was more than ten times the norm. I could feel the flow of pure ice entering my meridians with an intensity I had never experienced before.
"It's a shame it only works while you're actively practicing and not automatically," she commented, as if she hadn't just broken a millennia-old cultivation limit.
"You've created something unprecedented and incredible," I admitted. "But… don't you want to learn some sword techniques I have?"
She looked at me almost pityingly.
"Great Sister Xue Di… the sword is a short weapon for a short path. The spear rules the battlefield. The sword merely grazes the shore."
My patience finally ran out. In an instant, I appeared in front of her and smacked her on the head. She fell to the ground, rolling dramatically while groaning in pain.
"You always answer me the same way… I'll let you go outside, but not alone."
"I'll go with Great Sister Bing Bing!" she said, smiling as if she'd already thought it through.
"You'll just bother Bing Bing with your nonsense… You've already started to rub off on her," I grumbled, returning to my seat.
I turned my head to say something else, but she was gone.
"Li Xue!" My voice echoed through the empty hall.
I sat back down, sighing, though I couldn't help the small smile tugging at my lips.
I still remember the day I found her: a timid, eccentric creature, completely out of place, looking at me as if she feared she might disappear at any moment. One day, she confessed, trembling, that she had fragments of memories from another life.
I don't know if I believe it… but if someone capable of inventing unique and revolutionary techniques tells me anything is possible… then maybe, just maybe, it is.