Snow Empress was a legendary spirit beast of the extreme north, but her current state was quite weak. To understand why she was struggling, one had to look at three main problems that had hurt her over a long period. These issues were not simple, but they were the reason she could not reach her full potential.
The first problem happened a long time ago. After living for 600,000 years, she had to face a massive storm of energy called the Heavenly Tribulation. This is a test from the world that every powerful spirit beast must face.
While she was strong enough to survive the storm, the process left her very hurt. Her origin, which is the very core of her life and power, was cracked and damaged by the lightning and energy of that event.
The second problem came because of the first one. Because her origin was already weak, she knew she would not survive the next big test, which was the 700,000-year Heavenly Tribulation.
She was a smart and proud ruler, so she tried to find a way to get stronger quickly. She attempted to create a spirit core using a very difficult method of balancing two opposite energies, known as Yin and Yang.
This was a very brave move, but it was also very dangerous. Sadly, the attempt failed. Instead of getting stronger, her core shattered, and her origin was damaged for a second time. With no other choice left to save her life, she tried to turn into a human using a rare 100,000-year Snow Lotus.
The third problem happened during this transformation. While she was in the middle of becoming human, she was caught by surprise. Someone used a powerful tool called the God Sealing Platform to trap her. Being locked away in that sealed state for such a long time drained her remaining strength even more.
However, as Kong Mingan looked at her, he realized these three problems were not impossible to fix. The weakness caused by the God Sealing Platform was actually the easiest to handle. Right now, Snow Empress was using the cold spring of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
This place was full of special energy that could wash away the effects of the seal. As for the damage to her origin from the tribulations, that could be fixed later. Once she was a bit more stable, they could go to a place called the Earth Dragon Gate to find the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow. That rare item would be enough to heal her core completely.
Kong Mingan thought about his situation. He was lucky to have two great teachers. One was Electrolux, a master of souls, and the other was his own grandfather, Kong Deming. Both of them were amazing researchers. They were the kind of people who could discover the secrets of the world if they stayed in their labs. Kong Mingan did not want to waste their time by asking them to be his bodyguards all day. He wanted them to focus on their work.
Because of this, he needed the Snow Empress to be at her full strength. If she was powerful again, she could protect him from any danger. He trusted her completely. This trust came from several things. First, they had a signed contract that bound them together. Second, he knew that Snow Empress had a very pure and honest personality. Third, she was deeply committed to protecting her home, the Extreme North Land. All these reasons made him want to help her become as strong as possible.
He started thinking about the best way for her to grow. In a way, the path of a Spell Cultivator was perfect for her. Since she was born as a spirit of ice, her body was naturally made of elements. This is called perfect Elementalization.
The ice energy in the world loved her and did not fight against her. But there was a big problem with this idea. The current system for being a Spell Cultivator relied on spirit rings. As a spirit beast, Snow Empress did not have spirit rings like a human spirit master did.
He wondered if she should just become a human again. But the more he thought about it, the more he shook his head. No, that did not seem right. Then, a sudden spark of inspiration hit him. He stopped walking as his mind raced. He realized that she could become a human, but not in the way most spirit beasts did it.
In the world of Soul Land, when a 100,000-year spirit beast decides to become a human, they usually lose everything. A 100,000-year beast is as strong as a Titled Douluo, which is one of the highest ranks for a human. Logically, if they turn into a human, they should keep that power and have nine spirit rings immediately.
But that is not what happens. Instead, they lose all their old power and have to start over from level one. Even though they are talented and can make their own spirit rings for the first six levels, it is still a huge loss. To Kong Mingan, this seemed like a terrible waste of power. It was like a king giving up his throne to become a beggar.
He used to think this was just a fixed rule of the world that no one could change. But then he remembered an exception. There was a special beast called the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. When that beast transformed, she became a young girl and kept a lot of her power. She was already at level fifty and had five spirit rings ready. This proved that it was possible to change forms without losing everything. If one beast could do it, then there had to be a way to copy that process for others.
He thought to himself that if he wanted to learn this secret, he should find the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and watch her transform. If he used his special vision to see how her energy moved, he could probably figure out the trick. But he quickly realized that going to the Star Dou Great Forest to kidnap her was a very bad idea.
That forest was home to some of the scariest beings in the world. There was Di Tian, a powerful dragon, and even a Silver Dragon King who was as strong as a god. Even with the protection of a god's mark on him, Kong Mingan knew he would not survive a fight with them.
Since he could not use the lion for his research, he had to find another way. He felt a bit frustrated because the answer was so close yet so far away. He turned his eyes back to the Snow Empress. She was sitting by the cold spring, her body glowing softly as she healed. Looking at her, he couldn't help but feel amazed. She was truly beautiful.
He looked at her energy structure. It was perfect. The way the energy moved through her was like a beautiful piece of art. Every part of her was balanced. Compared to her, his own attempts at using elemental power felt like a bad drawing.
But then, he had a new thought. He had been working on something called Qi and Blood Transformation. This was an idea where a person could turn their physical body into pure energy. If someone could do that, they could heal from any wound and even change their shape.
This was the key! If he could master perfect Elementalization, he would basically be the same kind of being as the Snow Empress. He would be a human who could turn into an element. If he could go from human to element without losing his power, then she should be able to go from element to human without losing hers.
By reaching that level, he could compare himself to her. He had spirit rings, and she did not. That was the main difference. If he could find out why that difference existed, he could find a way for spirit beasts to transform and keep all their strength.
This could change everything. It would allow humans to live as long as spirit beasts and spirit beasts to grow as fast as humans. It was a discovery that could change the whole world of spirit masters forever.