Chapter 185: The Snow Empress Disappears
The Far North.
Nearly two years had passed, and Huo Yuhao once again set foot upon this frozen, ice-sealed land. Only this time, Furina was not by his side—he was alone.
He had not come to the Far North to hunt for a soul ring, but because the Ice Emperor wanted to return and take a look. She wanted to see what her homeland was like now, and how her tribe was faring.
After all, her departure from the Far North to become Huo Yuhao's second martial soul and second intelligent soul ring had greatly impacted her tribe. The repercussions on the entire Far North were also not to be ignored.
Within his spiritual sea, the Ice Emperor's voice sounded, carrying a rare trace of gentleness: "Thank you, Yuhao, for being willing to bring me back here."
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, his tone sincere and warm: "No need to thank me. It's only right. We are friends, and also companions!"
Now, Huo Yuhao no longer needed to rely on soul tools just to survive in the Far North as he had back then. After obtaining the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion martial soul, he himself possessed an extremely strong adaptability to the bitter cold. Still, he very cautiously used some heat-preserving soul tools—better to be prepared, so he could respond if unexpected situations arose.
On the spiritual level, although he was dozens of times stronger than he had been two years ago, he still fell far short of the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's spiritual power, accumulated over a million years. Thus, he still needed Tianmeng's spiritual power as cover.
After all, the Ice Emperor's tribe resided in the core region of the Far North. Even if they couldn't detect Huo Yuhao, the other two overlords of the Far North—the Snow Empress and the Titan Snow Devil King—possessed spiritual power far surpassing his own. If either of them noticed him, it would spell trouble.
Not long after setting foot in the Far North, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm suddenly let out a soft "eh?"
"Oh? There's a human Titled Douluo here." He paused, then carefully sensed again. "Beside her, there's another aura... somewhat familiar. Mm, it seems to be that little girl who went berserk last time."
"The little girl who went berserk?" Huo Yuhao was briefly taken aback, then reacted. "Senior Sister Ma Xiaotao? The teachers from Shrek really listened to Sister Furina and brought her to the Far North to train?"
"Correct, that's her," Tianmeng said lazily. "But no need to worry. They're only training in the outer region right now and haven't entered the inner or core areas yet. Clearly, they also have some self-awareness. If they dared to set foot in the inner area, they would certainly draw the attention of the Snow Empress and the Titan Snow Devil King."
He paused, his tone carrying a matter-of-fact certainty: "After all, as the supreme rulers and overlords of the Far North, how could they tolerate a Titled Douluo bringing a soul master to train recklessly and without restraint on their own territory?"
The Ice Emperor snorted coldly: "Exactly! If I still had my body, I'd want to drive them away right now."
She paused, then reined in her emotions: "Forget it. Ignore them. As long as they haven't entered the inner or core areas, they can do whatever they want."
"Let's go, Yuhao. Pay them no mind," the Ice Emperor urged. "Don't let them discover us."
Tianmeng patted his chest with brimming confidence: "Don't worry, Bingbing! With my spiritual power protecting us, even a Titled Douluo couldn't possibly detect us, unless the opponent is a Rank 98 Hyper Douluo specialized in spiritual power."
The Ice Emperor shot back: "Aren't you worried at all that the opponent really might be a spiritually-attributed Hyper Douluo?"
Tianmeng's voice immediately choked: "Uh... probably not, right? Spirit-type martial souls are very rare among humans. I spent a very long time back then searching for a spirit-type Titled Douluo, and in the end, I didn't even control it properly and blew the other party apart..."
The Ice Emperor directly smacked him on the head: "Shut up! Do you understand the concept of 'better safe than sorry'?"
"I understand, Bingbing..."
Listening to the two bicker, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but smile helplessly and gently shook his head.
Days like this were actually pretty good, too.
But he knew very well in his heart that a calm and uneventful life was impossible. He had to avenge his mother against that bastard father—merely teaching Dai Huabin a lesson was far from enough. He had also promised Tianmeng and the Ice Emperor that he would definitely become a god, take them soaring to the Divine Realm, and obtain eternal life.
And then there was Sister Furina's kindness and grace... whether it was opposing evil soul masters in the future, or helping the Water God Church expand its influence, or even unifying the continent—all of it required strength.
So no matter how you looked at it, it all came back to those two words: "grow stronger."
Perhaps after becoming a god, things would be a little easier.
He gathered his thoughts and continued deeper into the Far North.
Very soon, they arrived at the gathering place of the Ice Jade Scorpions.
The Ice Emperor had now recovered a measure of strength and could, just as Tianmeng had done before, temporarily break free from the constraints of Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea and soul ring to personally see the condition of her own tribe.
Huo Yuhao found a concealed corner to hide. If he were discovered by the Ice Jade Scorpions, it would inevitably lead to misunderstandings, and then he would have to trouble the Ice Emperor to step in and clear things up.
"I'll go and be back soon," the Ice Emperor said.
Huo Yuhao nodded. "Alright."
A short while later, the Ice Emperor returned.
But the expression on her face made Huo Yuhao's heart sink.
It was an unprecedented look of anguish and loss.
Huo Yuhao stepped out from his hiding place and asked with concern, "What's wrong, Ice Emperor? Why that expression?"
Tianmeng also set aside his usual bickering and quickly asked, "Yes, what happened? Don't tell me something major happened to your tribe?"
The Ice Emperor shook her head.
"My tribe is fine, no problems." Her voice was somewhat low and subdued. "I gave some instructions to the strongest few in the tribe now, telling them to properly watch over the tribe from here on. I am going to seek a more distant path. When the opportunity arises in the future, I will return to visit them again, and I will do my utmost to help."
She paused, a complex swirl of emotion flickering through her eyes: "They accepted it very willingly. But..."
"They told me a piece of bad news." The Ice Emperor drew a deep breath. "The Snow Empress's aura... vanished some time ago."
"What?!"
The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's voice abruptly shot up, filled with utter disbelief.
"The Snow Empress's aura vanished? That's the Snow Empress! The foremost of the Far North's supreme rulers, with nearly seven hundred thousand years of cultivation! Although in truth it's six hundred ninety thousand years and she hasn't broken through the bottleneck yet, her great tribulation hasn't even arrived! How is this possible?!"
"Don't ask me. I don't know either," the Ice Emperor's voice carried a trace of exhaustion. "I heard that the Titan Snow Devil King is also searching for the reason. My clansmen have also gone out seeking traces of the Snow Empress, but they simply cannot find her. I heard that human Titled Douluo came not long ago... unclear if this matter is related to them."
She sighed, her eyes brimming with loss and bewilderment.
"Ah... perhaps this is simply fate."
She fell silent for a moment, then finally shook her head.
"Forget it. Let's not speak of this any further. We should hurry back."
Huo Yuhao said nothing further.
He merely nodded silently, turned around, and carried the Ice Emperor and Tianmeng away from this frozen, ice-sealed land.
Behind them, there was only endless ice and snow, and silence.
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Thanks for reading the chapter!
I started a new translation and I would be very happy if you decided to check out my new translation for a rather rare fandom. It's a fic based on Honkai: Star Rail.
Honkai Star Rail: Herta's Assistant Wants to Blow Up Nous
https://www.webnovel.com/book/36823191000494605