The Extreme North—where the icy winds swept across the boundless tundra like blades, stirring up a storm of snow.
Qi Lin stepped across the vast, desolate icefield. Snow settled gently on his hair, forming a thin layer of frost.
Gu Yuena followed closely by his side. Her silver hair fluttered lightly in the snowy wind, and her nearly flawless features made her seem like a spirit born of ice and snow.
The two had traveled for an entire day, witnessing many breathtaking wonders of the snowy landscape.
Several hours later, after crossing an extremely narrow glacial rift, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
A massive, magnificent ice cave appeared in their sight.
This enormous cave had the faint shape of a palace, though its structure was somewhat irregular and mismatched.
At the same time—deep within the ice cave!
Upon a huge, oval-shaped ice bed, a translucent emerald green scorpion suddenly opened her eyes. Her pupils gleamed like yellow diamonds.
The moment the green scorpion opened her eyes, a wild and domineering aura surged from her body.
That terrifying presence instantly revealed her identity—
She was one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North: the Ice Empress!
Although her aura was overwhelming, her body appeared delicate—barely one and a half meters long. She didn't look like a soul beast that had lived for nearly 400,000 years.
For comparison, the Titan Snow Demon King among the Three Heavenly Kings stood over a hundred meters tall.
The Ice Empress's gaze shifted to the distant horizon, a flicker of unease in her diamond eyes.
Just moments ago, she had sensed two distinct auras. One was unmistakably human. But the other… it sent a chill of fear through her very core.
Even when facing Xue'er, she had never felt such dread.
There was no doubt—this was a mortal threat!
But since the intruders had come knocking, she had no reason to retreat.
In the next instant, her body turned into a streak of emerald green light and shot forth from the ice bed.
Outside the Ice Cave—
Sensing the disturbance, Gu Yuena softly said, "She's coming."
Before her words had fully landed, a flash of green light burst from the cave, revealing a radiant, translucent form—her body glittered like jade.
Behind her, a scorpion tail arched high, reflecting a gleaming emerald hue.
The Ice Empress cast her gaze across the snowfield, her eyes settling on Gu Yuena with a trace of caution.
"Human, this is not a place you belong," she said coldly.
"Leave!"
At that moment, in Qi Lin's spiritual sea, Skydream Iceworm's voice rang out excitedly:
"Qi Lin, let me handle her. I promise she'll volunteer to become your Spirit Soul."
"Alright, I'll let you talk to the Ice Empress first."
With Qi Lin's permission, Skydream channeled his thoughts through Qi Lin's spiritual power and transmitted his voice outward.
"Ice Empress, why so eager to chase us away?"
His spiritual power took form—emerging as a cheeky, familiar voice.
The moment the Ice Empress heard it, her eyes widened in shock.
The next second, a terrifying wave of energy erupted from her body. Killing intent as cold as a tsunami surged forth.
"Skydream! You're still alive?!"
She sensed the voice had come from within the human boy. Her sharp gaze turned to Qi Lin.
But before she could act, that familiar, aggravating voice returned.
"Surprised, aren't you? Your big bro is back!"
"But calm down—I've come bearing a great opportunity."
"If I'm not mistaken, you're close to 390,000 years old now?"
"With your power… do you really think you can survive the 400,000-year heavenly tribulation?"
The Ice Empress's voice turned icy, filled with suspicion.
"What are you getting at?"
She had begun to realize that Skydream's return wasn't simple. And the two humans with him… she couldn't see through either of them.
Especially the woman—she gave off a suffocating sense of pressure, almost like a soul beast's bloodline suppression. Yet there was no soul beast aura on her at all.
In fact, Ice Empress couldn't imagine any soul beast bloodline that could pressure her like this.
Not even Di Tian from the Star Dou Forest could do that.
Then came Skydream's mischievous voice again:
"Let me ask you one thing—do you want to become a god?"
"Become… a god?"
The Ice Empress's yellow diamond pupils shrank, but her voice quickly turned frigid.
"Become a god? Skydream, are you here to mock me?"
"Don't think that just because you've found a backer, I can't kill you."
Clearly, she had mistaken Gu Yuena for Skydream's protector.
Otherwise, given Skydream's cowardly nature, he'd never dare show up in front of her so brazenly.
Still… she'd only sensed his spiritual power. Where was his body?
Her gaze scanned the area, and finally, she found that the source of the spiritual voice was inside the human boy.
What was going on?
"I'm not mocking you," Skydream replied.
"I sacrificed myself years ago to become a Wisdom-type Spirit Ring for Qi Lin."
"I now live inside his spiritual sea as a soul body. If he becomes a god, he can revive me."
"And when that happens, we can ascend to godhood together."
"Hahaha! Pretty clever of me, right?"
Skydream sounded extremely smug. But the Ice Empress was stunned.
"What? You… you actually sacrificed yourself to this human?!"
"Impossible. How could a human withstand your power?"
Still arrogant, Skydream replied,
"Hmph, just because you don't know, doesn't mean it's impossible."
"Qi Lin is one in a billion—he alone can endure my strength."
"Don't you get it? If I'm the Chosen One among soul beasts, then he's the Chosen One of the human world."
"We were made to help each other."
BOOM!
Suddenly, thunder cracked across the sky.
In Qi Lin's spiritual sea, Skydream's round body trembled violently.
"That's weird… thunder out of nowhere?"
Outside, the sudden thunder snapped Qi Lin out of his daze. Instinctively, he looked up.
Hmm…
All around, it was a white world of snow and ice. Though no snow was falling, not a ray of sunlight pierced the sky.
A bit dull, really.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a fine crack appeared in the leaden sky.
From that crack, a golden beam of light burst forth—shining down on Qi Lin.
In that instant, bathed in divine brilliance, Qi Lin looked like a god cloaked in radiant glory—
Descending to the mortal world.