Zhu Ziyang left the core zone of the Extreme North and entered its second ring—the outer glacier region.
With the Heavenly Frost Saint White Dragon possessing him, his speed was incredibly fast. His aura, now on par with that of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, kept most spirit beasts at bay, allowing him to move unhindered through the icy plains.
Now that his Heavenly Frost Saint White Dragon Martial Soul had five soul rings, Zhu Ziyang's degree of dragonification had reached around fifty percent. Both of his arms had transformed into powerful dragon claws. His upper body was armored with tough dragon scales that covered his chest, back, abdomen, and waist like a suit of armor. A thick and powerful dragon tail had also grown from his spine, and it moved with such ease that he felt as though it was an extension of his will.
In this state, his strength and speed had skyrocketed. He could leap fifty meters in a single bound, and with a single slap, crush a thousand-year soul beast with ease. Zhu Ziyang felt great.
But then—"What's that?" Just as he was moving forward, having exited the core zone, he sensed an enormous burst of energy from behind. His eyes filled with confusion and surprise. "Something major is happening!"
A terrifying pillar of light shot into the sky, casting away the thick clouds that blanketed the heavens. The air trembled with a regal aura emanating from the light, so powerful that even though Zhu Ziyang was still miles away, he could feel it pressing against his skin. His expression turned strange.
Snow Empress! That energy was clearly Snow Empress's aura—but wasn't Snow Empress already sealed within his soul? What was going on?
Before he could make sense of it, the light shifted. The column that had radiated Snow Empress's aura vanished, replaced by a vivid emerald glow. It pierced the sky, dispersing the clouds and overwhelming the former aura with a powerful new presence.
This green aura shook the spirit soul egg within Zhu Ziyang's spiritual sea. Snow Empress, sensing it, grew frantic. She couldn't act beyond shaking the egg violently, but her anxiety was palpable. Zhu Ziyang could feel her panic and began to piece things together.
"That's the Ice Empress, isn't it? The Ice Jade Scorpion?" he said.
The egg's shaking slowed slightly—clearly, Snow Empress was confirming his suspicion.
"You want me to go check it out, see if the Ice Empress is in danger, right?" he continued, his tone serious.
The egg stopped moving. He had guessed right.
"So… the two of you were close, huh?" Zhu Ziyang recalled the half-bloomed imperial-grade snow lotus and chuckled. "Fine, I'll go. But let me make it clear—I'll only intervene if I can guarantee my own safety."
Snow Empress sent a wave of grateful emotion in response.
Zhu Ziyang didn't mind. His eyes fell on the now-emerald sky. The sequence of events was odd. First, a mysterious being mimicked Snow Empress's aura. Then the Ice Empress appeared. It was too convenient. Someone clearly knew about the close bond between the two and had used Snow Empress's aura as bait to draw Ice Empress out.
This had to be a trap—a plot targeting the Ice Empress. And the location he was headed toward might be the battlefield of two Ferocious Beasts.
Two of the Three Sovereigns of the Extreme North: Ice Empress vs. Titan Snow Demon King!
Zhu Ziyang's heart grew heavy, yet a spark of anticipation glimmered in his chest.
Without hesitation, he set off cautiously toward the source of the disturbance.
—
Under the green-tinted sky, a massive, jade-colored scorpion crouched before a crude ice hut. Floating atop the hut was a translucent, ethereal white silkworm—the predator and its prey, locked in a standoff.
Inside the ice hut, a thinly dressed boy lay motionless, his face pale and filled with despair, as if he had been betrayed. A cold, dead aura clung to him. That boy—was Huo Yuhao.
Outside, the standoff had reached its conclusion. The Ice Empress—the predator—had been subdued by the prey, the Spirit Iceworm. The enormous scorpion was wrapped in a transparent film, her claws and body bound, completely immobilized. The ethereal silkworm gave a satisfied grin and floated back into the ice hut to report the victory.
This Spirit Iceworm was none other than Huo Yuhao's partner—Tianmeng, the big bug.
Tianmeng quickly coaxed the distraught Huo Yuhao back into trusting him. After all, compared to this ancient soul beast that had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, the eleven-year-old boy was still far too naive, relying on Tianmeng completely.
On Huo Yuhao's back, bound tightly, was the subdued Ice Empress. Struggling to carry her, he fled the area at full speed—aware, at least instinctively, of what sort of wrath he might incur for kidnapping one of the Extreme North's Three Sovereigns. He was running for his life.
And from a distant ridge behind them, Zhu Ziyang watched it all unfold with widened eyes and mouth agape. He was stunned. "It's Huo Yuhao! So this is what they mean by a 'child of fate'? A barely-ranked Grandmaster, and he dares go after the Ice Empress? And the Ice Empress—how disgraceful for one of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts to be captured like this!"
"Alright, alright, I'm going," he said with irritation as Snow Empress once again shook her soul egg, urging him forward. He watched Huo Yuhao's retreating figure with a playful grin and silently began to tail him.
Thanks to Tang Ya, Zhu Ziyang and Huo Yuhao had a decent relationship. The boy always greeted him respectfully as "Brother Ziyang," and Zhu Ziyang, knowing Yuhao's fate as the son of destiny, had offered him occasional help. Little gifts, minor kindnesses—but over time, they added up. A small favor could earn the gratitude of a future powerhouse.
He kept exactly a kilometer away. Zhu Ziyang knew Huo Yuhao had a Spiritual Detection Sharing soul skill—and he had experienced its effects firsthand. That ability was top-tier in both practicality and combat.
Maintaining distance was critical. Still, he wasn't worried about losing track. If a mere Grandmaster could slip past him, a nearly ranked Soul Emperor, he might as well give up and go home—no way could he compete in the Elite Spirit Master Tournament.
After a full day and night, Huo Yuhao finally collapsed from exhaustion.
Zhu Ziyang gained a new level of respect for the boy. Twenty-eight hours. A rank-20 spirit master had crossed the second ring of the Extreme North—almost a thousand kilometers—and stopped only twice. That kind of endurance was rare, even among the strong.
He watched as Huo Yuhao threw the Ice Empress aside and lay flat on his back. Then, a large white silkworm crawled out from his forehead. With a strange series of maneuvers, it extracted a glowing green energy from the Ice Empress's body. Her once-lustrous jade form immediately lost its brilliance—it was her soul.
"What kind of soul beast is that bug?" Zhu Ziyang frowned. "What's its relationship to Huo Yuhao? What is it trying to do?"
Snow Empress's soul egg, which had just calmed down, now shook violently again. Her fury and panic surged within Zhu Ziyang's spiritual sea. She hadn't even been this angry when she herself was captured by Zhu Ziyang and Electrolux. Why was she so furious now?
Clearly, he had underestimated how much the Ice Empress meant to Snow Empress.
"You're telling me that big bug is Tianmeng Iceworm? A snow silkworm with hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation? And it confessed to the Ice Empress?" Zhu Ziyang's expression twisted with disbelief. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Trying to hold back his amusement, he said, "Alright, alright. Let's just observe a little longer before we act."
But Snow Empress remained desperate.
"Fine, fine—don't panic! I'll definitely save your Bingbing," Zhu Ziyang said with a grin.
Though he promised with words, he didn't move. He still preferred to wait and see—what exactly were Huo Yuhao and Tianmeng planning?