The sacred valley, once a cradle of serene transformation, now bore the silent, grim scars of a battle that should never have occurred. The air, though still pure and biting with the northern chill, seemed to hold a memory of violence, a faint, lingering echo of extinguished souls.
The Snow Empress, in her newfound human form, stood with a grace that seemed as natural as falling snow. The initial, dizzying wonder of her rebirth was slowly settling, replaced by the profound, quiet calm of her true nature. She looked at her own hands—slender, pale, and utterly human—and then her sky-blue eyes, clear as a winter morning, lifted to gaze upon the two figures who had been her silent, steadfast guardians.
Her gaze fell first on Jin Xi, the radiant, golden queen whose power was a fierce and vibrant sun against the cold canvas of the north. Then, it settled on Huo Yuhao, the quiet, serious boy whose youthful frame contained a depth of spirit and a collection of secrets that seemed as vast as the sky itself.
She took a step forward, the movement fluid and silent, and performed a slight, yet deeply formal, bow. It was a gesture of respect from one monarch to another, an acknowledgement that went far beyond mere thanks.
"Emperor Auspicious Beast," she began, her voice the soft murmur of wind over ice, her address formal and filled with a genuine deference. "Huo Yuhao. I am in your debt. You stood watch over me during my most vulnerable moment. For this, you have my eternal gratitude."
"Think nothing of it," Jin Xi said with a wave of her hand, her tone casual, though her ruby eyes held a glint of pride. "We are comrades. It is only natural that we protect our own from scavenging birds."
The Snow Empress's serene expression faltered as her gaze swept over the valley. Now that the immediate haze of her transformation had cleared, she could truly see the aftermath. A great swathe of the valley floor was a chaotic mess of shattered ice and upturned earth. A faint, dark stain marred the pristine white snow near the entrance, a place where life had been violently and utterly erased. The lingering scent of ozone and abject terror still hung faintly in the air.
"There was a battle here," she stated, her voice losing its softness, replaced by a sharp, analytical coldness. "A significant one. The traces of power… they are not from any beast I know."
Jin Xi let out a sharp, unladylike snort. "Beasts? No. Beasts have more honor. What you smell, Snow Empress, is the stink of human greed."
With a flair for the dramatic, and a healthy dose of self-aggrandizement, Jin Xi recounted the tale. She spoke of the six arrogant Titled Douluo, their condescending laughter, and their profane plan to capture a transforming beast. Her voice dripped with contempt as she described the God Sealing Altar, the blasphemous tool designed to turn a living soul into an implantable embryo.
"They thought we were children to be swatted aside," Jin Xi said, her hand tightening on the shaft of her Golden Dragon Spear. "They underestimated us."
She described the ensuing battle—the impossible coordination of their four minds, the brilliant tactics Huo Yuhao had employed, the shocking power of the gifts from their family in the Star Dou Great Forest. She spoke of the moment he had unleashed the spectral claw of the Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear, erasing their leader and another Titled Douluo from existence.
"But they were still too many," Jin Xi admitted, her expression turning grim. "Four enraged Titled Douluo, desperate and willing to destroy everything. We were at our limit. Yuhao had no choice."
Her voice dropped, now filled with a reverence that matched the Snow Empress's own earlier gratitude. "He summoned Di Tian using one of the reverse scale that Di Tian gave us."
The Snow Empress's calm façade finally, completely shattered. Her sky-blue eyes went wide with utter, profound shock.
"Di Tian?" she whispered, the name a thing of disbelief on her lips. "The Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King… he came here? To my domain? To save… me?"
The implications were staggering. Di Tian was a proud, reclusive monarch, a king who seemed content in the affairs of his own forest, let alone the domain of a rival ruler from a distant land. For him to personally intervene, to answer the call of a human boy to save her… it was an act of solidarity, a political statement of immense significance. It was a kindness she had never expected, and it touched her ancient, lonely soul to its very core.
A wave of warmth, a feeling she had not experienced in millennia, spread through her new human body. She felt a gratitude so deep it was humbling, not just to the two before her, but to the distant, dark king in his southern forest.
"I see," she said softly, her voice thick with an emotion she rarely showed. "The debt I owe is far greater than I imagined."
Huo Yuhao, who had been listening quietly, saw the weight of this new knowledge settle on her. He decided it was time to shift the conversation to a more practical, immediate concern.
"Your Majesty," he began, his voice a gentle anchor in the sea of her emotions. "Now that your transformation is complete and you have stabilized your new form, what are your plans? What will you do now?"
The question seemed to pull her from her reverie. She looked down at her human hands, then at the vast, empty, beautiful wasteland that had been her home and her prison for seven hundred thousand years. A thoughtful, deeply contemplative look entered her eyes.
She was silent for a long moment, a monarch weighing the future of her own existence. Then, her serene face took on an expression of profound, almost comical, seriousness.
"I have a problem," she announced, her tone as grave as if she were declaring war. "A very big one."
Huo Yuhao felt a sudden, chilling sense of déjà vu.
"I need a name," the Snow Empress stated, her sky-blue eyes filled with the gravity of this singular, monumental crisis.
Huo Yuhao's shoulders slumped. He brought a hand up and pressed the palm firmly against his forehead, a gesture of weary, exasperated resignation. 'Not again,' he thought, a groan echoing in his soul. 'First a golden lion princess, now an ancient snow empress. Is this the first thing all-powerful female beasts think of when they become human?'
Jin Xi, however, did not share his exasperation. Her face lit up with a brilliant, beaming smile of pure validation. She strode over to the Snow Empress and clapped her enthusiastically on the shoulder, a gesture of instant camaraderie.
"See? I told you!" she exclaimed, turning a triumphant look on Huo Yuhao. "I knew it was a big problem! A truly critical one! You can't just go around being 'the beautiful snow lady'. It lacks… style."
She leaned closer to the Snow Empress, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "You are very fortunate, you know. My Yuhao is exceptionally good at giving names. He gave me mine. Jin Xi," she said, puffing out her chest with pride. "Golden Brilliance. It's perfect, isn't it?"
The Snow Empress's eyebrows rose a fraction. A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched her lips. Her sky-blue gaze shifted, settling expectantly upon Huo Yuhao. Her intention was as clear and direct as a falling icicle.
Huo Yuhao dropped his hand from his face and let out a long, suffering sigh. The weight of naming ancient, god-like beings was apparently a new and recurring responsibility in his life. He looked at the Snow Empress, at her serene, elegant beauty, her silver hair, her connection to the pure, absolute nature of her element. He didn't need to think for long. The answer felt simple, natural.
"Xue Nu," he said quietly.
The two syllables hung in the crisp, clean air.
"Xue," he explained, "for snow, your very essence. And Nu, for lady or woman. Snow Lady. It is simple, but it reflects your truest identity as the Heavenly Snow Woman."
The Snow Empress considered the name, her head tilted. "Xue Nu…" she repeated softly, the sound feeling right on her new human tongue. It was not flashy or grand. It was simple, elegant, and true. It fit her.
She gave a single, decisive nod. "I like it. From this day forward, I shall be known as Xue Nu."
"Excellent!" Jin Xi declared. "Now that the crisis is averted, we can get back to important matters."
Huo Yuhao cleared his throat. "Now that the matter of your name is resolved, Xue Nu," he said, trying to steer the conversation back to its original course, "what do you truly plan to do?"
Xue Nu's serene expression returned, now tinged with a hint of melancholy as she gazed around the familiar, lonely valley. "I have become human. This place… it is no longer my home in the same way. It is a beautiful prison I have finally escaped. To truly understand this new life, to grow and learn, I must interact with the human world."
She paused, a flicker of uncharacteristic shyness, of vulnerability, entering her sky-blue eyes. She turned her gaze to the two of them, her new, unlikely friends.
"But I… I do not know your world. I would be… alone." She took a small, hesitant step forward. "If it is not too much of an imposition… may I join you on your journey?"
Before Huo Yuhao could even formulate a polite and welcoming response, Jin Xi let out a delighted cry.
"Of course, you can join us!" she exclaimed, throwing an arm around Xue Nu's shoulders in a gesture of immediate, sisterly affection. "The more the merrier! It will be a grand adventure! The three of us! A golden dragon, a snow woman, and our clever little craftsman and godly cook! We will be an unstoppable pack!"
Xue Nu's face broke into a rare, genuine smile, a breathtaking expression that seemed to make the very air around her sparkle. The relief in her eyes was palpable. She was no longer alone.
Huo Yuhao simply smiled, his heart feeling full. His small, strange family was growing. "We would be honored to have you with us, Xue Nu."
"Then it's settled!" Jin Xi declared. "A new comrade for our pack! Now, where to next? More cities? More spinning toys?"
Huo Yuhao's expression turned serious once more. He looked towards the south, his mind already calculating the risks.
"We need to leave this place," he said, his tone urgent. "Now. We can't linger here. The Star Luo Empire sent one team of Titled Douluo. When they don't return, when their life signs vanish from whatever records their empire keeps, Xu Jiawei will know the mission failed catastrophically. He might be cautious, he might even be afraid, but an emperor's pride is a dangerous thing. There is a chance, however small, that he might send a second, even more powerful team to investigate."
The logic was sound. They had won the battle, but the valley itself was now a compromised location.
"It would be best for us to disappear from the North completely," he continued, laying out his plan. "We should head back south, into the Heaven Soul Empire. We can find a quiet city, travel around for a few weeks, let any potential trail go cold. Then, when we are sure no one is looking for us, we can begin our journey back to the Star Dou Great Forest."
Jin Xi's ruby eyes lit up at the mention of more cities. Her brief foray into human civilization had only whetted her appetite. And then, a thought, even more exciting than roller coasters or sweet pastries, struck her. A wide, greedy, and utterly delighted grin spread across her beautiful face.
"Oh, this is perfect!" she exclaimed, her voice buzzing with an energy that had nothing to do with adventure and everything to do with avarice.
She practically skipped over to the spot where Di Tian had gathered the spoils of their battle. While the Beast God had taken the Soul Tools, he had left behind the storage rings of the five fallen Titled Douluo for them. Jin Xi had tucked them away safely during the ensuing chaos. Now, she pulled them out, a collection of elegant, high-grade rings that hummed with latent power.
She poured them out onto a flat rock, a cascade of shimmering, beautiful artifacts.
"We are rich, you two! Absolutely, fabulously rich!" she declared, her eyes sparkling like precious gems. She picked up a single, exquisitely crafted ring. "This is a Class 7 storage ring! The space inside is probably as big as a house! And look at all these!"
She began to rummage through the rings, her earlier regal demeanor completely gone, replaced by the gleeful avarice of a dragon hoarding its treasure.
"Gold coins! Hundreds of thousands of them! Look at them shine! He even had a collection of rare wines!" she announced, holding up a dusty bottle. "And this one… oh, this one has clothes! Silks and furs! So many pretty things!"
She turned to Xue Nu, her eyes wide with a conspiratorial glee. "Xue Nu! You'll need a human wardrobe! We can go shopping! We can buy everything! Dresses, shoes, jewelry, anything you want! We have enough shiny metal circles to buy an entire city's worth of shops!"
Xue Nu, who had never seen a gold coin in her several hundred thousand years of existence, simply stared at the pile of glittering objects, a look of profound, regal confusion on her serene face. "These… metal circles… they are truly that valuable to humans?"
"Valuable? They are everything!" Jin Xi insisted, scooping up a handful of gold coins and letting them run through her fingers like water. "They buy you food, a soft place to sleep, and most importantly, they buy you shiny, pretty things! It's the best part of being human!"
Huo Yuhao just sighed, a fond smile on his face. He watched the two of them—the radiant, materialistic golden princess and the serene, utterly bewildered snow queen—and felt a deep, unshakable sense of contentment. His pack was complete.
"Alright," he said, pulling them from their treasure-induced trance. "Let's get moving. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can find a city, and the sooner you can begin your… shopping spree, Xi'er."
That was all the motivation she needed. With their newfound wealth secured and their new comrade in tow, the trio turned their backs on the sacred, silent valley and began their journey south, towards the noise, the chaos, and the endless, glittering possibilities of the human world.