Huo Yuhao slowly woke up and opened his eyes.
The World in his eyes had completely returned to calm. All the figures around had vanished without a trace—the Ice Bear King lying on the ground was gone, and the figure of the Ice Empress was also gone. Only the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, still maintaining its spiritual body form, stared blankly in a certain direction.
Huo Yuhao felt a bit confused and couldn't help but call out:
"Brother Tianmeng?"
Hearing Huo Yuhao's voice, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm suddenly trembled. After swaying a couple of times, it turned around, a complex expression appearing on its face.
"Yu Hao, you're awake."
Huo Yuhao frowned. He felt that Brother Tianmeng's current state was very wrong, and his voice sounded slightly hoarse.
Looking at the concerned Huo Yuhao, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm opened its mouth but didn't know what to say.
However, since things had already come to this point, he couldn't hide it any longer. After heaving a heavy sigh, he spoke in a deep voice, "Yu Hao, how do you feel now?"
Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao subconsciously looked at his own body.
Huo Yuhao could feel that his body seemed to have undergone a certain change. The Spirit Bone that had completely replaced his original skeleton had enhanced his physical fitness. His previously somewhat thin body seemed to have gained some muscle definition, and his body was filled with strength. Moreover, Huo Yuhao felt as if there was a pure energy within him. Although he wasn't sure what this pure energy was, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but feel a bit excited.
These changes had completely compensated for his previously weak foundation.
In the past, his Innate spirit power was very low, his talent was poor, and his Cultivation speed was very slow. But now, at the very least, he had caught up... or even surpassed most people.
At least, that was how it seemed to Huo Yuhao himself.
But... what about the Ice Empress?
Although the current changes were very significant, Huo Yuhao still looked forward to what level of transformation he would achieve after the Ice Empress became his second spirit.
Noticing Huo Yuhao's expression, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's voice was hoarse, "You already have your second spirit... A small accident happened; we were tricked."
Tricked?
What did that mean?
Huo Yuhao couldn't understand the meaning of the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's words, but under the reminder of the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, he quickly sensed something.
A slightly dim purple halo slowly rose from beneath Huo Yuhao's feet, and accompanying this spirit ring, there appeared a small bug only a few centimeters in diameter.
This small bug quietly lay on Huo Yuhao's shoulder. If one didn't observe carefully, one wouldn't notice it at all.
This is his second spirit?
Why did his Spirit turn into this?
Noticing the Frost Velvet Ice Mite and the purple spirit ring rising under Huo Yuhao's feet, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm closed its eyes, its expression showing some pain. "The Ice Empress never intended to Sacrifice herself to you from the beginning, nor did she ever intend to become your spirit ring."
"The 'bone first, then Spirit' method she used wasn't for a Spirit Bone she could produce, but rather a torso bone produced by a ten-thousand-year Ice Jade Scorpion."
"She did this simply to make me let down my guard. Then the Snow Empress suddenly appeared and caught me completely off guard. I could only watch as the Snow Empress placed the Frost Velvet Ice Mite into your body, occupying the position for the ice attribute, to become your second spirit."
Huo Yuhao was instantly stunned, his body uncontrollably stepping back two paces.
"This... How is this possible!? The Ice Empress... How could the Ice Empress know about your plan, Brother Tianmeng? And with the Snow Empress, the leader of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North... She placed the Frost Velvet Ice Mite into my body to become my second spirit..."
"Brother Tianmeng, what kind of Spirit is the Frost Velvet Ice Mite?"
The sudden news made Huo Yuhao panic immediately, and his voice sounded somewhat trembling.
He instinctively realized something was wrong.
"The Frost Velvet Ice Mite... This is the weakest Spirit Beast race in the Extreme North Land. They are even weaker than my Silkworm race. I even thought that this Spirit Beast had long been extinct in the Extreme North Land. I didn't expect the Snow Empress could actually find a Frost Velvet Ice Mite and put it into your body."
The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm gave a wry smile. "This type of Spirit is a useless Spirit. Moreover, it is the most useless Spirit among useless Spirits. Besides possessing the ice attribute, it has no other advantages whatsoever—no offensive power, no defensive capability, no auxiliary effects, and certainly no control ability."
"The only ability of the Frost Velvet Ice Mite is merely to release a trace of extremely weak power to paralyze its natural predators. But this paralyzing effect... it can't be said to be completely useless, only that it is negligible."
Listening to the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's words, Huo Yuhao's body uncontrollably knelt down onto the snow.
He actually... Awakened such trashy Spirit?
Before closing his eyes, Huo Yuhao had been imagining that he could possess a top-tier Spirit Beast like the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion as his Spirit. But after opening his eyes, you tell me my Spirit has turned into the trashiest of trash, the Frost Velvet Ice Mite!?
The huge drop filled Huo Yuhao's heart with grief and indignation.
Why!
Why must Heaven treat him this way?
Why must he endure this kind of pain and torment!?
A useless Frost Velvet Ice Mite Spirit... Must he rely on such a useless Spirit to go to the White Tiger Dukes Residence to avenge his mother?
Huo Yuhao hammered the hard ground unwillingly, letting out roar after roar, as if venting the resentment in his heart.
But...
Who could he blame for this matter?
Blame the Ice Empress and the suddenly appearing Snow Empress?
Since they had already arrived here and designed a way to control the Ice Empress, then this outcome could only be described as him bringing it upon himself.
Blame Brother Tianmeng?
Huo Yuhao felt he had even less reason to blame him.
From his own perspective, Brother Tianmeng had already done the absolute limit of what he could do, and his plan indeed had a very high success rate.
If it weren't for Brother Tianmeng, he wouldn't have been able to obtain a second spirit at all.
Not blaming the Ice Empress or the Snow Empress, nor could he blame Brother Tianmeng.
Then who should he blame?
Blame himself?
This entire matter, from beginning to end, he was merely the 'puppet' being manipulated by others, so it had nothing to do with him.
It was precisely because of this that Huo Yuhao felt even more grief, indignation, and powerlessness.
"Yu Hao... I'm sorry."
The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm lowered its head somewhat dejectedly. It clearly understood Huo Yuhao's current mood, but at the same time, it also felt extreme sorrow and pain.
Ice Empress... My Bingbing...
She had rejected his good intentions in the most ruthless and decisive way. This also meant that he likely would never have the chance to be with the Ice Empress forever in this life.