Hearing the Snow Empress thank him, Jiang Shengyu looked at her in surprise.
"Don't! It's me who should be thanking you. You've helped me a great deal along the way."
The Snow Empress shook her head, her gaze steady upon him. Softly, she said, "It's not the same. A helping hand in desperate times is different from mere embellishment. Even without me, with your talent you would still rise to fame and outshine countless geniuses. But without you, I might already have become someone's spirit ring… or more likely, I would have chosen to self-destruct and perish with them."
Jiang Shengyu frowned and blinked at her. "Why are you suddenly saying this? You being this unassuming… I almost can't get used to it."
"Brat! When have I ever been overbearing toward you?" The Snow Empress arched her brows, feigning anger.
"Calm down, Snow Empress!" Jiang Shengyu quickly soothed her. "If your mood is disturbed, your cultivation will become unstable—that would be troublesome!"
"I'm being serious. I want to thank you." The Snow Empress locked eyes with him, her tone solemn.
Jiang Shengyu nodded. "I understand. And I'm serious too—everything you've done for me, I remember."
Seeing the sincerity in his gaze, the Snow Empress smiled. That smile alone seemed to warm the air itself. "Brat… no, Shengyu. I'm truly glad I met you."
"The way you're saying it sounds like you're about to leave me behind any moment. Best not to phrase it like that." Jiang Shengyu shook his head.
"But once I return to the Extreme North, won't we part ways?"
Jiang Shengyu blinked, then nodded. "That's true."
She belonged to the boundless snowscapes of the Extreme North. She should not be confined to a human's side.
Thinking of this, Jiang Shengyu added, "Come now, no need to be sentimental. Parting is for the sake of reunion. It's not as if we're about to die. Once I ascend to the supreme godhood and achieve immortality, we'll have all the time in the world."
At his words, the Snow Empress chuckled again. But she warned him: "You always boast too much. Remember, no matter how great your talent, cultivation must be grounded. Your decision to temper your spirit rings was correct. Both my intervention and Ditian's forced acceleration have damaged your foundation. You must rebuild your base steadily."
"I understand." Jiang Shengyu nodded.
The Snow Empress watched him for a moment, then suddenly said, "Give me a name. A human name. So that this year I've spent with you will not be without meaning."
At that, Jiang Shengyu fell silent. He admitted, his first thought had been "Snowy."
After some thought, he said, "How about Qing Nü?"
"Qing Nü?"
The Snow Empress frowned at the name. "Why that?"
Jiang Shengyu explained, "In my homeland, Qing Nü is the goddess who governs frost and snow. Don't you think it suits you perfectly, Snow Empress?"
"The goddess of frost and snow…"
The Snow Empress fell into contemplation. After a long time, she nodded. "Alright. Then I will be Qing Nü. But don't carelessly tell anyone else this name. It will belong only to you and me."
"Not even my sister?" Jiang Shengyu asked.
The Snow Empress gave him a look. "Don't you two share thoughts? Everything you know, she already knows. Why bother telling her separately?"
"That's true." Jiang Shengyu scratched his head. He had nearly forgotten that the Snow Empress already knew much about his shared bond with Jiang Qingtong.
Just then, Jiang Shengyu suddenly furrowed his brows and looked toward the door. "They're here," he said to the Snow Empress.
Outside, Jiang Qingtong immediately blocked the approaching Niu Tian and Tai Tan. "Seniors, why have you come here?"
"This is our Clear Sky Sect's territory. Why wouldn't we come?" Tai Tan replied.
"We've come to see Shengyu. Step aside," Niu Tian said.
At his words, Jiang Qingtong's brows drew together. At that moment, Jiang Shengyu emerged from the room. Facing the two, he asked, "Seniors, what business do you have with me?"
"You came out alone? Where's the Snow Empress?" Tai Tan demanded when he saw Jiang Shengyu by himself.
Both Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong's expressions shifted. Sensing their tension, Niu Tian quickly reassured them. "No need to be nervous. You're Dong'er's friends; we won't harm you. But since the Snow Empress is here, of course we wish to pay our respects."
As Jiang Shengyu pondered how to respond, the Snow Empress's voice came from within: "Let them in, Shengyu."
Only then did Jiang Shengyu open the door and invite them in. He and Jiang Qingtong followed after.
Inside, Niu Tian and Tai Tan looked upon the Snow Empress, seated cross-legged upon the Ten-Thousand-Year Frigid Jade Essence. Niu Tian clasped his fists respectfully. "The Snow Empress graces us with her presence. Forgive our inadequate hospitality."
"Why so formal?" Tai Tan glanced at him, then asked, "Snow Empress, why are you in this state?"
"You two are beasts, aren't you?" the Snow Empress asked in return, not answering directly. Even though she had yet to recover her peak power, with the ninth-rank soul tools shielding her, she had confidence she would not be outmatched.
"Yes." Niu Tian didn't bother hiding it and nodded.
Only then did the Snow Empress explain. "I failed to overcome my eight-hundred-thousand-year tribulation and chose to rebuild. Later, a human Title Douluo discovered my reborn form. Shengyu was the one who saved me from their hands."
Tai Tan shot Jiang Shengyu a glance. The Snow Empress continued, "Don't underestimate this boy. One day, he may become a great benefactor to our soul beast race."
"Him, a benefactor?" Tai Tan's gaze lingered on Jiang Shengyu. "I'll grant he's talented. But to say he'll be a benefactor to us beasts? I don't buy it."
Niu Tian said nothing, but clearly he too did not believe.
The Snow Empress turned her eyes to Jiang Shengyu, silently asking his opinion. Jiang Shengyu nodded, signaling her to speak.
Thus, she told them, "Shengyu has been researching a way for human soul masters to cultivate without hunting soul beasts. He already has some promising results."
She kept hidden the fact that Jiang Shengyu could directly attach spirit rings.
The reason she mentioned this to Niu Tian and Tai Tan was, at its core, to ensure that once she returned to the Extreme North, Jiang Shengyu would have more allies. But she also wished to avoid exposing too many of his secrets.
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