Chapter 262: Convincing the Snow Empress
"Hm?"
Just as the Snow Empress was about to crush Ye Chen in a frozen storm, her icy gaze suddenly faltered.
That razor-sharp look shifted from Ye Chen's body to his shoulder—where a tiny, chittering Ice Jade Scorpion barely the size of her palm was waving its claws.
"Ice… Ice Empress?"
The Snow Empress's sapphire eyes widened in disbelief.
The little creature's aura was completely different, yet something deep within told her—it was the Ice Empress!
"It's me, Snow Empress! Don't attack! I brought Ye Chen here to find you—he's not the enemy, he's a good person!"
The Ice Empress heaved an immense sigh of relief as the crushing pressure around them eased.
Ye Chen was her host—her man.
If he were obliterated, she would perish along with him.
"Ice… Bing'er?!"
For the first time in thousands of years, the Snow Empress's usually steady tone trembled. Disbelief and confusion filled her frosty voice.
"It's really you… but why is your aura so weak? And why are you with a human?!"
Shock turned quickly to fury.
Her once serene expression twisted with rage as her icy mist swirled into a blinding vortex.
"Despicable human!" she cried, her voice booming like a storm.
"What have you done to the Ice Empress?"
"Did you imprison her soul?"
"Or use some vile magic to twist her will?!"
Her wrath rolled through the air like thunder.
In her mind, the truth was clear: this lowly human had enslaved the proud, mighty Ice Empress, breaking her spirit until she was nothing but a submissive shade of herself.
The temperature plummeted again.
The unleashed cold was even crueler than before, thick with murderous fury.
Frost flared across the ground around Ye Chen, nearly freezing him solid in an instant.
"Snow Empress, wait! You've got it all wrong!"
The tiny scorpion buzzed frantically in circles before darting in front of Ye Chen and changing into her humanoid form.
Her hands waved wildly as she blurted out, "Ye Chen didn't hurt me! He didn't force me—I chose this myself! It was my decision to become what I am now!"
"What? Chose it… yourself?"
Confusion flickered across the Snow Empress's flawless face. Her voice rose, trembling with disbelief.
"Bing'er… have you lost your mind? Why would you choose a human—and degrade yourself to this?!"
The Snow Empress couldn't comprehend what she was hearing.
The once proud, untamable Ice Empress—queen of frost, who had always despised humans—now claimed to have willingly become one's servant?
It was more unthinkable than finding her sister half-dead. It shattered everything she knew.
"I haven't lost my mind! Just listen, Snow Empress, please—let me explain!"
The Ice Empress's words rushed out, flustered but urgent. She knew the Snow Empress's hatred of humanity all too well, and that misunderstanding Ye Chen right now would end badly.
Taking a deep breath, she spoke in a single desperate stream, "The human I bonded to isn't ordinary. His name is Ye Chen. His martial soul isn't just any ice—it's the Supreme King among all Ultimate Ice, the Ice Dragon King! His bloodline is higher than ours—higher than any beast in the North!"
At that, the Snow Empress's frosty blue pupils contracted slightly.
Her killing intent faded just a fraction, replaced by wary scrutiny.
An Ice-attribute bloodline stronger than her own? That was not something she could dismiss easily.
Still, she was doubtful.
The Ice Dragon King had vanished from the world long ago. Even if a human had awakened such power, it could never be pure.
Seeing her pause, the Ice Empress hurried on.
"That's not all! My time was nearly up, Snow Empress! The forty-thousand-year tribulation—I wouldn't have survived it. I could feel it coming! I had no chance of passing through alive..."
Her voice quavered slightly as she recalled that creeping fear of death.
The Snow Empress's heart sank. She had always worried about Bing'er's impending calamity.
But still—
"So you… attached yourself to a human? A being who only lives for a few decades?"
Her tone turned heavy, cold with disappointment and pain.
She understood fear—every powerful soul beast dreaded that final tribulation.
But to submit to a human, to choose it willingly? That, to the Snow Empress, was a betrayal of everything they were—pride, power, and sovereignty.
"Not submission!" the Ice Empress said quickly, eyes wide and pleading.
"No, Snow Empress—this is something new. A different kind of connection—it's called a soul spirit! It's our only path forward!"
The Snow Empress frowned. "Soul spirit? What is that? Humans are deceitful—you must not have fallen for their lies!"
"It's not a lie!" the Ice Empress insisted, frantically explaining. "I kept my entire consciousness—my spirit, my will. I share his vitality and strength. I can still fight freely beside him!"
Seeing her words barely break through that icy disbelief, she dropped her final revelation.
"But most importantly... it's Ye Chen's potential!"
Her voice grew steadier, more confident.
"Ye Chen's talent surpasses anything I've ever seen. When he becomes a god one day, he'll gain the power of divine law itself—and then he can rebuild my body, granting me eternal life!"
"Ha… become a god? Eternal life?"
The Snow Empress's pale lips curled into a cold, scornful smile.
Her laughter was like cracking ice—beautiful yet merciless.
"Millennia ago, only seven ever ascended to godhood. In the ten thousand years since, not a single human has succeeded. They all die before their flame burns out."
She looked down at Ye Chen, her gaze filled with resigned contempt.
"Ice Empress, you've been deceived. Becoming a god is harder than surviving a million-year tribulation. You've traded pride for a fool's dream!"
Her eyes flickered between pity and disappointment.
She truly believed Bing'er had been seduced by empty promises.
"It's true, Snow Empress! Others might not be able to—but Ye Chen can! He's only thirteen years old!"
The revelation burst from her mouth like thunder.
"What—?"
The Snow Empress froze. Her pupils contracted sharply, her cold composure fracturing at the edges.
She could sense Ye Chen's power—an ice-aligned Soul Emperor, unusually strong and refined.
She had assumed his youthful appearance was a camouflage technique or some illusion of vitality.
But thirteen? Thirteen—and already wielding such might?
She could scarcely believe it.
(END CHAPTER)
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