The Ice Jade Scorpion Soul Spirit hatched on the second night after the Snow Empress Soul Spirit was born, which was the night before the final of the Soul Master Competition.
Compared to the Snow Empress's human appearance, the Ice Jade Scorpion's look was much wilder. Although the Ice Jade Scorpion was one of the more beautiful Spirit Beasts, compared to a glowing green scorpion, a human appearance was indeed what Zhu Ziyang found most captivating!
How to describe it? The Ice Jade Scorpion's appearance was not ugly; on the contrary, it was exquisite. Its entire body resembled a crystal-clear emerald, sparkling with precious light, and its scorpion tail emitted a diamond-like luster. Overall, it looked like an extraordinarily beautiful piece of craftsmanship, making people want to admire it.
Of course, this was the Ice Jade Scorpion's non-combat state. In combat, she would revert to her original appearance and size, becoming a giant Ice Jade Scorpion about two meters long.
In fact, not only the Ice Jade Scorpion, but the Snow Empress and Second Shuang also had distinctions between non-combat and combat states. The Snow Empress's non-combat state was that of a three- or four-year-old child, while her combat state was that of a five- or six-year-old child, and this appearance would increase as the Snow Empress's actual combat power recovered. Second Shuang's non-combat and combat states differed in size, just like the Ice Jade Scorpion. Second Shuang's combat state was her true silver dragon form, enormous and majestic.
With all three Soul Spirits gathered, Zhu Ziyang prepared to lay down the rules. He said, "From now on, you can call me 'Master' or my name directly, as you wish. However, there is one thing: you must obey my commands!"
"Master? Bah! I don't want to! Calling you Ziyang is best!" Second Shuang said arrogantly, lifting her head.
"Then I'll call you Ziyang!" The Ice Jade Scorpion's voice was cold, full of a capable quality.
"Can I call you something else?" The Snow Empress's small face inexplicably turned red, and her voice lost its usual dominance, instead perfectly matching her current appearance, like a timid, shy little girl, asking cautiously.
"Oh? What do you want to call me?" Zhu Ziyang was surprised and asked curiously.
"Fa-father..." The Snow Empress's voice mumbled, like a little girl who had done something wrong and feared her father's punishment.
"What?" Zhu Ziyang thought he had misheard, looking at the Snow Empress with a face full of surprise and bewilderment, asking in a daze.
"This one said, this one wants to call you father!" The Snow Empress suddenly mustered her courage and shouted loudly.
"Uh!" Zhu Ziyang heard clearly this time, his face showing confusion, curiosity, and doubt. He asked again, "What did you say? You're not joking, are you?"
"No!" The Snow Empress said unequivocally. After speaking her true thoughts, she no longer cared about the shame she felt. "This one wants to call you father! You gave this one a second life and a brighter future, so you are the father of this one's new body!"
"Uh!" Zhu Ziyang now confirmed that the Snow Empress was serious. A helpless smile appeared on his face, but more than that, it was amusement. He said, "If you wish, I have no objection. At most, I'll just have one more daughter."
"Thank you for giving this one the chance to experience having parents!" Seeing that Zhu Ziyang didn't refuse, the Snow Empress's small face immediately lit up with longing and satisfaction. She took a step forward, threw herself into Zhu Ziyang's arms, and murmured, "Father!"
Zhu Ziyang held the Snow Empress, feeling a trace of sympathy and pity for this Empress who once roamed the far north. He promised, "Mm, I'm here!"
This scene of father and daughter embracing brought tears to the Ice Jade Scorpion's eyes and made Second Shuang continuously pout. Second Shuang didn't understand the Snow Empress's act of adopting a father, but the Ice Jade Scorpion, who was connected to the Snow Empress's heart, understood very well how much her good sister longed for family.
"Shuang Er, you must be wondering why the Snow Empress is willing to call Ziyang 'father,' right?" The Ice Jade Scorpion explained to Second Shuang, "You should know that the Snow Empress is an Ice Snow Maiden, right?"
As a natural-born elemental spirit, an Ice Snow Maiden can only exist one at a time in the entire world, so she has no clan, let alone family. But as a celestial spirit with full sentience, her yearning for kinship has existed since the moment of her birth.
Before I met the Snow Empress, she had lived alone for three hundred thousand years. Her loneliness is unimaginable to Spirit Beasts like you and me, who have clans and families."
"This..." Second Shuang couldn't help but click her tongue after hearing the Ice Jade Scorpion's explanation, saying, "Alright, it seems I misunderstood her."
"Father, can you give this one a name?" After the Snow Empress and Zhu Ziyang separated, the Snow Empress raised her head, her watery eyes wide, looking at Zhu Ziyang with anticipation and pleading.
"Why is that? I think the title Snow Empress is quite good!" Zhu Ziyang asked, puzzled.
"But I heard that fathers in human families give each child a nice name!" The Snow Empress's voice sounded so soft and sweet, and her face held an innocent smile, truly indistinguishable from an ordinary human little girl.
"So that's it!" Zhu Ziyang smiled upon hearing this and said, "Alright then, from now on, you'll be called Zhu Lingxue, and your nickname will be Xue'er. How does that sound?"
"Mm, this one, no, I, I'll be called Xue'er from now on!" The Snow Empress's face lit up with happiness, and she said dreamily.
—
As the sun slowly rose from the east, Star Luo City, the imperial capital of the Star Luo Empire, experienced a rare traffic jam, a congestion that happened only once every ten years. Almost every street was packed with people, making it impassable. And the only event that could cause such congestion was one thing: the finals of the Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition!
However, despite the entire city being congested, this would not affect Shrek Academy and Sun Moon Academy, who were about to make their appearance. The members of both academies had already arrived at Star Luo Plaza through a special passage.
In fact, Star Luo Plaza was the most densely populated area in the entire Star Luo City, because from the moment the semifinals ended, queues had started forming outside Star Luo Plaza. Many people had been queuing for two days and two nights, all to witness the finals of the Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition firsthand. For some, this might be their only chance in a lifetime.
The Shrek Academy members paid no attention to the crowd in Star Luo Plaza. They were currently sitting in a luxurious and comfortable lounge, discussing the schedule for the final matches.
The format of the Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition finals was unique; it was probably the only Elite Competition final on the entire continent that was divided into three matches: team battle, cooperation battle, and individual battle.
Yes, the two teams in the Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition finals had to participate in three matches consecutively: team battle, individual battle, and cooperation battle. It was a best-of-three system, and only the team that won two matches would claim the ultimate championship. The team battle was, of course, a seven-on-seven large-scale team battle, while the individual battle was a one-on-one arena match, with each side sending seven contestants to take turns on the stage until all members of one side were defeated. As for the cooperation battle, it was a two-two-three small team battle format, with the three small matches also being a best-of-three system.
Generally speaking, it was rare for a final to reach the cooperation battle, as Shrek Academy's dominance and control were too strong. Even though the Sun Moon Team was also very powerful, they still seemed somewhat outmatched against the Shrek Team.
In this year's finals, most spectators also did not favor the Sun Moon Team. They didn't even consider seeing the third cooperation battle, after all, Shrek Academy had a very powerful contestant this year!
The Gold Moon Emperor, Zhu Ziyang!
To show respect to both teams, Emperor Emperor Xu Jiawei of the Star Luo Empire arrived early at the imperial city tower. Behind him were the officials and nobles of the Star Luo Empire, as well as someone all Star Luo Empire spectators had not expected: Duke White Tiger, Dai Hao.
Dai Hao stood respectfully beside Emperor Xu Jiawei, discussing something with him. It was clear that Dai Hao held Emperor Xu Jiawei in high regard, exuding an aura of loyalty that was evident without needing a careful look.
Emperor Xu Jiawei's way of managing his subordinates was truly impressive!
On Emperor Xu Jiawei's other side was Princess Princess Xu Jiujiu. Her gaze immediately found Zhu Ziyang. For this genius Spirit Emperor with a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring, Princess Xu Jiujiu's emotions were very complex. She couldn't help but recall what the imperial elder Old Luo had told her last night, and a blush and annoyance appeared on her pretty face.
"Silence! The competition is about to begin. Please, Your Majesty, speak." Dai Hao shouted in a deep voice. He didn't use a sound-amplifying spirit tool, yet his voice carried far, and a powerful, resolute aura of iron and blood emanated from the city wall.
"Kill, kill, kill—" All the soldiers maintaining order simultaneously raised their weapons and shouted, and instantly, the entire Star Luo Plaza was filled with a murderous atmosphere.
Emperor Xu Jiawei smiled and said, "The last time I witnessed the Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition in Star Luo City was twenty years ago. At that time, both I and my virtuous brother Dai Hao were mere youths.
Time has passed, and twenty years later, today, I am the ruler of a nation, and my virtuous brother Dai Hao has become the Empire's first commander.
We are once again about to witness a duel between the continent's strongest young people. My heart is filled with excitement. I hope both teams can present a magnificent match to every spectator.
As per tradition, the winner of this final will receive three Spirit Bones and a reward of one million gold coins. I have already selected ten Spirit Bones from our national treasury for the ultimate champion to choose from.
Today's match will still be officiated by Celestial Fiend Douluo.
No need for further words, let everyone join me in enjoying this duel, which is sure to be recorded in history."