Atop the desolate, solitary peak, the night wind howled.
The massive Primal Kyogre floated in mid-air, its body surrounded by the phantom of the Primordial Sea, while in the sky, Mega Rayquaza's golden dragon pupils were like two searchlights, dead-locked onto the bottom of the crater below.
Amidst this suffocating pressure, Liu Yuan's voice sounded exceptionally clear.
"Shall we talk?"
Hearing those three words, the Snow Empress, who had just crawled out of the rubble in a disheveled state, curled her lips into a very human-like sneer.
She patted the dust off her skirt, her deep blue eyes filled with disdain and mockery.
"Human, put away your hypocritical face."
The Snow Empress looked up; though her body was small, the pride originating from being the ruler of the far north did not diminish in the slightest.
"What do you want to talk about? Talk about how I will become your spirit ring? Or talk about how to squeeze out every last bit of value from my seven hundred thousand years of cultivation?"
"Or even..."
Her gaze swept over Liu Yuan, a flash of disgust appearing in her eyes: "Do you harbor some even more filthy, improper thoughts about me?"
In the perception of Spirit Beasts, not a single human Spirit Master was any good.
Especially a guy like the one before her who possessed such a terrifying Spirit; he was the most dangerous of the dangerous.
Facing the Snow Empress's cold mockery, Liu Yuan did not get angry.
He remained standing on the back of Primal Kyogre, looking down at her from above, and said in a flat tone: "If I truly wanted to kill you for your ring, or if I had any improper thoughts about you, do you think you would still be standing here talking to me?"
"Furthermore..."
Liu Yuan paused, looking directly into the Snow Empress's eyes, saying each word deliberately: "I saved you."
"Ha!"
The Snow Empress gave a sneer as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world: "You saved me? Are you trying to say that locking me inside that damn ball was saving me?"
"Otherwise?"
Liu Yuan asked back, his voice gaining a hint of seriousness: "Snow Empress, you should be very clear about your previous situation yourself."
"You failed at the critical moment of transforming to re-Cultivate, were forced to regress into an embryo, and were then captured by human Soul Engineers and sealed within that ninth-rank spirit tool, the 'god sealing platform'."
Hearing the words 'god sealing platform', the Snow Empress's expression changed slightly.
Liu Yuan continued: "Although that god sealing platform could lock your vitality to prevent it from leaking, it was also constantly grinding away your Divine Sense. Without external intervention, there were only two possible endings for you."
"First, being absorbed by some Titled Douluo to become his ninth soul ring."
"Second, because your Divine Sense dissipated, you would completely become a Soul-less energy body, used as the core energy source for a spirit tool."
At this point, Liu Yuan pointed at the Snow Empress's current body.
"And now, look at yourself."
"Your Physical Body is no longer that defenseless embryo, but has returned to its original Spirit Beast form."
"Furthermore, the Meridians, bones, and Soul within your body have received unprecedented repair and nourishment."
"All of this is because I put you inside that 'Heal Ball'."
"If it weren't for the massive life energy of that Heal Ball helping you reshape your Physical Body, do you think that with your already shattered Origin, you could have recovered your mobility so quickly? To even be able to shout at me here?"
Liu Yuan's words were like heavy hammer blows, slamming hard against the Snow Empress's heart.
She opened her mouth, wanting to refute him, but found herself speechless.
Because as the person involved, she knew the changes in her body better than anyone.
Just as Liu Yuan said, before being sealed, her path of re-cultivation had been cut off, and her Origin was severely damaged.
But the moment she woke up just now, she was surprised to find that this new body of hers was so perfect it was simply incredible!
Not only were there no hidden injuries, but even her vitality was several points more vigorous than during her peak period.
This was definitely not something ordinary means could achieve.
That pink ball... indeed possessed a Heaven-Defying healing ability.
Thinking of this, the expression on the Snow Empress's face became uncertain.
The hostility in her eyes faded a lot, but it was replaced by a deep sense of conflict and embarrassment.
"Even so..."
The Snow Empress bit her lip, still stubbornly saying: "Even if you repaired my Physical Body, that doesn't cover up the fact that you imprisoned me!"
"And..."
She seemed to think of something difficult to speak of, her small face turning slightly red as she glared angrily at Liu Yuan: "There's something wrong with that ball!"
"Ever since I entered that ball, I found that within my Divine Sense, there actually... actually inexplicably appeared a sense of closeness toward you!"
"Even just now when I wanted to kill you, my subconscious was actually resisting, telling me I couldn't hurt you!"
"You are corroding my mind! You are enslaving my Soul!"
This was the overbearing nature of the Poké Ball.
Even a ball type like the Heal Ball, which leaned toward support, came with the hidden attribute of 'increasing intimacy'.
Therefore, the Snow Empress's favorability toward Liu Yuan was actually increasing at every moment.
However, for the proud Snow Empress, this uncontrollable favorability was simply more painful than being killed.
But upon hearing the Snow Empress's accusations, Liu Yuan spoke directly.
"Corroding your mind? Enslaving your Soul?"
"Snow Empress, as a beast, you should have a conscience."
"That's called a 'bond', do you understand?"
"While the Heal Ball was repairing your body, it established a mental connection between us. This was to prevent you from biting the hand that fed you and violently attacking someone after waking up—as it turns out, this mechanism was very necessary."
Liu Yuan pointed at the surrounding frozen ground and said bluntly: "Look, as soon as I let you out, you wanted my life."
"I saved your life and gave you a chance at Rebirth, yet just because of this little side effect, you're trying to kill me? You even think I'm harming you?"
"What? According to your logic, I should have let you rot in the god sealing platform, or let you be made into a spirit tool; would you be happy then?"
"Even among the Spirit Beasts of the Extreme North Land, none are as ungrateful as you, right?"
"You..."
The Snow Empress was left speechless by Liu Yuan's sharp retort.
Her delicate little face turned bright red, and her chest heaved violently.
She wanted to argue back, but her logic told her that what Liu Yuan said... seemed to have no flaws.
If it weren't for Liu Yuan, her current end would definitely be ten thousand times worse than this.
Compared to death or being made into a battery, this side effect of 'favorability' really didn't seem like much.
"Hmph!"
In the end, having lost the argument, the Snow Empress could only give a heavy cold snort.
She stopped looking at Liu Yuan and instead turned around huffily, found a relatively flat rock, and sat down.
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