Chapter 43: Snow Empress

After a short while, the three of them finished their meal, tidied up everything, and sat inside the ice cave to chat leisurely.

"Your cultivation, Snow Emperor, has already reached seventy-four hundred thousand years, yet that black dragon's strength is indeed superior to yours, not to mention a silver dragon with god-tier strength!" Ling Xiao said, secretly wondering about visiting that beautiful silver dragon.

"Even if that black dragon's strength surpasses mine, it could never be your match, considering how terrifyingly strong you are, almost like a deity! But you mentioned that silver dragon possesses divine power—won't you be in danger?" Ice Emperor looked at Ling Xiao and asked.

"Although that silver dragon is a god, she is far too weak. Besides, these spirit beasts might actually make decent pets!" Ling Xiao remarked.

Yet, as he pictured the appearances of those spirit beasts, he changed his mind.

Forget it. Aside from the silver dragon, none of them looked particularly attractive, especially that big goose, which just looked completely foolish.

Ling Xiao rubbed his head helplessly as he thought about those spirit beasts.

Hearing the word "pets," Snow Emperor and Ice Emperor could not help but recall past events. Their faces flushed crimson, and a phantom ache rippled through their lower backs, causing their slender hands to press tightly against themselves.

"They possess such immense power; they will never agree to become your pets!"

"Unwilling? That's not up for them to choose. Knocking them half to death with my strength is quite effortless!" Ling Xiao chuckled heartily at those words.

However, Snow Emperor and Ice Emperor felt a profound sense of malice, silently mourning the future of those spirit beasts. Running into such a powerful monster was truly unfortunate.

"Are you planning to head to that place right now, then?" Snow Emperor asked softly.

"I'll rest here first. I just set out from the Spirit Hall and haven't rested at all along the way," Ling Xiao said. Though going decades without rest would have zero effect on him now, he was still accustomed to sleeping.

With that, Ling Xiao walked out of the ice cave, approached the base of a massive glacier, and used his chains to carve out a new ice cave. The cavern extended a hundred meters deep and stood dozens of meters high, featuring an ice bed roughly five meters in length, width, and height right in the center.

With a flash, Ling Xiao appeared on the ice bed, lay down, and closed his eyes to rest.

Within the system space, Ling Xiao's soul-condensed avatar stood suspended in mid-air, surrounded by billowing black flames.

"Since I have nothing better to do, I might as well practice the three secret arts of the Flame God!" Ling Xiao looked at the three inheritance manuals of the Flame God's divine position before him and began his studies.

Simultaneously, he channeled a fraction of his power to reinforce the ice cave and the ice bed, while creating an isolated spatial barrier around himself. Otherwise, given the terrifying temperatures that would follow, he would wake up to find himself lying on his back with his chest exposed to the frigid plains.

Outside the system space, black flames suddenly ignited across Ling Xiao's body as he slept on the ice bed, causing the temperature within the entire ice cave to soar rapidly.

Yet, owing to the reinforcement, the ice cave suffered no structural damage.

"What is happening to him?"

Ice Emperor, hiding outside the ice cave and peering in timidly, cried out in shock at the sight within, successfully drawing Snow Emperor over.

Snow Emperor furrowed her brow upon observing the scene inside. "Why has his body temperature become so intense, and what is that flame enveloping him?"

"Snow Emperor, what should we do now? If he continues like this, won't he be burned to ashes?"

With a panicked expression, Ice Emperor stepped into the ice cave and unleashed waves of frigid aura toward Ling Xiao, which only barely managed to lower the ambient temperature slightly.

"Surely not! This black flame should be connected to those black chains of his; it shouldn't harm him!" Snow Emperor said, though her tone lacked conviction.

"But we cannot just let this continue! The heat radiating from his body right now is so intense that it can be felt hundreds of meters away!" Ice Emperor grew increasingly anxious.

Snow Emperor frowned as she searched her mind for a solution. At that moment, Ice Emperor bit her lower lip, closed her eyes, dashed directly onto Ling Xiao's bed, lay down beside him, and continuously released her icy energy.

"Ice Emperor, what are you doing?" Snow Emperor asked, her expression one of utter astonishment.

"We have no choice. Perhaps this can lower his body temperature. Even if it fails, it should at least prevent his temperature from rising any further!" Ice Emperor whispered, her face blushing intensely as her small body pressed tightly against Ling Xiao.

Snow Emperor's mouth twitched. Given Ice Emperor's current state, far from helping lower Ling Xiao's temperature, she would likely melt from the rising heat herself.

Still, this might be their only option. Ling Xiao had elevated her cultivation to seventy-four hundred thousand years; she could view this as repaying the favor.

Silently reasoning with herself, Snow Emperor coaxed her own hesitation away. A rosy blush stained her cheeks as she slowly moved toward the ice bed, radiating a terrifyingly cold aura.

By the time she lay down upon the bed, however, her face was just as red and dripping as Ice Emperor's. The two exchanged glances, each seeing profound shyness in the other's eyes.

Having just mastered the secret art known as *Flame Star*, Ling Xiao perceived the subtle anomaly beside him. Yet, sensing no danger—an impossibility for one of his current strength, where even a concerted effort by all the gods could not damage a single hair on his head—he merely paused for a moment before proceeding to cultivate the next Flame God secret art: *Flame God Armor*.

Snow Emperor and Ice Emperor felt a slight decrease in Ling Xiao's body temperature and a flicker of joy flashed through their eyes. Though the drop was minuscule, it proved the method was working.

The very next moment, however, under their bewildered gazes, the flickering black flames around Ling Xiao gradually took shape, condensing into a complete suit of armor.

The black armor was etched with intricate patterns of black fire, with tongues of flame dancing across its surface. Even Ling Xiao's head was entirely encased by the helmet, atop which a tuft of black fire blazed.

"What is happening? Why did these things suddenly appear on him?" Ice Emperor asked blankly, her adorable face a mask of confusion.

"I do not know. This is armor; it should only be deployed in the face of danger. Is there a threat nearby right now?" Snow Emperor's expression was perplexed, as she sensed no peril whatsoever.

As a natural-born Ice and Snow Sprite, she was capable of perceiving conditions across the entire Extreme North.

Their puzzlement did not last long before the fiery armor on Ling Xiao gradually dissipated.

Then, before either of them could react, a sudden fluctuation surged from Ling Xiao's body, giving rise to a domain enshrouded in flames. The terrifying heat sent Snow Emperor and Ice Emperor into a panic.

"What is happening now?" Ice Emperor cried out frantically. She felt intensely distressed now; the horrific temperature was making her head spin.

"No, we must leave this domain; the temperature is too high!" Snow Emperor tried to force her body to stand and escape, but the ferocious heat drained away her remaining strength. Instead, a wave of profound dizziness washed over her, and she collapsed completely onto the ice bed.

The next instant, the temperature within the flame domain surrounding Ling Xiao escalated further, melting half of the reinforced glacier and reducing even the ice bed to half its size. Snow Emperor and Ice Emperor completely lost consciousness.

Inside the system space, Ling Xiao nodded in satisfaction. Having successfully mastered the third secret art, *Flame Domain*, he could now enter a state of deep, undisturbed rest.

Time flew swiftly, and when Ling Xiao finally opened his eyes, it was already noon the following day.

"Mm!" Ling Xiao rubbed his eyes, stretched lazily, and extended his arms.

"That was quite a comfortable sleep!"

However, as his hands dropped back down, they brushed against something soft that did not belong to the ice bed.

"Huh?"

Ling Xiao snapped his eyes open, staring in utter bewilderment at Snow Emperor and Ice Emperor lying on either side of him.

"It seems even reinforcing the ice bed and the ice cave couldn't withstand that level of high heat! Still, that's to be expected... but why are Snow Emperor and Ice Emperor lying beside me? Could the anomaly from yesterday have been caused by the two of them? But weren't they in the other ice cave?"

Puzzled, Ling Xiao shook his head, scooped up the two unconscious figures, carried them back to the other ice cave, and gently laid them down on the beds bound by his chains.

"Ice Emperor, Snow Emperor, wake up!"

After placing them on the beds, Ling Xiao projected a wave of soul energy to rouse them.

"Human, what is it?" Ice Emperor muttered upon waking, before suddenly remembering the events of the previous day.

"Human, what happened to you yesterday? Why did black flames suddenly erupt all over your body?" Ice Emperor demanded.

"I was merely practicing some secret arts. As for the two of you, why were you by my side? Weren't you supposed to stay in this ice cave?" Ling Xiao countered with a question.

"We saw you catching fire, and your body temperature was terrifyingly high. We were worried something had happened to you, which is why we went to your side. Who would have expected a flame domain to suddenly manifest and trap us inside? That horrible heat knocked us both out!" Ice Emperor explained.

"I see!" Ling Xiao understood.

"Hmph! The two of us tried to help you out of good intentions, yet you're interrogating us instead!" Ice Emperor pouted, her small face filled with indignation.

"Alright, alright, this is my fault. I should have explained what I was doing beforehand," Ling Xiao smiled and conceded.

"Well, at least you know!" Ice Emperor gave a dainty huff.

"What kind of secret art were you cultivating to generate such a terrifying temperature?"

"The three secret arts of the Flame God."

"Flame God's secret arts? A deity!" Snow Emperor, who had remained silent until now, gasped in shock.

"Indeed."

"You mean you possess a divine inheritance!" Snow Emperor said with a grave tone.

"I do. Are you familiar with divine inheritances?" Ling Xiao asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Snow Emperor.

"I am, because our Extreme North also once had a deity—the Ice God! She is the deity I worshiped!" Snow Emperor stated.

"Then where is this Ice God now?"

"She is dead! She was slain by the Divine Realm in order to protect the spirit beasts of the Extreme North!" Snow Emperor's voice grew heavy.

"Dead? What a pity!" A subtle ripple crossed Ling Xiao's eyes.

"Then did none of you inherit her divine position?"

"No, we did not dare."

"You are the Ice and Snow Sprite; is there truly anything you would not dare to do?"

"The Divine Realm does not permit spirit beasts to attain godhood. The Ice God told us this before she died!" Snow Emperor said softly, though her tightly clenched fists betrayed the turbulence within her heart.

"Rest assured, such rules will no longer exist from now on. You shall inherit her divine position," Ling Xiao declared, causing Snow Emperor's beautiful eyes to widen in shock.

"How can you be certain the rule is gone?"

"You will understand in time. Do not forget that I possess a divine inheritance myself; I am well aware of affairs within the Divine Realm!"

"Is that true?"

"Naturally it's true. Would you like to become the first spirit beast in all these years to achieve godhood?" Ling Xiao asked, sending a jolt through Snow Emperor's heart.

"I—can I really do it?" Snow Emperor doubted.

"Snow Emperor, do not hesitate. We already have a fair idea of what kind of person he is. Since he says so, it must be true!" Ice Emperor chimed in.

"Very well! I shall try. Worst case scenario, my body perishes and my soul scatters!"

Encouraged by Ice Emperor and swayed by Ling Xiao's words, Snow Emperor hesitated a moment longer before finally resolving to attempt inheriting the divine position.

Guided by Snow Emperor, the group arrived before a magnificent palace of ice and snow. Entering the hall, they beheld a towering statue erected at its center.

It depicted a woman with breathtaking yet gentle features, a soft smile gracing her face. Sunlight streamed through the hall, casting an ethereal and mysterious glow upon the sculpture.

"This is the Ice God!" Ling Xiao gazed at the statue, the River of Time manifesting briefly in his eyes as he perceived that she was a Tier-2 god—a subordinate of the Tier-1 Water God, possessing only mediocre strength.

Snow Emperor stepped forward, pausing right in front of the Ice God's statue. At that moment, a soft, melodious voice echoed through the hall.

"Snow Emperor, have you finally come?"

A voice rang out as points of starlight drifted from the Ice God statue, coalescing into the figure of a woman.

"Lady Ice God, you did not die?" Snow Emperor's pupils contracted.

"My physical body has naturally perished; what remains here is merely a wisp of residual consciousness!" the Ice God said calmly, devoid of any fear of death. Her gaze drifted with mild curiosity toward Ling Xiao, recognizing him as a human.

Yet she paid him little mind, considering she was already dead.

"I have been waiting for you. Since you are here now, I shall pass the Ice God's divine position down to you. Perhaps, once you attain godhood, you might alter the plight of the spirit beasts," the Ice God sighed, though she knew full well how difficult—if not nearly impossible—that would be, as the Divine Realm would never allow a spirit beast to become a god.

"Yes, Lady Ice God, I am ready!" Snow Emperor's eyes burned with determination.

"Very good!" The Ice God nodded, waving a hand to extract the divine position stored within the statue.

Snow Emperor closed her eyes as the Ice God's divine position began to merge with her body. An overwhelming surge of energy erupted from within her, violently agitating the surrounding heaven and earth.

At that moment, the Ice God cast a solemn look toward the sky, worrying that deities from the Divine Realm might descend to obstruct the inheritance.

Sure enough, after a short while, a heaven-defying phenomenon manifested as two figures materialized in the sky above.

"Asura God King, Water God—how can this be?" the Ice God gasped in disbelief.

She had anticipated that deities might intervene to stop the process, but never in her wildest dreams did she expect the Water God and the Asura God King in person.

The Water God was a Tier-1 deity whose strength rivaled that of the Sea God, lacking only a super divine artifact, though possessing the precious divine artifact *Water Cloud Realm*, capable of withstanding attacks from multiple Tier-1 gods.

As for the Asura God King, his status went without saying—he was a supreme God King capable of effortlessly slaying Tier-1 deities!

What could they do? Both of them had actually come!

Despair flooded the Ice God's eyes. Even had she been in her absolute prime, let alone a mere wisp of residual consciousness, she could never hope to match the Water God, let alone the Asura God King.

Ice Emperor's face turned ghastly pale as well, the oppressive might radiating from the Asura God King and the Water God leaving her breathless.

Yet, neither the Asura God King nor the Water God paid them any heed. Instead, the two descended before Ling Xiao, bowed respectfully, and said, "Lord, the spirit beast before you is well-suited for the Ice God's position. Therefore, I brought the Water God along to see if she meets your standards."

"Mm! You have done well," Ling Xiao acknowledged with a nod. Turning to the Water God, who kept her gaze lowered in deference, he commanded, "Merge your divine position with Snow Emperor's as well."

"As you command, Lord!" Not daring to harbor the slightest grievance, the Water God hurried to Snow Emperor's side, channeling her divine power into Snow Emperor's body and summoning the Water God's divine position to embed it within her.

At that moment, Ling Xiao clenched his hand into a fist. Under the terrified gazes of everyone present, the Water God's and the Ice God's divine positions fused seamlessly together, leaving a Dao of Ice and a Dao of Water swirling harmoniously around Snow Emperor.

"There, that is settled. From now on, Snow Emperor can wield the powers of both the Dao of Water and the Dao of Ice!" Ling Xiao lowered his hand indifferently, completely ignoring the utter shock etched upon everyone else's faces.