"To say something like that... either the Ice Queen is incredibly arrogant, or she possesses absolute confidence—or worse, a hidden scheme. Perhaps she was even born from a divine artifact of the laws themselves. If that's the case, her identity and status would surpass even those of the Holy Spirit Race. She might very well be a primordial deity, a god born of the natural order itself. I fear she harbors some deeper plot. Her actions might have already provoked the various races, prompting them to send experts to the Suspended Iceberg for reasons beyond the surface."
Zhuge Liang paused in thought before slowly voicing his concerns.
The Ice Queen carried with her too many unanswered questions.
Born from the laws, naturally commanding a power of law—this left no doubt. She possessed the overwhelming might of a primordial god. Against such an entity, normal logic no longer applied.
It could be said that the Ice Queen was a true Goddess of Ice and Snow.
"Your Majesty, should we take action against the Ice Queen? Should we join the other races' experts and launch a joint assault on the Suspended Iceberg?" Tong Huang asked.
This was the most immediate question at hand.
If the major races allied, they wouldn't delay long. A swift and violent strike against the Suspended Iceberg would follow. If they succeeded, the Ice Queen might be slain in a single campaign. But if it were a trap—premeditated and cunning—it could end in complete annihilation.
Of course, until the last moment, no one could be sure.
In this world, nothing was ever fixed. Only variables continually evolved.
"In my view," Jia Xu said calmly, "Great Yi should not get involved. The Ice Queen is extremely powerful—especially atop her Suspended Iceberg, where her strength likely reaches terrifying levels. She is essentially a roaming Ice Goddess. For us, the most important goal is to ascend to an imperial dynasty. Only then will we have the foundation to confront the Ice Queen. Until that happens, we must avoid any unnecessary entanglements."
To fight such a mysterious entity now would be tantamount to harming oneself while harming the enemy.
"There's merit in observing from the sidelines," Zhuge Liang agreed. "Let the other races test the waters first. If we do end up facing her in the future, we'll at least have some understanding—not go in blind."
Foolishly clashing with such a mystery-shrouded being would bring unpredictable consequences.
"What about the human sect cultivators? Should we warn them?" Tong Huang asked.
The allure offered by the Ice Queen was no small matter. She might very well be the origin of this catastrophe. Slaying her could potentially yield a source divine artifact. That kind of temptation was nearly impossible to resist.
"Very well. Since the Ice Queen has given a one-month grace period, we must ensure that Great Yi completes its transformation and ascends during this time. Once we've done that, no matter who we face—we will have the strength to stand our ground. Man can triumph over fate."
Yi Tianxing nodded resolutely.
"During this time, everyone should focus on improving their cultivation, pushing toward their bottlenecks. If you succeed, the dynasty's ascension will provide a karmic feedback, greatly increasing your chances of breaking through. During this period, all of Great Yi's resources are at your disposal."
Yi Tianxing added.
This karmic feedback was a mystical phenomenon, one that could shatter bottlenecks that had gone unbroken for decades—or even centuries. The benefits were immeasurable.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Jia Xu and the others replied, visibly moved.
…
The next day, envoys from the various races arrived in Great Yi one after another. They proposed an alliance to jointly oppose the Ice Queen and launch a united assault on the Suspended Iceberg, requesting Great Yi to dispatch elite troops.
They were flatly rejected.
The official reason given was the recent natural disasters, which had severely weakened their strength. Most of their experts were in secluded cultivation and could not be summoned. In truth, this was simply a polite refusal.
Of course, the foreign races saw through the pretext.
Still, there was nothing they could do. Even after reiterating that the Ice Queen sought to engulf the entire continent in her dominion, leaving no race untouched, Great Yi remained unmoved.
If they said no, it meant no.
In the end, the envoys returned empty-handed.
Privately, they cursed Great Yi for their short-sightedness. They had no foresight, completely failing to understand that in times of catastrophe, there were no safe havens. Being picked off one by one was a pitiful fate. They would regret it eventually.
Great Yi could ignore the threat, could reject the alliance—
—but the others could not.
If the Ice Queen launched an assault, defeating them piecemeal, none of them had the strength to resist. Under this looming threat, a loose alliance formed almost naturally.
The Breaking Ice Alliance was born!
Within seven days, word of it spread across the continent.
Even within Great Yi, the attention of countless citizens turned to the Breaking Ice Alliance.
Despite it being the Spring Festival, news about the Ice Queen and the alliance was spreading like wildfire. The whole kingdom was abuzz.
"The alliance has already departed! The vanguard has reached the vicinity of the Suspended Iceberg. Reports say the Iceberg hasn't moved—it's like she's waiting for them. The Ice Queen is fearless. It's as if she expects this confrontation."
"This alliance has brought together countless foreign tribes. Other than Great Yi, even the Beast King Court has joined, and some human sects have sent their elites. It's clearly a hunt—to slay the Ice Queen. The scale is unprecedented."
"Of course. The Ice Queen declared that anywhere covered by ice and snow is part of her kingdom. Anyone who doesn't submit—dies. How could the proud foreign races tolerate that?"
Across the immortal cities, countless human citizens were already treating it like a spectacle. If they had sunflower seeds, they'd be munching and enjoying the show.
Whether Great Yi participated or not wasn't their concern. The drama alone was worth it.
"There's word that the Winged People's Patriarch, Qing Tianyu, has departed his clan with their treasured artifact—the Wind and Thunder Horn—on his way to the alliance. That horn supposedly commands storm and lightning. Once blown, it unleashes a storm that ravages all. Its power is terrifying."
The Wind and Thunder Horn was said to summon storm spirits that could devastate entire regions. That the Winged People would bring it out showed their firm intent to slay the Ice Queen. There was no place for an ice goddess on this continent.
"There's more. From the Three-Eyed Race, one of their clans sent Tong Lieyang, a powerful warrior carrying the clan's supreme treasure—the Five Elements Divine Eye Disc. He declared he would make the Ice Queen bow to the Three-Eyed Clan!"
Of course, this Three-Eyed tribe wasn't necessarily a main branch. In this fusion of myriad realms, no one knew where the true core bloodlines were. Still, each branch ruled itself and acted independently.
This Five Elements Divine Eye Disc was a heavenly treasure refined into a spiritual treasure, perfectly suited to the Three-Eyed Race's strength. Its power was said to rival the Winged People's horn. It had already reached the Earth-grade level—meaning it was a Innate Spiritual Treasure.
Even the lowest-tier innate spiritual treasure had the power to suppress an entire battlefield.
"The Mountain Giant Clan has joined in too. They've brought their supreme artifact—Thousand-Layered Mountain. This weapon contains unfathomable weight. It's said to be formed of thousands of overlapping peaks. Once dropped, it's unstoppable. Even a Behemoth King would be crushed to paste beneath it. With Mountain Giants carrying it across the land, each step causes an earthquake."
The Mountain Giants were undoubtedly a fearsome race. Though often slumbering, somehow, the other races had roused them to fight.
"The Lingjian Sect, a human sect, has joined as well. Their Grand Elder, Frost Sword, has taken their sect's treasure—the Ten Thousand Sword Gourd—to the Suspended Iceberg. One of their disciples was previously frozen in an instant by the Ice Queen. This journey is clearly for revenge. That gourd is said to unleash millions of sword beams in an instant—enough to obliterate the heavens."
Human sects, too, had joined the cause. While not in full force, they sent their strongest with sect treasures. Frost Sword, clearly a powerful Faxiang Realm sword cultivator, had emerged from seclusion just for this.