Under the Snow Empress's firm insistence, the Ice Empress finally calmed down and listened patiently to the entire explanation of the recent events.
A Difficult Choice
The Ice Empress fell into a prolonged silence, visibly struggling with an internal conflict. She was painfully aware of their situation: neither she nor the Snow Empress possessed the power to survive the next heavenly tribulation.
This was a guaranteed, undeniable fact. She also strongly disagreed with the Snow Empress's earlier plan of transforming into a human to seek a solution.
The risk of that path was simply too massive, and the chance of success was as likely as a major fire breaking out in the Extreme North Land—utterly impossible.
But now, the Snow Empress had chosen a different path to godhood, one step ahead of her. For some inexplicable reason, upon hearing the phrase "creating a god," the Ice Empress felt a strange familiarity, even a hint of subconscious curiosity. However, when she thought about it carefully, she found the feeling truly baffling.
The term 'God' was somewhat unfamiliar to the Ice Empress. In her mind, godhood was a realm she could barely hope to reach in her entire life. Immortality and absolute power were the best definitions and descriptions of the word. Perhaps, deep down, she truly yearned to become a god.
As her thoughts shifted, the look in her eyes slowly changed, becoming more complex as she gazed at Shu Yan.
This human youth was the most talented and astonishing human she had ever encountered. At just thirteen years old, he possessed an Ice Sky Snow Woman Martial Soul whose purity could rival the Snow Empress's, complete Extreme Ice and snow attributes, and a five-black-ring soul ring configuration.
Setting aside his age, not a single one of these qualities should appear on an ordinary human. Yet, all of these things, which were shocking enough to shake the entire world, had appeared on the same person.
Thinking about her and the Snow Empress's lifespan, which was less than a century, and then looking at the youth who seemed to have maxed out every possible configuration—practically having the word 'genius' stamped on his face—the Ice Empress suddenly felt a sense of relief. Perhaps, this youth was a gift bestowed by Heaven, moved by her sincere devotion to the Snow Empress?
Regarding this thought, Shu Yan could only silently agree that sometimes, self-persuasion was surprisingly effective.
The three of them sat cross-legged around the ice table. None of them spoke first. They remained in silence relative to one another for a long time until the Ice Empress finally broke it.
"If I choose to join," she asked suddenly, "with both Xue Er and my help, how confident are you in becoming a god?"
Shu Yan paused slightly, then gently let out a breath and replied, "If the success rate is less than ninety-eight percent, what's the difference from seeking death?".
"As everyone knows, I'm a person who cherishes my life very much."
Of course, that's only if nothing unexpected happens, Shu Yan repeated the last thought silently in his heart, choosing not to say it aloud.
The Ice Empress let out a small, disdainful scoff. "Are all you humans this arrogant? Why does it feel like becoming a god is just a trivial matter when you talk about it? Or maybe, I've simply overestimated how difficult it is to become a god?"
Shu Yan wasn't annoyed by her words; he just answered indifferently, "The problem is with you. You've sensed it incorrectly."
The Ice Empress was startled by his retort, and just as she was about to get angry, the Snow Empress stopped her with a touch on her arm.
The Snow Empress looked at the two of them bickering, feeling helpless, yet a faint smile appeared in her eyes for a moment. She cleared her throat and said, "Arguing about this now is pointless.
The difficulty of becoming a god is undeniable, but no matter what, since we've chosen a path, even if we suspect it's a dead end, we must try to break through it.
Life and death are just a single thought away. The reason many people are stopped at the first step is simply that they fear death; that's an undeniable fact."
The Snow Empress's words caused the Ice Empress to fall silent once more. Although her temper was much more irritable than the Snow Empress's, this didn't mean she was unintelligent.
As the seventh-ranked existence among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, her strategic intelligence was top-tier, even by human standards. For some matters, she had already made a decision in her heart without the Snow Empress needing to state it outright.
"Hey! Your name is Shu Yan, right?" the Ice Empress asked suddenly.
Shu Yan nodded gently, confirming it.
"Heh heh," she scoffed. "From now on, show this Empress some respect. Don't think that just because you look like my Xue Er, I wouldn't dare beat you into a pig's head.
In the Extreme North Land, besides Xue Er, no one has ever dared to treat me with such an attitude. Xiao Shu Zi, you should be proud..."
Hearing the name "Xiao Shu Zi," a vein twitched on Shu Yan's forehead. For a moment, he was speechless. What a hellish name, he thought. It sounds like those authors from his previous life who ran away at the slightest provocation...
But setting aside that ridiculous digression, the change in the Ice Empress's attitude allowed Shu Yan to breathe a slight sigh of relief. Although she hadn't explicitly confirmed it, judging by her manner, her joining the plan was basically a done deal.
While his thoughts were turning, the Ice Empress's small mouth was still chattering away about something. Shu Yan didn't catch a single word of the specific content, but he knew the general gist—it was nothing more than the Ice Empress complimenting herself while fiercely flattering the Snow Empress.
On Racial Conflict
Shu Yan pondered for a moment, organized his thoughts, and then continued to speak, "Snow Empress, Ice Empress, perhaps we can have a proper talk about the topic of races."
As he spoke, the Ice Empress slightly parted her small mouth and exchanged a glance with the Snow Empress. Both of them nodded in unison.
Seeing their agreement, Shu Yan lightly coughed. His voice was calm, yet it had an extremely infectious quality, causing the hearts of the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress to slowly settle.
"The racial conflict between humans and soul beasts has lasted for tens of thousands of years, and the accumulated hatred is immense and virtually unresolvable," Shu Yan explained. "But as I've said, if there is a common goal, people from the two races are not unable to let go of their prejudices and reach an agreement."
"Perhaps you, having lived in the Extreme North Land for so long, don't have a clear understanding of the development of the human world. But I must tell you that humans already possess powerhouses capable of rivaling monster beasts, and they can even hunt monster beasts."
"However, humans won't do this unless it's absolutely necessary, because everyone knows that doing so is the same as triggering a war between the two races. When that happens, there will surely be widespread destruction, and it's not impossible to provoke the wrath of the Plane itself."
"In the current era, humans have a total of three Limit Douluo. These three Limit Douluo are all paragons among humans. Each of them was once a powerhouse who lit up an era. Although times have changed and things are unpredictable now, they are still formidable."
"And in a human country called the Sun Moon Empire, they have even developed super-large soul tools capable of threatening Limit Douluo. Not to mention Level 9 soul-guided artillery shells—whose exact number is unclear—but a single shot can easily destroy a small city.
These soul tools are real, and they are truly controlled by humans. The gap between soul beasts and humans is slowly narrowing; this is a fact that even Di Tian cannot change."
"I hope you can try to change your prejudices toward humans. This is not to guide you to abandon hatred, but simply to make you recognize reality. Among humans, there is no lack of peerless geniuses and people with deep emotions and righteousness.
Perhaps our emotions are somewhat complex for you, but I believe that once you truly understand these things, you will have completely different views on yourselves and certain issues."
The Snow Empress and the Ice Empress listened intently. Even they didn't realize that at some point, another thing called hope appeared in their eyes. Although it was fleeting, perhaps one day they would truly grasp hope in their own hands.
By then, perhaps when they recalled this ordinary afternoon, they would be immensely grateful for the choice they made that day.