Douluo Continent: Heavenly Pill Demon Tiger

Chapter 163 The Snow Empress's Speculation: Untried Ferocious Beasts

Chapter 163 The Snow Empress's Speculation: Untried Ferocious Beasts

The Snow Empress nodded in satisfaction and said, "First, now that the Ice Empress and I have both left, the far north is leaderless, which is not a long-term solution. I need you to keep the secret of our sacrifice for the time being, and only announce to the outside world that we are in seclusion. Afterwards, you, Titan Snow Demon King Atai, will temporarily assume the position of King of the Far North, leading the thousands of soul beasts in the far north and maintaining order here!"

Atai was taken aback, pointed at himself, and said, "Me?"

"That's right." The Snow Empress said with certainty, "Although Xiaobai's strength is similar to yours, he is simple-minded and not good at management or leadership. I can only feel at ease entrusting the far north to you."

Upon hearing this, Atai's massive body trembled slightly, a mixture of excitement and a sense of responsibility. He knelt heavily on one knee before the spirit of the Snow Empress, his voice deep and resolute like a vow, "Snow Empress, rest assured! Atai will do everything in his power to live up to your trust! But the King of the Far North can only ever be you! Atai is only acting temporarily; when you return, the Far North will be returned to you in its entirety!"

"Alright." The Snow Empress responded calmly, then continued, "The second matter requires your assistance. Not long ago, this human brother and I encountered an ancient race while traveling through the glacial abyss—"

She recounted in detail the story of the Abyss Ice Tiger and the terrifying potential of its race.

Atai grew increasingly shocked as he listened. "Abyssal Ice Prison Tigers? They still have bloodlines that exist? And there might even be an even more terrifying chieftain?"

"Exactly." The Snow Empress's tone was solemn. "The reason I've come to you this time is to ask you to join forces with Xiao Bai to hold off that possibly more powerful old fellow in their clan while we hunt down that 100,000-year-old Abyss Ice Prison Tiger. This will buy enough time for my brother You Heng and his two titled Douluo subordinates."

Upon hearing this, Atai's rugged brows furrowed tightly, and a troubled expression appeared on his face. "Snow Empress, this—"

Is this my plan to help humanity hunt down the soul beasts of the far north? The Abyss Ice Tiger clan is rumored to be ferocious, but they have long resided in the abyss and have not ventured out to wreak havoc in the far north. As the acting king, even for the sake of peace in the far north, if I were to attack them without cause—"

Xue Di immediately interrupted his "righteous hero" rhetoric, saying irritably, "Atai, can you stop with the drama? What does this have to do with maintaining peace in the far north? It's purely because my little brother needs a powerful spirit ring to advance, and the Abyss Ice Tiger's attributes are a perfect match! It's just a spirit master hunting a spirit beast, it's that simple! It's entirely my own selfish motive, because I'm now symbiotic with him, the stronger he is, the greater my chances of recovery! So tell me, will you help me or not?"

Xue Di's words were straightforward and domineering, revealing her fiercely protective nature. Throughout her long life, countless soul beasts had perished at her hands; hunting was one of the most fundamental laws in both the world of soul beasts and the world of soul masters.

Atai hesitated only briefly before pounding his chest with a dull thud, "Help! Xue Di's matter is Atai's matter!"

What great righteousness of the far north is unimportant in the face of the Snow Emperor's will?

"Very good!" Xue Di's tone softened. "Atai, Xiaobai, although your cultivation is high, you rely on your incomparably strong physical strength. In terms of pure attributes, you are not as good as me and Bing Di. Neither of you are the ultimate ice attribute, so you may not have the upper hand against that old guy who might exist. My little brother will prepare two pills for each of you."

She looked at Dai Youheng, who understood and summoned two pills, displaying them before them.

"A pill called Snow Soul Ice Condensation Pill, once ingested, will temporarily grant you the attribute of extreme ice. It will not only directly enhance your strength, but also greatly improve the environmental buffs you receive when fighting in the far north."

The other pill, called the Ice and Fire Body Refining Pill, can double your entire set of attributes for a short period. With these two pills, your strength can temporarily rise to a level comparable to the Ice Emperor in his prime!

The Snow Emperor continued, "Furthermore, I will now impart to you both my unique skill, the secret of the Emperor's Palm that prevents snow from falling in the Great Cold. Once you have a basic grasp of it, we will depart immediately!"

To deal with the unfathomable Abyss Ice Tiger clan, the Snow Emperor made thorough preparations, bringing out all the trump cards and resources at her disposal.

Upon hearing this, Atai's enormous eyes blazed with astonishment as he looked at Dai Youheng. Snow Soul Ice Condensation Pill, Ice and Fire Body Refining Pill! This human youth actually possesses such heaven-defying support abilities?

"Sister Xue Di, thank you so much!" Dai Youheng sincerely thanked Xue Di. This support far exceeded his expectations.

The illusory image of the Snow Empress turned to him, revealing a faint yet genuine smile. "No need for thanks. We are now bound together by fate; the stronger you are, the stronger I become. Helping you is also helping myself."

"However, that clan leader is probably unfathomable. It's uncertain whether Titan Snow Demon King and Little White alone can withstand it," Dai Youheng said worriedly.

"Don't worry, Youheng. I guess the Tiger King's power is at most no more than 500,000 years old, at most it's infinitely close. Have you thought about a key question?" Xue Di said.

"What?"

"This race lives in the far north year-round. Even if they are in the icy abyss and do not appear, they must undergo tribulation every 100,000 years. How is it possible that I could not detect them?" said the Snow Emperor.

Dai Youheng was suddenly startled. Yes, their invisibility while in the Ice Abyss could explain why they were so elusive. But if the Heavenly Tribulation of 100,000 years were to descend upon the far north, there was no reason why the Snow Emperor would not be able to detect it, unless this race had never survived a tribulation before.

But that's impossible. The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm doesn't undergo tribulation because it's too weak. The Abyss Ice Prison Tiger is such a powerful race, how could it not need to undergo tribulation?

The Snow Emperor said, "I suspect it's related to the environment of the Ice Abyss they inhabit. I wonder what kind of treasure exists down there that can conceal their aura and prevent them from undergoing tribulation. That's why they've never left the Ice Abyss all these years. But there's a limit to concealing their aura. Before I grew up and ruled the far north, the patriarch of the Abyss Ice Prison Tiger clan was said to have died under the Heavenly Tribulation of 500,000 years. So I suspect that the limit of their ability to shield themselves from the secrets of heaven is 500,000 years. Once 500,000 years have passed, they must undergo tribulation. And because they haven't experienced the previous Heavenly Tribulations and lack the tempering of heavenly lightning, their physiques are not as strong as other ferocious beasts, making their failure in the 500,000-year tribulation almost 100% certain."

Dai Youheng nodded. "I see, I understand!"

Although Xue Di was once a soul beast with nearly 700,000 years of lifespan, her actual age was not 700,000 years. Her cultivation talent was also very high. The 700,000 years refers to her cultivation level, not her actual age. She has ruled the far north for less than 500,000 years. When she ruled the far north, it was after the death of the previous Abyss Ice Prison Tiger Clan Chief.

Based on this, Xue Di deduced that the current clan leader had not truly exceeded 500,000 years. This was her confidence. 500,000 years was a huge threshold. If it exceeded 500,000 years, even Atai and Xiaobai working together would find it difficult to fight against it. But if it hadn't exceeded that threshold, it wouldn't have that kind of devastating power.

For the next month, this ice crystal castle in the core area of ​​the far north seemed to have become a secluded place of asceticism. The cold wind howled outside the castle, but it could not suppress the muffled rumbling and sharp whistling sounds that occasionally came from inside.

Titan Snow Demon King Atai and Ice Bear King Xiaobai, these two overlords of the far north, are currently immersed in cultivating the ultimate technique taught by the Snow Emperor, Emperor's Palm - Great Cold Without Snow.

This palm technique may seem simple, but it actually contains the ultimate mystery of extreme ice, condensing absolute cold and power into a single point. Without any leakage of energy fluctuations, it can freeze all things and destroy life without a sound.

Their massive bodies practiced and clashed time and again, their icy blue soul power intertwining with the swirling snowflakes, attempting to capture that ultimate sense of control over ice-type power.

At Dai Youheng's suggestion, Ling Ya also joined the ranks of cultivators. He also possessed an ice-attribute martial soul, and this palm technique was of great help to him.

As for Dai Youheng himself, he did not participate much in the cultivation of the Emperor's Palm, as he was already proficient in it.

After examining his past training results, Xue Di made another decision and taught him another of her special skills, "Emperor's Sword".

Although Dai Youheng did not want to learn it before, because his weapon was a knife, his temperament, skills and even fighting style were not very compatible with the lightness, speed and versatility of the sword.

He pursues a more domineering, decisive, and forceful approach, overcoming skill with brute force.

However, the Snow Empress did not force him to switch to swordsmanship. She simply presented him with the essence of the Imperial Sword, its extreme sharpness and soul-freezing sword intent, without reservation.

In his spiritual sea, Dai Youheng deduced the astonishing trajectory of the Emperor Sword countless times. He did not adhere to its external sword techniques, but with his extraordinary comprehension, he directly extracted its core essence. Then, based on his own understanding of the way of the sword and the majestic yet unparalleled sharpness of the Golden Gang Evil-Repelling Body technique, he boldly integrated and reshaped it, creating his own swordsmanship.

When the blade was drawn, there were no dazzling lights or shadows, only a deep, resonant clang like the shattering of an ancient ice field. On the blade, the extreme cold was infinitely compressed, condensing into a dark, jade-like gleam. Only at the edge of the blade flowed a line of desolate, pale white light, an absolute zero coldness capable of freezing the soul.

This is the Emperor Blade: Frostless Across the World!

Its power does not pursue complex variations, but only unstoppable vertical slashes, diagonal cuts, and horizontal sweeps. It is simple yet profound, with each strike containing the immense force of a glacier advancing and crushing everything. Where the blade passes, space is not frozen, but directly severed, leaving behind black frost marks that cannot be healed for a long time and constantly emanate absolute cold.

The Snow Emperor's illusory soul floated quietly to the side, watching the gradually dissipating black frost marks, and for the first time, her cold eyes revealed an undisguised amazement and admiration.

She imparted the seed of the "Emperor's Sword," but Dai Youheng, with his astonishing comprehension and unique path, allowed it to blossom into a completely different, more domineering and ruthless "Emperor's Blade."

"Frost-slaying under heaven, truly 'Frost-slaying under heaven'," the Snow Emperor murmured. "The potential of this blade is no less than that of my Imperial Sword. In some aspects, it is even more decisive."

Dai Youheng took a deep breath of the cold air, feeling both tired and satisfied with his newly created sword technique. He knew that with this self-created "Emperor's Blade - Frost Slayer of the World," coupled with the sixth soul ring he was about to acquire, his combat power would surely experience a qualitative leap.

>