Skydream, Ice Emperor

Hearing the Skydream Iceworm's words, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva. "Brother Skydream, stop it. If you continue talking about the Three Emperors, you'll destroy the little bit of confidence I've finally built up. The Three Emperors of the Extreme North are still too far away from me. Let's be a bit more realistic now. When can I get my second soul ring? Also, I have to awaken my second martial soul."

"They're too far away from you? No, no, they're not at all." The Skydream Iceworm said mysteriously, "Yuhao! Haven't you heard the phrase 'the rewards of your harvest are only as big as your guts'? Our target this time is the 2nd ranked Emperor!"

"What?" Huo Yuhao was practically struck by lightning. As the corner of his mouth twitched, he said in all earnestness, "Brother Skydream, don't you think we've traveled a bit too far just for us to give it some free food?"

The Skydream Iceworm spat unhappily, "What do you mean, free food? You good-for-nothing, just see how cowardly you are. Aren't they just the Three Emperors of the Extreme North? What's there to be scared of?"

Huo Yuhao had an indignant expression on his face as he said, "There's nothing to be scared of? If there's nothing to be scared of, why'd you run away?"

"I…" The Skydream Iceworm flew into a rage, "It's different now. I'm no longer the person I was. Since I dared to bring you here, I naturally have a way to deal with that fella. What good does it do for me if I get you killed? Could I even continue living then? With your weak body, how're you gonna take revenge for me and let me stand with my chin held high if we don't take some desperate measures?"

After feeling astonished for a brief moment, Huo Yuhao calmed down. Feeling somewhat helpless, he said, "Fine. In any case, I'm trusting you with my life. Even if you sell me away, I can only count the money you'll get. Let's go. The earlier I die, the earlier I'll reincarnate. Where do we go?"

"Continue heading northward. That guy only lives within the core regions of the Extreme North. From now on, you have to slow down. You're about to enter the borderline of the Extreme North's core regions, and it's extremely cold here. However, it houses the strongest soul beasts within the Extreme North, like that fella earlier. Even my Spiritual Detection was tricked by it. Moreover, there are some especially quick soul beasts, so we'll have to be even more careful. Otherwise, we're definitely screwed if we meet one."

"Yup." Huo Yuhao could be considered to have understood the Skydream Iceworm. It definitely had a certain amount of assurance in what it was doing, but it wasn't a hundred percent certain; there was still a chance of failure. However, according to his knowledge of the Skydream Iceworm, something that could make it risk its life would definitely yield great results if it were to succeed. It was very possible that it would reach a completely astonishing degree.

For the sake of concealing himself even more, Huo Yuhao removed the planks of wood from his feet. After that, he slowly trudged through the half-meter deep snow. Right now, he was completely certain that were it not for the Skydream Iceworm's shedded skin, he'd turn into an ice statue after a mere ten minutes in a place like this.

In a crazy place like this, even the snowflakes were hard. When the biting wind stirred up the snow on the ground, the layer of frost that formed could even resist an omni-directional soul skill. When the wind got stronger, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to crawl about on the ground. He wasn't scared of the cold now, but that didn't mean that he wasn't scared of the wind.

Because of the overly low temperatures here, he sometimes felt the light on the horizon twisting somewhat. However, this place had a beautiful multicoloured radiance that other places didn't have.

After continuing forward for two more days, Huo Yuhao began to feel somewhat exhausted. It wasn���t because of a lack of physical energy, but a lack of food and drink.

Though he wasn't afraid of the cold, he couldn't do without food! No matter what rations he took out of the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges, it would immediately freeze into a popsicle the moment it came out. Even chewing was a strenuous activity now, but he could only use his teeth to crush his food. The Skydream Iceworm wasn't willing to let him set up a tent for fear of attracting the attention of other soul beasts.

There was no need to even talk about drinking water. He had no way of drinking the water he'd brought at all. The instant he took it out, it was frozen solid. He simply had no way of pouring it out of his water flask. Thus, he could only eat the snow on the ground that had accumulated over god knows how many years. Whenever he swallowed a mouthful of snow, the coldness from it went straight to his heart. His internal organs had no defenses, and the moment he swallowed a mouthful of snow, his body shivered for a long period of time before he was able to recover.

Under a situation like this, he could only do his best to reduce his consumption of food and drink. However, trudging through the snow consumed an extremely large amount of physical strength. When this was combined with his lack of nutrition, he was gradually unable to withstand it any longer.

As he sat within this snowy land, there was nothing but thick piles of snow all around him. Gasping for breath, Huo Yuhao said, "Brother Skydream, I can't go on like this! I'm already at the point where I don't think I can hold on any longer. Even if we meet that soul beast you're looking for, how will I have the energy to kill it and fuse with its soul ring!? Even if I succeed, I might not even have the energy to go back out. I don't think I can withstand it any longer."

With that, he lowered his head and shoved it into his cotton shirt. He took a bite from the rations he had stored within his shirt. He was originally planning to use his bodily warmth to soften his rations a bit, but he simply wasn't able to do so due to the Skydream Iceworm's shedded skin. His rations remained as hard as ever, so he could only nibble off a bit with much difficulty. After waiting for it to soften a little in his mouth, he slowly chewed on it and swallowed it.

"Okay, okay. You don't have to keep whining anymore. We should be just about there. Next up, we'll have to wait for an opportunity to come." The Skydream Iceworm continued, "Take a rest for a while. After that, listen to my instructions."

After hearing that he wouldn't have to continue walking any further, Huo Yuhao let out a large sigh of relief. He had completely entered the core regions of the Extreme North. Not only was it extremely cold here, he had even encountered a few soul beasts from time to time. With the amount of power those soul beasts possessed, merely looking at them from a distance was enough to make Huo Yuhao feel a chill run up his spine! Though they couldn't compare with the Titan Ice Devil King he had bumped into previously, they were still existences above the ten thousand year rank. In a god-forsaken place like this, he couldn't even find any thousand year soul beasts.

After resting for fifteen minutes or so, Huo Yuhao's original location was buried in snow. Only then did he stand up.

The Skydream Iceworm's voice rang out in his mind with an unprecedented seriousness, "Yuhao, I need you to make a quick estimation. If you didn't have the protection of my shedded skin, how long could you last in conditions like this?"

Huo Yuhao was stunned. Thinking about it for a moment, he said, "If I use all of my soul power, I should be able to last for five minutes. But I definitely can't last for more than ten minutes."

The Skydream Iceworm said, "I'm going to go bring that fella over, so I'll have to release my aura. After that, my shedded skin will play a decisive role that will determine whether or not it will be willing to become your soul ring. Because of that, you must remain in a motionless state for a period of time after I bring it over. During this period of time, not only will I have to trap it, I'll have to negotiate with it. Your job is to remain still, otherwise all our previous efforts will have been for naught."

With a bitter look on his face, Huo Yuhao said, "Boss, why didn't you tell me this earlier? If you had, I'd brought a few more cold-resistant clothes!"

The Skydream Iceworm snorted coldly, "Do you think that clothes can block out the low temperatures here? You're already overestimating yourself by saying that you can last here for five minutes. Next up, you'll have to make a temporary residence underneath the snow. I'll leave some of my shedded skin here and suck out the soul power within it. You'll have to light it up with a match and draw heat from it. After that, no matter what happens, you must not do anything rash if I don't give you the signal. This time around, we're either going to make it or break it. You can use your Spiritual Detection to observe everything outside, but you must not make any rash moves. Understand?"

Huo Yuhao nodded hurriedly.

Building a house made of ice underneath the snow wasn't an easy task! The ice underneath the ground was as hard as steel, and even after pouring his soul power into the White Tiger Dagger, it took Huo Yuhao a full day to barely carve out a small ice house which could contain his curled up body. After doing this, he was tired to the point where even breathing was strenuous.

"Now, I'm going to start. Yuhao, you have to do three things for us to succeed this time. Firstly, you'll have to endure the freezing cold for a short period of time. Secondly, luck; we'll have to see whether I have the luck to defeat the soul beast I'm calling over. Lastly, we'll have to rely on your willpower. You're the person I've chosen, so we're both screwed if you don't succeed. If you succeed, on the other hand, I dare say that you'll immediately become the number one genius in the entire Douluo Continent. Now, let's give it our all."

At that point, the Skydream Iceworm's voice had turned somewhat frenzied.

What could Huo Yuhao even say now? After getting all the way here, he could only follow the Skydream Iceworm all the way till the end; there was no other path he could take. There were no benefits to talking more, so he nodded forcefully, indicating that he would fully support the Skydream Iceworm.

An intense undulation of soul power slowly began to appear within his mind, and Huo Yuhao felt waves of dizziness overcome him. By relying on the walls of the ice house, he was able to prevent himself from collapsing.

His only soul ring had already floated up into the air noiselessly, and the pure white soul ring released a brilliant luster. It slowly moved rhythmically into the air, hovering around his body as it did so.

The pale gold light in Huo Yuhao's eyes began to gradually transform, and he was very aware that he had lost control of his body.

At this moment, he felt his consciousness spreading outwards rapidly, expanding towards the distance. It felt as if he was overlooking the earth from the sky above, and it was an entirely different feeling from when he normally used his Spiritual Detection.

The vastness of this Spiritual Detection exceeded the more-than ten thousand square kilometers of the core regions of the Extreme North. However, the ray of light suddenly darkened, just as if daytime was transitioning to nighttime. An invisible pressure instantly spread outwards from Huo Yuhao's body along with the extremely terrifying amount of spiritual power that came from him.

To his astonishment, he discovered that he actually felt a pleasure akin to that of a sovereign descending upon the world. The feeling of having the earth and snow completely serving him, and having everything within the grasp of his palm, was simply too wonderful. It seemed as if he could destroy everything with the flip of a hand, and that he could judge everything within the reach of his eyes.

Muffled sounds of thunder started to ring out in the gloomy sky, but Huo Yuhao astonishedly discovered that his body had completely turned bright-gold in colour.

The pure white halo of light surrounding Huo Yuhao slowly began to change color, as his originally white soul ring gradually changed from white to pale gold, then from pale gold to bright gold. The golden luster coming from it was definitely much brighter any soul rings Huo Yuhao had seen in the past.

There were white ten year soul rings, yellow hundred year soul rings, purple thousand year soul rings, black ten thousand year soul rings, and red hundred thousand year soul rings. And yet, all of them would only be able to submit in front of the boundlessly imposing golden luster of this golden soul ring.

This… this was the true color of the Douluo Continent's unrivalled, and only, million year soul ring! It was also the first time that the Skydream Iceworm had released the true color of its soul ring into the world.

The astonishing golden luster immediately caused a strange feeling to rise in Huo Yuhao's heart.

One day, I will no longer let the Heavens cover my eyes—where I will no longer let the Earth bury my heart. I want everything in the world to submit to me, just like that man who could grasp the sun and moon in each hand, and could pluck the stars from the sky.

At that moment, not only did the Skydream Iceworm show how powerful he was, he'd even buried a seed of faith inside of Huo Yuhao's heart; the faith that he could become the sovereign of the entire world. This was the first time that Huo Yuhao had a dream even loftier than his wish for revenge.

As if he could sense the change in Huo Yuhao's mental state, the Skydream Iceworm seemed gratified. Right! Since he'd been able to become the main body for a million year soul beast, there'd be a day where he would become the true master of the Skydream Iceworm. If he didn't have any lofty ambitions, wouldn't he that be akin to covering a precious pearl with a layer of dust?

Golden balls of light began to emerge from Huo Yuhao's forehead. As each golden ball left his body, Huo Yuhao began to feel more and more hollow. By the time the ninth ball of light had left his body, he'd even begun to feel somewhat tottery.

In the beginning, the Skydream Iceworm had entered his body with a total of ten balls of light. This was the Skydream Iceworm's spiritual origin, as well as the nucleus of its strength. Now that nine balls of light had left his body, only one ball of light—the one that Huo Yuhao had already absorbed—remained within his body. That was the only connection left between Huo Yuhao and the Skydream Iceworm.

The nine golden balls of light slowly descended from the air. Once the first ball of light had landed on the snowy ground, the second ball landed on top of it. The other seven balls followed suit as they stacked on top of each other. Afterwards, the total volume of the nine balls of light gradually began to decrease, while the golden light that they were emitting became increasingly tangible. At that moment, Huo Yuhao was clearly able to sense how strong the Skydream Iceworm was. It had such a terrifying amount of spiritual power that it could even cause a meteorological phenomenon.

Once the nine golden balls of light had finished stacking atop one another, they gradually began to form a shape. Unexpectedly, they solidified into the shape of a golden man made of light. More astonishingly, its appearance was completely identical to Huo Yuhao. Even the golden clothes it wore were identical to Shrek Academy's uniform. Huo Yuhao didn't know whether to cry or to laugh when he saw this.

Once the Skydream Iceworm's spiritual body had taken shape, he sent a thought outwards with his spiritual force, "Ice Emperor, I know that you've already sensed that I'm here. I, Skydream, have come to take my revenge. Do you dare to come out and meet me?"

As soon as the Skydream Iceworm had begun speaking, an unfathomably strong wave of spiritual power had instantly covered Huo Yuhao's body, thus shielding his presence within the ice house.

However, the Skydream Iceworm and Huo Yuhao were still a single entity. Because of that, Huo Yuhao could still tell what was going on outside via the Skydream Iceworm's spiritual power after he came in contact with it. When the Skydream Iceworm enlarged the range of his spiritual power, he was still able to sense every single detail within a thousand meters. However, the more magical thing was that, this time around, his perception had entirely replaced his eyes. He could truly see everything outside through his perception, not just shapes.

After finishing his sentence, the Skydream Iceworm quieted down. However, the golden luster his body emitted continued to shine brightly. The bright golden light he was emitting was extraordinarily clear within the pure-white world. Black clouds began to appear in the air as the sky grew darker and darker, which caused the atmosphere to become increasingly grave. However, the golden luster emitted from the Skydream Iceworm's body remained as brilliant as ever beneath the dusky sky.

The Skydream Iceworm didn't seem to be worried at all as he quietly stood there. The violent winds continued to thrash about around him, but he stood there mightily, unmoving.

Huo Yuhao was able to sense all of this. However, in an area outside of the range of his perception, an innumerable amount of soul beasts had scattered in all directions, terrified.

There was a chance that the Skydream Iceworm wouldn't even be able to defeat a ten thousand year soul beast in direct combat. However, there wasn't a single soul beast on the entire Douluo Continent that could contend with him in terms of pure spiritual power.

The Skydream Iceworm's biggest problem lay in its bloodline. Even though he'd cultivated for a million years, in the end he was still a low-ranked Iceworm. With a background like this, even though he'd been able to become stronger due to the constant evolutions he'd undergone, and had obtained an enormous amount of energy due to the Ten Thousand Year Ice Pith's unceasing nourishment, he had become akin to a mountain full of treasure; he had treasures, but he didn't know how to use them. If you were to describe it in soul master terms, he was an expert who possessed a terrifying amount of soul power, yet didn't have any soul rings or soul skills.

When there was a large gap in cultivation between him and his opponents, he could still rely on the absolute strength of his spiritual power to defeat them. However, when he met an opponent that possessed at least a certain level of strength, he would be completely out of luck. Regardless of how strong his spiritual power was, if he didn't have a way to concentrate it into a terrifying spiritual skill, his killing power would always be limited. After becoming Huo Yuhao's million year soul ring, he'd become extremely envious of the four soul skills that Huo Yuhao had received. Only, the Skydream Iceworm was someone who'd always cared about face; he 'd never admit how envious he was.

If, when the Skydream Iceworm had had a tyrannical million year cultivation level, he'd only had a single soul skill, almost every single soul beast on the Douluo Continent wouldn't have been able to pose a threat to it.

At this very moment, he'd released all of his spiritual power. It extended out and covered basically everywhere that he wanted it to. A third of the Extreme North's core regions, at the very least, had been encapsulated within his Spiritual Detection.

Although the Skydream Iceworm appeared extremely carefree on the surface, his current actions were definitely not simple at all, as he hadn't used his own aura to release his spiritual power. At the very least, soul beasts that were unfamiliar with him definitely wouldn't think that this was something done by someone who possessed no attacking skills at all.

The Skydream Iceworm had used his terrifying spiritual power to imitate the aura of a certain soul beat that lived within the Extreme North. Faced with this aura, the other soul beasts didn't dare to have any thoughts of resisting at all. This was the aura of the leader of the Extreme North's Three Emperors. This was the aura of the soul beast who possessed a cultivation of five hundred thousand years along with its noble bloodline.

Furthermore, he'd purposely evaded the territory of the leader of the Extreme North's Three Emperors. Due to his meticulous control over his Spiritual Detection, he wasn't scared of being discovered by the person he was imitating. As such, the soul beasts in the area that he'd wanted to intimidate had immediately scuttled away after being frightened. They simply decided not to bother him and Huo Yuhao anymore.

On the other hand, the second-ranked Ice Emperor who he was looking for was also encapsulated within the range of his spiritual power. Having known him for a long time, the Ice Emperor naturally wouldn't mistake his aura for someone else's. Besides, he'd also said such unbridled words.

With the Skydream Iceworm's understanding of the second-ranked Ice Emperor, he believed that it would definitely come. This was because he himself was an extremely beneficial supplement that would tempt all soul beasts. Furthermore, this Ice Emperor was a soul beast whose cultivation exceeded the three hundred thousand year rank, yet couldn't break through the four hundred thousand year barrier.

The Ice Emperor understood himself well, and understood the Ice Emperor just as well. At that time, the Ice Emperor had nearly died not long after its cultivation had broken through to the three hundred thousand year rank. Currently, it probably wasn't too far away from reaching the four hundred thousand year rank. Previously, when breaking through to the three hundred thousand year rank, the Ice Emperor had said that it had reached its limit. Moreover, it had injured its origin energy, thus making it impossible for it to reach the four hundred thousand year rank. The only way that it could break free of its fetters was for it to absorb the Skydream Iceworm's enormous yet pure energy. If it were to do this, it would even overtake the first ranked Emperor in one fell swoop.

The Skydream Iceworm's only stroke of luck was that the first ranked Ice Emperor wasn't aware of his existence. Otherwise, he believed that it would have definitely caught him—even when he was still in the Great Star Dou Forest.

Having been lured by something related to its survival, the Ice Emperor had no other choice. It definitely wanted to come, and it definitely would come. When the Skydream Iceworm was clearly able to sense its aura, a crafty smile appeared on his face.

Time continued to pass second by second, but the Skydream Iceworm didn't seem to be panicked at all. Even though it was hard for the hiding Huo Yuhao to endure his stiffening body, he didn't even dare to breathe too loudly, just in case. He wasn't sure when the so-called Ice Emperor would appear, but this was undoubtedly a life-and-death trial for both him and the Skydream Iceworm. He still wasn't sure what the Skydream Iceworm was relying on in order to kill a super-expert like the Ice Emperor, who even Titled Douluos were terrified of.

As Huo Yuhao continued to wait in his shelter, he felt his heartbeat slowly speeding up. At the same time, he felt both anxious and afraid, as his body began to stir with excitement. Just as this began to occur however, he suddenly felt the outside world change.

The originally pitch-black sky suddenly shook violently, and immediately afterwards, a jade green light instantly appeared in the distant northern horizon.

In the blink of an eye, the dusky sky had turned a penetrating yet alluring jade green. This touching shade of color made it seem like the aloof sky had suddenly turned into an enormous jade green gem. In an instant, the originally oppressive aura within the sky had vanished into thin air.

When the jade green light entered the Skydream Iceworm's thousand meter range, Huo Yuhao finally become able to sense it. He couldn't help but inhale a deep breath of icy air. It's coming, it's really coming.

"Skydream, you're actually still alive. It's no wonder that you're the longest-living soul beast from our Extreme North." A crisp voice rang out in all directions. The appearance of this voice was followed by a terrifying sound wave. The snow on the ground instantly rose by three meters as the sound wave struck it, akin to a wave suddenly passing through an ocean. Only the hundred meters around the Skydream Iceworm's body remained calm, as it had been protected by the enormous spiritual power coming from his body.

"Ice Emperor, you haven't died yet, so why can't I be still alive? Don't you remember what I said that year? 'If I don't die, there'll be a day when I'll become your partner.'" The Skydream Iceworm's voice suddenly turned gentle. This somewhat overly-sentimental voice even gave Huo Yuhao a few goosebumps.

In this exact instant, Huo Yuhao couldn��t help but widen his eyes after thinking of a certain possibility.

With their current combination, coming to the Extreme North would undoubtedly pose an enormous danger to them. Though the Skydream Iceworm was powerful, he was currently attached to Huo Yuhao after becoming his first soul ring. Even if he was an intelligent soul ring, he was still a part of him. He still relied mainly on Huo Yuhao's strength to determine whether they were strong or weak.

Under a situation like this, the Skydream Iceworm's best option should've been to make Huo Yuhao stronger by obtaining his other soul rings first. Once he was strong enough, they could've come to the Extreme North to find this so-called Ice Emperor in order to awaken his second martial soul!

However, the Skydream Iceworm had impatiently decided to come here and find the extremely terrifyingly strong Ice Emperor right after he'd gotten to Rank 20. Was it even possible for there to be no danger involved in this journey? Regardless of how meticulously the Skydream Iceworm had planned everything out, he and Huo Yuhao might be buried eternally in the Extreme North if he made a single mistake.

Just what made the Skydream Iceworm insist on him coming here, even if there was an enormous risk involved in doing so? Was it just to make him become even stronger? After hearing its gentle voice, it really didn't seem like the case!

After this thought flashed through Huo Yuhao's mind, he unexpectedly went silent. He didn't have any other choice but to believe in the Skydream Iceworm. More than that, he prayed that the Skydream Iceworm hadn't come here due to the reason he'd thought of. Right now, he could only patiently wait and observe silently.

"Skydream, you're courting death." The Ice Emperor's clear voice was suddenly filled with killing intent, and the jade green sky instantly turned dark green. An intense killing intent descended from the sky, and the originally protected hundred meter diameter around the Skydream Iceworm's body instantly shrank to a diameter of ten meters.

However, the Skydream Iceworm wasn't scared of the Ice Emperor in a simple contest of spiritual power. Smiling, he spoke in a very unhurried and graceful manner, "No, I'm just expressing my true feelings. I've lived for a million years, and I've spent a large majority of them sleeping. However, the only thing within the depths of my heart that I can't control is you. Ice Emperor, do you know why I've chosen to come back at a time like this? It's because I've calculated that you're about to reach your limit and reach a dead end within a hundred years. At that time, you won't be able to break through to the next rank. Then, you'll disappear in this icy world. That's why I've come back. I can't wait anymore, and an endless life has no more meaning to me. I don't have much longer to live anymore. I've come back to let you continue living and let us truly be together."

Inwardly sighing, Huo Yuhao shut his eyes. Sure enough, that was the case! The Skydream Iceworm had really tricked him; he truly had his own motives for coming here.

From the moment he'd met the Skydream Iceworm, Huo Yuhao had trusted him unconditionally from the bottom of his heart. The Skydream Iceworm had given him a million year soul ring in addition to four soul skills, which was equivalent to giving him a brand new life.

In Huo Yuhao's heart, the person he'd felt the most grateful to was this fellow, this intelligent soul ring of his. The Skydream Iceworm had a higher position in his heart than Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and even Wang Dong.

At this moment however, Huo Yuhao felt as if something within his heart had shattered. The emotions he'd repressed since his youth suddenly exploded out like a dam bursting. He lied to me, he actually lied to me!

An unprecedented amount of grievance turned into a river of teardrops that flowed down his cheeks before rapidly freezing into chunks of ice that gathered by the corners of his eyes. After all, Huo Yuhao was only twelve. Just as he'd believed that everything in front of him was filled with hope, the Skydream Iceworm's betrayal had instantly shattered his tenacious heart.

Huo Yuhao wasn't scared of hardships, nor was he scared of any difficulties. As long as he saw hope in front of him, he was willing to give it his all.

His one year in Shrek Academy had changed his personality drastically. In Shrek Academy, he had friends, teachers, and companions. From another standpoint, this had all been given to him by the Skydream Iceworm. It was precisely because of the Skydream Iceworm's existence that he had confidence and faith in his heart. However, the Skydream Iceworm's betrayal had practically cut off the root of his faith, brazenly uprooting the tall, confidence-filled tree from his heart.

This feeling could no longer be described using the word 'painful'. Huo Yuhao's hope had been completely obliterated.

Though the Skydream Iceworm's spiritual power was extremely powerful, he had focused all of his energy on the Ice Emperor's reaction; he didn't notice the heaven-shaking, earth-shattering transformation in Huo Yuhao's heart.

Hearing the Skydream Iceworm's words, the Ice Emperor turned silent. As if the Skydream Iceworm had precisely called out the worries in its heart, it pondered silently.

Somewhat nervous, the Skydream Iceworm said, "I've come back, Ice Emperor. We haven't seen each other for so many years, but you're not even willing to come and see me in person?"

The Ice Emperor's cold voice rang out again. "Skydream, don't you know that my tribe is a predator of your tribe?"

The Skydream Iceworm laughed indifferently, "I know that of course, but why does that matter? Is there a rule that states that one can't like their own predator? And it's precisely because of that that I like you even more."

The Ice Emperor said disdainfully, "Unfortunately, you don't have the qualifications to like me. However, I'm very touched. You've actually agreed to bring yourself back as food for me to eat. How could I not help you accomplish your goal to fuse our bodies together like this? You should be able to sense that I'm approaching you right now. Just wait for me, I'll get to you within fifteen minutes. I'll take all of your love, and I'll treat you well. I'll slowly eat your body and energy bit by bit and make you a part of my body."

The Skydream Iceworm seemed to already be familiar with the Ice Emperor's way of speaking. Somewhat helpless, he said, "Can't you be a bit gentler? You're always so cold and overbearing. It's no wonder you're still single. Right, I've always wanted to ask you this: is that joke going around the Extreme North true? Did you like the Snow Emperor back then?"

"Skydream, I'll definitely rend your body into ten thousand pieces!" The Skydream Iceworm's words seemed to have touched upon the Ice Emperor's most sensitive feelings, causing its voice to instantly become hysterical. At that moment, the dark green sky suddenly turned a deep black.

The smile on the Skydream Iceworm's mouth had never disappeared, as if it was purposely trying to rile up the Ice Emperor. On the other hand, there were no longer tears flowing from the eyes of the hiding Huo Yuhao. Only, he felt his heart go somewhat cold.

From their conversation, it was obvious that the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Emperor had many grudges and emotions between them. It was definitely not as simple as the Skydream Iceworm had said. The Skydream Iceworm had purposely riled up the Ice Emperor, which meant that he definitely had his own motives; he definitely had a move he was planning to unleash.

However, did this really matter to him? Was the Skydream Iceworm still deserving of his trust? He had lied to him, bringing him to this danger-filled Extreme North. Was his only objective to help him awaken his second martial soul? No, that was definitely not the case. In the end, he had still lied to him.

Taking a deep breath, Huo Yuhao's face gradually turned chilly. The grief in his heart had caused a violent change to occur in his mental state. His nervousness and excitement had disappeared, and only a patch of ice remained in his heart.

As if it had sensed the change in Huo Yuhao's emotions, the gray pearl located within the depths of his mind shook lightly. However, it quickly returned to normal.

A voice that Huo Yuhao couldn't hear muttered to itself within the gray pearl, "The personality this kid's cultivated since his youth goes to extremes too easily. His greatest weakness is his own heart. To him, this could be considered a form of training. Otherwise, how will he be able to mature? It's better for me to not interfere. However, that large worm's made me look at him with a completely new light than before!"

The gray pearl then quieted down. In this exact instant, the Skydream Iceworm's voice rang out in Huo Yuhao's mind, "Yuhao, the preparations are all ready. When I give you the signal, you'll have to endure the cold. You'll have to persevere, got it?"

"I will." Huo Yuhao replied coldly.

Possibly due to the nervousness he felt, the Skydream Iceworm didn't notice the change in Huo Yuhao's mental state.

After fifteen minutes passed, the Ice Emperor who said that it'd take fifteen minutes to appear finally showed itself.

The dark sky turned jade green, and a jade green light streaked across the sky. With that flash of jade light, another soul beast appeared in front of the Skydream Iceworm.

Huo Yuhao was also concentratedly observing what was going on. Though he hadn't personally seen the third-ranked Titan Ice Devil King, he'd seen its terrifying footsteps before. In his opinion, the Ice Emperor who was also a member of the Three Emperors shouldn't be much smaller than the Titan Ice Devil Emperor.

However, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but feel somewhat stunned when the Ice Emperor finally appeared in his perception. He couldn't help but inwardly sigh in admiration, It's really too pretty.

Right, the Ice Emperor was very beautiful. Though it was just a soul beast, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

The Ice Emperor was roughly 1.5 meters long, which meant that it wasn't even as big as the Skydream Iceworm's previous body. Huo Yuhao had made lots of predictions towards the Ice Emperor's race, but they were all wrong. The Ice Emperor was a scorpion, a scorpion whose beauty had reached the pinnacle.

Could the words ��scorpion' and 'beautiful' even be used together? Huo Yuhao was now certain of his answer to this question.

The 1.5-meter-long Ice Emperor had two colors on its body. One was the color of ice, and the other was a jade green color.

The front end of its body had four layers stacked above each other, and each layer was longer than the previous one by a third of a meter. Its head lay on the frontmost layer, and its silver-white mouth shone with an ominous, cold light. The front of its body was covered a type of special scale that Huo Yuhao had never learned of in Shrek Academy. No, instead of call it a scale, it was more accurate to say that it was protruding outwards.