Ice Empress, who had just arrived at the scene, still hadn't figured out what was happening when she saw her close friend, Snow Empress, being held by a human.
In her panic, Ice Empress immediately revealed her true form—a magnificent yet terrifying emerald scorpion tail that lunged straight toward Ye Wen, seemingly intent on piercing him through.
"No!" Snow Empress watched with wide, bloodshot eyes.
In those fleeting seconds, Snow Empress had already recognized the gap between herself and Ye Wen. But whether Ye Wen was truly friendly remained uncertain to her, and Ice Empress's actions were only adding fuel to the fire.
Ye Wen chuckled softly. As expected, the Snow Empress and Ice Empress pairing remained consistent across worlds.
With his free left hand, Ye Wen simply flicked his finger, effortlessly deflecting the deadly tail strike of the 400,000-year-old Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion. The force of the deflection sent Ice Empress flying backward in her full scorpion form.
As Ye Wen prepared to capture Ice Empress as well, Snow Empress, still in his right hand, struggled to speak.
"No, please… spare Bing'er."
Ye Wen was somewhat surprised. He was currently using spirit-constraining soul-guiding technology from his original timeline, which had been continuously refined to suppress soul power. Though he hadn't used its full strength, the fact that Snow Empress could still speak was astonishing.
However, Ye Wen hadn't come here to cause trouble. He loosened his grip and set Snow Empress down.
As for his earlier casual attack, it had been deliberately restrained. Ice Empress, now transformed back into a streak of green light, rushed over to protect Snow Empress, eyeing Ye Wen warily.
"Sister, run quickly! I'll hold this despicable human off!"
Snow Empress wore a bitter smile. With Ye Wen's release of her, her soul power had returned to normal, which only confirmed that this man had complete confidence in subduing both her and Ice Empress.
As for escaping—*sigh*.
There was no doubt that Snow Empress already knew Ye Wen could fly, and his strength surpassed that of her and Ice Empress combined. They couldn't outrun or escape him, leaving the two sisters in a dire predicament.
"Bing'er, don't do this. We're no match for him."
Ice Empress stiffened upon hearing this, staring incredulously at her always-proud sister, who now bowed her head and positioned herself protectively behind her.
"Sir, I acknowledge your strength. Whether you're a soul beast or a human, if you kill me, I will have no regrets. But if possible, I beg you to spare my younger sister.
Otherwise—"
Snow Empress's soul power surged violently once again.
The once cold and noble Snow Empress now had eyes filled with resolute madness.
"I'll forsake my 700,000 years of cultivation, detonate my spirit bones, and sacrifice everything to take you down with me!"
"Sister!"
Ice Empress, now in her human form—a petite loli dressed in emerald-green attire—finally understood. Snow Empress's humility was all for her sake. How could she abandon her sister now? She too began frantically mobilizing her soul power.
"I won't leave, Sister! If we die, we die together. In our next life, let's be sisters again!"
"Bing'er…"
Snow Empress looked at Ice Empress with deep emotion but shook her head. "Don't worry about me. My 700,000-year heavenly tribulation is approaching, and I'm not confident I can survive it. If my life can save yours, then it's all worth it."
"But, Sister!"
"Do as I say."
"Sister!"
"Do you want me to die in vain?!"
?!
Ye Wen scratched his temple in exasperation. Did he really look like a villain? That shouldn't be the case—he was consistently ranked first on Douluo Continent's Most Charming Men list.
"Um…" Ye Wen tentatively spoke up.
At this point, the two sisters, who had just been performing their melodramatic scene, remembered his presence and turned wary gazes toward him.
As the elder sister, Snow Empress firmly shielded Ice Empress behind her, watching Ye Wen cautiously.
"Speak. Will you agree or not? Otherwise, I'll fight you to the death!"
"*Sigh*… Life is tough," Ye Wen sighed.
"I never said I wanted your spirit rings or spirit bones."
Snow Empress sensed a glimmer of hope and cautiously asked, "Are you a soul beast? Are you here to seize my position as ruler of the Extreme North Ice Plains?
Among soul beasts, the strong dominate the weak. Since you've won, we'll naturally support you as the new ruler of the Extreme North Ice Plains."
Here, Snow Empress paused, her voice tinged with reluctance.
"If you desire me, that's fine too.
But my 700,000-year heavenly tribulation is imminent. If I fall, I hope you'll take care of my younger sister, Bing'er."
"Sister!"
Ice Empress, the epitome of yuri, was displeased. Forgetting Ye Wen's overwhelming power for a moment, she was overcome with indignation and tried to intervene.
"What are you thinking?!" Ye Wen snapped irritably.
Snow Empress and Ice Empress froze, feeling as though they wanted to dig a three-bedroom apartment with their feet out of sheer embarrassment. It seemed all their assumptions had been nothing more than self-delusion.
In Ye Wen's eyes, though Snow Empress was his wife in the original timeline, in this world, she was an entirely new individual. No matter how similar she looked, he wasn't so desperate as to act recklessly.
Ye Wen continued, "You can stop guessing. I'm not a soul beast, I don't want your spirit rings or spirit bones, and I certainly don't want to become the ruler of the Extreme North Ice Plains."
"Huh? ×2?"
Snow Empress and Ice Empress were utterly baffled by Ye Wen's words. Upon reflection, they realized they couldn't discern his intentions at all.
The highly intelligent Snow Empress furrowed her brows, eyeing Ye Wen warily. If this man didn't want the most precious things on their bodies, it could only mean one thing—he had even greater ambitions.
Considering Ye Wen's immense strength, Snow Empress carefully asked,
"Then may I ask what brings you here?"
Ye Wen thought for a moment, then stroked his slightly stubbled chin.
Though their stances differed in this world of Douluo, it didn't stop him from appreciating Snow Empress and Ice Empress.
Ye Wen's visit to the Extreme North Ice Plains had two purposes: to gain control over the consciousness of the Douluo Continent and to find a new cheat code for Huo Yuer.
Due to Tian Meng Ice Silkworm's sacrifice, Huo Yuer now had an empty ice-attribute spirit slot alongside her primary Spiritual Eye spirit.
In the original timeline, the perverted Tian Meng Ice Silkworm had tricked Ice Empress into sacrificing herself to become Huo Yuhao's second spirit.
But while Ice Empress was good, Ye Wen believed Snow Empress would be a better fit as Huo Yuer's second spirit.
After all, between 400,000 years and 700,000 years, both possessing the pinnacle of ice attributes, the choice was obvious.
"Snow Empress, would you like to ascend to godhood?" Ye Wen asked with a smile.
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