The once-clear sky over the Extreme North—
In just a few breaths was swallowed by thunderclouds thick as ink.
Deep within that sea of clouds,
Blazing violet lightning slithered like furious dragons and serpents.
Each flash tore apart the heavens,
Casting the Snow Empress's face in a stark, icy white.
...
"What rules govern a Spirit Beast's tribulation?" Li Zhexian transmitted his voice to the Ice Empress and the Skydream Ice Worm.
The Ice Empress gazed at the Snow Empress—who stood alone beneath the heavens preparing to face her tribulation—her slender hand unconsciously tightening.
Her voice was slow and grave:
"Upon reaching one hundred thousand years, a Spirit Beast must endure nine heavenly tribulations.
"For every additional hundred thousand years, one must suffer another full round of nine tribulations.
"So for Sister Xue's 700,000-years…"
"She must endure seven full rounds, a total of sixty-three strikes."
She paused briefly before continuing:
"Every Spirit Beast knows instinctively that at a million years, one's life level undergoes a complete transformation—
it is equivalent to stepping into godhood."
"But…the path for Spirit Beasts to become gods was long ago severed."
"According to legend, aside from the ten rounds of tribulation, a million-year Spirit Beast must also face an ultimate lightning strike—a tribulation nearly impossible to survive."
"That is why, in the entire history of the continent…
No Spirit Beast has ever reached the million-year divine realm."
"Cough! Cough!"
Beside them, the Skydream Ice Worm suddenly straightened his round body and coughed twice.
But the Ice Empress—focused wholly on the Snow Empress—didn't spare him a single glance.
Li Zhexian asked in confusion:
"Why doesn't Brother Tian Meng need to undergo tribulation?"
A cold laugh escaped the Ice Empress.
"Tian Meng's so-called million-year cultivation was gained through eating."
"He spent almost all his time sleeping and eating."
"Though his body is filled with pure heaven-and-earth essence, his control over power, his understanding of laws, and his combat ability are all far, far lacking."
"Tribulations exist to prevent Spirit Beasts from becoming gods."
"He… does not qualify."
Her words were merciless.
Skydream Ice Worm, who had been puffing himself up moments earlier, instantly shriveled.
He opened his mouth… but had no way to refute it.
The atmosphere froze for a moment.
...
RUMBLE—!!!
A sudden thunderclap made their expressions tighten.
Above, the clouds churned and pressed downward—
thunder rolling like the growl of an ancient beast awakening.
The tribulation had arrived.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!
A pillar of blinding white lightning tore down from the heavens, carrying the wrath of the sky itself.
In that instant—
the world lost all color.
Only harsh white remained.
The terrifying heavenly might rippled outward, making the entire Extreme North tremble.
The Ice Empress, Liite Yazi, and the Skydream Ice Worm all paled in fear.
Instinctive terror—etched into Spirit Beast bloodlines—made their bodies nearly buckle.
Even Li Zhexian felt chills race across his scalp.
Even at such a distance,
the lingering pressure of the tribulation numbed his entire body.
The surrounding mountain peaks trembled and cracked under the vast heavenly might.
Thousands of meters of accumulated snow, mixed with ice and rock,
turned into a roaring white avalanche,
pouring down from every peak like the end of the Extreme North.
And yet, confronted with this apocalyptic tribulation, the Snow Empress showed not a trace of panic.
BOOM—!
Her 700,000-year cultivation erupted upward as a pillar of light.
Her figure was stunning and graceful—
and as the ruler of the Extreme North, there was an innate domineering pride in her bones.
She raised her slender hand—
And the falling, collapsing avalanches around her responded at once.
Snow from all directions surged toward her palm.
In the blink of an eye—
They condensed into a colossal hand of ice and snow
that blotted out the sky.
It crashed upward.
One palm against Heaven's tribulation.
The lightning shattered.
The snow palm broke apart.
Ice-flakes scattered everywhere,
Turning the world into a hazy, swirling white.
But within that blizzard-blurred world—
A slender figure rose again, fearless.
And she struck with another palm.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!
Eight more deafening explosions reverberated across the Extreme North.
The first round of tribulation—
Was smashed apart completely
by the Snow Empress's overwhelming, domineering might.
From beginning to end, it lasted scarcely the time needed to steep a cup of tea.
The snow she had summoned had already raised the icefield—already deep with ancient snow—by dozens of meters.
Such was the advantage of her home territory.
It was precisely this advantage
that allowed the Snow Empress to boldly declare:
In the Extreme North, even if the Beast God Di Tian himself descended, she would still have the power to fight!
However—
Although the Snow Empress seemed to pass the first round of heavenly tribulation with ease,
There was not the slightest trace of relaxation on the Ice Empress's face.
Heavenly tribulation came in seven rounds, each stronger than the last.
Sure enough—
Without giving the Snow Empress even a breath to recover,
The second round was already brewing within the rolling black clouds.
As if enraged that the Snow Empress had passed the first round so easily,
Bolts of lightning as thick as ancient trees madly surged through the storm.
Until—
They suddenly converged with a thunderous roar into a colossal mountain of lightning,
Faintly tinged with a chilling streak of purple.
It came crashing down toward the Snow Empress.
The Snow Empress once again met it head-on with the Empress Palm.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!
The explosion made Li Zhexian and Skydream Ice Worm's expressions shift slightly.
This time—
The Snow Empress was no longer as composed as before.
Although she still shattered the lightning with a single palm,
She was hammered downward by the force, dropping halfway from the sky, her aura slightly disrupted
before she rose once more.
The Ice Empress's clenched hand loosened ever so slightly.
With her understanding of the Snow Empress—
The Empress Palm… should still be able to block one more round.
Then there would only be four left.
Her chances of surviving the tribulation were extremely high!
"So this is the fortune brought by the auspicious beast's protection?"
Everything unfolded just as the Ice Empress expected.
When the third round of tribulation descended,
The Snow Empress once again met it with the Empress Palm.
BOOM—!
This strike—
Sent her crashing deep into the snowfields, the exploding snow-waves rising like an apocalyptic tsunami, tens of meters high
And the fourth round came with no pause,
Pouring down from the heavens immediately after.
The sea of thunder descended.
The surrounding glaciers began collapsing.
Permafrost buried under eternal snow for tens of thousands of years was overturned and exposed.
Seeing that world-destroying lightning-fall thunder straight toward the place where the Snow Empress had landed—
Li Zhexian and Skydream Ice Worm's faces both changed dramatically.
Even the Ice Empress, who had the utmost confidence in the Snow Empress, clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles whitened.
At that moment—
The entire icefield trembled violently.
A clear and resonant sword cry split through heaven and earth.
In that instant—
Even the drifting snowflakes in the sky seemed to gain a razor-sharp edge.
A colossal sword of frost, tens of thousands of meters long, erupted out of the snowfield.
The terrifying lightning-fall pouring down from the heavens—
Was cleaved apart with a single stroke.
At the sword's hilt—
The Snow Empress stood with her long hair dancing wildly, her frost-white dress billowing.
One hand pressed against the hilt,
Her figure proud and unyielding.
The scene—
Was truly unmatched and awe-inspiring.
"Empress Palm! Empress Sword! Empress Chill!"
"Sister Xie finally drew her sword!"
Once the Empress Sword was unleashed—
The fourth round of heavenly tribulation was eradicated completely.
The Snow Empress merely wavered slightly in aura, a trace of bright blue blood dripping from her lips.
To break four rounds of tribulation while sustaining only such minor injuries…
Li Zhexian finally exhaled faintly:
This tribulation—
The Snow Empress has a real chance of surviving it!
However—
Just as the fifth round was about to descend—
Skydream Ice Worm, Li Zhexian, and the Ice Empress suddenly sensed something simultaneously and turned to look toward the distant sky.
There—
A vast region of pitch-black clouds, rolling with blood-red mist, was rushing toward them at a terrifying speed.
An aura far more dreadful than the Snow Empress's—
Like a tidal wave of blood—
Swept across the entire Extreme North.
The Ice Empress's expression instantly turned extremely grim.
...
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