Star Luo Grand Hotel
The quiet room was suddenly disturbed by the faint sound of blowing wind as the balcony window slid open, allowing Huo Yuhao to slip inside silently.
The darkness of the night seemed to cling to him, but his movements were calm and controlled as he removed the white mask that had concealed his identity.
He quickly changed into casual clothes, his face set in an indifferent expression, as if the events of the night had not affected him in the slightest. However, as he took a step toward his bed, his body betrayed him.
His legs gave way, and he stumbled, falling to one knee.
Cough* Cough*
"Ugh..." A sharp pain surged through his chest, and he coughed violently, bringing up flecks of blood. But that wasn't the end of it—trails of blood began to drip from his nose and ears, evidence of the internal strain he had pushed himself through.
It was inevitable. He had greatly overdrawn his soul and spiritual powers.
The strain of using the Shadow Clone Jutsu, his Mangekyou Sharingan, Ice God's Legacy and then necromancy—had pushed him far beyond his limits.
But Huo Yuhao quickly forced himself to his feet, his monstrous regeneration kicking in to repair the damage to his body. The blood dripping from his nose and ears slowed, and the pain in his chest gradually subsided.
So long as his head is attached to his head and his heart not fully destroyed, he would keep on regenerating.
"Huuu..."
With a shaky breath, he moved to his bed and sat down, closing his eyes to focus on recovering his energy.
"Yuhao..." Ice Empress's anxious voice echoed in his mind, filled with concern.
"Ice Empress, please wait a little while longer," Huo Yuhao responded helplessly. "I'm trying to recover my energy first."
The urgency in her voice tugged at his thoughts, but he knew he needed to focus on regaining his strength first. The events of the night had drained him far more than he anticipated, and while his regeneration had helped, he was still not at his peak state.
"U-Um...Yes, I apologize." Ice Empress said.
"Leave the kid alone for a while, Bing'er." Skydream added with a yawn, rolling his arms, he snapped his fingers and put up a barrier around the room to block out any prying eyes and ears. "He went through a lot after all, plus, Snow Empress is already in our hands. She's safe now."
"....Um. I understand," Ice Empress softly replied, sounding completely different compared to her usual self, surprising Skydream.
But considering that they had rescued Snow Empress, who had a close relationship with her, Skydream sighed deeply.
"Yeah, I get it," Skydream finally said, his voice carrying a hint of understanding. "It's been a tough night for all of us. Let's just focus on getting through this and making sure we're ready for whatever comes next."
Ice Empress didn't respond, but the silence between them was filled with a mutual understanding.
A couple hours went by.
Huo Yuhao let out a weary sigh, feeling better as he recovered at his optimal state, not at his peak state considering that he still has a few shadow clones doing some important work.
He leaned back against the bed as he tried to center his thoughts. The night had been a whirlwind of danger and chaos, and even though he had accomplished his goals, the strain on his body and mind was undeniable.
"Thank you, Skydream," Huo Yuhao said, his voice low but sincere. The barrier made him feel a bit more secure, giving him the privacy he desperately needed to recover.
"Is this barrier enough to cover Snow Empress' aura when we free her?" Huo Yuhao asked, clearly worried.
Skydream was about to say something but Ice Empress cut him off, the golden aura surrounding the room gained an emerald hue, her voice filled with confidence. "With both of our powers, yes, it's more than sufficient. Even a Transcendent Douluo wouldn't be able to sense a lick of Snow Empress' aura."
Huo Yuhao nodded, feeling slightly reassured by Ice Empress's certainty. "Alright," he said, exhaling softly. "We'll proceed as planned, then."
He looked at Elder Ma's storage ring and took out the God Sealing Alter in which Snow Empress was sealed in, before freezing the storage ring and crushing it.
He had to make sure that there'd be no breadcrumbs that would lead to him. The last thing he wanted was for someone to trace it back to him.
He then turned his attention to the God Sealing Altar, his expression turned serious. "Alright. Ice Empress, could you communicate with Snow Empress and gently tell her that we're here to save her?"
"Un. I'll try," Ice Empress responded, her tone filled with determination. Huo Yuhao felt a slight shift in his consciousness as Ice Empress reached out to Snow Empress within the God Sealing Altar.
"Snow... Snow Lady," Ice Empress's voice was gentle yet firm as she spoke directly to the sealed soul. "It's me, Ice Empress. I've come to free you. Don't worry, these people with me are my...friends. Please, stay calm and trust us."
There was a brief pause, and Huo Yuhao could sense the faint, wavering presence of Snow Empress as she reacted to Ice Empress's words. It was as if her soul, long subdued and isolated within the seal, was slowly awakening to the familiar voice.
"Ice...?" Snow Empress's voice was faint, almost like a whisper carried by the wind. "Is it really you? How... how is this possible?"
Ice Empress almost burst into tears at the sound of Snow Empress's fragile voice, but she held herself together, knowing that she needed to be strong for her.
"It's really me, Snow Lady," Ice Empress responded, her voice trembling slightly with emotion. "I'm here with you. We've found you, and we're going to get you out of there. Just hold on a little longer."
There was a moment of silence, then Snow Empress's voice came again, this time a little stronger, a little more hopeful. "Ice...I've missed you. It's been so dark, so cold....A chill that even the coldest tundra in the Extreme North could never compare..."
"I didn't think I would ever see you again." She bitterly laughed.
Ice Empress asked anxiously, "Snow Lady, what happened? Why did you become a hundred-thousand year soul beast embryo?"
Snow Empress sighed and said, "Isn't it obvious? I was approaching the end of my lifespan, the chance of me surviving my next hundred thousand year bottleneck is close to nill. So, I decided to take a gamble."
"Before I chose rebirth as a human, I tried to find you and hoped to help you. But you'd already disappeared. Even those from your tribe didn't know where you'd gone."
"Wait, how did you—"
"Ahem, sorry for interrupting you ladies," Huo Yuhao interjected gently. "But we need to focus on what's important right now."
Both Ice Empress and Snow Empress fell silent, turning their attention to Huo Yuhao. The former agreed immediately, wanting to save her old friend, but the latter....didn't react well to a stranger interrupting their reunion.
"Who are you? I appreciate you helping Ice save me, but what right gives you to—" She pauses, sensing Huo Yuhao's aura and asked in shock, "Ice, you're colluding with a human? How did your dignity fall to this stage?! What happened?!"
Ice Empress sighed, expecting her reaction. "Snow.... It's a long story, but I can explain everything to you as long as you stay calm and suppress your powers after we break you out of this tool."
"...Alright," Snow Empress replied after a moment of hesitation, her voice still tinged with disbelief but tempered by the trust she had in Ice Empress. "I'll listen, but this better not be some sort of trap, Ice. Because in the entire world, you're the only person I trust completely."
"Snow..."
"So, Yuhao. Any ideas on how to free Snow Empress?" Skydream interjected at that moment, an unreadable expression on his face.
Huo Yuhao smirked as he held the God Sealing Altar and explained, "Well, after a bit of research, freeing Snow Empress is rather simple. The seal is sustained by drawing from the trapped person's soul power, making it internally strong but externally weak."
To the utter shock of both Skydream and Ice Empress, Huo Yuhao raised the God Sealing Altar above his head.
"Basically, you just need a certain amount of force in order to crack this Class 9 soul tool."
Huo Yuhao's smirk grew wider as he brought the altar crashing down against the floor with all his might. The room seemed to tremble for a moment, and a sharp crack echoed through the air.
The altar split open, releasing a surge of tremendous chilling energy that brought the temperature in the room plummeting. Frost rapidly spread across the floor, walls, and ceiling, the air becoming so cold it was difficult to breathe.
Huo Yuhao felt the biting cold seep into his bones, and it surprised him to feel a tingle of chill before he instinctively activated Ice Empress' Armor. Instantly, his entire body was encased in a layer of tough, glistening ice crystals, shielding him from the worst of the cold. Yet, even with this protection, he could still sense the overwhelming power of the Snow Empress.
It was a humbling reminder of her true strength. As the undisputed leader of the Extreme North and ranked third among the Continent's top 10 Great Beasts, Snow Empress was a force to be reckoned with. In contrast, Ice Empress, despite her formidable power, was ranked eighth, a testament to the vast gulf between them.
Huo Yuhao knew that while he had absorbed a portion of Ice Empress's power, he was still far from reaching the full potential of his Ultimate Ice. Even with the Ice God's Legacy bolstering his abilities, he recognized that his current strength couldn't rival Snow Empress's might.
'Perhaps,' he mused silently, 'when I fully fuse with Ice Empress's power and the Ice God's Legacy, I might stand on equal ground with her.'
His future however, was still uncertain. Who knows, he might encounter something fortuitous.
But Huo Yuhao didn't know, well, didn't understand that his fortuitous encounter was standing right before him.
From the heart of the icy maelstrom, a figure began to emerge—graceful and ethereal, cloaked in a radiant, cold light. She looked like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old teenage girl, with an unrivaled beauty that matched Wang Dong'er and Jiang Nannan.
Her long, white hair flowed freely to her legs, and her sky-blue eyes were very clear. It was as if she could see through everything in the world. Her slender and exceedingly beautiful body was flawless, and her long white dress wasn't adorned with any accessories but with ribbons. However, she still looked very elegant and ravishing.
The overwhelming chill radiating from her form was unmistakable; Snow Empress had finally been freed from her confinement.
.....
AN: Did anyone see Huo Yuhao rest on his bed in a previous chapter? No? Yeah, that's right. It must've been in our heads, an illusion created by the full moon🌝
Fun Fact+Rant: I finally got Raiden Shogun to c2!(It was a hard fucking pity at 86! Fortunately I was guaranteed for her, or I would've done something stupid...) On HSR I got Feixiao, didn't get her lightcone, so now I'm back to saving up for the Fate Collab! On Wuthering Waves, I got White Swan—Shorekeeper! Yeah, now I'm gunning for her weapon...
Playing three gacha games, four with FGO now I remember it's a gacha game, as a F2P feels fun... except for the painful feeling of not getting the character you wanted....
FGO is a good game....except for the stupid f***king manual farming! Like, c'mon! Give us an auto battle feature already!
.....How in the hell did I manage to write stories while playing 4 gacha games every day?! Ah right, sleep deprivation stimulates my creativity and writing for some reason.... No worries! So far, I'm still physically healthy!
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