The Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, one of the Three Great Kings of the Extreme North, certainly earned her reputation.
The aura emanating from the Ice Empress's body was so oppressive that even Su Yu found his breath momentarily stifled. Indeed, the gap between him and such a supreme powerhouse was still vast. However, Su Yu, armed with formidable spiritual power, managed to maintain his composure under the Ice Empress's intimidating presence.
"Hmm, what a vast sea of spiritual power."
The Ice Empress's voice suddenly echoed in Su Yu's mind.
A beautiful scorpion-shaped phantom appeared within Su Yu's spiritual sea. It was none other than the Ice Empress herself.
"A boundless ocean, formless yet infinite. Su Yu's spiritual power has already reached a masterful level," said Electrolux as his voice rang out, his figure also manifesting in Su Yu's spiritual sea.
"Even compared to you, little scorpion, he isn't far behind."
Upon seeing Electrolux, the Ice Empress was visibly surprised.
"It's you?" she exclaimed. This was the figure she had encountered before, the one Su Yu claimed to be of the highest caliber. Now seeing him up close, the Ice Empress was astonished at the unfathomable quality of Electrolux's spiritual power.
"To grasp the sun and moon, pluck the stars from the heavens—there is none like me in this world. I am Electrolux," he declared indifferently.
"Greetings, senior," the Ice Empress responded. Though prideful, she was far from foolish. At the very least, she knew how to respect a superior.
The presence of Electrolux gave her the impression of a being from an entirely different realm—powerful, enigmatic, and inscrutable. Faced with such an existence, the Ice Empress would never dare to posture arrogantly.
"I will observe your actions from here on," Electrolux said calmly. "Should anything go awry, I will intervene to salvage the situation."
"Many thanks, senior," the Ice Empress said, her heart slightly relieved.
With her guard lowered, she began assessing Su Yu's physical state—and was thoroughly shocked by what she discovered.
Su Yu's physical constitution was astounding, far beyond her expectations. Though he had yet to reach the level of a Titled Douluo, he was not far off.
Additionally, his body teemed with a potent life force. As long as his brain wasn't destroyed, his heart wasn't obliterated, or his internal organs weren't completely shattered, Su Yu's vitality alone could ensure his survival from almost any injury.
It was terrifying.
Never had the Ice Empress encountered such a human, and she couldn't help but feel a surge of confidence regarding their upcoming endeavor.
"What do you think, Bing'er? Isn't my choice spot-on?"
"With Boss Su Yu's talent and physical constitution, if he can't become a god, then no one in this world can," chimed in Skydream Iceworm as it appeared in Su Yu's spiritual sea, flaunting itself before the Ice Empress.
The Ice Empress, however, remained unimpressed.
"And what does that have to do with you?" she retorted coldly. "Su Yu's brilliance has nothing to do with you. Be grateful he chose you as his soul ring, and stop boasting."
The Ice Empress spared no effort in belittling the Skydream Iceworm, leaving it utterly dejected. Yet, as a hopeless admirer of the Ice Empress, the Skydream Iceworm quickly forgave her. After all, how could it possibly hold a grudge against its beloved Scorpion?
But the Ice Empress, visibly annoyed by Skydream's sycophantic behavior, showed no patience. Her heart belonged to Snow Empress, and this oversized bug held no place in her affections.
"Looks like you're all having a lively discussion," Su Yu said as his consciousness entered the spiritual sea.
He smiled, his spiritual form nearly tangible, exuding an aura as solid as reality. As Electrolux had said, Su Yu's spiritual power was not far behind the Ice Empress's, lacking only in methods to wield it offensively. Otherwise, it too would have been a potent weapon in his arsenal.
"Su Yu, you're here just in time," the Ice Empress said, her tone more serious now. "After assessing your body, I must say it's remarkably robust, even exceeding my expectations. This simplifies our task significantly."
"Next, let me lay out the plan. First, we'll fuse the soul bone to further enhance your physical constitution. Then, we'll proceed with the soul ring fusion. Since this is an intelligent soul ring, it's vital to transfer as much of my power as possible."
"Your strong physical foundation makes this feasible; otherwise, it would have been a monumental challenge. My power is extremely domineering, and even a slight overflow could have catastrophic consequences. However, given your body's resilience, you could even absorb a soul ring over 80,000 years old without issue. Your margin for error is incredibly high."
"No more wasting time. Let's start with the soul bone. Based on my estimation, my soul bone would best serve as your torso bone, as this would allow us to seal more of my power."
To her surprise, Su Yu simply shook his head.
"No, your soul bone is best suited as a left arm bone."
"Hmm?" The Ice Empress raised her tone, puzzled. "But you already have a left arm bone. Besides, a torso bone would benefit you the most."
Su Yu explained, "I've already allocated positions for each of my soul bones. The left arm is the only slot I can reserve for you. As for the other positions, I have plans for them."
The Ice Empress scoffed, "What soul bone could compare to mine?"
Hearing that Su Yu had left the torso bone slot for another soul bone, the Ice Empress felt insulted, as if Su Yu was underestimating her. She was the Ice Empress, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion—how could her soul bone not qualify as a torso bone?
Su Yu replied calmly, "How about a True Dragon Soul Bone?"
The Ice Empress froze. "...What??"
Sorry, I may have spoken too soon, she thought to herself.
Still skeptical, she asked, "Can you even get a True Dragon Soul Bone? That's no ordinary thing."
"I'm not one for boasting," Su Yu said casually, "but... you should know that even Di Tian calls me Young Master."
A flicker of astonishment flashed through the Ice Empress's eyes as she recalled Su Yu's deeply mysterious background. For a moment, she genuinely believed that he might acquire a True Dragon Soul Bone.
"Fine, left arm bone it is. But wait... isn't your current left arm bone from one of my clan?"
Realizing something was off, the Ice Empress felt the familiar aura. There was no mistaking it—this bone came from an Ice Jade Scorpion. Her gaze turned sharp.
Su Yu, sensing her thoughts, quickly explained the origin of the Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone.
The Ice Empress cursed in anger, "Those damn humans! How dare they encroach on the Extreme North!"
She fumed for a while, her anger almost tangible, before finally letting out a frustrated sigh. "Fine, let's begin."
Su Yu asked, "During the fusion, can you ensure that the Ice Explosion Technique remains unaffected?"
"Of course," the Ice Empress responded without hesitation. "If it were any other ice-attribute soul bone, I wouldn't make promises. But when it comes to the soul bones of the Ice Jade Scorpion clan, I can guarantee it."
"Good. I have some special fusion soul bones here that will aid the process," Su Yu said as he retrieved several special soul bones from his storage tool.
The Ice Empress's expression soured upon seeing them. Her eyes filled with disdain.
"Humans are insatiably greedy. You even dabble in such vile practices."
Su Yu sighed. "I didn't create these; I acquired them from someone else."
"Hmph, I wasn't blaming you," the Ice Empress snorted. "Focus your mind and endure the pain. This is going to hurt. I'll begin now."
As her voice fell, Su Yu immediately steadied himself, activating his martial soul.
Four black soul rings rose around him, their aura mysterious and profound. An extremely icy aura began to radiate from Su Yu's body.
The Ice Empress started her work. With Su Yu's cooperation, two beams of jade-green light shot from his eyes and landed on the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion's body.
The scorpion's 1.5-meter-long frame trembled violently. Its elongated tail fluctuated with emerald green light, and each of its diamond-like hexagonal protrusions shone brilliantly.
The Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion's body then began to emit an intense radiance. A dense jade-green light surged skyward as its body gradually shriveled.
As the green light grew even brighter, a left arm bone began to emerge, taking shape. The Ice Empress was pouring all the energy from her body into the soul bone—a radical, almost reckless decision. She was truly transferring her entire power to Su Yu.
As her body continued to wither, a blood-red soul ring with golden edges rose into the air. Soul rings were the purest concentration of a soul beast's energy, though the energy left in the body was far greater, albeit less refined.
When the soul ring detached, the remaining jade-green light flooded into the soul bone. The Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion's body turned completely pale, drained of all energy.
"Get ready," the Ice Empress said sharply.
Su Yu immediately took out the special fusion soul bones.
Two more beams of jade-green light shot out, melting the three special soul bones in Su Yu's hands into glowing orbs that merged with his left arm. At the same time, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion's left arm bone transformed into a green liquid, enveloping Su Yu's arm.
The Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion's power surged aggressively, forcefully invading the existing left arm bone. Under the Ice Empress's control, the two soul bones began to fuse at an unimaginable pace.
But the fusion process was far from pleasant. Su Yu felt as if his entire arm didn't belong to him anymore, the sensation akin to having his skin peeled and his bones torn apart, cutting straight to his soul.
Of all the soul bones Su Yu had absorbed, this was by far the most excruciating. It wasn't that the bones were incompatible but rather the violent energy surges created during the fusion process.
After all, Su Yu was fusing the bones within his body, not externally before absorption.
But having cultivated for years, Su Yu could endure the pain. His formidable spiritual power kept him steady, and despite the torment, his expression remained calm. His spiritual sea remained as solid as a rock, barely stirring.
"You've got some grit. You're a promising one," the Ice Empress praised, glancing at Su Yu. She had been impressed when Su Yu absorbed his fourth soul ring, pushing beyond his limits, and now, enduring the agony of soul bone fusion without so much as a grimace, she found him even more remarkable.
"Stop talking and hurry up," Su Yu snapped irritably.
The Ice Empress rolled her eyes at Su Yu and sped up the fusion process.
Given the exceptional quality of the Ice Empress's soul bone, the fusion wasn't something that could be completed quickly. It took a full two hours before the process was finally complete.
When the fusion ended, Su Yu immediately felt a noticeable improvement in his physique. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he exhaled in relief.
Those four hours had been far from pleasant.
"Get ready. Next is the soul ring," the Ice Empress said as she began the soul ring fusion.
The blood-red soul ring floated above Su Yu's head, its overwhelming and tyrannical power surging wildly into his body.
At this moment, Skydream, who had been watching silently, also stepped in.
Su Yu granted Skydream access to his spiritual essence. Skydream first shielded the Ice Empress's spiritual essence to ensure her intelligence wouldn't be affected. Then, it assisted the Ice Empress in compressing her power.
The Ice Empress, meanwhile, compressed the energy of the soul ring while simultaneously facilitating the fusion of her essence with Su Yu.
Dense icy mist began to rise from Su Yu's body, eventually enveloping him completely. The process of absorbing the soul ring was destined to be a long one.
...
...
...
The icy wind howled as snowflakes danced in the air.
Amid the thick snow, an arm suddenly broke through the surface.
A sound like cracking ice echoed as Su Yu emerged, completely bare.
His clothes had once again been reduced to tatters by the extreme cold.
Not far away, the Snow Empress watched with great interest, her large, icy-blue eyes wide as if she were appraising something.
Su Yu was speechless. He had switched to high-quality clothes this time, but under the assault of the extreme cold and the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion's violent soul ring power, even the best fabric couldn't withstand the strain.
He didn't feel embarrassed, though. Under the Snow Empress's watchful gaze, Su Yu calmly put on a new set of clothes.
Dressed in a blue combat outfit, Su Yu looked full of vitality.
He let out a soft sigh, exhaling a frosty breath.
As icy blue light flashed around him, an astonishingly cold aura radiated from Su Yu's body.
Within a hundred-meter radius, centered on Su Yu, not a single snowflake could drift. This area had become an absolute vacuum, devoid of even the tiniest speck of ice or snow.
Su Yu clenched his fists and felt his strength increase once again.
With a light jump, he shot a hundred meters into the air.
"Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am the honored one!"
Then, letting out a long and resonant howl, he unleashed a powerful wave of sound that scattered countless snowflakes around him.
In the distance, the snow-covered mountains rumbled deeply as massive amounts of snow slid downward.
A single howl from Su Yu had triggered an avalanche.
With a leap, Su Yu landed beside the Snow Empress.
His long, snow-white hair fluttered in the wind, and his already handsome features now appeared even more striking.
"How do you feel?" the Snow Empress asked, narrowing her eyes as she studied the young man before her. Hidden deep within her icy-blue gaze was a faint trace of concern.
Su Yu's lips curved into a confident smile as he replied, "I feel great."