Chapter 125 Future
The top of the Ice Palace.
This is the highest point of the entire ice crystal building, the top of a spire carved from millennia-old ice, offering a panoramic view of the entire snowfield in the far north’s core area.
The night sky was as dark as ink, and the aurora borealis flowed like colorful ribbons , with red, green, purple and blue colors intertwining and changing, illuminating the icy and snowy land like a dreamlike realm.
Snow Empress sat alone on the edge of the tower , her long, pale blue hair cascading down like a waterfall, swaying gently in the chilly night breeze. Her bare feet dangled in the air, her long, jade-like legs gleaming faintly in the reflection of the ice crystals.
Hearing Ice Emperor’s question, Snow Empress didn’t turn around, but simply patted the ice beside her gently:"Sit."
Ice Emperor sat down as instructed, her legs dangling in the air. Following Snow Empress’s gaze, she looked towards the aurora borealis on the horizon and couldn’t help but exclaim,"Every time I see it, it’s so beautiful ... You could look at the aurora for hundreds of thousands of years and never get tired of it!"
The Snow Empress smiled slightly and finally spoke, her voice as clear and cold as an icy spring:"Bing’er, what are your plans next?"
Ice Emperor was taken aback , then subconsciously replied,"What else can we do? Once Jiang Bai breaks through to level 90 , we... we can continue following him, right?"
As she spoke, she herself began to hesitate.
The Snow Empress turned her head, her petite figure reflected in her icy blue eyes:"He’s already a Title Douluo , does he still need your protection? Besides, we’ve hardly ever actually fought in recent years; we’ve spent most of our time cultivating in his Martial Soul Space."
Ice Emperor blushed slightly:"I... aren’t we just fulfilling that protection agreement? It hasn’t expired yet!"
"And what happens after the agreement ends?"Snow Empress pressed , her tone calm but cutting to the heart of the matter."There are still a few years until it expires. At that time... will you still plan to continue following him?"
"Maybe...?"
Ice Emperor opened their mouths, but were momentarily speechless.
" After all ..." she hesitated, her voice lowering, " After all, the cultivation effects in his Martial Soul Space are indeed quite good, and ... and ..."
"And what else?"Snow Empress finished her sentence for her,"And there are friends there, new and exciting things, and a life different from the unchanging existence of the far north for hundreds of thousands of years , right?"
Ice Emperor nodded blankly , a hint of confusion flashing in his golden eyes.
That ’s true. The small world inside the tower not only has pure spiritual energy and accelerated cultivation effects, but also"little friends"who are soul beasts with different personalities , such as fire dragons and ice dragons, and even ancient beings like the Ice and Fire Dragon King who can be consulted.
Over the years of traveling with Jiang Bai , they witnessed the prosperity and complexity of the human world, and experienced friendship and protection...
All of this was something she had never experienced during her hundreds of thousands of years of solitary cultivation in the far north.
Seeing the confusion in Ice Empress’s eyes, Snow Empress sighed softly and patted the person beside her:"Ice’er, come sit closer."
Ice Emperor obediently moved over and sat down right next to Snow Empress.
Snow Empress is over three meters tall , and even when sitting, she is much taller than the average person. Ice Empress, on the other hand, is only about 1.5 meters tall, and sitting next to Snow Empress, she appears exceptionally petite and delicate.
emerald green twin ponytails cascaded down the ice, and Ice Emperor swung her slender legs. If you disregarded her terrifying cultivation of over 400,000 years, she looked like an innocent girl next door.
The Snow Empress turned slightly to the side, a rare hint of doting flashing in her icy blue eyes. She reached out her slender, jade-like hand and gently stroked the Ice Empress’s head, her movements as tender as if she were caressing fragile glass.
Ice Emperor stiffened, then obediently leaned into Xue’er’s arms, but her heart was in turmoil.
Xue’er today? We’ve been close before, but she’s never been this proactive and gentle...
Her little brain started working at high speed.
Is something terrible about to happen in the far north? Or has Xue’er gone wrong in her cultivation? Could it be... she’s in heat?! No, that can’t be, Xue’er is an ice goddess, she doesn’t have that kind of cycle...
Just as Ice Emperor was lost in thought , Snow Empress spoke again, her voice as gentle as the night breeze.
"Bing’er, what do you think of Jiang Bai...?"
Ice Emperor snapped out of her reverie , pondered for a moment, and replied earnestly,"Him? He can be a bit wicked and lecherous at times , but he’s still a good person. Before I met him, I always thought all humans were despicable—greedy, vicious, and cunning—capable of slaughtering entire soul beast clans for soul rings and soul bones."
She paused, her tone softening slightly:"But after meeting Jiang Bai, my perspective gradually changed. I discovered that among humans, there is also good and evil, and there are people who value loyalty and righteousness. He will fight desperately to become stronger to protect those he cares about, and he will help the soul beast clan to keep his promise... Although he sometimes teases me under the guise of sparring, I don’t dislike it."
As Ice Emperor spoke, a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.
Those playful moments, those moments of being teased until she was both angry and helpless, were all novel experiences she had never had in her hundreds of thousands of years of life.
Snow Empress listened quietly, her icy blue eyes reflecting the aurora borealis.
" Yes, human emotions are rich. " She murmured, as if speaking to Ice Emperor, yet also as if talking to herself.
"It is this richness of emotion that has created their prosperous and complex society, forming all sorts of people. This ... is perhaps the most fundamental difference between humans and spirit beasts. "
She paused, then continued,"Following Jiang Bai these past few years, I’ve experienced many new and wonderful things. I’ve witnessed friendship, felt protection, and even... observed love. It’s made me suddenly realize that a long life can be so extraordinary."
Ice Emperor raised her head and looked at Snow Empress’s stunning profile. Under the aurora’s glow, a rare, almost wistful expression appeared on her face.
"Bing’er,"the Snow Empress suddenly turned her head, meeting Bing’er’s eyes,"If I were given another chance to choose... perhaps I would have chosen to take human form before the great calamity of ten thousand years ago."
Ice Emperor’s pupils contracted slightly :"Xue’er..."
She had never heard the Snow Empress say such a thing.
As the leader of the three Heavenly Kings of the Far North, and a Snow Maiden with nearly 700,000 years of cultivation, the Snow Empress had always been a symbol of pride, aloofness, and transcendence.
To take human form? That meant abandoning hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation, starting from scratch, and experiencing the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death of humanity ...
"Alright, let’s not talk about this."Snow Empress smiled slightly, interrupting Bing Di’s thoughts.
She reached out and gently brushed Bing Di’s cheek with her fingertips, the movement incredibly gentle.
"Shouldn’t you... really think about your own situation?"
Ice Emperor’s eyes dimmed.
Of course she knew what Snow Empress was referring to.
As the emperor of the Ice Jade Scorpion clan, bearing the supreme bloodline of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, she has a responsibility to leave behind a pure bloodline for her clan.
For hundreds of thousands of years, apart from the Snow Emperor, no one else had ever truly entered her heart.
The Snow Emperor was her only close friend, her only family, and even... a source of emotional support that transcended friendship.
But Snow Empress is also a woman. How could two female soul beasts possibly have offspring?
She had also subtly expressed her feelings, but Snow Empress never reciprocated. That deep-seated emotion might never receive a response.
So, is her future... destined to involve choosing a true partner?
Ice Emperor silently gripped Xue’erteri’s soft, icy hand, her emerald green eyes flashing with struggle, resentment, and a hint of deep-seated pain.
"I..."She opened her mouth, but didn’t know what to say.
Snow Empress grasped her hand in return, his grip gentle yet firm.
"No need to rush to answer."The Snow Empress’s voice was as clear and gentle as a stream flowing through melting snow.
"You still have time. Just... don’t let yourself regret it."
The two sat side by side atop the ice palace, letting the aurora flow overhead and the cold wind blow through their long hair.
...