Douluo: The Throne of Ice

Chapter 9 The Drawbacks of Extreme Attributes, and the Snow Empress's Change

Life in the heart of the far north was somewhat dull and monotonous.

Although Shu Yan felt that his manipulative remarks had touched Xue Di's obsession with becoming a god and achieving immortality, Xue Di was Xue Di. In her hundreds of thousands of years of life in the far north, she had witnessed too much. A moment of distraction and being moved was not enough to completely move her. Shu Yan had also expected this. His initial plan was only to leave a seed in Xue Di's heart. He never thought that Xue Di would be so foolish as to believe him directly.

Although Shu Yan's final action that day was somewhat offensive, Xue Di seemed not to care. She fully proved that what she said was not just empty promises. As long as Shu Yan stayed, she would give him as many precious cultivation resources as he wanted, including three precious thousand-year-old ice marrow.

Shu Yan accepted everything without hesitation. After absorbing the fourth soul ring, his cultivation level soared to level 43. In just three days, with the help of a large amount of resources, he stabilized his cultivation level and began to advance towards level 44.

The Snow Empress would come to visit him from time to time. The two would sit opposite each other at the ice table. Few of them would take the initiative to speak, but once someone did, they could chat for a while. Over time, the two of them had come to understand each other better.

Shu Yan's cultivation level is not yet at the level of abstaining from grains, but this place is located in the core area of ​​the core circle of the far north, so fresh fruits and vegetables are out of the question. At most, the Snow Emperor brings back a few small soul beasts like snow rabbits from the outside world to barely satisfy his appetite.

As for why he didn't hunt them himself, the reason is simple: such weak soul beasts are almost never seen in the core circle. His activity range is limited to this palace. Once he steps out of the palace's area, his human aura will spread out, and there will definitely be a lot of trouble.

Unexpectedly, the aloof and empress-like Snow Empress was quite interested in the food that Shu Yan had simply baked. At first, Snow Empress came because of the smell, but as they spent more time together, she would wait in a fixed spot when the time came. Her expression changed from being reserved and cold at first to being used to it now. She would even show a faint smile when she heard Shu Yan talking about interesting things in the outside world.

Although the smile was fleeting, Shu Yan could always accurately detect that Xue Di's changes were visible to the naked eye. This was exactly the situation Shu Yan wanted to see. As long as Xue Di was brought on board, many things would become simple in an instant.

Shu Yan sometimes regrets his past life for being so impatient, which resulted in him transmigrating but only having a rough understanding of the plot, and not even being able to make sense of the general storyline.

But that no longer matters. His time travel has inevitably disrupted the original plot development. Xue Di is the best example. In this increasingly chaotic situation, only one's own strength is the only true measure of success.

Shu Yan doesn't consider himself a good person. He could even become a purely evil person to achieve his own goals. Whether he is good or evil is just a matter of a single thought. Rules and constraints exist for people like him, but their existence is solely determined by his own inner self. The rules and constraints that the world sees are particularly laughable in his eyes.

……

Before he knew it, three months had passed in the blink of an eye. Shu Yan had been cultivating peacefully in the core circle for three months. His soul power had also broken through to level 44. With the help of the environment, his cultivation speed was much faster than before. Of course, the reason for the faster cultivation speed must also include the feeding by the Snow Emperor.

The cultivation speed of ultimate attribute martial souls between levels 30 and 70 is much slower than that of ordinary attribute soul masters. With each level increase, subsequent breakthroughs become more difficult. This is why ultimate attribute soul masters, despite their outstanding talent, lag behind others in cultivation speed in the early stages.

But everything in this world is about balance.

While ordinary attribute Soul Masters do indeed cultivate much faster than ultimate attribute Soul Masters before level 70, this situation is completely reversed once a Soul Master's cultivation level exceeds 70. Ultimate attribute Soul Masters can cultivate more easily, advance more easily, and even have a higher potential than other ordinary attribute Soul Masters.

The Ice and Snow Maiden is born with the power of extreme ice and is a true spirit of heaven and earth born from ice and snow. However, if we really want to get into the issue of the Ice and Snow Maiden's attributes, what the Ice and Snow Maiden clan truly possesses is the attribute of extreme ice and snow, rather than simply extreme ice.

Without a doubt, the ultimate ice and snow is stronger than the ultimate ice. This means that people with the Ice and Snow Maiden Martial Soul will find it more difficult to cultivate than those with ordinary ultimate attributes. Shu Yan strongly agrees with this point.

Shu Yan was still getting to know Xue Di and their daily interactions were slowly warming up. He was very patient in this regard. Before he had the ability, winning people's hearts was always the best strategy. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little touched deep down.

The birth and budding of feelings have prerequisites. Whether it is the affinity and excitement between blood relatives or the little things they have done together over the past three months, Shu Yan has clearly sensed something different about Xue Di.

She was gradually adapting to this change, and her mindset was slowly shifting and sinking. How could someone who had experienced warmth and happiness be willing to throw themselves into coldness and loneliness again? The subtle change was the most terrifying because it was a reflection of a person's inner desires. Xue Di's change was just like that, and it was no wonder that Shu Yan had put in so much effort.

In the fifth month in the far north, Shu Yan was still unaware of everything outside. His world was buried by the swirling snow and cut off from the world every other day, but it also had a unique flavor.

Xue Di and Shu Yan began discussing the matter of becoming gods once again. Unlike last time, this time the two exchanged many different opinions. Shu Yan revealed almost all of his thoughts, and the emotion in Xue Di's eyes was genuine; she was clearly very tempted.

At the same time, Xue Di also told Shu Yan her thoughts.

She had a premonition that she would not survive the 700,000-year tribulation, but her desire to live made her think of another path: to transform into a human and climb to new heights in human form, in order to fight for that elusive immortality.

But that's what they say... The actual heartache and bitterness are probably only known to Xue Di herself.

Soul beasts cannot become gods; this is an ironclad rule. Even if they transform into human form, they are still soul beasts to some extent. To become a god is nothing but a pipe dream. On the contrary, Shu Yan's path of "creating a god" has a greater chance of success.

Perhaps due to an overly profound understanding of her own situation, Xue Di, after careful consideration, ultimately formed an alliance with Shu Yan.

Rather than sitting idly waiting for death, it's better to make one last desperate gamble before death arrives. This was Xue Di's thought, and it suited her character. After making a solemn vow with Shu Yan, the two were truly bound together on the same canoe. From that moment on, they would share both fate and destiny, until their lives were completely extinguished...

……

(End of this chapter)