"Ice Emperor, stay quiet for a while!"
Tokisaki Kurumi had no intention of fighting Ice Emperor—she likely wasn't her match anyway.
"Zafkiel: City of Devouring Time!"
Darkness enveloped Ice Emperor's vision as energy gathered from all directions, forming laws that wrapped around her.
Tokisaki Kurumi fired a bullet into the empty air, which disintegrated in the distance, forming a portal.
"Let's go. If we don't leave now, I won't be able to handle that madwoman!"
Shui Bing'er and the others were slow to react, but Dugu Yan was just about to step into the portal when—
"Hm?"
Tokisaki Kurumi fired another bullet into the sky.
The descent of an inexplicable force slowed, and she lifted everyone away from the portal's location.
Crack—
The previously trembling portal suddenly froze, then was completely encased in ice.
Tokisaki Kurumi retreated with the group, her expression turning unprecedentedly grave.
"This is trouble."
Ice Emperor tore through Zafkiel: City of Devouring Time, breaking free from the domain's restraints.
A woman in white robes transformed into snowflakes and drifted down, appearing beside Ice Emperor, who had just sliced open the domain.
"What's going on today?" Tokisaki Kurumi sneered, refusing to back down despite the odds.
"The mighty rulers of the Extreme North—690,000-year-old Snow Emperor, the Ice Sky Snow Maiden, and 390,000-year-old Ice Emperor, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion—both appearing before a little one like me?"
"You are no 'little one.'" Snow Emperor swept her gaze over everyone before settling on Tokisaki Kurumi. "A 100,000-year-old Dark Devilgod Tiger—your condition is peculiar."
"However, that is not why I am here today." Snow Emperor's voice turned icy, and snowflakes began to drift across an area spanning thousands of meters.
"Was it you who destroyed the seal in Blizzard Valley?"
"Do you know what was sealed inside?" Snow Emperor said coldly. "If that thing escapes, the entire Douluo Continent will be doomed."
"You can't blame me for this!" Tokisaki Kurumi laughed it off.
Her master was the one who did it—what did it have to do with her, a Dark Devilgod Tiger?
"That big silkworm in the Great Star Dou Forest is the real culprit behind the destruction of the formation, right?"
"At most, we were just the last straw that broke the camel's back. Don't pin everything on us—I, Tokisaki Kurumi, refuse to take the blame!"
"Hmph! Tian Meng Ice Silkworm—I'll deal with him one day," Ice Emperor gritted her teeth.
"A seal that was supposed to last thousands of years now has only a few decades left. It's said that seal was left behind by the Ice God. Are you trying to destroy Douluo Continent?"
"Destroy it? That's a false accusation." Tokisaki Kurumi spread her hands. "We only wanted the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Essence. Besides… can you tell me what's inside?"
"Hmph! You still dare—" Ice Emperor raised her sword, ready to charge forward, but Snow Emperor stopped her.
"It doesn't matter what it is. I checked earlier—you captured one of that thing's divine thoughts and a fragment of its soul. I don't know how you managed it, but…"
"That ancient phoenix was originally meant to seal a spatial rift. Do you think what you did was appropriate?"
Snow Emperor had only recently learned from the incoherent ramblings of the Ancient Ice Phoenix that the Ice God intended to use it to complete a formation that would permanently seal a massive inter-dimensional rift.
"Seal a spatial rift?" Tokisaki Kurumi paused before realizing. "So that's it. The murky aura on it came from another dimension, didn't it?"
"No—perhaps its mind had long been corrupted by the other dimension's power."
"Tell me, what do you plan to do now?" Snow Emperor's voice remained cold.
If not for the fact that the other party seemed to have some understanding of formations—quickly stuffing the thing back before the situation became irreversible and using their power to reactivate the formation—the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"Fifty years—that's enough."
At that moment, a sudden voice rang out.
The familiar tone made Tokisaki Kurumi and Dugu Yan turn around simultaneously.
"Rongrong."
"Sorry, I slept a bit too long. I've caused you trouble."
Ning Rongrong stepped forward, meeting the gazes of Ice Emperor and Snow Emperor.
"What's done is done. There's no point in assigning blame now. What you want is a solution, isn't it?"
As she spoke, Ning Rongrong extended her right hand.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda materialized, resting in her palm.
Bathed in a colorful halo, Ning Rongrong's body emitted a soft glow.
One soul ring after another slowly rose.
Black, Black, Black, Black, Black, Black, Brilliant Gold.
"All of them are ten-thousand-year soul rings?!" Shui Yue'er gasped.
But the others ignored her, their eyes fixed on the soul rings rising from Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda.
"You… how did you do this?" Ice Emperor's eyes flashed with killing intent.
At least six ten-thousand-year soul beasts had died for those rings. And that last one—what was it? A golden soul ring with an oppressive aura that left Ice Emperor stunned.
Ning Rongrong ignored Ice Emperor, turning her gaze to Snow Emperor instead.
"Snow Emperor, Ice Sky Snow Maiden—I am currently twelve years old, a seven-ringed Soul Sage. Do I have the qualifications now?"
"Your soul rings…" Snow Emperor, having lived far longer than Ice Emperor and possessing the natural sensitivity of an elemental ice spirit, was more attuned to the nature of soul beasts than Ice Emperor.
None of the seven soul rings carried the resentment typical of slain soul beasts—it was as if they had always existed.
And the seventh soul ring bore an aura strikingly similar to the Dark Devilgod Tiger's, along with a divine presence.
A million-year-old soul beast—the Dark Devilgod Tiger?
Snow Emperor was not entirely ignorant of the Dark Devilgod Tiger. Legends said it was connected to the Evil God.
Perhaps this soul ring was a contribution from the Dark Devilgod Tiger.
But…
Snow Emperor's eyes shifted to the Dark Devilgod Tiger.
She was no longer a soul beast, was she? And her current state seemed akin to a spiritual entity.
"Perhaps you can reach the level you speak of within fifty years. But…" Snow Emperor thought of the Ancient Ice Phoenix's condition and frowned. "Even so, you may not be its match."
"That's my problem, isn't it?"
"Snow Emperor, stop wasting time with them. Let's just kill them," Ice Emperor said coldly.
Snow Emperor shook her head. "Calm down, Ice Emperor."
"I don't trust humans," Snow Emperor said flatly.
"You don't need to trust us. Even if we wanted to run, do you think you could stop us?"
"A 690,000-year-old soul beast, by human Soul Master standards, is equivalent to the second tier of a Level 99 Limit Douluo—a demigod."
"If Kurumi and I want to leave, you can't stop us. Do you want to take that gamble?"
"Human, are you threatening us?" Ice Emperor's temper flared, but Snow Emperor stopped her again.
"You're right," Snow Emperor admitted. "You and the Dark Devilgod Tiger complement each other. If you combine your powers, we truly can't stop you from leaving. And… you're from the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda Clan, aren't you?"
"Rumors say the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda has only seven levels, but your martial soul has nine."
"Ah, yes. It's the Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda. And…"
Ning Rongrong smiled. "Let's make a contract. That way, you should agree."
She flicked a soul contract toward Snow Emperor.
"What is this?"
"Touch it, and you'll understand."
"Don't, Snow Emperor!"
Ignoring Ice Emperor's protest, Snow Emperor reached out and touched the soul contract.
After a moment, her confusion turned to realization. "I see. I never expected you to achieve something like this. The terms of the contract don't harm us in any substantial way. I accept."
With that, Snow Emperor signed her name.
The contract split into two, merging into Snow Emperor's and Ning Rongrong's souls.
"Ice Emperor, let's go." Snow Emperor soared into the sky.
"Wait."
As the two rulers of the Extreme North departed, Ning Rongrong inwardly sighed in relief.
Truthfully, she and Tokisaki Kurumi could indeed escape—even if Ice Emperor and Snow Emperor joined forces, they couldn't stop them. But bringing Dugu Yan along would have been troublesome.
"Another soul contract?" Dugu Yan asked, puzzled. "Is this really okay?"
"It's fine," Ning Rongrong assured her.
If she didn't reach godhood within fifty years, it would all be over anyway.
"Alright, now that this matter is settled, let's deal with what comes next." Ning Rongrong turned, walking unhurriedly toward Shui Bing'er and the others.
"Though I'm grateful for your hospitality toward me and Dugu Yan earlier, still…"
That "still" made Shui Bing'er and the others tense.
Were they going to be silenced for knowing too much?