"An Auspicious Beast?"
The Qinglian Sword trembled slightly in Li Zhexian's palm.
The sword's edge reflected the dying form of the dragon-horned, lion-bodied creature lying upon the bed of ice. His pupils tightened.
"The Star Dou Forest already has the Three-Eyed Golden Lion," he said quietly.
"There should be only one Auspicious Beast in the world, no more than that. How can the Extreme North have one as well?"
"Oh?"
The Ice Empress looked at him with rare surprise.
"So, you even know of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?"
"You humans truly are full of surprises."
"But tell me…"
"Who told you that there can only be one Auspicious Beast in existence?"
Li Zhexian frowned slightly.
The Snow Empress lifted her slender hand and waved it lightly.
A stream of frost-white energy drifted down, landing upon the Sword Bearing Yazi lying weakly on the ice bed.
Its pale white eyes fluttered open slightly—
and locked tightly onto Li Zhexian.
Seeing this, a ripple passed through the Snow Empress's usually tranquil voice,
as silent snowflakes spiraled gracefully around the ice mound.
"Since you know of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, then you must also understand the nature of an Auspicious Beasts."
"Auspicious Beasts. are the embodiment of heaven and earth's auspicious power. Wherever they dwell, the cultivation speed of all Spirit Beasts doubles, and the chance for a hundred-thousand-year beast to break through increases twofold."
"Moreover… in unseen ways, a Auspicious Beasts. governs the fate of its land."
"If, as you say, the world could hold only one such being—"
A wave of icy chill spread outward.
Even the air seemed to freeze solid.
Li Zhexian instantly knew—
The Snow Empress's gaze had turned upon him.
"Then tell me," she said,
"Why should it belong solely to the Star Dou Forest?"
"Even if something terrifying lurks within Star Dou's depths, when it comes to the rise and fall of our lands and the balance of fate itself—
The Extreme North will never yield."
"Thus, by the order of heaven's law, each realm that nurtures countless Spirit Beasts should possess am Auspicious Beasts of its own.
Only then is balance maintained."
Li Zhexian's expression grew thoughtful. Then he nodded slowly.
Indeed—
Only by walking this continent himself could he glimpse its buried truths.
And within him, a flicker of awe stirred at the commanding resolve in the Snow Empress's words.
To speak of defying even Star Dou Forest—
It revealed her absolute confidence in her own power.
Li Zhexian turned to the dying Sword-Bearing Yazi, its aura faint and faltering. He furrowed his brow and asked quietly,
"Tell me… what can I do?"
By now, the picture was clear.
The Three Kings of the Extreme North had used the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow as bait to lure a human here—
and all of it was for the sake of the dying Auspicious Beast before him.
And he had been chosen.
The Ice Empress and Snow Empress said nothing.
Inside the grand palace,
amid the drifting snow,
light suddenly refracted through the flakes,
forming an ethereal screen of shimmering frost.
Scenes unfolded upon it—
glaciers collapsing, snowfields melting,
human explorers pushing ever deeper,
and the once endless white expanse of the Extreme North shrinking before the naked eye.
Then came the Ice Empress's low, murderous voice:
"We have to admit..."
"Humans are already the overlords of this continent."
"Under their relentless advance, even the Extreme North begins to wither."
"The Sword-Bearing Yazi's vitality is bound to this land's fate—
as the Extreme North weakens, so too does it fade."
Li Zhexian's brow furrowed tighter still.
But judging by the Yazi's current state—
its breath shallow, its life nearly extinguished—
"weakens" was far too mild a word.
The Snow Empress spoke softly:
"A few years ago…"
"An unparalleled ferocious beast, not belonging to this continent, crossed the sea and challenged me."
"I relied on the advantage of the terrain to fight it to a draw."
"However, Yazi was severely wounded by it."
Li Zhexian's gaze sharpened.
The Snow Empress ranked third among the Top Ten Fierce Beasts of the Douluo World.
And the one ranked first, the Black Dragon Emperor Di Tian,
was bound to guard the core of the Star Dou Forest.
For something to cross from another realm and challenge the Snow Empress herself—
and require her to draw upon her homeland's might merely to end in a draw—
what kind of terrifying existence could that be?
"Human…"
At that moment,
A rasping voice, like metal scraping against stone, broke the silence.
It came from the creature upon the ice bed—
The old Yazi itself.
"The Extreme North… cannot lose its Auspicious Beast."
"Otherwise, in time, both the Three Kings and the myriad Spirit Beasts of this land will face a great calamity."
"Before the fire of my life is fully extinguished, I have used the last of my essence to leave behind a seed of bloodline."
"But…"
The old Yazi's breath grew ever fainter, its words halting.
"The Yazi clan are born with swords in our mouths."
"When the new one hatches, the previous generation must strike the shell with unmatched edge. Only then can the young Yazi emerge."
"Yet now… I have no strength left to strike."
"That is why… we sought you."
At this, Li Zhexian finally understood everything.
A thin layer of snow had gathered upon his black cloak as he prepared to speak,
but the old Yazi rasped once more:
"Our clan, fierce and unyielding, are the embodiment of war and vengeance."
"To awaken life by the sword's strike is no trivial matter."
"As the saying goes…"
"A grudge must be avenged."
"If the sword-striking fails, the one who wields the blade will suffer the 'Yazi's Wrath' in return."
"His sword will cry for seven days… before shattering to dust."
The old beast saw the young man fall silent, perhaps daunted by the curse of "Yazi's Wrath."
It drew two ragged breaths.
"A debt of gratitude must be repaid… a grudge must be avenged."
"Young one…"
"If you can strike the sword and succeed—
If you can continue my bloodline,
And renew the fate of the Extreme North…"
"Then I shall grant you a chance—
A gift beyond imagination."
As those final words fell,
the entire ice crystal palace plunged to absolute zero.
Falling snow instantly froze into hail,
pounding the floor in a relentless torrent of sound.
Even the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress, sovereigns of this realm,
Could not hide the tremor in their auras at the words "a gift beyond imagination."
Li Zhexian remained silent.
The old Yazi, lifting its head with great effort,
Saw the unmoving youth before it—
And finally let its gaze fall.
The light in its eyes dimmed.
Upon the snowy mound,
The Snow Empress stood motionless.
The hail softened into falling snow once more,
Then melted into a cold, misting drizzle.
A heavy silence filled the palace—
Weighted with disappointment.
"Human!" The Ice Empress's voice, laced with bone-chilling murderous intent, suddenly exploded.
"Did you think this was a negotiation?!"
The scorpion tail stinger suspended above her ice crystal crown, as if teleporting through space, instantly pressed against Li Zhexian's throat.
The icy sharpness and fatal chill caused his throat skin to break out in fine goosebumps.
However, Li Zhexian's expression did not change. Without a hint of fear in his eyes, he calmly said:
"If you force me,
even if I agree—
without full devotion, the Auspicious Beast of the Extreme North will still perish."
"You dare threaten this king?!"
A frigid, blue light burst from the Ice Empress's body,
so cold it seemed to crack the very space around her.
It pressed toward Li Zhexian—
inch by inch.
"I never said I was unwilling."
"…What?"
The advancing blue light froze in midair.
The Ice Empress, the Snow Empress,
and even the dying Yazi on the ice bed—
all turned their gaze upon him at once.
Under the weight of those stares,
Li Zhexian was silent for a moment.
Then he raised a hand, pointing toward the pile of Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow beside the bed.
"But you'll have to sweeten the deal."