Before Snow Empress could speak, the Ice God had already discerned her doubts. "Snow Maiden, you can't do it. No matter which God-King changes the rules, it's impossible to bypass the God Realm."
"In other words, the fact that Soul Beasts can't become gods is something the God Realm tacitly acknowledges." "
Moreover, the inheritance of a godhood also sends information back to the God Realm's central authority. You can't escape the God Realm's scrutiny."
As soon as the Ice God finished speaking, Snow Empress's beautiful, hopeful face instantly fell, and her azure eyes dimmed.
"If you only become a god to avoid the Heavenly Tribulation, you don't need to be so disappointed. The inheritance of a godhood requires a demigod to sacrifice everything to activate it."
"Such an existence is called the High Priest of the Gods."
Seeing Snow Empress still frowning, the Ice God added.
"But you don't need to worry. This isn't true annihilation. When a new god ascends, the High Priest will also be reborn in the God Realm, becoming its exclusive priest."
"At that time, you will no longer have to worry about the threat of the Heavenly Tribulation."
Snow Empress's dejected expression slightly recovered, but she was still somewhat lost in thought, muttering to herself.
"Is this the only way? Why does the God Realm have to do this? Why can't soul beasts directly become gods? This is so unfair.
Rather than relying on others to ascend to the God Realm, the Snow Empress would much rather ascend to godhood through her own strength ."
The Ice Goddess, seeing the Snow Empress's state, felt a pang of sadness.
She too had once been the strongest in the Far North and understood this feeling all too well.
The helplessness of having enough strength yet having to entrust one's hopes to others was simply too great.
"I have no way to resolve this matter. This is the power of the God King. Even in my prime, I am still extremely far from that realm." "
I see. Then being a priest is not a bad method. It's much better than dying under the heavenly tribulation."
The Ice Goddess's words dispelled the Snow Empress's last illusions. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and returned to her state as the Far North Emperor.
"I apologize, Ice Goddess, for making you laugh."
The Ice Goddess smiled faintly, not taking the matter to heart.
"It's alright, I understand how you feel. But you need to act quickly. Since opening the temple, my power has been draining much faster than before."
"If this continues, I'm afraid I won't even be able to maintain this state."
The Ice Goddess's sigh startled the Snow Empress; she hadn't expected the Ice Goddess to be so weak.
"Then can't you close the temple again? That might be better."
The Ice Goddess smiled at the worried words, her beautiful face making the Snow Empress feel as if the entire temple had brightened for a moment.
"It's meaningless. The significance of this temple and what I left behind is to pass on my Ice Goddess status to future generations. This is a kind of continuation of my legacy." "
Even if I don't open it, what difference will it make? Perhaps three thousand years, perhaps five thousand, my remnant soul will eventually dissipate."
The Ice Goddess glanced at the Ice Empress and the others below the steps, then looked at the Snow Empress again.
"Alright, let's stop talking. The temple opened because the method I left in the outer forest countless years ago was triggered." "
The final feedback was an aura of an ultimate ice phoenix, similar to myself, and it was human. It can inherit the divine position completely, without being bound by the rules."
"Snow Maiden, I need you to bring the successor here. We'll begin the trials together."
Facing the Ice God's command, the Snow Empress bowed deeply.
"I will obey the Ice God's decree. Snow Maiden will bring the successor safely before you."
After giving his instructions, the Ice God transformed into an ice-blue glowing light and merged back into the divine pillar, disappearing from sight.
Standing on the jade platform, the Snow Empress gazed at the divine pillar for a moment, then turned and flew to the Ice Empress and the others.
"Let's go, Bing'er, let's go up there first."
The three Ice Empresses agreed to the Snow Empress's suggestion.
The Ice God's Temple was where the Ice God rested, not a place for them to discuss trivial matters.
A long time later...
When the three humans and the bear stood once again on the snowy ground of the core area of the far north, they all breathed a long sigh of relief.
Despite the Ice God's stunning beauty and seemingly unapproachable nature,
a strange pressure always hung over the four of them within the Ice God's Palace.
It had nothing to do with anything else; it was a fundamental difference in their very existence.
At this moment, the Ice Bear King, Xiaobai, spoke first to the Snow Empress.
"Mommy, are we going to search for the inheritor next? But the Ice God didn't seem to say where it is?"
The Snow Empress looked at the somewhat dim-witted Xiaobai, a hint of helplessness flashing in her gentle eyes. She conjured a snowball with her frost-covered fingertips and smacked it onto the massive bear's head.
"Do you really need to ask the Ice God about something so simple? Didn't you hear that the Ice God's power is waning?"
"The far north isn't that big. Searching the outer perimeter won't take us long."
Even the weakest of the four present was comparable to a Title Douluo of level ninety-five or higher.
With a full-speed search, even the vast frozen forest could be quickly searched.
Little White scratched his head somewhat sheepishly, unable to grasp the concept for a moment.
After Snow Empress finished speaking, Ice Empress frowned, looking at her with worry, her tone filled with unspeakable sorrow.
"Snow Empress, that's a human! Are we really going to let a human inherit the Ice God's divine position?"
"Perhaps in the Ice God's era, there weren't so many conflicts between soul beasts and humans, but that won't work now. We can set aside our prejudices; after all, very few people have ever been to the far north, but what about humans? How can we convince them to believe us?" "
Their problems with soul beasts have lasted for tens of thousands of years."
"We can't guarantee that the future human Ice God will be loyal to the far north."
Ice Empress's words elicited a disdainful snort from Titan Snow Demon King, who stood with his arms crossed, his eyes filled only with a desire to fulfill the Ice God's command.
"Why insist on persuading them? Just forcibly take them to the Ice God Temple, and they'll naturally believe us then."
The Ice Empress gave Titan Snow Demon King a look of utter disbelief, but before she could utter a sarcastic remark, she spoke first.
"Ice'er, your concerns are indeed valid, but we have no choice. The rule that soul beasts cannot become gods is an ironclad law, and we cannot change it." "
Therefore, we must also place our hopes on that inheritor."
"Moreover, that person's ascension to godhood also requires my intervention. I hope that person remembers the sacrifices made by the far north."
"Bing'er, don't forget, neither you nor I have any certainty about the next heavenly tribulation."
"This time, it's not just the Ice God's order, but also our hope of escaping the heavenly tribulation."