Huo Yuhao set aside his thoughts and looked toward the Snow Empress, who was still lost in contemplation.
If forced to choose between obtaining the Snow Empress's Spirit Soul and the Ten-Thousand-Year Black Ice Marrow on one hand, or the protection of the entire Extreme North under the Snow Empress at her absolute peak on the other — every Spirit Master on the continent would likely choose the former. He chose the latter.
You could hide for a time. You could not hide for a lifetime.
No matter how far he kept himself from the conflicts at the continent's core, certain things were simply unavoidable. The blood debt with Duke White Tiger's Estate. Tang San's methods, both open and hidden. Sooner or later, they all had to be faced.
Unlike the original Huo Yuhao, he had no Shrek mentors to stand behind him, no powerful backing to lean on. Everything had to be won by his own hand.
And before the Ice Emperor recovered, the Snow Empress was the only person powerful enough that he stood any chance of moving.
To gain something, you had to give something up. If those opportunities could not bring about a fundamental transformation, then sacrificing them in exchange for protection during his weakest years was worth every bit of the cost.
By this point, the Snow Empress had arrived at her own conclusion. She gave Huo Yuhao a long, complicated look. "Skydream didn't put these words in your mouth, did it? This deal — it was your own decision?"
Huo Yuhao said nothing.
She studied him for a moment longer, then shook her head with a quiet sigh of resignation. "Very well. I do need the Ten-Thousand-Year Black Ice Marrow. As for the protection you require…"
As she spoke, the Snow Empress raised her jade hand and pressed one slender finger lightly to the center of Huo Yuhao's brow, leaving behind a mark in the shape of a snowflake.
"With this mark, you may move freely throughout the Extreme North — and through it, you may reach me at any time."
As sovereign of the Extreme North, she had the Ice Empress residing within her, but even without that, she would not stoop to deceiving anyone.
Seeing the Snow Empress make her promise so cleanly and without hesitation, Huo Yuhao did not hesitate either. "The Ten-Thousand-Year Black Ice Marrow is held by the Earth Dragon Sect. If you don't believe me, I'll go as your hostage."
"Then come with me."
The Snow Empress gave Huo Yuhao one final look. As she wrapped them both in a shroud of wind and snow, a strange feeling stirred within her — a premonition she could not quite name.
A God-Making Plan carried out by this boy… perhaps it really would succeed.
...
That day, the Earth Dragon Sect learned what it meant for disaster to fall from a clear sky.
A sect without so much as a single Super Douluo had no ability to resist the Snow Empress whatsoever. All they could do was flee as far as possible and watch helplessly as she turned the Earth Dragon Sect inside out and stripped it of every last grain of Ten-Thousand-Year Black Ice Marrow.
With those reserves in hand, the damage to the Snow Empress's Origin Energy mended itself rapidly. Drawing on the hard-won lessons of her previous failure, she even succeeded in condensing a Yin-Yang Complementary Twin Soul Core.
From that day forward, not even a seven-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation could threaten her. The Snow Empress had broken entirely free from the fate that had once awaited her.
Naturally, Huo Yuhao became the Extreme North's most honored guest.
The Snow Empress extended him every convenience, stepping in whenever he found himself in danger and turning aside no small amount of trouble on his behalf. Even Princess Tang ceased to bother him after that — for no matter how shameless Tang San might be, even he could not throw his daughter into the heart of the Extreme North.
Freed from every burden weighing on his back, Huo Yuhao threw himself into cultivating the Ice Empress Martial Soul, drawing on the Extreme North's vast resources. His progress was swift.
Yet he did not abandon his Spirit Eyes or his talent for soul tools. He would often use the Spirit Eyes' second Spirit Ability — "Imitation" — to alter his appearance and slip into various academies to study.
During the Continental Spirit Master Academy Tournament, he watched as an ordinary student from some minor institution, observing as Shrek Academy fell in the semifinals. He watched Elder Xuan erupt in fury at the result, roaring until his voice shook the walls — yet utterly unable to change what had happened.
On the eve of the Mingdu Grand Tournament, Huo Yuhao persuaded the Snow Empress to accompany him as they slipped into Mingdu in secret, "convincing" a number of talented Spirit Masters and soul engineers — geniuses who had been stifled and given no room to breathe — to come away with them.
When the three Douluo nations clashed with the Sun Moon Empire, Huo Yuhao watched with cold detachment. He waited until a certain Empress Dowager War God was intercepted by Tang San and forced to a ceasefire — and only then did he strike, descending on Duke White Tiger's Estate and killing every last person who had wronged him and his mother. He drew a clean line under the debts of this body's life, leaving behind nothing but a retreating silhouette for a white-haired Dai Hao to stare at in the dark.
After that, Huo Yuhao devoted himself entirely to cultivation, seeking out Spirit Rings worthy of his growth. When his spirit power reached its apex, he worked with the Ice Emperor to perfect the Soul-Spirit Method, and on that foundation established the Spirit Transmission Tower.
The drawing power of a Limit Douluo was not to be taken lightly — and Huo Yuhao had spent years physically persuading no small number of geniuses to his side. As a foundation for the Spirit Transmission Tower, they were more than adequate.
With the Extreme North lending covert support behind the scenes, the various powers who had entertained ambitions toward the Soul-Spirit Method were forced to swallow their intentions and watch the Tower grow steadily stronger.
...
"It's time."
Inside the Spirit Transmission Tower's main hall, Huo Yuhao looked at the cool, composed young woman seated below him and spoke quietly. "I am going into seclusion to pursue a higher realm. From this day forward, Su Tong, the Spirit Transmission Tower is yours to lead."
Su Tong — Ice Sky Snow Maiden Martial Soul, a pure ice-attribute spirit of the highest caliber. In the original story, she had been little more than a passing mention among Shrek's students. But here, Huo Yuhao had found her when she came to the Extreme North in search of Spirit Rings, intercepting her before anyone else could and drawing her into his fold.
By now, Su Tong had risen to Titled Douluo, one of the Spirit Transmission Tower's three Vice-Tower Masters. She was still young for the role, but with others to support her, she could carry the responsibility.
Su Tong stood below, looking up at the figure before her, a shadow of confusion in her eyes.
The Spirit Transmission Tower had established its footing on the continent, yes — but the importance of Spirit Souls was something anyone with eyes could see. As the number of Spirit Beasts continued to decline, the value of Spirit Souls would only climb higher over time. The power of any faction holding the method to create them would rise accordingly.
Without a Limit Douluo presiding over the Tower, there would be no shortage of people who wanted to take it for themselves. A single Titled Douluo was not enough to bear that weight.
Seeming to read her unease, Huo Yuhao walked past her and spoke in a low, steady voice.
"Don't worry. I have already reached agreements with the Snow Empress of the Extreme North and Emperor Tian of the Star Dou Great Forest. No one will dare trouble you."
He understood her anxiety. Unlike the original Spirit Transmission Tower, which had enjoyed the backing of Shrek Academy and the Douluo nations, the Tower he had built had none of those pillars — only a Limit Douluo who had appeared seemingly from nowhere.
Without him, the Tower's strength would collapse to a fifth of what it was.
But if he was going to leave, he had made certain his preparations were thorough.
The Snow Empress needed no explanation. As for Emperor Tian — he had always carried a deep worry for the future of Spirit Beasts. Even if Huo Yuhao had gone to him with only the flawed, incomplete Soul-Spirit Method from the original story, he was confident he could have persuaded Emperor Tian to agree. And what he had brought was something far greater: a Soul-Spirit Method refined and improved over decades, jointly developed with himself and the Ice Emperor, one that offered genuine benefit to Spirit Beasts' reproduction and survival.
With that thought, Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes slightly and stepped out of the room.
Every piece had been placed. All that remained was to wait for the right moment.
"After I leave," he said as he crossed the threshold, "erase every trace of me from the Spirit Transmission Tower's records."
Su Tong stared after him, her mind reeling in confusion.
Emperor Tian and the Snow Empress — joining the Spirit Transmission Tower? Did that not mean that every one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts, save the Evil Emperor, was now aligned with the Tower? How had the Tower Master managed that?
"Was it the Soul-Spirit Method? The Method of Contract Dissolution?" she murmured to herself, the shock inside her still refusing to settle.
When her thoughts finally steadied, Su Tong recalled the last thing Huo Yuhao had told her, and a fresh wave of bewilderment washed over her.
The Tower Master was a deeply mysterious Limit Douluo. He had left few traces in the world, and what little the public knew of him was almost nothing — not even his true name had ever circulated outside these walls. The Spirit Transmission Tower was the place where his presence was most concentrated, the clearest record of his existence. If those traces were erased, then ten thousand years from now, the world would remember only the title of the Spirit Transmission Tower's founding Tower Master:
Spirit-Ice Douluo.
...
Huo Yuhao had barely stepped outside the Spirit Transmission Tower when a figure appeared before him.
"You're leaving?"
The Snow Empress looked at him and asked, her voice low.
"That's right."
Huo Yuhao gave a slight nod and walked past her. "Thank you, Snow Empress. For all these years. When the time comes — we'll meet again."
With her back to the direction he had gone, the Snow Empress stood in place for a long while before finally drifting away with the wind and snow.
Ten thousand years from now, to seek godhood together?
Very well. I'll wait for you.
...
"Ice Emperor, I'm ready. We can begin."
Inside the Sea of Spirit, the Ice Emperor slowly opened his eyes. "Yuhao — the rules of the Douluo Continent have their influence even over my magic. Your plan to extend your lifespan by transforming into an undead creature may face obstacles because of it. There may be consequences we cannot predict."
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, his gaze unwavering. "I prepared for a certain cost long ago. And besides — what matters most to me right now isn't the lifespan. It's breaking free from the Douluo Continent's threads of fate. I'm counting on you, Ice Emperor."
"Then I'll use the Gold of Life to preserve your last spark of vitality and begin at once." Seeing that Huo Yuhao's resolve was fixed, the Ice Emperor pressed no further. "You will need to die first."
At those words, Huo Yuhao produced the Blade of Life's Guardian and merged it into the center of his chest.
This world had something called fate — and he was this era's Son of Destiny. Which was why, no matter how different his journey had been, the Gold of Life, the Ice-Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone, and other such rare gifts had ultimately found their way into his hands regardless.
Son of Destiny…
A wave of quiet feeling moved through him.
Even though he had refused the Seat of the Emotion God all those years ago, even though Princess Tang had stopped appearing before him, he understood — that person could never truly look away.
And the reason Tang San paid him such particular attention was precisely this: he was the Child of Fate of the Douluo Continent. Without that identity, Tang San would likely not have spared him a second glance.
Only death — only shedding the identity of the Son of Destiny — could remove him from that man's sight.
And only then would the chance come to use it.
Huo Yuhao let his attention rest for a moment on the mark buried deepest within the Sea of Spirit, then quietly looked away.
The Ice Emperor's magic unfolded without a sound. Huo Yuhao assumed the posture of a man forcing a breakthrough to the divine realm, and the light gradually faded from his eyes as the aura of death crept in — yet the conviction in his heart did not dim by a single degree.
The day the Divine Realm vanished from this world — that was when the era belonging to him would finally begin.
At that same moment, in the Divine Realm.
Tang San sensed that the Son of Destiny of the Douluo Star had vanished. He looked in on it once, saw Huo Yuhao's death confirmed, and let go of it entirely, turning his gaze away.
A Son of Destiny with such arrogance — refusing the Seat of the Emotion God was one thing, but daring to dream of forging a divine seat of his own?
Your reserves of fortune may well surpass mine — but do a few decades of foundation actually qualify?
Hmph. All this time spent, mine and little Seven's both, only to produce this farce. Truly a man who sought his own destruction.
"This Huo Yuhao is useless — not remotely my equal. It seems I'll need to make other arrangements."
A flash of calculating light crossed God King Tang's eyes. "Rong Nianbing has yet to find a suitable successor. He will remain in the Divine Realm for now — that can be made use of. As for Destruction…"
This Divine Realm is mine.
Destruction defies me at every turn. He, too, has sealed his own fate.
One day in the Divine Realm equaled one year on the earth below. While God King Tang sat contemplating his grand designs, the figure that had become a corpse on the world beneath finally opened its eyes again, decades later — and slipped away into the Undead Half-Plane.