"..."
Elder Song glared viciously at Xu Cheng.
It was like she had a piece of meat in her mouth, had already bitten it, only to have it ripped from her throat by someone else—utterly infuriating and hopeless.
But looking at the full-power "Snow Empress" opposite her, and this brat Xu Cheng…
There was no way the Sun Moon Empire didn't have more up its sleeve.
She didn't believe this kid came unprepared.
Shrek Academy had already suffered several defeats back-to-back. Right now, they absolutely had to avoid any more battles. If they lost again, Shrek's morale would likely hit rock bottom.
If it were a clan like the Body Sect, it wouldn't matter.
They were built on family bloodlines, generation after generation, and were self-sustaining. But Shrek Academy was different. Its vitality came from new blood, which primarily came from the Three Nations of the original continent. If morale kept plummeting, and Shrek's reputation fell, then the new generations would only get worse and worse.
Just like people once said: In the Continental Tournament, only Shrek Academy cannot afford to lose.
Even though they did lose in the end, she couldn't allow this vicious cycle to continue.
"Retreat!"
After a long silence, Elder Song and Xuanzi exchanged glances—each could see the exhaustion and defeat in the other's eyes.
"Xuanzi, are you seriously backing down?"Du Busi stared coldly at Xu Cheng and provoked them with a mocking tone.
"Shrek Academy's running away from a snot-nosed kid?"
"Oh, I'd love to fight."Xuanzi sneered. "But we just received word from the Clear Sky Sect—he's obtained the final fragment of the Rakshasa Scythe. That thing is a divine-level artifact. He pieced it together and even summoned the will of the Rakshasa God. He injured the Sky Azure Bull Python."
Du Busi's mouth twitched.
He grit his teeth. "Damn it. Retreat!"
Watching the humans retreat completely,
Xu Cheng finally turned to the massive horde of soul beasts from the Extreme North.
The Ice Empress returned control of the body to him.
Of course, she hadn't done much—just gave the Titan Snow Demon King a good, solid kick.
"All the well-known soul beasts of the Extreme North are gathered here now, right?" Xu Cheng asked curiously.
"No way! You're missing the Ice Silkworm Clan—same clan as me!" Skydream quickly chimed in.
"Ice Silkworms… heh, just food," Ice Empress scoffed.
Not that she despised Ice Silkworms personally.
But their strength was simply too low. So low, in fact, that in the recent human hunting campaigns, they were almost entirely overlooked. Aside from Skydream Iceworm—a complete anomaly—most Ice Silkworms were at the absolute bottom of the food chain in the Extreme North.
Pretty much any soul beast could eat them.
"Wuwuwu…"Skydream faked a sob.
But secretly, he released a mental wave. As the true patriarch of the Ice Silkworm Clan, summoning a few wayward descendants wasn't hard.
"We obey your command. Nearly all soul beast clans of the Extreme North are present,"The Titan Snow Demon King responded respectfully, staring at Xu Cheng—and the two tiny beasts on his shoulders: Ice Empress and Skydream—with awe.
No matter what, this human had saved them.
And he clearly had a very close relationship with the Ice Empress.
He deserved respect.
"I assume you recognize these two?" Xu Cheng smiled.
"Of course. Ice Empress is my comrade. As for Skydream…" The Titan Snow Demon King hesitated, then continued, "Also… my comrade."
Xu Cheng: "..."
Ice Empress: "..."
Skydream: "..."
Realizing this big guy was probably a complete blockhead, Xu Cheng didn't waste more time. "I came here with one goal: to reclaim the Extreme North and integrate it into the territory of the Sun Moon Empire."
"What?!"
The Titan Snow Demon King's eyes widened.
They chased away the wolves—only to bring in a tiger?
He never expected this human's appetite would be so enormous.
"Well… since Ice Empress is your soul ring, I guess I have no objections. But I hope your people won't slaughter the soul beast clans of the Extreme North. Even if we're rounded up and raised in captivity… we can accept that."
The Titan Snow Demon King sighed deeply.
With the Ice Empress present, he could accept this outcome.
At least it was far better than what just happened.
To be with the Ice Empress again wasn't too bad. Maybe one day, he could even see the Snow Empress again…
Xiaobai lowered her head, her earlier excitement dimming.
Meanwhile, the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan Chief looked indifferent—as if none of this mattered. If the real ancestor had already submitted, what was the point in resisting?
If they could survive like the Ice Empress—rather than dying and becoming a lifeless soul ring—maybe it wasn't such a bad deal.
"You've misunderstood." Xu Cheng smiled.
"We've already invented artificial soul rings. There's no longer a need to hunt soul beasts for rings. As for soul bones, replacements should be developed soon as well. The only reason we want to integrate the Extreme North is to search for metal and mineral resources."
"What?! Artificial soul rings?! Soul rings can be… made?"
Ice Bear King Xiaobai couldn't help blurting out.
"That's right,"Xu Cheng smiled.
Then gestured for Ice Empress to explain.
Before he earned full trust and authority, anything he said wouldn't hold weight.
So he needed to borrow the Ice Empress' prestige to help the Sun Moon Empire establish real credibility among the soul beasts of the Extreme North.
"Ice Empress, is this true?"The Titan Snow Demon King asked, voice trembling.
As a 200,000-year-old beast, one of the Three Kings of the Extreme North, he understood the weight of this.
"Yes,"The tiny Ice Empress nodded calmly.
Her voice echoed across the entire realm, as if a megaphone had amplified her words.
"But… if artificial soul rings exist," Xiaobai asked, confused, "why did those humans still come charging into the Extreme North to hunt us?"
She didn't doubt the Ice Empress—but this sudden news had thrown them all off guard.
"Humans aren't a united front," Ice Empress explained patiently. "Those humans are from hostile powers—Shrek Academy, the Body Sect, and the Heavenly Soul Empire. All enemies of the Sun Moon Empire."
In fact, a lot of this insider knowledge was only understood by the Ice Empress after sacrificing herself to Xu Cheng and gaining deeper insight into the human world.
"The Sun Moon Empire developed artificial soul rings. That's why the Star Dou Forest had the confidence to issue a ban, restricting these other factions from hunting soul beasts. But because they could no longer exploit the Star Dou Forest, those factions turned their sights on the Extreme North, resorting to ruthless overhunting."
"I see!!"
As the Ice Empress finished,
The three-hundred-thousand-year-old beasts, along with countless other soul beasts in the Extreme North, finally understood.
They looked at Xu Cheng with newfound gratitude in their eyes.
They had never imagined that the humans they once deemed cunning, evil, and unapproachable could do something like this.
And the Ice Empress' words greatly boosted credibility.
Not a single soul beast doubted it.
And their attitude toward Xu Cheng grew much more respectful.
(End of Chapter)