Chapter 19: Dream
"Honorable ruler of the Northern Ice Plains, Snow Empress. Greetings!" Ye Wen said respectfully. "I know of you because I once read a book that described you. Perhaps it was written by a soul master who glimpsed you from afar and managed to survive."
This statement, a half truth, allowed Ye Wen to speak boldly, as he hadn't lied. After all, the novel he read in his past life technically counted as a "book."
Snow Empress looked at Ye Wen for a moment, her expression unreadable. She knew he was hiding something, but she chose not to press further.
Then, with a wave of her hand, everything around Ye Wen blurred, and he found himself inside a cavern. In front of him lay a fat Ice Silkworm, its five silver white lines marking it as a creature of over five thousand years. It lay still, seemingly sound asleep, but when it sensed Ye Wen and Snow Empress, it awoke with a start.
Seeing Snow Empress, the silkworm froze in terror. Though it paid little mind to Ye Wen, Snow Empress's presence was as overwhelming as an abyssal monster, and its eyes were filled with fear.
Snow Empress approached the silkworm, her voice calm. "Sacrifice yourself to this human, Ice Silkworm," she commanded.
The Ice Silkworm, being a spiritual creature, instinctively wanted to refuse, but it understood the law of the wild if it refused, it would surely die. With a brief pause, it finally nodded slowly in resignation.
Meanwhile, Ye Wen watched in stunned silence. He had never heard of a thousand year spirit beast possessing the ability to offer itself as a sacrifice. But since Snow Empress commanded it, he guessed that perhaps it truly could.
"Go on," Snow Empress said to Ye Wen. "Once you absorb its spirit ring, we can discuss a few matters."
Ye Wen nodded and took a meditative position before the Ice Silkworm, confident that with Snow Empress's protection, he was in no danger.
The Ice Silkworm looked at Ye Wen with a hint of sorrow. Then its body began to glow in soft silver white light, surrounding both Ye Wen and Snow Empress. A purple spirit ring slowly formed above it, and as it did, the silkworm's life force faded. Finally, it slumped onto the ground, lifeless, while the spirit ring drifted onto Ye Wen's martial spirit.
A familiar warmth coursed through Ye Wen's body, and his strength increased further. He could feel his physical body growing stronger, his height even increasing to 1.7 meters as he shed his boyish look and began to look like a young man.
The sacrificial nature of the spirit ring made absorbing it seamless, and in a short time, he fully absorbed the 5,000 year ring.
The cavern fell silent once more. Ye Wen summoned his martial spirit, and under the dim light, his yellow and two purple spirit rings illuminated the space.
"Third Spirit Ability: Void Control," Ye Wen murmured. "Not only can I summon my spirit remotely now, but I can also control its movement mid air, creating multiple independent portals. Incredible… I'll be able to manage my spirit much more precisely and even develop derived techniques. Plus, the Na Bu space has expanded to ten cubic meters."
"Judging by your expression, it seems you're pleased with your new skill," came Snow Empress's icy voice. Ye Wen's joy faded, remembering he was still in a precarious situation. He had no idea what this soul beast sovereign might ask, nor if a wrong answer might anger her.
Ye Wen sat up straight and met her gaze, ready to respond. But before he could speak, a faint white light glowed from Snow Empress's body and shot toward him. Suddenly, his vision blurred, and he fell unconscious.
Snow Empress, equally stunned, didn't know what had just happened. She hadn't intended to release any light, much less cause Ye Wen to faint. Kneeling to examine him, she confirmed he was only asleep, and she sighed in relief.
Snow Empress turned her attention inward, pondering the mysterious light. She felt an odd sense of familiarity yet also strangeness. Her long, ancient memories stirred as she recalled something distant and profound.
As the only Ice Snow Maiden in the world of Douluo, Snow Empress's birth had been unique. More an elemental entity than a soul beast, she was the manifestation of the Northern Ice Plains' pure ice energy and vital essence, the embodiment of the land's spiritual fortune. In other worlds, she would be considered a divine being, an original spirit. Yet in the twisted rules of the Douluo world, she had been reduced to the status of a soul beast.
Were it not for that distortion, she would have had a smooth path to ascend as the God of Ice and Snow. But this world treated her as a soul beast, subjecting her to the same life and death restrictions. Despite her unparalleled strength, she could not avoid the heavenly tribulation that all soul beasts faced leading to the events of Douluo Dalu 2.
Now, reflecting on the white light, she recognized it as a force similar to that which nurtured her in her pre birth state. It felt like the protection of the world itself.
"This child… Is he a 'Son of the World'? Perhaps my fate is tied to his?" she whispered. "Very well. I shall protect him, dear world, as you once protected me."
Meanwhile, Ye Wen found himself in a vivid dream. He dreamt of the night he'd worked feverishly to finish a thesis, only to die from exhaustion. His spirit was pulled into a minuscule temporal vortex and drifted in limbo until it reached the edge of Douluo Star. Stripped of consciousness, his mind was blank, and the world captured his soul, reviewing his memories and foreseeing its future demise.
It had devised a plan to save itself, and through a mysterious process, Ye Wen's soul had been reincarnated into this world. He was gifted twin martial spirits, the "Pearl of Time" and "Cloth of Space" two god level spirits embodying the elements of time and space. Due to their nature, these spirits were "absolute spirits," purer than any others in the realm, and even more potent than the Angel Spirit of the Spirit Hall. Remarkably, they lacked the typical drawbacks of most extreme spirits, allowing Ye Wen to progress quickly.
Ye Wen soon learned that these spirits possessed innate abilities. His "Cloth of Space," or Na Bu, was naturally suited for storage and its development was limited only by his creativity. The "Pearl of Time," however, was even more powerful. Each time he infused it with spirit power, it "saved" his current state. Upon reaching death or a critical state, the Pearl could rewrite his condition to a previous state, effectively resurrecting him.
Because this power was so overpowered, the world could not assign it other abilities. However, with each additional spirit ring, the Pearl could record one more life in its stored memories. The strength of the bond determined the quality of the spirit ring required for resurrection; resurrecting a Titled Douluo required a 100,000 year spirit ring, and others had proportional requirements. Regardless, this ability was invaluable, surpassing anything his Cloth of Space could provide. The ability to resurrect was priceless in a world like Douluo.
In that dreamlike state, Ye Wen came to understand why he was here and the significance of his spirits.
"Cause and effect, woven together," he murmured.
Just as he was about to wake, a faint voice, neither male nor female, reached his ears, whispering:
"From here on, I entrust it to you. I exhausted much of my strength erasing the traces of your arrival and granting you these spirits. The twisted laws of this world will soon force me into slumber. Please, save this world, you, the lost one from the higher realms."
The voice faded as Ye Wen opened his eyes, finding himself lying beneath a brightly lit ice dome. He rubbed his forehead, groggy, and looked around.
"Where is Snow Empress?" he muttered. He had expected her to question him, yet she had vanished, leaving him feeling slightly unsettled.
Then he realized her absence might be intentional. As a supreme soul beast, Snow Empress's presence would seem strange, perhaps even alarming, if others discovered her with him. Drawing attention could bring the scrutiny of higher powers.
Stretching, Ye Wen stepped out of the ice cave and began his journey home, unaware that Snow Empress was following him from afar.
Her perspective differed from his. To her, transforming into human form and venturing into the human world was perfectly natural. With the gods absent for almost ten thousand years, her vigilance toward them had waned.
Snow Empress stayed out of Ye Wen's sight, believing that for him to fulfill his role, he must survive countless battles on his own. She would only intervene if he neared death.
After all, that was how she herself had grown to be what she was.
(End of Chapter)
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