Huo Yuhao felt the icy mark on his forehead and sighed inwardly.
This situation was reminiscent of his first meeting with the Snow Empress ten thousand years ago.
But their mindsets were different now.
Back then, their first meeting was a transaction; now, it was because of their bond.
So, even though he didn't want to trouble Snow Empress again, Huo Yuhao didn't avoid her.
However, if he were to encounter a danger he couldn't handle, he wouldn't use it. After all, the method Snow Empress used to transmit power was similar to Di Tian's, both utilized spatial energy to transfer power. Once used, the target of the attack would shift to Snow Empress.
Huo Yuhao had no intention of doing such a thing.
If Di Tian had given him a reverse scale, he might have used it without any hesitation, but not Snow Empress.
"Snow Empress, what's wrong?" After a moment, feeling the lingering touch on his forehead, Huo Yuhao looked up at Snow Empress in confusion.
Snow Empress didn't speak, but as she quietly withdrew her finger, she lightly pinched his cheek.
"You've become smaller, and much cuter. It'd be even better if you lost that mature mindset. Even ten thousand years ago, you didn't act like a child, and now you look even less like one."
But things were different from the beginning. Even though Huo Yuhao hadn't regained his peak strength, with all his trump cards combined, he wasn't someone ordinary people could contend with.
If Huo Yuhao hadn't chosen her back then, what would the Extreme North be like now?
Snow Empress pondered for a moment before pushing these thoughts aside.
There were no what-ifs. Huo Yuhao had chosen the Extreme North, chosen her!
At her most desperate and vulnerable moment, he had appeared in the Extreme North, giving her hope to overcome the heavenly tribulation and truly ascend to godhood, and also providing a way for the Extreme North to continue.
Ten thousand years later, they would ascend to godhood together…
Was it gratitude, or another kind of emotion? Over the past ten thousand years, she had already figured it out.
Snow Empress's jade-like hand was smooth and cold, like soft snow, pure and flawless, but compared to ten thousand years ago, due to her reincarnation and cultivation, it carried a hint of warmth.
Huo Yuhao's face flushed slightly as Snow Empress pinched his cheek with her soft hand.
This was one of the reasons he didn't want to meet his old friends too soon. With his current low strength, if they wanted to mess with him, he had no way to resist…
Especially someone like Snow Empress, who had shown him immense kindness.
He wanted to step back, but seeing the nostalgia in Snow Empress's eyes, his heart softened, and he didn't move away.
As Snow Empress continued to pinch her "newly accepted" disciple, she communicated with Bing Bing through telepathy.
"Has Yuhao encountered any trouble since his reincarnation?"
"Does a female dragon god giving him a reverse scale count?" Bing Bing glanced at Huo Yuhao.
"…Who?" Snow Empress's smile froze, and her brows furrowed slightly. "There are still gods on the Douluo Continent?"
"The Beast Lord, Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena. You invited her this time too. I thought you knew her identity," Bing Bing said, somewhat surprised. "Didn't you mention this to me before? That the true ruler of the Star Dou Forest isn't Di Tian."
"The Silver Dragon King? I didn't know she had appeared. I haven't shown myself for decades and haven't paid attention to the movements of the Star Dou Forest."
Snow Empress pursed her lips. "I invited her because of her relationship with the Dark Phoenix. After all, I've never taken a disciple before. Although Yuhao passing the red-level assessment is one reason, it's still not enough. Inviting her allows me to use the Dark Phoenix as a shield if necessary. With these two reasons, it's sufficient."
Before they met, she couldn't be sure of Yuhao's condition, so she acted cautiously to avoid causing him trouble.
Staying here patiently for months was also partly for this reason. She hadn't expected to hear such news.
Dragons have reverse scales, touch them, and you die. Gu Yuena giving her reverse scale to Huo Yuhao held significant symbolic meaning…
Bing Bing was momentarily speechless.
So, in the Snow Empress's eyes, Gu Yuena and the Dark Phoenix Douluo are just tools to meet Yuhao, huh?
"Why did she give her reverse scale to Yuhao? What exactly happened?" Snow Empress, seeing Bing Bing's silence, asked proactively.
Though she was somewhat concerned about the relationship between Gu Yuena and Huo Yuhao, Snow Empress decided to understand the situation first.
Yuhao rarely got involved with women because he knew he couldn't promise them anything. Ten thousand years ago, he was practically a steel straight man, when someone confessed to him, he would outright reject them without hesitation, which had always reassured her.
So she hadn't been in a hurry. Her lifespan was long, and as time passed, wouldn't she be the only one left by his side?
Who would've thought something like this could happen… After ten thousand years, someone still wanted to compete with her?
Bing Bing's lips twitched. "You don't even care about me."
"Bing'er~" Snow Empress sighed helplessly. "We already talked about this ten thousand years ago."
"Alright, just joking. I've figured it out over the past ten thousand years," Bing Bing rolled her eyes. "Here's what happened…"
Bing Bing didn't hold back, telling Snow Empress about the Sea God's divine sense, the Divine Throne, the Plane Master, the Abyss Saint Lord, and other matters.
After all, Yuhao had planned to explain it himself, so she might as well do it for him.
The more Snow Empress listened, the tighter her brows furrowed, and the matter of Gu Yuena was temporarily pushed to the back of her mind.
Compared to the safety of Yuhao and Bing'er, Gu Yuena's matter wasn't as important. At least this person was willing to share hardships with Yuhao, meaning they were on the same side.
Well, the matter of Yuhao giving her a divine weapon could be settled later.
Snow Empress said, "The Sea God's divine sense… should I deal with it?"
Since the Sea God's divine sense threatened the safety of Yuhao and Bing'er, she could handle it.
"According to Yuhao's judgment, that strand of divine sense has memories. And as Elder Yi said, while forcibly retaining most of its memories, a strand of divine sense would fall into slumber, meaning its divine power needs to preserve its memories and can't be used excessively, otherwise there's a risk of losing them."
Bing Bing's voice was low. "Yuhao and Elder Yi's plan is to wait for the right opportunity, either find a suitable moment to weaken it in a small world disconnected from the Plane Master, or wait until we have the strength to confront the Plane Master before acting."
"Is that so?" Snow Empress nodded. "If there's no certainty, leave it to me. With Yuhao's arrangements, in the Extreme North… I am a god!"
As Snow Empress and Bing Bing communicated in secret, a light cough interrupted them.
"Ahem."
Snow Empress snapped back to attention, her focus returning to Huo Yuhao in front of her. Unconsciously, her hand had been gently resting on Huo Yuhao's cheek…
Snow Empress calmly withdrew her hand.
This level of contact was nothing. Ten thousand years ago, they'd done more than this, even more intimate actions. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.
Yuhao was just being overly sensitive.
Bing Bing glanced at Huo Yuhao from the side and continued telepathically:
"Xue'er, Yuhao sees you as a sister and teacher, never as a lover… In the end, neither of you have experience. You've interacted too naturally, so there's no spark."
"So, Bing'er, you're an expert? We're all about the same here. Don't pretend to know what you don't," Snow Empress chuckled.
Bing Bing fell silent.
Thinking about it, it was true.
Snow Empress, Yuhao, and the others in their spiritual sea, who among them had a successful romantic history?
After Elder Yi regained his memories, he only spoke of failed relationships. They were a group of people who couldn't even compare to a normal couple in understanding that kind of emotion.
Wait!
Bing Bing suddenly thought of an exception.
The Evil Emperor had a child, he had a wife!
Indeed, this temporary addition to the group was different. Let's just kick the Evil Emperor out of the group chat!
He didn't fit in with the rest of them!
On the other side, Snow Empress glanced at the sky and looked at Huo Yuhao. "It's time for lunch."
Huo Yuhao immediately understood her meaning and smiled slightly. "What would you like to eat? I'll make it for you."
Snow Empress's voice was soft. "Anything you make… is fine."