Volume 34, Chapter 473.3: Father? Grandfather?

The Ice Bear King’s eyes immediately softened when he heard her. He nudged his enormous nose against the Snow Empress body and said, “Snow Empress, Snow Empress – what am I to do, exactly?”

The Snow Empress heaved a sigh and said, “You will just follow me from now on. I can feel you are not far from your third bottleneck, and you only have a thirty percent chance of breaking through it. If I’m still around to protect you, perhaps you will be able to make it, but there’s no way I can stay here to help you. Therefore, I hope that you can choose a different path with me.”

The Ice Bear King clearly didn’t really understand the meaning of the Snow Empress’ words. He stared at her confusedly, and didn’t know what to say.

The Snow Empress continued, “You will understand if you follow me after this. The path that I am looking at is one to become a God. If I am successful, then we will transcend this world, and we will no longer be threatened or affected by it. If we fail, then we have a chance to choose another. In the Douluo Continent, no matter how strong us soul beasts are individually, there is no way we can touch the God Realm. The reason for that is because that’s the rule of this world. Di Tian is sufficiently powerful, but he still has no way of breaking this curse. If he can’t, then I can’t, and neither can you. Therefore, we can only attach ourselves to the strongest person in this world, and perhaps that person that will reach the God Realm, and only then can we leave this world.”

“I don’t know about all that, Snow Empress, but I will follow you whatever you say.” The Ice Bear King used the most direct method to express his trust in the Snow Empress.

The Snow Empress turned around and waved at Huo Yuhao. “Come here, Yuhao.”

Huo Yuhao hurriedly step forward and came to the Snow Empress’ side.

The Snow Empress smiled and said, “Little Bai, let me introduce you. This is my father.”

Huo Yuhao was still digesting the shock and astonishment that he harbored towards the Snow Empress, and he didn’t know why she was calling him. However, his entire being froze like a rock when she said that.

Father… What did she just call me? Father…

He was completely motionless at this point, as if his spiritual sea had turned into ice. More importantly, the Snow Empress’ expression was extremely calm and casual when she said those words, as if she were describing something very normal.

Huo Yuhao wasn’t the only one – the Ice Bear King’s expression was equally lackadaisical. There seemed to be a trail of snot flowing from his giant nose.

Father…

That term was equally unfamiliar to him. He didn’t know who his father was – otherwise, he wouldn’t have been taken away by the Snow Empress.

But why would this term, father, appear in the Snow Empress’ mouth!? The Snow Empress – she actually has a father? She has been alive for more than seven hundred thousand years, and she’s one of the oldest living beings in the world. How old does her father have to be?

The Snow Empress stared at human and soul beast, who were stunned speechless and motionless. She couldn’t help but laugh, and this wasn’t just a grin, because she was laughing particularly joyfully. This was especially so when she was looking at Huo Yuhao, because it was evident that there was some teasing in her smile.

The Ice empress wasn’t too far away from them, but she couldn’t laugh at all. Her eyes were opened wide as her jaw hung open; she hadn’t expected such words to come from the Snow Empress’ mouth either.

“Daddy, what’s wrong?” The Snow Empress stared at Huo Yuhao with a captivating smile on her face.

Huo Yuhao swallowed some saliva forcefully before he pointed at himself and said, “You… you’re calling me? You can’t make a joke like this, Snow Empress!”

The Snow Empress rolled her eyes and said, “Who’s joking with you? I am calling you. Why, do you not dare to acknowledge me? Have you forgotten? I have just passed my crown as the ruler of the Extreme North to Ah Tai, and since that moment, I am no longer queen in this place. I am no longer the Snow Empress – I am the Snow Lady, the Snow Lady that you have always protected, and the Snow Lady that has been growing up little by little.”

Never in his wildest dreams did he expect such a tremendous turnaround. He was just feeling sad about the distance between the Snow Empress and himself when she gave him such an enormous pleasant surprise.

The Snow Empress’ eyes grew tender. “Yuhao, I have recovered my memory, but everything that happened when we were together has long been imprinted in my memory in the period that my old memory was lost. I will never forget all the times that we have shared together, and in my heart, you are my father. This has nothing to do with age, and it’s just a sentiment. Yes, it’s just a sentiment.”

Her eyes grew a little sadder as she paused. “Did you know? I was all alone when I came into this world, and this loneliness made my personality cold and icy. I am the Icesky Snow Lady that the heavens have nurtured and brought into this world, but even though the weakest soul beasts in the Extreme North have their own parents, I have no parents. Rather, the Extreme North is my parent. I have never experienced parental warmth or kindness.”

“But I’ve felt that from you. I can feel the love and care that you have for me. When I’m with you, even if you’re just staring at me with a tender and amiable gaze, it makes me very happy. Even though I had yet to regain my memory back then, once I regained my memory, I realized that the period when I was with you was the happiest and most blissful part of my life.”

“Therefore, I consider you my father in my heart, and that will never change. Ever since I’ve recovered my memory over these days, I can feel the worry in your heart. You don’t have to fear anything. I am the Snow Empress, but I am your Snow Lady even more. I am more willing to be your Snow Lady! Daddy, are you willing to accept me as your daughter?”

The corner of Huo Yuhao’s mouth began to twitch. Daughter… the Snow Empress, the Icesky Snow Lady, third amongst the Ten Great Savage Beasts, and a soul beast with seven hundred thousand years of cultivation… Gods! What has happened to this world?

Even though he was full of yearning towards the Snow Empress before this, his first reaction when the Snow Empress was standing in front of him and saying to him plainly that she wanted to be his daughter wasn’t happiness – he could almost feel his nose bleeding. That was just…

The Snow Empress pouted and said, “Daddy, do you not want me anymore? Then I will become a child with no home to return to.”

The Snow Empress was incredibly gorgeous from the beginning. Everything came from her heart, and even though she seemed like a lady who had grown up, her voice, eyes, and tone were no different from the little Snow Lady back then.

“Of course I do.” Huo Yuhao sputtered.

“Alright, then.” The Snow Empress giggled as she pranced forward and wrapped her arms around Huo Yuhao’s arm. “I have been trying too hard to pretend after I’ve recovered my memory. I would rather be the Snow Lady. More accurately, the memory that belongs to the Snow Lady has allowed me to find myself. I am a little reluctant to give away my position as the ruler of the Extreme North, but now I feel as if I have been liberated, and all my responsibilities are no more. I will live my life happily from today onwards, and that feeling is just fantastic. Isn’t that right, daddy?”

Huo Yuhao really wanted to ask her if she could stop calling him that. After all, they looked like they were of the same age! The Snow Empress calling him just made him feel very strange.

The Ice Empress’ voice came from behind her. “Snow, you… you’re calling him father. What about me?”

The Snow Empress turned around and giggled at the Ice Empress. “I don’t care about that. I have already found your lover, Ice. Don’t worry, we can do things differently. You have been addressing him by his name anyway. It hasn’t been easy for me to find this familial love, Ice. Aren’t you happy for me?”

“Yes, of course I am happy,” the Ice Empress forced a laugh, “But this sudden change of events does make me feel a little weird.”

The Snow Empress chortled and said, “There’s nothing weird about this. I am still me, and I am still the same Snow in your heart. Everything is fine if that hasn’t changed. Little Bai, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and greet your grandfather. Haven’t you always wanted me to be your mother? Alright, I am willing to accept you as my son.”

“Grand… grandfather…” The Ice Bear King stared at Huo Yuhao with blank eyes. He could definitely tell that Huo Yuhao was a human. But the Snow Empress, whom he had endless respect for, actually called a human such as this her father. That… that was just…

Huo Yuhao himself felt incredibly peculiar. He suddenly had a daughter today, and she felt like a very formal one, and now he had a grandson. He wasn’t even married yet! He didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. Everything was just so peculiar, but he couldn’t not recognize the Snow Empress as his daughter.

“There’s a good boy,” The Snow Empress patted the Ice Bear King on his nose, and she waved her right hand across the air and pointed. A dark blue ice crystal hovered in front of the Ice Bear King.

“This is your grandfather’s gift to you.”

The Ice Bear King was momentarily stunned. When he managed to see what was in front of him with clarity, his eyes immediately widened. “That… that’s Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence?”

The Snow Empress nodded and said, “Yes! How’s that? Isn’t your grandfather generous?”

“Generous, yes. He’s very generous. Greetings, grandfather. Thank you, grandfather!” The way he addressed Huo Yuhao clearly sounded a lot smoother this time. The Ice Bear King stared at the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence as he swallowed balls of saliva again and again, as if he were about to start drooling.

However, before he could raise his paws to take it, the Snow Empress withdrew the ice crystal.

“You have to wait for a little while, and you can’t absorb it yet. This will be used to stabilize the origin of your consciousness. Let’s do it this way – let me explain things to you as your mother. Ice, your aunt, and I have merged with your grandfather. Simply put, we have assimilated part of our power with your grandfather. You have already felt that your grandfather is a human. He is the most talented human in the world today.”