The Divine Persona of Ice and Snow

A holy, cold aura spread across the great hall, and the temperature in the eternally warm main temple suddenly dropped after the appearance of this divine essence.

The Ice and Snow Divine Essence!

Hebe's eyes widened. She remembered this divine essence; it originally belonged to the Ice and Snow Goddess, Tienyi. Among the many divine essences, the Ice and Snow Divine Essence was one of the few powerful ones. As the master of the Ice and Snow Divine Essence, even with only second-tier divine power, few gods on the Divine Mountain would dare to offend her directly.

The Ice and Snow Divine Essence possessed immense destructive power, which caused the goddess's combat ability to soar. In a real fight, even Athena would have to exert considerable effort to subdue her.

'The Ice and Snow Divine Essence? Isn't this Tienyi's…?"

The cold and holy-looking Tienyi was highly favored by Zeus. Now that this divine essence lay here, didn't that mean Tienyi had already…

'She has fallen." Hera's voice was devoid of emotion, her purple eyes reflecting the ruthlessness of a higher being. 'Since her heart belongs to the Underworld, let her sleep by the banks of the Styx."

The Ice and Snow Goddess Tienyi, a symbol of purity and coldness, had actually fallen in love with Hades! For him, she had stolen secrets from the Divine Mountain and even released the headless ice monster imprisoned in the far north, provoking Zeus's wrath, who then destroyed the goddess and stripped her of her divine essence.

As for Hades, based on Hera's understanding of her brother, he would disdain using such despicable means to seize control of the Divine Mountain.

But who could say for sure? Power had changed too many people…

'Alright, a fallen goddess; there's no need to discuss her. Now that you have it, winning this battle will be no problem."

'Mm." Hebe nodded. There was no need for further thanks between her and Hera; they were one and the same, sharing glory and suffering together.

The opportunity to grow stronger was right before her. Hebe had no intention of being coy; she immediately picked up the Ice and Snow Divine Essence and pressed it against her forehead.

The golden-haired young goddess was surrounded by divine light, and a faint green divine essence appeared on her forehead. The divine domains of youth, purification, healing, and wine glowed softly, and countless green photons swirled around, rushing toward the blue-glowing Ice and Snow Divine Essence.

The Ice and Snow Divine Essence shone brilliantly, and ice-blue photons flew out, resisting the invasion of the green photons. This was the test of the divine essence; if one could not pass, they would not qualify to be the inheritor of the divine essence.

With Ares and Hera present, Hebe had no worries about danger around her. She closed her eyes, quietly feeling the great power within the divine essence.

In the dark sea of meditation, countless green photons swirled; they were Hebe's own divine power, filled with vitality and life.

Amidst these countless photons, many ice-blue photons mixed in. Unlike the soft and warm green photons, the blue photons exuded a cold, sharp aura, like a ferocious beast. They leaped and dashed around, recklessly causing havoc in Hebe's sea of meditation, attacking the green photons.

'Impudent!"

The vast ocean of youthful and purifying divine power surged into the sea of meditation. The green photons shone brilliantly, like an unstoppable army, shattering and suppressing the blue photons.

More and more green photons poured in. They gathered in one place, merging into many enormous green orbs, each one hundreds of times larger than the blue photons.

The massive green orbs flew around, capturing the arrogant blue photons and devouring them. The once invincible blue photons began to flee under such a fierce onslaught, but this was Hebe's sea of meditation—where could they escape to?

After an unknown amount of time, the blue photons were completely consumed by the green orbs. The divine essence within Hebe's dantian emitted a burst of light, doubling in strength compared to before!

The newly formed divine essence was crystal clear, radiating a bluish-green glow. In addition to the domains of youth, purification, and healing, it now held a powerful new domain: ice and snow!

The divine power of ice and snow spread throughout the temple, freezing the ground into a thick layer of ice—first-tier divine power!

Integrating the Ice and Snow Divine Essence allowed Hebe to advance to the lower tier of first-tier divine power. This elevation not only granted her more immense divine strength but also brought subtle changes to her appearance.

Previously, under the influence of her youth domain, Hebe had maintained a somewhat youthful and innocent appearance. Now, having merged with the Ice and Snow Divine Essence and advanced to first-tier divine power, she seemed to have shed the shackles of youth. Her height increased significantly, and her figure became graceful and slender.

The childishness on her face faded away, as if a once unripe fruit had matured overnight. Hebe's beauty, more stunning than a purple iris, radiated brilliance, and her purple eyes glimmered with a hint of coldness, adding to their depth.

If the previous Hebe had given the impression of a budding flower—innocent and delicate—then the current Hebe was undoubtedly powerful, confident, and exuding a hint of cold decisiveness, like a strikingly beautiful rhododendron—gorgeous yet dangerous.

Ares watched Hebe's transformation with astonishment. He had previously thought his sister's features were exquisite, inheriting the best traits from their divine parents, but her youthful appearance had seemed out of place among the gods of Olympus. Now, however, without her childishness, Hebe was breathtaking.

He had every reason to believe that if the morally bankrupt male gods of Olympus saw this version of Hebe, they would rush at her like dogs drawn to a bone.

No! At this thought, Ares felt a sudden itch in his hands.

Hmm… it might be time to sharpen his axe.

'Congratulations, my sister. Now, that Artemis is no longer your opponent."

After all, the gap between gods of different ranks wasn't easily bridged. He didn't believe that a goddess with nothing to her name—who had to rely on her sister, the Night Goddess, to give birth on the island of Delos—could have anything good to offer Artemis.

Hera had not expected Hebe to so easily subdue this divine essence. While she felt pride and comfort in her daughter's success, she couldn't help but feel a sense of loss at the realization that her child had grown capable of standing on her own, soon to leave her protective wings.

'Very good, lower tier of first-tier divine power. However, merely ascending in divine power is not enough. Over the next month, you must thoroughly understand the laws within this divine essence; they will become your strongest combat power."

Merging with the divine essence did not mean fully mastering it; it only granted the divine being the right to touch upon these laws. Continued contemplation was necessary to comprehend the related divine techniques and become adept at them.

'I understand, Mother Goddess."

Hebe also felt the changes in her body, which filled her with joy. After being a fake loli for hundreds of years, she had finally shed the influence of her divine domain and gained a mature body.

Although this appearance might attract unwanted attention from the male gods in the future, Hebe was not one to be trifled with. If they dared to make any improper advances, she would make sure they tasted the chill of absolute zero!

'Alright, you two should head back. When your father returns, there are some scenes you might not want to witness," Hera said, gazing toward the mortal realm. Her piercing purple eyes penetrated the clouds and saw Zeus emerging from Lemnos Island, his expression dark as he prepared to return to the Divine Mountain.

'Mother Goddess, are you really alright?"

Even though Hebe knew Hera would be fine, she still felt uneasy. Over the years, Zeus had indeed shown his affection for Hera, but the fact remained that he continued to cheat on her despite the risks of her divine essence shattering.

With such a selfish god, Hebe couldn't be sure whether an enraged Zeus would do something to Hera, especially since this whole situation forcing him to bow down was orchestrated by Hera herself.

'Don't worry. No matter how angry he is, he can't do anything to me."

A look of disdain flashed across Hera's beautiful face, her eyes filled with sarcasm and pride. Perhaps she had been living as a pampered queen for too long, so long that everyone had forgotten that this goddess before them had once been a formidable war machine, cutting her way from the southern slopes of Olympus to the northern slopes during the Titan War, instilling fear in countless Titans.

If Zeus wanted to touch Hera, he would have to weigh whether he could gain anything from her. She was not like Metis, who merely provided wisdom and was ultimately swallowed.

…

Ares felt as if he were in a different time and space from his mother and sister. He understood every word they said, yet when put together, it left him utterly confused. The straightforward God of War found that he absolutely detested riddlers!

Since Hera had said so, Hebe and Ares decided not to linger any longer in the main temple and returned to their respective sanctuaries.

As for Zeus, when he returned to the Divine Mountain, aside from a storm of wind and thunder that raged for quite some time in the main temple, nothing particularly significant occurred. Meanwhile, Hephaestus, the God of Fire, was formally welcomed back to Olympus by Zeus, Hera, and the other gods of Olympus, becoming the newly appointed chief god.