Time passed minute by minute.
When the Ice Empress noticed Li Xun slowly healing on his own, she immediately accelerated the infusion of energy. As the raging energy surged into his spine, completely softening it, the pain abruptly reached its peak.
Even Li Xun nearly couldn't endure it.
From clenching his teeth too tightly, traces of blood had appeared at the corners of his mouth, and low groans continuously escaped through his nostrils.
His body trembled slightly, with blood steadily seeping from his skin and gradually mixing with beads of sweat.
Crack, crack, crack—
As the Ice Empress continuously channeled energy into Li Xun's body, beginning to reshape his softened spine, brittle sounds emerged from where his bones connected to other areas.
"Now is the most critical moment. Hold on."
By this point, the Ice Empress's crystal-like exterior had dulled, and her words carried tones of exhaustion and unbearable pain.
This energy was essentially a part of her body, equivalent to her dismantling her own bones and fusing them into Li Xun's body. Although Soul Beasts naturally possessed some resistance to pain, the agony constantly assailed her nerves.
It itched—an itching that stirred restlessness throughout her entire being.
After an unknown length of time, the pain gradually subsided, and a tingling numbness spread from his spine.
Li Xun shifted his body slightly in discomfort, then felt as though something extra had appeared along his spine.
Using his spiritual power to look inward, he saw several distinct protrusions had formed on his spine.
At that moment, the Ice Empress withdrew her stinger.
After a full two hours of torment, she had reached her limit: "Skydream, I never thought a waste like you could latch onto such a figure."
"Hehe..." The Sky Dream Iceworm sounded somewhat embarrassed. "I helped him a great deal too..."
The Ice Empress wasn't wrong in saying he had latched onto Li Xun; after all, without Li Xun rescuing him from the Star Dou Great Forest, he would still be being devoured by those Soul Beasts.
But even so, he couldn't admit it outright in front of his beloved.
Just then, Li Xun had already grasped the knack for controlling the Soul Bone.
With a tearing sound, the skin along his spine split open, and eleven emerald-green, crystal-like bones extended from his back.
Initially sharp upon emergence, these bones gradually unfurled once outside his body, eventually taking on the form of scorpion limbs. However, the uppermost pair of pincers weren't as massive, appearing more refined and sharper compared to the Ice Empress's pincers.
Most peculiarly, a long tail similar to the Ice Empress's also appeared behind Li Xun.
This tail was about one and a half meters long, as thick as Li Xun's spine, and segmented into five sections like the Ice Empress's, each gleaming with a jade-crystal hue. The final segment bore a diamond-like stinger, silver-white and menacing.
But the changes brought by the Ice Empress went far beyond this.
Due to the emergence of the External Soul Bone, Li Xun's body was enhanced. Although the effect wasn't applied to other areas, all the bones in his body were greatly strengthened through the nourishment of this energy.
His muscles, fascia, blood vessels, skin, and more had also become considerably more resilient than before.
Under the influence of this series of changes, Li Xun's demeanor transformed. A noble and aloof aura emanated from him, lending him a touch of mystery.
Slowly opening his eyes, a flash of blue light shimmered forth, followed by a pair of sky-blue pupils coming into view.
Those present felt as if they were being scrutinized by those penetrating eyes, making them rather uncomfortable.
"Li Xun, how are you feeling?" Skydream Iceworm shifted slightly to hide behind Li Xun.
"I'm fine. Let's continue."
Moving his External Soul Bone slightly, Li Xun felt the enhancement it brought and revealed a faint smile.
"Alright, I'll proceed then. I've already extracted part of my origin energy earlier—delaying further could cause damage."
Ice Empress nodded, her body gradually becoming translucent.
Witnessing this, Snow Emperor couldn't help but feel concerned.
Having seen the earlier scene, she was no longer worried about the sacrifice failing and causing both Li Xun and Ice Empress to perish. Instead, she feared that Ice Empress might not be able to preserve her soul and consciousness.
"Leave it to me." Perhaps sensing Snow Emperor's worry, Skydream Iceworm left these words before leaping into Li Xun's Spiritual Sea of Consciousness.
By now, Ice Empress had dissolved her origin energy, transforming herself into wisps of icy mist that seeped into Li Xun's body.
At the same time, Skydream Iceworm released his seal, enveloping Ice Empress's soul with immense energy—energy originally reserved for enhancing the quality of the first Spirit Ring. Even used this way, it wouldn't consume much.
Perhaps due to the earlier pain, Li Xun's nerves remained numb, and he didn't feel the violent nature of the energy brought by Ice Empress.
Although his meridians were constantly being damaged and his body occasionally felt torn apart, it would quickly heal itself.
Li Xun was like a spectator, maintaining absolute calm as he observed the continuous transformation of his body.
His Second Spirit emerged autonomously. The sword, which originally emitted a faint chill, gradually became more restrained, and its crystal-like surface took on a grayish-white hue.
Ultimate Ice.
Li Xun nodded inwardly.
This was an innate attribute of Ice Empress. He assumed his External Soul Bone would exhibit similar traits, given its shared origin with her.
Two red Spirit Rings now circled around Li Xun, followed by a white Spirit Ring joining them. The colors shifted almost instantly—yellow, purple, black—and by the time Sword Douluo blinked, the ring had already turned red.
By now, Skydream Iceworm had stabilized Ice Empress's soul. Realizing something, she quickly channeled the sealed energy into the first Spirit Ring.
The age of the first Spirit Ring surged rapidly, soon matching the level of the third Spirit Ring.
Seeing this, Skydream Iceworm stopped and promptly resealed the remaining energy to avoid exceeding Li Xun's current physical limits.
Meanwhile, Li Xun's aura began to climb steadily, only stopping at level 93.
Advancing each level after becoming a Title Douluo was extremely difficult, but under the influence of Ice Empress's External Soul Bone and the nearly 400,000-year Soul Ring, he was forcibly elevated by two levels.
This left Sword Douluo, who had been standing guard, stunned.
He, Bone Douluo, Poison Douluo, and the others had all spent decades cultivating to reach their current levels.
Even before level 95, it took years of meticulous effort to advance a single level.
"Xiao Xun is not even nineteen yet!" Sword Douluo exclaimed with awe.
Living in the same era as such a genius could be a blessing, but also a misfortune.
Because he makes you realize just how ordinary you are.
Even the legendary prodigy Tang Hao of the continent—what of his feat of reaching Title Douluo in his thirties? Such accomplishments would gradually fade from memory.
"Fortunately... fortunately Xiao Xun descended upon the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School."
Sword Douluo dared not imagine the threat Li Xun would pose if he belonged to another faction.
From observing Li Xun's earlier exchange with Snow Emperor, he could tell that while Li Xun could not overcome Snow Emperor, neither could Snow Emperor gain the upper hand against Li Xun.
The same dynamic would apply to him as well.
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "QueenTL" on Patreon!"
Thanks!