In a certain unknown sea region.
Dense clusters of silver dorsal fins shuttled back and forth across the surface of this sea area. They were none other than Demon Spirit Great White Sharks. Looking out, there were at least five hundred of them, and every single Demon Spirit Great White Shark was at least at the thousand-year level.
With the ferocity of Demon Spirit Great White Sharks, a thousand-year cultivation was enough to rival most ten-thousand-year sea soul beasts. Even an ordinary hundred-thousand-year sea soul beast would likely be unwilling to face such a terrifying group of Demon Spirit Great White Sharks.
What was most shocking was that the leader, the body of the Demon Spirit Great White Shark King, exceeded forty meters in length. Such an enormous size was almost comparable to some devil whale soul beasts.
Its massive body did not affect its agility in the slightest; its speed was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, it had circled the sea area once, its swimming trajectory forming a perfect square.
During its movement, intense blue light flickered across its entire body, yet it was still unable to break through this seemingly calm sea region. Moreover, this sea area had even blocked the subtle spiritual connection between it and its daughter.
As time passed, the Demon Spirit Great White Shark King grew increasingly anxious. It was not just for the sake of finding its daughter; the most important thing was to complete the command given by that lord.
Yet, not long after it had led its clan away from their territory, they had become trapped in this sea area.
Uncertainty filled its heart.
It was a super soul beast that had broken through two hundred thousand years of cultivation. Although there were sea soul beasts in the deep ocean stronger than it, none could achieve something like this.
Unless...
Suddenly, a golden gleam flashed in the silver eyes of the Demon Spirit Great White Shark King. A majestic yet faintly sinister voice echoed in its spiritual sea.
Afterward, the emotions in its eyes abruptly calmed. It ordered its clan members to pull back and stop attempting to break through the sea area.
In the void, two illusory figures, one gold and one silver, stood side by side.
The silver figure chuckled lightly. "Sea God Tang San really couldn't hold back and wants to make a move against this little fellow. This way, we shouldn't be considered violating the rules, right?"
"It is Tang San who is violating the rules." The golden figure's voice was calm, without the slightest fluctuation.
"Even as a God King, he has no right to attack the inheritor I have chosen. The Douluo Plane is not his Tang family's private garden."
The silver figure was long accustomed to the golden figure's reaction. Although he personally did not harbor such a strong dislike for Tang San, he also had no particular fondness for him.
As a God King, Tang San bending the rules for personal gain was not the first time. Without his assistance, the original Shrek Seven Devils would never have all ascended to the God Realm.
As if something came to mind, a hint of playfulness entered the silver figure's voice.
"Tang San always pretends to be impartial and upright. To be honest, I really want to see how wonderful his expression is right now."
"However, with his personality, he probably won't let this go. I wonder what method he will use to interfere next time."
"Speaking of which, the Douluo Plane does have some peculiar aspects. Back then, the God of Thunder and the God of Love, two first-class gods, both perished on the Douluo Continent. The Angel God and the Rakshasa God from ten thousand years ago on the Douluo Plane were the same. You said that the number of first-class gods in the future God Realm won't decrease because our god positions are merging, could it be related to these four main gods?"
The golden figure continued to gaze at the Douluo Plane beyond the void without responding, but the silver figure already had the answer in his heart.
…
Jingyang Mountain Range.
Huo Yuhao, who was sitting cross-legged absorbing the thousand-year Silver Wolf soul ring, had a deathly pale face. His body trembled violently, emitting cracking sounds like bones fracturing. His entire body was shrouded in a six-colored halo.
During the process of absorbing the soul ring, the first impact on his body was not the spiritual power within the thousand-year Silver Wolf soul ring, but the power of its attributes.
Water, fire, earth, wind, light, and darkness, six attributes each with their own abilities, erupted fully within Huo Yuhao's body at the same time. He felt as though his body was about to be torn apart by this terrifying force.
The only thing Huo Yuhao had worth praising now was his tenacious willpower. But some things could not be accomplished through willpower alone.
"Pff—"
A mouthful of blood sprayed from Huo Yuhao's mouth, and his body trembled even more violently.
"Not good! The soul ring's power is backlashing!" Beibei's expression changed drastically.
"It seems we all underestimated how domineering the power of this thousand-year Silver Wolf soul ring is."
Although soul rings placed more emphasis on years, quality was equally important. As the undisputed top-tier soul beast, the Silver Wolf's soul ring was not so easy to absorb.
Especially since Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes martial soul itself provided little enhancement to physical constitution, and he had lacked resources since childhood to build a solid foundation and improve his physique, absorbing such a soul ring was indeed too forced.
"Beibei, what do we do?!" Tang Ya asked anxiously, her beautiful eyes filled with deep concern.
Her naturally kind nature made her concern for Huo Yuhao completely sincere.
"We can't let Yuhao continue like this."
After a moment of contemplation, Beibei decisively acted to interrupt Huo Yuhao's absorption of the soul ring. If it continued, Huo Yuhao would only end up exploding and dying. Interrupting it still left a chance for survival.
Times were changing, and the soul master cultivation system had become increasingly perfected. Ten thousand years ago, forcibly interrupting soul ring absorption would cause severe damage to the martial soul's origin, even if it didn't kill the absorber, making future cultivation impossible. But now it was different.
Shrek Academy had nearly ten thousand years of research in this area; preserving Huo Yuhao should not be a problem. However, if Huo Yuhao wanted to absorb a third soul ring in the future, he would still need to hunt another Silver Wolf soul beast.
Because part of that thousand-year Silver Wolf's soul ring power had already fused with his martial soul. Only absorbing a soul ring from the same root and source would avoid conflict.
And given Huo Yuhao's physical constitution, he would most likely only be able to choose a hundred-year Silver Wolf as his third soul ring.
…
The eastern periphery of the Extreme North.
A piercing, bone-chilling cold wind howled past. Yet in this world of ice and snow, a golden-red figure streaked across the horizon, appearing particularly striking.
It was Ma Xiaotao, who had left the sea region of the Extreme North.
Taking advantage of the time away from the sea, Xu Zihuang had fully informed Ma Xiaotao about Elder Mu's passing.
Thus, before even setting foot on the land of the Extreme North's peripheral area, Ma Xiaotao had released her Phoenix wings and rushed toward Shrek Academy at full speed.
Although Ma Xiaotao did not treat Elder Mu as family like the inner court's eldest senior sister Zhang Lexuan did, as Yan Shaozhe's direct disciple, and thus Elder Mu's direct disciple's disciple, her feelings for Elder Mu were equally deep.
With her naturally impatient personality, this led to the current scene.
Xu Zihuang withdrew his gaze from Ma Xiaotao and walked unhurriedly southward toward Qianling City.
With Ma Xiaotao's Soul Sage-level cultivation, no soul beast in the Extreme North's peripheral area could threaten her.
He, meanwhile, fell into thought.
Bai Xiuxiu's identity was special; she was the princess of the Demon Spirit Great White Shark clan. That clan had an extremely close relationship with the Sea God. Bai Xiuxiu's appearance in this sea area made Xu Zihuang unable to avoid overthinking it.
He should say that he had long anticipated a day like this would come. That impartial God King was no saint; he was capable of anything.
He might not act openly against him, but pulling small tricks in the dark was all too easy.
So, to be safe, Xu Zihuang temporarily had no plans to venture deeper into the sea from Qianling City. In any case, after consecutively encountering that Giant Devil Whale and the Golden Flame Bird flock, he already had a profound understanding of the power of his newly acquired hundred-thousand-year soul skills. Next, he could naturally master them to perfection.
As for the other soul skill from the hundred-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler's head soul bone, it required rather harsh conditions to test its power. There was no rush.
The thousand-year Purple Marten fur coat was not thick; it could even be called thin. Yet, wrapping Xu Zihuang's body, it provided excellent warmth. Purple martens were a rare variant of snow martens, but whether purple or snow martens, they were powerful soul beasts living in the Extreme North. A thousand-year purple marten fur coat, worth a fortune, having this effect was only natural.
Returning to his old home in the Extreme North, the most excited was undoubtedly the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm. In Xu Zihuang's spiritual sea, it twisted its plump, white, tender body wildly, its golden little eyes blinking rapidly.
In his spiritual sea, Xu Zihuang asked the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, "Heavenly Dream, where is the habitat of your ice silkworm clan? If you want to go back and take a look, I can take you there."
Xu Zihuang's trust and closeness moved the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm deeply, but it still shook its round head and laughed carelessly with a hearty chuckle.
"No need, Zihuang. Bro is just feeling a bit sentimental and excited. Ever since I left the clan at thirteen, a million years have passed. The ice silkworm clan in that region has long had nothing to do with me."
Ice silkworms were merely the lowest-level soul beasts in the Extreme North, often becoming food for other powerful soul beasts. Very few successfully cultivated to the thousand-year level. After a million years, things had indeed changed beyond recognition.
"But Bro remembers that there are some special heavenly materials and earthly treasures in the Extreme North. If any happen to appear within your spiritual force detection range, you absolutely must not miss them." As it spoke, the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm transmitted images of several peculiar plants to Xu Zihuang.
"Zihuang, although these heavenly materials and earthly treasures cannot increase your cultivation, each has its own specific effects."
These peculiar plants were mainly ice-blue and snow-white in color. Some things even Xu Zihuang had never heard of. If their effects were as the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm described, they indeed deserved the name of heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
However, encountering them by chance was not a high-probability event.
During his conversation with the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, the sky gradually brightened. Summers in the north had long days and short nights; in the core area of the Extreme North, polar day even occurred.
Though this was only the peripheral area of the Extreme North, the nights were still shorter than in Qianling City.
The cold wind brushed against Xu Zihuang's cheeks, his long black hair fluttering upward. The force in the cold wind was perfectly neutralized by his soul power, making it feel no different from a gentle breeze.
Snowflakes continued to fall steadily. After walking for about a quarter of an hour, Xu Zihuang's steps suddenly paused as he turned to look southeast.
From that direction, he sensed two familiar auras. However, because the distance was quite far, his extended spiritual force could not detect visuals, only roughly sense several life fluctuations there.
They were human soul masters, with varying cultivation levels.
In addition, there was an extremely intense and violent aura fluctuation, clearly a soul beast, and at least one with over ten thousand years of cultivation. A soul beast of this level appearing in the Extreme North's peripheral area was quite rare.
With a thought, Xu Zihuang changed direction and approached. At his speed, it did not take long before five figures appeared in his sight.
Standing at the front were a stern young man and a cold, aloof woman. The stern young man held a bright silver spear, with two yellow, three purple, and one black soul ring revolving around him; he was actually a Soul Emperor.
Beside him, the cold woman had only five soul rings, but her soul ring configuration was superior: the optimal two yellow, two purple, one black. As dense blue soul power surged, an ice-blue giant bear blocked in front of her.
The two were precisely Shen Ce and An Lengye, whom Xu Zihuang had previously seen at the Qianling City Lord's mansion.
Behind Shen Ce and An Lengye were five young boys and girls of varying ages, each having released their martial souls. Their cultivations ranged between a two-ring Great Soul Master and a three-ring Soul Elder.
The standardized white fur coats they wore were embroidered with the large characters "Qianling." This was the emblem of Qianling Advanced Soul Master Academy.
The source of the tension for Shen Ce and An Lengye was the extraordinarily robust Extreme North Icefield Bear not far from them.
Ice bears were undoubtedly at the top of the food chain in the Extreme North. Despite their large size, their burst speed rivaled that of the agility-attack system soul beasts.
The ice bear before them, standing upright, was likely seven to eight meters tall, with an incredibly sturdy body covered in thick snow-white fur, a genuine ten-thousand-year soul beast.
At this moment, the ten-thousand-year ice bear had already launched its attack on Shen Ce and the others. It raised its head and roared furiously, the sound shaking the surroundings.
The snowflakes falling from the sky rapidly turned into a blizzard, enveloping the space within several hundred meters. Everyone's vision became unclear.
Ice Bear Blizzard, an innate soul skill of the ice bear clan, and a domain-type soul skill at that.
The first three soul rings around Shen Ce flashed in succession. Sharp silver light gleamed on his Thousand Strike Spear as he shouted grimly.
"Lengye, protect the students well."
They had gone to the city lord's mansion the night before last to bid farewell to An Lengye's grandfather. They never expected that, only one day after bringing students who needed soul rings to advance into the Extreme North's peripheral area, they would encounter this ten-thousand-year ice bear.
The younger students had barely managed to stay calm earlier, but as soon as the blizzard started, they began to panic. If not for Shen Ce and An Lengye, their academy teachers being present, they might have collapsed on the spot.
The psychological pressure of potentially facing an attack from a ten-thousand-year ice bear at any moment was not something these young students could withstand.
An Lengye's expression was equally grave. Without saying much, she simply controlled her martial soul, the Frost Bear, to shield herself and the group of students behind her.
An ice-blue halo bloomed on the Frost Bear's body, forming a small area of pure land unaffected by the ice bear's blizzard.
On the other side, the instant the ice bear's blizzard activated, Shen Ce had thrown his Thousand Strike Spear toward the ten-thousand-year ice bear. Silver light streaked through the air, emitting a piercing, breaking sound.
However, this ten-thousand-year ice bear was exceptionally cunning; it directly twisted its head and turned its body, refusing to clash head-on with Shen Ce. Its intention was clear: to pull away and use the blizzard to wear them down to death.
Because An Lengye had to protect the students, it was difficult for her to support Shen Ce. Shen Ce also did not dare to rashly pursue, as he was inferior in speed to the ten-thousand-year ice bear. If the ice bear turned back to attack An Lengye and the students, the losses would outweigh the gains.
His deep black soul ring lit up, and a wisp of golden flame danced at the tip of his Thousand Strike Spear.
In helplessness, he prepared to expend a large amount of soul power to use a locking soul skill to temporarily force the ten-thousand-year ice bear back. This was the only way to seize a sliver of chance for survival.
But soon, he discovered in horror that within this blizzard, he could not lock onto the target.
This was bad!
Just as his heart sank to the bottom, a streak of purple lightning flashed through the blizzard, followed immediately by a mournful wail.
The blizzard abruptly stopped, and everything around returned to normal. But the ten-thousand-year ice bear had already collapsed powerlessly to the ground. A deep purple short blade was deeply embedded in the nape of its neck from behind, with lightning leaping across it.
A young man wearing a purple marten fur coat gripped the short blade in reverse with his right hand and stepped on the ten-thousand-year ice bear's head. The young man's flawless features and noble, arrogant temperament were enough to make countless people feel inferior. But what shocked everyone present even more was the young man's terrifying strength.
"Yu Tianhuang?"
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