The Ice Bear is naturally a soul beast focused primarily on strength, following a similar path to the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. Although it lacks the perverse Dark Gold Terrorclaws of the latter, it possesses extremely strong control over the ice element.
With both offense and defense integrated, its close-combat abilities are exceptionally powerful. It also has the domain-type control talent skill Ice Bear Blizzard, as well as the long-range attack skill Ice Meteor, leaving it with virtually no shortcomings.
At the same cultivation level, the Ice Bear's frontal assault capability might not match the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, but its endurance in prolonged combat surpasses it.
This was why the previous ten-thousand-year Ice Bear cunningly chose not to clash head-on with Shen Ce and the others. In terms of stamina, in the extreme northern lands, few soul beast races could rival the Ice Bear clan.
However, having no shortcomings does not mean they have no weaknesses.
After infusing its fur with intense soul power, every strand of the ten-thousand-year Ice Bear's fur became as hard as sharp needles. Yet, a small area at the back of its neck had relatively weaker defense, this was the connection to its central nervous system.
Xu Zihuang relied on the innate ability of his Golden Eyes martial soul to pinpoint the spot and used the327 the short blade Whale Tooth to kill it in one strike.
Over the years, as his cultivation and spiritual realm improved, even though he had not yet added soul rings to his second martial soul, the Purple Imperial Thunder Prison Dragon, his control over the attributes of destruction and ultimate lightning had become far more refined and subtle.
He had just infused the short blade Whale Tooth with the power of ultimate lightning, no longer worrying that its terrifying, destructive force would damage the core array inside the blade.
The ultimate lightning passed through the blade of Whale Tooth and directly destroyed the ten-thousand-year Ice Bear's nerves from within.
These were combat methods unique to Xu Zihuang, impossible for others to replicate. After all, no one else possessed the innate abilities of his Golden Eyes martial soul or the ultimate lightning attribute of his Purple Imperial Thunder Prison Dragon.
With the ten-thousand-year Ice Bear's body no longer protected by soul power, Xu Zihuang easily severed its two massive forepaws and stored them in his storage soul tool.
For him now, the paws of a ten-thousand-year Ice Bear had excellent nourishing effects.
Warm blood surged from the cuts, instantly freezing with a crisp, light trembling sound.
Shen Ce and An Lengye only then snapped out of their daze, just in time to see Yu Tianhuang nod slightly to the two of them before leaving the area.
Halfway gone, Xu Zihuang seemed to recall something, turned back, and reminded them: "Recently, the area near the eastern sea of the extreme northern lands might not be very safe. It's best not to linger here."
If his guess was correct, the appearance of that ten-thousand-year Ice Bear in this region might be related to the Giant Demon Whale that had fallen by his hand.
The extreme northern lands were too barren. The nearest source of abundant food was the ocean.
But the sea adjacent to the eastern part of the extreme northern lands had been the territory of the Giant Demon Whale. Now that it was dead, the soul beasts of the extreme northern lands would no longer have any reservations and would likely gather here in succession.
"Thank you for your assistance." Shen Ce's stern face softened considerably, a hint of undisguisable bitterness flashing deep in his eyes. Yet within that bitterness was also sincerity and a sense of relief.
Earlier, he had still harbored some thoughts.
But after witnessing Yu Tianhuang's astonishing strength firsthand, he completely recognized his own limits.
A person's strength has its limits; there are things beyond one's power.
There was no need for him to be bound by that past crushing defeat. With his talent, he did not qualify to chase Yu Tianhuang's footsteps, but this was the truest version of himself.
Xu Zihuang offered no further response; his figure gradually vanished into the wind and snow.
By now, An Lengye had brought the five students from Qianling Advanced Soul Master Academy to Shen Ce's side. She remained as taciturn as ever, simply taking the initiative to tightly grasp one of Shen Ce's hands. Their eyes met, and both understood each other's intentions.
For the rest of their lives, they would continue to support one another, striving toward the goal of becoming Titled Douluo.
Among the five students from Qianling Advanced Soul Master Academy, three boys and two girls, their eyes were filled with admiration as they watched Xu Zihuang's retreat. Any soul master dreamed of becoming powerful in the future, especially these youthful, spirited young students.
"Teacher Shen, do you know that big brother from earlier? Judging by age, he can't be much older than us. Yet he killed a powerful ten-thousand-year Ice Bear in a single strike!" A stout-looking boy clenched his fists, unable to contain his excitement.
At these words, the gazes of the other students also fell upon Shen Ce, filled with eager anticipation.
Shen Ce exchanged a glance with An Lengye beside him; the bitterness in his eyes faded, replaced by calm.
"He is from Shrek Academy. Back then, we were defeated by his hand. But I hope that in the future, when you have the chance to represent the academy and face Shrek Academy in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Competition, you will perform better than we did."
...
Several hours later, Xu Zihuang left the extreme northern lands. Along the way, he encountered other soul beasts, but none posed any trouble. Most sensed his aura and avoided him from afar.
The few aggressive ones he did encounter were easily dispatched.
After reflection during this time, he decided to stick to his original plan of training at sea, but changed the departure point from Qianling City in the northeast of the Dou Ling Empire to Donghai City in the east.
Brilliant deep purple flames erupted from the tail of his level-six flight soul tool on his back, propelling his body into the sky.
In his hand, he held an old parchment map, the sea chart given to him by Lang Ya of the Body Sect, detailing the experiences of Body Sect ancestors encountering powerful sea soul beasts, with some territories roughly marked.
The Demon Soul Great White Shark clan was prominently listed. From the marked location, a powerful group of Demon Soul Great White Sharks existed deep in the northeastern sea of the Dou Ling Empire, but their habitat was quite a distance from the northern ice sea.
Demon Soul Great White Sharks generally disliked cold environments. However, Bai Xiuxiu's variation into ice attributes made her appearance in that area reasonable.
Xu Zihuang chose to set out from Donghai City, over a thousand kilometers from Qianling City, precisely to avoid that Demon Soul Great White Shark group. Moreover, he had no plans to venture deep into the sea in the short term, intending to travel south along the coastline before heading to Moon Pivot Island.
Coastal areas also frequently saw powerful sea soul beasts, which would similarly provide training and help him quickly familiarize himself with the first three soul skills enhanced by higher soul ring years.
But soon, Xu Zihuang's gaze froze on the map's deep southern sea of the Star Luo Empire, where a region was marked in vivid red but without detailed notes.
This sea area was directly east of the Yue Nan Islands. The easternmost Yue Heng Island was even less than two hundred kilometers from it.
This sea area overlapped partially with the habitat of the ninety-thousand-year-old Deep Sea Demon Whale. Of course, Ning Tian had only described it verbally, so the exact location might not be precise.
After a moment of thought, Xu Zihuang's furrowed brow relaxed, and he flew at full speed toward Donghai City.
With his flight speed, he reached the seas near Donghai City in less than half a day. He did not enter the city or alert anyone, bypassing the massive main city from the side and entering the sea.
The sturdy white sails billowed with the sea wind, propelling the Demon Whale forward southward. Three days passed in this manner.
As dusk approached, the sunset dyed the entire sea golden red.
Xu Zihuang had long changed into thin, form-fitting black clothes, sitting cross-legged in the center of the Demon Whale, occasionally adjusting the sail's angle to change direction. Unlike the area near Qianling City in the extreme north, the temperature here near Donghai City was much higher.
The warmer temperature caused the lazy Tian Meng to lose energy and fall into slumber.
Before Xu Zihuang was a large pot, heated by a warming soul tool base at the bottom, from which rich meat aroma wafted through the gaps in the lid.
Inside, naturally, were the paws of the ten-thousand-year Ice Bear being stewed. The two paws together weighed over a hundred jin of fine meat, tender, flavorful, fatty but not greasy, satisfying his appetite greatly along the journey.
Lifting the lid, chunks cut from the paws had been stewed until soft and glutinous, with some fat melting into the clear broth. Such top-tier ingredients tasted exquisite even with simple salt seasoning.
Seeing the timing was right, Xu Zihuang enjoyed his dinner while admiring the gorgeous fading sunset.
The bright moon rises with the tide at sea; the vast starry sky reflects clear brilliance.
After dinner, Xu Zihuang lay flat on the Demon Whale, gazing at the myriad stars, his heart growing tranquil.
His tumultuous experiences had shaped who he was now. Undeniably, in the five years since entering Shrek Academy at age eleven, he had been somewhat influenced by his surroundings.
But one thing was certain: his convictions had never wavered in the slightest.
With a thought, a right arm bone radiating dense soul power fluctuations appeared in his right hand, the one dropped by the leading Golden Flame Bird after its death.
This entirely golden right arm bone was textured and substantial, its dazzling golden light carrying a scorching aura. Inside, golden flames seemed to condense and leap, extraordinarily divine.
"The ability of Solar Fire, huh." Xu Zihuang murmured. He examined it closely once more, basically confirming his suspicion.
In attributes, this soul bone perfectly matched Ye Guyi's Holy Angel martial soul. Though the Holy Angel's primary attribute was holy, it could be subdivided into light and fire at its core. Many of her abilities were manifested through these two attributes.
Light and fire were inherently complementary. Fusing this soul bone might even allow insight into the true essence of light and fire. The only flaw was its low age, only sixty-five thousand years.
At that moment, Xu Zihuang sensed a disturbance in his spiritual sea. He quickly stored the soul bone, immersed his consciousness within, and his figure manifested above the spiritual sea.
A silver orb of light rose from the surface of the spiritual sea, and the churning golden ocean calmed. The silver orb burst with dazzling light, then shattered as a spirited white whale emerged, joyfully swimming around Xu Zihuang, emitting pleasant, ethereal whale songs.
"Whing ya——"
It occasionally nudged Xu Zihuang's body with its chubby forehead in affectionate gestures. Each touch caused the hexagonal silver scales on its forehead to flicker.
The changes in Xu Zihuang's spiritual sea naturally alerted Tian Meng. Its massive body, over a hundred meters long, reared up as it grumbled jealously.
"You little thing was able to nurture back your incomplete spiritual consciousness, and my spiritual origin played no small part in that. Yet you show no gratitude at all."
Xu Zihuang landed on Tian Meng's head, the little white whale still circling him, completely ignoring the silkworm. However, its voice clearly carried increased urgency.
"Tian Meng, what is it saying?" Xu Zihuang asked Tian Meng in confusion.
Back then, although the Silver Scaled White Whale had used a special method to preserve part of its spiritual consciousness while voluntarily becoming its first soul ring, it could not achieve telepathic communication. The same was true for Tian Meng, unless one day all its spiritual origin and core power fully fused with him.
As fellow soul beasts, Tian Meng naturally understood the Silver Scaled White Whale's words.
It paused in surprise. "This little thing has considerable intelligence. And I can sense that only a small portion of its spiritual consciousness has recovered. It's talking about the soul spirit fusion method that old man Electrolux taught you. It wants to sign that contract with you."
At this, the Silver Scaled White Whale finally spared Tian Meng a glance, nodding repeatedly and pressing its forehead against Xu Zihuang's brow.
"Whing ya whing ya——"
Seeing the urgency and longing in the Silver Scaled White Whale's eyes, Xu Zihuang no longer hesitated. With a clear understanding, he recited the contract incantation taught by Electrolux.
The Silver Scaled White Whale before him was the perfect test subject for the soul spirit fusion method.
His eyes gradually turned golden, not the brilliant gold when using his Golden Eyes martial soul, but a platinum gold filled with a holy aura. He raised his right hand, tracing runes in the air that floated toward the Silver Scaled White Whale.
He had practiced the contract incantation taught by Electrolux countless times. With the support of his Tangible-Intangible spiritual realm, every detail was flawless.
The Silver Scaled White Whale separated from Xu Zihuang, hovering quietly. Each rune that landed on it made its body more substantial. Gentle spiritual power enveloped it, and its aura underwent subtle, wondrous changes bit by bit.
Under the contract's effect, its life origin imprint awakened, continuously absorbing the pure life force from Xu Zihuang's spiritual sea.
Washed by this pure life force, the Silver Scaled White Whale's illusory form rapidly solidified at an astonishing rate. Around its forehead's silver scales appeared a golden mark, the pattern from around Xu Zihuang's Golden Eyes pupil. That was his contract.
The entire process was completed in a few breaths, incredibly smooth.
But upon completion, the Silver Scaled White Whale dove into Xu Zihuang's second sea of consciousness, falling asleep wrapped in the dense life force of the Gold of Living Beings.
"This little thing sure knows how to pick a spot." Tian Meng couldn't help but complain, though its eyes grew increasingly fervent.
The wondrous changes in the Silver Scaled White Whale undoubtedly proved that Electrolux's soul spirit fusion method was viable. Fusing with Xu Zihuang while retaining a physical body wasn't equivalent to surviving in another form?
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