Upon hearing this, Bing Di was taken aback at first, but then understood his plan.
She didn't object, after all, the stronger Jiang Zhen was, the better it would be for her.
With the Bing Di in charge in this core area of the far north, naturally no one dares to disturb his cultivation.
"Then you may find a place to cultivate on your own. If anything happens... well, since you're here, I can sense it."
After speaking, the Ice Empress moved and flew towards the Ice Palace at the core of the clan. She had just absorbed the energy of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm and needed time to digest it.
Jiang Zhen watched her leave, and then, on the edge of the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan's territory, he found a quiet corner where he was backed by a huge ice shard, where energy was relatively concentrated.
He sat down cross-legged, surrounded by howling yet pure, frigid winds.
He then took out a piece of Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Mystic Ice Marrow from his storage ring.
He slowly closed his eyes, circulated his cultivation technique to absorb the ice marrow, and the water soul core in his dantian trembled slightly, beginning to efficiently absorb and release this incomparably pure icy energy, transforming it into his own soul power.
The level 78 soul power surged through his meridians like a tidal wave, striving towards an even higher peak...
——
Two and a half months later.
On this day, in a vast, flat, snow-covered wilderness, two figures stood facing each other.
The cold wind whipped up snowflakes, swirling around them but unable to get any closer.
On one side was Jiang Zhen, whose posture was upright and whose aura was more profound and restrained than it had been two and a half months ago, like a calm and still deep pool, but at the bottom of the pool lay unimaginable energy.
During this period, he successfully broke through the bottleneck and his soul power officially entered the threshold of level 80. He only needs to obtain the eighth soul ring to become a true Soul Douluo!
On the other side is the Bing Di in her true form—the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion.
Its 1.5-meter-long, emerald-like body shimmered with a cold, noble luster on the snow, and its two huge, silvery-white claws opened and closed slightly, radiating a sharp, chilling aura that could cut through anything.
The five-segmented emerald green tail swayed gently, its silvery-white barbs locked onto Jiang Zhen, carrying a hint of eager fighting spirit.
"Hey, Ah-Zhen!"
Bing Di 's voice rang out directly through her mental energy, carrying her usual arrogance and belligerence, "You've gotten too confident after breaking through level 80? You dare to challenge me to a duel? Don't think I'll hold back!"
Jiang Zhen smiled slightly, and azure water vapor began to emanate from his body: "I was just about to ask Bing Di for guidance to familiarize myself with the new power."
He needed a battle to hone his surging soul power and to fully familiarize himself with the transformation brought about by absorbing the Heavenly Dream Soul Ring, as well as that heaven-defying Martial Soul True Body.
As a 400,000-year-old super soul beast, Bing Di is undoubtedly the best sparring partner.
"Hmph! Then let me show you the power of the Northern Heavenly King!"
Before the words were even finished, Bing Di made a move!
Her speed was astonishing. Her six long legs touched the snow, and her figure transformed into a streak of emerald lightning as she rushed forward. Her two huge front claws, carrying a chilling aura, crossed and slashed at Jiang Zhen. Wherever she passed, the air was frozen into tiny ice crystals!
Jiang Zhen remained calm and his eyes narrowed.
Demon Emperor's Left Arm Bone Soul Skill - Tidal Wave Shatter!
His left arm rippled with purple-gold waves like ocean tides as he seemingly casually swung it forward!
Rumble—!
In an instant, it was like a tsunami erupting!
Nine surging tides of energy suddenly appeared out of nowhere, one after another, layer upon layer, crushing towards the oncoming Bing Di with overwhelming force!
The waves were not pure water, but contained the heaviness and icy coldness of water to the extreme!
Bing Di 's forward momentum suddenly halted as she felt the immense power and continuous impact contained within the waves.
She let out a low hiss, and her two front claws burst forth with a dazzling emerald green light—the Bing Di 's Claws!
It ripped forward with a fierce thrust!
Snap! Snap!
She forcibly tore apart the first and second layers of tides, but the third and fourth layers followed closely behind!
The immense impact forced her to slow down and use her skills to deflect the continuous force.
On the icy wilderness, a series of energy explosions suddenly rang out, scattering ice fragments everywhere!
"Interesting! Looks like that fat worm really did give you a lot of food!"
Bing Di 's fighting spirit intensified, and she lashed out with her tail.
The Wrath of the Bing Di !
An extremely condensed emerald green beam of light, like a death ray, ignored the subsequent tidal impact, instantly traversed space, and shot towards Jiang Zhen!
Wherever the light passed, the ground froze, creating a deep icy chasm. The extreme cold within was enough to instantly freeze the soul power of a Soul Saint!
Jiang Zhen dared not be negligent, knowing full well the terror of the Bing Di 's scorpion tail venom.
He quickly flung out a drop of one-element heavy water, which transformed into a water curtain, radiating a powerful defensive and suction force.
The emerald green light slammed into the blue-black water curtain, producing a teeth-grinding "sizzling" sound.
"Not bad defense! Let's see how many hits you can withstand!"
Bing Di 's figure flickered, attacking again from another direction. His scorpion tail, like a venomous dragon emerging from its cave, thrust out several emerald light spikes in succession. At the same time, he spewed out a wide range of Bing Di 's breath, attempting to freeze Jiang Zhen's movements.
Jiang Zhen took a deep breath and finally used the power of his spirit ring.
Seventh Soul Skill - Martial Soul True Body!
boom!
A terrifying aura, far exceeding anything seen before, suddenly erupted from Jiang Zhen's body!
Behind him appeared an enormous, illusory avatar formed from the essence of water!
This Dharma body was created from his imagination, but he hadn't decided on the specific shape he wanted it to look like.
This Dharma body has a blurred face, yet it exudes a vast and powerful aura, like the ocean!
An increase of 800%!
At this moment, Jiang Zhen felt that his strength, speed, soul power recovery, and the power of all his soul skills had reached an unprecedented peak!
He even felt that in his current state, it might not be impossible for him to briefly contend with an ordinary Title Douluo!
"Water Dragon King Soul Bone Technique, Primordial Sea Realm"
The soul bone in his head lit up, and a huge blue sphere centered on him suddenly enveloped the two of them.
All the ice and snow inside the water sphere disappeared, transforming into a boundless sea.
This greatly diminished Bing Di 's home advantage.
"Well done!"
Bing Di felt the heart-pounding increase in power, but instead of being alarmed, she was overjoyed. Her body shone with a burst of emerald light, and she used even greater power, slamming down her huge pincers!
The battle that followed became even more intense and amazing!
Demon Whale Rift Fist!
Jiang Zhen's right arm was covered in purplish-black whale scales, his muscles bulging. He threw a punch, and a solid, miniature demonic whale phantom roared out, clashing head-on with Bing Di 's pincers, producing a deafening roar. The hidden force tried to penetrate Bing Di 's hard shell!
He then used the Vortex Annihilation Fist.
The rapidly spinning, purplish-black high-pressure water blade, like a deep-sea drill, collided and cut wildly with Bing Di 's other pincer, producing a piercing friction sound and splashing countless ice shards and water droplets!
He even experimented with the vengeful spirit tide, summoning a black tsunami carrying countless phantoms of vengeful spirits. The mental tearing sensation made Bing Di feel irritated and forced him to divert his attention to defend against it.
The Bing Di 's various powerful soul skills also emerged one after another, such as freezing, piercing, and poison mist, which fully demonstrated the terrifying strength of a 400,000-year-old soul beast.
Her pincers were incredibly powerful, her scorpion tail was lightning fast, and her Frozen Domain was constantly trying to counter Jiang Zhen's Water Domain.
Within the environment enclosed by the water sphere, the water surface was rippled by various powerful soul skills, and the sound of ice explosions was incessant.
The sparring session lasted for a full half hour.
Finally, with a violent collision of energy, the two stood apart.
The illusory image of Jiang Zhen's Martial Soul True Body slowly dissipated, his aura fluctuated slightly, but his eyes were bright, filled with the joy of controlling his own power.
He said, slightly out of breath, "Thank you for your guidance, Bing Di ."
Bing Di also suppressed her fierce aura, transforming back into human form. A slight blush from exercise graced her pretty face. She shook her hand and snorted.
"Hmph! You win!"
To have this kind of combat power at level 80 is truly a monster... The amplification from that million-year spirit ring's martial spirit true form is just too outrageous!
And those Deep Sea Demon Whale's skills are both tough and troublesome...
Although she didn't use all her trump cards, Jiang Zhen must have held back as well.
She could sense that Jiang Zhen's strength had truly reached a higher level than hers.
Her gaze towards Jiang Zhen became complicated.
Through this exhilarating sparring match, Jiang Zhen completely solidified his level 80 soul power and gained a deeper understanding of his various abilities.
"Let's take a break, and then we should head to the icy sea."
Jiang Zhen looked into the distance, his gaze seemingly piercing through the endless ice plains and reaching the vast and mysterious Arctic sea.
...