Northern end of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Frozen Forest.
The cold wind howled. Endless snowflakes fell from the sky, turning the land into a vast white world.
Such an environment clearly exceeded the limit of most people. Only a very small number of Soul Masters with Ice attribute martial souls would come here when hunting soul beasts.
As the sun rose, warm sunlight passed through the snow-covered coniferous forest and shone onto the face of a blue-clothed youth, adding a touch of softness to his handsome features.
The blue-clothed youth looked about sixteen or seventeen years old. On his shoulder was a small bird slightly bigger than a sparrow. The bird had ice-crystal-like blue feathers. Under the sunlight, it shimmered with a clear and beautiful glow.
If someone who understood Pokémon appeared here, they would be extremely shocked upon seeing the small bird on the boy's shoulder. Except for being smaller in size, it looked exactly like Articuno from Pokémon!
After an unknown amount of time, a wave of soul power fluctuation came from the blue-clothed youth. Then it seemed as if he had broken through a certain bottleneck, and everything returned to calm.
The next moment, Shui Wuhen finally opened his eyes and sighed slightly. "It has been sixteen years since I transmigrated to this world. I finally broke through to Soul Emperor today."
Yes, Shui Wuhen was not originally from this world. He came from another planet similar to Earth. Sixteen years ago, he transmigrated to this world called Douluo Continent.
When he first arrived in this world, Shui Wuhen was excited.
Because he learned that this world was extraordinary. There were all kinds of powerful soul beasts, and everyone could awaken a martial soul and become a powerful Soul Master.
However, after learning more, his heart sank.
Because Shui Wuhen discovered that not everyone was qualified to become a Soul Master. Your martial soul had to be strong enough. You also needed innate soul power!
So how many people in this world possessed innate soul power and had a martial soul strong enough to cultivate to the Soul Master level?
Less than one percent!
More than ninety-nine percent of people would never become true Soul Masters in their lifetime. They would remain ordinary people.
And for ordinary people living in a world filled with soul beasts and a society similar to the medieval era, their living conditions could be imagined.
Fortunately, perhaps because he was a transmigrator, Shui Wuhen's martial soul mutated. He awakened a martial soul called Articuno, which gave him the qualification to stand at the peak of the world.
"Woo~"
Seeing Shui Wuhen wake up, Articuno immediately rubbed her head affectionately against the blue-clothed youth.
Smiling, Shui Wuhen gently patted Articuno's head. "Thank you for protecting me, Articuno."
"Woo~~"
Articuno narrowed her eyes, looking very comfortable.
Since awakening his martial soul, Shui Wuhen discovered that his Articuno was special. Unlike other people's martial souls, which were like lifeless objects to be commanded, she had her own intelligence.
The benefit of this was that Articuno herself was a battle unit. If Shui Wuhen wished, they could achieve a two-against-one effect in battle.
However, Shui Wuhen had experienced modern society. After creating several self-created soul skills, there were already very few people who could force him to fight like that.
After a moment, Shui Wuhen lowered his hand and stood up. Beneath his feet, the corpse of a massive ice bird slowly appeared.
Although the ice bird was dead, the pressure it emitted still showed how powerful it had been when alive.
"As expected of a fifty-thousand-year Extreme Cold Ice Bird. Not only did it let my level directly break through to Level 62, but it also gave me the powerful soul skill Blizzard."
Feeling the surging power inside his body and the information coming from his soul ring, Shui Wuhen nodded slightly, very satisfied.
This single level of cultivation saved him nearly half a year of hard training. And Blizzard greatly increased his strength.
Under normal circumstances, a Soul Master at the sixth soul ring could not absorb a fifty-thousand-year soul ring. Generally, at this stage, most Soul Masters absorbed soul rings between fifteen thousand and twenty thousand years.
A man named Yu Xiaogang once directly stated in his theory of the Ten Core Competitiveness of Martial Souls that the upper limit for a Soul Emperor absorbing a soul ring was twenty thousand years.
But Shui Wuhen found that he was an exception.
At his first soul ring, he was already able to absorb a thousand-year soul ring. After that, each time he absorbed a soul ring, its age exceeded the limits recognized by ordinary Soul Masters.
Because of this, almost every time he needed to attach a soul ring, he went out alone to hunt.
Just like this time. This fifty-thousand-year Extreme Cold Ice Bird was hunted jointly by him and Articuno. It took quite a bit of effort.
As for the soul ring issue, Shui Wuhen discovered that with Articuno's help, he could freely adjust the color of his soul rings, as if the world's limitations did not exist for him.
He was actually very happy about this. After all, if his soul ring configuration were exposed, it would be too shocking. It might bring unnecessary trouble.
"Woo~~"
After Shui Wuhen stood up, Articuno flapped her wings and flew from his shoulder. Her body suddenly enlarged, transforming into a giant bird seven or eight meters long in front of him.
Step~
Shui Wuhen lightly jumped onto Articuno's back. Pointing in a certain direction, he said, "Articuno, let's go!"
"Woo~~"
Hearing this, Articuno immediately spread her wings and leisurely flew toward Tianshui Academy.
Wherever she passed, traces of cold air condensed into frost and fell like snowflakes. Under the sunlight, they refracted into seven-colored light, forming a beautiful picture.
In the air, atop Articuno's body, Shui Wuhen sat cross-legged and began meditating, circulating his soul power to cultivate.
The Frozen Forest was far from their destination. It would not be reached in a short time. Shui Wuhen would not waste this time.
As for safety, Articuno's combat power was even above his. It was enough to guarantee it.
Moreover, although he was meditating, he was not unaware of his surroundings.
If they truly encountered danger, he could react immediately and engage in battle.
"Woo~~"
After flying for a day and a night, Articuno turned her head and cried toward the meditating Shui Wuhen, as if reminding him that they were about to arrive.
Hearing this, Shui Wuhen immediately stopped meditating, opened his eyes, and slowly stood up.
Whoosh~
With his hands behind his back, his ice-blue long robe fluttered loudly in the strong wind as he looked down at a city not far below.
The city was located beside a surging river. The buildings were tall and magnificent. Above the city gate, several large characters were boldly written—
Tianshui City!