The northern end of the Tiandou Empire.
Frozen forest.
The cold wind howled, and endless snowflakes fell from the sky, turning the earth into a vast expanse of white.
Such an environment clearly exceeds the tolerance limit of most people, and only a very few Soul Masters with ice-attribute Martial Souls would come here when hunting Soul Beasts.
As the sun rose, its warm rays shone through the snow-covered coniferous forest onto the face of a boy in blue, softening his handsome features.
The boy in blue looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. He had a small bird, slightly larger than a sparrow, on his shoulder. The bird had blue feathers that looked like ice crystals, and it shimmered in the sunlight, making it very beautiful.
If someone knowledgeable about Pokémon were here, they would be very surprised to see the little bird on the blue-shirted boy's shoulder, because apart from being a bit smaller, it looks exactly like Articuno from Pokémon!
After an unknown amount of time, a surge of soul power emanated from the blue-clad youth, who then seemed to have broken through a bottleneck and calmed down.
The next moment, Shui Wuhen finally opened his eyes and said with some emotion, "I have been in this world for sixteen years and have finally broken through to the Soul Emperor level today."
Yes, Shui Wuhen was not originally from this world, but came from another blue planet similar to Earth. Sixteen years ago, he traveled to this world called Douluo Continent.
When Shui Wuhen first transmigrated to this world, he was excited.
Because he learned that this world was actually an extraordinary world, not only with all kinds of extraordinary soul beasts, but also with everyone being able to awaken their martial soul and become a powerful soul master.
However, after learning more about it, Shui Wuhen's heart sank.
Because Shui Wuhen discovered that not everyone is qualified to become a Soul Master; you need a powerful Martial Soul and innate Soul Power!
How many people in this world possess innate soul power and have a martial soul sufficient to support their cultivation to the level of a soul master?
Less than one percent!
More than 99% of people will never become a true Soul Master in their lifetime; they will remain ordinary people.
In a society teeming with spirit beasts and resembling the Middle Ages, the living conditions of ordinary people are unimaginable.
Fortunately, perhaps due to the special nature of a transmigrator, Shui Wuhen's martial soul mutated, awakening a martial soul called Articulated Bird, which gave him the qualification to reach the top of the world.
"Ugh~"
Upon seeing that Water Without a Trace had woken up, Articuno immediately nuzzled its head affectionately against the boy in blue.
Seeing this, Shui Wuhen smiled and patted Articuno's head. "Thank you for protecting me, Articuno."
"Mmm~~"
Articuno squinted its eyes, seemingly quite comfortable.
Since awakening his martial soul, Shui Wuhen discovered that his Articulated Bird was special. Unlike other people's martial souls, which were like inanimate objects that could be driven by others, it possessed its own intelligence.
The advantage of this is that Articuno is itself a combat unit, and if Waterless wants to, it can achieve a two-on-one effect in battle.
However, Shui Wuhen is someone who has experienced modern society. After creating several self-created soul skills, there are very few people who would ask him to do so now.
A moment later, Shui Wuhen lowered his hand from stroking Articuno, stood up, and a huge ice bird corpse slowly emerged at his feet.
Although the ice bird is dead, the oppressive aura emanating from it still reveals how powerful it was in life.
"As expected of a 50,000-year-old extreme cold ice bird, it not only allowed my level to break through to level 62 directly, but also granted me the powerful soul skill Blizzard."
Feeling the surging power within his body and the information transmitted through his soul ring, Shui Wuhen nodded slightly, feeling quite satisfied.
This level of cultivation is enough to save him half a year of arduous training, and the blizzard has allowed his strength to leap forward significantly.
In fact, according to common sense, a Soul Master cannot absorb a 50,000-year-level Soul Ring when he is at the sixth Soul Ring stage. Generally, at this stage, a Soul Master can absorb Soul Rings with an age range of 15,000 to 20,000 years.
A man named Yu Xiaogang even stated in his theory of the ten core competencies of martial souls that the upper limit for a Soul Emperor to absorb soul rings is 20,000 years.
But Shui Wuhen discovered that he was an exception.
He was able to absorb a thousand-year-old soul ring with his first soul ring, and each time he absorbed a soul ring thereafter, the age limit was higher than the cognitive limit of ordinary soul masters.
That is why he almost always goes out to hunt alone whenever he needs to add a spirit ring.
For example, this time, he and Articuno teamed up to hunt down this 50,000-year-old ice bird, which took a lot of effort.
As for the issue of spirit rings, Shui Wuhen discovered that with the help of Articuno, he could freely adjust the color of his spirit rings, as if the limitations of this world did not exist for him.
However, Shui Wuhen was quite pleased with this, because if his soul ring configuration were to be revealed, it would be too shocking and might cause some unnecessary trouble.
"Mmm~~"
After Shui Wuhen stood up, Articuno flapped its wings and took off from Shui Wuhen's shoulder. Then its body suddenly grew larger, transforming into a giant bird seven or eight meters long in front of Shui Wuhen.
Step~
With a light leap, Shui Wuhen landed on Articuno's back, pointed in a certain direction, and said to Articuno, "Articuno, let's go!"
"Mmm~~"
Upon hearing this, Articuno immediately flapped its wings and leisurely flew towards Tianshui Academy.
Wherever it passed, specks of cold air condensed into frost, falling like snowflakes. Under the sunlight, they refracted into seven colors, creating a beautiful picture.
In the air, on top of the Frozen Bird, Shui Wuhen sat cross-legged, circulating his soul power to begin meditation and cultivation.
The Frozen Forest was a long way from their destination and would take some time to reach, so Shui Wuhen couldn't waste any more time.
As for safety, Articuno's combat power is even greater than his, which is enough to guarantee it.
Moreover, although he was meditating, he was not completely unaware of his external environment.
If he encounters any danger, he can react immediately and engage in combat.
"Mmm~~"
After a day and a night of flying, Articuno turned its head and called out to Shui Wuhen, who was meditating, as if to remind Shui Wuhen that their destination was approaching.
Upon hearing this, Shui Wuhen immediately stopped meditating, opened his eyes, and slowly stood up.
Whoosh~
Shui Wuhen stood with his hands behind his back, his ice-blue robe fluttering in the wind as he looked down at a city not far away.
This city sits beside a rushing river. Its buildings are grand and magnificent, and above its city gates are several large characters written in a bold, flowing style—
Tianshui City!