Extreme North Land

"I originally planned to make the Iron-backed Demonic Scorpion my first choice for the Third Soul Ring. But how could it be so easy to find another top-tier Soul Beast with both strength and defense? After weighing my options, I could only use it as my Second Soul Ring."

"I thought the Skeleton Martial Soul would gain an arm bone skill that grew a scorpion tailbone or a pair of scorpion pincers. I never expected it to be a Soul Skill that strengthened bone hardness."

"Isn't that good? Although it can't give your Skeleton Martial Soul two arms, one arm paired with superior bone hardness and boosts to both strength and defense is already incredibly powerful. Thanks to that, you were able to defeat me, a Three-Ring Soul Elder, despite being a rank below."

Liu Shu suddenly clutched her head and screamed, "Aaaah! How embarrassing! My brother-in-law is going to laugh at me for the rest of my life."

What she did not know was that the main reason Xia Liang had defeated her across ranks was her incomplete understanding of the full effects of his Second Soul Skill.

To Soul Masters, Soul Skills were trump cards and means of preserving their lives.

Not revealing the complete information of his Soul Skills to outsiders was a principle Xia Liang had upheld ever since becoming a Soul Master three years ago.

"Sis! What time is it already? Get up! If you don't come eat breakfast soon, I'll finish it all!" Liu Shu shouted toward the tent.

A woman with long black hair emerged from the tent at an unhurried pace. When she saw the four breakfasts laid out on the table, a strange glimmer flashed through her eyes.

All four breakfasts were identical: a hamburger and a cup of soy milk.

This way of eating, from Blue Star, naturally came from Xia Liang.

Although he had spent the past three years in the Mercenary Group living a life of dealing with Soul Beasts, his cooking skills had only improved rather than declined.

Delicious food was the easiest way to win people's hearts. Perhaps one day, he might even have to rely on these cooking skills to live off a woman.

The black-haired woman was Aunt Liu, Teacher Mo's wife. She was especially fond of hamburgers. After sitting at the table, she began eating with elegant manners.

"Brother-in-law still hasn't returned?" Liu Shu sat down as well and started eating breakfast.

Aunt Liu shook her head. "He didn't come back last night either. He's probably still in Silvis City."

"Could Brother-in-law have found a woman in the city to spend the night with?" Liu Shu asked, clearly enjoying the trouble she was stirring up. "Sis, aren't you worried?"

"Sister-in-law, do you distrust your brother-in-law that much?" A sudden voice rang out.

Xia Liang had just taken a sip of soy milk when he turned toward the voice and discovered that the speaker was Teacher Mo, who had gone to Silvis City to accept a mission.

"Brother-in-law, how did it go?" Liu Shu jumped to her feet excitedly.

"I found a mission to help hunt a Soul Beast. But it's a bit troublesome. I don't know whether I should accept it, so I came back to ask for your opinions first."

Teacher Mo walked over to the table, picked up a cup of soy milk, and took a sip.

"What exactly is the mission?" Xia Liang asked.

"The mission comes from a small coastal city near Silvis City called Skywater City. The people commissioning it are from a Soul Master family in Skywater City, and it's a major family at that."

After hearing Teacher Mo's explanation, Xia Liang looked puzzled. "A major family still needs to hire our Mercenary Group to hunt Soul Beasts?"

"Yes." Teacher Mo sat down and explained while eating breakfast. "That major family specializes in water and ice attributes. They want to enter the Extreme North Land to hunt an ice-attribute Soul Beast called the Ice Scorpion King for one of their younger family members."

"This type of Soul Beast is extremely rare. It usually lives on an Ice Plain in the Outer Area of the Extreme North Land. Since the Ice Plain lies too deep within, Soul Masters do not dare venture there. That's why they set their sights on our Speed Reach Mercenary Group's ability to locate Soul Beasts."

"The Extreme North Land!" Liu Shu said fearfully. "Brother-in-law, this isn't a mission we can handle. What are you hesitating for? Hurry up and refuse it!"

"I refused at first." Teacher Mo smiled bitterly. "But the Shui Family Head clearly stated that once we enter the Extreme North Land, they will guarantee our safety. We only need to use our ability to find Soul Beasts. They will handle the actual hunting."

"If nothing serious happens, they can indeed guarantee our safety." Xia Liang spoke with concern. "But once something life-threatening occurs, they definitely won't care about us. Teacher Mo, going in with them would be gambling with our lives. We shouldn't accept this mission."

"Alright, A Liang. Your Ghost Fire is the key to finding Soul Beasts. Since even you refuse, there's nothing left for us to hesitate over." Teacher Mo looked at Xia Liang and smiled. "I'll go give them our answer later."

"Wait." Xia Liang suddenly changed his mind. "Teacher Mo, maybe we should agree to it after all."

"A Liang, have you lost your mind?" Liu Shu cursed. "This isn't a joke. If it were the Frozen Forest, it would be one thing. But that's the Extreme North Land! Even if a Soul Douluo led the Mercenary Group, no one would be stupid enough to risk entering it. And following an unfamiliar major family inside is simply courting death!"

"I know." Xia Liang's expression was unusually serious. "That's why I'll be the only one accepting this mission. Teacher Mo, Sister Shu, Aunt Liu, listen to me. For the past three years, we've been risking our lives in Soul Beast habitats. After everything we've experienced, I can still judge how dangerous a place is. I'm very afraid of death. The moment I heard 'Extreme North Land,' I refused immediately. Since I've agreed now, it means I have a certain degree of confidence that I won't die. I do know a little about the Extreme North Land."

A few minutes later.

After hearing Xia Liang's explanation, Teacher Mo and the others still did not want him to take the risk.

The extreme cold weather in the Outer Area of the Extreme North Land could be warded off by the Soul Skills of that major family's Soul Masters, and the family would protect him throughout the journey, so there should not be too many unforeseen variables.

But if something unexpected did happen, as an outsider, he would absolutely be abandoned by the major family.

Gambling his life on the reputation of a strange family?

That was absolutely foolish!

After much persuasion, Xia Liang's determination to accept the mission remained unchanged. Left with no choice, Teacher Mo and the others could only compromise and let him follow the major family alone into the Extreme North Land to search for Soul Beasts.

Of course, Xia Liang was afraid of death too. He knew that such a decision could very likely send him into a place of no return.

But danger often came with opportunity.

It was said that because of the extreme cold and treacherous natural barriers of the Extreme North Land, no Soul Masters were willing to enter and explore it. As a result, many of its resources remained undiscovered.

With the protection of a major family, as well as his knowledge from the original work about the distribution of Soul Beasts in the Extreme North Land, this was the perfect chance to enter. While searching for Soul Beasts, he could also see whether there were any opportunities to be found.

The ultimate destination of this trip was only the Outer Area of the Extreme North Land, and it would be the Black-Purple Ghost Fire searching deep within the Ice Plain for Soul Beasts. The chances of anything unexpected happening were actually very small.

Unless something like Xiao Wu from the original work drawing the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Titan Giant Ape into the Outer Area happened, why would a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, while comfortably staying in the Core Area, come lurk in the Outer Area and expose its existence just because a few humans entered it? Without the threat of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in the Outer Area, the protection of the major family would surely allow him to leave the Extreme North Land safely.

Xia Liang's only concern was how he could hide any opportunity he found from the major family's greed. If he handled it poorly, he might truly bring about a fatal disaster.

After deciding to accept the mission, Teacher Mo, Aunt Liu, and Liu Shu brought Xia Liang to Skywater City, a coastal city near Silvis City.

Upon reaching their destination, Xia Liang discovered that the major family planning to enter the Extreme North Land to search for Soul Beasts was the Shui Family, a family that followed an extreme path.

Skywater Academy, mentioned in the original work, had been founded jointly by the Shui Family and other Water Attribute Soul Master families.

What surprised Xia Liang was that for this trip into the Extreme North Land, the Shui Family had not only dispatched three Soul Saints, but even the Shui Family Head, whose Soul Power had reached level eighty-three, was taking part.

Among those three Soul Saints were one Support System Soul Saint and two Defense System Soul Saints.

Judging from the lineup, they had likely anticipated the dangers of the Extreme North Land and had no intention of fighting head-on. That was why they had sent two Defense System Soul Saints, allowing them to defend while retreating if danger arose.

Aside from the three Soul Saints and the Shui Family Head, a Soul Douluo, there were also five Soul Emperors, including a Food System Soul Emperor, an exceptionally rare type on the continent.

They had mobilized such a massive force of their family merely to hunt an Ice Scorpion King with a thousand years of cultivation as a Third Soul Ring. It was clear how important the person needing the Soul Ring was within the family.

After signing the agreement, Xia Liang bid farewell to Teacher Mo and the others, then headed with the Shui Family's Soul Hunting Team toward the Extreme North Land.