Milk Martial Soul

At sea.

From time to time, marine creatures leaped from the surface, sending sprays of water flying.

The sea breeze carried the salty freshness of the ocean, and beneath the bright sunshine, it gave one the relaxed, open-hearted feeling of a seaside vacation.

They had traveled north by ship along the coast from Silvis City for twenty days.

Xia Liang and the Shui Family's Soul Hunting Team had finally reached the vicinity of the northern border of the Heaven Dou Empire.

They were now walking across a stretch of frozen ground.

The farther they went, the louder the howling wind became, and the more biting the cold grew.

Stopping, Xia Liang tugged up the hood of his padded coat to block the bitter wind. Yet the icy chill still slipped through every gap like knives, drilling into his body.

A layer of frost had already formed on everyone's eyebrows.

Even the Shui Family's ice-attribute Soul Masters had no choice but to wear thick padded clothes to ward off the invasion of the extreme cold.

Carefully studying the surrounding terrain, Xia Liang's gaze fell on a signpost ahead.

The signpost had frozen into a block of ice. A line of large words was written on it: Extreme North Land, Human Forbidden Zone, Danger!

The word "Danger" was marked in red.

They had finally reached their destination.

The endless expanse of white before them was the Extreme North Land.

"Has everyone prepared everything?" the Shui Family Head suddenly called out.

After checking the items they carried, everyone nodded.

The Shui Family Head looked at Xia Liang, and a smile suddenly appeared on his stern face. "Young friend, can you skate?"

Xia Liang hesitated before shaking his head. "I've never learned."

"Then learn now. Skating isn't difficult. Just keep your balance." As he spoke, the Shui Family Head gave a Soul Emperor a meaningful look.

The Soul Emperor took out a pair of skates from his Soul Tool and handed them to Xia Liang.

Not knowing why, Xia Liang put on the skates. He had often gone swimming on Blue Star, but he had never visited an ice rink.

Still, just as the Shui Family Head had said, with a Soul Master's physical qualities, all he needed to do was maintain his balance.

Xia Liang took a few tentative steps in place. Once he no longer felt like he might twist an ankle, he began skating in a circle around the group.

"How is it? No problem?" the Soul Emperor asked.

Xia Liang nodded. He had roughly figured it out.

The Extreme North Land was filled with natural perils. If they traveled on foot, not only would the deep snow drain their strength, but they might also step onto thin ice and fall into an ice crevasse.

To travel faster and more safely, that Soul Emperor would use an ice-attribute Soul Skill to freeze the snow ahead into ice. That way, they only needed to skate over it to reach the Outer Area of the Extreme North Land without obstruction.

"Shui Yin, Hot Drink," a Soul Saint said to the Food System Female Soul Emperor.

Six Soul Rings lit up. After she recited a Soul Curse, a mass of milky-white liquid emerged above the Food System Female Soul Emperor's right palm. This was her food-system Martial Soul: milk.

Seeing everyone take out containers to collect the milk produced by the Food System Female Soul Emperor, Xia Liang stood there in a daze. The Martial Souls of Douluo Continent truly came in every imaginable variety. Fortunately, producing milk only required her hand. If it came from that other part— "Here." A clear, gentle voice sounded, and a comma-shaped container appeared before Xia Liang.

The one offering the container was a girl of thirteen or fourteen. She too wore a padded coat that covered her entire body, leaving only her face exposed.

This entire Soul Beast hunting operation was for her sake.

Xia Liang remembered that the original work had mentioned this girl. She was Shui Bing'er, the future leader of Skywater Academy, and her Martial Soul was the Ice Phoenix.

That Shui Family Head was Shui Bing'er's father. No wonder he took this Soul Beast hunt so seriously.

"Thank you." Xia Liang accepted the comma-shaped container and asked, "Can this hold milk created by a Soul Skill?"

Shui Bing'er nodded slightly. "Every one of Sister Yin's Soul Rings can grant the Milk Martial Soul a different Soul Skill effect. She's currently making Hot Drinks for everyone. After drinking it, you can resist the cold energy entering your body for six hours. When the warming effect wears off, just take another sip. The Milk Hot Drink she makes can last for a day. If you're embarrassed, I can fill it for you."

"No need. I'll do it myself." As he spoke, Xia Liang skated over to the Food System Female Soul Emperor and filled the container with milk.

After taking a sip of the milk, the cold invading his body vanished at once. Xia Liang only felt a warm current wrap around his body, making him feel exceptionally warm.

"Bing'er, your turn," the Shui Family Head's voice rang out again.

"Yes." Shui Bing'er's Second Soul Ring spread beneath her feet, and her Second Soul Skill, Ice Ring Armor, activated.

Rings of blue light spread outward. Before Xia Liang could retreat, the surging blue light struck him.

The next moment, a layer of translucent blue armor suddenly enveloped his body.

The same thing appeared on everyone else as well.

"The blizzards of the Extreme North Land obstruct vision. While skating, we may collide with Soul Beasts we cannot avoid in time. My Ice Ring Armor is a defensive Soul Skill that can offset the damage caused by collisions and prevent needless injuries."

After hearing Shui Bing'er's explanation, Xia Liang tried moving his limbs and found that the translucent armor did not restrict his agility at all.

"Alright, let's go. Young friend, once we reach the Outer Area of the Extreme North Land, we'll need your Soul Skill to help find Soul Beasts. Don't waste your Soul Power carelessly right now." After reminding Xia Liang, the family head gave the Soul Emperor beside him a look.

Receiving the instruction, the Soul Emperor revealed his Third Soul Ring and pushed his right palm forward. A blue-white beam shot onto the snow-covered ground ahead.

In an instant, the snow over the next hundred meters transformed into a straight Ice Track.

The Soul Emperor skated along the Ice Track while maintaining the freezing effect of his Soul Skill. Wherever he went, an Ice Track immediately formed.

Xia Liang and the others stepped onto the Ice Track and skated after him. With the Soul Power aura released by the family head serving as a warning, the surrounding Soul Beasts moved aside one by one.

After all, this was merely the entrance to the Extreme North Land. The Soul Power aura of a Soul Douluo was still immensely intimidating.

After skating along the Ice Track for about ten minutes, Xia Liang finally felt at ease. From the series of preparations they had made, the Shui Family's Soul Hunting Team clearly had not entered the Extreme North Land for the first time.

Since they dared to risk entering again, it meant they were confident they could leave safely.

It seemed he did not need to worry too much about unforeseen complications on this journey. He only needed to focus on doing his job of finding Soul Beasts.

A day later.

Outer Area, Extreme North Land.

After traveling for an entire day, Xia Liang and the Shui Family finally arrived at a relatively safe region in the Outer Area of the Extreme North Land.

A Soul Saint used an ice-attribute Soul Skill to condense the surrounding snow into an Ice Castle twenty meters in diameter.

After resting for the night, everyone emerged from the Ice Castle.

"The Extreme North Land is extraordinarily dangerous. The deeper we go, the closer we come to death. Shui Yin's Milk Hot Drink can only resist the cold erosion of the Outer Area. For safety's sake, this is as far as we'll go. Young friend, we'll have to rely on you to find Soul Beasts from here on."

The Shui Family Head looked at Xia Liang, who stood beside Shui Bing'er, and explained, "The Ice Scorpion King is an exceptionally powerful ice-attribute Soul Beast. They abandoned the scorpion's Poison Attribute and focused solely on cultivating their ice attribute. Coupled with the assistance of the Extreme North Land's extreme cold, they are said to be the strongest in the field of ice attributes."

"The Soul Beast Atlas passed down through my ancestors records that Ice Scorpion Kings mainly live on the Ice Plain in the Outer Area of the Extreme North Land. But with the snow and ice serving as cover, finding them will be anything but easy. It will not only require a great deal of time and effort, but will also come with all kinds of unknown risks."

Hearing this, Xia Liang was somewhat surprised. This was the first time he had heard of a Soul Beast like the Ice Scorpion King.

It seemed the Soul Beast Compendium Yu Xiaogang had given him did not contain Soul Beast Knowledge related to the Extreme North Land.

However, based on the Shui Family Head's description, a top-tier ice-attribute Soul Beast like the Ice Scorpion King might be the Ice Jade Scorpion clan mentioned in Unrivaled Tang Sect.