Three Years Later

After all the matches in the youth and young adult divisions had concluded, the competition organizing committee officially held the closing ceremony and awards ceremony.

Tianhai Stadium was packed to the brim, bustling with excitement. Even those who had not come in person—most people from Skysea City and the other coastal cities participating in the competition who had nothing else to do—watched through the livestream.

The final champions were naturally entitled to all the glory, to be crowned under the gaze of all Soul Masters and civilians across the Skysea Alliance. Amid thunderous cheers, they welcomed the supreme honor that belonged to them.

The awards were generally presented starting with the youth division. Every event would have its champion.

The champions of the seven-person team event were Tianhai Academy's first team, without question. Tianhai Academy was, after all, one of the strongest academies in the entire Skysea Alliance. It had claimed the title for several consecutive competitions, so this came as no surprise.

The champions of the three-person team event went to the three girls from Hailu Academy. Though they had lost to Lin Xiuran at the time, they later relied on points to defeat the other teams and advance, ultimately taking the championship.

"Next, we will present the final championship award for the youth division's individual event!"

The host raised his microphone high, his voice booming. The cheers from the entire stadium were even fiercer than they had been for the previous champions.

As the host spoke, Lin Xiuran, dressed in a clean and tidy Eastsea Academy uniform, slowly walked onto the stage under everyone's gaze.

At that moment, not only were the spectators present watching, but before a certain television, a middle-aged man viciously crushed the cigar in his hand. His gaze was cold and terrifying.

As he looked at the mark on his arm, which had already begun to fade, black mist seemed to radiate from his entire body.

"Just wait. Just wait..."

The host announced excitedly, "He is Lin Xiuran of Eastsea Academy's first-year Zero Class!"

"This time, he is not only the individual event champion, but also the final champion of the forging competition."

Lin Xiuran stepped to the center of the stage and received his two championship trophies. The competition had originally been willing to have a teacher accompany him to accept the awards, since there were two trophies and they were not easy to carry. But Wu Zhangkong simply had no interest in it.

Indeed, having him go up to accept an award on such an occasion was naturally out of the question.

Lin Xiuran said nothing extra, and his expression was even somewhat calm. He remained the same even in the face of the entire stadium's cheers.

Yet that was only on the surface. Inside, he was still deeply excited. At the very least, he had not let down Wu Zhangkong's careful guidance.

Moreover, in just a few short months, he had gone from someone who could not even afford a Soul Ring to a three-ring Soul Elder. On top of that, he had won two championship trophies at once.

Even Lin Xiuran found such a dramatic change unreal. He had imagined it before, but now that it had become reality, he felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

After the awards ceremony, there were supposed to be some post-match interviews, but Wu Zhangkong refused them all.

As they headed backstage, Wu Zhangkong suddenly said to him, "You can celebrate, but don't go overboard. Settle down and keep working hard. You have something more important next year."

"Something more important?" Lin Xiuran was taken aback.

Wu Zhangkong said flatly, "The All-Federation Competition."

After saying that, Wu Zhangkong walked straight ahead.

Some especially outstanding participants from the Tianhai Alliance Competition would also represent the Skysea Alliance in the once-every-five-years All-Federation Competition. As the youth division's double champion, Lin Xiuran would certainly be able to participate in the All-Federation Competition so long as he made a request to the organizing committee.

Behind him, Lin Xiuran murmured, "The All-Federation Competition... Shrek City..."

Three years later,

As far as the eye could see, a vast world of snow and ice stretched before him.

This was the Far North of the Douluo Continent, a place of cold beyond human resistance and powerful, mysterious Soul Beasts.

The frigid wind roared as fiercely as a lion, carrying dead branches and dust as it swept in the winter of ice and snow.

This place was practically a dead end for humanity. Ten-thousand-foot ice had endured here for ages, as though history and time themselves had slowed.

Amid the frost and snow, atop a frozen lake, the young man's figure appeared lonely and desolate. A layer of frost clung to his handsome face, while his white clothes seemed to blend into the entire world of ice and snow.

Lin Xiuran was nearly frozen stiff. He released some Fire Element to warm his hands, and only then did he feel a little better.

"Sister Na, where exactly is there supposed to be anything in the Far North?"

All Lin Xiuran could see was snowflakes filling the sky, or chunks of ice sealed away for countless years. Where was he supposed to find anything?

Before long, a voice sounded in his mind.

"I do not know the exact location either. I only know that it is somewhere in the Far North. You can try releasing more of your bloodline power."

"Fine."

With no other choice, Lin Xiuran could only continue searching through the Far North. Each step left a deep footprint, but soon after he passed, the wind and snow buried it once more.

After the Tianhai Alliance Competition, he had participated in the Federation Competition the following year, but he had simply been too young. The youth division had an age limit of fifteen, while he was only eleven. Even with extraordinary talent, a gap of four years could not be overcome.

Unexpectedly, he had been specially admitted to Shrek Academy's Inner Court. He had not expected it, yet it seemed perfectly reasonable. After all, someone capable of controlling multiple elements naturally possessed extremely high talent.

But this year, after cultivating to level forty, he encountered a bottleneck. Even Gu Yuena had no solution.

That was because the element at level forty was something even Gu Yuena did not control: the most domineering Thunder Element.

Without nourishment from that element, he could not possibly reach level forty. Of course, simply finding a Soul Master with the Thunder Element was unrealistic. What he needed was not merely external support. External replenishment was important, but it was not the most critical factor.

It was like when he awakened the Ice Element at level thirty. Although Wu Zhangkong's special training had been highly effective, without Gu Yuena's internal support, he could never have succeeded in awakening it. Conversely, even with only Gu Yuena's internal support, he could still have successfully awakened it, though it would have taken longer.

What he ultimately needed was to awaken elemental power from deep within his bloodline.

Gu Yuena's final suggestion had been for him to come to the Far North. Perhaps this place held the answer to successfully awakening the Thunder Element.

But Lin Xiuran had come during his vacation, and a month had already passed. He had wandered here for an entire month, yet all he had found was snow filling the sky. Other than snow, there was only snow. He had discovered nothing unusual.

Lin Xiuran tried releasing the aura of his bloodline to draw something over while speaking with Gu Yuena in his Sea of Consciousness.

"Sister Na, what exactly are we looking for?"

The voice in his Sea of Consciousness fell silent for a while before saying, "Actually, we are not looking for an object, but..."