Your Good Fortune

"A human child? There are actually humans here?" Just as Zhao Ming was wondering, an unexpected voice rang out beside his ear.

Startled by the voice, Zhao Ming jumped. He was no fool. In the desolate Extreme North, the only beings capable of speaking human language were high-level soul beasts.

Only high-level soul beasts possessed intelligence comparable to humans and could speak human words. Apart from a very few exceptionally powerful soul beast races, ordinary soul beasts probably had to reach the Hundred-Thousand-Year level before they could do so.

In other words, he had likely encountered a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Damn. I only brushed along the border of the Extreme North; I barely even went inside. I can't be that unlucky, can I? You're a high-level soul beast—what are you doing out on the very edge? Standing guard? Zhao Ming could not help complaining inwardly.

"Hehe, little friend, I'm not some lousy Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. I am the continent's one and only Million-Year Soul Beast," the soul beast said disdainfully, as if it knew exactly what Zhao Ming was thinking.

As the voice sounded, cracks suddenly began spreading across the ground in front of Zhao Ming. The cracks gradually widened into fissures, and faint golden-white light glimmered from within them.

Wisps of icy chill seeped from the fissures in the ground, and the surrounding temperature began to drop noticeably. The fissures spread wider and wider, reaching more than five meters in diameter in only a short while. At last, the golden-white light revealed its true form.

It was a round, plump head, soft and fleshy-looking, over a meter in diameter. It wriggled as it slowly crawled out, its body stretching more than seven meters long.

This soul beast looked like a silkworm larva.

Except it was countless times larger than an ordinary silkworm larva.

Its entire body was jade-white and crystal-clear. Though it had emerged from the soil, its smooth skin was completely free of dirt. Light shimmered beneath its surface, and atop its head sat a pair of tiny, gleaming golden eyes. Most peculiar of all, beginning half a meter below its head, a band of golden markings encircled its body at regular intervals. From head to tail, there were no fewer than ten such golden bands.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm?

Those four words surfaced in Zhao Ming's mind.

He had never expected that before he could even go looking for Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, this fellow would come looking for him instead.

But wasn't this a little early? Zhao Ming could not help furrowing his brow.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm belonged to the Ice Silkworm race, at the very bottom of the food chain in the Extreme North, and was weak by nature. While still young, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had accidentally fallen into an ice crevice while fleeing from predators. There, he discovered a vast amount of Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow and had forcefully eaten his way into becoming a Million-Year Soul Beast.

Because of this, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's body could be called the finest tonic. He possessed immense cultivation but belonged to a race with virtually no combat ability, so naturally powerful soul beasts coveted him. In the Extreme North, he had been hunted by Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Ice Empress, one of the Three Heavenly Kings. After going to the Star Dou Forest, he had become nourishment for numerous Fierce Beasts.

The reason Sky Dream Ice Silkworm appeared here now was probably because he feared that entering the core region of the Extreme North would let Ice Empress discover him. If that happened, he would be dead for sure.

"Hey? Don't tell me you've been scared stupid." Seeing Zhao Ming stand there silently, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm assumed Zhao Ming had been frightened by his kingly aura and immediately grew rather smug.

"Yes. Your Excellency is truly tall, mighty, and extraordinary," Zhao Ming said.

"Mm. Human boy, you have a good eye." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had never imagined that words like tall and mighty could one day be associated with him. He immediately became delighted with himself, and his gaze at Zhao Ming gained a little more approval.

"Your talent is quite impressive too. You became a level-fifteen Soul Master at seven years old. You must have Innate Full Soul Power, right?" After examining Zhao Ming closely, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was somewhat astonished, but his gaze soon dimmed.

"Your Martial Soul is fire-elemental, isn't it? I can sense fire-elemental energy from your body." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said regretfully, "What a pity. If you had any other Martial Soul without an attribute, I would have taken the risk and given it a try upon encountering a genius like you, becoming your Soul Ring. But yours is a fire-elemental Martial Soul."

Over the years, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had been searching for someone with a chance of becoming a god. As long as he could become that person's Soul Ring, then when they became a god, Tian Meng himself would be able to gain release as well. After all, wherever he went now, he was treated as a tonic. If not for the powerful Spiritual Power of a Million-Year Soul Beast allowing him to evade danger time and again, he would have died long ago.

Hearing Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's words, Zhao Ming grew excited.

From the sound of it, Tian Meng intended to become his Soul Ring?

That made sense. In the original story, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had voluntarily become Huo Gua's Soul Ring. Zhao Ming's talent now far surpassed Huo Gua's, and he seemed to have a better chance of becoming a god. Naturally, Tian Meng had other thoughts.

If Tian Meng could voluntarily become his Soul Ring, Zhao Ming would be spared the trouble of doing it himself later.

"I do have one fire-elemental Martial Soul," Zhao Ming replied, deliberately revealing his talent for Twin Martial Souls.

"One of your Martial Souls is fire-elemental? Could you be a Twin Martial Soul wielder?" Tian Meng's voice was filled with disbelief. At the same time, his heart ached with regret. In his view, with Twin Martial Souls and the support of a Million-Year Soul Beast like himself, the other party would absolutely have a chance to become a god as long as his luck was not too terrible.

"Twin Martial Souls are useless too. Ice and fire are opposing forces. If I attach my Soul Ring to you, the fire-elemental Soul Power in your body will immediately clash with my ice-elemental power. Then both of us will be finished."

"What if I have a way to keep your ice-elemental energy from clashing with my fire-elemental energy?"

"Keep them from clashing? Are you joking? Ice and fire counter each other; that has been true since ancient times. Forget it." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shook his head.

"Tian Meng? So it really is you? Hmph. It is your good fortune that Senior wants you to become his Soul Ring, yet you still dare to make excuses?" Just as Zhao Ming did not know what to do, a pleasant female voice drifted over.

The woman's voice was soft and gentle, but upon hearing it, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's face showed terror. His body shrank backward, continuously sinking into the fissure. He seemed somewhat afraid of whoever was approaching.