Sudden Incident: Titan Snow Demon King

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Liu Tianfeng and Dugu Bo simultaneously circulated their Soul Power. Blue and green halos enveloped Xue Tianxing, and the three leaped into the air, turning into three streaks of light as they sped toward the Land of the Extreme North.

A Titled Douluo flying at full speed was incredibly fast. Towns and forests rushed backward beneath them until, as the sun set, a vast white world of ice and snow appeared at the end of the horizon. Only then did the three slowly descend.

This was a small town on the outskirts of the Land of the Extreme North. Its houses were blanketed in thick snow, while pedestrians wore heavy fur coats, their breath instantly freezing into white mist.

The three found a fairly clean inn and settled in. First, they needed to rest from the fatigue of their journey. More importantly, they had to purchase supplies for entering the Land of the Extreme North—thick furs for warmth, compressed rations to replenish their strength, anti-slip boots for snowy terrain, and several potions to repel low-level Soul Beasts. Naturally, all of these had been prepared specifically for Xue Tianxing; Dugu Bo and Liu Tianfeng had no need for them.

With his wealth of experience, Liu Tianfeng quickly made a list of what they needed and sent someone to buy it. Before long, all the supplies were ready.

That night, the three briefly discussed their plans in their room at the inn:

Xue Tianxing needed an ice-attribute Soul Ring around twenty thousand years old, while Liu Tianfeng's target for his ninth Soul Ring was a top-tier Soul Beast seventy or eighty thousand years old. The Soul Beasts on the outskirts clearly could not meet their needs, so they decided to head directly into the middle region of the Land of the Extreme North the following day. That was where high-age ice-attribute Soul Beasts gathered.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, the three set off again with their supplies.

The moment they stepped into the Land of the Extreme North, a bone-piercing gale struck them head-on, several times harsher than the cold in the town.

Liu Tianfeng and Dugu Bo hurriedly released Soul Power barriers, shielding Xue Tianxing between them and blocking out most of the cold.

Protected within the barrier, Xue Tianxing curiously surveyed the snowy world below:

As far as the eye could see, everything was clad in silver. The rolling snow mountains resembled giant dragons draped in ice and snow. Not a trace of green could be seen across the vast ice fields—only the occasional snowbird unique to the far north sweeping past, along with Soul Beasts leaving tracks in the snow. There were enormous Icefield Giant Bears, swift snow leopard Soul Beasts, and Ice Spike Snakes gliding across the frozen surface. Every one of them exuded an aura that seemed to blend perfectly with the ice and snow.

Looking at the magnificent spectacle of ice sealing a thousand miles and snow drifting across ten thousand, verses by great men he had read in his previous life surfaced in Xue Tianxing's mind, and an indescribable surge of pride rose within him.

"We'll go straight to the middle region."

Liu Tianfeng's voice came through the Soul Power barrier:

"The Soul Beasts in the outer region are too young. They can't meet our requirements."

Dugu Bo nodded in agreement:

"The Soul Beasts in the middle region of the Extreme North are generally over ten thousand years old, and there are quite a few ice-type Soul Beasts around seventy or eighty thousand years old. They're just right for you. As for this kid's twenty-thousand-year Soul Ring, we can find a suitable one in the middle region too."

As he spoke, the three increased their speed and flew toward the middle region of the Land of the Extreme North.

As they went deeper, the temperature dropped further, the ice-attribute Soul Power in the air grew denser, and the auras of the surrounding Soul Beasts became increasingly powerful.

Xue Tianxing stayed close between the two, circulating his Soul Power to ward off the severe cold while vigilantly watching his surroundings. He knew that the Land of the Extreme North was fraught with danger. One careless mistake could bring fatal peril. But for a powerful Soul Ring, this dangerous path had to be taken.

Before long, the three entered the middle region of the Land of the Extreme North. The blizzard here was far more violent than in the outer region, and the ice-attribute Soul Power between heaven and earth was so dense it seemed almost tangible. The ice beneath their feet was several times thicker, and they could faintly hear flowing water beneath it.

"Stop flying. We'll proceed on foot."

Dugu Bo was the first to halt, his tone grave:

"The middle region isn't like the outer region. There might be Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts hiding here. Flying creates too great a Soul Power disturbance and makes it easy to expose our tracks. If a top-tier Soul Beast notices us, we'll be in serious trouble."

The three concealed their auras and cautiously made their way through the ice plains and snowy peaks of the middle region.

The cold here was several times fiercer than in the outer region. The ice beneath their feet was thick enough to bear tremendous weight, and the air was filled with the auras of various Soul Beasts. Every step required utmost caution.

Over the next three days, they encountered quite a few ice-attribute Soul Beasts:

There was a robust Ice Armor Bear with a cultivation of sixty thousand years, but its compatibility with Liu Tianfeng's sword-type martial soul was insufficient. They also found an Ice Crystal Saber-toothed Tiger with extremely high compatibility, but it had only just passed fifty thousand years, still far short of Liu Tianfeng's expected seventy or eighty thousand years.

Search after search, rejection after rejection—though the three remained patient, they gradually came to feel just how scarce and formidable the Soul Beasts in the middle region were.

Then, on the afternoon of the third day, an incomparably terrifying aura suddenly swept in from the northwest, shrouding the entire area like dark clouds pressing down from above.

The aura was so vast and domineering that Liu Tianfeng and Dugu Bo's expressions changed drastically at the same time. Almost instinctively, they stopped and exchanged a glance, each seeing the gravity in the other's eyes. The owner of this aura was absolutely far stronger than either of them. Even if they joined forces, they would have no chance of victory!

"Quick! Hide!"

Liu Tianfeng shouted in a low voice, grabbing Xue Tianxing and pulling him behind a massive ice boulder. Dugu Bo immediately followed, and the three curled up in the shadows.

Liu Tianfeng and Dugu Bo simultaneously circulated all their Soul Power, forming a dense aura barrier that completely concealed the three of them. Even their breathing became extraordinarily light.

That terrifying aura drew closer and closer, and faint tremors could even be felt through the ground.

Before long, the owner of that aura finally entered their field of vision—it was a gigantic Soul Beast several hundred meters tall. Its entire body was covered in snow-white fur, beneath which lay black skin as hard as rock. Its head resembled that of a ferocious tiger, yet it possessed two enormous curved horns. Its amber eyes were as large as lanterns, radiating an oppressive majesty that looked down upon all beneath it.

"Ti... Titan Snow Demon King!"

Xue Tianxing gasped inwardly and recognized the Soul Beast at once.

As one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, the third-ranked Titan Snow Demon King was nearly two hundred thousand years old. Its strength was sufficient to rival the most powerful among Titled Douluo.

Xue Tianxing was filled with doubt:

The Titan Snow Demon King has always lived in the central region of the Land of the Extreme North. Why has it suddenly come to the middle region?

What made all three of their hearts nearly stop was that, after coming within less than a hundred meters of them, the Titan Snow Demon King suddenly halted. Its amber eyes slowly swept over its surroundings, as if it had sensed something unusual.

Its enormous nose twitched faintly, as though sniffing for an unfamiliar scent in the air.

Behind the ice boulder, Liu Tianfeng's palms were drenched in cold sweat. He secretly glanced at Xue Tianxing, his eyes filled with resolve.

Liu Tianfeng knew that his old life was not worth much, but Xue Tianxing was the future of the Balak Kingdom. He absolutely could not perish here.