Liu Tianfeng and Dugu Bo's Panic

Xue Tianxing followed behind the Ice and Snow Empresses. Though his feelings were somewhat complicated, he understood that this was the law of survival in the Land of the Extreme North.

All he could do was make good use of this Soul Ring and not let this "gift" go to waste.

When they arrived at the nest, a smaller Raging Wind Ice Vulture was curled up on the dry grass, its breath weak. It was the severely injured fledgling.

With a wave of her hand, the Snow Empress enveloped it in gentle ice-element energy. The fledgling's body gradually relaxed, and the pain in its eyes faded away.

"You may begin."

The Snow Empress spoke to Xue Tianxing.

Xue Tianxing took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, circulated his Soul Power, and summoned his Ice Phoenix Spirit.

The Raging Wind Ice Vulture fledgling's body transformed into a streak of blue-black light and slowly merged into his body—there was no painful struggle, only pure Soul Ring power and bloodline power surging through his meridians into his Dantian.

Thanks to the boost brought by the sacrifice, Xue Tianxing absorbed this Soul Ring with remarkable ease—the fledgling's Soul Ring power flowed steadily through his meridians into his Dantian like a gentle stream. There was not the slightest sense of rejection, and he did not even need to guide it deliberately as it fused with his Ice Phoenix Spirit on its own.

In mere moments, the black Soul Ring beneath his feet stabilized.

Xue Tianxing slowly opened his eyes, sensing the fluctuations of Soul Power within him. He nodded slightly.

"Just as smooth as expected."

But soon, Xue Tianxing felt a hint of helplessness—his Soul Power had only risen from level forty to level forty-two, far less dramatically than when he had absorbed Soul Rings before.

"This is the trouble with an Ultimate Spirit. Even gaining a single level is several times harder than it is for others."

Xue Tianxing understood, but he was not discouraged. After all, the Ice-Wind attribute boost brought by this Soul Ring increased his combat strength far more than the rise in his Soul Power Level.

After absorbing the Soul Ring, Xue Tianxing rose and walked over to the Raging Wind Ice Vulture fledgling's corpse.

He then carefully felt around it and soon found a protruding hard object on the Raging Wind Ice Vulture's body.

Xue Tianxing carefully peeled it free with Soul Power, revealing a right arm bone that shimmered with a blue-white luster—it was a twenty-thousand-year Raging Wind Ice Vulture Soul Bone, containing exceptionally powerful Ice-Wind cutting force.

"Not a bad haul."

Xue Tianxing placed the Soul Bone into his storage ring, already having made up his mind.

Though this Soul Bone's attributes were powerful, it was only twenty thousand years old. Its age was too low. If he absorbed it himself, he would waste a Soul Bone slot. It would be better to bring it back to the Balak Kingdom and give it to Father King Xue Zhe.

Xue Zhe's Ice Luan Spirit likewise possessed an ice attribute. This Soul Bone from a soul beast with the Extreme Ice attribute could make up for the shortcomings of his Martial Soul perfectly.

Thinking that he had already absorbed his fourth Soul Ring, Xue Tianxing had originally wanted to immediately use Martial Soul Possession and test the power of his fourth soul skill. But from the corner of his eye, he spotted the Gale Ice Vulture King crouched in the corner of the nest, silently wiping its eyes with its back turned toward them. That lonely figure radiated an indescribable sorrow.

Xue Tianxing paused—this was their place of grief. Testing his soul skill here now would be far too insensitive.

He suppressed his curiosity and turned to look at the Ice and Snow Empresses.

The Ice Empress had seen everything. She nodded slightly, and her tone softened somewhat.

"Now that you have the Soul Ring and Soul Bone, I'll send you back."

Xue Tianxing nodded in agreement without saying anything further.

The next second, the Ice Empress seized his arm. The Soul Power around her surged explosively, and she transformed into a blue-white streak of light that shot toward the middle region of the Land of the Extreme North.

The speed of a supreme ruler of the Extreme North was astonishing. In less than the time it took to burn an incense stick, they arrived above the ice plain where Xue Tianxing had first been taken away.

"We're here. Go on down."

The Ice Empress released him and waved at Xue Tianxing.

Xue Tianxing cupped his hands toward her.

"Thank you, Senior Ice Empress. When I reach level seventy, I will definitely return to the Land of the Extreme North."

With that, he leaped down and landed steadily on the ice plain.

The instant he landed, Xue Tianxing looked toward the ice valley—inside, the scene was a complete mess. Dozens of Blizzard Wind Wolf corpses lay scattered everywhere, and the massive Blizzard Wind Wolf King had long since lost its breath. Intense Soul Power fluctuations still lingered beside its corpse.

Clearly, Liu Tianfeng had successfully absorbed his ninth Soul Ring and officially become a Titled Douluo.

But then Xue Tianxing frowned—the area around the ice valley was completely empty. Liu Tianfeng and Dugu Bo had long since vanished.

"They must have discovered that I'm missing. They might be searching the entire Land of the Extreme North like mad right now."

Just as Xue Tianxing had expected, the battle in the ice valley had progressed extremely quickly.

With a wave of his hand, Dugu Bo released Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison infused with the medicinal power of Snowy Swan Kiss. The ordinary Blizzard Wind Wolves collapsed at the slightest touch, and within moments, most of the obstacles had been cleared away.

Meanwhile, Liu Tianfeng held the Frosty Cold Wind Sword as he engaged the massive Blizzard Wind Wolf King head-on—the Wolf King's Ice-Wind Claws were incomparably sharp, each swing accompanied by a howl that tore through the air. Yet relying on his years of combat experience, Liu Tianfeng met them calmly with exquisite sword techniques. Frosty sword energy collided with the Wolf King's Ice-Wind Power, sending ice and snow flying across the sky.

"Old Liu, I'm coming to help!"

After dealing with the wolf pack on the outskirts, Dugu Bo leaped into the air. A dense mass of green poisonous mist condensed in his right hand, which he hurled at the Wolf King's eyes.

Caught off guard, the Blizzard Wind Wolf King had its vision obscured by the poisonous mist, and its movements instantly slowed.

Liu Tianfeng seized the opportunity. His Soul Power erupted at full force, and the Frosty Cold Wind Sword became a streak of blue light that stabbed viciously into the Wolf King's throat.

"Awoo—"

The Wolf King let out a miserable roar. Its massive body crashed to the ground, and the light in its eyes gradually faded.

"We did it!"

Liu Tianfeng let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Dugu Bo walked over, kicked the Wolf King's corpse, and laughed.

"This Soul Ring is more than eighty thousand years old. Absorb it quickly. I'll check the surroundings for any hidden dangers."

Liu Tianfeng nodded, sat cross-legged beside the Wolf King's corpse, and began guiding the Soul Ring's power.

Dugu Bo flashed away and began patrolling the area around the ice valley—the Land of the Extreme North was fraught with danger, and he had to ensure that Liu Tianfeng would not be disturbed while absorbing the Soul Ring.

After searching around, he found no traces of any other powerful soul beasts. Dugu Bo relaxed and turned toward the ice boulder where Xue Tianxing was hiding, intending to call him over to guard Liu Tianfeng together.

But when he walked behind the ice boulder, his expression changed abruptly—Xue Tianxing was gone!

Only a thin layer of snow covered the ground, without a single footprint. Clearly, Xue Tianxing had not left on his own.

"Where did that kid go?"

Dugu Bo's heart tightened. He immediately released his spiritual power to investigate, but he could not sense even the slightest trace of Xue Tianxing's presence.

He then remembered what Liu Tianfeng had told Xue Tianxing before they left.

"If you encounter danger, release your Soul Power and call for us,"

Yet from beginning to end, he had not sensed Xue Tianxing releasing even a shred of Soul Power fluctuation.