Leaving First

A terrifying thought surged into his mind:

Xue Tianxing must have been taken away by a powerful soul beast from the Land of the Extreme North!

And this soul beast's strength far exceeded imagination. Not only had it snatched Xue Tianxing away right under his nose, but it had also suppressed him so thoroughly that he could not even release Soul Power to call for help. Dugu Bo had not even sensed its aura.

Dugu Bo clenched his fists, overwhelmed with anxiety, wishing he could immediately search everywhere.

But when he turned to look at Liu Tianfeng, who was absorbing his Soul Ring, he forcibly restrained his impulse—Liu Tianfeng had just broken through to become a Titled Douluo, and this crucial moment of absorbing the Soul Ring could not be disturbed. If he rashly left and Liu Tianfeng encountered danger again, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Left with no choice, Dugu Bo could only stand guard beside the ice boulder, his gaze fixed firmly on the surroundings while closely monitoring Liu Tianfeng's absorption progress.

Time passed bit by bit, and the fluctuations of Soul Power around Liu Tianfeng grew increasingly stable.

Finally, Liu Tianfeng slowly opened his eyes. A vast Titled Douluo pressure erupted from within him, and nine Soul Rings appeared beneath his feet in neat succession: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—the final Soul Ring was the more than eighty-thousand-year-old Blizzard Wind Wolf King Soul Ring, emanating a palpitating aura.

"Hahaha! I've finally become a Titled Douluo!"

Liu Tianfeng rose to his feet, sensing the unprecedented power within his body, his heart filled with pride and excitement.

But before he could celebrate for long, Dugu Bo strode over and said gravely:

"Old Liu, don't celebrate too soon. Something happened to the boy Xue!"

"What happened to Tianxing?"

The smile vanished from Liu Tianfeng's face in an instant.

"He's gone."

Dugu Bo said in a low voice:

"I just came back from scouting and found the place where he was hiding completely empty. There were no footprints on the ground and no traces of Soul Power. I suspect he was taken by an extremely powerful soul beast—a soul beast so strong that the boy Xue could not even call for help, and I didn't sense its aura either."

Liu Tianfeng's expression changed drastically. He immediately released his spiritual power to cover the entire ice valley and the surrounding area, but no matter how he searched, he could not find the slightest trace of Xue Tianxing.

A powerful panic welled up within him. He did not even have time to experience the Soul Power he had just gained from his breakthrough before grabbing Dugu Bo's arm and urgently saying:

"Your Excellency, we need to find him quickly! You search west, and I'll investigate east. Given the size of the Land of the Extreme North, splitting up will save time. If we still have no news after three days, we'll return here to meet and think of another way!"

"Alright!"

Dugu Bo did not hesitate in the slightest. He knew how important Xue Tianxing was to the Balak Kingdom, and he understood even more clearly how dearly Liu Tianfeng loved him.

The two exchanged a glance and said no more. Liu Tianfeng transformed into a streak of blue light and raced east, while Dugu Bo released his Soul Power and flew toward the snow-covered mountains in the west.

The wind and snow of the Land of the Extreme North grew fiercer and fiercer. Two figures sped through the boundless white expanse, searching only for that missing boy.

Xue Tianxing stood upon the familiar ice plains, his gaze sweeping across the deserted ice valley. He knew that Liu Tianfeng and Dugu Bo must be anxiously searching for him somewhere in the Land of the Extreme North at this very moment.

Yet his current situation left him in a difficult position:

If he remained where he was and waited, what if the two searched too wide an area and did not return here for a long time? Would that not be a complete waste of time?

But if he left the Land of the Extreme North first and returned to the Balak Kingdom, he feared that after failing to find him, the two would refuse to give up and rashly venture into the central region of the Extreme North—that was the territory of the Titan Snow Demon King and even stronger soul beasts. Even if both of them were Titled Douluo, they might not be able to retreat unscathed.

Both choices carried risks. Xue Tianxing stood still, his brows tightly furrowed, unable to make a decision for the moment.

The frigid northern wind swept across his cheeks, carrying a biting chill, yet it could not dispel the conflict in his heart.

Xue Tianxing could even imagine that once Grandpa Liu discovered he had gone missing, he would surely be frantic with worry and might already have disregarded the danger to search deeper within.

Just then, a sharp cry tore through the sky.

Xue Tianxing abruptly looked up and saw a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Eagle with a wingspan of seven or eight meters circling above the ice valley. Its eyes were locked onto the Blizzard Wind Wolf corpses in the valley, clearly drawn by the scent of blood.

Before long, the snow eagle swooped down and landed beside the Blizzard Wind Wolf King's corpse. Its sharp beak and talons tore open the wolf's body as it began to rip away large mouthfuls of flesh.

The sight immediately put Xue Tianxing on guard:

The Blizzard Wind Wolf corpses contained dense Soul Power and would inevitably attract more carnivorous soul beasts like the snow eagle. Moreover, this ice valley was ideally situated, sheltered from the wind and cold and close to a water source. Now that the Blizzard Wind Wolf pack had been wiped out, other groups of soul beasts would soon come to seize the territory.

If he continued to remain here, he might be surrounded and attacked by the soul beasts arriving afterward, putting himself in danger instead.

"I can't hesitate any longer!"

Xue Tianxing made his decision at once—he would first head to the small town on the outskirts of the Land of the Extreme North and wait there.

This would both avoid the danger of staying here and encountering soul beasts, while also leaving Liu Tianfeng and Dugu Bo a clue to follow.

If the two still did not appear after a few days, he would return to the Balak Kingdom and make other plans.

Having made up his mind, Xue Tianxing quickly walked to the massive ice boulder where he had previously hidden.

He circulated his Soul Power and condensed it at his fingertips, carving a message onto the ice boulder's smooth surface stroke by stroke:

"Grandpa Liu, Elder Dugu, I am safe and unharmed. Do not worry. Please do not venture deeper into the Extreme North to search for me. I will return to the small town on the outskirts first and wait for you both there. I hope we can reunite soon. —Tianxing"

After carving the message, Xue Tianxing carefully checked it once more. Only after making sure the words were clear and would not easily be buried by the wind and snow did he turn around in relief.

At that moment, the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Eagle was still focused on tearing into the wolf corpse and had not noticed his movements.

Xue Tianxing lowered his body and used the raised terrain of the ice plains as cover, carefully avoiding the snow eagle's line of sight as he retreated toward the outskirts of the Extreme North.

After moving far away from the ice valley and confirming that there was no danger, Xue Tianxing spread his Ice Phoenix wings, circulated his Soul Power, and rose into the air.

He did not fly too high, ensuring both speed and the ability to observe the ground at any moment in case he encountered another accident.

The world of ice and snow beneath him rapidly fell away. Xue Tianxing felt both concern for Liu Tianfeng and Dugu Bo and anticipation for the future—so long as they could reunite safely in the small town, this journey to the Land of the Extreme North would truly be complete.

Meanwhile, Liu Tianfeng and Dugu Bo were still anxiously searching through the vast sea of snow.

Liu Tianfeng's Frosty Cold Wind Sword continuously cut through the ice spikes blocking his path. His spiritual power spread out without reservation, refusing to overlook a single corner;

Dugu Bo, meanwhile, released faint Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison, using the range of the spreading poisonous mist to search for traces of aura, his eyes filled with anxiety.