"Lang Lei, how did this absorption feel?" Snow Empress was still somewhat worried about Lang Lei's condition. After all, this absorption could be considered a historic leap.
No Soul Master had ever done this before. It was unprecedented, and likely never to be repeated.
Of course, while some Soul Masters had possessed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as their Third Spirit Ring, they generally had the support of a God Trial or Twin Martial Souls. They were fundamentally incomparable to someone like Lang Lei, who had directly absorbed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
"I feel pretty good. It even seemed a little easy..." Lang Lei briefly recalled the absorption process. It truly had not been as difficult as he had imagined.
And with the special circumstances that had arisen midway through, his absorption capacity seemed to have taken another major leap forward.
Hmm... Surely he could not directly absorb a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring next time, right?
Snow Empress and Ice Empress exchanged a glance. Over this period, they had lost count of how many times they had been shocked. They were nearly numb to it by now.
But if it was still too easy...
"Lang Lei, do you think you would feel any pressure if you directly absorbed an eighty-thousand-year Spirit Ring next time?" Snow Empress asked bluntly.
"What special circumstances?" There was a trace of tension in Snow Empress's voice.
Lang Lei was their precious treasure now. They could not allow even the slightest mishap to befall him.
"When the God of Destruction came earlier, he saw that I had exceeded the mission requirements and decided to give me some extra rewards. He directly improved my physical constitution. I should be able to withstand Spirit Rings of a higher age now."
"!!!"
So Lang Lei's sudden "growth" had not been caused by the Spirit Ring stimulating his body's development, but by a Divine Blessing directly changing his body?
It made sense when they thought about it. Absorbing a Spirit Ring might cause physical changes, but it would not cause such drastic change all at once. They had simply been so numbed by the exceptions surrounding Lang Lei that they had subconsciously overlooked it.
Then, if that was the case...
Just then, a piercing sound tore through the sky. A black-robed figure suddenly appeared above them, radiating a terrifying aura.
Fortunately, neither Snow Empress nor Ice Empress was weak, so they were not greatly affected. Still, both their expressions turned solemn.
The thing they feared most had happened after all. Di Tian had actually appeared!
Although Snow Empress had advanced in rank during this time, Di Tian was also a veteran powerhouse and absolutely could not be underestimated. Furthermore, Snow Empress and Ice Empress had Lang Lei, this "burden," with them. One of them needed to protect him, putting them at an innate disadvantage.
Just as Snow Empress was about to speak, Di Tian gave a cold snort and attacked without hesitation.
Snow Empress froze for a moment, then left behind the words, "Protect Lang Lei," before rushing forward to meet him.
Ice crystal fragments and sparks of Dragon Flame intertwined above the Star Dou Great Forest, forming a brilliant yet deadly curtain of light. Snow Empress hovered above the ancient trees, her white-blue hair whipping wildly in the polar wind. At the tip of the Extreme Cold Scepter condensed in her hand, three Ice Soul Cores gave off an eerie glow capable of freezing souls. Di Tian had already returned to his true form, coiling atop a gigantic boulder on the other side. His dark-golden Dragon Scales reflected a hard, cold gleam in the light filtering through the forest canopy. Every time his dragon claws struck the ground, spiderweb cracks spread across the earth, while his golden dragon eyes remained fixed on the sovereign of extreme cold before him.
He had not expected Snow Empress to reach such a level after merely a few thousand years apart. And when he saw the "God of Destruction's inheritor" beside Snow Empress, Di Tian understood. A flicker of anger appeared in his eyes.
No matter what his lord intended, in his eyes, their actions were undoubtedly a betrayal of soul beasts!
"Snow Empress, if you insist on protecting that human, you will become an enemy of the entire Star Dou." Di Tian's Dragon Roar shook leaves from the surrounding ancient trees. Golden Dragon Breath churned in his throat, and the temperature in the air surged instantly. Even the dead branches on the ground began to smolder. Before his words had faded, his enormous body transformed into a streak of golden lightning. His dragon claws, carrying winds powerful enough to tear space apart, lunged straight at Snow Empress, producing a shrill scream of friction through the air.
Snow Empress's gaze did not change. With a light tap of her scepter against the void, nine layers of Ice Crystal Shields instantly appeared before her, complex Ice Patterns flowing across every layer.
"If you set your sights on Lang Lei, then you are making an enemy of the Extreme North!" Snow Empress showed no weakness, her tone equally forceful.
The instant the words fell, the dragon claws slammed heavily into the Ice Crystal Shields. The moment golden energy collided with extreme cold, a terrifying shockwave erupted from the two of them and spread in every direction. All ancient trees within a hundred-meter radius were snapped at the waist, while snow and dust shot into the sky, blotting out the heavens.
The nine layers of shields shattered one after another beneath the immense force of the dragon claws. Ice crystal fragments poured down like a torrential rain, but the moment they touched Di Tian's Dragon Scales, they transformed into fine ice spikes that tried to seep through the gaps between the scales. Di Tian let out a muffled grunt, sweeping his dragon tail like a steel whip, carrying scorching Dragon Power as it lashed toward Snow Empress's chest. Snow Empress stepped lightly onto a shard of ice crystal and drifted backward like willow fluff. At the same time, she swung her scepter, and the ice crystal fragments filling the sky abruptly gathered into thousands of Ice Arrows that shot toward every vital point on Di Tian's body with sharp whistles.
Di Tian threw back his head and released an earthshaking dragon roar. Golden Dragon Flame poured from his mouth, forming a massive Flame Barrier. The Ice Arrows struck the flames and instantly melted into vapor, only to rapidly condense again amid the spreading mist, becoming an even denser Ice Mist that silently wrapped around Di Tian's body. "Petty tricks." Di Tian snorted disdainfully. Dazzling golden light erupted from his Dragon Scales as he attempted to shatter the Ice Mist, but the instant the mist touched that golden light, it transformed into bone-chilling cold and seeped into Di Tian's body through the gaps in his scales, making his massive body stiffen slightly.
In that brief moment of stiffness, Snow Empress had already appeared above Di Tian's head. The Ice Soul Cores at the tip of her scepter erupted with ultimate cold, and an Ice Pillar dozens of meters thick descended from the sky, smashing directly toward Di Tian's head. A fierce gleam flashed through Di Tian's eyes. Ignoring the cold invading his body, he crossed both claws above his head. Golden Dragon Power erupted without reservation and collided violently with the Ice Pillar.
Boom—!
After the deafening blast, an energy storm formed from extreme cold and Dragon Power ravaged the center of the Star Dou Great Forest. The ground froze into an ice layer dozens of meters deep, beneath which Dragon Power had scorched blackened marks. Snow Empress was blasted dozens of meters backward by the shockwave, a trace of pale-blue crystalline blood spilling from the corner of her mouth. Di Tian, meanwhile, knelt on one knee, his dragon claws deeply embedded in the ice. A thin layer of frost coated his dark-golden scales, and even the scales on his chest bore a faint crack.
The two looked at each other, neither showing the slightest intention of retreating. Snow Empress raised a hand to wipe away the crystalline blood from her lips, and the extreme cold around her rose once more as moisture in the air rapidly condensed into ice blades that filled the sky. Di Tian slowly rose to his feet, golden Dragon Flame enveloping his body again. Dragon Might descended upon Snow Empress like Mount Tai crushing down, and this peak battle within the Star Dou Great Forest had only just begun...
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