First Soul Ring: Xue Nianbing: Can You Spit Out Q Coins?

"There were quite a few Soul Beasts suitable as the first Soul Ring for your Frosty Ice Spear Martial Soul, such as Cold Crystal Beasts, Ice Tooth Tigers, Glacier Armor Wolves, and so on. All of them possessed tremendous offensive power."

"The most suitable would be a Soul Beast called the Dual-bladed Ice Bird. Not only did they possess powerful attacks, but they were also incredibly fast. With just a hundred years of cultivation, they could rival most Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Their only weakness was their defense, which was weaker than that of most Century-Level Soul Beasts."

Ice Empress quickly gave her recommendation based on Xue Nianbing's requirements.

Xue Nianbing's eyes immediately lit up. He nodded and said, "If it's as Sister Bing says, then the Dual-bladed Ice Bird is very suitable as the first Soul Ring for my Frosty Ice Spear."

"Only..."

"What is it?"

"It seems the Dual-bladed Ice Bird clan was wiped out by Snow Empress."

Xue Nianbing: "???"

"The Dual-bladed Ice Bird clan was extremely aggressive. They often caused widespread slaughter and delighted in killing. For the sake of the other Soul Beasts in the Far North, they had to be eliminated," Ice Empress explained.

"I see."

Xue Nianbing nodded, not feeling overly disappointed.

Whether human or Soul Beast, killing was unavoidable. Only people and beasts who delighted in slaughter were aberrations.

"Back then, I exterminated the Dual-bladed Ice Birds with more than a thousand years of cultivation. I left those below a thousand years alive, but I don't know whether any still remain."

Even Snow Empress herself was uncertain whether the Dual-bladed Ice Bird clan had gone extinct.

After all, given the Dual-bladed Ice Birds' nature, retaliation from other Soul Beasts was inevitable.

"Then let's look for them. If we can't find any, we'll go catch some Ice Jade Scorpions." Xue Nianbing grinned and made a joke.

"Xue Nianbing, I'll stab you to death!"

Ice Empress immediately flew into a rage. Her Emerald Scorpion Tail shot forward and froze Xue Nianbing into an ice block.

However, she held back and did not truly use much force.

Crack!

The ice block shattered, and Xue Nianbing emerged completely unharmed.

"Hmph."

Ice Empress gave an indignant huff, then began mobilizing her clansmen to search for the Dual-bladed Ice Birds' whereabouts.

Snow Empress also began searching for the Dual-bladed Ice Bird clan by relying on her special authority in the Far North.

With the Two Great Heavenly Kings searching, they naturally soon found a lead.

At first, they found only a flock of Dual-bladed Ice Birds with ten years of cultivation. Later, they finally found three with a hundred years of cultivation.

Two had over seven hundred years of cultivation, while one had over nine hundred years, extremely close to a thousand.

When the three Dual-bladed Ice Birds were brought before Xue Nianbing and the Ice and Snow Emperors, they were trembling so badly that they hardly dared breathe.

Dual-bladed Ice Birds with a hundred years of cultivation stood roughly two to three meters tall. Though they were birds, they could not fly and could only glide or walk.

Xue Nianbing stared at the adorably dumb Soul Beasts before him and was instantly stunned.

Why did this thing... look so familiar?

"Can you spit out Q coins?" Xue Nianbing suddenly asked.

The Ice and Snow Emperors froze. The three Dual-bladed Ice Birds also blanked out for a moment, clearly unable to understand what Xue Nianbing was saying.

"QQQ..."

The Dual-bladed Ice Birds' cries were quite distinctive, making Xue Nianbing's mouth twitch.

They could not spit out Q coins, but they could shout QQ.

Xue Nianbing shook his head with a smile, then pointed at the slightly larger Dual-bladed Ice Bird. "Sister Xue, Sister Bing, I'll choose it as my first Soul Ring."

"QQQ!"

The moment Xue Nianbing pointed at it, the Dual-bladed Ice Bird felt catastrophe descending upon it. Its broad, slightly flattened beak let out a comical cry.

"You're too noisy. Shut up."

Ice Empress glared and froze the Dual-bladed Ice Bird, then turned to Xue Nianbing. "Nianbing, this one's cultivation is a little too high. You should choose one of the other two."

"Nianbing, Bing'er is right."

"You don't need to risk absorbing a nine-hundred-year Soul Ring. Though these two only have seven hundred years of cultivation, they are also extremely close to eight hundred years."

Snow Empress likewise did not recommend that Xue Nianbing absorb the Dual-bladed Ice Bird with more than nine hundred years of cultivation.

"Sister Bing, Sister Xue."

"I know my own physical condition best. My body is different from ordinary people's, and with Extreme Ice, absorbing an Ice Attribute Dual-bladed Ice Bird with more than nine hundred years of cultivation will not be difficult."

"Besides, with both of you here, you definitely won't let anything happen to me."

Xue Nianbing smiled, still wanting to give it a try.

He valued his life. If he had not been reasonably confident about absorbing a Soul Ring with more than nine hundred years of cultivation, he would never have taken the risk.

"Nianbing, if you keep being this disobedient, be careful or I'll stab you." Ice Empress raised her Emerald Scorpion Tail, a trace of anger in her voice.

Snow Empress pondered for a moment before breaking into a smile. "Fine, we'll do as you wish."

"Snow Empress."

Ice Empress could not help becoming anxious.

"It's fine, Bing'er."

Snow Empress shook her head. "If Nianbing cannot endure it, the two of us can interrupt the Soul Ring absorption in time. Nothing will happen."

Hearing this—

"Fine, then." Ice Empress could only agree. Then her gaze fell upon Xue Nianbing as she instructed, "Nianbing, if you can't absorb the Soul Ring, don't force yourself. Remember to tell us."

"Mhm, I will."

Xue Nianbing nodded and revealed a smile.

"You're still smiling? If you want to die that badly, maybe I should just stab you to death." Ice Empress's voice was sweet and delicate; even when angry, she seemed adorable.

Seeing this, Snow Empress smiled faintly, her voice carrying a touch of helplessness. "All right, Bing'er. Let Nianbing handle it himself. We only need to stand nearby and guard him."

As she spoke, she casually waved her hand. The more-than-nine-hundred-year-old Dual-bladed Ice Bird was instantly left with only its last breath.

"Nianbing, go."

Snow Empress said.

Xue Nianbing nodded, summoned his Frosty Ice Spear, and swiftly ended the Dual-bladed Ice Bird's life without the slightest hesitation.

Very soon, a deep yellow Soul Ring condensed above the Dual-bladed Ice Bird's corpse. Its surface even carried a faint purplish tint.

Xue Nianbing immediately sat cross-legged. With a gentle beckoning motion of his hand, the Dual-bladed Ice Bird's Soul Ring flew above his head.

The next moment—

A vast surge of energy poured from above his head into every part of Xue Nianbing's body.

"Huh, this easy?"

Xue Nianbing had thought absorbing a Soul Ring would be extremely difficult. Yet not only did he feel no pain whatsoever, he actually felt very comfortable.

It felt as though the nine-hundred-and-twenty-year-old Dual-bladed Ice Bird had willingly become his Soul Ring.

Could it be because I possess Twin Ultimate Ice, making Soul Ring absorption even easier than I imagined? Xue Nianbing silently guessed.

After thinking for a moment, he chose to put those thoughts aside and focus on absorbing the Soul Ring.

"Nianbing's absorption is proceeding smoothly."

Snow Empress saw Xue Nianbing's current condition, and surprise inevitably appeared on her face.

Xue Nianbing being able to absorb this nine-hundred-and-twenty-year Soul Ring did not shock her too much. What surprised her was how smoothly he was absorbing it.

Even absorbing a Soul Ring that suited one perfectly, or one with slightly lower cultivation, was not this easy.

"How did he do it? Could it be that because of his Twin Ultimate Ice Martial Souls, he has no difficulty absorbing Ice Attribute Soul Rings?" Ice Empress's voice was also filled with surprise.

"Possibly."

Snow Empress answered, though she did not dare be completely certain.

After talking for a while, they continued observing Xue Nianbing's physical condition.