The Thing in the Sea of Consciousness, Raising Soul Ring Age

At the same time, earth-shaking changes were taking place within Xue Nianbing's Sea of Consciousness. Countless ice-blue rays of light converged toward the center.

In an instant, an ice-blue sphere of light formed in the middle of the Sea of Consciousness. Ice Blue Mist swirled around its surface, concealing whatever lay within.

"Buzz."

Suddenly, the Ice Blue Mist on the sphere's surface extended toward Xue Nianbing.

As if it had a clear destination, the Ice Blue Mist directly enveloped the Extreme Cold Ice Spear Martial Soul that was absorbing the Soul Ring.

Under the mist's effect, the Soul Ring's aura gradually grew stronger.

"This is..."

Outside, the Snow Empress and Ice Empress watched Xue Nianbing's changes in shock.

The dark yellow Soul Ring around him steadily deepened in color, purple hues spreading across its surface until they reached a certain limit and stopped.

"Nine hundred and ninety-nine years!"

The Snow Empress immediately saw through the Soul Ring's current age.

The Ice Empress froze, then instinctively asked, "Snow Empress, what is happening? Can a Soul Ring's age increase while it is still being absorbed?"

"This..."

The Snow Empress was equally puzzled.

She had never heard of such a situation.

"Perhaps Nianbing knows what is going on. We can ask him in detail after he finishes absorbing the Soul Ring," the Snow Empress said.

"Alright."

The Ice Empress nodded, her gaze never leaving Xue Nianbing.

About the time it took for an incense stick to burn passed.

Clang!

The Extreme Cold Ice Spear seemed to let out a crisp chime. The dark yellow Soul Ring, now tinged with purple, gradually turned into energy and merged into the Martial Soul.

The Soul Ring absorption had succeeded!

Xue Nianbing opened his eyes. Light glimmered in his golden pupils, and a trace of dominance appeared within his cold gaze. As his eyes opened and closed, an air of nobility revealed itself.

"Level 14." Xue Nianbing sensed his Soul Power Level.

With the successful absorption of this nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine-year Soul Ring, his Soul Power had also risen to Level 14.

The nearly thousand-year Soul Ring, coupled with his affinity for the Ice Attribute, had raised his Soul Power by four levels at once. The gains were considerable.

Xue Nianbing got to his feet, stretched lazily, and thought to himself, A nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine-year Soul Ring is the limit of my current physical body.

And not only can it keep growing, it can even alter its age.

The ice-blue sphere of light in his Sea of Consciousness was extremely mysterious. The mist on its surface could raise a Soul Ring's age.

As long as his physical strength improved and his body could withstand more Ice Blue Mist, his Soul Ring's age would rise accordingly.

At the same time, within the Soul Ring's age limit, it could freely change its disguise.

What exactly is inside that thing?

Xue Nianbing could not help feeling curious.

The Ice Blue Mist on the surface alone could raise a Soul Ring's age. How terrifying, then, must the thing hidden inside be?

"Nianbing, how do you feel?"

The Ice Empress asked repeatedly.

The Snow Empress studied Xue Nianbing for a moment before asking, "The unknown power inside you raised your Soul Ring's age. Do you feel any discomfort?"

"Sister Xue, Sister Bing, I feel great."

A smile curled across Xue Nianbing's lips. "The increased Soul Ring age happened to stop at the limit of my physical body, and it seems it will slowly rise as my body grows stronger."

The moment he said this,

the Snow Empress and Ice Empress were startled.

Raising a Soul Ring's age was already astonishing. They had not expected it could continue increasing.

For now, it was not the Soul Ring that limited Xue Nianbing. Rather, Xue Nianbing's physical constitution limited the Soul Ring's age growth.

This was completely the opposite of other Soul Masters.

"Nianbing, what is your First Soul Skill?" the Ice Empress asked curiously.

Xue Nianbing smiled. "My First Soul Skill is called Frosty Slash: Ice Mark. I sweep with the Frosty Ice Spear, increasing attack power, attack speed, and attack range by roughly fifty percent. It lasts for the time it takes an incense stick to burn."

"How much does it consume?"

The Snow Empress asked.

"With my current Soul Power, using it continuously twelve or thirteen times should not be a problem," Xue Nianbing said with a smile.

"Not bad."

"With your current cultivation as a First Ring Soul Master, using Mark of Ice together with Extreme Ice, you would have no trouble dealing with most Second Ring Great Soul Masters. You might even be able to fight some Third Ring Soul Elders."

"Furthermore, the power of this Soul Skill depends on how you use the Frosty Ice Spear. The better you wield the spear, the more strength you can bring out."

The Snow Empress immediately saw through Xue Nianbing's situation.

A blacksmith needed to be strong himself.

Between Soul Skills and Spear Technique, Xue Nianbing needed to focus on his spear technique. The Soul Skill was more like an enhancement effect.

If he merely swept crudely and blindly, he would undoubtedly be wasting the strengthening effect brought by this Soul Skill.

"Wielding the spear..."

Xue Nianbing murmured, seemingly deep in thought.

The Snow Empress and Ice Empress watched quietly without disturbing him.

A moment later.

Xue Nianbing's eyes brightened slightly. Clearly, he had begun to glimpse his own path of cultivation.

The Snow Empress spoke at the right moment. "From now on, aside from cultivating Soul Power and learning to identify Soul Beasts, your training will involve actual combat with Soul Beasts."

"Try to use your First Soul Skill as little as possible. Fight with the most basic Ice Spear Martial Soul. Once you have developed your own spear technique, combine it with your Soul Skill. That will yield better results."

Upon hearing this, Xue Nianbing nodded. "Sister Xue, I understand."

"Mm."

The Snow Empress nodded lightly, her faint smile captivating.

"Nianbing, since your Soul Ring age can increase, why not add a Soul Ring to the Proud Snow Cold Bow Martial Soul as well?"

At this moment, the Ice Empress made a suggestion.

The usual cultivation method for Twin Martial Souls was to cultivate one and leave one, saving the latter to add higher-age Soul Rings in the future for greater strength.

However, since Xue Nianbing could raise his Soul Ring ages himself, was there still any need to cultivate one and leave one?

"No."

Before Xue Nianbing could answer, the Snow Empress shook her head. "Bing'er, we still do not know the specifics of Nianbing's body. What if the age increase only works on this one Soul Ring?"

"One must always leave room for contingencies. If Nianbing has no urgent need to raise his Soul Ring age, he can add one to it in the future all the same."

The moment she said this,

Xue Nianbing nodded as well.

Before he fully understood the thing in his Sea of Consciousness, he could not place too much hope in it. He had to leave himself a way out.

The Ice Empress carefully considered the Snow Empress's words and found them very reasonable.

"That is true. I was only focused on how quickly Nianbing's Soul Power could rise. If both Martial Souls could gain Soul Rings at the same time, his level would surely increase very quickly," the Ice Empress said.

"Raising Soul Power too quickly is not necessarily a good thing."

The Snow Empress shook her head slightly. "Nianbing has yet to become familiar with his own strength. Blindly raising his Soul Power would be ruining his future and wasting his Twin Ultimate Ice talent."

What she valued had never been Xue Nianbing's Soul Power Level, but his actual combat strength.

If she wanted to help Xue Nianbing raise his Soul Power, she could simply pile Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures onto him.

But would that be useful?

A Titled Douluo level, yet only the combat strength of a Soul Saint?

Strength was the foundation, not Soul Power.

"Nianbing, let's go."

"Your cultivation tasks begin now. Today's task is also simple: return to the Core Area of the Far North from here by yourself."

The Snow Empress's lips curled upward, revealing an innocent smile.