Shock: Was Spirit Ice Douluo the Ice Empress Transformed?

In the elevator to the tenth floor, Hua Yichen looked at Huo Yuhao beside him and asked:

"Since you want to study Soul Spirits, have you heard of the legend of the First Generation Tower Master?"

"Spirit Ice Douluo?"

Huo Yuhao's expression did not change. He showed just the right amount of curiosity. "There are too few legends about him. I only know that he created the Spirit Pagoda and developed the Soul Spirit Method. I know nothing else."

Forget legends—Ten Thousand Years Ago, he had been a Hidden World Douluo, no less formidable than the Clear Sky Sect. Aside from becoming more active after founding the Spirit Pagoda, he rarely appeared before others in his true appearance.

What the world knew of him was even more limited. They only knew of one of his Martial Souls—the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion. They did not even know about the Spirit Eye.

Otherwise, he would not have appeared in the Spirit Pagoda using his original appearance and Spirit Eyes Martial Soul.

Hua Yichen nodded. "There are indeed very few legends left behind by the First Generation Tower Master. However, the legacy he left to the Spirit Pagoda has endured through the ages. It was also because of him that Soul Beasts and humans can now coexist peacefully."

At this point, Hua Yichen paused before speaking frankly.

"You have not studied the relevant knowledge yet, so some concepts may be difficult for you to understand. Just listen to it as a story for now."

"In truth, with the Federation's current strength, wiping out Soul Beast habitats would be effortless. Logically speaking, the relationship between humans and Soul Beasts should be extremely tense. Yet the First Generation Tower Master seemed to have foreseen this. The Soul Spirit Contract and Contract Dissolution Method he left behind eased the conflict between both sides."

As he listened, Huo Yuhao recalled every detail from when he had first created the Soul Spirit system.

The Soul Spirit Method he had left behind was different from the one left behind by Huo Yuhao in the Original Work.

After all, his Elder Yi was still alive!

With Elder Yi's knowledge and experience, his research into Soul Spirits had gone much deeper. He was capable of making certain improvements and restrictions, and he had added the Soul Spirit Contract to the Soul Spirit system!

According to that contract, one needed to sign a Soul Spirit Contract with the Soul Spirit's consent in order to absorb it. Otherwise, the process would fail.

After signing the contract, the Soul Spirit could grow alongside the Soul Master. If the Soul Master was strong enough, the Soul Spirit could even evolve on its own. The Soul Master, meanwhile, could communicate with the Soul Spirit through the contract in advance and choose their own soul skills!

For this Soul Spirit Contract, Huo Yuhao had only referenced the Blood Contract from the Holy Demon Continent. He had not included a compulsory master-servant contract. This fundamentally eliminated the possibility of raising and enslaving Soul Beasts like in the Original Work!

Wanted to force a Soul Spirit into signing a contract?

Fine, but first they would have to crack the twenty-eight security procedures Elder Yi had left within the Soul Spirit Contract and reverse-engineer the cultivation system of the Holy Demon Continent. Otherwise, they were dreaming in broad daylight.

Besides the Soul Spirit Contract, he had also introduced the Contract Dissolution Method, allowing both parties to dissolve their contract with mutual consent.

When Soul Spirits had first emerged Ten Thousand Years Ago, all Soul Masters could only obtain Soul Spirits according to his method.

In other words, they had to go through two steps—find a Soul Beast willing to become a Soul Spirit, then sign a contract at the Spirit Pagoda.

But where could they find so many Soul Beasts willing to become Soul Spirits?

At that time, Huo Yuhao gave everyone another way forward.

He had reached a Cooperation agreement with Di Tian and Snow Empress!

With the approval of the Leaders of two major Soul Beast habitats, they naturally attracted considerable support, and the number of Soul Beasts willing to become Soul Spirits skyrocketed.

Then, it was time for the Contract Dissolution Method to come into play.

A Soul Spirit was a Life that could grow. So what would happen if, before a Soul Master died, they dissolved the contract and passed the Soul Spirit down to their descendants, generation after generation?

Hua Yichen gave the answer.

"...Because of the Contract Dissolution Method, the strongest kind of Soul Spirit was born—the Legendary Soul Spirit!"

"In some Soul Master Families, powerful Soul Spirits continued to be passed down and grow. Their cultivation steadily increased, their relationship with the Soul Master Families became ever closer, and their influence grew year by year. In the end, they became part of the Soul Master Families and turned into Guardian Spirits."

"The heirs of those families all had to be chosen by them. After all, a Soul Spirit Contract could only be signed with the Soul Spirit's consent, and only a Soul Spirit that had signed a Soul Spirit Contract could dissolve it rather than vanish with the Soul Master."

The soul-guided elevator doors opened. Hua Yichen took the lead in walking out and said to Huo Yuhao, who followed him out.

"With Legendary Soul Spirits standing on the Soul Beasts' side, the Radical Faction that wanted to raise Soul Beasts in captivity and study Soul Spirits completely lost its chance. That is why some people slander the First Generation Tower Master as a Soul Beast Transformation. Since you have joined the Spirit Pagoda, you will inevitably hear such rumors. Do not let them affect you when the time comes."

"Also, when researching Soul Spirits, do not be too unscrupulous. Harming Soul Spirits would leave a bad impression."

Huo Yuhao nodded, then asked curiously, "According to the rumors, what Soul Beast was Spirit Ice Douluo transformed from?"

"Ice Empress."

"Ice... Empress?"

Huo Yuhao's expression became somewhat strange.

Hua Yichen gave a slight nod and sighed.

"That's right. The Ice Empress, ranked seventh among the Ten Great Fierce Beasts Ten Thousand Years Ago—the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion! After all, Spirit Ice Douluo's Martial Soul was the Ice Jade Scorpion!"

During the era when Spirit Ice Douluo appeared, the Ice Empress of the Extreme North had also vanished. She had been missing for many years, without any news whatsoever.

The logical conclusion was that during that period, the Ice Empress had completed her re-cultivation and ultimately appeared as Spirit Ice Douluo.

Because, during her re-cultivation, she had witnessed the power of the human world and foreseen that Soul Beasts would one day be eliminated. Thus, using her advantage as a Soul Beast herself, she created the Soul Spirit Contract and deeply bound humans and Soul Spirits together.

That was what those who slandered the First Generation Tower Master claimed.

It sounded rather reasonable, enough to make even Huo Yuhao himself reveal an indescribable expression.

What could he even say?

If Snow Empress were not still around, would Su Tong have become Snow Empress Transformation? Was the Spirit Pagoda actually a private reserve created by the Extreme North?

Later generations really had wild imaginations...

In silence, the two entered a room together.

The room covered nearly a hundred square meters and housed all kinds of large instruments. Yellow Light Clusters floated within it, each one clearly containing a different Soul Spirit.

However, those were not Hua Yichen's target.

He dismissed the Staff Members here, then walked to the instrument at the center of the room and operated it for a moment. Three pillars rose before them, each topped with a Yellow Light Cluster.

"These Soul Spirits are a seven-hundred-year Ice Silkworm, a six-hundred-year Purple Spirit Wolf, and a seven-hundred-year Silver Hero Beast. According to the Spirit Pagoda's research, the soul skills they can provide are all quite good."

Hua Yichen pointed at the row of Yellow Light Clusters and smiled slightly at Huo Yuhao.

"Which one do you want?"

After only a brief hesitation, Huo Yuhao, who knew the three Soul Beasts quite well, walked straight to the Ice Silkworm Soul Spirit. "That one."

Hua Yichen was somewhat surprised, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

"Why?"

"Of the three Soul Spirits, only the Ice Silkworm appears completely ordinary, yet it stands alongside the other two. It clearly has something exceptional about it."

"This child is rather clever."

Faced with Huo Yuhao's answer, Hua Yichen nodded in satisfaction. "Correct. This is the first lesson I want to teach you. In the Soul Spirit Era, you can choose soul skills according to your own wishes, so you cannot choose Soul Beasts with the old way of thinking."

"For example, although this Ice Silkworm is a Soul Beast with very weak offensive power, it can provide Mental Attribute Soul Masters with a divine skill—Simulation."

"Through spiritual fluctuations, it can distort space and use itself as the foundation to simulate all kinds of forms. It has no offensive power, but it is an excellent soul skill for support, tricking people, and escaping."

Though he spoke of tricking people and escaping, Hua Yichen's expression did not change at all.

Pure combat power was useless. Only a living genius could become a Strong Expert!

He did not want the genius he had discovered to die halfway through his growth.

Huo Yuhao was equally expressionless.

There was no crime in tricking people, and escaping was perfectly justified.

Who did not have enemies? Who did not have times when a strategic retreat was necessary?

A genius who grew up became a Strong Expert. One who failed to grow up was nothing but a pile of dirt!

On this point, he and Hua Yichen shared the same view.