The next morning, just after dawn.
With a pair of enormous panda eyes, Huo Yuhao paced the inn corridor for a long while before finally summoning the courage to knock on Gu Yuejin's door.
It wasn't that he wanted to disturb anyone's sleep so early, but the big worm in his head was just too noisy.
"Little Yuhao! Hurry up! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
"Your master is so strong. Having him take us to the Extreme North is like a max-level character carrying a newbie through a dungeon. We can get everything for free!"
"Quit dawdling! The opportunity will be gone if we wait any longer!"
After an entire night of "mental bombardment," Huo Yuhao could only steel himself and go for it.
"Come in."
The door opened on its own. Gu Yuejin sat cross-legged on the bed, apparently having been waiting for some time.
"M-Master."
Huo Yuhao rubbed his hands together nervously and stammered, "Well... My constitution is special, and it seems I might be able to awaken a Second Martial Soul. I want to go to the Extreme North and try my luck. What do you think...?"
Looking at his Apprentice's cautious demeanor, Gu Yuejin understood.
That million-year-old hunk of worm meat really couldn't hold back any longer.
"You want to go to the Extreme North?"
Gu Yuejin remained calm. He showed none of the surprise or reluctance Huo Yuhao had expected, and didn't even waste a word.
"If you want to go, then let's go."
"Huh? You're... agreeing just like that?"
Huo Yuhao froze, clearly not expecting his usually sharp-tongued, strict master to be so easygoing.
"Why not? Do you think your master is afraid of the cold?"
Gu Yuejin casually waved a hand, bringing up the quest progress on the panel.
[Main Quest: Take Huo Yuhao as your Apprentice and raise a completely different Huo Yuhao. The greater the contrast with the Original Work in fate and personality, the more generous the reward. Current completion: 8.0%.]
It had only gone up by 3%.
It seemed that simply taking him as an Apprentice and helping him obtain his First Soul Ring had only changed things on the surface.
To claim the full reward, he would have to change Huo Yuhao's way of thinking at its very root.
The Extreme North, a Human Forbidden Zone.
The cold here wasn't merely a drop in temperature. It was a killing chill capable of freezing the soul.
The howling wind whipped up blade-like snowflakes and swept across the land. Everywhere the eye could see was a lifeless expanse of white.
The moment he stepped onto this icy wasteland, Huo Yuhao couldn't help shivering.
Even with Soul Power protecting him, the bone-deep cold still seeped in everywhere. Frost instantly formed on his eyebrows, and his lips turned purple.
"So cold..."
Huo Yuhao hugged himself, shuddering.
In the Sea of Consciousness, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was in the middle of a frantic dilemma.
"Oh no, oh no! I forgot how weak Little Yuhao's body is."
"He hasn't even reached the ring, and he's already about to freeze into a popsicle."
"Should I take out the molted shell I've been saving? No, no, that'd draw too much attention. What if this cheapskate of a master discovers my secret stash and skins me alive...?"
While Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was still agonizing over what to do, Gu Yuejin made his move.
"You can't handle even this much?"
Gu Yuejin glanced at his shivering Apprentice and chuckled. "You're such a wimp."
Before the words had even faded, golden light surged in his right palm.
Buzz—
Countless translucent Blue-Gold Vines streamed out from behind him, writhing through the air like nimble serpents.
In an instant, a tightly woven Blue-Gold Cocoon enveloped the two of them.
His Second Martial Soul, the Blue Silver Emperor.
This wasn't like Tang Ya's run-of-the-mill Blue Silver Grass. As the king of the plant world, regulating temperature and keeping out the cold were basic tricks.
Wrapped in the Blue Silver Emperor, Huo Yuhao felt the freezing wind vanish at once. In its place came a springlike warmth, along with a faint, fragrant scent of plants.
"This move is called 'Mother's Embrace~'"
Gu Yuejin explained with a wicked grin. "The name might be a little cheesy, but it's much more useful than that certain someone's Blue Silver Grass, which can only tie people up."
Huo Yuhao nodded, only half-understanding. He had no idea who the "certain someone" his master meant, but the move was amazing. It was like a mobile room with air-conditioning!
Protected by the Blue Silver Emperor, the two of them advanced deeper into the Extreme North as if walking on flat ground.
With nothing better to do along the way, Gu Yuejin began teaching his Apprentice about the Extreme North.
"Little Yuhao, do you know about the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head blankly.
"Third in rank is the Titan Snow Demon King. He's enormous, but not too bright. They say he's descended from the ancient Titan Giants. A big lump like that is good enough as a meat shield."
"Second in rank is the Ice Jade Scorpion, also known as the Ice Empress. She's hot-tempered and a total looks fanatic. She likes beautiful things. If you run into her, show her your face. It might save your life."
"As for the Snow Empress, who ranks first..."
Gu Yuejin paused, his voice tinged with amusement. "She is the incarnation of the Extreme North, the spirit of heaven and earth, and its strongest being."
Hearing Gu Yuejin rattle off every detail about the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was stunned.
Its mouth hung open, its two feelers frozen in midair.
"Holy crap! Who exactly is this kid?!"
"Forget the Titan Snow Demon King. How does he know the Ice Empress is a looks fanatic? I never told him!"
"And the Snow Empress... That's the core secret of the Extreme North! How does he know the place like the back of his hand?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm rolled around frantically in the Sea of Consciousness, feeling intellectually crushed. "Could he be some old monster who's lived for hundreds of thousands of years and been reincarnated?"
Huo Yuhao was just as dumbfounded, and his admiration for his master surged like an endless river.
"Master, you know so much!"
"Just common knowledge."
Gu Yuejin stopped and peered through the snowstorm, as though he'd already locked onto a green figure far in the distance.
He lowered his head to look at Huo Yuhao, whose face was full of curiosity, and "unintentionally" sensed the worm in the Sea of Consciousness. A malicious smile curled his lips.
"Little Yuhao, remember this."
"When choosing a Martial Soul, don't settle for less."
"A ruler of Extreme Ice like the Ice Jade Scorpion has powerful attacks and a pretty face. She's just about acceptable as your Second Martial Soul."
Then Gu Yuejin abruptly changed the subject, his voice dripping with disdain:
"But whatever you do, don't choose some bottom-dwelling trash Soul Beast. Something like an Ice Silkworm, for example."
Huo Yuhao blinked. "Huh? An Ice Silkworm?"
"Yeah. The kind that looks like a big fat worm, does nothing but sleep and run away, and can't fight at all."
Gu Yuejin mercilessly unleashed his sharp tongue:
"Those Soul Beasts are born to be food for other Soul Beasts. Choosing one as your Martial Soul is useless, unless you count living a few extra years. It's nothing but dead weight."
"No one in their right mind would choose that kind of garbage Soul Beast."
The moment he said this, the air seemed to freeze.
Huo Yuhao instinctively touched the space between his eyebrows, feeling as though something in his Sea of Consciousness had exploded.
Sure enough.
The next second, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's hysterical roar erupted in Huo Yuhao's mind.
"Bullshit! Utter nonsense!"
"Who's garbage?! Who's garbage?!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was so furious that its rolls of fat trembled. All ten golden rings shook, and tears nearly burst from its eyes.
"I'm a million-year Soul Beast! The first and only one in history!"
"This is a personal attack! This is blatant species discrimination!"
"Yuhao! Let me out!"
"I'm challenging that guy to a duel! I'll show him that the Ice Silkworm clan has its pride too. I'll smash him to pieces with a Mental Shock!"
Before you continue