Time flew by like a white horse glimpsed through a crack. In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.
At the northernmost tip of Douluo Continent, aboard a jolting carriage.
"My lord, Ice Plains City is just ahead. We're almost at our destination."
"I know!" replied a somewhat aged voice.
At the Horse Station in the city.
A middle-aged man said to a figure cloaked in white, "My lord, that'll be five Gold Soul Coins for the trip."
"Here you are!" The heavily concealing robe lifted slightly, and five Gold Soul Coins landed in the driver's hand. The figure in white turned and walked away.
"Hahaha, Yuhao, that wasn't easy! We've finally made it to the Far North."
"How is it? My molted skin is pretty good, isn't it? You can't feel the cold at all."
"It really is amazing!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice rang in Huo Yuhao's ear. Wearing Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's molted skin, Huo Yuhao stared at the spotless white robe draped over him, as pristine as a snowflake from the heavens.
"It really is amazing, Sister Tianmeng!"
Huo Yuhao walked along a road in the city specially set aside for travelers like them.
"Elder Yi, thanks for helping us get out this time. And for disguising us along the way."
"No need to thank me!"
As Huo Yuhao thought back over his journey, he realized it really hadn't been easy at first.
More than four months ago, Huo Yuhao's Soul Power had reached rank twenty.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had told Huo Yuhao that he could head to the Far North.
But why had it taken so long? His mother and Uncle Mo hadn't been easy to fool!
Fortunately, Electrolux had helped Huo Yuhao half a month ago.
Under the pretext that Huo Yuhao's master was accompanying him, and with Electrolux summoning an Undead Creature at least as powerful as a Titled Douluo, Huo Yuhao had finally managed to break free and come to the Far North.
After wandering around the city, Huo Yuhao arrived at a luxurious hotel.
He was going to rest here tonight and prepare for what he had to do tomorrow.
Huo Yuhao had some ideas of his own about his Second Martial Soul. He would see tomorrow whether things could unfold as he expected.
Two days later, amid the biting wind and snow, a white figure pressed onward.
"Yuhao, we've been lucky venturing this deep into the Far North. We haven't encountered any powerful Soul Beasts along the way."
Wrapped in Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's molted skin, Huo Yuhao said nothing, listening quietly as Sky Dream Ice Silkworm spoke.
It wasn't that he didn't want to respond. The farther they ventured into the Far North, the deeper the snow beneath his feet grew.
By now, it was higher than his thighs, leaving half his body submerged in the snow.
Huo Yuhao had no choice but to use both his hands and feet to crawl forward.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's incessant chatter along the way had helped ease some of Huo Yuhao's loneliness.
The little Tianmeng's voice was quite pleasant!
After an unknown length of time, they reached a place where the snow came up to Huo Yuhao's belly.
At last, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm called a halt.
Huo Yuhao took some rations from his Storage Belt. They were as hard as some kind of Russian black bread. He forced them down with a mouthful of snowmelt warmed by his body heat.
Once the food replenished his energy, Huo Yuhao's pale face finally looked a little better.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual body flew out from Huo Yuhao's Spirit Sea.
"Yuhao, what we do next will determine whether we can get you a powerful Second Martial Soul."
"If we can convince the Ice Empress to join us, our chances of becoming gods in the future will soar!"
"Sorry, Yuhao. Because of my selfish motives, you'll have to suffer a little longer."
Huo Yuhao smiled unconcernedly. "We've been together for three years. Didn't you explain everything to me?"
"Everyone has their own selfish motives. I support your decision, too."
"A 400,000-year-old Soul Beast is tempting. Go ahead and do it, Tianmeng."
Who could refuse a little Ice Empress? Right, you lolicon?
Huo Yuhao took a red crystal from his Storage Belt.
He tossed Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's molted skin—the garment protecting him from the bitter cold—to Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
"Go! With this protection produced by the Crimson Scorpion, I won't have to fear the low temperatures for now."
The red crystal Huo Yuhao had taken out was something he'd acquired a year ago at an auction house in the Star Luo Empire.
The Crimson Scorpion was a Soul Beast that lived in the hot, arid deserts in the central region of Douluo Continent.
Because of the desert's extreme temperature swings, the scorpions could produce something called Crimson Flame Crystal, which was used to keep warm at night.
Huo Yuhao held the Crimson Flame Crystal, feeling warmth spread through his body.
However, a single Crimson Flame Crystal could only store so much heat.
Huo Yuhao could feel its warmth fading rapidly.
The bad news was that it could protect him for no more than an hour.
The good news was that Huo Yuhao had brought twenty-four of them, enough to let the Ice Empress and Tianmeng chat for a whole day.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm used spiritual power to support her molted skin, her little face stern.
"I won't let all your efforts go to waste."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm poured all her spiritual power into the task. Of the ten clusters of Spiritual Origin fused into Huo Yuhao's body, nine flew out.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm brought her hands down in a pressing motion. The nine clusters of Spiritual Origin stacked together, and a golden silkworm took shape amid the golden light.
"Ice Empress, I'm sure you've sensed my presence."
"I once told you: thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't look down on an Ice Silkworm just because it's weak."
"I'm stronger now, Ice Empress. Dare to fight me?"
Deep in the core of the Far North, inside a resplendent ice palace.
A scorpion about five feet tall, its body made up of emerald and ice-blue colors, opened its two glittering, yellow-gemstone eyes.
Its entire body was covered in hexagonal facets resembling diamonds.
A long, jade-green tail grew from its back.
"Tianmeng, you actually dared to come back!"
One of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, the Ice Empress, gazed at her with an overwhelming desire to devour her.
But... the Ice Empress glanced back at the blue crystal door behind her.
Xue'er was attempting to form a Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Soul Core and needed someone to protect her.
As for Tianmeng... such a huge, easily obtainable feast was so close by. The Ice Empress couldn't bear to give it up.
After weighing the pros and cons, the Ice Empress cast an Ice Prohibition Barrier over the door behind her.
If any Soul Beast came near, she would sense it at once.
"Tianmeng, I'm here!"
"Ice Empress, answer my call and come to my side!" Tianmeng's voice was exceptionally gentle.
Huo Yuhao yawned lazily. "Sister Tianmeng, it's been several minutes. What if she doesn't come?"
"You little brat, what do you know?" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm called out. "The bond between me and the Ice Empress is so profound it can move heaven and earth!"
"As soon as I appear, she's bound to show up too."
"We're inseparable, utterly devoted to each other. We'll never part!"
"Tianmeng, who wants to be devoted to a useless person like you and stay together forever?"
A clear, cold voice rang out, carrying a hint of hunger to devour.
On the horizon, an emerald-green radiance rapidly spread.
Before Huo Yuhao and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, beneath the emerald-green glow, stood a stunning ice scorpion that looked as though it were made of diamonds and jade.
Before you continue