Shui Wuchen and Articuno

Northern border of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Frozen Forest.

The cold wind howled as endless snowflakes drifted down from the sky, dyeing the earth into a vast expanse of white.

Such an environment clearly exceeded the limits of endurance for most people. Only the few Soul Masters with ice-attribute Martial Souls would come here when hunting Soul Beasts.

As the sun rose, its warm rays shone through the snow-covered coniferous forest onto the face of a youth clad in blue, lending his handsome features a hint of gentleness.

The blue-clad youth appeared to be sixteen or seventeen. Perched on his shoulder was a small bird slightly larger than a sparrow. Its blue feathers resembled ice crystals and sparkled brilliantly beneath the sunlight, making it exceptionally beautiful.

If someone familiar with Pokémon had appeared here, they would have been utterly shocked upon seeing the little bird on the youth's shoulder. Other than being somewhat smaller, it looked exactly like Articuno from Pokémon!

After an unknown amount of time, a wave of Soul Power rippled from the blue-clad youth. Then, as though he had broken through some bottleneck, the fluctuation gradually settled.

The next moment, Shui Wuchen finally opened his eyes as well and sighed. "It's been sixteen years since I transmigrated into this world. I finally broke through to Soul Emperor today."

That was right. Shui Wuchen had not originally belonged to this world. He came from another Blue Star, a planet similar to Earth, and had transmigrated sixteen years ago to this world known as Douluo Continent.

When he had first arrived in this world, Shui Wuchen had been thrilled.

That was because he learned that this was a world of the extraordinary. Not only were there all kinds of remarkable Soul Beasts, but everyone could awaken a Martial Soul and become a powerful Soul Master.

However, after learning more, Shui Wuchen's heart sank.

He discovered that not everyone was qualified to become a Soul Master. One needed a sufficiently powerful Martial Soul and Innate Soul Power!

But how many people in this world possessed Innate Soul Power and a Martial Soul strong enough to support cultivation to the level of a Soul Master?

Less than one percent!

More than ninety-nine percent of people could never become true Soul Masters in their entire lives. They were merely ordinary people.

And in a medieval-like society filled with Soul Beasts, one could imagine the living conditions of ordinary people.

Fortunately, perhaps due to the special nature of transmigrators, Shui Wuchen's Martial Soul had mutated. He awakened a Martial Soul called Articuno, granting him the qualifications to reach the pinnacle of the world.

"Woo~"

Seeing Shui Wuchen awaken, Articuno immediately rubbed its head affectionately against the blue-clad youth.

Shui Wuchen smiled and stroked Articuno's head. "Thank you for standing guard over me, Articuno."

"Wooo~~"

Articuno narrowed its eyes, seemingly enjoying itself immensely.

Ever since awakening his Martial Soul, Shui Wuchen had discovered that his Articuno was special. Unlike other people's Martial Souls, which were like lifeless objects commanded at will, it possessed intelligence of its own.

The advantage this brought was that Articuno itself was a combat unit. If Shui Wuchen wished, they could achieve a two-against-one effect in battle.

However, Shui Wuchen had experienced modern society, after all. Since creating several Self-Created Soul Skills, there were now very few people capable of forcing him to do that.

A moment later, Shui Wuchen lowered the hand stroking Articuno and rose to his feet. Beneath him, the enormous corpse of an Ice Bird slowly came into view.

Though the Ice Bird was dead, the bursts of pressure radiating from its body still showed just how powerful it had been in life.

"As expected of a fifty-thousand-year Extreme Cold Ice Bird. Not only did it raise me directly to level sixty-two, but it also gave me the powerful Soul Skill, Blizzard."

Feeling the surging power within his body and the information transmitted from his Soul Ring, Shui Wuchen nodded slightly, deeply satisfied.

This single level of cultivation saved him nearly half a year of arduous training, while Blizzard brought a tremendous leap in his strength.

Under normal circumstances, a Soul Master could not absorb a fifty-thousand-year Soul Ring as their sixth Soul Ring. At this stage, ordinary Soul Masters generally absorbed Soul Rings between fifteen thousand and twenty thousand years old.

A man named Yu Xiaogang had even explicitly stated in his Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul theory that the absorption limit for a Soul Emperor's Soul Ring was twenty thousand years.

But Shui Wuchen found that he was an exception.

He had been able to absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring for his first Soul Ring. After that, every Soul Ring he absorbed exceeded the limits recognized by conventional Soul Masters.

That was precisely why, whenever he needed to add a Soul Ring, he almost always went out to hunt alone.

Just like this time, he and Articuno had joined forces to kill this fifty-thousand-year Extreme Cold Ice Bird, and they had even expended considerable effort to do so.

As for his Soul Rings, Shui Wuchen discovered that with Articuno's help, he could freely adjust their colors, as though the restrictions of this world simply did not exist for him.

Still, Shui Wuchen was quite pleased by this. If his Soul Ring configuration were exposed, it would be far too shocking and could very well invite unnecessary trouble.

"Wooo~~"

After Shui Wuchen stood up, Articuno flapped its wings and flew from his shoulder. Then its body abruptly grew larger, transforming before him into a gigantic bird seven or eight meters long.

Tap~

Shui Wuchen leaped lightly onto Articuno's back, pointed in a certain direction, and said, "Articuno, let's go!"

"Wooo~~"

At his words, Articuno immediately beat its wings and leisurely flew toward Skywater Academy.

Wherever it passed, specks of cold air condensed into frost and drifted down like snowflakes. Under the sunlight, they refracted seven-colored radiance, forming a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

High in the sky, Shui Wuchen sat cross-legged atop Articuno and circulated his Soul Power, beginning to meditate and cultivate.

Frozen Forest was far from their destination, and they would not arrive anytime soon. Naturally, Shui Wuchen could not waste this time.

As for safety, Articuno's combat strength surpassed even his own, enough to ensure it.

Moreover, though he was meditating, he was not completely unaware of his surroundings.

If they truly encountered any danger, he could react at the first moment and enter battle.

"Wooo~~"

After flying for a full day and night, Articuno turned its head and called out to Shui Wuchen, who was meditating, as though reminding him that they were nearing their destination.

Hearing this, Shui Wuchen immediately stopped meditating, opened his eyes, and slowly stood.

Whoosh, whoosh~

Shui Wuchen stood with his hands behind his back. His Ice Blue Long Robe snapped loudly in the gale as he looked down upon a city not far below.

The city stood beside a rushing river. Its buildings were tall and magnificent, and above its gates, several grand characters were boldly inscribed—

Skywater City!