North Sea!

Three hours later, Xu Tianyang had changed into a clean set of clothes.

With a slight extension of his Spiritual Power, he sensed that Xu Nianshuang had yet to emerge from seclusion. Xu Tianyang quietly sat by the window. Outside, the sky was gradually darkening. The sunset over the sea painted the heavens crimson, as though the entire sky had caught fire.

His Soul Power had now reached Rank 24. That speed could certainly be called fast, yet when he thought about it, it did not seem all that fast.

His thousand-year second Soul Ring had directly pushed him to Rank 22. With the hundred-thousand-year Whale Rubber and so many precious medicinal baths, advancing two ranks in half a year was fairly normal.

He took out a piece of metal from his Soul Tool and began attempting to engrave a Third-Grade Core Array.

There were no shortcuts to engraving Core Arrays. One could only try again and again. However, Xu Tianyang, who possessed an Innate Martial Soul with a Spiritual Attribute, held an enormous natural advantage.

Such talent meant that, even though his focus was not on Soul Tools, he had still completed every recorded second-grade soul tool array some time ago. He had now begun studying third-grade soul tool arrays.

As day turned into night, the sky outside had completely darkened in the blink of an eye. The nighttime sea breeze drifted in through the window, carrying a faint, refreshing chill.

After putting away the materials ruined by his failed engraving attempts, Xu Tianyang left his room. He saw a cool, solitary figure leaning against the corridor railing, looking down at the rolling waves below.

The sea breeze lifted several loose strands of blue hair from her forehead. Her exquisite face carried a touch of heroic spirit; valiant and dashing, nothing suited her better.

"Your cultivation broke through!" Xu Tianyang said with a smile as he walked over. He sat on the railing beside her, watching the sea with her and feeling the ocean breeze dispel the frustration caused by his failed third-grade Soul Tool array engraving.

"I just broke through. At least I won't fall too far behind you now." Xu Nianshuang turned to look at Xu Tianyang's profile, her face filled with seriousness and stubbornness.

Xu Tianyang gave a soft hum. Xu Nianshuang had her own pride and needed no excessive verbal comfort. A year ago, the gap between their Soul Power had been one rank. Now, it had become four. Although two of those ranks had come from the breakthrough brought by his second Soul Ring, his cultivation speed was still faster than hers.

"Have you decided what soul beast you want for your second Soul Ring?" Xu Tianyang asked as he looked at Xu Nianshuang.

For both of them, Xu Yunxiao and Mu Mengyu had already selected several of the most suitable soul beasts for every Soul Ring up to the Soul Saint stage. They had also gradually sent people across the continent to search for the locations of those soul beasts.

By now, the locations of at least a dozen soul beasts needed for their first four Soul Rings had been confirmed. All that remained was for them to break through one by one, then choose which ones to kill and absorb.

"Mm..." After pondering for a while, Xu Nianshuang's face showed a rare look of conflict.

"You don't want to follow the path of a control-type soul master?" Xu Tianyang turned to look at Xu Nianshuang, whose little face had scrunched up, and chuckled. After living together for a year, how could he not know what troubled her?

According to the development path Mu Mengyu had planned for Xu Nianshuang, she was meant to become a Control System Battle Soul Master. This path strengthened the Martial Soul's powerful control abilities, supplemented by the formidable firepower of Soul Tools to kill enemies.

Yet Xu Nianshuang herself did not particularly want to become a control-type soul master. She preferred assault-type soul masters. It could be felt from their usual sparring sessions that she was an extremely aggressive soul master. She had no interest whatsoever in controlling the battlefield; she only wanted to crush her enemies with relentless, storm-like attacks.

However, because this was the path Mu Mengyu had planned for her, she felt awkward about refusing it, and so she had remained conflicted.

"Shuang'er, if you cannot face your own true heart, then even if you follow Mother's expectations and become the greatest control-type soul master on the continent, your fighting style will probably end up neither here nor there," Xu Tianyang said as he looked at Xu Nianshuang, his expression stern and serious.

"I want to become an assault-type soul master." Feeling the encouragement in Xu Tianyang's words, Xu Nianshuang's heart immediately grew firm, and she spoke in a resolute tone.

"The North Sea, a thousand li north of here, is shrouded in extreme ice all year round and is practically a death zone. Yet that unusual environment has also given rise to all kinds of powerful Ice Attribute soul beasts. According to our investigation, there are Diamond Ice Apes, Articuno, Polar Lion Kings, and even Dragon Species. It is absolutely suitable for you. Go there to hunt your second Soul Ring. We'll go together this time." Xu Tianyang handed Xu Nianshuang several sheets of paper detailing the various soul beasts found in the North Sea.

"Alright!" Xu Nianshuang looked at the several powerful soul beasts listed there. They could certainly provide potent offensive soul skills and were far more suited to an assault-type soul master. Xu Tianyang had known her choice from the very beginning, which was why he had specifically found these suitable soul beasts. Her heart stirred with gratitude.

At some unknown point, the moon had risen above their heads. Bright moonlight spilled down, and beneath its glow, their shadows had somehow drawn together.

"Remember to eat the hundred-thousand-year Whale Rubber and whale soup Sister Yingying prepared for you later. Soul beast meat of this level is something one can only encounter by chance. Whale Rubber tempers the body. Once you've digested it, you can try absorbing a thousand-year second Soul Ring as well."

"Mm, I'll go eat it later!"

"..."

"Go to bed early tonight and get plenty of rest. The North Sea isn't close."

"Mm, I'll sleep after eating!"

"..."

"It's late. You really should rest!"

Seven days passed in a flash. Upon the sea, a colossal steel warship raced northward, the oncoming waves utterly unable to hinder it in the slightest.

"Your Highness, we've reached the North Sea!"

Xu Tianyang's group emerged from the cabin. In just that short time, the ship's deck had already been covered in a thick layer of snow. Everyone looked ahead and saw nothing but a vast expanse of white, a complete world of ice and snow. The raging wind howled like wolves, proclaiming the dangers of this frozen world.

This was hardly a sea. It was simply a massive continent of ice, remarkably like the Arctic and Antarctic of his previous life.

"What a harsh region."

The instant he spoke, white mist billowed from his mouth and nose, immediately freezing into tiny shards of ice that scattered through the air.

Unlike Min Yingying, Meng Tao, Li Ran, and the others, who wore thick clothing, Xu Tianyang and Xu Nianshuang were not dressed heavily. One possessed a Sun Pupil close to Extreme Fire, while the other had an ice-element Martial Soul close to Extreme Ice. This level of cold could not affect them at all.

"Your Highnesses, the ship cannot go any farther. We will proceed on Flying Soul Tools from here. You must stay close to us. Aside from the harsh climate, the soul beasts here are exceptionally powerful," Min Yingying warned Xu Tianyang and Xu Nianshuang with a grave expression.

Xu Tianyang and Xu Nianshuang were not people who failed to understand the seriousness of things. Knowing the danger of this place, they nodded earnestly.

"Based on the intelligence we've gathered, there are quite a few target soul beasts in the outer region. Which one do Your Highnesses favor?" Meng Tao asked Xu Nianshuang and Xu Tianyang as he took out a map and looked at the several areas marked in red.

Xu Tianyang and Xu Nianshuang exchanged a glance, then pointed to a spot on the map.

"That one. The Mysterious Ice Dragon Flood Dragon!"