Fifth Soul Ring, Departure, and a Mischievous Prank

What Ice Empress said was indeed proven true. Over the course of nearly two and a half months, the countless clans of the Extreme North Land acted almost simultaneously upon the decree of the Ice Snow Two Emperors. The areas including the Core Circle, especially those near the Ice Sea, were turned upside down. Only when not a single suspicious human figure could be found did the search finally come to an end.

During this time, Shu Yan's Soul Power Level also smoothly reached level fifty-three. The further he progressed, the more difficult it became to raise his Soul Power by each level. Shu Yan felt this deeply and gained an even greater understanding of how difficult it was to cultivate an Extreme Attribute.

I forgot to mention earlier that his fifth Soul Ring was also exceptionally special.

After absorbing the enormous energy within the Snow Lotus, the Heavenly Snow Woman bloodline within his body began to boil. The aura it released fused with the vast essence of heaven and earth and the energy he had absorbed, ultimately becoming his fifth Soul Ring. This black Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring was now roughly forty-five thousand years old.

In other words, this Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring born from the aura of his own bloodline and pure energy was effectively equivalent to a Soul Ring produced by a forty-five-thousand-year Heavenly Snow Woman. After all, its most fundamental components had all come from himself. Examined more deeply from that perspective, there was nothing wrong with Shu Yan putting it that way.

One morning, Shu Yan stood atop the snowy mountain behind the palace, gazing into the distance. The cold wind blew straight at him, stirring the thin layer of snow on the ground and blurring everything far away until it could no longer be seen clearly.

A faint melancholy flashed through Shu Yan's eyes, and he could not help letting out a soft sigh.

His sense of time had already grown somewhat hazy, but by rough calculation, he had now spent more than eight months in the Extreme North Land. To be precise, he had turned another year older and had officially reached thirteen.

Just as he was standing there lost in thought, faint footsteps suddenly sounded behind him. Shu Yan turned at the sound and found that the newcomer was Snow Empress, now dressed in an ice-blue long gown.

Snow Empress wore a calm expression as she walked up beside Shu Yan. Her gaze followed his toward the distance before she softly asked,

"Are you thinking about home?"

Shu Yan was slightly startled, then gave a faint laugh.

"Something like that. Though for me, the word 'home' may be a bit too extravagant."

Snow Empress paused slightly, then smiled helplessly.

"Alright. The matters in the Extreme North Land have now been resolved. I'm sorry. As the ruler of the Extreme North, I naturally must take responsibility for the races that believe in me. What happened here was different from before, and it delayed us for so long. I've wronged you."

Shu Yan shook his head and said softly,

"It's fine as long as the problem is solved. What difference does a little more time or a little less make? It's nothing serious."

Snow Empress nodded, then seemed to recall something. From somewhere unknown, she produced a leg bone emitting a dense, weighty Earth Attribute aura and handed it to Shu Yan.

"This Soul Bone was also obtained by Bing'er after she killed those Soul Masters. It came from that Titled Douluo. After the humans died, Bing'er's clansmen collected it. She was too busy afterward and forgot to give it to you along with the rest, so she asked me to bring this Soul Bone to you this time."

Shu Yan's expression turned serious, and he reached out to accept the Soul Bone from Snow Empress.

The moment it entered his hand, a vast and heavy aura filled Shu Yan's senses.

After pondering for a moment, Shu Yan finally said,

"An Earth Attribute Soul Bone, at least fifty thousand years old. The soul beast that produced it was likely a top-tier Earth Attribute soul beast similar to an earth dragon. Otherwise, it could never possess such an aura. I have to say, this really is an exceptional Soul Bone. It is extremely suitable for ordinary pure strength-type Soul Masters or defense-type Soul Masters."

"These Soul Engineers who defected from the Sun Moon Empire were not ordinarily wealthy. Almost every one of them carried a few Soul Bones of average quality. It seems their status in the Sun Moon Empire must have been quite impressive."

As he spoke, Shu Yan put the Soul Bone away. He would have to be an idiot to refuse a free top-tier Soul Bone. Even if neither he nor Xu Jiujiu could use it, it was still better for it to gather dust with him than remain in Ice Empress's hands. If he ever decided to build his own faction in the future, it might come in handy.

Snow Empress merely smiled and said nothing further on the matter. After a brief silence, she suddenly said,

"Tomorrow, Bing'er will come find us. Then you'll lead the way. Bing'er and I will also make a trip to the human world..."

Shu Yan abruptly raised his head, only to find Snow Empress looking at him with smiling eyes. The wind and snow seemed to flow around her, leaving a ring of silent emptiness at her side. Shu Yan found it difficult to describe such a breathtaking sight with words.

Snow Empress smiled and slowly raised her hand, but it paused in midair for a moment before continuing. Seeing that Shu Yan still had not reacted, she laughed softly, and her figure gradually vanished into the wind and snow, leaving only Shu Yan standing there, his body slightly stiff.

After a long while, Shu Yan caught the lingering cool fragrance on his cheek. His hand unconsciously touched it, and he silently laughed.

That behavior truly did not resemble the aloof and noble Snow Empress, who was like an Empress...

The day of leaving the Extreme North Land arrived even sooner than Shu Yan had expected. Early the next morning, while the sky was still dim, Ice Empress shook him awake with an unhappy expression. Seeing Shu Yan's exhausted face, Ice Empress sneered and said,

"What, already suffering from kidney deficiency? Why do you look like you're about to die? That doesn't seem like you, Little Shu..."

Shu Yan replied rather speechlessly,

"Where did you learn those words? Remember this: don't casually say those two words to boys in the future, or someone might fly into a rage and fight you to the death."

Ice Empress proudly lifted her chin.

"Human writing isn't difficult. I figured it all out after studying it for a while. My clan happened to have quite a few belongings left behind by humans who died in the Extreme North Land. I looked through them when I had time, so naturally, I learned quite a few interesting things..."

Shu Yan rolled his eyes, feeling that the things those humans had left behind were probably not anything wholesome.

He glanced at the dark sky outside, sat up from the ice bed, casually draped an outer robe over himself, and followed the clearly cheerful Ice Empress out of the side hall.

Within the main hall, Snow Empress sat casually upon the throne. Seeing the two of them, a smile curled across her lips.

"Are you both ready?"

Ice Empress stepped forward, hugged one of Snow Empress's legs, and said with a giggle,

"Don't worry, Xue'er, everything has been arranged. While we're gone, Little White will lead the Ice Bear clan and the members of our Ice Scorpion clan in continuing to patrol the borders of the Extreme North Land. If anything unusual happens, Little White will notify us through the methods you left behind. Besides, aren't those brainless brutes from the Titan Snow Demon clan still here? Just rest easy..."

Snow Empress smiled and pinched Ice Empress's cheek, then slowly rose to her feet. With one step, she had already arrived behind Shu Yan.

Ice Empress skipped after Snow Empress. Before they officially set off, she seemed to recall something amusing and moved closer to Snow Empress.

"Xue'er, you've been so tired these past few days, so don't fly with Little Shu this time. Leave it to me. Don't worry, I'll definitely take good care of him..."

Snow Empress glanced at Shu Yan behind them with great interest. He still had no idea what was about to happen, but she ultimately nodded lightly.

Having received Snow Empress's approval, Ice Empress's smile widened. Yet that smile carried a trace of ill intent. For some reason, Shu Yan felt a deep sense of malice and had the feeling that something bad was about to happen...

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