Snow Empress Three Absolutes, Han Lin's Pinnacle Creation

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

During those half months, Shu Yan had nothing urgent to attend to. Aside from cultivating each day, he learned ice-control techniques under the guidance of the Ice Snow Two Emperors and pushed himself to his limits.

Snow Empress had originally planned to teach Shu Yan the Snow Empress Three Absolutes: the so-called Emperor Sword: Ice Extreme Unrivaled, Emperor Palm: Great Cold Without Snow, and finally, Emperor Cold Heaven: Snow Dance Shining Sun.

As Snow Empress's most closely guarded ultimate techniques, each of these three moves was incomparably powerful. They were also the strongest killing moves she had gradually explored, perfected, and comprehended over countless years. For an ordinary person to fully understand them would be no easier than facing a Titled Douluo with the cultivation of a Soul King.

But Shu Yan was different. He and Snow Empress were practically of the same origin, and his speed in comprehending these three great killing moves surpassed that of others by an unknown extent. In just half a month, he had already faintly touched upon the threshold of entry. As his cultivation steadily rose, his understanding of these three great killing moves would gradually deepen as well. One day, he would completely master the Snow Empress Three Absolutes, so Shu Yan was in no rush.

Xu Jiujiu remained busy. As an imperial princess, though she did not need to directly handle those tedious and boring affairs of state, many matters still required her attention. There was nothing to be done about that. The current imperial bloodline had weakened, and there were pitifully few who could shoulder great responsibility. As a direct descendant of the imperial family, Xu Jiujiu naturally could not simply stand aside. She would contribute whatever she could. After all, from another perspective, was this not also a form of tempering for herself?

Once the half-month deadline arrived, Han Lin appeared outside the Princess Mansion right on time. Shu Yan welcomed him inside, and the two sat across from each other at a table. Looking at the disheveled Han Lin and the exhaustion plainly visible on his face, Shu Yan sighed softly before saying,

"This time, I have troubled Old Han. You must have devoted considerable effort to this matter. After returning today, you should rest properly for a while. Later, this junior will have someone deliver some heavenly treasures to nourish your body and soul, as compensation for your trouble."

Han Lin grinned and waved his hand carelessly, saying openly,

"There is no need for such trouble. Little friend, you provided me with such precious materials for my research. That is already the finest compensation I could receive. This time, this old man has not disappointed you either. I have brought the finished product. Please take a look."

As he spoke, a flash of silvery-white light appeared, and a strange circular Soul Tool emerged before Shu Yan.

The circular Soul Tool was entirely silver-white, with magnificent yet eerie patterns engraved around its outer edge. As it slowly rotated, wisps of cold air poured down from it like drifting mist.

Unlike the silver-white outer shell, the interior of this Soul Tool was a nearly transparent deep blue. Streams of light occasionally flashed within it. Five diamond-shaped crystals were embedded above it. One had already turned red, while the remaining four were still motionless grayish-white.

"According to little friend's request, with Giant Strength Douluo's assistance, this old man combined that ten-thousand-year Titan Snow Demon skull bone with the Level Eight Soul Tool, Soul Shield, which I previously developed. During the creation and fusion process, I also selected and integrated the marvelous functions of many Soul Tools into it."

"Not only can this Soul Tool control and imprison souls, but it can also instantly release the skill of the Level Seven Soul Tool, Heavenly Net, to be used as a control-type soul skill. Within reasonable limits, it can store Spiritual Power and Soul Power to enhance its user. It can even forcibly control and summon the remnant soul of that ten-thousand-year Titan Snow Demon, allowing it to fight in a near-physical form. However, doing so requires sacrificing... ah, pfft, storing enough souls..."

"Furthermore, because it incorporates the Level Eight Soul Tool, Soul Shield, this Soul Tool can also magnify and reduce Spiritual Power to a certain extent. This is an exceedingly rare breakthrough in the entire Soul Tool world. However, since this old man is encountering such a case for the first time, I do not know its true limits or its practical applications..."

"But there is no denying that this Soul Tool is unquestionably the pinnacle creation of this old man's entire career in crafting Soul Tools. Though it is merely a Level Eight-and-a-Half Soul Tool, in practice, it is sufficient to stand alongside some Level Nine Soul Tools. Even I am surprised that I managed to complete the entire process within half a month. The process went so smoothly that it was practically as though the heavens themselves were aiding me..."

By the end, a clear trace of excitement and mania had appeared in Han Lin's voice. This was something he had never experienced in his previous Soul Tool research. It was an enormous surprise to him, as well as a historic breakthrough in his journey of researching Soul Tools, even though he clearly knew that certain abilities of this Soul Tool he had personally made were no different from those of an Evil Soul Master.

But in the end, Han Lin did not care about such things. He only wanted to research and create Soul Tools. As for what Shu Yan intended to use it for?

Sorry, he did not care in the slightest.

Perhaps many people did not know that Han Lin's teacher had once been a powerful Evil Soul Master and an Eighth-Grade Soul Engineer. The fact that master and disciple had ultimately fallen out and tried to kill each other was partly due to this.

Yet there was no denying that that Eighth-Grade Soul Engineer had influenced Han Lin's entire life and greatly shaped his temperament. Perhaps deep in his bones, he still carried a trace of ruthlessness and bloodlust hidden extremely deeply. But likewise, Shu Yan did not care about any of that. Ruthlessness, indiscriminate killing—what did any of it have to do with him? So long as Han Lin was loyal enough, even if he were a hidden Evil Soul Master, Shu Yan would not say a single word of nonsense.

After accepting the beautifully designed and cool-looking Soul Tool, Han Lin spoke again.

"This Soul Tool does not yet have a name. I originally intended to name it myself, but after giving it some thought, I decided to leave that to you, little friend."

Shu Yan nodded, pondered for a moment, then said,

"Let us call it Yin's Netherfall. What does Old Han think?"

Han Lin softly repeated the name, then laughed loudly.

"Good! It shall be called Yin's Netherfall. That name is domineering enough. This old man likes it!"

The two chatted for a few more moments before Han Lin rose directly to take his leave. Shu Yan escorted him out of the mansion, then, with several flashes, arrived in the spacious rear courtyard of the Princess Mansion. Snow Empress had already been waiting there for some time. Shu Yan did not know exactly when she had arrived. She had likely sensed Han Lin's aura, felt uneasy, and come over to investigate.

After all, Snow Empress's current residence was truly separated from the Princess Mansion by only two walls...

Seeing Shu Yan arrive, Snow Empress narrowed her eyes and examined him for a while before directly extending her hand.

"Hand it over."

Shu Yan froze slightly and looked down at himself, genuinely unable to understand what Snow Empress meant for a moment.

Seeing Shu Yan's bewildered expression, Snow Empress lightly tapped the tabletop and said in an even tone,

"That Soul Tool you just obtained. Hand it over so this Emperor can take a look."

Shu Yan froze again. Though he did not know why Snow Empress wanted to see Yin's Netherfall, he still took it out. In the next instant, he felt his hand go empty. By the time he came back to his senses, Yin's Netherfall was already in Snow Empress's hand.

Snow Empress sent her Spiritual Power into it and immediately sensed a powerful pulling force. Deeper within, she detected a familiar aura. Her expression shifted slightly, but it quickly returned to normal. Seeing this, Shu Yan could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. After all, the three Titan Snow Demons they had hunted in the Extreme North Land had not been ordinary soul beasts. He had been somewhat worried that Snow Empress might harbor dissatisfaction. But on second thought, there was truly no alternative.

He had little interest in the Soul Spirits that would only emerge in the future. At present, obtaining soul rings naturally still required hunting soul beasts. In all the world, only the Extreme North Land and the Ice Sea beyond it possessed soul beasts capable of meeting his requirements. Honestly, if Snow Empress truly objected, the entire matter would inevitably become rather troublesome.