"You little rascal, Mu Xuanheng! You had something this amazing and didn't even tell us."
Xu Sanshi dragged Bei Bei over to give him a thorough scolding.
News of the orange Soul Ring had spread far and wide.
As a new Soul Ring color, it had left countless people wanting to know how it came about.
As the owner of an orange Soul Ring, Mu Xuanheng was already a household name at Shrek.
And Gu Yuena, who had a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as her third, was famous right alongside him. After all, they spent nearly all their time together, whether in class or at meals.
Bei Bei asked curiously, "Where's Gu Yuena? Isn't she practically inseparable from you?"
Xu Sanshi said, "Now that you mention it, Bei Bei, even Nannan and I aren't as close as you two."
"It's vacation. She has to go home, right? I couldn't exactly force her to come chat with you guys."
Even Mu Xuanheng sounded a little unsure of his own excuse.
At the mention of vacation, Xu Sanshi was overjoyed. "It's finally vacation! I'm taking Nannan home. Or we could go to her place."
Bei Bei asked, "What are you going to do, Xuanheng?"
Mu Xuanheng raised a finger to his lips. "It's a secret."
What he planned to do was simple: find the Ice Empress and form a Contract with her.
The Ice Empress had refused him last time, but he was sure she wouldn't this time.
"Fine, fine. You've always got so many secrets. I'll take Nannan and head out. See you next semester."
Bei Bei said, "I'm almost a Soul Ancestor. You must be close, too, right?"
Mu Xuanheng sensed his Soul Power Level. He was already at Level 39. "More or less."
Whenever Soul Power Levels came up, he felt like the current rules had dealt him a lousy hand.
He'd originally figured that after forming a Contract with the Snow Empress, he'd be a four-ring Soul Master by the end of his first year.
But becoming Ultimate Ice had compressed all the Soul Power he'd cultivated before.
On top of that, cultivating an Ultimate Martial Soul from Level 30 to Level 70 was slow, and his Soul Power had, by a stroke of bad luck, stopped at Level 39.
Once he reached Level 40, he wouldn't even need to hunt a Soul Beast. He could obtain his fourth Soul Ring right away and become a Soul Ancestor.
After parting ways with Bei Bei, Mu Xuanheng set off alone for the Extreme North.
"Not bringing that old man along?" the Snow Empress's voice rang out in his mind at just the right moment.
Last time, bringing Mu En had shortened his lifespan. There was no way he'd bring him again.
But he wasn't like Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao could deceive both sides at once, but Mu Xuanheng had people keeping an eye on him.
Xuan Zi had been following him. As soon as he left Shrek City, Xuan Zi appeared and hauled him back.
"Hey, old man, what are you doing? You won't even let me leave the house?"
Xuan Zi spat out the bone in his mouth. "You think Mu En and I are idiots? He told me ages ago that you wouldn't give up on forming a Contract with the Ice Empress. And look, I caught you red-handed."
Mu En had been there when the Contract failed last time. He'd seen that Mu Xuanheng truly wanted the Ice Empress.
Afraid Mu Xuanheng would run into the same trouble again, Mu En had told Xuan Zi to keep watch on him.
"With me there, nothing will go wrong in the Extreme North." The Snow Empress appeared beside Mu Xuanheng. As the ruler of the Extreme North, her presence could drive away any Soul Beast.
"Old man, what are you so worried about? Chaofeng hasn't even stirred. That means I'm fine."
Chaofeng hadn't so much as moved, which meant there was no danger.
"Still trying to fool me. Chaofeng can't see the future. Even if it can glimpse danger ahead, it can't see more than two days into the future. What if something happens to you this time?" Xuan Zi was determined not to let him go.
"How about you come with me?"
"I was waiting for you to say that." Xuan Zi cleared his throat. "You heard wrong."
"So, are you coming or not?"
"I'm coming!" Xuan Zi also wanted to see how the Contract worked.
The ability to conjure Soul Rings out of thin air—and even produce colors unlike any Soul Ring before—was extremely appealing to him.
Mu En, watching from Sea God Pavilion, saw the old man and young man clearly.
"Go ahead. As long as Xi Shui and Xiao Yao don't make a move, Xuan Zi can keep Xuanheng safe."
And so, the old man and young man set off.
Xuan Zi flew fast, and before long they had reached the Extreme North.
Once they arrived, the Snow Empress went home. It was as if the whole world welcomed her return.
The blizzards of the Extreme North grew even more intense.
"Snow Empress, now that Xuanheng has formed a Contract with you, why doesn't he know your Three Ultimates of the Snow Empress?" Xuan Zi couldn't resist poking at a sore spot.
The beautiful woman of ice and snow gently touched Mu Xuanheng's brow. "That's right. Why doesn't my good master know my Three Ultimates of the Snow Empress?"
"It's all Chaofeng's fault. Its fixed Soul Skill means I couldn't get the Snow Empress's Soul Skills." He could only shift the blame. He absolutely wasn't going to take responsibility himself.
The Snow Empress wasn't about to be fooled. "Are you going to blame the fact that my Soul Bone didn't give you the corresponding Soul Skills, too?"
Mu Xuanheng said, "Of course not. The Soul Skill the Heart of Ice and Snow gave me is plenty powerful."
Since the External Soul Bone was right over his heart, he'd simply named it the Heart of Ice and Snow.
Xuan Zi, ever the instigator, fanned the flames. "Huh? How come I didn't know it came with a Soul Skill?"
The Snow Empress said, "It doesn't really have a Soul Skill. It can simply die in his place once, and it can also summon me at full strength for a while."
She'd said it in the calmest tone, yet the effects were utterly absurd.
A three-ringed Soul Master could summon a seven-hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast. Who could beat that at the same level? And as for "simply die in his place once," that was even more outrageous.
Mu Xuanheng hurried to explain. "Don't read too much into it, old man. I can't handle that kind of expenditure yet. Even getting the Snow Empress to appear and fight once would be pushing it."
The Soul Skills of the Soul Bone were separate from the Contract.
The Snow Empress wasn't using her own origin power; she was only channeling the Soul Bone's power.
As for the other effect, Xuan Zi wisely didn't ask. It was Mu Xuanheng's ultimate trump card.
The Soul Bone already had two Soul Skills, so the Three Ultimates of the Snow Empress wouldn't appear on it.
The Snow Empress said, "The Three Ultimates of the Snow Empress are my Self-Created Soul Skills. Xuanheng, you must learn them. This isn't a suggestion."
Mu Xuanheng had another burden placed on his shoulders.
Before he could sigh or refuse, the Snow Empress continued, "Starting today, I'll teach you personally and make sure you learn them."
"Is there a reward?"
"What kind of reward do you want?"
Mu Xuanheng thought it over, then avoided Xuan Zi and told the Snow Empress directly through the Spiritual Sea.
"Could Emperor Cold Heaven Snow Dance Shining Sun be changed to Heavenly Snow Woman Dance?"
He was just trying to slack off. If the Snow Empress was going to dance, surely she could make a domain, too?
The Snow Empress's smile turned dangerous. "How about changing Heavenly Snow Woman Dance to Ice and Snow Duet Dance instead?"
His request was rejected outright, but a sliver of possibility remained.
The Snow Empress appeared in the outside world again.
"How are you planning to find the Ice Empress?"
The Snow Empress and Mu Xuanheng looked at Xuan Zi as though he were an idiot. "Why should we look for the Ice Empress? Why wouldn't she come to us?"
The Snow Empress said, "I'm here. Bing'er will definitely come."
They moved closer to the Core Circle, and the Snow Empress released her aura.
The living creatures of the Extreme North began to flee from the area. This was the authority of the ruler of the Extreme North.
Not a single Soul Beast would mistake her for someone else. The Emperor Sword that had shot into the sky a year ago was the best proof that the Snow Empress was still alive.
Green light once again filled the sky. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was rushing toward them.
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