Disaster-Fortune Reversal

The Ice Empress turned into a tiny scorpion and hopped onto Mu Xuanheng's shoulder. "It seems like it only weakened. Nothing else changed."

The Snow Empress said, "Bing'er, do you think I'd lie to you? How could I possibly forget you when something this good came along?"

Mu Xuanheng said, "We've completed our mission in the Extreme North. Once we get back, I'll take some time to get used to everything."

The trip to the Extreme North had earned him the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's torso bone and a Fourth Soul Ring. Now he just needed to return and familiarize himself with his new power.

The journey should have gone perfectly, if only Xuan Zi hadn't insisted on coming along.

"Xuanheng, there's still something I don't understand. Doesn't a million-year-old remnant come from a million-year-old Soul Beast?"

Everyone else had been content to let things go without asking questions, but Xuan Zi had brought several of them to the surface.

The Ice Empress and Snow Empress both wanted to know how Mu Xuanheng had learned about the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm—and how he'd known it would seek out the Ice Empress.

The Ice Empress briefly explained everything about the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

"What? A million-year-old Soul Beast? And it became the Wisdom Soul Ring of a Shrek student?"

Nearly every history book had told Xuan Zi that million-year-old Soul Beasts didn't exist. But now, one did.

He desperately wanted to know who had obtained it.

"I don't know the name, but I'd recognize the person."

"Don't look so shocked, old man. Once we're back, just figure out who seems unusual. Then you'll know, won't you?"

Xuan Zi nodded. That made sense. "Wait. How did you know about it, then?"

Ever since Mu Xuanheng had been found, he had barely left the protection of Mu En and Xuan Zi. If a Soul Beast this powerful had been around, Xuan Zi would have known.

"Remember that time you nearly got me killed? I went to capture this million-year-old Soul Beast. But it didn't want me. It thought we weren't compatible."

Xuan Zi trusted Mu Xuanheng, whom he had raised himself.

Mu Xuanheng didn't need to offer a lengthy explanation. He only had to say he'd sensed it before.

The Ice Empress and Snow Empress were different, though. They had noticed the problem.

Any action that revealed his foreknowledge could easily expose him.

The two returned to his Spiritual Sea to ask him directly.

"I don't want to lie to you. All I can say is that I can't tell you yet."

Only Electrolux knew the truth, since he could look through Mu Xuanheng's memories.

"Little girl, little scorpion, you'd better not ask. This would affect you far too deeply."

With Electrolux backing him up, the two Soul Beasts had nothing more to ask.

They prepared to return to Shrek.

From somewhere in the distance, someone said, "It's fine to bring along that one with the Taotie bloodline. I'll invite him over next time."

Everything had gone perfectly, except that Huo Yuhao had made the trip to the Extreme North for nothing.

"Damn it! Who took Bing'er? I refuse to believe I can't find you!"

"Brother Sky Dream, what do we do now?" Huo Yuhao was nearly frozen to death. He still couldn't withstand such bitter cold.

"Let's find an Ice Jade Scorpion to be your Martial Soul first." The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had a backup plan.

With its powerful spiritual force, finding an Ice Jade Scorpion wouldn't be difficult.

The hard part was absorbing the Soul Ring.

Without the Ice Empress compressing its power, his First Soul Ring would have to come from a Soul Beast under a thousand years old.

With Sky Dream there to help, finding a suitable Ice Jade Scorpion would be easy.

Back at the Sea God Pavilion, Mu Xuanheng began testing his abilities.

Xuan Zi was still the best training dummy.

Mu En watched from his wheelchair.

The Ice Empress and Snow Empress stood behind Mu Xuanheng.

"Don't make such a big deal of it. I only got a Soul Bone and a Soul Ring."

The Snow Empress said, "After I nourished Bing'er's Soul Bone with my origin power, it became a four-hundred-thousand-year Soul Bone. Its power won't be weak."

"The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion torso bone gives you two Soul Skills: Eternal Frozen Domain and Ice Emperor's Wrath. One is a powerful domain Soul Skill, and the other is a powerful ice-attribute attack Soul Skill. Both use a lot of energy."

Mu Xuanheng activated the torso bone and fired Ice Emperor's Wrath at Xuan Zi.

Xuan Zi reached out with his left hand to catch it, and his palm was instantly frozen. "Impressive. An ordinary Titled Douluo might have half their body frozen."

He shook his hand, forcibly cracking the ice crystals.

The Taotie Douluo was no pushover. A Soul Ancestor like Mu Xuanheng could hardly break through his defenses.

Mu Xuanheng asked, "Should I try out Eternal Frozen Domain, too?"

"No need. Try your Fourth Soul Skill instead. We want to know what it is." Mu En valued domain-type Soul Skills, but compared with Chaofeng's fixed Soul Skills, it still fell short.

No one could explain it for Mu Xuanheng this time. He had to figure it out himself. "Fourth Soul Skill: Disaster-Fortune Reversal!"

Once he knew what the Soul Skill was called, he had to explain exactly what it did.

"This Soul Skill is a bit complicated. It turns misfortune into good fortune. Simply put, it can turn negative effects into positive ones."

"Can you only change your own state?"

"I can also affect the Ice Empress and Snow Empress, since they're closely connected to me. Not other people, at least for now."

"For now?"

"Changing someone else's state uses a lot of Soul Power, and the effect isn't as obvious."

Mu Xuanheng went on to explain that Disaster-Fortune Reversal didn't only turn misfortune into good fortune. It could also turn good fortune into misfortune.

Just explaining it wasn't enough, so they had to try a few special methods.

They used control- and weakening-type Soul Skills on Mu Xuanheng, and he turned them into blessing-type effects.

Mu En quickly reached a conclusion. "In a battle between opponents of the same level, this Soul Skill can have a huge impact. It'll be especially effective in a prolonged fight."

He was a little puzzled. "Turning misfortune into blessings should do more than just affect control- and weakening-type Soul Skills, shouldn't it?"

Mu Xuanheng nodded. "That's right. This Soul Skill is rather subjective. Running out of Soul Power or stamina, or being badly injured, can all count as misfortune. I can turn those misfortunes into attack power."

"A chance for a desperate final strike. That's a good Soul Skill."

Of Chaofeng's four fixed Soul Skills, all but the second, which was purely about numbers, were based on special mechanics. Their effects were powerful.

Unfortunately, this time they couldn't use Xuan Zi as a target. Mu Xuanheng had to be the target himself.

After testing it several times, Mu Xuanheng gained a much clearer understanding of his Soul Skill.

Mu En gave him a knowing smile. "Xuanheng, your senior brother's come to see me several times lately. Haven't you forgotten something?"

"Senior brother? Yan Shaozhe?" At the mention of Yan Shaozhe, Mu Xuanheng immediately remembered that he'd promised to help treat Ma Xiaotao.

"Damn, I forgot. I hope nothing's gone wrong."

The Ice Empress and Snow Empress returned to Mu Xuanheng's Spiritual Sea, too.

"Don't forget, you promised to learn the Three Ultimates of the Snow Empress."

Mu Xuanheng nearly cried. He had too many debts to repay.

After they left, Xuan Zi immediately apologized. "Mu En, I still took Xuanheng out with me."

"If he wants to go out, you can't stop him. Having you there was better than nothing, but don't forget you have your own responsibilities. Not just Shrek—humanity as a whole needs a new Limit Douluo."

"Yes." Xuan Zi knew he needed to train harder. He was about to leave, but then remembered something and told Mu En about the million-year-old Soul Beast.

"I think I know who it is. Leave this matter to Xuanheng."

Mu En said, "It's time to arrange a match between Xuanheng and the official team members."