Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, who had been cultivating nearby, were also jolted awake by this aura. Feeling the increasingly unfathomable pressure emanating from Lin Yi, both women looked shaken. Xiao Wu pouted and muttered under her breath, "Monster..."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes flickered as she seemed lost in thought.
Lin Yi slowly opened his eyes. The light in them had drawn inward, and an illusory Ice Phoenix seemed to flash across his pupils. Level seventy—the Soul Saint realm! This was a qualitative leap, meaning he could finally use his Martial Soul Avatar. His strength was about to grow explosively!
As he stabilized his realm, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's lazy voice rang out from the Sea of Consciousness, laced with excitement. "Congratulations, kid, you've reached level seventy! I took a look at your condition, and tsk, tsk—your physical strength, spiritual power, and meridian resilience are all many times greater than those of an ordinary Soul Saint! With your current foundation, absorbing a seventy-thousand-year Soul Ring will be no problem at all! In fact... even seventy-five thousand years might be worth considering!"
Seventy thousand years!
Lin Yi's heart jolted. For ordinary Soul Masters, the limit for a seventh Soul Ring was around fifty thousand years, but he could challenge a seventy-thousand-year one outright! That was the terrifying advantage brought by his Triple Martial Souls foundation and the transformation wrought by a Million-Year Soul Ring!
The seventh Soul Ring and Martial Soul Avatar were crucial. For the Snow Lotus Martial Soul's seventh Soul Ring, Lin Yi hoped to find a Soul Skill that offered both powerful support and a measure of self-protection. The age had to be high enough to match his foundation.
A seventy-thousand-year Soul Beast was already comparable in strength to a high-ranking human Soul Douluo, and might even brush against the threshold of a Titled Douluo! Every one of these beings was an overlord among Soul Beasts, highly intelligent and occupying perilous territory. They were exceedingly hard to find—and even harder to hunt!
The risk would still be enormous if he went alone, or with only Bone Douluo as his protector. After all, hunting a Soul Beast of this caliber meant not only guarding against its desperate counterattack but also staying alert for other powerful Soul Beasts that might appear—or even humans with ulterior motives.
He needed stronger protection to ensure everything went smoothly.
"A seventy-thousand-year Soul Ring..." Lin Yi pondered for a moment, then looked toward Bone Douluo. "Senior Gu Rong, I wish to obtain my seventh Soul Ring, and I've set my sights on one around seventy thousand years old. This matter is of great importance. I'm afraid I'll need my teacher and you to act together to be certain of success."
Hearing this, Bone Douluo Gu Rong's rugged face took on a grave expression. Even he wouldn't claim he could take down a seventy-thousand-year Soul Beast alone with absolute certainty, especially while also having to focus on protecting Lin Yi as he absorbed the Soul Ring.
"Seventy thousand years... You've got quite an appetite, kid!" Gu Rong smacked his lips. "But with your foundation, you've earned it. There won't be a problem with your master. He's just come out of seclusion and is itching for a fight. I'll send word back to the sect and have Fengzhi arrange for that old fellow Chen Xin to come over. With us two old bones guarding you, unless we run into a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, you'll be able to roam Douluo Continent as you please!"
Lin Yi nodded. "Thank you, Senior. As for the location... I suggest we head to the core region of the Far North. Ice-attribute Soul Beasts gather there, so it'll be easier to find a top-tier one suited to my Snow Lotus Martial Soul."
"The Far North's core region? Heh, that place is quite a challenge! All right, it's settled!" A hint of excitement flashed in Bone Douluo's eyes. For powerful experts at their level, a chance to cross hands with an opponent of similar strength was rare training in itself.
The message was quickly sent through the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's special channels.
Several days later, an incomparably sharp sword intent tore through the sky and descended upon the valley of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Sword Douluo Chen Xin arrived, clad in white robes as pristine as snow. His aura was even more ethereal and profound than it had been during the tournament, revealing the full might of his level-ninety-seven cultivation.
"Teacher." Lin Yi stepped forward and bowed.
Chen Xin's gaze was as keen as lightning as he looked Lin Yi over, then gave a slight nod. "Level seventy, with a stable foundation. Not bad. I'll accompany you to obtain that seventy-thousand-year Soul Ring."
Three streaks of light tore across the eternally gray sky above the Far North, like blades ripping through a curtain of ice and snow. Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong flanked Lin Yi, shielding him between them. The three experts released their auras without restraint, and the terrifying pressure made the many Soul Beasts lurking across the frozen plain below tremble, daring not make the slightest move.
The deeper they ventured into the Far North's core region, the harsher the environment became. The howling wind sliced like steel blades, mixed with pure frigid power and chaotic currents of ice-attribute energy. An ordinary Soul Saint would struggle to remain there for long. Everywhere they looked were ancient ice that never melted and endless snow-covered mountains. Dead silence concealed deadly danger.
"Be careful. The old-timers in this cursed place aren't too fond of visitors." Bone Douluo Gu Rong grinned. Space rippled faintly around him, silently dispelling the cold currents and chaotic energy streams that surged toward them.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin's gaze was keen as a torch, and his Seven Kill Sword Intent swept over the vast frozen plains below and the deep Ice Rift Valleys. "We're looking for a seventy-thousand-year Soul Beast suited to your Snow Lotus Martial Soul—preferably one with an ice attribute, powerful spiritual strength, or special supporting abilities."
The three of them searched the core region for several days. Along the way, they encountered several powerful Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, but under the terrifying auras of the two Super Douluo, none dared approach. They fled into the distance instead.
At last, deep within an Ice Rift Valley that seemed bottomless and was shrouded in dense blue mist, Chen Xin's sword intent locked onto an aura that was both incredibly subtle and vast, cold and imposing.
"Found it." Chen Xin spoke calmly, his sharp gaze fixed on the bottom of the valley. "It's a Mystic Ice Emperor Scorpion, around seventy-three thousand years old. Its spiritual power is extremely strong, and its tail stinger contains extreme ice poison and the power to freeze souls. Its carapace is astonishingly tough, and it can manipulate ice to create a domain. Just what you need."
The Mystic Ice Emperor Scorpion! One of the true overlords of the Far North!
"Seventy-three thousand years... Perfect!" A burning light flashed in Lin Yi's eyes.
"Old Bone, seal off the valley. Don't let it escape or let anything else interfere," Sword Douluo Chen Xin said to Gu Rong. Then he joined his fingers like a sword. A condensed silver blade of light, like the Milky Way cascading from the heavens, plunged silently into the thick blue mist, carrying the will to cleave through all things!
"Heh heh, leave it to me!" Gu Rong laughed. He formed a series of hand seals, and the ninth Soul Ring around him suddenly blazed! Ninth Soul Skill: Bone Transformation Divine Dragon!
In an instant, countless enormous bones burst from the ice like living things, growing and intertwining at a frenzied pace. In just a few breaths, they completely sealed the entrance to the vast Ice Rift Valley, forming an enormous cage of bones! The heavens sealed, the earth locked!
Almost as soon as the bone prison took shape, a shrill, furious cry rang out from deep in the valley! The thick blue mist churned violently and surged upward like a tidal wave. A cold, savage soul pressure erupted with a mental shock!
Sword Douluo Chen Xin snorted. His Seven Kill Sword Intent soared into the sky like an invisible giant sword, effortlessly cleaving through the soul pressure and the surging mist!
The mist dispersed, revealing the scene at the bottom of the valley. A colossal creature crouched there, its entire body seemingly carved from the purest blue crystal. It was over twenty meters long. Six compound eyes on its fearsome scorpion head glimmered with ghostly blue soul-fire; its two enormous pincers were as large as hills, but most striking was the raised tail, whose stinger gleamed with deadly blue light! It was the seventy-three-thousand-year-old Mystic Ice Emperor Scorpion!
It had clearly been enraged. Its six compound eyes fixed on Chen Xin in the air as its pincers waved. Terrifying cold gathered into countless ice spears and blizzards that swept toward him! At the same time, a powerful wave of spiritual freezing surged forth like an invisible tide, seeking to erode his soul.
Yet its opponent was Sword Douluo, a level-ninety-seven expert!
"Tricks of the trade." Chen Xin's expression didn't change as he casually swept his sword fingers through the air.
"Seventh Soul Skill: Seven Kill True Body!"
The enormous phantom of the Seven Kill Sword stretched across heaven and earth, its sword energy crisscrossing in every direction. Before the ice spears and blizzards could even draw near, they were shredded by endless sword energy and reduced to their most primordial ice elements. When the wave of spiritual freezing touched Chen Xin's sword heart, tempered by countless battles to the death, it melted in an instant like snow beneath the blazing sun!
"Eighth Soul Skill: Seven Kill Thunder Shock!"
Chen Xin changed the gesture of his sword fingers, and the giant blade formed by the Seven Kill True Body came crashing down. It didn't strike the Mystic Ice Emperor Scorpion directly; instead, it stirred the power of heaven and earth throughout the entire Ice Rift Valley! Countless massive ice boulders and slabs of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice were manipulated by the invisible sword intent. Like falling meteors, they smashed toward the Mystic Ice Emperor Scorpion from every direction!
The Mystic Ice Emperor Scorpion let out a furious, terrified cry. Blue light surged around its body, and thick layers of eternal ice formed over its hard carapace as it tried to withstand the attack. Its pincers and tail stinger lashed wildly, shattering chunk after chunk of giant ice.
But it was facing the wrathful strike of a peak Super Douluo! Every piece of ice stirred by the sword intent contained terrifying penetrating power and destructive force!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
An unbroken series of thunderous crashes echoed through the Ice Rift Valley. Under such a dense and terrifying assault, cracks began to spread across the Mystic Ice Emperor Scorpion's vaunted defenses, and blue blood seeped through the gaps in its shell. Its powerful mental shocks were utterly useless against Chen Xin's impregnable sword heart.
"Now!" Chen Xin called out, looking toward Lin Yi.
Lin Yi had long been ready! Under Bone Douluo's cover, he plunged down like lightning, aiming straight for the junction between the Mystic Ice Emperor Scorpion's head and torso—the comparatively vulnerable spot exposed by the assault!
The Ice Phoenix Feather Garment protected him, while Spirit Detection locked onto his target!
Sixth Soul Skill: Ice Lotus Blessing! His speed erupted in an instant!
Fourth Soul Skill: Breath of Ice Sealing! Extreme cold wrapped around his right arm, making it as hard and frigid as Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice!
"Die!"
Lin Yi growled. He concentrated all his Soul Power and Bloodline Power into his right fist, blending the extreme chill of Breath of Ice Sealing with immense force. Like a falling iceberg, he slammed it into the underside of the Mystic Ice Emperor Scorpion's head!
Crack!
The grating sound of breaking bones rang out! The Mystic Ice Emperor Scorpion let out a despairing, mournful wail, and its enormous body convulsed violently. The soul-fire in its compound eyes quickly dimmed. Its seemingly indestructible defenses were utterly shattered at a relatively weak point by Lin Yi's peak strike, which brought together all his essence, energy, and spirit!
Its enormous body crashed to the ground, scattering ice dust in every direction. A black Soul Ring emerged slowly from its corpse. Deep as a blue sapphire, it shimmered with seven clear golden bands around its edge and radiated terrifying energy and spiritual fluctuations.
A seventy-three-thousand-year Soul Ring!
Lin Yi drew a deep breath and suppressed his excitement, then sat cross-legged before the Soul Ring. First, he bowed solemnly to Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo above him. Then he calmed his mind and reached toward the heart-stirring Soul Ring with his Soul Power and spiritual power.
Boom!
Energy as vast as a tidal wave surged into Lin Yi's body! A Soul Beast with seventy-three thousand years of cultivation was terrifyingly powerful, far beyond any Soul Ring he had absorbed before! The extreme chill seemed poised to freeze his soul, while the violent energy battered his meridians. The Mystic Ice Emperor Scorpion's remnants of savage spiritual will stabbed at his Sea of Consciousness like ice picks!
Yet Lin Yi's foundation was simply too strong!
His body and spiritual power had been tempered by the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, cleansed by Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's origin, and strengthened by the Wisdom Skull. Now they displayed astonishing resilience. His meridians were broad and tough, like dark iron pipes coated in ice crystals, steadily channeling the violent energy. His Sea of Consciousness was vast and unshakable, while the Ice Phoenix Feather Garment shone with brilliant light, weakening and resisting the soul shock layer by layer!
Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo guarded him anxiously, ready to intervene at any moment. But to their surprise, although Lin Yi's expression was grave and his body trembled slightly, he remained as steady as a rock. He was truly taming and absorbing the violent energy and spiritual shock, bit by bit!
The process lasted a full day and night!
When the last trace of energy had been refined and the final fragment of savage will ground away, the deep blue Soul Ring settled perfectly onto the Snow Lotus Martial Soul, becoming its seventh Soul Ring!
Lin Yi abruptly opened his eyes, and an aura far more powerful than before swept out like a storm! After absorbing this seventy-three-thousand-year Soul Ring, his Soul Power Level had climbed three levels, soaring straight from level seventy to level seventy-three!
At the same time, information about his seventh Soul Skill surfaced in his mind as naturally as instinct—
Seventh Soul Skill: Snow Lotus True Body!
Effect: Transform into the Snow Lotus's true form, increasing the effects of all Soul Skills by one hundred percent (doubling them)! Lasts for fifteen minutes. While in Snow Lotus True Body form, the Snow Lotus Martial Soul absorbs fifty percent of the energy from any attack it receives and converts it into its own Soul Power!
All effects doubled! And half the force of incoming attacks could be absorbed and converted into Soul Power!
This was practically a divine Martial Soul Avatar tailor-made for a support-type Soul Master! It meant that all his healing, shields, boosts, and domain effects would be doubled! The ability to absorb attacks and convert them into Soul Power also pushed his sustained combat ability to an unfathomable level, nearly making him an inexhaustible engine on the battlefield!
He felt the level-seventy-three Soul Power surging through his body and the Snow Lotus Martial Soul's transformation, as if reborn.
Soul Saint! He had finally entered this realm—and with a strength unprecedented in history!
With such a seventh Soul Skill, along with his other Soul Skills and trump cards, he was confident that even against a Soul Douluo-level expert, he could put up a fight!
"Teacher, Senior Gu Rong, I succeeded." Lin Yi rose and bowed to the two Douluo who had guarded him for so long.
Before you continue