Far North, Heavenly Snow Woman

At the same time, this young woman was anything but simple.

The other natives were shivering from the cold, goosebumps covering their bodies, while she alone had a rosy complexion.

There was none of her earlier panic on her face.

As the young woman was stared at so directly by Gu Yuan, a blush surfaced on her delicate face.

Suddenly, she cried out in alarm, "Watch out behind you!"

It turned out that the mercenaries' second-in-command had grown furious when Gu Yuan ignored him. Raising his broadsword, he slashed at Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan's senses were extraordinarily sharp.

Even without the young woman's warning, it was as though he had eyes in the back of his head. The temperature suddenly plummeted, and before the second-in-command's blade could fall, it froze solid.

"What the hell is this? Ah, spare me..."

The frost swiftly spread across the second-in-command's body.

In the blink of an eye, he became an ice sculpture.

"Brothers, hack him to death!"

Seeing their second-in-command frozen into an ice sculpture, one of the surrounding mercenaries shouted fiercely, and all of them charged at Gu Yuan.

Scum existed everywhere. Even in the freezing Far North, there were no exceptions.

Gu Yuan was not someone overflowing with saintly compassion.

But since he had come across this, he would lend a hand whenever it was within his ability.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Gu Yuan vanished from where he stood like Gui Mei. A white cloak drifted down as a bone-chilling blue light swept through the crowd and vanished in a flash. Those mercenaries, none of whom were even Soul Masters, were instantly sent flying.

Gu Yuan, now dressed in blue, appeared before the man who had shouted. The man was broad and burly, the only Soul Master among them.

Martial Soul: Lone Wolf. Soul rings: one white, one yellow.

He appeared to be this group's leader.

Seeing that things had gone badly, he dropped to his knees with a thud and hurriedly begged, "Spare me! I was wrong, my lord, please spare me... I'm with the Mercenary Guild. You can't kill me."

There was a Mercenary Guild on Douluo Continent as well.

Its origins could be traced back ten thousand years.

Back then, it had no real organization. It merely helped commoners hunt Soul Rings in exchange for payment.

Later, Spirit Hall was destroyed, and commoners could no longer awaken Martial Souls.

So they began helping nobles traffic people.

"Since you ran into me, if you have anyone to blame, blame your bad luck."

Gu Yuan had no intention of leaving anyone alive.

Crack...

He clamped a hand around the man's throat and exerted a slight force. The man's neck twisted, and he instantly lost all signs of life.

"You're free now."

Casually tossing the mercenary leader's corpse aside, Gu Yuan turned his gaze toward the captured natives.

Under their terrified stares,

Gu Yuan's sword fingers blurred into afterimages, firing more than a dozen pale-blue ice spikes. The iron shackles in every native's hands fell away, and they scattered in all directions.

"You should leave too. Go back to your own tribe. You won't be this lucky next time."

Turning to the young woman who had warned him earlier, Gu Yuan's ice-blue ring flashed. A bag of rations appeared in his hand, and he tossed it to her.

It was a storage Soul Tool ring that Gu Yuan had obtained from a criminal while helping someone in need.

It had a total storage space of three cubic meters.

It was barely enough.

"Thank you..."

The young woman accepted the rations, yet did not eat them. She merely smiled and thanked him.

"All right, you can go now."

He still had bodies to loot, so Gu Yuan directly sent her away.

The young woman was stunned for a moment. After giving Gu Yuan a deep look, she turned and left.

"That girl isn't simple," the Ice Dragon King's childish voice sounded in Gu Yuan's mind.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. She should be a Soul Master as well. I just don't know why she was captured by those mercenaries. It was probably deliberate."

Gu Yuan nodded.

"That's not what I meant. I meant the aura around her. It resembles one of my subjects from back then."

The Ice Dragon King spoke thoughtfully.

Gu Yuan froze. "Which subject?"

"Heavenly Snow Woman!"

Only then did Gu Yuan recall the original novel—the girl Huo Yuhao encountered during the second Sea God's Fate, the one with the Heavenly Snow Woman Martial Soul.

If nothing unexpected happened, it should have been her.

She had only joined Shrek when Huo Yuhao was seventeen. It was hardly strange for her to be in the Far North now.

With that thought, Gu Yuan stopped dwelling on it.

He turned around and began his favorite activity: looting bodies.

Halfway through, the young woman returned, having changed into a plain white dress.

The two stared at each other.

They fell into an awkward silence.

In the end, the young woman broke the awkward atmosphere with a startled smile.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Su Tong. My Martial Soul is the Heavenly Snow Woman, and I'm a five-ringed Spirit King."

As if explaining something, she emphasized, "Earlier, I deliberately let myself get captured because I wanted to find out where that group's hideout was. But I still have to thank you."

"Uh, no need." Gu Yuan shook his head and continued looting the bodies.

It had to be said that these mercenaries were truly poor.

Aside from the leader, who had a few dozen Gold Soul Coins on him, the rest had pockets cleaner than their faces.

Presumably, they had already spent the money from trafficking people on immediate pleasures.

However, Su Tong was completely thrown off by Gu Yuan's continued body-looting antics.

The corner of her mouth twitched. "Little brother, I already introduced myself and even told you the secret of my Martial Soul. Shouldn't you introduce yourself too?"

"Gu Yuan." Gu Yuan calmly uttered two words.

"And your Martial Soul?" She could sense that the Soul Power fluctuations of this impossibly handsome little brother were not strong.

He should only have been around level twenty.

The reason he was here was probably to obtain his second Soul Ring.

Yet her Heavenly Snow Woman Martial Soul had sensed bloodline suppression from him.

Driven by intense curiosity, she had returned.

As she spoke, she added, "I think your Soul Power Level has reached level twenty."

"How about this? As long as you tell me what your Martial Soul is, I'll help you hunt a Soul Ring. What do you think?"

"No need. I'll figure it out myself." Gu Yuan was about to venture deeper into the Far North, so naturally he could not bring someone like her along.

Ice Dragon Domain basic skill: Ice Crystal Wings activated!

Gu Yuan's blue hair flew upward, and his blue robes billowed. With both hands pressed downward, a pillar of ice-blue energy burst from his spine.

It extended to either side and took shape. Ice scales clicked together one by one as fine snowflakes drifted through the air.

In an instant, a pair of Ice Crystal Wings with edges as sharp as blades condensed behind him.

With one beat of his wings, Gu Yuan shot into the sky, turning into a pale-blue streak of frost that vanished beyond the horizon.

"So that little guy possesses Ultimate Ice too? But he didn't use his Martial Soul just now. Could it be an External Soul Bone?"

Su Tong murmured softly as she watched the direction in which Gu Yuan had disappeared.

Then, as though she had thought of something, a faint smile curved her lips. "Do you think you can shake me off that easily?"

He was tall, well-built, and handsome enough.

But judging by the childishness on his face, he could not have been older than twelve.

Perhaps even younger.

If there was anywhere she was most likely to find him,

it would definitely be Shrek, the continent's number one academy.

Because of her Martial Soul,

she had originally intended to go to Shrek Academy after becoming a Spirit Sage.

Now, it seemed she would have to go early.

Shrek's Outer Court had many restrictions. Applicants had to be under twelve and possess a recommendation letter from a city lord.

But the Inner Court had far fewer restrictions. One could take the entrance exam directly.

After all, no faction would refuse the arrival of a genius Soul Master.

With her strength, she was more than qualified.