World Shielder

Ice-blue dragon-shaped arrow energy and an icy-green circular shock wave collided with a thunderous crash. The two forces of Ultimate Ice burst apart in midair, instantly freezing the surrounding air!

Wrath of the Ice Dragon King and Wrath of the Ice Emperor locked in a dead heat, icy-blue and jade-green light clashing furiously in midair. At the very moment neither side could gain the upper hand, the sky above the Far North Ice Plains suddenly glimmered with an unusual pearly-white light. It wasn't a raging storm cloud, but Heavenly Tribulation Light, unique to Soul Beasts breaking through a lifespan bottleneck.

"Damn it! Why do I have to break through right now?!" Ice Empress's expression changed drastically. She had no time to keep tangling with Jiang Che and quickly flew back to her lair.

Watching Ice Empress retreat beneath the heavenly tribulation, Jiang Che's eyes flashed with surprise. He knew that Ice Empress had been injured when she broke through the three-hundred-thousand-year mark, leaving her unable to survive her next tribulation.

Now the tribulation had come early, and Huo Yuhao wasn't here. Jiang Che couldn't imagine what Ice Empress could do.

Jiang Che hovered in midair and slowly let the remaining Ice Dragon Soul Power dissipate around him. The Ice Dragon Bow in his hand dissolved into specks of blue light.

His brow furrowed slightly as he gazed solemnly toward the ice peak where Ice Empress had made her nest. He already understood what was going on.

[Congratulations, host. Those who survive great calamity are blessed in the end. When Ice Empress arrived, you didn't panic. Instead, you fully displayed your talent and abilities. Although Ice Empress was furious that you trespassed on her territory, she admired you, and in the end chose to spare your life.]

[Congratulations, host. You have received the following rewards: Soul Ring lifespan increased by ten thousand years, a hundred-thousand-year Ice Dragon Right Claw Soul Bone, and Soul Spirit Method: Advanced Version.]

[Soul Spirit Method: Advanced Version: Adapted from Huo Yuhao's Soul Spirit Method in the original work. The original method could only let Soul Beasts survive in the form of souls while granting Soul Rings to Soul Masters.]

[The advanced version is different. It allows a Soul Beast to abandon its original body, retain its soul power and original cultivation, and reshape a new body. However, the power it can use cannot greatly exceed the host's. All other effects are the same as the original.]

"Hmm? Soul Spirit Method? But the Soul Rings for my Ice Dragon King Martial Soul are already set, and Ice Empress's attributes don't match the Holy Sword of Light. What use is this to me?" Jiang Che stared at the Soul Spirit Method: Advanced Version displayed on the panel, feeling a little speechless. If he could swap the configurations of his Martial Souls, this would certainly be a pleasant surprise.

Just as Jiang Che was at a loss, the panel, which had been half-dead until now, suddenly displayed another line.

[The Soul Spirit Method can slowly replace the host's original Soul Rings with Soul Rings provided by Soul Spirits.]

The message caught Jiang Che by surprise. In the past, no matter what he tried, the panel hadn't even deigned to acknowledge him. Now it could answer his questions.

"Panel, what does this mean?" Jiang Che tried asking again.

[If the host can form a contract with Ice Empress, she will survive in a new form of life, though she cannot stray too far from the host. The host can also borrow some of her power, and the Soul Rings she provides can gradually assimilate the host's original Soul Rings.]

"Panel, what level am I now?" Jiang Che thought the panel had really started working properly.

[The host is currently a level-33 Soul Elder.]

All right, the panel had only become a little smarter. Everything else was the same. Still, this was good news for Jiang Che. He could continue relying on his overwhelming strength to complete the panel's Soul Elder-stage missions and claim generous rewards.

[Notice! For some unknown reason, Ice Empress's heavenly tribulation has arrived early. In the original work, she became Huo Yuhao's Second Martial Soul and Soul Spirit, providing him with powerful combat strength in the early and middle stages. It would be no exaggeration to say that she made a major contribution to Huo Yuhao's rise to godhood.]

[Now the host has not only obtained the Soul Spirit Method: Advanced Version, but Huo Yuhao, the child of destiny of Douluo Continent, is also absent. The host has the advantage of both favorable timing and favorable circumstances.]

[Mission issued: Find Ice Empress and form a Soul Spirit Contract with her. Let her become an asset on the host's path to godhood.]

[Mission rewards: Soul Power Level +1, Soul Ring lifespan increased by ten thousand years, and the World Shielder (can shield the gaze of all the gods in the Divine Realm, preventing them from knowing how Douluo Continent develops).]

[Note: The World Shielder can also block the gaze of a certain God King.]

The moment he saw World Shielder, Jiang Che's eyes went wide. To him, the other two rewards couldn't compare with it. What was the most terrifying thing during the Peerless Tang Sect era?

Was it the threat of the Holy Spirit Cult? Or Kong Deming of the Sun Moon Empire?

No! Neither! The most terrifying thing was that certain Tang-surnamed God King watching Douluo Continent from the distant Divine Realm!

Under his gaze, Jiang Che didn't even dare to act too recklessly, afraid that one day he'd suddenly hear: "You have already earned your death."

With the World Shielder, Jiang Che could do whatever he wanted. Perhaps he could even unify the whole of Douluo Continent one day.

For the sake of the World Shielder, Jiang Che excitedly followed the jade-green trail of light Ice Empress had left behind. He lightly touched his toe to the ice and shot forward like a pale-blue lightning bolt, arriving in an instant at the towering ice peak she called home.

Before he could get close, the terrifying aura of Heavenly Tribulation pressed down on him. Ice Empress circled the peak. Her usually dazzling jade-white body was trembling faintly, and her eyes, bright as yellow diamonds, churned with unprecedented anxiety and solemnity.

High above, a vast curtain of tribulation light glimmered pearly white as it slowly gathered. The clouds churned, as if they meant to swallow the ruler of the Far North whole.

This was her four-hundred-thousand-year tribulation, yet it had arrived at the worst possible moment.

"What did you follow me here for?!"

Ice Empress sensed him and whipped around. The green-and-white plates of her shell instantly lit up with a defensive sheen as she barked at him, a trace of panic and anger betraying her voice.

Her long, jointed limbs tensed. Her front pincers opened and closed slightly, their silvery tips gleaming with a cold light that could freeze the air as they fixed on Jiang Che.

Jiang Che stopped a thousand meters away and didn't approach recklessly. He could clearly feel how terrifying the tribulation was. Even a Ferocious Beast like her, nearly four hundred thousand years old, had reason to fear it.

He slowly drew in the cold around him and spoke calmly, with a hint of scrutiny in his voice. "I wanted to see if you were all right. After our fight just now, I thought you might leave."

"All right?" Ice Empress gave a scornful laugh, its sound tinged with bitterness and resentment. She whipped her five long jade-green tails, and the sharp Ice Jade Hook Blade at the tip of her tail flashed through the air. "Is it fun watching me in this sorry state, human?!"

She truly regretted fighting Jiang Che. Given her condition, her four-hundred-thousand-year tribulation should not have arrived for another hundred years.