World Shielder

The ice-blue dragon-shaped arrow beam collided violently with the ice-jade ring-shaped shockwave. The two forces of Ultimate Ice exploded in mid-air, instantly freezing the surrounding air!

The Wrath of the Ice Dragon King and the Wrath of the Ice Emperor remained locked in a dead stalemate, the ice-blue and ice-jade cold lights clashing frantically in the sky. Just at this moment, when the outcome was impossible to call, the firmament of the Far North suddenly shimmered with an eerie, lustrous white glow. It was not a violent thundercloud, but the Heavenly Tribulation Light unique to soul beasts breaking through their age-limit bottlenecks.

"Damn it! How could I break through at a time like this!" The Ice Empress's expression changed drastically. Too preoccupied to continue entangling with Jiang Che, she flew rapidly back to her lair.

Watching the Ice Empress retreat and observing the heavenly tribulation in the sky, a flash of surprise crossed Jiang Che's eyes. He knew that the Ice Empress had been injured when she previously broke through the 300,000-year mark, to the point where she could not possibly survive the next heavenly tribulation.

Now that the tribulation had arrived early, and with Huo Yuhao nowhere to be found, Jiang Che truly could not imagine what other options the Ice Empress might have.

Jiang Che stood in mid-air, slowly dissipating the residual Ice Dragon soul power around his body, the Ice Dragon Bow in his hand dissolving into specks of blue light.

He furrowed his brows, gazing deeply toward the Ice Peak lair where the Ice Empress was hiding, his heart already clear on the situation.

[Congratulations to the Host. A disaster survived brings future blessings. When the Ice Empress arrived, the Host did not panic, but instead displayed your talent and aptitude to the fullest. Although the Ice Empress was annoyed by your intrusion into her territory, she chose to spare your life out of appreciation.]

[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the following rewards: 10,000-year Soul Ring age increase, 100,000-year Ice Dragon Right Claw Soul Bone, Soul Spirit Method: Advanced Version.]

[Soul Spirit Method: Advanced Version: Modified based on the Soul Spirit Method of Huo Yuhao from the original work. The original method only allowed soul beasts to survive in a soul state and grant soul rings to soul masters.]

[However, the Advanced Version is different. It allows soul beasts to discard their original bodies and reshape a new one while retaining their soul power and original cultivation. However, the power they can utilize cannot exceed the Host's by too much. Other effects remain the same as the original version.]

"Hm? Soul Spirit Method? But my Ice Dragon King martial soul's soul rings are already configured, and the attributes of the Holy Sword of Light don't match the Ice Empress. What use is this to me?" Jiang Che looked at the Soul Spirit Method: Advanced Version displayed on the panel, feeling somewhat speechless. If he could swap his martial soul configurations, this would indeed be a pleasant surprise.

Just as Jiang Che was feeling speechless, the panel, which had always been half-dead, suddenly displayed another line of text.

[Using the Soul Spirit Method allows the Host's original soul rings to be slowly replaced by the soul rings provided by the Soul Spirit.]

The appearance of this text caught Jiang Che by surprise. He knew that no matter what methods he had tried before, this panel had never paid him any mind, yet now it was answering his questions.

"Panel, what does this mean?" Jiang Che asked again, testing the waters.

[If the Host can reach a contract with the Ice Empress, she will survive as a new form of life, though she cannot stray too far from the Host. The Host can also borrow a portion of the Ice Empress's power, and the soul rings she provides will slowly assimilate the Host's original soul rings.]

"Panel, what is my current level?" Jiang Che wondered if the panel had truly improved.

[The Host is currently a Level 33 Soul Elder.]

Well, the panel had merely become a bit more intelligent; nothing else had changed. But this was still a good thing for Jiang Che, as he could continue to rely on his overwhelming strength to complete the tasks on the panel for the Soul Elder stage and obtain rich rewards.

[Notification! For unknown reasons, the Ice Empress's heavenly tribulation has arrived early. In the original work, she is Huo Yuhao's second martial soul and Soul Spirit, providing him with powerful combat strength in the early and middle stages. It can be said that Huo Yuhao's path to godhood owes much to her.]

[Now that the Host has obtained the Soul Spirit Method: Advanced Version, and Huo Yuhao, the Child of Destiny of the Douluo Continent, is not here, you possess the advantage of both time and location.]

[Mission Issued: Please find the Ice Empress and sign a Soul Spirit contract with her, making her an aid on your path to godhood.]

[Mission Reward: Soul Power Level +1, 10,000-year Soul Ring age increase, World Shielder (can block the gaze of all gods in the God Realm, preventing them from knowing the developments on the Douluo Continent.)]

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

Jiang Che's eyes widened the moment he saw the World Shielder. In his eyes, the other two rewards could not compare to it. What was the most terrifying thing during this era of the Peerless Tang Sect?

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

No! None of those! The most terrifying thing was a certain Tang-surnamed God King watching the Douluo Continent from far away in the God Realm!

Under his gaze, Jiang Che didn't even dare to act too recklessly, fearing that one day he would suddenly hear: "You have already invited the path of death."

With the World Shielder, Jiang Che could act as he pleased, and perhaps even unifying the entire Douluo Continent would not be out of the question.

For the sake of the World Shielder, Jiang Che excitedly followed the trail of green light left by the Ice Empress. With a light tap of his toes on the ice, he moved like a pale blue bolt of lightning, arriving in an instant at the towering Ice Peak she considered her lair.

Before he even got close, the terrifying aura stemming from the pressure of the Heavenly Dao washed over him. He saw the Ice Empress circling the summit of the Ice Peak. Her usually magnificent, jade-white body was trembling slightly, and her eyes, which were usually as bright as yellow diamonds, were churning with unprecedented anxiety and gravity.

Above the sky, a massive, lustrous white light curtain of the heavenly tribulation was slowly condensing, the clouds churning as if to completely devour this sovereign of the Far North.

This was her 400,000-year heavenly tribulation, yet it had arrived at the most inopportune moment.

"Why did you follow me?!"

The Ice Empress sensed the movement and whipped her head around. Her carapace, interwoven with jade-green and lustrous white, instantly lit up with a defensive glow. She snapped, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible panic and anger.

Her slender limbs were taut, her front pincers opening and closing slightly, the silver-white tips shimmering with a cold light capable of freezing the air, locking onto Jiang Che.

Jiang Che stopped a thousand meters away, not daring to approach rashly. He could clearly feel the terror of that heavenly tribulation; it was a power that even a fierce beast of nearly 400,000 years had to fear.

He slowly retracted the cold air around his body, his tone calm but carrying a hint of scrutiny: "I merely wanted to see if you were well. After all, given our clash just now, I assumed you would have left by now."

"Well?" The Ice Empress sneered, her laughter tinged with desolation and resentment. She lashed her five-segmented jade-green tail, the sharp Ice Jade Hook Blade at the tip carving a cold arc in the air. "Is it amusing to see me in such a pathetic state, human!"

She truly regretted clashing with Jiang Che now. According to her situation, her 400,000-year heavenly tribulation should have been another hundred years away.