Your guts aren't small

Deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, in this dense, rarely trodden woodland, the light energy of heaven and earth was converging upon Jiang Che in a frenzied torrent.

Pure golden radiance enveloped him, as if he were draped in holy splendor. His originally silver-blue eyes were now interlaced with a brilliant golden glow. The biting chill of Ultimate Ice and the warmth of Ultimate Light coexisted perfectly within him; the two extreme attribute soul powers blended and complemented each other. Far from conflicting, they made his soul power foundation increasingly profound. The restless aura he had felt upon just breaking through to the Title Douluo realm dissipated entirely under the scouring of these two extreme powers, leaving his cultivation base as stable as it could possibly be.

Jiang Che raised a hand to stroke the blade of the Holy Sword of Light. Holy light flowed along his fingertips, gentle yet carrying an inviolable majesty. He could clearly feel that this holy sword was by no means an ordinary tool-type martial soul, but a top-tier martial soul containing the Ultimate Light attribute. It possessed an innate suppression and crushing effect against dark and evil forces—it was a natural nemesis for the evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Cult that would one day run rampant across the continent.

"Dual extreme martial souls—even in the entire history of the Douluo Continent, this must be a rare occurrence," Jiang Che whispered to himself, a satisfied smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

As a fan of the Douluo series in his past life, he knew well the terror of extreme martial souls. A single extreme attribute was enough to dominate the continent. Now that he possessed both the Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Light martial souls, even though he was only a level 90 Title Douluo and had yet to obtain his ninth soul ring, he had the strength to fight a level 94 Title Douluo. If his ninth soul ring were chosen appropriately, he might even have a chance of victory when facing a Super Douluo of level 95 or higher.

Jiang Che sheathed his sword and stood tall. The light aura around him slowly receded, and the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest returned to gloom, with only the faint specks of golden light remaining in the air to prove that the scene had just occurred.

He lowered his head to gaze at his right hand, while his left hand still shimmered with the silver-blue light of Ultimate Ice, and the golden holy light of the Holy Sword of Light had not yet fully faded from his right. The dual extreme martial souls occupied their own domains within his body, yet they were connected through some subtle method, as if they were meant to be this way from the start.

"No wonder the system gave me this reward..." Jiang Che mused.

He had understood while reading the novels in his past life that although Ultimate Ice was strong, it lacked a certain restraining power when facing the strange and insidious soul skills of evil soul masters. The Ultimate Light attribute of the Holy Sword of Light, however, was the natural nemesis of all dark and evil things. The two complemented each other; not only were they not weakened by conflicting attributes, but they actually elevated the quality of his soul power to a higher level.

Jiang Che tried to circulate both soul powers simultaneously. His left hand condensed ice into a blade, while his right hand transformed light into a sword. The air within a hundred-meter radius suddenly became incredibly oppressive. The bark of several ancient trees was first covered in a thin layer of ice, then pierced through by golden light, and finally disintegrated into icy crystal shards that drifted away.

"The power is at least thirty percent stronger than a single extreme attribute," Jiang Che nodded with satisfaction, then retracted his martial soul and suppressed his entire aura back to the level of an ordinary soul master.

"Time to go back." Jiang Che stepped out, his pace light and his landing silent. When he passed through the territories of several century-level soul beasts, those beasts did not even notice his passing.

This was the strength of a Title Douluo; his control over his aura had reached a state of natural perfection.

As he walked out of the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest, Jiang Che suddenly stopped and cast a glance toward the southeast. From that direction came the faint fluctuations of clashing soul power and a few shrill cries of alarm; it sounded like someone was in a fight.

"This direction is the hunting zone on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. Those coming to hunt soul beasts at this time are likely Shrek freshmen or lower-grade students," Jiang Che frowned slightly. He initially wanted to leave, but on second thought, he was, after all, affiliated with the Shrek Inner Court. It wouldn't be right to stand by and watch his juniors encounter danger.

His figure flickered, turning into an afterimage as he dashed toward the source of the fluctuations.

In a sparse patch of woodland, three teenagers wearing Shrek outer court uniforms stood back-to-back in a circle, their faces deathly pale as they watched a group of soul beasts slowly closing in.

Leading them was a Shadow Leopard with a thousand-year cultivation. Its entire body was black as ink, its eyes glowing with a cold, ghostly green light, and a faint dark element swirled around it. It circled the trio with elegant, dangerous steps. Behind the Shadow Leopard followed seven or eight Wind Wolves of the ten-year and century-level, baring their fangs and growling incessantly.

"W-what do we do? This Shadow Leopard is at least fifteen hundred years old! We... we can't beat it!" a round-faced girl said with a sob. Her martial soul was a verdant long vine, which trembled slightly, clearly pushed to its limit.

"I've already sent a distress signal, but it will take at least the time it takes for an incense stick to burn for a teacher to arrive!" another tall, thin boy gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. His martial soul was an iron shield, and the surface of the shield already bore several deep claw marks.

The strongest of the three was a girl with a ponytail, about twelve or thirteen years old. Her soul power fluctuated at the level of a two-ring Soul Grand Master, with two yellow soul rings circling her body.

Her martial soul was a silver-white long spear, its tip glinting with cold light. She stared fixedly at the Shadow Leopard's movements, though cold sweat had already beaded on her forehead.

"Don't panic, we just need to hold out until the teacher arrives," the ponytail girl said in a low voice, though there was a tremor in her tone that was hard to detect. She knew very well that a soul beast like the Shadow Leopard was extremely fast and excelled at sneak attacks; if it truly launched an assault, the three of them wouldn't last more than a few breaths.

The Shadow Leopard seemed to sense the prey's fear. A hint of playfulness flashed in its ghostly green pupils as it lowered its front paws, preparing to pounce.

"It's coming!" the ponytail girl shouted, holding her spear horizontally in front of her. Her second soul ring lit up, and a cluster of sharp soul power condensed at the tip of the spear.

Just as the Shadow Leopard was about to pounce, A figure appeared out of thin air beside the Shadow Leopard; no one had even seen how he arrived.

Jiang Che reached out one hand, his fingertip tapping lightly on the Shadow Leopard's forehead, his movement as casual as poking a bubble.

"Freeze."

The cold air of Ultimate Ice surged from his fingertip, instantly freezing the Shadow Leopard into an ice sculpture. Ice crystals spread from the leopard's head to its entire body, and even the ghostly green glint of ferocity in its eyes was frozen within the ice.

The thousand-year Shadow Leopard did not even have the right to struggle in front of this Title Douluo.

The remaining seven or eight Wind Wolves were so frightened they yelped and turned to flee, disappearing into the dense forest in the blink of an eye.

The three teenagers stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded, their mouths hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.

"Y-you..." the round-faced girl pointed at Jiang Che, unable to speak clearly.

Jiang Che withdrew his finger and turned to look at the three, a relaxed smile in his silver-blue eyes: "Shrek freshmen? You've got guts, coming to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt thousand-year soul beasts right after enrollment. Tired of living?"