Target One—Great North (Please Follow, Vote, and Bookmark)

Target One—Great North (Please Follow... Vote... and Bookmark)

Ling Han's pupils suddenly contracted, his heart nearly stopping! His gaze locked tightly onto the ninth Soul Ring beneath Ye Qinglan's feet—the dazzling, 100,000-year Soul Ring that symbolized the pinnacle of power and glory in the Soul Master World!

In the era known from the first part of Douluo Continent, those who possessed 100,000-year Soul Rings could be counted on one hand. Every one of them was a peerless powerhouse standing at the very peak of the continent's pyramid:

"Martial Soul Hall Pope Bibi Dong, Great Enshrined Qian Renliu of the Enshrined Hall, Clear Sky Douluo Tang Chen, High Priestess Bo Saixi of Sea God Island, Golden Crocodile Douluo, and the newly risen Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao." At most, there were only these six!

And now, a level 96 Super Douluo with a 100,000-year Soul Ring was kneeling alive and well before him, addressing him as her lord!

Ling Han felt a surge of heat rush straight to his head. The overwhelming shock and immense delight nearly drowned him.

Summoning successful!

Target: Xue Qinglan (Level 96 Assault Type Super Douluo)

Status: Absolute Loyalty (100%)

Spirit: Ice Phoenix (Extreme Ice)

Soul Ring Configuration: Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red

Traits: Extreme Ice Control, Phoenix Pressure, nascent domain (Absolute Zero), Ice Soul Skill (powerful single-target/area damage)

The cold system notification rang through Ling Han's mind like an alarm bell!

He forcibly suppressed the heart that was nearly leaping from his throat, as well as the immense pressure brought by the point countdown. Doing his best to maintain an outward calm, he gave a soft cough, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

"Xue... Sister Xue, please rise. You won't need to bow like this in the future." He paused and looked at her cold, breathtakingly beautiful face.

Feeling that "my lord" sounded far too stiff and distant, he tried a more intimate form of address. "Just call me Little Han from now on."

Xue Qinglan gracefully rose as instructed. Upon hearing how Ling Han had addressed her, a trace of surprise and confusion clearly flashed through her ice-blue eyes for the first time.

"Young Master? Isn't that improper..." She seemed surprised by such an overly casual, even somewhat childish, form of address.

"What? Does Sister Xue not like that?" Ling Han blinked, deliberately putting on a troubled expression as he joked, "Then... should you call me Master? Boss? Big Boss? Or... Brother Han?" He counted them off on his fingers, trying to ease the invisible pressure caused by their enormous gap in strength and dilute the urgency of his dwindling points.

"I wouldn't dare!" Xue Qinglan hurriedly lowered her head slightly again. Her voice remained cool, but it carried a faint, nearly imperceptible helplessness and... a trace of curiosity. "I simply didn't expect... Young Master Han to be so... approachable." She carefully chose her words. Clearly, this mysterious lord's manner of conduct was vastly different from the imposing and majestic image she had imagined.

Ling Han grinned, showing two rows of little white teeth. "Of course! I hate all that empty pomp and tedious etiquette the most. We'll just do whatever feels comfortable from now on."

As he spoke, he subconsciously moved his right arm, which had just completed Dragon Transformation and still retained a faint icy numbness. Covered in ice-blue dragon scales, its fingertips tipped with sharp claws, it gleamed with a cold, dim light inside the dark thatched hut.

Within him, his level 20 Innate Full Soul Power surged through his meridians like a rushing river. Yet without Soul Rings to guide it, it was restless and violent, with nowhere to vent.

The bone-deep, extreme chill carried by the Ice Hell Dragon Emperor Spirit constantly reminded him that this body craved a true source of power worthy of it.

His gaze involuntarily turned toward the window, as though his sight had pierced through the crude thatched hut, passed over the low houses of Holy Soul Village and the green mountains surrounding it.

It fell upon the vast land at the continent's northernmost edge, blanketed in eternal snow and ice, filled with endless mystery and danger—the Great North!

"Sister Xue." Ling Han withdrew his gaze and turned toward Xue Qinglan, who stood at his side with a temperament as icy as snow. Excitement, longing, and unquestionable resolve shone in his eyes.

"You've seen my Spirit as well—the Ice Hell Dragon Emperor, with the dual attributes of Extreme Ice and Extreme Power. But right now, I have level 20 Soul Power without even a single Soul Ring. It's like having a treasure vault without a key; I can't even bring out one ten-thousandth of my strength."

Xue Qinglan nodded slightly. There was no surprise on her snow-like, exquisite face, only deep understanding. "Young... Young Master Han is absolutely correct." She quickly adapted to the new form of address, her voice as clear and cold as freshly melted snow.

"A top-tier Beast Spirit, especially one like a dragon that stands at the peak of Soul Beast bloodlines, has almost harsh requirements for the quality of its Soul Rings. It could even be called 'picky.'"

"Ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Rings would not only fail to unleash its potential, they likely could not bear even one percent of its power. Forcibly absorbing them would only become shackles that bound the Spirit's future evolution, a terrible waste."

"Only Soul Rings produced by Soul Beasts with ancient and noble bloodlines, powerful and pure strength, and perfectly compatible attributes can truly be worthy of the name 'Ice Hell Dragon Emperor,' a mythic Spirit, fully releasing the might of its Extreme Power and Extreme Ice."

"Exactly!" Ling Han snapped his fingers, the gleam in his eyes growing brighter. "That's why Soul Hunting Forest, and even Sunset Forest, are too small. They simply can't provide a Soul Ring that meets my needs. My first stop must—and can only—be the Great North!" His tone was firm and decisive, carrying an unquestionable force of conviction.

When the words "Great North" clearly left Ling Han's mouth, an exceedingly subtle, difficult-to-catch ripple seemed to pass through the depths of Xue Qinglan's ice-blue eyes, like an undercurrent stirring deep beneath a glacier.

"The Great North..." Xue Qinglan's cold voice slowly sounded, carrying a gravity as though she had experienced it herself.

"It is indeed the holy land dreamed of by all ice-element Soul Masters, gathering the most powerful and ancient ice-type Soul Beast clans on Douluo Continent."

"Their bloodlines have been passed down since ancient times, their power drawn from the primordial source of ice that never melts. The quality of the Soul Rings they produce, and the ice-element power contained within them, are beyond comparison with ice-type Soul Beasts from any other region of the continent."

Her tone shifted slightly, and the gravity within it became increasingly clear. "However, that vast land blanketed in eternal ice and snow is also a forbidden zone of life."

"Bitter cold so extreme it can freeze one's blood and marrow in an instant, blizzards that rage year-round and can tear apart refined steel, bottomless ice chasms that devour everything, and... top-tier Soul Beast overlords entrenched in the core region, possessing terrifying strength and clan power."

"Even Titled Douluo-level powerhouses must tread as if on thin ice when venturing deep within, especially near the core region. One misstep could mean death."

Xue Qinglan's gaze fell upon Ling Han's still youthful face. Although she knew that this lord possessed a miraculous Spirit and powerful backing, he was, after all, still a child without a single Soul Ring.

"If Young Master is determined to go, we must make thorough preparations." Beyond the gravity of stating the facts, her voice carried the responsibility and concern of a protector.