Setting Out for the Great North

Gorgeous ice-blue wings burst open with a roar. Every feather looked as though it had been meticulously carved from the finest blue crystal, their edges gleaming with sharp, frigid light.

Within them seemed to be sealed ancient ice souls, radiating bone-chilling cold and a dazzling ice-blue glow.

With a gentle beat of those enormous wings, terrifying frost power and spatial ripples instantly spread outward.

The entire dilapidated thatched hut was like a fragile glass ornament before that power. The walls and straw roof groaned under the strain as frost spread and consumed them at a visible rate, as though they would turn into a skyful of powdered ice crystals the next second!

Yet this power, enough to flatten mountains and split peaks, was controlled by Xue Qinglan with unimaginable precision, confined to the small space around herself and Ling Han.

The next instant, the solid, lifelike, majestic Frost Phoenix wings beat sharply. Carrying the two of them, they became an ice-blue comet that tore through the air, smashing through the already crumbling thatched roof without resistance and soaring straight into the sky!

Boom!

The thatched hut completely collapsed beneath the shockwave of the Frost Phoenix taking flight, becoming ruins covered in a thick layer of ice.

On the ground, in Holy Soul Village.

The villagers only felt the sky above their heads suddenly darken. A terrifying chill that sank into their bones, as if even their souls were about to freeze, swept through the village without warning and instantly smothered the summer heat.

Everyone shuddered involuntarily and looked up in terror.

They saw only an ice-blue streak of light, like a spear cast down by a god, piercing the heavens at an unimaginable speed before vanishing beyond the distant northern horizon.

All that remained was a huge ice crater that had abruptly appeared where Ling Han's thatched hut had stood, along with thick white frost rapidly forming over the surrounding houses.

Village Chief Old Jack rubbed his eyes, aching from the cold, and stared blankly at the sky. "Did... did a really, really huge ice bird just fly past? Good heavens..."

Inside the blacksmith's shop, Tang Hao, who had been swinging a heavy hammer, suddenly froze.

A sharp gleam, keen as a sword, burst from his previously murky eyes—eyes that had seemed indifferent to everything. It pierced through the roof overhead and locked onto the direction where that ice-blue streak had vanished in the north.

His weathered brows furrowed tightly. Veins rose slightly on the back of the hand gripping the hammer as stormy waves churned in his heart. Such pure, vast Ice Element energy... a Titled Douluo!

A Titled Douluo with a top-tier Beast Spirit, too! Why would one appear in a remote place like Holy Soul Village? Could they... be here for me? Or... A trace of deep concern and vigilance flashed through his eyes.

Meanwhile, Ling Han was soaring several thousand meters above the ground.

His small body was pressed tightly against the smooth yet freezing back of the Frost Phoenix. Both hands clutched several Phoenix feathers before him, hard as enormous icicles and radiating piercing cold.

The fierce gale was like countless icy blades. Even though the pale-blue barrier formed by Xue Qinglan's Soul Power had weakened most of its force, the remaining penetration still stung his cheeks, made his ears ring, and filled every breath with the sharp pain of ice chips.

Below him lay the vast land, racing backward and becoming blurred beyond recognition.

Towering mountain ranges had become rolling hills, winding rivers had shrunk into shining silver threads, and sprawling forests had turned into green carpets of varying shades.

The intense dizziness and weightlessness brought by the altitude of several thousand meters crashed against his senses in wave after wave.

Every elegant yet powerful beat of the Frost Phoenix's huge wings brought distinct jolts and turbulent air currents, making his body sway helplessly along with them.

"Waaah—hoo—! This is awesome! So awesome! Is this what flying feels like?!"

His initial exhilaration made Ling Han forget every discomfort. Facing the howling wind, he shouted excitedly, his voice torn into fragments by the gale. "Sister Xue! Faster! Go faster! Make the wind even fiercer! Let the earth tremble beneath our feet!"

He spread his arms as though he wanted to embrace the entire sky, then let out an ambitious cry toward the endless northern heavens:

"Great North! My First Soul Ring! I'm coming—!"

However, a young man's lofty ambition was ultimately no match for the laws of physics or the limits of this immature body, which had yet to be strengthened by a Soul Ring.

After those first few fevered minutes, the real and relentless impact of high-speed flight began mercilessly making itself known throughout his body.

The biting gale slipped in through every opening. Even with the barrier, the cold seemed capable of piercing his skin and drilling into his marrow.

His exposed cheeks and the backs of his hands quickly turned icy, even slightly numb.

The dizzying height below and the blurred scenery flashing past constantly challenged his sense of balance and visual nerves, bringing waves of nausea and vertigo.

Each powerful flap of the Frost Phoenix's wings was like a small bout of turbulence, jostling him until it felt as though his internal organs were swaying along with him.

Ling Han instinctively drew in his neck, trying to bury his little face in a collar that did not exist.

His cheeks, which had been flushed moments ago, had now visibly lost their color and looked somewhat pale.

That high-spirited air of one who could command the world had vanished, replaced by taut restraint as he fought through his discomfort—reality had dumped a bucket of ice water mixed with thin air from several thousand meters up over his "graduation trip."

Cold. A cold that seeped into his bones. Although he had awakened an Ice Element martial soul, the frailty caused by this body's long-term malnutrition remained. Furthermore, his control over his martial soul's power was still at the most rudimentary stage, and he simply could not effectively mobilize his Soul Power to withstand such extreme high-altitude cold for long.

He clung tightly to those freezing, rigid Phoenix feathers, which nearly froze his fingers stiff. His knuckles turned white from gripping too hard, while his small body began trembling uncontrollably amid the jolting flight and bone-piercing cold—this time, he absolutely was not pretending. He really could not take much more, feeling like a leaf that could be torn apart by the gale at any moment.

Ding! Host physical condition detected: weak base constitution, mild high-altitude reaction, low efficiency in using Soul Power to ward off cold. Recommendation: Find a stable support point and hold on tight! Reduce exposed surface area against the wind and slow the rate of body heat loss.

The system's prompt was like a lighthouse in the darkness, instantly lighting up a certain "inspiration bulb" in Ling Han's mind!

Hold on tight... a stable support point?

With a longing for warmth and a faint, guilty flicker in his eyes, Ling Han's gaze involuntarily moved away from those cold, hand-aching feathers and slowly, quietly shifted ahead—

To the elegant figure seated at the perfect junction of the Frost Phoenix's long neck and broad back.

Xue Qinglan sat with her posture straight. Her silver hair streamed like a waterfall in the raging wind, while her long ice-blue dress clung tightly to her body, outlining her perfect curves.

Like an ancient, unchanging statue of an ice goddess, she was firmly rooted on the Phoenix's back. No matter how fiercely the gale howled or the air currents churned, she remained utterly unmoved.

Her slender waist, containing terrifying power, and the faintly taut lines of her back as she focused on controlling their flight... assaulted by cold and dizziness as Ling Han's senses were, they undoubtedly gave off a deadly allure called "stability" and "warmth"—at least psychologically.

Hold... hold onto her?

The thought grew wildly in Ling Han's numbed, frozen mind like weeds.