Ultimate Ice

"Big sister, I don't need that much money."

Li Jiuxuan felt how bulky the pouch was. It was quite heavy in his hand, too.

Watching Xue Wu and the others walk away, Shui Bing'er let out a soft sigh. "Take it. There are only 1,000 Gold Soul Coins inside."

Li Jiuxuan froze.

On Douluo Continent, one Gold Soul Coin was worth ten Silver Soul Coins, or one hundred Copper Soul Coins.

And a single Gold Soul Coin was enough to cover several months of expenses for an ordinary family of three.

For Li Jiuxuan, a level-10 Soul Scholar, 1,000 Gold Soul Coins was undoubtedly an astronomical sum!

Li Jiuxuan hurriedly whispered to Shui Bing'er, "Big sister, this is too much. You should take it back. I'm happy as long as I get a full meal every day!"

Shui Bing'er gave Li Jiuxuan an exasperated look. "You came with me to Skywater Academy. Did you think I'd only give you one meal a day? I'll make sure you grow up nice and plump, so put it away! Don't let Yue'er see it!"

Li Jiuxuan looked confused. He blinked and asked, "Why? Is there something about Big Sister Yue'er?"

Although Shui Yue'er wasn't a Soul Elder yet and was only a level-27 Soul Grandmaster, she was still a core student at Skywater Academy. She shouldn't have been short on money, so Shui Bing'er's mysterious behavior puzzled him.

"This Small Treasure Pouch is a small storage treasure. It can't hold living things, but it can keep perishable resources like herbs fresh. Yue'er begged and pleaded with me for one back then, but I couldn't bring myself to give it to her," Shui Bing'er explained.

"Ah, this..."

Li Jiuxuan blinked in a daze, unsure how to accept such kindness.

Seeing his reaction, Shui Bing'er crouched down and smiled casually. "It's all right. You're my little brother, after all. I'm the one who saved you..."

Shui Bing'er had struggled through hardship herself. Li Jiuxuan reminded her so much of what she'd gone through, and he seemed even braver and more resilient than she had been. She had taken a liking to the little boy from the bottom of her heart.

"Then... thank you, big sister..."

Li Jiuxuan lowered his head, his little face turning red. Shui Bing'er had been so kind to him that he couldn't refuse.

"Get some good rest today. Tomorrow, I'll take you to..."

Before she could finish, a pale-blue figure silently appeared behind them. Youyou said, "Ha! Big sister, you're really breaking my heart."

The words startled Shui Bing'er, who had a guilty conscience. Her shoulders jumped, and she whipped around.

She found Shui Yue'er standing there with both hands clenched into little fists, her lively eyes fixed on Shui Bing'er in indignation!

"Y-Yue'er, what are you doing here? Didn't you already leave..." Shui Bing'er stood up and hastily forced a laugh, trying to look composed.

"How could I find out what you'd done if I didn't come back?"

Shui Yue'er wrinkled her nose, clearly displeased with Shui Bing'er. "I begged you for ages and you wouldn't give it to me, but the moment Xiao Jiuxuan shows up, you're willing to give it to him!"

As she spoke, Shui Yue'er looked toward Li Jiuxuan.

Her gaze made Li Jiuxuan feel embarrassed. He quietly edged behind Shui Bing'er.

Shui Bing'er looked a little awkward, but still tried to reassure her. "All right, Yue'er, don't be mad. I'll get you another one at the auction house."

A Small Treasure Pouch that couldn't store living things wasn't exactly a rare treasure. Shui Yue'er had liked the one Li Jiuxuan had because she thought it looked pretty.

But Shui Bing'er hadn't had any other storage treasures at the time, so she hadn't immediately given it to Shui Yue'er.

"Hmph! You have to get me the prettiest one, or I'll never forgive you!" Shui Yue'er planted her hands on her hips, reluctantly accepting the offer.

"Mm, the prettiest one!" Shui Bing'er promised.

Shui Yue'er was simple-hearted. Her temper flared quickly and faded just as fast, and she never held a grudge. She came over to Li Jiuxuan and cheerfully kneaded his little cheeks again. "Xiao Jiuxuan, you've reached level ten now. Tomorrow, big sister will go hunt a Soul Beast with you and help you get your first Soul Ring, all right?"

Her cheeks kneaded by Shui Yue'er, Li Jiuxuan felt his face grow warm. He stared at her blankly, his bright eyes blinking.

She was going to help him get a Soul Ring?

"Mm, that's what I was about to say. You've only just awakened your Martial Soul, but you have Innate Full Soul Power, so you can go get a Soul Ring right away. Tomorrow, Yue'er and I will take you to the Frozen Forest. It's full of ice-attribute Soul Beasts, which are suited to your Ice Dragon King Martial Soul," Shui Bing'er told Li Jiuxuan.

Li Jiuxuan nodded. This couldn't be better. Hunting Soul Beasts for a Soul Ring out in the wild would be difficult alone, so having help was ideal.

"I'll be ready!"

Night fell, with scattered stars and an ink-black sky.

Li Jiuxuan sat quietly by the shore of Calm Heart Lake, his hands resting steadily on his knees and his eyes shut as he focused on entering Deep Meditation.

A thread of pure ice Soul Power slowly rose from within him. An icy chill silently spread outward, and in just a moment, the still lake within a hundred-meter radius froze before his eyes. The ice grew thicker and gleamed with a cold, sharp sheen.

He hadn't even released his Martial Soul. This was merely the effect of his Soul Power naturally escaping his body.

"The Ice Dragon King Martial Soul possesses the Ultimate Ice attribute. It's the king of all ice."

Li Jiuxuan murmured to himself. The chill released by ordinary ice Soul Masters usually couldn't reach temperatures below minus 100 degrees.

But the Ultimate Ice within his body had been tempered from birth, and its lowest temperature could approach minus 200 degrees!

He even faintly sensed that the Ice Dragon King Martial Soul's power to temper his chill had no limit.

Once he grew stronger, he could certainly go below minus 200 degrees!

With enough cultivation, perhaps he could master Absolute Zero! That was an extreme low temperature of -273°C!

Unlike high temperatures, every degree dropped below zero brought a world-shaking change.

At Absolute Zero, the lower limit of temperature and the most extreme realm of cold, all things would become still, completely unable to move. Objects would have no heat at all, and energy and matter would enter an extraordinarily strange state!

Everything in the world could be frozen solid!

Soul Power surged ceaselessly through his meridians, and a bone-chilling cold seeped from every pore. At a mere thought, the chill around Li Jiuxuan abruptly gathered, and blades of ice, long swords, and freezing spears instantly took shape in midair, circling around him.

Even without relying on any Soul Skill, he could shape ice with his thoughts alone, unleashing instant kills over a small area or blanketing a wide area with a sweeping wave of cold.

Combined with the restraining field created by his natural chill, Li Jiuxuan's combat strength already rivaled that of some One-Ring Soul Masters.

Then Li Jiuxuan slowly rose and went to the lakeshore to test his physical strength.

He took a deep breath, and Soul Power roared into his right arm as his muscles tensed slightly.

The next moment, he grabbed a boulder weighing a full thousand jin with one hand. With a slight lift of his wrist, he raised it overhead as easily as if it were a handful of grass!

The strength in his arm was steady as a mountain. His body was far tougher than that of other Soul Scholars at the same level!

With this physical strength alone, a solid punch could easily kill a Soul Scholar of the same level.

Moreover, judging by the precision and speed with which he had just controlled the ice, his spiritual power was far beyond that of ordinary people. With a single thought, he could summon a vast wave of cold, and the delay between thought and action was only a matter of milliseconds.

Even the mental shock of ordinary bewitchment might not be enough to shake his mind.