Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger

A yellow soul ring slowly condensed over the corpse of the Ice-Patterned Wolf, then began to rotate, emitting a brilliant light.

"Once a soul ring forms, it lasts for about an hour. If it isn't absorbed within that time, it will dissipate."

Shui Bing'er said to Li Jiuxuan, "This is an Ice-Patterned Wolf nearly one hundred and fifty years old. Although its strength is decent and its speed is astonishing, it isn't suitable for you. Let's go find a power-type soul beast."

"Understood."

Li Jiuxuan gazed at the yellow soul ring, his eyes calm. The corpse of the Ice-Patterned Wolf still held residual warmth, and the brilliant light of the rotating ring reflected in his eyes. He could not absorb it, nor did he feel a shred of regret; after all, pure power was what he pursued.

Seeing him so composed, Shui Bing'er smiled faintly, feeling even more approval for this little brother.

Ordinary soul masters who had just reached level ten would usually show signs of impatience when first encountering a powerful century-old soul ring, but young Li Jiuxuan possessed a steady state of mind and was not the least bit greedy.

Cold winds whipped up shards of snow, howling across the Far North Ice Plains.

Shui Bing'er walked in front, her voice calm: "Most ice-attribute soul beasts in the Far North lean toward speed and control. There aren't many power-types, but once you encounter one, its age and physique are far beyond those of ordinary soul beasts."

She paused, then continued: "What we need to find in the outer perimeter is an Ice-Armor Giant Bear or an Ice-Splitting Rhino of at least three hundred years. These beasts have thick hides and immense, tyrannical strength. The soul skills they provide are primarily focused on assault and amplification, which best suits the assault capabilities of your Ice Dragon King martial soul."

Shui Bing'er explained as she led Li Jiuxuan deeper into the plains.

Li Jiuxuan followed silently, listening while his ears twitched slightly, carefully catching the movements in the surroundings.

"Whoosh!"

They hadn't gone far when the eyes of both Li Jiuxuan and Shui Bing'er suddenly sharpened.

They turned their heads in perfect synchronization, and after channeling their soul power, several ice blades and ice spikes shot out at high speed!

The speed was so great that it sliced through the air with a piercing sound!

"Puchi!"

Several plum blossoms instantly bloomed upon the pristine white snow!

Soul beasts hiding beneath the ground had been slain, their blood flowing endlessly.

"Hm? These are four Cold Ice Scorpions, experts at hiding in the snow to ambush and poison their opponents!"

Shui Yue'er walked over to the reddened snow, kicked away the ice and snow, and saw several scorpions with their bodies pierced through—three had ice spikes embedded in them, and one had an ice blade: "They aren't large, but they are all seventy or eighty-year-old soul beasts!"

Shui Yue'er covered her mouth, which had fallen open in surprise, and said, "Little Jiuxuan is truly amazing. His reaction was so fast; he killed a high-level white-ring soul beast in a single strike!"

It was expected for Shui Bing'er to be powerful.

But the problem was that Li Jiuxuan had only just awakened his martial soul, and this level of performance was astonishing!

Even the expressionless Xue Furong behind them couldn't help but twitch her brows.

What this strike demonstrated was, above all, a focused mental capacity.

Shui Yue'er was nearly twenty levels higher than Li Jiuxuan, yet her reaction had been a beat slower than his.

This was the power of a top-tier beast martial soul and Innate Full Soul Power...

"It seems Little Jiuxuan and I have quite the rapport," Shui Bing'er also said with a smile of praise.

"Let's keep going, Sister. I feel like the soul beast I want is ahead."

Li Jiuxuan could sense it; there was an extremely intense fluctuation of ice-attribute soul power ahead.

It was intermingled among many other soul beasts.

However, it only existed for an instant before it was concealed again.

That power was thick and potent; it might very well be an Ice-Armor Giant Bear or an Ice-Splitting Rhino.

"Very well, let's go."

The group continued forward. As they delved deeper into the outer perimeter, everyone could clearly perceive that the aura of the soul beasts in this area was far more ferocious than where they had encountered the Ice-Patterned Wolf.

Many soul beasts were no longer hiding; instead, they were observing the four of them from the shadows.

Along the way, they slew many more soul beasts that took the initiative to attack, including Eight-Eyed Ice Centipedes, Sky-Soaring Cold Birds, and Ice Lions...

"There's movement again!"

Li Jiuxuan's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked toward a dense forest of ice pillars on the left.

From behind the thick trees came a dull, low roar. Every time that soul beast breathed, the ground trembled slightly, and it possessed an innate, powerful ice-attribute soul energy.

"Could it be an Ice-Armor Giant Bear!"

Shui Yue'er's lips curled upward: "Judging by the sound, its age is definitely no less than three or four hundred years. It's exactly the kind of power-type soul beast we're looking for!"

Li Jiuxuan's heart tightened slightly, but his expression remained unchanged. He clenched his fists, readying himself for battle once more.

Shui Bing'er whispered a reminder: "Little Jiuxuan, stay back and wait for my command. I will handle it; you only need to deliver the final blow the moment I break its defenses."

As her voice fell, Shui Bing'er flashed forward, her ice-blue figure darting out like an elf.

She raised her hand and waved it, causing the snowy forest to explode as countless ice spikes erupted from the ground, sharp and lethal.

"ROAR!"

A roar shook the heavens and the earth. After the snowy forest exploded, a massive beast covered in flowing blue soul energy—a saber-toothed tiger—lunged out!

It stood nearly three meters tall, its saber teeth and every claw gleaming with a chilling, cold light. Its tail, in particular, looked exactly like a brilliant blade of ice!

Its defense was formidable; the ice spikes Shui Bing'er had just unleashed failed to deal a fatal blow, merely slicing its four limbs and drawing blood.

It came to a halt a dozen meters away from the group, standing in a standoff against these humans, its scarlet eyes locked onto the intruders who had breached its territory.

"This is a four-hundred-year-old Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

Shui Yue'er was somewhat startled; the Saber-Toothed Tiger possessed a bloodline far superior to ordinary tiger-type spirit beasts.

They were a rare breed of spirit beast, known for being extremely ferocious.

Some adult Frost Saber-Toothed Tigers could even cultivate for ten thousand years, becoming ten-thousand-year spirit beasts!

The one before them now was merely a cub among cubs!

"This is the one; we shall use it for Little Jiuxuan's spirit ring!"

Spirit power surged around Shui Bing'er as her three spirit rings lit up instantly, sending a sky full of ice shards raining down upon the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger swiped its paws, attempting to swat the ice shards away one by one, but they were as dense as a meteor shower; despite blocking most of them, its flesh was still shredded, and blood splattered everywhere.

"Roar!"

The Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger was enraged. Having been wounded twice, it unleashed its full spirit power, its fur standing on end as it gathered cold energy in its maw and fired a beam of destruction directly at her!

Shui Bing'er let out a cold snort, calm and unhurried. She clapped her hands together, manifesting a long sword of ice at her chest. Its aura was terrifying, causing the very space to tremble as if it were about to shatter!

The temperature of the icy landscape plummeted further still!

"Boom!"

With a horizontal push of her hands, the ice sword surged forward, breaking through all restraints. The Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger's beam was rendered useless, crushed instantly.

The next moment, the long sword pierced straight through the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger's body. It collapsed to the ground, completely stripped of its ability to resist.

After all, Shui Bing'er was a level 31 Soul Elder; a four-hundred-year spirit beast was simply not enough to contend with her.

"Now is the time, Little Jiuxuan!"