Top-Tier Soul Beast: Ice Jade Scorpion (Apologies, I'm experiencing writer's block today, so this chapter is coming out so late.)

Shui Qingyue exclaimed, calling out the giant bear's name, while Shui Bing'er took the initiative to explain from the side.

"In the Ice Seal Forest, the Blizzard Bear is considered a powerful soul beast."

"They have thick skin and flesh, astonishing strength, and can spew bone-chilling blizzards from their mouths. They are very difficult to deal with!"

After a pause, Shui Bing'er rubbed her younger sister's head and chuckled, "Looking at the size of this Blizzard Bear, its cultivation should be around five thousand years, which is perfect for being your fourth soul ring, Yue'er."

Upon hearing this, Shui Yue'er immediately laughed, "In that case, let's hurry up and make a move!"

"That goes without saying!"

As she spoke, Shui Bing'er looked at Huo Wu and requested, "With just the strength of the three of us, I'm afraid we won't be able to take down this Blizzard Bear quickly, so Sister Huo Wu, I'll have to trouble you and your group to help us later."

"Hehe, that's no problem. Brother, Ling Yun, let's go together!"

"Right!"

The two nodded in unison, and as soon as the words fell, Ling Yun summoned the Five Spirit Lock while condensing his soul power, preparing for battle.

"Since the opponent is an ice-attribute soul beast, let's fight with the Flame Crane!"

As he spoke, the second soul ring at Ling Yun's feet flickered slightly. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a Flame Crane and soared into the sky, immediately accelerating toward the Blizzard Bear to launch the first attack.

"Roar—"

The Blizzard Bear instinctively sensed a threat from Ling Yun and immediately let out an angry roar.

At the same time, blue light flashed in its mouth, and it suddenly spewed out a biting cold wind, whipping up the surrounding snowflakes into a blizzard that whistled toward Ling Yun.

"Hmph, such petty tricks are useless against me. Fire Spirit Power!"

Ling Yun gave a light shout, and a pure fire-attribute soul power surged from his body, the scorching heat instantly spreading to the surroundings.

And this was his Ultimate Fire!

Under Ling Yun's manipulation, the Ultimate Fire transformed into a protective shield, easily blocking the incoming blizzard and completely evaporating the snowflakes within it.

Seeing that her ultimate move could not hurt Ling Yun, a trace of panic flashed in the Blizzard Bear's eyes, and at that very moment, Ling Yun shouted loudly.

"Sister Huo Wu, Brother Wushuang, take this chance and attack now!"

"Understood! Second Soul Skill: Explosive Fireball!"

"Second Soul Skill: Flame Jet."

Suddenly, Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang simultaneously unleashed their soul skills, and scorching fireballs and raging flames shot out, heading straight for the Blizzard Bear.

Seeing the fierce momentum of the two, the Blizzard Bear roared, suddenly raising its thick bear paws to grab the incoming fireballs and flames, with bone-chilling ice power surging out from its body!

Bang!

Accompanied by a harsh roar, the Blizzard Bear easily blocked the attacks of Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang, but immediately after, it widened its eyes, looking ahead with a terrified expression.

Before its eyes, a "Fire Phoenix" burning with monstrous flames was swooping toward it at high speed.

And this "Fire Phoenix" was none other than Ling Yun, transformed into a Flame Crane!

"Ultimate Move: Fire Crane Sky Fall!"

As he spoke, the flames on Ling Yun's body burned even more fiercely. Before the Blizzard Bear could dodge, the scorching sea of fire instantly swallowed it, causing it to let out a painful wail as it rolled on the ground.

After the flames on its body gradually extinguished, Ling Yun discovered that the Blizzard Bear was now suffering from large-scale burns and was on the verge of death.

Seeing this, Ling Yun was overjoyed and quickly said, "Good, this guy is about to die. Sister Yue'er, give it the finishing blow!"

"Understood!"

Shui Yue'er smiled slightly, then took out a sharp dagger and stabbed it straight into the Blizzard Bear's throat.

Puff!

A sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out, and after the Blizzard Bear thrashed a few times, it died completely.

The soul power within its body surged out, condensing into a brightly colored purple soul ring above the corpse.

Seeing this, Ling Yun immediately said, "Sister Yue'er, hurry and absorb your fourth soul ring!"

"Right!"

Shui Yue'er nodded heavily and sat cross-legged, absorbing the soul ring with all her might, while the others stood guard on the side to protect her.

Just like that, time passed second by second.

At this point, Shui Yue'er had successfully passed the dangerous period; as long as she completely refined the remaining soul power in the soul ring, she would become a four-ring Soul Ancestor.

At this moment, Shui Bing'er suddenly leaned over to Ling Yun's side and thanked him sincerely, "Brother Ling Yun, thank you for just now. Fortunately, you were here; otherwise, I'm afraid it would have taken us quite some effort to take down this Blizzard Bear."

"Hehe, no need to be so polite, Sister Bing'er." Ling Yun smiled faintly, "I already said, we are friends."

"I didn't expect you to be so strong now. Not only your strength, but even your cultivation has surpassed mine..."

Speaking of this, a touch of disappointment appeared on Shui Bing'er's face. Ever since she lost to Ling Yun in the academy exchange tournament, she had been working hard to cultivate, dreaming of one day defeating Ling Yun.

As a result, in just one year, Ling Yun's strength had grown stronger and stronger, and even his soul power cultivation had far surpassed hers.

If Ling Yun hadn't given her the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower immortal herb, I'm afraid the gap between the two would have been even greater, right?

In the original work, Shui Bing'er once drove Tang San to the point of self-doubt, but now, she had been struck by Ling Yun as well.

Seeing the dejected expression on Shui Bing'er's face, Ling Yun couldn't help but smile and console her: "Cheer up, Sister Bing'er! You are the captain of the Skywater Academy team; how can you be so easily discouraged?"

"Life is like a race. Falling behind for a moment is nothing. As long as you persist in your cultivation, Sister Bing'er, one day you will become a powerhouse capable of looking down upon the entire world!"

As he said this, Ling Yun suddenly looked up at the sky, as if speaking to Shui Bing'er, yet also to himself.

"I will keep climbing until I reach the pinnacle of the Spirit Master world! When that time comes, I hope you can keep pace with me, Sister Bing'er. Otherwise, it would be too boring if I were the only one charging forward!"

"Heh, is that so?" Shui Bing'er smiled, a flash of madness crossing her eyes. "Since you intend to reach the pinnacle of the Spirit Master world, then I shall surpass you and become the new pinnacle!"

Although Ling Yun felt this was impossible, he still laughed: "Really? Then you can't be so disheartened like you were just now, Sister Bing'er. I'm very much looking forward to that day, and when it comes..."

BOOM!

Before Ling Yun could finish his sentence, a deafening rumble suddenly erupted from the earth.

Following that, a deep fissure split the ground, and a long, ice-blue scorpion tail burst from the soil, thrusting straight toward Shui Bing'er's back like a spear!

"Sister Bing'er, look out!"

At this critical moment, Thousand Jun, Ling Yun lunged forward and tackled Shui Bing'er, narrowly avoiding the whistling tail and saving her from disaster.

At the same time, Ling Yun ended up sprawled on top of Shui Bing'er, his face buried in her chest.

Just then, the crack in the ground widened, and the owner of the ice-blue scorpion tail slowly revealed itself to everyone.

It was a massive scorpion over three meters long, its entire body covered in ice-blue armor.

Upon seeing this spirit beast, Ling Yun's pupils constricted, and he exclaimed: "This is a top-tier ice-attribute spirit beast, the Ice Jade Scorpion!"