Su Chen stood up and walked over to the four Soul Beasts, carefully sensing their auras.
The Radiant Sacred Dragon had the most vigorous aura, the Flame Demon Tiger the fiercest killing intent, the Sacred Giant Dragon the purest holy aura, while the Radiant Dragon Horse was nimble and graceful.
Without giving it much thought, Su Chen had already made his choice.
He raised his hand, and the Angel Holy Sword appeared out of thin air, wreathed in golden flames. A flash of sword light—
"Pfft!"
The Radiant Sacred Dragon's neck was slashed open, and blood gushed out. The powerful Soul Beast's life ended while it was unconscious; it hadn't even had time to let out a cry.
A purple Soul Ring slowly rose from the corpse. Its hue was so deep it was almost black, clearly nearing the limit of eight thousand years.
Su Chen sat cross-legged, circulated his Soul Power, and began absorbing it.
Mu Ye stood to one side like a black statue, guarding him. The aura of a Limit Douluo radiated naturally from him, scaring all the surrounding Soul Beasts into fleeing far away. None dared approach.
The absorption went smoothly. Though the Radiant Sacred Dragon's Soul Ring was powerful, Su Chen's physique had been strengthened many times over by the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, making him far stronger than other Soul Masters of the same level. Combined with the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul's innate affinity for light attributes, the process went off without a hitch.
An hour later, Su Chen opened his eyes.
He had successfully absorbed his third Soul Ring! His Soul Power Level had also broken through from level thirty to—
Level thirty-two.
Su Chen frowned, somewhat puzzled. A Soul Ring of seven thousand five hundred years should have provided more than two levels of Soul Power. Ordinary Soul Masters absorbing a Soul Ring of this caliber could improve by at least three levels.
As if sensing his confusion, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's lazy voice, tinged with smugness, rang out in the Sea of Consciousness:
"Kid, wondering why your Soul Power only went up a little?"
"Yeah." Su Chen replied mentally. "A Soul Ring of seven thousand five hundred years should have done more than this."
"Heh, you don't understand, do you?" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sounded as if it were saying, "Let me educate you." "As far as I know, your Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul is extraordinary. It naturally controls three attributes—light, fire, and holiness. Light and holiness have both reached the 'ultimate' level, and that Solar True Fire is one of the finest flames in the world, to say nothing of the rest."
It paused, its tone turning serious. "Soul Masters with Ultimate Attributes are undeniably formidable in cultivation. They're hard to match among their peers. But there's an unwritten rule: after breaking through level thirty and becoming a Soul Elder, their cultivation speed becomes exceptionally slow, far behind Soul Masters of comparable talent who don't have Ultimate Attributes."
"This 'bottleneck period' lasts until level seventy, when they cross the threshold into the Soul Saint rank," the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm explained. "Once they enter the Soul Saint realm, the shackles come off, and their cultivation speed returns to normal. They may even pull ahead, thanks to the terrifyingly solid foundation they built in the early stages."
Its tone grew earnest. "Your current situation proves that the foundation of your Ultimate Attributes is incredibly solid. So this slow growth is actually a sign of your deep reserves."
"And honestly, your speed is already pretty fast. An ordinary Soul Master with Ultimate Attributes might take more than half a year just to go from level thirty-one to level thirty-two."
Su Chen nodded thoughtfully.
The explanation fit his understanding of the power system in the Douluo World. Ultimate Attributes were indeed a double-edged sword—difficult to cultivate in the early stages, but in exchange, they made one unmatched among peers, capable of fighting above one's level, with far greater potential in the future.
He stood up and stretched. He could clearly feel that the third Soul Ring had brought more than just an increase in Soul Power; his physical strength had improved further as well. The Radiant Sacred Dragon's draconic might had also been absorbed by his Martial Soul, making the Six-Winged Angel's holy majesty even more imposing.
"How do you feel?" Mu Ye asked with concern.
"Great." Su Chen clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him. "Better than I expected."
He looked north, a resolute light flashing in his eyes.
He had obtained his third Soul Ring. Next came the real prize—
The Far North, Snow Empress, and the Second Martial Soul.
"Elder Mu," Su Chen said, "let's set off."
"Yes, young master."
Mu Ye waved a hand, and a gentle force enveloped Su Chen. The next moment, the two shot into the sky, turning into a streak of black light as they sped north.
With a Limit Douluo leading the way, the journey from the Star Dou Great Forest to the Far North was astonishingly quick. Mu Ye carried Su Chen through the air, covering thousands of miles in less than half a day before reaching this white world, frozen all year round.
"This is the Far North," Mu Ye said, hovering in midair as he gazed at the boundless glaciers and snowy plains below, his voice tinged with solemnity. "Young master, this place is extremely dangerous. Even Titled Douluo must be exceedingly cautious when entering the core region."
Su Chen nodded, his gaze sweeping over the snow-covered land. The biting wind whipped up a blizzard, reducing visibility to less than a hundred meters. The temperature was terrifyingly low; without Soul Power to protect them, ordinary people would freeze into ice statues in moments.
"Tian Meng, are you sure this is the right route?" Su Chen asked mentally.
"Uh, well..." The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm scratched its head awkwardly. "Actually, I'm not too sure. It's been many years since I came back, and the landscape of the Far North has changed quite a bit..."
Its voice grew softer and softer, tinged with guilt.
Su Chen sighed helplessly. He should have known that relying on this unreliable million-year Soul Beast to find the way was less useful than relying on himself.
"Forget it. I'll look for it myself."
Relying on what he remembered from the original story, Su Chen had Mu Ye take him toward the core region of the Far North. That was most likely where Snow Empress's territory lay.
Along the way, they encountered plenty of powerful ice-attribute Soul Beasts: ten-thousand-year Ice Bears, thousand-year Snow Wolves, and even a fifty-thousand-year Ice Jade Scorpion. But after sensing the terrifying aura of a Limit Douluo radiating from Mu Ye, all of them kept their distance. None dared approach.
The farther they went into the core region, the lower the temperature became. Eventually, even Mu Ye had to release some of his Soul Power to resist the cold.
"Young master, there's a powerful energy fluctuation ahead." Mu Ye suddenly stopped and pointed toward a towering glacier in the distance. "It seems... to be the aura of a transformed Soul Beast."
Su Chen's heart tightened. "Let's go have a look."
The two concealed their auras and quietly approached.
At the same time, atop that glacier,
Snow Empress sat cross-legged.
She wore a white dress, its hem spread across the ice and blending with the surrounding snow. Her silver-white hair fell like a waterfall, the ends fluttering gently in the cold wind. Her features were breathtakingly beautiful, delicate as if carved, and her skin was so fair it was almost translucent. Her icy blue eyes were clear and deep, as if they could see right through a person.
Yet at that moment, her face bore a look of grim resolve.
Beside Snow Empress lay a gigantic snow lotus. It was crystalline from root to petal, radiating a gentle blue glow. Its layers of petals were each like the finest jade, dazzling and magnificent—a masterpiece among masterpieces.
This was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, a celestial treasure nurtured by the Far North, possessing wondrous powers of creation.
Snow Empress was making the most important choice of her life.
Before you continue