Star Dou Forest

Early the next morning.

The wind and snow of the Far North finally ceased, and the sky displayed a clear, pale blue. Sunlight spilled over the snowfields, refracting myriad rays of light.

Snow Empress cradled Lin Yaoyang in one arm, and with Ice Empress, she soared into the air, flying toward the south.

"Yaoyang, your Martial Soul is of the Ultimate Fire attribute," Snow Empress's voice came through clearly in the wind. "The Far North basically only has ice- and water-attribute soul beasts, so none are suitable for you. We can only go to Star Dou Forest."

Lin Yaoyang nestled in Snow Empress's embrace, feeling the biting wind rushing toward them being automatically blocked by Snow Empress's aura.

He raised his head, his short, orange-red hair swaying slightly in the wind.

"Sister Xue'er," he spoke up suddenly, "my Martial Soul seems to have two attributes."

Snow Empress and Ice Empress lowered their heads to look at him simultaneously, curiosity flashing in their eyes.

"Oh? What is the other one?"

"The Light attribute..." Lin Yaoyang paused, "it should also be an Ultimate attribute."

As his voice fell, Snow Empress and Ice Empress froze in unison.

Their two pairs of beautiful eyes met, and both saw the shock in each other's eyes.

Dual Ultimate attributes?

Ice Empress gasped. "Good boy! I never expected your talent to be so heaven-defying!"

Snow Empress did not speak, but the arm holding Lin Yaoyang tightened slightly.

She looked down at the little fellow in her arms, complex emotions welling up in her heart.

Six years ago, when she picked up this infant in the wind and snow, she only thought he was special and wanted to find some emotional sustenance for her dull life.

She never expected that this single pick-up would bring back a peerless genius.

Ultimate Fire plus Ultimate Light, dual Ultimate attributes.

With this kind of talent, not to mention ten thousand years, even looking across the entire history of Douluo Continent, no second one probably existed.

What kind of huge treasure did I... end up picking up?

Snow Empress thought to herself, a trace of a smile unconsciously blooming on the corners of her mouth.

Ice Empress did not notice Snow Empress's absent-mindedness and had already begun counting on her fingers. "Although Ultimate attributes grow slowly during the thirty-to-seventy stage, this is the time to build a foundation. Your soul power will be much more solid and robust than others', and challenging those of a higher rank will be no problem at all!"

Lin Yaoyang nodded; of course he knew all this.

"I know, Sister Bing'er."

Snow Empress collected her thoughts and said, "Then we'll keep an eye out for light-attribute soul beasts as well. With dual attributes, our range of choices will actually be a bit broader."

She paused, looking down at Lin Yaoyang. "But Yaoyang, for your first soul ring, how many years are you planning to absorb?"

Lin Yaoyang answered without hesitation. "Around two thousand years."

"Two thousand years?" Ice Empress widened her eyes. "You're only six years old, and you want to absorb a thousand-year soul ring for your first one? Do you know that ordinary soul masters can only absorb up to a hundred-year one for their first?"

"I know." Lin Yaoyang blinked, looking completely innocent. "But I'm not an ordinary soul master."

Ice Empress was choked up for a moment.

Snow Empress smiled, however. She knew this little fellow had the confidence to say those words.

"Let me think..."

Ice Empress pondered for a moment. "The heavenly treasures you've eaten over the years have indeed laid a very solid foundation for your body. Whale Rubber, ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus, Jade Ginseng... Any one of them taken out would be enough to make ordinary soul masters fight to the death for it."

Ice Empress could not help but sigh with emotion. "The things this kid has eaten are enough to raise a whole army of soul masters."

Lin Yaoyang chuckled. "That's just because Sister Xue'er and Sister Bing'er dote on me."

Snow Empress gently pinched his cheek. "Stop flattering me. But two thousand years is indeed worth a try, though it must be controlled within twenty-five hundred years, no higher."

"Understood!"

The outer perimeter of Star Dou Forest.

Snow Empress and Ice Empress landed directly on a secluded hill at the edge of the forest.

The moment he stepped into the forest, Lin Yaoyang felt a wave of fresh aura rush toward him. It was the fragrance of plants mixed with the scent of earth, making one feel refreshed and happy.

He took a deep breath, turning his head to look at Snow Empress and Ice Empress. "Sister Xue'er, Sister Bing'er, how do you feel?"

Snow Empress frowned slightly. "A bit muggy."

Ice Empress was even more direct, her small face scrunched up into a ball. "It's so uncomfortable! Everywhere is damp and hot, much worse than the Far North!"

Lin Yaoyang could not help laughing out loud.

The two of them had lived in the Far North for hundreds of thousands of years and had long since grown accustomed to the bitter cold and dryness there. Coming suddenly to this warm and humid forest, they would naturally feel uncomfortable.

"Then we'll find a suitable soul beast as soon as possible and head back," he said.

Snow Empress nodded, her gaze casting toward the depths of the forest. "Yaoyang's first soul ring can be found in the outer perimeter. As for going deeper..."

She paused and did not continue.

But Ice Empress understood what she meant.

In the depths of Star Dou Forest lived that Beast God Di Tian.

The Far North and Star Dou each ruled their own domains, and although Di Tian had all along wanted to make Snow Empress submit over the years, Snow Empress relied on her home-field advantage and stubbornly refused to bow her head.

Coming now to hunt soul beasts in someone else's territory, she naturally could not be too arrogant.

Ice Empress curled her lips. "If it weren't for Yaoyang, I wouldn't come to this ghost place."

The three of them walked inward along the edge of the forest.

Snow Empress's spiritual power spread out like flowing mercury, scanning everything around them.

"This way." She pointed in a direction.

After walking for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Snow Empress suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Found it."

Lin Yaoyang followed her gaze and saw that in the bushes ahead, a lizard-like soul beast nearly three meters long was lying on a rock basking in the sun. Its scales were dark red, with a row of protruding bony spurs along its spine, and sparks were faintly expelled from its nostrils with each breath.

"Red Flame Earth Dragon." Ice Empress's eyes lit up. "Fire attribute, earth dragon lineage. Even though its bloodline isn't pure, it's more than enough to use for a first soul ring."

Snow Empress narrowed her eyes slightly, her spiritual power carefully scanning that soul beast. "Its cultivation is between eighteen hundred and twenty-two hundred years, just right for Yaoyang."

Lin Yaoyang nodded and looked at Ice Empress. "Then I'll have to trouble Sister Bing'er."

Ice Empress smiled slightly, revealing two small canine teeth. "Just wait!"

Before her voice had faded, her figure had already vanished from the spot.

That Red Flame Earth Dragon was enjoying the afternoon sun when it suddenly sensed a terrifying aura that made its soul tremble approaching it. It jerked its head up, and before it could see clearly who had come, a small fist smashed into its head.

Boom!

The Red Flame Earth Dragon's massive body was sent flying directly, snapping three towering trees before finally embedding itself in the trunk of a giant tree and sliding down.

Ice Empress withdrew her fist, patted the non-existent dust off her hands, and beckoned to Lin Yaoyang. "Alright, it's still breathing. Hurry over and deal the final blow to it; don't let it bleed to death."

Lin Yaoyang hurried over, taking out a long sword from his Soul Tool.

The Red Flame Earth Dragon lay on the verge of death under the tree roots, its huge eyes filled with terror and despair. Right until its death, it could not understand why, as it was properly basking in the sun, a terrifying existence had suddenly popped out, one so dreadful that it could not even give birth to the thought of resisting.

Lin Yaoyang did not hesitate, thrusting a sword into its head.

The Red Flame Earth Dragon twitched one last time and completely breathed its last.

The next second, a purple soul ring slowly rose from its corpse, emitting a faint glow under the sunlight.

A thousand-year soul ring.