Returning to the Far North, An Anomaly Among the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad Clan

"Can't you take a good look at Xiao Meng, observe her carefully?"

Hoo... It seems Brother Xu wasn't taken advantage of by that woman; otherwise, he wouldn't be in such a flustered state.

Meng Hongchen let out a sigh of relief.

Hehe... She was happy.

Having worn out hundreds of romance novels, she naturally possessed a special advantage when it came to capturing Xu Qing's heart.

Those shy little expressions, those subtle, unintentional movements.

Everything was under the control of Meng—Love Strategist—God of Galgames—Hongchen.

Xu Qing took a few deep breaths, using his Ultimate Ice Soul Power to cool his brain. After a few moments, he said slowly:

"You've broken through to level fifty."

Xu Qing frowned, but then his expression relaxed.

"Well, with an unlimited supply of Mystic Ice Marrow, plus your own diligent cultivation, it's only natural that you've progressed so quickly."

"Yes, I broke through last night. Brother Xu, although the Mystic Ice Marrow provides a strong boost to the ice attribute, for my Body Martial Soul, the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad... it's actually not that, well, not that compatible."

Meng Hongchen activated her Martial Soul Possession. Her fair skin instantly became crystal clear, resembling Ice Skin Jade Bone, while her ice-blue pupils were stained with a vibrant, blood-red hue.

The white-haired, red-eyed little loli was online.

She shifted her body, condensed a piece of cyan-tinted ice in her hand, and handed it to Xu Qing.

"Brother Xu, you know that the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad is a highly poisonous soul beast with both ice and fire attributes. The poison comes from the fire attribute in the toad's red pupils and the ice attribute within its body."

"The two—one ice and one fire, one cold and one hot—alternate and interact to produce this unique, potent toxin."

"However, after consuming your Mystic Ice Marrow, the ice attribute has remained in a dominant position, and the fire attribute has been suppressed too heavily."

"It's true that I can use the Mystic Ice Marrow to quickly increase my Soul Power, but in the long run, the toxicity of my Ice Toad will decline."

"So, to maintain the balance between the two attributes and prevent the toxicity from weakening, Grandfather planned for me to obtain a soul beast with a fire-dominant and ice-subordinate attribute for my fifth soul ring to balance the two powers within me."

Actually, there was another way: stop consuming the Mystic Ice Marrow. But how could Meng Hongchen ever agree to that?

The Mystic Ice Marrow was the best excuse to find Xu Qing!

At this point, Xu Qing reached out and took the ice block containing the terrifying poison. His Ultimate Ice Soul Power flickered slightly, and the cyan color within it vanished into nothingness.

Ultimate Ice could ignore the poison of the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad...

Though he didn't know why, that was simply the fact.

Xu Qing thought of the old man's medicinal meals... Sigh, that was truly unnecessary.

But he couldn't blame him; the Body Sect's knowledge regarding Ultimate attributes and non-Body Martial Souls wasn't that comprehensive.

And Xu Qing's own memories regarding these details weren't very clear either, but it didn't matter; at least he knew now.

Seeing her poison rendered powerless before Xu Qing, Meng Hongchen said pitifully:

"But the academy's beast arena doesn't have such soul beasts at all. Grandfather is too busy to even touch the ground, Brother is too weak, and the other uncles and aunts who help me hunt soul beasts are all busy with their own affairs."

It was all made up.

"I can only look for Brother Xu."

"Fine, let's set off now. I'll go call Master to tear through space; it'll be faster that way."

As he spoke, without waiting for Meng Hongchen to respond, Xu Qing took out his Soul Tool and called Du Busi.

He had to change locations! Immediately, right now!!

Whoosh—!

It only took two breaths!!

"Little girl, you..."

Du Busi's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them...

This old man understands.

Very well!

Du Busi gave Meng Hongchen a smile terrifying enough to make a child cry and said:

"Xu Qing has already told me what kind of soul beast you need. Let's go to the Far North first. The most suitable soul beast for your requirements would be a Vermilion Clear Ice Toad, but we need to find one with a stronger fire attribute."

"Rest assured, leave everything to this old man!"

Far North, outer region.

In a crevice of a glacier, a crimson toad hopped about, searching the hills for its daily meal.

It was an anomaly of its species, a disgrace to the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad clan.

No, it didn't even deserve to be called a Vermilion Clear Ice Toad.

Because it possessed neither vermilion eyes nor an ice-blue body.

It had a pair of blue eyes and a crimson body.

Calling it an Ice Clear Red Toad was far more appropriate.

Its venom was entirely different from the ice-conducted toxins found in others of its kind; it relied on breathing fire to spread its poison.

One could only imagine: how could a Soul Beast that relied on fire-attribute attacks as its primary means of offense possibly survive in the Far North?

Yet, it had survived.

"Croak... what a miserable croak-life."

It was actually capable of human speech!

Was it a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

No. Its cultivation was a mere thirteen thousand years, barely crossing the threshold of a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast.

However, the heaven-sent intelligence it possessed was the very foundation that allowed it to survive to this day in the Far North, a paradise of ice-attribute energy fraught with peril.

"Hiss... hiss..."

"Croak, found one. A thousand-year Ice Silkworm. Tonight's dinner is sorted."

The Ice Silkworm clan was the bottom-feeder group of the Far North, the kind of "bottom-of-the-barrel" Soul Beast that anyone could kick around.

Unlike the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad, which possessed fire attributes and could not stay long in the inner or core regions where ice-attribute energy was potent, the Ice Silkworm was simply too damn weak.

They were either being hunted or on the way to being hunted.

Of course, it was the same in the outer regions, but they had no choice.

Originally, most of their clan had been kept in captivity by the Ice Jade Scorpion clan in the core region, but because of a certain bug that had enraged the Far North Emperor, they were exiled to this borderland.

"Hiss..."

"Croak--!"

The Ice Clear Red Toad spat violently, and a fireball the size of a human head slammed into the immobile Ice Silkworm. In an instant, the creature's body stiffened, and it dropped dead.

A purple soul ring emerged.

Below, its once-pristine white body had been roasted to a charred yellow.

One bite, and it was succulent! Juicy! Sweet!

"Crunch, crunch... delicious, croak."

The Ice Clear Red Toad chewed as it hopped backward. Unlike the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad, it did not live in the crevices of the glaciers, but rather on the exposed rock walls on the sides of those crevices.

"Croak, what a lucky day. I only walked a few steps and solved dinner. I, the croak, am truly lucky."

"It really is a lucky day. I just entered the Far North and already encountered a Soul Beast that meets your requirements, Xiao Meng!"

My luck is above yours, you unlucky toad!

Xu Qing's voice rang out from behind the Ice Clear Red Toad.

Boom--!!

He unleashed the entirety of his incredibly thick, level-fifty-five Soul King pressure upon it, rendering it unable to move.

"Croak~~"

Yameilu, yameilu!!

Am I, the croak, going to die?

How can my croak-life end here!!