In other words, a tremendously powerful force had to be standing behind the God Sealing Platform.
And across the entire continent,
aside from Mingde Hall, there was almost only one force capable of providing Soul Tool Technology and resources of this caliber.
The Holy Spirit Cult.
At the thought of that name, a chill flashed through Xu Tianyao's eyes.
If that Level-9 Soul Engineer really was a member of the Holy Spirit Cult,
then a great many things suddenly made sense.
For years, the Holy Spirit Cult had been secretly expanding at a breakneck pace within the Sun Moon Empire.
And what they excelled at most was hunting powerful Soul Beasts, studying evil secret arts, and conducting all manner of experiments hidden from the light of day.
Laying the groundwork in advance for an existence like the Snow Empress was entirely in keeping with their style.
But... if the matter really involved the Holy Spirit Cult,
then there was one person who inevitably stood behind it all.
Xu Tianran.
After all, the Holy Spirit Cult would never have grown to its current size within the Sun Moon Empire without Xu Tianran's tacit approval and support.
But Xu Tianyao also knew this much:
Xu Tianran was no foolish ruler who could be easily deceived.
Quite the opposite.
His imperial elder brother was a master of political intrigue, with a terrifyingly deep mind. He was sharper than anyone.
He had never truly trusted the Holy Spirit Cult. The two sides merely used each other, like a man bargaining with a tiger.
All these years, Xu Tianran had secretly kept a close watch on the Holy Spirit Cult's every move.
Especially its powerful high-ranking members.
As long as they remained within the Sun Moon Empire, almost none of them could escape Xu Tianran's notice.
He had even planted his own people within the Holy Spirit Cult.
It was precisely for this reason that Xu Tianyao had access to so much information.
After all, reliable news had arrived only recently that several high-ranking members of the Holy Spirit Cult seemed to have left the country on a secret mission, with plans to return in the near future.
Among them was, unmistakably, a Level-9 Soul Engineer.
However, Xu Tianyao had been at a critical point in his breakthrough at the time, so he had decided to wait until he reached Level 30 before asking his grandfather to go after them together.
Now was the right time.
As for the second option, that was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. But the timing wasn't right yet, so he would first secure the Snow Empress.
The Far North lay at the northernmost edge of the Heaven Dou Empire, and was also the continent's northernmost region.
It was covered in snow and ice all year round, frozen for ten thousand years without thawing.
The biting wind sliced like a blade. Even the most powerful Soul Masters were reluctant to venture lightly into that place, known as a forbidden zone of life.
At the same time,
it was also one of the largest gathering grounds for Soul Beasts on the continent.
Countless powerful Soul Beasts roamed its reaches. The legendary Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, in particular, made countless Titled Douluo blanch at the mere mention of them.
And this time, that was exactly where Xu Tianyao and Kong Deming were headed.
However, the two hadn't chosen to cross the Heaven Dou Empire's border to enter the Far North.
After all, relations between the Sun Moon Empire and the Douluo Three Kingdoms were delicate. Given Kong Deming and Xu Tianyao's identities, exposing their whereabouts could easily invite needless trouble.
So the two chose another route.
The Ice Sea route.
The western side of the Far North bordered the Ice Sea.
It was just as dangerous there, but they were less likely to draw the attention of the various nations' forces.
For thousands of years, countless merchant ships had traveled back and forth between the Ice Sea and the northern reaches of the Sun Moon Empire.
Precious hides, ice-attribute ores, and rare Soul Tool materials flowed into the empire in an endless stream along this route.
As a result, the shipping lane had long since been developed into a well-established route.
Whoosh~
A biting gale howled past.
A massive ironclad ship slowly cleaved through the floating ice.
At the bow, Xu Tianyao stood gazing quietly at the white world in the distance, shrouded in a blizzard.
In both his past and present lives, this was the first time he had seen the sea in the truest sense—and it was an icy sea, at that!
It was also his first time leaving the Sun Moon Empire.
The boundless Ice Sea, its silver-white waves surging, and the wall of snow and wind at the horizon, seemingly joining heaven and earth—
all filled him with a sense of awe unlike anything he had ever felt.
Just then, Kong Deming slowly walked over and stood beside Xu Tianyao.
"We're almost there."
The old man narrowed his eyes as he looked into the distance.
"Beyond that is the Far North Western Plateau."
"The elevation is extremely high, the air is thin, and Ice and Snow Storms break out there often."
"Put on this High-Cold Suit before we disembark."
As he spoke, Kong Deming handed over a silver-white Soul Tool suit.
It was a Level 7 Soul Tool he had developed himself years ago, specially designed for use in extreme cold.
Even an ordinary Soul Master could maintain their body temperature in temperatures hundreds of degrees below zero while wearing it.
Xu Tianyao accepted the High-Cold Suit with a smile, though a faint glimmer passed through his eyes.
In truth, Kong Deming had never approved of him attaching a Soul Ring to his Second Martial Soul at this point.
In the old man's view,
Xu Tianyao should wait until he broke through to Titled Douluo—or even reached the Super Douluo realm—
before attaching a Soul Ring to his Moon Martial Soul, which possessed both spatial and Ultimate Ice attributes.
He could start with a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring.
That way, his strength would make a true leap forward.
He might even have the chance to challenge the Limit Douluo realm at the fastest possible pace.
By then, nothing could stop the Sun Moon Empire from unifying the continent.
Yet this time, Xu Tianyao had been unusually insistent.
No matter how many times Kong Deming tried to persuade him, he couldn't change Xu Tianyao's mind.
In the end, the old man had no choice but to give in.
After all, with Xu Tianyao's current foundation, even his First Soul Ring couldn't possibly be less than ten thousand years old. It wasn't too bad a deal—and if it taught him a lesson, all the better.
"Understood, Grandfather."
Xu Tianyao nodded. There was no way he could tell Kong Deming that this was for the Snow Empress, the foremost of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North. Kong Deming wouldn't believe him; he would probably think he'd gone mad.
Xu Tianyao went into the cabin and quickly put on the High-Cold Suit.
Although his Moon Martial Soul possessed the Ultimate Ice attribute,
that was ultimately only the power of a Martial Soul. Against the true might of nature in the Far North, against that biting wind,
he was still far from being able to withstand it.
Just as the two were about to land in the Far North,
somewhere else,
many kilometers away from them,
deep in the blizzard, two figures could faintly be seen trudging forward against the wind and snow.
The snowstorm hung like a veil, reducing visibility to less than five meters.
Yet the two were able to keep precisely to their course. The reason was the strange Soul Tool they held in their hands.
It was a circular piece of silver-black metal.
Two scarlet dots in the center of the disc kept flashing.
Suddenly, the middle-aged man wearing brown-tinted glasses stopped short.
His eyes blazed with intense joy.
"Stop!"
"It's reacting!"
At his words, the other man hurried over and followed his gaze.
The red dots on the Soul Tool were flashing faster, and the distance reading showed that they were already extremely close.
"She's still here?"
"That's right!"
The brown-haired man was so excited that his voice trembled.
"Her life force is extremely unstable."
"Her Soul Power is steadily declining."
"It's exactly as the Supreme Cult Leader predicted."
"She's begun to take human form!"
At this, the other Evil Soul Master's breathing immediately quickened.
Before you continue