Twin Nine Treasures!

"Crack... crack..."

A faint sound of ice fracturing echoed from around her. A layer of crystalline frost spread rapidly across the ground with her at the center, while the moisture in the air spontaneously condensed into tiny ice crystals that swirled and danced around her.

Behind her, the phantom of the Ice Phoenix let out a cry toward the heavens. The already noble and beautiful Ice Phoenix now possessed wings that were longer and more magnificent, its tail feathers trailing dreamlike, icy-blue streamers of light.

Its entire body was translucent, as if carved from the finest glacial ice. The chill it radiated was so intense that it even forced back the heat from the Blazing Yang Spring, which was only a few paces away!

A top-tier Ice Phoenix! Evolution complete!

Shui Bing'er's long eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes. Her icy-blue pupils seemed to contain glaciers that had remained frozen for ten thousand years, yet they also reflected the stars, appearing deeper, colder, and far more brilliant.

She felt the powerful soul power surging within her body and the unprecedented sense of wholeness and strength emanating from her martial soul. A look of incredulous shock could not help but surface on her cold, elegant face.

Her soul power, originally at level twenty-five, had been tempered by the ice and fire of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, surging forward like a broken bamboo until it reached the threshold of level thirty!

Moreover, she could feel that her soul power was incredibly dense, her foundation terrifyingly solid, and there was even a faint trend of continued growth, waiting only for her to obtain a third soul ring to trigger an even greater leap!

All of this... was because of him.

Shui Bing'er's gaze drifted involuntarily toward the small figure not far away, who still kept his eyes tightly shut, his little face flushed slightly from the impact of the medicinal power. Ning Xiaochun.

The boy who had said, "Sister Bing'er, if you aren't strong enough, how will you protect me in the future?" The boy who seemed like a cowardly, timid child.

The boy who could display astonishing wisdom and sense of responsibility at critical moments, and who had given her such a precious, fate-altering immortal herb without the slightest hesitation.

Protect him?

It was as if a scorching stone had been dropped into the frozen lake of Shui Bing'er's heart; warm currents surged quietly beneath the ice. This promise.

It was no longer just a responsibility born from a marriage contract, but was now mingled with complex emotions she had yet to fully understand herself.

She clenched her fist gently, feeling the icy soul power flowing through her fingertips, now several times stronger than before. I will become strong—strong enough to handle any danger.

And then... I will protect you well, along with Yue'er, and... everything I hold dear.

Finally, everyone's gaze focused on Ning Xiaochun.

He had been absorbing for the longest time, and the fluctuations of soul power on his body were the most peculiar.

One moment, seven-colored auspicious light swirled around him; the next, an ominous, dark aura permeated the air. The two energies alternated, clashing at times and merging at others, appearing extremely unstable.

Just as the group began to grow worried, Ning Xiaochun's body gave a violent jolt!

Hum--!

Seven-colored radiance erupted from his left palm, and the phantom of a glazed pagoda appeared automatically, spinning rapidly. Under the astonished gazes of the onlookers.

The pagoda, which had originally possessed only seven levels, saw its surface shimmer with light. At the very top, new glazed bricks and stones began to manifest as phantoms, slowly, arduously, yet firmly condensing and stacking!

One level! Then another!

When the radiance slowly receded, a crystal-clear, nine-storied glazed pagoda, shimmering with brilliant, magnificent light, hovered silently above Ning Xiaochun's left palm! An aura of auspiciousness permeated the air, as if it could bestow blessings upon all things!

Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda! Evolution successful!

Before the group could recover from this shock, a dark, gloomy light erupted from Ning Xiaochun's right palm!

The phantom of a deep, dark glazed pagoda appeared. Purple, gray, and dark red lights swirled frantically across its body, emitting an unsettling aura of decay and misfortune.

Similarly, this dark pagoda, which had also originally possessed seven levels, began to condense new layers at its peak. The process seemed even more difficult than that of the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda; the dark light flickered unsteadily, as if resisting, yet also as if yearning.

Finally, with an invisible, soft chime, two new levels were firmly formed!

Nine levels! The Seven Killings Glazed Pagoda had also evolved to nine levels!

The pagoda was deeper, its dark light restrained, but that unsettling "killing" intent seemed to have settled, becoming denser and more terrifying, as if one more glance at it would strip away a portion of one's fortune!

Twin martial souls, evolving simultaneously! The Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda evolved into the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda! The Seven Killings Glazed Pagoda evolved into the Nine Killings Glazed Pagoda!

The moment the martial soul evolution was complete, the soul power aura on Ning Xiaochun's body erupted like a long-suppressed volcano!

His original level twelve soul power, under the dual stimulation of the immortal herb's medicinal effects and the martial soul evolution, surged wildly!

Level thirteen, fourteen, fifteen... it broke through like a bamboo, without the slightest obstruction!

Finally, under the stunned gazes of everyone, it stopped right before the threshold of level twenty! He needed only one soul ring to become a Great Soul Master!

Ning Xiaochun slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, which was faintly tinged with a strange luster of intertwined seven-colored and dark light. His long eyelashes fluttered, and then, he opened his eyes.

Those large eyes, which always flickered with a "steady" light, now seemed brighter and deeper. Deep within his left pupil, a seven-colored light seemed to flash and vanish, while a dark shadow swept across his right.

He looked down at the breathtakingly beautiful Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda in his left hand, then at the deeply unsettling Nine Killings Glazed Pagoda in his right. His small face was first blank, then replaced by immense surprise and a realization of "so that's how it is."

"Level twenty... nine levels..." he muttered to himself, then suddenly looked up at his father, Ning Fengzhi, who was looking at him with excitement and relief.

"Nine... nine levels..." Bone Douluo Gu Rong was the first to recover from the shock. His hoarse voice trembled with disbelief as he pointed at the glazed pagoda in Ning Xiaochun's left hand.

"It really is nine levels! The Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda—no, the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda! The legend is actually true! The long-cherished wish of our sect's ancestors..."

Although Sword Douluo Chen Xin remained as straight as a sword, his eyes, usually as sharp as a hawk's, were now filled with excitement and relief.

He stared at Ning Xiaochun, as if seeing the unprecedented, glorious future of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect.

"Twin martial souls, evolving at the same time... a miracle unseen in a thousand years!"

Dugu Bo gasped, his dark green pupils contracting.

He was a pure power-attack Title Douluo and did not have the deepest understanding of support-type souls, but he could clearly feel the energy fluctuations radiating from the two evolved pagodas.

Whether it was the auspicious amplification or the ominous weakening, both were several times stronger than before! These were strategic-level martial souls born for the battlefield!

If this kid didn't die prematurely, he would definitely grow to a level that would make the entire continent take notice!

Ning Fengzhi did not speak. He simply watched the two pagodas in his son's palms, silently and almost greedily.

His breathing was slightly rapid, his refined face flushed with excitement, and his eyes even grew hot with emotion.