The moment the fourth pitch-black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring coalesced beneath Lin Shuo's feet, the world's energy across the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest shuddered violently. A nine-colored pillar of light poured down from the heavens and pierced the crown of his head. It cut through layer upon layer of leaves, illuminating Lake of Life until its surface looked as though it were inlaid with countless panes of colored glass.
Di Tian knelt on one knee, head bowed. Even with his formidable cultivation, before this pure bloodline pressure, he could only submit.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion crouched on the ground, its golden fur pressed close to its body. Its amber vertical pupils reflected the nine-colored pillar of light, and fervent adoration burned deep in its eyes.
The pillar slowly dwindled, finally turning into a wisp of faint, seven-colored mist that Lin Shuo drew into his body. He slowly opened his eyes. A streak of nine-colored light flashed and vanished in the depths of his pure black pupils. His fourth Soul Ring had fully stabilized, its pitch-black color gleaming with a subdued luster in the sunlight.
Forty-one ranks. Soul Ancestor.
Lin Shuo felt the surging Soul Power within him, along with the Soul Skill he had just acquired. Each circulation of Soul Power flowed with a smoothness he had never experienced before.
So far, not a single enemy he had encountered had been strong enough to make him use a Soul Skill.
His second Soul Skill was Seven-Colored Dragon Armor, a purely defensive ability that could form a complete set of dragon-scale armor over his body. This armor was far stronger than simply covering himself in dragon scales. It greatly boosted his mental, physical, and elemental defenses. Moreover, when an enemy's attack struck the armor, it automatically absorbed part of its energy and converted it into Lin Shuo's own Soul Power.
His third Soul Skill was Seven-Colored Dragon Breath, which unleashed devastating dragon breath. He could freely adjust its power by investing more or less Soul Power, and he could also release composite dragon breath. In other words, Lin Shuo could fuse elements directly through this Soul Skill without spending mental energy.
As for the fourth Soul Skill he had just gained, it was called Seven-Colored Domain, a domain-type ability. When activated, it increased the effects of all his Soul Skills by 50 percent, and prevented all enemies within the domain from using the seven elements.
"Congratulations on your breakthrough, my lord." Di Tian stood, genuine relief appearing on his stern face.
Lin Shuo withdrew his Martial Soul, and the aura around him slowly subsided. He walked over to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and crouched down, ruffling its fluffy head. "Little one, behave yourself in the Star Dou Great Forest."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion rubbed its head against his palm, let out a low "Mm" from its throat, and swished its tail twice behind it.
"Di Tian, let's go to the Far North."
Di Tian nodded slightly and drew a line through the air. A pitch-black spatial rift silently split open. He stepped aside, letting Lin Shuo enter first, then followed close behind. The rift quietly closed behind them.
The core region of the Far North.
This was the northernmost tip of the Douluo Continent, blanketed in snow and ice all year round. The wind cut like a knife, and the temperature was so low it could freeze even a Soul Master's Soul Power. As far as the eye could see stretched a boundless white wasteland. The world held only one color and one sound—the howl of the blizzard and the deathly silence that had endured since time immemorial.
A spatial rift silently tore open, and two figures stepped out. The moment Lin Shuo landed, a bone-chilling wind struck him head-on. He instinctively prepared to circulate his Soul Power, but Di Tian had already used his Soul Power to shield him.
"My lord, the Far North is ruled by the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North—Snow Empress, Ice Empress, and Titan Snow Demon King. Snow Empress has the highest cultivation, at 690,000 years. Ice Empress comes next, at 390,000 years. But all three are nearing their limits. Unless something unexpected happens, they'll have little chance of surviving the next tribulation." Di Tian spoke with a sigh.
Lin Shuo nodded. His targets on this trip were Snow Empress and Ice Empress. The Profound Ice Marrow in the Myriad-Year Profound Ice Cave was their only hope of overcoming their tribulations.
"Di Tian, release your aura and summon Snow Empress and Ice Empress."
"Yes."
Di Tian took a step forward. The instant his right foot touched the ground, an aura so terrifying it seemed almost tangible erupted from him. It was the full force of the 890,000-year-old Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King. Black Soul Power swept in all directions like a tsunami. The snow within a hundred miles exploded into the air, transformed into a vast white mist. The ice beneath their feet, frozen for ten thousand years, fractured inch by inch, cracks spreading toward the depths of the Far North like a spiderweb.
In the same instant, the Soul Beasts and Soul Masters of the Far North froze in place. Low-level Soul Beasts crumpled to the ground, trembling; high-level Soul Beasts raised their heads in terror, staring toward the source of the aura. The pressure was so overwhelming that they couldn't even summon the courage to flee. The Soul Masters, meanwhile, immediately ran for the edge of the Far North.
Only a few breaths after Di Tian released his aura, two terrifying auras rose simultaneously in response, from the direction of the Far North's core region.
One was as cold as ice that had endured for ten thousand years; the other, as fierce as the blizzards of the Far North.
At the distant edge of the horizon, a snow-white figure tore through the blizzard and sped toward them. She was an extraordinarily beautiful woman, her snow-white hair whipping wildly in the wind, yet not a single strand fell out of place. Her skin was more translucent than snow, and her eyes were the palest icy blue. She seemed carved from the purest ice and snow of the Far North. She walked barefoot through the air. With each step, an ice-crystal lotus formed beneath her foot, then shattered into a flurry of icy fragments.
Snow Empress, leader of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, third among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, the 690,000-year-old Heavenly Snow Woman.
Another figure followed close behind her. She was a petite girl with long, jade-green hair falling to her waist, the ends curling slightly. Her eyes were translucent emerald, and her delicate features looked like those of a porcelain doll, yet she carried a pride so sharp that no one dared meet her gaze. She wore a jade-green dress embroidered with fine patterns of ice flowers, and visible wisps of cold air curled around her.
Ice Empress, second among the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, seventh among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, the 390,000-year-old Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.
The two halted in the air a hundred zhang from Di Tian.
Snow Empress's icy blue eyes settled on Di Tian. Her cool expression revealed little, but the slight tension in her lips betrayed her unease. Ice Empress was more direct: her emerald eyes brimmed with wariness, and she had already pushed her Soul Power to its limit, ready to strike at any moment.
The 890,000-year-old Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, the Beast God of the Star Dou Great Forest, the terrifying being ranked first among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts—why had he suddenly appeared in the Far North and released his aura? Did he mean to declare war?
"Di Tian." Snow Empress's voice rang like ice striking jade, cool and ethereal. "You should be in the Star Dou Great Forest. What do you mean by coming to my Far North and releasing your aura?"