Bizarre Soul Beast

"Junior Brother, come on, let's compare the strength of our Golden Light Incantation!"

"Junior Brother, you went to the orange grove behind the mountain—how come you didn't bring me any oranges?"

"Little Junior Brother, I got you a new pair of shoes."

"Qingxuan..."

Those distant voices pierced through the mist of time and echoed in Zhang Qingxuan's mind once more.

The mountain wind of Dragon Tiger Mountain, the morning sun over the training grounds, his senior brothers' hearty laughter, and his master's stern yet concerned gaze...

Everything from his previous life unfolded before him scene by scene, like a scroll blown open by the wind.

Back then, he had been the most doted-on little junior brother on Dragon Tiger Mountain.

His senior brothers had always loved teasing him, yet whenever they came back from going down the mountain, they always remembered to bring him something tasty.

Senior Brother Zhang Zhiwei had liked pulling him into contests of Golden Light Incantation strength after morning practice, sometimes even complaining that he had forgotten to bring oranges. Senior Brother Zhang Huaiyi had also silently replaced his cloth shoes with a pair that fit better.

Those warm, trivial daily moments now felt as though they belonged to another lifetime.

"Young Master? Young Master?" Xiao Bai's crisp voice was like a splash of spring water, pulling Zhang Qingxuan from the depths of his memories.

He turned his head dazedly and met Xiao Bai's large, puzzled eyes.

"What happened just now? You were staring at that big tiger and just got completely absorbed!"

Xiao Bai tilted her head, unable to understand it at all—though that Ice Soul Demon Tiger was quite funny, it should not have been enough to make someone stare so intently, right?

What concerned her even more was Zhang Qingxuan's expression just now.

That distant yet gentle look, the faint curve at the corner of his lips, and the flash of sorrow deep in his eyes... She had followed her young master for so long, yet she had never seen him wear such an expression.

"Heh." Zhang Qingxuan did not explain. He merely shook his head gently and pushed those surging thoughts back into his heart.

Some memories were destined to be savored alone.

"Big liar, it's time we had a talk!" Ice Empress's crisp but furious voice shattered the silence.

"Bing'er, don't be rude." Snow Empress frowned slightly, her silver-white hair drifting softly in the cold wind.

When she turned to Zhang Qingxuan, her expression had returned to its usual calmness. Yet deep within those ice-blue eyes lay a trace of worry she could not hide.

"Hmph!" Ice Empress turned her head away indignantly, but she ultimately said nothing more.

Snow Empress walked forward at an unhurried pace. Her movements were elegant and composed, as though every step blended perfectly with this frozen world.

Her voice was cool as a spring striking stone. "Mr. Zhang, my Heavenly Tribulation is approaching."

She paused, as though choosing her words carefully. "Even if I stop cultivating and suppress my cultivation with all my strength, I can only delay it for around ten thousand years at most. This Heavenly Tribulation... I am not confident I can survive it."

As she spoke, she raised her eyes and looked quietly at Zhang Qingxuan.

Worry nearly overflowed from those beautiful eyes—it was practically written across her face: If you do not help me, I may not be able to survive it.

Zhang Qingxuan nodded. The lightning within his body was slowly circulating, bringing him a subtle sense of security.

With this power, even if the negotiations fell apart, he at least had the confidence to retreat safely.

"I can help you," he said slowly, before changing the subject.

"But why should I help you? What is the reward? There's no such thing as a free lunch. I can't help for nothing, can I?"

"Hey! Why are you so greedy?!" Ice Empress instantly bristled, leaping in front of Zhang Qingxuan and pointing at the tip of his nose.

"Don't you benefit from the lightning tribulation too? Isn't this just something you can do along the way?"

Zhang Qingxuan remained unmoved and merely shrugged. "I can also choose not to help. There are more Soul Beasts in this world that need to undergo tribulation than just you two, but as for someone who can help you safely survive it—there is probably only me."

Before he had even finished speaking, Xiao Bai hopped out, pointing her little finger at Ice Empress with imposing momentum. "That's right! Why should my young master help you for free?"

"We don't even know you! Believe it or not, if I spread word of what my young master can do, those Soul Beasts about to undergo tribulation would line up to bring us gifts!"

After saying that, she deliberately raised her little face, looking arrogantly as though to say, We have the leverage.

Ice Empress trembled with fury, her clenched fists cracking loudly, yet she could not find a word to refute him.

She had to admit that the other side was right—the initiative was indeed in this human's hands.

Snow Empress fell silent for a moment. The cold wind lifted her silver-white hair, while snowflakes slowly swirled around her.

After a long while, Snow Empress nodded lightly in agreement. "Fine. What do you want? As long as it is something I can do, I will agree."

Zhang Qingxuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Snow Empress was ultimately pure-minded.

She was persuaded so easily.

"I want you to capture a nine-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-year Soul Beast," he said calmly, as if he were discussing something utterly insignificant.

"What?!" Ice Empress exploded at once. The surrounding temperature plummeted, and thick layers of ice rapidly formed across the ground with loud cracking sounds.

"Are you asking us to go die? Nine hundred and ninety thousand years! How could we possibly defeat it?!"

Snow Empress's expression darkened as well. Her once-calm domain skill began to stir, and countless ice crystals danced chaotically through the air. "Mr. Zhang, this joke is not funny."

Even Xiao Bai was terrified. She hurriedly tugged at Zhang Qingxuan's sleeve, her little face plainly asking, Young Master, have you gone mad?

As for the Ice Soul Demon Tiger in the corner, it immediately used its power to completely seal off its hearing, curling itself into a ball and pretending it was nothing more than an ordinary chunk of ice.

A nine-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-year Soul Beast?

Was that even something it should be hearing about?

That was already an existence approaching godhood!

Yet Zhang Qingxuan merely smiled and shook his head. "I am not joking. The Soul Beast I want... is somewhat special."

He swept his gaze across the crowd's varied expressions and slowly explained, "It is a Soul Beast that stumbled into absurd luck. It accidentally fell into a treasure land filled with countless pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Mystic Ice Marrow."

The moment the words "Ten-Thousand-Year Mystic Ice Marrow" were spoken, Snow Empress and Ice Empress both shuddered—it was a supreme treasure that ice-attributed Soul Beasts dreamed of obtaining!

"It ate its way to its cultivation. Every day, it does nothing but eat and sleep!" Zhang Qingxuan's tone carried a strange hint of mockery.

"Yet its strength is pitifully weak. Any random Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could slap it around twice."

"Even more ridiculous, when it broke through, even the Heavenly Tribulation could not be bothered to acknowledge it—perhaps even the Heavenly Tribulation thought that cultivation gained through eating was not worth sending down a trial for."

Zhang Qingxuan's words were like a bomb exploding underwater, leaving everyone present utterly stunned!

Xiao Bai in particular stared with her eyes wide open. A nine-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-year existence, infinitely close to a divine beast, could be bullied by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

Even the Heavenly Tribulation could not be bothered to descend?

This completely overturned her understanding of cultivation.

What kind of bizarre Soul Beast was this?