Xiao Hongchen's Soul Skill Explanation, Goodbye Snow Empress

Yi Hongchen activated the flying soul tool, and a golden light barrier enveloped everyone.

Outside the barrier, the frigid wind howled, and clouds swept rapidly beneath their feet. Yi Hongchen controlled their flight path, his robes snapping loudly in the airflow.

His gaze remained steady as he looked ahead. Every so often, he turned to glance at the people within the barrier, making sure everyone was safe.

Inside the barrier, the six each attended to their own duties.

Xiao Hongchen sat cross-legged beside the metal cage, idly toying with a metal sphere. His eyes occasionally swept over Na Ning, who lay unconscious inside the cage.

Meng Hongchen sat across from Nana, with a little distance between them. Holding a water bottle, she offered it to her. "Have some water."

Nana accepted it with both hands, quietly said, "Thank you," then lowered her head and took small sips.

Meng Hongchen did not rush to speak. She waited quietly for a while before asking how old Nana was, what she usually liked to do, and whether she had ever gone to school.

At first, Nana's answers were brief, but gradually, she began to talk more. The two girls spoke softly, their voices echoing within the barrier like two fallen leaves gently brushing against each other in the wind.

Yan Hongchen sat beside the baron. The baron leaned against the wall of the barrier, his face still pale, though he was much better than he had been two days ago.

Yan Hongchen placed his palm over the man's wrist, sending a thread of warm soul power through his meridians to carefully inspect his condition.

"You're recovering well." Yan Hongchen withdrew his hand. "But you still need plenty of rest. Your constitution was weak to begin with, and this injury has damaged your vitality. It won't be restored anytime soon."

The baron gave a bitter smile. "Being alive is already a great blessing. Thank you, child."

Yan Hongchen shook his head without replying. He looked at Nana, who sat across from Meng Hongchen, then at Na Ning in the cage, and his gaze darkened slightly.

This mother and daughter both possessed ghost martial souls. If such special body martial souls appeared within the Heaven Dou Empire, would they be hunted down as evil soul masters, or accepted as disciples by the Body Sect? He did not know.

He was not sure how much longer Na Ning could live, either. If both parents passed away together when the time came, would Ghost Nana be able to pull herself together? If evil could be used to fight evil, it would also be a method of dealing with evil soul masters, and useful for building up a faction in the future.

He needed to study this kind of martial soul properly. And did his body martial soul, the heart, encompass the spiritual level as well? Skills like mind reading seemed more inclined toward reading the thoughts of a person's soul. Once his body martial soul underwent its second awakening, perhaps he would find out.

Yi Hongchen flew quickly. After only two days, the clouds beneath them gradually thinned, replaced by an endless expanse of white.

Even through the barrier, they could feel the piercing chill of the winds of the Extreme North. Frost Forest came into view.

Viewed from above, the forest resembled a silver-white sea. Thick snow blanketed the treetops, while icicles hung from the branches, glimmering with scattered light under the sun's refraction.

This was the outer boundary of the Extreme North. Deeper within lay the truly uninhabited lands.

Yi Hongchen guided the barrier down slowly, landing in a relatively open clearing before putting away the flying soul tool. The golden barrier vanished, and the bone-piercing wind instantly rushed at them, making everyone shudder in unison.

"We're here." Yi Hongchen looked around. "This is Frost Forest. It's well suited for you two to obtain your third soul rings." He glanced at Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.

Xiao Hongchen rubbed his hands together and exhaled a cloud of white breath. "Finally. We've been flying for two days—my legs have gone stiff."

Meng Hongchen did not complain. She simply pulled Nana closer to her side, shielding her from the wind.

Yan Hongchen stood at the front, his gaze passing over the forest's edge toward the vast snowfields farther away. His fingers unconsciously rubbed his storage ring, where the Snow Empress Token was kept.

After a brief rest, the group split into action. Yi Hongchen led them through the outer reaches of the forest in search of suitable soul beasts.

This time, the third soul skill Xiao Hongchen wanted was Golden Affinity.

His original plan had been Golden Boiling, but after his spar with Yi Hongchen, along with Yan Hongchen's calculations, he changed his mind.

Yan Hongchen had once listed Xiao Hongchen's soul skill configuration from the original work in his mind: first soul skill, Metal Control; second soul skill, Golden Boiling; third soul skill, Golden Shaping; fourth soul skill, Golden Boiling; fifth soul skill, Golden Affinity.

He had always felt that this sequence was somewhat flawed. Since he could already use Metal Control, why not follow it directly with Golden Shaping? Why delay the feasibility of transforming metal by an entire soul ring?

Golden Boiling greatly increased the activity of metal soul power, multiplying one's control over metal for a short period while also drawing in large quantities of metallic elements from the air for temporary use.

But would a hundred-year Golden Boiling's increased activity and attracted metal elements really be enough to support the burning of the thousand-year soul skill Golden Sacrifice? What if it did not draw in enough and ended up burning too little instead? It would be better to switch the order.

Yi Hongchen had not faced such a problem back then. Yan Hongchen had always thought his father was a smart man.

He had even specifically asked Jing Hongchen and Yue Hongchen how the effects of Golden Boiling differed as a hundred-year, thousand-year, and ten-thousand-year soul skill.

He had heard that the ten-thousand-year version underwent a qualitative transformation. He guessed that this soul skill might be applicable to metal forging, allowing metal itself to undergo some sort of qualitative change.

Rather than having Xiao Hongchen obtain it now, it would be better to delay it until he had accumulated a deeper foundation.

Besides, on this trip, he had originally planned to ask the Snow Empress for Ice Extremity Divine Crystal. It was the perfect chance to put this idea into practice—have Xiao Hongchen pick up a hammer and forge, opening up a new path for his older brother.

As for Golden Affinity, its function in the original work was to instantly liquefy the user's body into liquid metal, almost negating more than eighty percent of physical attacks.

The original work said that Xiao Hongchen's cultivation had still been weak at the time, and his control over this soul skill had been far from effortless. Otherwise, when combined with Golden Shaping, it would surely have become even more terrifying.

Since he would obtain it sooner or later, it was better to let Xiao Hongchen get it early and master it sooner. With Metal Control, Golden Shaping, and Golden Affinity as his first three soul skills, the combination would be nearly perfect.

Yan Hongchen had even considered a more interesting tactic: Xiao Hongchen could directly throw metal blocks, or liquefy and solidify soul tool shoes, manipulate them a little, and have the metal wrap around someone for forceful control. If the other person could not move, wouldn't he be free to attack as he pleased?

As for the claim that liquefaction could negate eighty percent of physical damage, Yan Hongchen had always found it puzzling. Yi Hongchen had told him that, once fully mastered, even the thousand-year Golden Affinity could negate quite a bit of physical damage. In that case, it was better to obtain it as the third soul ring right away.

Moreover, the Extreme North actually had metal ore veins, and water-attributed soul beasts were active here as well. Finding a few soul beasts with both metal and water attributes should be possible.

When Xiao Hongchen heard Yan Hongchen's analysis, his eyes lit up. He patted Yan Hongchen on the shoulder and said, "Little bro, how is your brain even wired? If I can liquefy myself to escape and use metal to tie people up, wouldn't that mean I can attack going forward and defend while retreating? Brilliant!"

What Yan Hongchen had not said then was that he had an even crazier idea: manipulating blood.

He simply feared taking lives. Otherwise, he would have used his own water-attributed soul power to disrupt an enemy's blood and directly render them incapable of moving. That would be true "control."

Saying that aloud might frighten people. He was afraid that if word of the idea spread, who would dare accept his support afterward?

As Yan Hongchen pondered this, he took the Snow Empress Token from his storage ring. The token was entirely icy blue, its surface engraved with intricate hexagonal snowflake patterns. At its center, the ancient character for "Empress" faintly glowed in the cold wind.

The moment he held the token in his hand, it began to tremble gently and emit a faint hum, as though responding to some distant call.

Yan Hongchen froze slightly, then felt a faint pull emanating from the token, pointing toward the northwest of the forest.

The Snow Empress was nearby?

He raised his head and looked in that direction, then lowered it to examine the token in his hand. The pull grew stronger and stronger, while the token's hum became increasingly urgent, as if urging him to set off at once.

Yan Hongchen made his decision immediately and turned to run toward Yi Hongchen. Yi Hongchen was leading Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen through a patch of bushes, searching for traces of spirit beasts.

Xiao Hongchen held a metal detector, several points of light flickering across its screen. Meng Hongchen crouched on the ground, brushing aside the snow to inspect the marks beneath it.

"Dad!" Yan Hongchen ran over and raised the Snow Empress Token before him. "It's starting to stir. It seems like it wants to guide me somewhere. The Snow Empress may be nearby."

Yi Hongchen took the token and sensed it for himself. The pull was indeed distinct. He returned it to Yan Hongchen and patted his shoulder. "Go. Leave things here to me, your brother, and your sister. Be careful on your own. Don't push yourself too hard."

Yan Hongchen nodded, then looked at Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen. "Brother, Sister, you be careful too. Wait for me to come back."

Xiao Hongchen waved a hand. "Go on, and come back quickly. Don't keep the Snow Empress waiting too long."

Meng Hongchen softly said, "Be careful. We'll wait for you to return."

Yan Hongchen activated his external spirit bone. Azure wings suddenly unfurled behind him, their wing bones slender yet resilient, gleaming with a jade-like luster. The membranes were as thin as cicada wings, shifting in color from a deep azure at the roots to a clear sky blue at the edges.

With a gentle flap, his body rose lightly from the ground. Like an azure bird, he skimmed over the treetops and flew in the direction indicated by the token.

Though flying soul tools were practical, they consumed far more soul power than an external spirit bone and were less maneuverable as well.

For soul masters without flying-type martial souls, flying soul tools were a necessity. But for someone like him, who had wings of his own, his own wings were far more useful.

The frigid wind howled past his ears, and snowflakes struck his face with a faint sting. Yan Hongchen extended his spiritual power while forming a thin layer of soul power around his body to block out the wind and snow.

The token's pull became stronger and stronger. Following that force, he traced an azure arc through the skies above Frost Forest.

After flying for roughly fifteen minutes, the forest ahead suddenly thinned out, replaced by an open expanse of snow. At the far end of the snowfield, a white figure stood quietly.

Yan Hongchen folded his wings and descended slowly.

The Snow Empress stood in the middle of the snowfield, her silver-white hair drifting in the wind as her ice-blue eyes calmly watched him.

Beside her, a young girl sat cross-legged in the snow, her eyes lightly closed and faint fluctuations of soul power surrounding her.

Three soul rings—yellow, purple, and purple—circled the girl. A fourth ring was currently taking shape, its black radiance flowing and casting shifting light and shadow over her face.

Yan Hongchen landed before the Snow Empress, put away his wings, and gave a slight bow. "Senior Snow Empress."

The Snow Empress's gaze swept over his face before settling on the Snow Empress Token in his hand. The corner of her lips lifted in an almost imperceptible curve.

"You've come." Her voice was cool, yet carried a faint warmth. "Faster than I expected."

Yan Hongchen straightened and glanced at the girl absorbing the soul ring before looking back at the Snow Empress. "Senior, this is..."

The Snow Empress did not answer. She merely raised a hand, signaling for him to remain quiet.

The girl's soul-ring condensation had reached its final stage. The black halo grew denser and denser, enveloping her entire body.

The Snow Empress stood to one side with her hands behind her back, calmly watching the girl as though she were observing a flower in bloom.

Yan Hongchen quietly stepped back two paces, stored the Snow Empress Token in his storage ring, and waited in silence.