Leaving the Extreme North, Arriving in Dragon City!

The blizzard of the Extreme North still ravaged the horizon, a white storm that blotted out the sky and sun, sealing this forbidden land tight.

Yun Yi stood atop a towering ice peak, looking back over the vast, endless ice plains beneath his feet.

This journey to the Extreme North had yielded far more than he had initially expected.

The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and Heavenly Snow Woman, two peerless savage beasts, had both formed soul contracts and become soul spirits, settling peacefully within his spiritual sea.

Just moments ago, the two women's forms had faded away, turning into two clusters of dim blue light that merged into his brow. They had fully entered a dormant state to recuperate and stabilize their newly transformed soul origins.

Yun Yi raised his right hand and gently brushed the hidden icy-blue divine throne pattern between his brows with his fingertips.

The arrival of the Ice God's Nine Trials had truly been unexpected.

He had originally thought that, since he primarily cultivated the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow and had his senior brother—a Limit Douluo with the Radiant Holy Dragon martial soul—teaching him day and night, the first divine trial to descend should have been the inheritance of the God of Light.

Who would have thought that the Icebound Throne beneath the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave would be so impatient? It had forcibly cut in line and dumped the burden of this divine inheritance onto his shoulders.

"Junior Brother, it's time to leave." Mu En stood at the windward edge, golden protective Soul Power pushing away the swirling snow. "Stay in this damned place any longer, and even this old man can feel the chill seeping into his bones. Where are we going next?"

Yun Yi dismissed his stray thoughts, turned, and walked toward Mu En through the wind.

"Our plans in the Extreme North are finished, and the foundation of my second martial soul has been completely solidified. Naturally, we're heading to the Star Dou Forest next. The Sun-Shooting Divine Bow still has an empty slot for its fifth soul ring. I need to find a suitable fire- or light-attribute soul beast to fill it."

Mu En nodded in agreement.

He extended his right hand and placed it on Yun Yi's shoulder.

Golden light flared brilliantly. The two rose into the air, transforming into a dazzling meteor that tore through the heavy clouds and sped southward.

The two flew high through the sky as fierce winds howled around them.

The glaciers below gradually gave way to frozen earth. Further south, vast stretches of green vegetation began filling their view.

The temperature steadily rose, and the air carried a faint, damp scent of soil.

After flying for some time, the outline of a massive city appeared at the end of the horizon.

Its towering walls were built from enormous blue-gray stones, while the buildings within were arranged in orderly layers. A broad moat encircled the city, its surface glimmering under the fading light of the sunset.

Yun Yi fixed his gaze on that city as fragments of memories from the original story rapidly connected in his mind.

Dragon City.

Large and small sects were entrenched throughout Dragon City.

Among them, the Earth Dragon Sect had a shocking treasure hidden in its rear courtyard—the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave.

Yun Yi patted the back of Mu En's hand and pointed toward the city below.

"Senior Brother, there's no need to rush to the Star Dou Forest. Let's stop in that city ahead first."

Mu En slowed down and looked in the direction Yun Yi indicated, confusion appearing on his face. "What are we going to Dragon City for?"

"To find something." Yun Yi's lips curved upward, a sharp glint restrained in his eyes. "And it's something good."

Night had deepened, and Dragon City had shed the bustle of the day.

The Earth Dragon Sect's compound lay in the northern part of the city. It occupied a vast area, its grand gates and spacious courtyards displaying the bearing of a sect.

On a century-old locust tree in the rear courtyard, two dark figures silently concealed themselves amid the dense foliage.

Mu En glanced down at the Earth Dragon Sect disciples patrolling below, his brows knitting together.

He was a level ninety-nine Dragon God Douluo, the Master of the Sea God Pavilion, one of the continent's foremost experts. Yet here he was, doing this sort of thing—squatting on a tree branch in the middle of the night outside a second-rate sect. It truly left him unable to save face.

"Junior Brother." Mu En lowered his voice, his tone carrying obvious discomfort. "Whatever heavenly treasure you seek, this old man can send them a calling card tomorrow and exchange resources of equal value for it. Sneaking into someone else's rear courtyard like this—if word gets out, where would Shrek Academy's dignity go?"

Leaning against the trunk, Yun Yi stared at an ancient well that appeared abandoned in the depths of the courtyard.

"Senior Brother, paying them a proper visit would be too troublesome." Yun Yi leaned closer, lowering his voice even further. "Besides, the Earth Dragon Sect may not even know the true value of the treasure underground. Even if they did, what could you offer in an equal exchange for a treasure of that level?"

Mu En was about to refute him when Yun Yi threw out his trump card.

"The Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow is hidden down there." Yun Yi spoke those words plainly.

Mu En's pupils contracted.

Having lived for so many years, he naturally understood the weight those words carried.

It was a miraculous treasure coveted by ice-attribute soul masters, a heavenly marvel that required tens of thousands of years to condense into being.

"This item can not only double the speed of my cultivation," Yun Yi continued as he looked into Mu En's eyes, adding more weight to his argument. "If I take a portion back to the academy, the hidden danger of Xiaotao's evil fire can be completely eradicated. With the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow's ultimate suppression, she will have a one-hundred-percent chance of completing her transformation and evolving true ultimate fire."

Xiaotao. Ultimate fire.

Those two pieces of crucial information struck directly at Mu En's weak point.

Mu En's tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed.

He glanced at the Earth Dragon Sect's walls, decisively tossing all his prior concerns and restraint to the winds.

"Since it is for the academy's future, exceptional circumstances call for exceptional measures." Mu En spoke with a solemn expression and a thoroughly righteous tone. "Where is it? Lead the way."

Yun Yi secretly laughed.

His senior brother had become increasingly quick at changing his tune.

The two figures blurred and drifted lightly to the ground like falling leaves, avoiding every patrol and hidden sentry as they headed straight for the dry well in the rear courtyard.

The well mouth was sealed by a thick blue stone slab, while waist-high weeds grew all around it.

Mu En stepped forward and hooked one hand beneath the edge of the stone slab. Without any visible exertion, he steadily moved aside the slab, which weighed over a thousand jin, without making the slightest sound.

Bitingly cold air surged out from the pitch-black well. The dew on the surrounding grass instantly froze into pale white frost.

"Let's go." Yun Yi did not hesitate. He leaped straight into the well.

Mu En followed closely behind, and the two plunged into the darkness one after the other.

The space at the bottom of the well was cramped, forcing them to remain upright as they descended.

After falling several dozen meters, the walls around them became slick and damp. The formerly blue-gray bricks were coated in a thick layer of solid ice.

The temperature began to plummet off a cliff.

The breath Yun Yi exhaled instantly turned into fine ice grains before his mouth, rustling as they fell.

The deeper they went, the sharper the cold became, as though it intended to freeze even their souls.

If an ordinary Titled Douluo had rashly entered this place, such an environment would have been enough to stagnate their blood and energy and hinder the circulation of their Soul Power.

Yet the Ice Yi Divine Spear and Ice God Mark within Yun Yi resonated with each other. The cold capable of shattering steel instead transformed into pure energy, burrowing into his body through his pores and bringing waves of refreshing coolness.

An extremely thin golden radiance surrounded Mu En.

The Radiant Holy Dragon's Soul Power endlessly circulated, burning away every trace of invading cold.

With the foundation of an Ultimate Douluo, he naturally feared no test from such a natural environment.

The descent lasted for the time it took to burn half an incense stick.

The darkness was broken by a faint blue glow.

The bottom of the well suddenly opened up, revealing a sloping ice passage beneath their feet.

The rock walls on either side had been completely replaced by layers of dim blue ice.

The two continued deeper along the ice passage.

The cold in the air had become so dense it seemed almost tangible, and the ice layers on the walls reflected a terrifying sheen.

After rounding a bend, the view ahead abruptly widened.

It was a massive underground cavern.

The cavern was not shrouded in darkness. Instead, it was illuminated with such clarity that every detail could be seen beneath a deep, translucent blue radiance.

The light came from the cavern walls and the countless crystals hanging upside down overhead.

These crystals possessed perfect hexagonal structures. They were deep blue throughout, with what seemed to be liquid slowly flowing within them.

Clustered together, they resembled an inverted blue starry sky.

The temperature they gave off was several levels lower than even the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice outside.

Ice Extreme Divine Crystals.

These peerless divine objects, which existed only in ancient records, had formed an enormous mineral vein within this sunless underground cavern.

Yun Yi walked up to a cluster of Ice Extreme Divine Crystals and raised his hand, flicking one with his finger.

"Ding—"

A crisp, ethereal sound echoed through the cavern.

They possessed an extreme, profound chill, yet were indestructibly hard.

This was a divine-grade material for crafting top-tier Soul Tools, as well as the perfect accompanying bed for nurturing Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow.

Mu En looked around. Even with his century of experience, undisguised amazement surfaced in his eyes.

"Such a massive ice-attribute mineral vein, and the Earth Dragon Sect guards a treasure mountain without knowing it." Mu En reached out with an empty grasp, sensing the ice-elemental energy in the air, so dense it could not disperse. "No wonder you could say with certainty that the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow is hidden here. These outer Ice Extreme Divine Crystals alone would be enough to buy half an imperial capital if auctioned off."

Yun Yi withdrew his hand and turned his gaze toward the deepest part of the cavern.

"These Ice Extreme Divine Crystals on the outskirts are merely an appetizer." Yun Yi's eyes brightened faintly as he strode firmly toward the depths of the cavern. "The real main course is still inside."