Journey to the Extreme North, Giant-Jawed Icefang Dragon

On the third day after returning from the black market, Xiao Hongchen finally broke through Rank 30 as well.

Jing Hongchen immediately took them to the Extreme North to obtain Soul Rings.

In the air, Jing Hongchen used his soul power to hold the three of them aloft as they flew at high speed.

Their soul power ranks were too low. Even with flying soul tools, they could not fly very fast or for very long, so it was better to let Jing Hongchen carry them.

Yan Jingchuan wanted to research a self-charging soul tool that only needed to be activated to function, without requiring the Soul Master to continuously inject soul power into it. Even ordinary people would be able to use it directly.

His idea was not too different from the technology Huo Yuhao had used to blackmail Jing Hongchen in the original story.

But actually creating it would still be difficult. Yan Jingchuan's talent for making soul tools was truly hard to describe.

It was rather strange when he thought about it. Such a simple concept had never occurred to anyone in the Sun Moon Empire. Sometimes, he wondered how the Douluo Continent had developed into its current state.

"Yan Jingchuan, what requirements do you have for your second Soul Ring?"

As they neared the Extreme North Icefield, Jing Hongchen began asking Yan Jingchuan what he wanted from his second Soul Ring.

"I want a thousand-year sub-dragon soul beast."

The moment Yan Jingchuan said that, the three members of the Hongchen Family all turned to look at him.

"Are you kidding? Absorbing a thousand-year Soul Ring as your second Soul Ring? Are you trying to die?"

Xiao Hongchen was the first to lose his patience.

The overall strength of Soul Masters in the Sun Moon Empire was weaker than that of the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms. Never mind absorbing Soul Rings beyond one's rank—even all the Titled Douluo combined did not possess a single Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

"Are you serious? As far as I know, even at Shrek, there are very few who can absorb Soul Rings beyond their rank."

Jing Hongchen was not as shocked as Xiao Hongchen. He dealt with Shrek often, so he knew more about the Soul Masters of the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms than most people in the Sun Moon Empire.

Even so, he had never actually seen a Soul Master capable of absorbing a Soul Ring a whole major stage beyond their level.

Yan Jingchuan smiled.

"First, I'm serious. Second, I'm not joking."

Seeing how confident he was, Jing Hongchen pondered for a moment before asking, as if making one last confirmation,

"Are you truly certain?"

Even now, he did not fully trust Yan Jingchuan. Jing Hongchen always held a trace of wariness toward him.

That did not mean Jing Hongchen did not care whether Yan Jingchuan lived or died. On the contrary, if Yan Jingchuan truly succeeded, it would be a good thing for the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

In terms of traditional Soul Masters, they had always lagged behind the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms. If Yan Jingchuan could succeed, he could make up for the Sun Moon Empire's lack of high-level combat power.

How could Yan Jingchuan not guess Jing Hongchen's little calculations? Jing Hongchen did not understand him, but he understood Jing Hongchen all too well.

"Yes!"

Yan Jingchuan answered without hesitation.

"Good. I'll do my best to find a suitable soul beast for you. If we can't find one in the Extreme North, we'll go to the Star Dou Great Forest."

After the four of them passed through the frozen forest, a boundless icefield appeared before them.

As far as the eye could see, the world was a vast expanse of white.

The biting cold wind made them shiver, and Jing Hongchen immediately set up a soul power barrier to block out the chill.

Their first step into the Extreme North left Yan Jingchuan and the other two deeply awed.

"This is one of humanity's forbidden lands, the Extreme North. You must not leave my side. Without my soul power protecting you, this environment will freeze you into ice sculptures in minutes."

As he spoke, Jing Hongchen took out a soul tool and put it on.

Yan Jingchuan recognized it as Hongchen's Blessing.

Hongchen's Blessing, a Level-Nine defensive soul tool.

In the Extreme North, even Jing Hongchen had to remain fully alert and could not afford the slightest carelessness.

The group first found a thousand-year soul beast with a metal attribute on the outermost edge of the Extreme North.

Xiao Hongchen killed it and absorbed its Soul Ring.

Xiao Hongchen, who possessed the Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul, was a born soul engineer. As long as his Soul Rings had a metal attribute, they suited his needs, and all his soul skills enhanced his control over metal.

It did not take long before Xiao Hongchen successfully absorbed the Soul Ring and advanced to Soul Elder.

"Next, we'll need to venture a little deeper into the Extreme North to find that soul beast for Meng. Keep an eye out along the way for a target suitable for you too, Yan Jingchuan."

Before coming here, Jing Hongchen had already chosen a specific soul beast for his granddaughter. The creatures of the Extreme North were few and scattered, with most soul beasts located closer to the core region. Finding a specific target meant they would inevitably have to venture deeper.

The four activated soul tools that concealed their auras and set off.

After crossing the outer region of the Extreme North Icefield, they saw more than a dozen enormous figures just as they were about to enter the mixed zone.

They were a group of snow-white giants dozens of meters tall, each step leaving massive footprints in the snow.

The terrifying pressure radiating from them made the three low-ranked Soul Masters turn pale.

"Titan Snow Demons! Don't move. Wait until they pass!"

Jing Hongchen and the others lay concealed in the snow. Only after the Titan Snow Demon clan had gone far away did they climb back up.

"These things are soul beasts? Aren't they a bit too huge?"

Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had never seen existences of such scale. Jing Hongchen had not expected to run into Titan Snow Demons either, fortunately without being discovered.

"Titan Snow Demons are one of the three major clans of the Extreme North. Their chief is the Titan Snow Demon King, one of the three great rulers of the Extreme North, with more than two hundred thousand years of cultivation."

Yan Jingchuan was no stranger to such soul beasts. The Extreme North had been extremely important in the original story, and the first two of its three great rulers had provided Huo Yuhao with tremendous help.

"You certainly know quite a lot."

Although Jing Hongchen knew about the three great rulers of the Extreme North, he did not know about its three major clans.

After that brief interruption, the four of them endured the cold and wandered through the mixed zone for a full day and night before successfully finding the soul beast Jing Hongchen had selected for Meng Hongchen.

Meng Hongchen sat cross-legged on the ground, three Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple—slowly pulsing around her.

The absorption of the Soul Ring had reached its final stage.

Jing Hongchen remained behind to guard her, while Xiao Hongchen and Yan Jingchuan began searching the surrounding area for sub-dragon soul beasts.

Originally, he had not agreed to let the two stray too far from him. The Extreme North was full of danger, and one careless mistake could cost them their lives.

However, Jing Hongchen truly did not want to stay here any longer, and Yan Jingchuan argued that since they would be waiting anyway while Meng Hongchen absorbed the Soul Ring, they might as well make good use of the time.

After Yan Jingchuan laid out his reasoning and Xiao Hongchen chimed in, Jing Hongchen had no choice but to agree.

Still, to be safe, Jing Hongchen gave Hongchen's Blessing to one of them and another Level-Nine soul tool to the other.

He had prepared thoroughly for this trip. He carried more than one or two Level-Nine soul tools, and had even secretly brought along a Level-Nine Fixed-Installation Soul Cannon.

Several kilometers away, Yan Jingchuan stood atop a snow mound and looked into the distance.

The howling wind lashed painfully against his face, but his eyes shone especially brightly.

Below him, a soul beast with wings on its back, a body over two meters long, blue-gray scales, two pairs of horns on its head, and long upper and lower jaws was hunting an Icefield Wolf. Its body resembled that of a lizard.

A Giant-Jawed Icefang Dragon. This soul beast possessed astonishing bite force and could spit freezing ice. Most importantly, it was a sub-dragon soul beast.

It looked to be around eighteen hundred to twenty-two hundred years old. That was a little high, but he had no room to be picky. Encountering one at all was already far from easy.

Just as Yan Jingchuan was about to use a tracking soul tool to mark it, intending to wait for Jing Hongchen to arrive before killing it, it suddenly ran toward the depths of the Extreme North.

"Damn it!"

If it entered the depths, even Jing Hongchen would likely not dare continue pursuing it, especially while bringing along the three burdens.