Breakthrough and Return

An even more intense wave of icy cold rushed toward him, making even Bing Yekong shudder. He quickly urged his Ultimate Ice soul power to envelop that wisp of spring water, drawing it from the bottle and suspending it above his palm as a hair-thin stream of icy blue water.

"Aunt Shui, bear with it."

He raised his hand and sent that wisp of Cold Spring water into Shui Qingrou's crown. The instant the spring water entered her body, her brows furrowed sharply, veins bulged across her forehead, and the fluctuations of her soul power fell into violent disorder for a moment.

The Cold Spring's power was far too pure. The moment that source power of ice, born from heaven and earth, came into contact with Shui Qingrou's soul power, it was like boiling oil meeting cold water, triggering a fierce reaction.

But Bing Yekong had long been prepared. He pressed both hands against Shui Qingrou's back, pouring Ultimate Ice soul power into her body. Like the most meticulous guide, it gradually soothed, directed, and integrated the violent Cold Spring energy into her meridians and dantian.

On one side was the buffering and soothing of Ultimate Ice; on the other, the nourishing and harmonizing effects of the Creation Mystic Soul Pill. Under Bing Yekong's precise control, the two powers gradually reached equilibrium and began slowly merging with Shui Qingrou's own soul power.

The process was exceedingly long.

From dawn to dusk, from dusk to deep night, and then from deep night until the next morning. Bing Yekong never let go for even a moment, continuously using Ultimate Ice soul power to regulate the Cold Spring's energy within Shui Qingrou. Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead, and his face had turned slightly pale, but his eyes remained clear, his focus never wavering in the slightest.

A thin layer of frost gradually formed across Shui Qingrou's body. It first covered her limbs, then spread across her torso, until even her hair tips and eyelashes were dusted with tiny ice crystals. She looked like an ice sculpture, yet the soul power fluctuations surging within her rose steadily at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

The barrier from level eighty-seven to level eighty-eight shattered like thin ice beneath the dual impact of the Cold Spring and the pill.

The barrier from level eighty-eight to level eighty-nine crumbled right after it.

After another long tug-of-war, the threshold from level eighty-nine to level ninety finally burst open with a roar.

At noon, an intense icy blue radiance suddenly erupted from within Shui Qingrou's body. The frost covering her instantly melted and vaporized, turning into mist that spread through the air. An aura far surpassing that of a Soul Douluo rose from her, carrying the Ice Phoenix martial soul's distinctive clarity and pride, like a finely tempered blade finally leaving its sheath.

The instant Shui Qingrou opened her eyes, a sharp icy blue gleam flashed through them.

Her soul power had stabilized firmly at level ninety.

Bing Yekong slowly withdrew his hands and exhaled deeply, feeling as though more than half his strength had been drained away. He leaned against the chair back and rested for quite a while before finally forcing out a smile.

"Aunt Shui, congratulations."

Shui Qingrou lowered her head to look at her hands. She could clearly feel the surging soul power within her, so abundant that it seemed ready to overflow, as well as the qualitative transformation her Ice Phoenix martial soul had undergone after absorbing the Cold Spring. Though it had not yet fully reached the level of Ultimate Ice, it was already countless times purer than before, separated from the ultimate state by only a final thin barrier.

She raised her head and looked at Bing Yekong, whose face was pale but whose smile remained bright. She could not say a word. She merely reached out and gently patted his shoulder, her palm warm.

"Thank you." The two words were spoken softly, yet carried immense weight.

That very afternoon, Shui Qingrou went to find Dugu Bo and Yang Wudi.

She stood in the center of the main hall, still carrying the residual waves of soul power from her recent breakthrough. Even though she deliberately restrained that Titled Douluo-level pressure, the air throughout the hall had still become several degrees heavier.

"Two seniors." Shui Qingrou clasped her fists and bowed. "This junior wishes to ask the two of you to accompany me to the Far North to seek my ninth Soul Ring."

Dugu Bo leaned against his chair, holding a cup of hot tea as he slowly glanced at her. "You broke through?"

"Thanks to Little Yekong's help, I just broke through to level ninety."

The moment Yang Wudi heard that, he shot up from his chair and darted before Shui Qingrou in two strides. He looked her over several times, his eyes shining brilliantly. "Well, damn! That brat Yekong's pills really work! Fine, fine, let's go! I've been stifling myself for ages. Old Poison, stop lounging around. Come with us!"

Dugu Bo set down his teacup and lazily rose to his feet. "You, Shui Qingrou, are an ice-attribute Soul Master. For your ninth Soul Ring, it's best to find a ten-thousand-year soul beast with the same attribute. I've had more than enough of the Far North after my last visit. It's freezing as hell..." Though he complained, his steps were already carrying him toward the door.

Yang Wudi laughed heartily and turned back to Shui Qingrou. "Pack up. Strike while the iron's hot! The sooner we leave, the sooner we return!"

Shui Qingrou nodded and turned to prepare her luggage. As she passed the courtyard corridor on her way out, she saw Bing Yekong sitting on a stone bench in the yard, basking in the sun with a book in his hands, lazily reclining against the back of his chair.

She stopped and looked at him.

Bing Yekong seemed to sense her gaze. He looked up and offered her a gentle smile.

Shui Qingrou smiled as well. She said nothing, merely turned and strode toward the main gate.

Several days later, at dusk, a burst of soul power fluctuations came from outside the Shui Family gates, drawing nearer with the crisp, clear aura unique to an Ice Phoenix.

Bing Yekong was practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard. The instant he sensed that aura, he withdrew his sword stance and hurried toward the main hall. He had barely passed through the corridor when he saw Shui Qingrou appear at the entrance.

She looked travel-worn, with several ice crystals that had yet to melt still clinging to her hair tips. Though her face was somewhat fatigued, her entire bearing had undergone a world-shaking change. A faint pressure naturally radiated from her body. She did not need to deliberately release it for the surrounding space to become noticeably heavier than usual.

That was the presence of a Titled Douluo.

Bing Yekong's steps paused slightly before he went to meet her, his gaze falling upon her right arm. A faint icy blue glow could be seen there. Even through her sleeve, he could sense the powerful soul power fluctuations contained within.

"Aunt Shui, did it go smoothly?"

When Shui Qingrou saw him, the exhaustion on her face was greatly softened by her smile. She nodded. "Very smoothly. Senior Dugu and Senior Yang guarded me while I hunted an eighty-thousand-year Ice Phoenix, which suited my martial soul perfectly. It also dropped a right arm bone—ice attribute, decent quality—so I absorbed that as well."

As she spoke, she raised her right hand and gathered a wisp of icy blue soul power at her fingertips. It was pure and condensed, having risen another level compared to before she left.

"My soul power has reached level ninety-two, about the same as Senior Dugu's."

Upon hearing that, Bing Yekong silently praised her. A level ninety-two Titled Douluo might not be considered among the strongest outside, but for a family the size of the Shui Family, she was already enough to hold up the sky.

As Shui Qingrou looked at his somewhat weary yet smiling face, an indescribable emotion rose within her. While hunting that Ice Phoenix in the Far North, Bing Yekong's figure had surfaced in her mind from time to time.