Icewing Flood Dragon

Shui Qingrou raised an eyebrow slightly at his words. A fifty-thousand-year Soul Ring was an almost unattainable limit for an ordinary Soul King. For a typical Soul Master, being able to absorb a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring at level fifty already counted as exceptional talent. To withstand fifty thousand years required physical strength and spiritual power far beyond those of one's peers.

But she did not ask further. Over the past year, she had watched Bing Yekong grow step by step and had long since developed complete trust in his judgment. This young man had always known his limits. If he said a fifty-thousand-year Soul Ring was possible, then it certainly was.

"When do we leave?"

"The sooner, the better."

Shui Qingrou stood and returned the book to the shelf. "Then let's go now. I've been wanting to get out for some fresh air anyway. I've been cooped up in the academy for more than half a year; my bones are practically rusting."

She did not ask exactly what Soul Beast Bing Yekong intended to hunt, nor did she ask whether he was confident in absorbing it. Some things did not need to be asked. All she needed to do was accompany him and step in when it mattered.

The two left the office, quickly packed their gear, and did not alert too many people. After merely informing Yang Wudi and Dugu Bo that they would be away for a few days, they departed the Shui Family through the back gate.

Yang Wudi was squatting outside the alchemy room, drinking porridge. Hearing the movement, he glanced at their retreating figures and muttered, "Off causing trouble again," before lowering his head and continuing with his porridge.

Three days later, the endless wind and snow of the Far North appeared before Bing Yekong once more.

As far as the eye could see, heaven and earth were nothing but a vast expanse of white. The wind carried pellets of snow against their faces, grinding against their skin like fine sand. The temperature was noticeably lower than during his last visit, and every breath he exhaled froze into wisps of white mist in the air.

Bing Yekong walked ahead. With Ultimate Ice protecting his body, he could barely feel the cold. Instead, he found that this frozen, snow-covered environment made the soul power within him circulate even more smoothly.

Shui Qingrou followed half a step behind him. Titled Douluo-level soul power formed a thin barrier around her, keeping the wind and snow outside.

Looking at the youth ahead of her, his steps firm and his direction clear, she felt somewhat dazed. A few years ago, he had still been that little child who had just awakened his martial soul, the one she had held in her arms and spun around the courtyard. Now, he had grown into someone capable of standing on his own.

"Aunt Shui, the Soul Beast we're looking for this time is called the Frostwing Flood Dragon." Bing Yekong's voice drifted toward her in fragments through the wind.

Shui Qingrou's steps paused slightly. "A Frostwing Flood Dragon? That's a draconic Soul Beast with true dragon bloodline. At fifty thousand years of cultivation, it has probably already reached the threshold of a peak Soul Douluo."

"I know." Bing Yekong did not stop walking. "But precisely because it has true dragon bloodline, its Soul Ring is the best match for my Ice Dragon King martial soul. I don't want to settle for my fifth Soul Ring. Either I go without one, or I get the best."

Shui Qingrou glanced at his back and did not argue further. As the owner of an ice-element martial soul herself, she understood full well what true dragon bloodline meant to an ice-element Soul Master.

If Bing Yekong could truly absorb a Soul Ring from a Frostwing Flood Dragon, both the strength of his soul skills and the nourishment to his own martial soul would far surpass those of an ordinary ice-element Soul Beast.

"Are you sure?"

"I am."

Shui Qingrou said no more. Her Titled Douluo-level spiritual power silently spread outward, sweeping across several miles of the surrounding area through the wind and snow. After confirming that no other high-level Soul Beasts lurked nearby, she quickened her pace to catch up with Bing Yekong.

The two searched deep within the mixed zone for two full days. They encountered several ten-thousand-year ice-element Soul Beasts along the way, but Bing Yekong only glanced at them from afar before detouring around them. None were what he wanted.

On the morning of the third day, in a valley surrounded by icy peaks, Shui Qingrou's spiritual power finally locked onto a target.

"Found it. There's an ice cave ahead. Something's inside."

Bing Yekong looked in the direction she indicated. On an ice wall deep within the valley, a massive cave entrance stood in clear view. It was roughly ten zhang wide, its icy edges smooth as mirrors, as though something's body heat had melted and refrozen them countless times. Huge claw marks were stamped into the snow around the entrance, each half a chi deep and spaced several zhang apart. They were enough to show that this Soul Beast was enormous.

Bing Yekong tightened his grip on the Heavenly Frost Sword and approached the cave entrance with Shui Qingrou. The closer they came, the stronger the oppressive aura belonging to a draconic Soul Beast became. A faint fishy stench filled the air, mixed with the sharp chill unique to ice-element Soul Beasts.

Shui Qingrou released Titled Douluo-level spiritual power into the cave. After a moment, she withdrew it. "A Frostwing Flood Dragon of around fifty thousand years. Its aura is very pure, and its true dragon bloodline is indeed quite strong."

Bing Yekong's breathing quickened slightly. He took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement, then nodded to Shui Qingrou. "Senior, please make your move."

Shui Qingrou did not waste words. The Ice Phoenix martial soul emerged behind her, an ice-blue phoenix phantom spreading its wings with a low cry. Nine Soul Rings rose beneath her feet—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—arranged in perfect order. She raised a hand and pointed forward. A beam of ice-blue light pierced through the cave wall and shot straight into the depths of the ice cave.

That beam was like a stone cast into water, and three breaths later, it received a response.

A deafening roar erupted from within the cave, making the entire icy peak tremble faintly. The ground then shook violently. The ice around the cave entrance cracked inch by inch, and massive chunks of ice fell from the ceiling and smashed into the ground, scattering shards everywhere.

A colossal figure burst through the ice and hovered in midair.

It was a deep-blue flood dragon over twenty zhang long, its entire body covered in bowl-sized scales. Every scale gleamed with a cold, ghostly light amid the wind and snow.

Its head resembled that of a giant dragon, with a pair of curved ice-blue horns growing from its crown. Rage and vigilance burned in its scarlet vertical pupils. Most eye-catching were the enormous wings on its back. The dark-blue membranes spanned a full thirty zhang when spread open, while dense scales covered the wing bones. Every flap stirred up a storm of icy fragments.

The Frostwing Flood Dragon.

It lowered its head to look down upon the two humans and let out a low roar. Its fifty thousand years of cultivation had granted it considerable intelligence. It could tell that the young human was not particularly powerful, but the pressure emanating from the woman made it instinctively sense danger.

But what of danger? It had ruled this place for tens of thousands of years. No human had ever dared set foot in its territory, much less act so presumptuously before it.

The Frostwing Flood Dragon attacked first. It abruptly opened its massive jaws and spewed a torrent of deep-blue frostflame. This was breath condensed from extreme cold; even an ordinary Soul Emperor would be frozen into an ice statue on the spot if struck.

Bing Yekong's body flashed as he narrowly evaded the breath. The ground beneath where he had stood froze into one solid block of ice the instant he left.