Target: Snow Empress!

Back in the dormitory, Huo Yuhao quickly packed his things: a Flying Soul Tool, an automatic snow sled for snowy terrain, warm clothing, and essential supplies. After saying goodbye to Wang Dong and the friends he had made at the academy, he set off for the Northernmost Land.

As he walked out through Shrek Academy's gates, Huo Yuhao looked back. Wu Feng was waving wildly and shouting, "We'll welcome you back when you return!" She was as boisterous as ever.

Ning Tian stood straight, merely raising a hand in a gesture that said, "Be careful." Her usually gentle, composed face showed a trace of barely noticeable worry.

Wang Dong stood quietly watching him, like a stubborn little flagpole. Huo Yuhao waved at her, only to see her abruptly turn around, her shoulders seeming to tremble.

The academy might not know whether Huo Yuhao had a guardian protecting him, but how could the three of them not know? Wang Dong had been inseparable from him and knew him extremely well. Ning Tian had long learned through the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect's intelligence network that Huo Yuhao was now completely alone. How could they not worry?

Ning Tian had even wanted to arrange for sect experts to protect Huo Yuhao while he hunted for a soul ring, but Huo Yuhao had lied to the academy that an elder would accompany him. How could he let anyone else follow? He tactfully declined Ning Tian's suggestion.

Looking at the three of them, then at Wang Dong's back, Huo Yuhao's sharp eyesight clearly saw Wang Dong's clenched knuckles and even her faintly trembling arm.

"Idiot." He chuckled softly, waving in their direction as icy blue warmth rippled through his Spirit Eye. He did not shout, "I'll come back," nor did he say, "Wait for me." He simply linked their minds with his spiritual power and said, "See you at the Freshman Tournament."

Wu Feng froze for a moment, then quickly caught on and patted her chest. "Don't worry. The two of us will definitely cultivate properly while you're gone. When the time comes, we'll beat every other class until they don't even have underwear left."

Ning Tian's lips curved slightly. She only silently mouthed, "Be careful."

Only Wang Dong remained standing where she was. Her clenched hand gave Huo Yuhao a small nod.

The moment he stepped into the Northernmost Land, the piercing wind slashed across his face like icy blades. Huo Yuhao swiftly took out his specially made cold-weather clothing and heating stove, then headed toward the core region of the Northernmost Land under the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's guidance.

"Brother Sky Dream, your original plan was to find the Ice Empress, right?"

Tian Meng, lying in Huo Yuhao's Sea of Spirit, almost instantly turned over. Her tone was full of surprise. "Yuhao, how did you know?"

Hearing the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's words, Huo Yuhao instinctively wanted to answer Tian Meng's question. But a system notification rang in his mind with a "ding," causing him to abandon the thought of revealing that he possessed memories of the future.

He could only smile and answer Tian Meng, "You told me back then that the Ice Martial Soul I imitated had to be a beast martial soul, and an extraordinarily powerful one at that. Now you're guiding me to the Northernmost Land. The only soul beasts someone of your cultivation could know are the Extreme North's Three Kings."

"But I can't possibly come into contact with the Snow Empress, and the Titan Snow Demon King probably isn't someone who can cooperate with you. Your target could only be the Ice Empress."

"Yuhao, you're so smart! That's right, my target is the Ice Empress, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, currently the second strongest soul beast in the Northernmost Land!"

The moment Tian Meng mentioned the Ice Empress, her two eyes instantly filled with tenderness. "Bingbing, my Bingbing."

Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched. He truly could not understand how the Ice Empress had ultimately come to like a fool like the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

But that was not Huo Yuhao's purpose. The reason he had come two months early had never been the Ice Empress. After studying the Ice Martial Soul within his body, Huo Yuhao discovered that aside from its attribute, its most powerful form was its elemental form.

And the only one who could help him achieve that was the Snow Empress, leader of the Extreme North's Three Kings.

After Huo Yuhao explained his thoughts, Tian Meng unusually showed a hint of hesitation.

"The Snow Empress... With her pride, she could never become a human's soul ring. And given the relationship between humans and soul beasts, she might even attack the moment she sees you."

"Yuhao, it's not that I'm trying to discourage you, but why don't we settle for the Ice Empress? At least I have some confidence when it comes to her."

Huo Yuhao's fingertips brushed the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's shed shell. Icy blue spiritual power condensed into a tiny vortex in his palm, drawing the chill of the ice crystals into his meridians—this was a method he had recently developed. He used spiritual power to guide the formless Ice Martial Soul, then used the power of his Spirit Eye to direct and control that chill.

"Brother Sky Dream, the Ice Empress's Ultimate Ice is indeed powerful." Huo Yuhao raised his eyes toward the ice silkworm rolling around in his Sea of Spirit, his tone calm but unquestionably firm. "But the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's Ultimate Ice is tangible. No matter how powerful she is, her strength is ultimately used in the form of a beast martial soul."

He curled a finger and lightly tapped his temple. "What I want is ice without limits! Ice in its elemental state, allowing the Ice Martial Soul to completely become the ice element between heaven and earth. It can condense or disperse, gather into a shield or spread into mist—only the Snow Empress's origin power can help me achieve that form."

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm suddenly bounced upright in the Sea of Spirit, its round body going stiff. "Are you crazy? The Snow Empress is the ruler of the Northernmost Land! How could she possibly help a human? Going to find her now is no different from smashing an egg against a rock!"

"That's why I came two months early..." Huo Yuhao murmured.

He stretched out a hand and activated Tian Meng's origin power. The entire Northernmost Land was enveloped by spiritual power belonging to a million-year soul beast.

"To persuade the Snow Empress, I first have to convince the Ice Empress. Brother Sky Dream, let's follow your original plan and persuade the Ice Empress first. Once she agrees to our plan, I'll see whether I can influence the Snow Empress through her."

Tian Meng looked into Huo Yuhao's determined eyes and suddenly wilted. "You... Fine, we'll follow our original plan first. But if the Ice Empress refuses, don't force it. For the Ice Empress's sake, the Snow Empress might not attack. Remember, our lives are bound together."

At that point, Tian Meng suddenly thought of something. "By the way, what did you mean by coming two months early?"

Huo Yuhao smiled without answering. He merely used Simulation to project Tian Meng's aura and send it out in search of the Ice Empress's whereabouts.

Icy blue spiritual power flowed from Huo Yuhao's fingertips, intertwining with the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's origin aura and forming a visible ripple that spread toward the depths of the Northernmost Land. Wherever it passed, faint tremors came from icy cracks beneath the snow. Several low-level soul beasts hiding inside ice caves instantly fell silent—this was the pressure of a million-year soul beast, like an invisible imperial decree that made every soul beast in the Northernmost Land instinctively bow down.

"Easy, easy!" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm anxiously spun in circles within the Sea of Spirit. "Don't make Bingbing angry. She hates it most when others throw their weight around with pressure."

Huo Yuhao moved his fingertips slightly and restrained the spreading aura, leaving only a gentle wisp of fluctuation, like a thin thread extending precisely toward the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's habitat. His Spirit Eye narrowed slightly as his spiritual power swept across a radius of ten miles like radar, catching every trace of soul power feedback—the flow of soul power throughout the Northernmost Land became distinct pathways in his mind. He could see at a glance where the ice bears' territory lay, where the snow spiders nested, and even beneath which sheets of ice ice marrow capable of restoring soul power was hidden.

This was one of the reasons he had come two months early.

Tian Meng kept muttering, "What exactly did you come early for? Don't tell me you came to build snowmen..."

Huo Yuhao said nothing. He only softened the aura in his palm further. The aura he released now carried both Tian Meng's origin imprint and the rhythm of his own ice attribute. It was like a special invitation rather than an intruder's provocation.

Suddenly, a sharp jade-green burst of soul power came from the northwest, like an ice arrow precisely piercing through the thread of aura Huo Yuhao had released. That soul power carried obvious scrutiny, as well as a barely detectable... embarrassment?

"It's Bingbing!" Tian Meng instantly grew excited, her round body bouncing around in the Sea of Spirit. "She responded! She must have missed me!"

Huo Yuhao had never believed Tian Meng in such matters. Frowning, he immediately adjusted his aura, pouring his spiritual power into it and sending the message: "No hostility. Requesting an audience."

A moment later, an even more intense soul power fluctuation surged from the northwest, this time carrying obvious pressure—the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's domain had unfolded. A jade-green light shaped like a scorpion flew toward Huo Yuhao.

That scorpion-shaped green light tore across the snowy plains. Wherever it passed, even the air froze into fine ice crystals with sharp crackling sounds, shooting straight at Huo Yuhao's face. Yet Huo Yuhao was shocked to discover that amid the jade-green soul power fluctuations, beyond the pressure of a three-hundred-ninety-thousand-year Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, there truly was a trace of embarrassment like that of a human girl who had been offended—as though someone had struck a nerve, and she insisted on hiding it behind her sharpest posture.

Cold sweat instantly seeped across Huo Yuhao's back. He unconsciously took half a step back, his Spirit Eye abruptly contracting to the size of a needle tip.