Iceforest City, An Beichen
Huo Lei, An Jun, Yunxiang, and the three academic committee members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy had lunch together. The lunch was more sumptuous than expected, and all six of them enjoyed it very much.
After lunch, Huo Lei and An Jun stayed at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy for another hour. After Yunxiang finished packing her belongings and taking care of her business, she returned to Heaven Dou City with Huo Lei in a carriage driven by An Jun, watched by the three education committee members.
After Huo Lei and the other two returned to the Heaven Dou City Hotel, they introduced Yunxiang to Jin Shan, Shui Bing'er, and Xue Wu. The three of them were very enthusiastic, but Yunxiang seemed very surprised, especially after learning that Jin Shan was Super Douluo. She was stunned for a long time before she recovered.
With Yunxiang joining, Huo Lei's group increased from five to six people.
After the six of them had dinner together, Shui Bing'er booked another room next to hers and let Yunxiang stay there.
Early the next morning, a carriage departed from the Heaven Dou City. Jin Shan was driving the carriage, and there were four people inside: Huo Lei, Shui Bing'er, Xue Wu, and Yunxiang.
An Jun continued riding his swift horse, maintaining a safe distance as he followed.
Seven days later, An Jun had joined Huo Lei and his group. The reason was simple: they had left the area that the Spirit Hall could detect. At this time, they were in a very northern region of the Heaven Dou Empire. The surrounding area was sparsely populated, the temperature had dropped below zero, a biting wind howled, and fine snowflakes danced in the air. The plants on both sides of the carriage had all turned into cold-resistant plants such as pine trees, and the branches were covered with a thin layer of ice and snow.
The further north the carriage traveled, the colder the weather became. The six people in the group reacted differently.
Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu were still dressed in thin clothes, but they were very excited because this environment was the ideal place for them to cultivate their ice and snow attributes.
Jin Shan is Super Douluo, so naturally he is not afraid of the severe cold.
An Jun's martial spirit is also of the ice and snow attribute, and his face was full of ease.
As for Huo Lei, his strength has reached the Soul Sage level, and one of his Martial Soul is fire-attribute, so he is naturally not afraid of the cold.
Yunxiang, the last one remaining, reacted the most strongly. She had already put on the purple fur coat that had been prepared in advance. She was the only one among the six to have new clothes and was also the one wearing the thickest clothes.
An Jun urged his horse forward, spurring it to the front of the carriage. His brows furrowed with joy as he looked at Jin Shan and said, "Brother, we'll be at Iceforest City, the northern fortress of the Heaven Dou Empire, in just over ten kilometers! I guarded it for decades. Since His Majesty Xue Ye transferred me to Huo Lei's side, my son has been the garrison commander of Iceforest City. I've been away from Iceforest City for over four years, and I want to go ahead and inform them so they can prepare food and lodging."
Jin Shan nodded slightly to An Jun and said, "Go."
"Thank you, brother." An Jun smiled and spurred his horse away.
Jin Shan watched An Jun's departing figure and smiled slightly. The carriage continued on its way, and soon a row of hazy city walls came into Jin Shan's view.
"Children, Iceforest City is just ahead, the northernmost city of the Heaven Dou Empire," Jin Shan called out as he drove the carriage.
Inside the carriage, Huo Lei, Shui Bing'er, Xue Wu, and Yunxiang all leaned out of the windows to look into the distance.
"We've finally arrived at the place I've been dreaming of!" Yunxiang exclaimed excitedly.
"Sister Yunxiang, why do I feel like you're even more excited than us sisters?" Shui Bing'er asked, her face full of curiosity.
Yunxiang smiled and said, "We are always full of curiosity about worlds we have never seen before. When I was young, I learned from books that there were two places on the continent: the Frozen Forest and the Far North. But there wasn't much information about the Frozen Forest in the books, and there was even less description of the Far North."
"I still vividly remember the passage in the book describing the Far North: 'It's freezing cold and extremely dangerous. Those who haven't reached a certain rank shouldn't venture deep into it. Soul Beast roam everywhere, and it's a matter of life and death.' Back then, my dream was simply to see the Frozen Forest. I never expected to hear from Huo Lei that you're going to the Far North again. This time, I can finally realize my dream. Sister Bing'er, how could I not be excited?"
After spending several days together, Yunxiang's way of addressing everyone had changed dramatically. She no longer addressed Huo Lei as "Twin Martial Marquis," and she had become like sisters with Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu.
Like a canary confined in an iron cage for many years, Yunxiang has now flown into the vast world and is very happy every day. Perhaps it's because of her improved mood, or perhaps it's because she has already reached the Soul Power realm, but she actually reached Level 60 on the fifth day after she came out. Huo Lei was also very excited when he learned of this news.
Before long, the carriage arrived at the south gate of Iceforest City. Two rows of fully armed carriage soldiers stood at the gate, dressed in bright silver armor and holding two-meter-long spears that gleamed coldly, standing there in perfect order without moving. Among them were two soldiers leading two white steeds.
Besides the soldiers, there were two other conspicuous figures, one of whom was An Jun. He had changed into pure white clothes and was riding a white horse, which was even taller than the black horse he had ridden before. Beside him was a middle-aged man dressed in white clothes, also riding a white horse.
The middle-aged man and An Jun looked very similar, the only obvious difference being that the middle-aged man had black hair and beard. Standing together, even without introductions, one could generally guess their relationship.
"Brother, please follow me." An Jun called softly to Jin Shan, then turned his horse around and headed into the city. The middle-aged man followed closely behind.
Before long, Huo Lei and his group entered a mansion. The mansion was not very large, and apart from pine trees and other cold-resistant plants, there was no other scenery. The buildings were not tall, nor were they as luxurious as one might imagine; instead, they gave people a simple feeling.
Huo Lei and his entourage disembarked from the carriage and, led by An Jun, arrived at the mansion's reception room.
As soon as everyone entered the living room, they were immediately enveloped in warmth, and a huge fireplace came into view. Yunxiang was the most delighted.
Wow! It's so warm.
"Haha! Welcome everyone to my residence. Please make yourselves at home and don't be shy. Please have a seat." An Jun greeted them with a smile.
There was a circle of sofas in the living room, with no distinction between main and secondary sofas, and everyone sat down without any formality.
Seeing everyone take their seats, An Jun pulled the middle-aged man to his side and smiled, "Let me introduce you all. This is my son, An Beichen. His Martial Soul is the same as mine— the Frost Snow Leopard. He's fifty years old this year, with Soul Power Level seventy-eight. He's a seven-ring Battle Soul Saint of the Agility Attack System. He currently serves as the commander-in-chief of Iceforest City, and his title is Earl. My grandson, An Ning, is still at the academy. I'll introduce him to you all when we have time."
The middle-aged man cupped his hands to Huo Lei, Jin Shan, and the others, saying, "An Beichen greets everyone and welcomes you to Iceforest City."
Huo Lei and his group all nodded to An Beichen in greeting.
An Jun looked at his son and said, "Beichen, everyone here is a good friend of mine. Now I will introduce you to them one by one."
An Jun extended his right hand and pointed at Jin Shan, smiling politely, "This man is named Jin Shan, with the title Golden Tiger. He is a Super Douluo and also my father's sworn brother. You should call him Uncle."