Heading to the Extreme North

"What, you're level twenty! You're going to capture a second Soul Beast?"

"Then I'm going too!"

Ma Xiaotao had her arms around Su Wen's neck, clinging to him like an octopus and refusing to let go no matter what.

Su Wen immediately felt a wave of suffocation—physical suffocation.

"You're only level forty-four right now, and besides, the Extreme North is full of Ice Element Soul Beasts. You're a Fire Phoenix. What are you running off to the Extreme North for?" Su Wen pried Ma Xiaotao's restless hands away and said helplessly.

"The Extreme North?" Ma Xiaotao froze for a moment, her beautiful eyes growing a little dazed. Her teacher's words from a year ago were still vivid in her mind.

She just had not expected that he had actually guessed right...

"Mm-hmm~"

Seeing Ma Xiaotao sitting blankly on the bed, a complicated look flashing through her beautiful eyes, Su Wen grinned and casually pinched the beauty's cheek. It was soft. "Just wait and relax. When I get stronger in the future, I'll look out for you in the Inner Courtyard."

With that, he waved without looking back, called Hurricane, and sprinted outside.

A split second later.

Ma Xiaotao's furious, embarrassed roar came from inside the room. "Who are you calling your sister?!!!"

Along with the pillow she threw out.

The top floor of the Sea God Pavilion.

Mu En sat in his wheelchair, his gaze kindly as he studied Su Wen. "You've decided? Your second Soul Beast will be Ice Attribute?"

"Yes, Elder Mu." Su Wen nodded, wasting no words.

It was something everyone already understood perfectly well.

"Very well. Since you've already decided, I won't say anything more. There is only one matter. Who do you want to accompany you to the Extreme North? The danger there is no weaker than the Star Dou Great Forest. If you truly run into the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, an ordinary Titled Douluo would not be able to retreat unscathed at all. Only someone above Super Douluo..." Mu En said softly.

A Super Douluo personally setting out to accompany a level-twenty Soul Grandmaster to obtain a Soul Ring—only Shrek could do something so extravagantly lavish. And even so, there were people fighting over the chance...

Su Wen glanced at Yan Shaozhe, who was constantly giving him meaningful looks from the side.

"If Dean Yan is free."

"Good. Shaozhe," Mu En said calmly.

"Teacher, I'm here." Yan Shaozhe could barely suppress the corners of his mouth.

"Then accompany Xiao Wen to the Extreme North. Remember, no matter what happens, life comes first."

"Yes..."

After leaving the Sea God Pavilion.

Su Wen felt the mist rising from the lake. It was close to evening now, and the setting sun spilled over the rippling, emerald lake, giving it a rather beautiful charm.

As for why he had not chosen Xuan Zi, it was simply because he really did not want to go through another "backstab."

Would Xuan Zi change?

Change, my ass!

If he could change, the incident in the Mingdou Mountain Range would not have happened in the Original Work.

To be honest, if Su Wen were Mu En and had not read the Original Work, he would have suspected that the family had been raising a ghost...

Su Wen had only one attitude toward Xuan Zi: the old man could just stay there as a mascot, then step out at critical moments to show off his might. That was perfectly fine.

Xian Liner and Qian Duoduo were actually good options too, but unfortunately, they belonged to the Soul Guidance Department. Since he did not plan to join the Soul Guidance Department, he should not go around owing favors. Cai Meier was a bit weaker in strength, so after thinking it over, Yan Shaozhe was the most suitable.

Although this man was a little petty, that was only in matters of the struggle between the Soul Guidance Department and the Martial Soul Department. As one of "his own," Yan Shaozhe was still quite reliable.

Even if he was only level ninety-five right now...

And although Yan Shaozhe remained silent the whole way, he was wildly delighted inside.

Sure enough, he had bet on the right one.

This boy truly was a man of feeling. For Xiaotao's sake, he was actually willing to specifically leave the position of his second Soul Beast open for her. Not bad, not bad at all.

The more he looked at Su Wen, the more he felt like an old father-in-law admiring his son-in-law.

The two bid each other farewell and agreed to set off early the next morning.

Inside the wooden cabin.

Hurricane's face was full of excitement, and he could not settle down. Perhaps it was because he was about to have a companion. Although the environment here was good, it was very lonely.

Su Wen glanced at Hurricane, who was jumping all over the place, and did not stop him.

Over the past year or so, Hurricane had grown from his original one meter to a full one meter seventy. As his body grew taller by a chunk, his oppressive presence rose along with it. In the past, when he stood before Su Wen, he had seemed like a domesticated pet, but now, he finally had a bit of a Soul Beast's violent edge.

His fangs and claws had grown sharper and sharper, and his use of the skill Wind Blade was gradually becoming more and more effortless.

According to Su Wen's estimate.

Although Hurricane's strength was only enough to reach level twenty—a hundred years of cultivation—beating a Wind Baboon of the same level would be effortless, and even fighting two at once would be more than manageable.

"Tch... But it still feels like something's missing." Su Wen clicked his tongue.

Right now, Hurricane's strength lay entirely in the attribute points gained from devouring Spirit Beast Flesh and Blood, but its other skills and bloodline had not changed at all.

"Does it have to evolve to the next stage before it can awaken new skills? Before the strength of its Wind Attribute changes?" Su Wen murmured. After a long while, he nodded. Judging by the current situation, that was probably the case.

It was indeed weak in the early stages, but its late-game potential was extremely fierce. As long as he held out until level thirty, everything would get better.

The night passed without incident.

The next day.

Early morning.

A faint layer of mist drifted over Sea God Island.

After Su Wen met up with Yan Shaozhe, they wasted no words and immediately set off for the Land of Extreme North.

Yan Shaozhe pulled a Flying Soul Tool from behind his back and furtively looked around. Only when he saw that no one was paying attention did he take Su Wen and speed toward the north. Su Wen's cheek twitched at the sight.

"Since you use soul tools, why do you oppose the Soul Guidance Department?" Su Wen asked softly.

"They're trying to snatch funding from us. The academy is one big pie, and there are only so many resources to go around. If they take an extra slice, doesn't that mean we get one less?" Yan Shaozhe said with a beaming smile.

"Besides, using soul tools doesn't mean I acknowledge them. This Level 8 Flying Soul Tool of mine was bought from the Sun Moon Empire, not made by our academy's Soul Guidance Department. A bunch of rookies spend all day dreaming about competing with the Sun Moon Empire. What are they supposed to compete with? Their heads? The Sun Moon Empire has at least gone through thousands of years of accumulation and refinement to bear the fruit it has today. With just Qian Duoduo, and him only a Level 8 Soul Engineer at that, you expect them to surpass Sun Moon?"

"Pure fantasy," Yan Shaozhe grumbled.

Su Wen fell silent.

From the Martial Soul Department's perspective, there really was nothing wrong with that.

It was just that Dean Yan was a little short-sighted—after the incident at the Mingdou Mountain Range, Mu En had vigorously promoted soul tools, at least equipping everyone with things like an Invincible Barrier and Flying Soul Tool, yet he had still stubbornly come out in opposition and asked Mu En to "think it over again."

So even if what he said made sense, Su Wen still maintained a certain degree of skepticism.

Shrek Academy was nestled within the Star Dou Great Forest. To reach the Land of Extreme North, there were only two options: go north all the way, or go south. To the south lay the Mingdou Mountain Range, and reaching the Land of Extreme North that way required crossing the entire Sun Moon Empire, which was far too dangerous. So the two of them traveled north the whole way.

In just half a day, traces of snow appeared within their field of view.

A city also came into sight.

"An Yang City, a medium-sized city at the northernmost edge of the Dou Ling Empire. It is also the boundary between humanity's territory and the Land of Extreme North. If we continue north, we'll have completely entered the Land of Extreme North," Yan Shaozhe explained.