Ultimate Ice and the Absolute Dominance of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion

Ultimate Ice + the Absolute Dominance of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion

Sea God Island.

Inside the Golden Treehouse.

Su Wen sat cross-legged on his bed, clutching a card embedded with black crystal in his hand. A flicker of heat flashed through his eyes. This was a Black Crystal Card, accepted at major auction houses and merchant guilds across the continent.

As the times had changed, the financial system of the Douluo World had continually evolved as well.

Ten thousand years ago, the system had operated on "credit." For instance, the first five-million-Gold-Soul-Coin deposit Ning Fengzhi had given Tang San after reaching their deal was a golden card.

That golden card was similar to a check, representing Ning Fengzhi's "credit" at the major auction houses and merchant guilds.

But with the widespread adoption of Soul Tools, the continent's entire financial system had now entered the Soul Tool age. It was somewhat like the bank cards from his past life. Though it was merely a cold string of numbers, it could be altered with every expense and deposit.

After fiddling with it for a while, the novelty wore off, and he placed the black card into his Storage Soul Tool Ring.

The team had only returned to the academy last night.

After a night of rest, unless something unexpected happened, Yan Shaozhe would surely send Dai Yueheng and the others to bring him to the Inner Courtyard Duel Arena before long to continue their previous special training.

"Xiao Wen..."

Sure enough, half an hour later, Dai Yueheng appeared outside Su Wen's cabin. He tilted his head slightly, and Su Wen tacitly changed into his clothes—a fitted set of red and white Inner Courtyard uniforms. The two headed toward the Inner Courtyard.

As they neared the Inner Courtyard, the outline of the Duel Arena was already faintly visible. Su Wen looked up at the sky. They stood beneath a layer of lead-gray clouds, shrouded in shadow. A cool breeze drifted past, easing some of the early summer heat.

"You're here?"

Yan Shaozhe looked at Su Wen with a smile on his face.

Now that Su Wen had the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, he would no longer be as useless as he had been a week ago, when he could only display his greatest combat strength with Ling Luochen's support. His fighting power was bound to soar.

Hopefully, he could give these proud sons and daughters of heaven a little "monster" shock.

Su Wen swept his gaze around. Ma Xiaotao was already standing in the arena, chatting idly with Ling Luochen. It seemed this pair of plastic sisters had not completely fallen out yet.

Gongyang Mo swayed his waist as he flirtatiously joked around with Chen Zifeng. The latter seemed accustomed to it; he closed his eyes to rest, choosing to play dead.

Most of the others sat cross-legged on the ground, cultivating.

Su Wen nodded slightly.

The atmosphere in the Inner Courtyard was pretty good.

Even without teachers pushing them, these geniuses competed to outwork one another.

"Alright, get ready to begin."

Yan Shaozhe wore a white robe and gold-rimmed glasses. With a few strands of white hair at his temples and his ever-present gentle smile, he gave off the impression of a handsome middle-aged man who kept up with the trends. He clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"First match, Xiao Wen joins my team." Ma Xiaotao spoke first, throwing an arm around Su Wen.

Ling Luochen nodded calmly and said nothing.

Dai Yueheng did the same. He would not stoop to competing with Ma Xiaotao for Su Wen. The potential Su Wen had displayed during the special training a week ago had been terrifying, but his actual strength... was so-so.

Even if he had obtained another Soul Ring, Dai Yueheng did not think much would change. At most, he had one more soul skill. It was not as if he could fly to the heavens.

He still had to maintain the dignity befitting a senior.

The final team lineup:

Ma Xiaotao, Su Wen, Yao Haoxuan, Xixi... (seven per team)

Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Gongyang Mo, Chen Zifeng...

"The match begins!"

"Roar!"

Ma Xiaotao raised her head, and crimson flames surged from her body, forming a pair of fiery wings behind her back. She leaped into the air, seizing aerial control first as she intercepted the roaring Dai Yueheng head-on.

Though he was slightly weaker, Dai Yueheng refused to be outdone. He unleashed the Dai family's inherited secret technique: White Tiger Vajra Transformation. With an angry roar, his clothes burst apart, his body instantly expanding by a full size as his aura grew increasingly solid and heavy.

The strongest members of both teams clashed.

The others were not willing to fall behind either.

Chen Zifeng of the opposing team drew his blade. The longsword in his hand gleamed with cold light as two purple Soul Rings lit up beneath his feet, blocking Yao Haoxuan, who had transformed from a skinny man into a three-meter-tall giant.

Another Inner Courtyard female disciple from the Agility Attack System intercepted Xixi from Su Wen's side.

Gongyang Mo covered his mouth and chuckled. His Rainbow Dragon Martial Soul manifested behind him, and seven-colored beams of light, like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, fell upon his teammates.

"Red-Orange Power!"

"Yellow Speed!"

As yellow and purple Soul Rings rose in succession, Dai Yueheng's team's advantage instantly widened. Dai Yueheng actually withstood Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix flames head-on, firmly holding back the only Soul Emperor present.

Chen Zifeng, at level fifty-three, had already been beating down Yao Haoxuan, who had only just entered the Soul King rank. Now, with boosts to strength and speed, his sword light grew ever sharper, every strike aimed at the heart, forcing Yao Haoxuan to break out in a cold sweat.

"Xiao Wen!"

Ma Xiaotao shouted.

Su Wen silently nodded.

The next instant, an Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion roughly two meters tall, entirely jade-green with a streak of sea-blue mixed in, appeared behind him. As though it were Su Wen's manifested Martial Soul Avatar, its bony, segmented scorpion tail rose over Su Wen's head, its sharp stinger aimed at the enemy.

"Domain of Eternal Freeze!"

Su Wen said softly.

An intent of extreme cold instantly spread out, pouring from the Ice Sovereign's body and enveloping the entire arena like a frost storm.

In an instant, it suppressed Ling Luochen's Ice Element!

Everyone was astonished.

Because this extreme cold was several times stronger than what Su Wen had displayed last week!

He had only obtained one Soul Ring—how could the change be so drastic?!

"No, why don't I feel anything?" Ma Xiaotao asked in astonishment. During the previous training matches, as a fire-element user naturally incompatible with Ultimate Ice, she had been affected the most. She had already prepared herself to be weakened, but...

"I don't feel anything either!" Yao Haoxuan's eyes lit up. "Xiao Wen, can your skill evolve too?!!"

Meanwhile, Chen Zifeng and the others were even more astonished.

They could clearly feel the cold invading their bodies. This extreme chill was frantically draining both their Soul Power and stamina, reducing their strength by at least twenty to thirty percent!

"Luochen, what are you doing? Attack!" Dai Yueheng, who was having trouble holding off Ma Xiaotao, turned and shouted.

"I... I can't withstand his Ultimate Ice..." Ling Luochen said with shock in her beautiful eyes.

"What?!!"

Everyone present froze.

Both were support-control types, and both possessed the same attribute. The competition between Ling Luochen and Su Wen lay in their control over ice.

It was somewhat like a contest for "authority."

Although Su Wen had possessed Ultimate Ice in the previous match, the gap in Soul Power had been there, so Ling Luochen had always held the advantage.

But this match...

A full twenty levels higher!

Dai Yueheng's mouth twitched fiercely.

He did not think Ling Luochen was weak. After all, they had been teammates for years, and he knew perfectly well how powerful this Ice Element soul master was. Yet despite a difference of twenty levels, Su Wen had still firmly suppressed her.

Truly terrifying...