"My two current Soul Skills are Ice Dragon Claw, my first Soul Skill, and Ice Dragon Scale Armor, my second." Su Yuan walked into an open space and demonstrated them for Wang Xian'er.
When his first Soul Skill lit up, a vast amount of cold air gathered around Su Yuan's hands, condensing into a pair of crystalline ice dragon claws.
When his second Soul Skill lit up, cold air converged on him from every direction. Shield-shaped ice dragon scales formed across Su Yuan's body and interlocked, creating a defensive layer of crystalline scales.
"Ice Dragon Claw is a close-combat Soul Skill. It increases the strength of my hands according to how much Soul Power I expend, and its attacks carry a chilling effect."
"Ice Dragon Scale Armor is a defensive Soul Skill. It condenses a layer of crystalline ice dragon armor over my body. Its defensive strength depends on how much Soul Power I expend. At its strongest, it can match a defensive Soul Master of the same rank, but that consumes a great deal of power."
One for offense, one for defense-a pairing that fit the standard Soul Skill configuration of a Power Attack System Beast Martial Soul.
Put simply, these two Soul Skills were toned-down versions of the two skills the Ice Empress had bestowed on Huo Yuhao.
Ice Dragon Claw corresponded to Ice Empress's Pincer.
Ice Dragon Scale Armor corresponded to Ice Emperor's Protection.
But they were only similar in their effects and how they manifested. Their power was worlds apart.
After all, Su Yuan's two Soul Skills were merely ordinary hundred-year skills, while the Ice Empress's were genuine four-hundred-thousand-year Ultimate Ice Soul Skills.
Still, when acquiring his Soul Rings, Su Yuan had indeed used those two skills of the Ice Empress as a reference to some extent.
He had not had any cheats at the beginning, so naturally, he had needed to choose his Soul Skills carefully. At a low Soul Power Level, close-combat Soul Skills undoubtedly offered the greatest benefit to a Beast Martial Soul Battle Soul Master.
That was because ranged attacks did not offer as much benefit as close-combat attacks.
Su Yuan's two Soul Skills could also be considered partial enhancement skills: the former enhanced strength, and the latter enhanced defense. Even without cheats, both would remain useful in the later stages of his cultivation rather than becoming completely obsolete.
Wang Xian'er was also very satisfied with his two Soul Skills. She gave a soft huff. "At least the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect didn't cut corners with you on this. Both skills they chose are good, though their ages are a little low."
"If you'd been with me since childhood, little Yuan, I would have made sure your second Soul Ring was purple, at the very least."
"I'm already very satisfied with what I have. At least both Soul Rings meet the standard configuration." Su Yuan felt no regret. He could increase the ages of his Soul Rings later anyway.
Wang Xian'er did not dwell on the subject, but inwardly, she had already resolved to help Su Yuan acquire every future Soul Ring according to the finest possible configuration.
"I've examined you. After being cleansed by that vitality, your physical strength is already on par with a Power Attack System Soul Ancestor. For your third Soul Ring, you can try absorbing one between three thousand and four thousand five hundred years old," Wang Xian'er said.
"Do you have any ideas for your third Soul Ring, little Yuan?"
"A ranged attack," Su Yuan answered without hesitation.
His first two Soul Skills already covered close-combat enhancement and defensive enhancement. What he lacked now was a sufficiently powerful ranged attack Soul Skill.
Profound Ice Dragon Soars could serve as a superior substitute, but it was a two-hundred-thousand-year Soul Skill, after all, and its consumption was terrifying.
When Huo Yuhao had used the Ice Empress's Eternal Frozen Domain as a Soul Grandmaster, it had nearly drained him dry.
An offensive Soul Skill like Profound Ice Dragon Soars would not consume much less than a domain-type Soul Skill like Eternal Frozen Domain.
At his current stage, Profound Ice Dragon Soars could only serve as his trump card when he went all out. Even releasing it at its lowest power would likely drain over seventy percent of Su Yuan's Soul Power. He could not use it as a minor skill to open a fight.
"Then choose a Dragon Breath-type Soul Skill. Breath attacks are the most commonly used offensive abilities of dragons to begin with. They consume little power while still packing a considerable punch. It would suit you very well." Wang Xian'er offered her own suggestion.
"All right. A Dragon Breath-type Soul Skill will be our first choice. If we can't find a suitable one, we'll consider something else." Su Yuan thought it was a good idea too.
But Soul Hunting did not guarantee that wanting a particular Soul Skill meant getting it. Conditions in Soul Beast habitats changed in the blink of an eye, and until the dust settled, no one could be certain they would encounter the corresponding Soul Beast.
If they found a more suitable Soul Beast, abandoning a breath attack in favor of another offensive Soul Skill-or even giving up on a ranged attack altogether-was not out of the question.
By the time the two finished breakfast, Mo Yunxing had also prepared all the supplies they would need for the trip.
For this Soul Hunting expedition, Luo Shan and Mo Yunxing would accompany them as guards in addition to Wang Xian'er.
Their destination was the Far North, an extremely long way away, so Wang Xian'er had also sent Mo Yunxing to the Imperial Family to borrow several Flying Soul Tools.
Su Yuan had originally planned to visit the nearby Star Dou Great Forest, but Wang Xian'er insisted on going to the Far North to find an Ice Attribute Soul Beast better suited to him. She refused to settle for less.
Since she did not find it troublesome, Su Yuan naturally had even less reason to refuse.
And so, three streaks of light rose into the sky outside Star Luo City and headed toward the northern end of the continent.
With the help of the Flying Soul Tools, Su Yuan's party of four reached Dragon City, the northernmost city on the continent, in less than a week. They planned to rest there for a night before entering the Far North with their energy fully replenished.
When Su Yuan learned that the city where they were staying was actually Dragon City, he felt an impulse to bring Wang Xian'er straight to the Earth Dragon Sect's doorstep and seize its ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow.
Ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow—the ultimate treasure for Ice Attribute Soul Masters and Soul Beasts.
If he absorbed all forty-five stalks of ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow beneath the Earth Dragon Sect, Su Yuan's Frost Dragon would definitely evolve into a true dragon martial soul possessing Ultimate Ice.
Unfortunately, the time was not yet right.
Neither Su Yuan nor Wang Xian'er quite had what it took to break through that layer of the Ice Spring Eye, which approached absolute zero.
He could only wait until he became a Title Douluo, or until Wang Xian'er became a Limit Douluo.
Besides, with his cultivation as a prospective Soul Elder, Su Yuan could not enjoy a treasure like ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow. Before he finished absorbing even one stalk, he would probably fall asleep on the spot, just like the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
He could only suppress the thought for now.
The next day, after resting, Su Yuan and the others strode boldly into the Frozen Forest.
This was the outer edge of the Far North, much like the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest, but its environment was already extremely harsh. Temperatures remained below minus ten degrees year-round and could even reach minus thirty at their coldest.
Such a harsh environment also meant that the Ice Attribute Soul Beasts here had not suffered the same intense hunting by Soul Masters as those in the Star Dou Great Forest's outer region.
If Su Yuan was lucky, he might even find a suitable Soul Beast for his third Soul Ring right here in the Frozen Forest.
All four of them seemed particularly relaxed in the Frozen Forest.
Wang Xian'er, Mo Yunxing, and Luo Shan were relaxed because they were powerful. Su Yuan was relaxed because those three were powerful.
The four of us could cackle our way through a slaughter here.
The Frozen Forest's extreme cold had little effect on him as an Ice Attribute Soul Master. In fact, he rather liked this world of ice and snow.
The longer he looked, the more beautiful he found the scenery around him.
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