The Far North was no short distance from Skywater Academy. Even though all five students were Soul Masters, traveling from the academy to the Far North would still take the group several days.
The main reason was that Qian Chongling had to consider the Skywater Academy students' physical condition. Had he been alone, the journey would not have taken long-probably just a few hours.
However, the students of Skywater Academy did not have Qian Chongling's strength, so Grandpa Qian could only escort five little girls and two young ladies who were just a tiny bit older.
Three would-be Soul Elders, two would-be Soul Ancestors, and two Soul Saint teachers to safeguard them.
Half a month later, on the outskirts of the Far North.
The surroundings were practically deserted. Along the way, Qian Chongling and the others had only occasionally spotted market-like gatherings on the outskirts, selling various supplies for entering this snowy Soul Beast forest, such as warm clothes and tools for use in the snowbound woods.
Such markets were rare, however, because few Soul Masters came to a place with such harsh conditions. The drain on Soul Power and the strain on the body were enormous here, making it far more troublesome than even the Star Dou Great Forest.
A month later, Qian Chongling's group reached the final destination of their journey. It was a small grove draped in silver-white snow, with several birds radiating cold playing in the little lake in front of it.
When Qian Chongling's group arrived, the leading bird made no attempt to hide its hostility. After all, the mutual hatred between humans and Soul Beasts had long since become irreconcilable.
In ancient times, beasts had flourished, and humans had been nothing more than food in the mouths of Soul Beasts. Once the first human Soul Master appeared, however, the balance had gradually begun to reverse. Now that humanity prospered, mere Soul Beasts were like eggs in an overturned nest.
The Ice-Congealing Sparrow before Qian Chongling stood over two meters tall, with ice-blue tail feathers more than four meters long and roughly two thousand years of cultivation. It was the target he had selected for the last would-be Soul Elder who had yet to obtain her Soul Ring.
As Qian Chongling looked at the Ice-Congealing Sparrow, a chilling glint flashed through his indifferent eyes. The bird seemed to sense his killing intent.
"Screech!"
A shrill cry rang through the little grove. With a sudden beat of its wings, the bird shot upward. Once it hovered in midair, its sharp, ice-blue beak parted slightly, and pale-blue cold slowly gathered within.
This was the Ice-Congealing Sparrow's innate skill, Extreme Cold Erosion! Its bone-piercing chill was enough to freeze a low-ranking Soul Elder to death in an instant.
If it reached a hundred thousand years of cultivation, Extreme Cold Erosion would advance into Absolute Zero. Only Super Douluos above level ninety-five would have the strength to fight it. Its drawbacks, however, were its pitiful accuracy and the time it needed to charge.
The Ice-Congealing Sparrow's Extreme Cold Erosion was almost fully charged. Anyone else might have struggled to withstand it, but the one it faced was Qian Chongling, and he had no intention of interrupting its skill.
Extreme Cold Erosion!
The ice-blue cold streaked through the air, leaving a white trail. It arrived in a flash, only to halt half a meter in front of Qian Chongling, unable to advance any farther, no matter how much Soul Power the Ice-Congealing Sparrow poured into it.
A red gleam flashed through Qian Chongling's eyes. As though crushed by some irresistible force, the ice-blue cold before him shattered instantly, turning into countless pale-blue shards of ice that scattered from midair.
"Screech!"
Realizing something was wrong, the Ice-Congealing Sparrow beat its wings and tried to flee. Flying Soul Beasts possessed this innate advantage, making it difficult even for high-ranking Soul Masters to hunt one with the cultivation age they needed. They often had no choice but to settle for second best.
Bang!
Qian Chongling closed his hand around empty air. The Ice-Congealing Sparrow, just about to fly away, had its wings and legs instantly shattered, like an exquisite glass bottle struck by a sledgehammer. Red blood mist and ghastly white bone fragments composed a cruel melody.
"Qin Yan, hurry!" Qian Chongling's indifferent voice rang out.
Qin Yan, Skywater Academy's level-thirty Soul Elder, reacted with remarkable speed as well. Her second Soul Ring lit up instantly.
The next moment, a sharp shard of ice radiating cold cut through the air and pierced straight through the Ice-Congealing Sparrow's head. At the same time, a purple Soul Ring emerged over its body.
Looking at the Soul Ring, Qian Chongling smiled faintly. "Begin."
Qin Yan nodded, approached the Ice-Congealing Sparrow's corpse, and sat cross-legged. With a gentle beckoning motion of her hand, its Soul Ring flew above her head!
A powerful, icy energy poured continuously into Qin Yan's body from above. In an instant, her body began trembling violently.
The surging power of the Soul Ring washed through Qin Yan's body in moments. What puzzled her, however, was that this icy energy did not feel unbearable.
Put simply, she felt a little stuffed, but could still eat a little more.
Over the time that followed, terrifying, icy energy battered Qin Yan's body every moment. Sweat mingled with traces of blood seeped from her delicate, smooth skin.
Before long, her aqua-blue dress looked as though it had been soaked in water.
Qian Chongling and the two Soul Saint teachers sat beside her to stand guard, but did not interrupt her absorption of the entire Soul Ring.
After an unknown amount of time, Qin Yan's endurance of the intense pain reached its limit, and Soul Saint Chen Xiaoxue's expression gradually grew grave.
Although she hoped Qin Yan could surpass her limits, she did not want to see her explode and die because she could not absorb a Soul Ring beyond the usual age limit.
"She hasn't reached her limit yet!" Qian Chongling said, seemingly noticing Chen Xiaoxue's concern.
Everything went just as Qian Chongling had said. Although the absorption was somewhat difficult, she succeeded after a fright but without mishap.
The purple Soul Ring encircled Qin Yan, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Because Qian Chongling was present, she stepped aside, took a fresh set of clothes from her Soul Tool, and changed out of her drenched clothing.
"Teacher, I succeeded." Although Qin Yan spoke calmly, her voice brimmed with joy.
"Do you feel anything unusual? For instance, does it feel like something is about to emerge from the back of your hand or your back?" Qian Chongling asked, looking the girl over.
"No, Teacher," Qin Yan replied without thinking much of it. After all, Qian Chongling had asked several times along the way. That had been the fifth time.
Qian Chongling could not help shaking his head, grumbling inwardly, They all absorbed Soul Rings beyond the usual limit, yet Third Brother could get an external soul bone, while these five young ladies from Skywater Academy didn't get so much as a single Soul Bone. Unbelievable.
As for what Soul Skills the five young ladies had obtained, Qian Chongling had no interest. After all, even a Titled Douluo without Soul Bones only had nine Soul Skills, nowhere near enough to stand against him.
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