After making all the arrangements, Xiao Yan went to check on Xiaoxiao.
Over the past half month, Xiao Xiao had also cultivated diligently. She had reached the peak of level thirty-one and might break through to level thirty-two in another three or four days.
Phoenix Roost Courtyard, the courtyard where Xiao Xiao lived.
Outside the residence, Xiao Yan and Xiao Xiao sat facing each other in a pavilion.
"Xiao Xiao, I've found you a teacher. You need to study hard under him, understand?" Xiao Yan said bluntly.
"A teacher? Why did you find me a teacher? Brother, is something going on? Aren't you going to teach me anymore?"
Xiao Xiao asked curiously, thinking that her brother was still angry with her for the mistake she had made last time.
"Brother, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have gotten angry with you last time. It was my fault. I shouldn't have..."
"You didn't do anything wrong." Xiao Yan cut Xiaoxiao off. "You did nothing wrong. I'm glad to have such a warmhearted younger sister. It shows what a good person my sister is. How could I be angry?"
"It's because I'm going away for a while."
"Really?"
Xiao Xiao's face lit up at his words.
After returning home last time, she had reflected on her actions and realized she shouldn't have lost her temper over Huo Yuhao. So she had cultivated even harder after coming back, hoping to make up for the unease in her heart.
Now that they had cleared the air, she felt much better. Then she caught the meaning behind her brother's words. "Going away for a while? Brother, where are you going? Is it far away?"
Xiao Yan nodded. "Yes, very far away. I'm going to the Sun Moon Empire!"
"Can you take me with you?" Xiao Xiao asked timidly.
Although she knew there was probably no chance of that, since he had already found her a teacher, she had never been apart from her brother for long before, and she couldn't help feeling a sense of loss.
"Dream on."
Xiao Yan smiled. "Just focus on your cultivation. When I come back, if I'm satisfied with your progress, I'll consider it."
"Ah..."
Inside a secluded cultivation chamber.
Xiao Yan sat cross-legged, four Soul Rings circling him in order: yellow, purple, black, and black.
Each Soul Ring contained a different energy fluctuation, yet there were subtle connections between them. This was the foundation of Ring Fusion.
"Still no good..."
Tian Meng's voice rang out in Xiao Yan's Sea of Consciousness.
Ever since becoming Xiao Yan's Soul Ring, he had been asleep inside the Nine Fire Heavenly Plate. Only recently had Xiao Yan awakened him to help study Ring Fusion.
Although Tian Meng wasn't very strong, his mastery of mental power and understanding of Soul Rings far surpassed Xiao Yan's. Whenever Ring Fusion failed, he could always offer some crucial suggestions.
Beside the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, the Ice Empress's petite, emerald-green figure appeared. Although she had joined Xiao Yan, she still harbored resentment toward the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, so she had never given Tian Meng a friendly look.
"That's all you can do? Let's see if you keep bragging about being a Hundred Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!"
"What do you know?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was immediately displeased.
The Ice Empress still wore the same contemptuous look, and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm felt miserable inside.
"Ring Fusion isn't as simple as adding two Soul Rings together. It involves energy operating structures, with every link connected to the next... How could it be that easy?"
Tian Meng sighed. "Forget it. Talking to you is a waste of breath. Only Xiao Yan understands how hard it is for me!"
"Hmph, anyone can talk."
The Ice Empress folded her arms. "Why don't you come up with a solution, then?"
"You..."
"Enough."
Xiao Yan's voice rang out in the Sea of Consciousness.
The silkworm and the scorpion immediately fell silent.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress had both been powerful as Soul Beasts, but now they had abandoned their bodies and become Xiao Yan's Soul Spirits.
The two sides were in a symbiotic relationship, with Xiao Yan in the dominant position, so naturally the two Soul Beasts would not disobey him.
"You're both my companions. Instead of spending your time bickering, help me think of a better way to solve the problem of energy conflicts after Ring Fusion."
Xiao Yan knew that Tian Meng and the Ice Empress were giving him face, so it was enough to make his point and stop there.
He had been trying Ring Fusion for over half a month, but unfortunately, he had only scratched the surface and could manage a partial fusion.
Ultimately, it also had to do with his Martial Soul.
The Heavy Xuan Ruler was his main Martial Soul, the one he primarily cultivated. Soul Rings fused with a Martial Soul to produce different Soul Skills, but fusing rings was like making two into one. It damaged the Soul Rings' structure and interfered with the Martial Soul's form as well.
That was why it was so difficult.
After turning it over in his mind, Xiao Yan came up with a rough idea.
"Ice Empress, can you try freezing my Martial Soul?"
Xiao Yan decided to use the properties of Ultimate Ice to freeze the Heavy Xuan Ruler completely and keep his Martial Soul stable.
Although he could also control Ultimate Ice to freeze the Heavy Xuan Ruler, he now had to devote his full attention to fusion.
Besides, it was hard to say whether the Ultimate Ice produced by his one-ring Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Martial Soul could freeze the Heavy Xuan Ruler.
So it would be best to let the Ice Empress handle it.
"No problem." The Ice Empress couldn't be bothered to think about the reasons and didn't ask. "Shall I start, then?"
"Go ahead!"
As Xiao Yan's voice fell, the pitch-black Heavy Xuan Ruler Martial Soul appeared, floating horizontally before his knees. The ancient, unadorned patterns on its surface gradually lit up with a red-black glow as Soul Power circulated.
The Ice Empress moved just as quickly. Pure white ice crystals began spreading from the Heavy Xuan Ruler's handle across its entire length.
Hexagonal ice crystals covered the Heavy Xuan Ruler, glittering like diamonds and jade.
As Ultimate Ice covered the Heavy Xuan Ruler, Xiao Yan felt his thoughts grow exceptionally calm.
Because the Heavy Xuan Ruler was his Martial Soul, it was as though he had been given a calming buff, and his thoughts gradually grew clearer.
Does this count as a kind of Martial Soul Fusion?
The first Soul Skill, Mountain Suppression, is about building power, while the second Soul Skill, Qian Jun, is about stacking. What they have in common is building power!
When I activate the first Soul Skill while using the second, there are also similarities in how Soul Power circulates...
A flood of inspiration came to Xiao Yan.
The Heavy Xuan Ruler had become exceptionally stable with the support of Ultimate Ice. Even though Xiao Yan was now trying to fuse his First Soul Ring and Second Soul Ring, the Heavy Xuan Ruler Martial Soul itself did not fluctuate.
With the Martial Soul's stability improved, the fusion of the Soul Rings also needed to be more precise.
When a Soul Skill was activated, Soul Power would circulate through specific meridians, instantly consuming the Soul Power within them. At that moment, more Soul Power could still circulate into the meridians, constituting a second release of Soul Power.
Xiao Yan wanted to seize the opportunity presented by this second release of a Soul Skill to unleash a new Soul Skill. To do so, he had to change the route of Soul Power circulation and optimize the points where the Soul Power overlapped.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"
"Bang!"
The Ultimate Ice coating the Heavy Xuan Ruler cracked bit by bit, then shattered with a bang and scattered into ice chips.
"That's the limit. If I continue, you'll suffer frostbite," the Ice Empress said.
"It's all right."
Xiao Yan shook his head and smiled. "I have an idea now. This really is possible!"