After the dust settled.
Bibi Dong immediately made a high-profile announcement.
"From now on, Gu Wuchen will be the captain of the Spirit Hall Academy Team. He will lead the Spirit Hall Team in future Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournaments."
After the announcement, Bibi Dong turned and left, displeased.
Qian Daoliu and Golden Crocodile Douluo exchanged a glance, then took Gu Wuchen back to the Elder Hall.
Back at the Elder Hall.
"Wuchen, now that you've become captain, you can focus on breaking through to Soul Elder," Qian Daoliu said.
Gu Wuchen nodded. "Grandpa Qian, I know. I plan to spend the remaining time in seclusion to make the breakthrough."
"No problem. Go ahead."
Now that the dust had settled, once Gu Wuchen broke through to Soul Elder, he would have little to fear even if he faced both Yan's and Xie Yue's teams.
Gu Wuchen returned to his room and began preparing for his secluded breakthrough.
The Snow Empress did not disturb Gu Wuchen any further, because the Ice Empress in the Far North had already noticed something amiss.
Next, she needed to deal with the Ice Empress carefully. At the very least, she could not let the Ice Empress discover anything amiss.
Time passed like this until, two months later, Gu Wuchen successfully broke through to Soul Elder.
After breaking through to Soul Elder, Gu Wuchen went to the Elder Hall to bid Qian Daoliu farewell.
"Wuchen, do you need Elder Ye to accompany you?"
Gu Wuchen shook his head. "Grandpa Qian, Sister Ye must be busy, so I won't trouble her. I can go back on my own."
"It's a long journey. You're bound to run into danger."
There was quite a distance between Spirit Hall and the Far North.
Seeing that Gu Wuchen intended to return alone, Qian Daoliu was still a little worried.
"Grandpa Qian, I'll be flying back, of course."
"Flying back?" Qian Daoliu was taken aback. "How?"
"On my sword, of course!"
Gu Wuchen swept a finger through the air.
Whoosh!
The Dustless Sword appeared in midair and circled several times, its clear sword hum echoing up and down before it finally landed at Gu Wuchen's feet.
"Grandpa Qian, I'll be heading back now."
Gu Wuchen stepped onto the blade. Guided by his thoughts, the Dustless Sword immediately soared into the air and vanished from the Elder Hall in a flash.
"So fast. When did Wuchen learn to fly on a sword?"
Qian Daoliu was somewhat astonished. The speed of that sword flight was no slower than the Six-Winged Angel's.
Flying on a sword also indirectly consumed Soul Power, but with the Snow Empress's power supporting Gu Wuchen, the consumption would not affect him much.
After half a day of flying, the once-dense forest began to give way to a world of ice and snow, covered in a blanket of white.
Flying through the air on his sword, Gu Wuchen caught sight of Ice Spirit City from far away.
This time, he did not return to Ice Arrival City. Instead, he planned to head straight to the Soul Beast territory and obtain his Third Soul Ring first.
This time, he could set the age of his Third Soul Ring at the ten-thousand-year level.
"Sister Xue."
Gu Wuchen called out to the Snow Empress in his Sea of Consciousness.
Meanwhile, inside a palace in the Soul Beast territory, the Snow Empress was talking with the Ice Empress.
"Xue'er, have you been doing something behind my back? I haven't seen Little Wuchen in ages. Usually, you're more anxious than I am, but now you're acting as though you don't care. You must be hiding something from me. Tell me, quickly."
The Ice Empress planted her hands on her hips and stared intently at the Snow Empress.
The Snow Empress said helplessly, "Bing'er, trust me. Would I lie to you?"
"Wouldn't you? Do you really think I'm stupid?" the Ice Empress demanded.
Just as the Snow Empress was about to explain, Gu Wuchen's voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
Little Wuchen had already returned to the Far North.
The Snow Empress was delighted. He had returned at just the right time!
She finally no longer had to explain herself to Bing'er.
"Xue'er, why are you so excited?"
The Ice Empress asked in confusion.
"Little Wuchen is back. He's probably here to obtain a Soul Ring. How could I not be happy?" The Snow Empress chuckled.
"Bing'er, I'm going on ahead."
The Snow Empress's figure immediately vanished from the palace.
"Xue'er, wait for me!" The Ice Empress hurried after her.
At this moment, Gu Wuchen had landed in the Soul Beast territory and was waiting for the Snow Empress to arrive. While he waited, an Ice-Toothed Tiger suddenly leaped down from a mountain peak.
With snow-white fur and razor-sharp fangs, it pounced at Gu Wuchen.
It had already reached the ten-thousand-year level.
Gu Wuchen's expression turned cold as he released the Snow Empress's origin presence, the pressure of a sovereign.
The Ice-Toothed Tiger, so fierce a moment ago, immediately trembled all over when it sensed that presence. It flattened itself against the ground, not daring to move, and bowed in submission to Gu Wuchen.
The Ice-Toothed Tiger was dumbfounded. When had it ever encountered a presence like this?
Wasn't this a human?
A biting wind howled past.
Two figures broke through the wind and snow, appearing before Gu Wuchen in an instant.
When the Snow Empress saw Gu Wuchen, her eyes lit up. She hurried forward, swept him into her arms, and rubbed his head.
"Little Wuchen, you're finally back. I missed you to death! It was too dangerous for you to come here all by yourself."
Although they saw each other almost every day, she still had to put on an act in front of Bing'er.
Held tightly in her arms, Gu Wuchen helplessly patted the Snow Empress's arm:
"Sister Xue, aren't I perfectly fine? With the origin imprint you left in my body, what could possibly happen to me?"
The Ice Empress stood to one side with her arms folded. Her emerald-green eyes swept over the Ice-Toothed Tiger, which was shivering on the ground, not even daring to raise its head. She raised an eyebrow, a trace of surprise flashing in her eyes.
A ten-thousand-year Ice-Toothed Tiger was something of a local overlord on the outskirts of the Far North, yet Little Wuchen's presence had frightened it into such a state.
Gu Wuchen pulled free of the Snow Empress's embrace, raised a hand, and pointed at the Ice-Toothed Tiger on the ground.
"Sister Xue, I came back this time to find a ten-thousand-year ice-attribute Soul Beast so I can break through to Soul Elder. This Ice-Toothed Tiger is just right. How about we hunt it?"
Hearing this, the Snow Empress glanced down at the shivering Ice-Toothed Tiger and nodded:
"All right. The Ice-Toothed Tiger's ice attribute is highly compatible with your Martial Soul, and its ten-thousand-year age is just right for your Third Soul Ring. It couldn't be more suitable."
Hearing this, the Ice-Toothed Tiger instantly went rigid. It jerked its head up, trying to get to its feet and flee.
But it had barely moved when a blue ice blade shot from the Snow Empress's fingertip, so fast its path was almost impossible to see.
With a pfft, the ice blade pierced straight through the Ice-Toothed Tiger's shoulder blade. Terrifying Ultimate Ice cold instantly froze all the meridians and Soul Power in its body.
The Ice-Toothed Tiger fell heavily to the ground without even managing a scream. It lay at death's door, without the strength to struggle.
Seeing this, Gu Wuchen flipped his wrist, and the Dustless Sword flashed from its sheath.
He strode forward and swung his sword. The Sword Intent of Frost Blade Breaks Dust erupted in full, piercing the Ice-Toothed Tiger's heart with precision.
In the blink of an eye, the ten-thousand-year Ice-Toothed Tiger lay lifeless, and a black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring slowly rose from its corpse.
The Ice Empress watched the presence around Gu Wuchen, growing ever more suspicious. Could it be that the Snow Empress had been communicating with Little Wuchen through their souls?
That was a strong possibility.
She would need to check for herself later. She had a constant feeling that Xue'er was keeping everything to herself.
As partners who had lived together for so long, how could she keep everything to herself behind her back?