Inside the office, as everyone gradually became acquainted, a lively chat ensued.
The cheerful conversation further strengthened their bonds.
Meanwhile, in the north of the Heavenly Soul Empire, a completely different scene unfolded.
Snow fell for miles, and icy winds blew from the depths of the far north, chilling everyone to the bone. Even Soul Masters had to expend extra Soul Power to protect themselves from frostbite.
As one layer of the barrier sealing off the far north disappeared, countless forces were mobilized. Early in the morning, many braved the extreme cold to venture into this world, practically a forbidden zone for humanity.
"This place never used to attract so many people," said Poison Undying, standing with his hands behind his back on a hill overlooking the far north.
He had already witnessed at least a thousand people enter the far north, and this was just one entry point.
"Everyone outside is saying that an astonishing number of treasures have appeared in the far north, the kind that can cause a Soul Master's cultivation to skyrocket. People die for wealth, birds die for food, so naturally it attracts so many people."
Beside Poison Undying, Yan Shaozhe, Elder Song, and Elder Jing also stood there, with Elder Song speaking first.
"Speaking of which, your Body Sect doesn't engage in commerce, so how can you have so much money? Is it all thanks to the resources of the far north?" Elder Song looked at Poison Undying with considerable curiosity.
Poison Undying smiled, vaguely replying, "Yes and no."
"Then it seems it's not just the far north." Elder Song nodded knowingly, "It should also include the ocean, plundering..."
"At this age, what's the point of talking about money?" Poison Undying coughed, immediately changing the subject, then his tone deepened, "I have something I intend to tell you. It concerns a very important secret of my sect."
Hearing this, the three Shrek members' eyes flickered slightly.
Yan Shaozhe, though inwardly interested, said nonchalantly, "Since it involves your sect's secrets, it's probably best not to reveal them."
"Heh," Du Busi chuckled calmly, "This secret exists because of the Seed of Inheritance. If no one inherits the Seed of Inheritance, the secret is worthless."
These words piqued everyone's curiosity.
The Seed of Inheritance of the Body Sect had existed for many years, but it hadn't produced any impressive examples on the continent, seemingly more like a mascot or a legend.
Du Busi said solemnly, "I approached Huo Yuhao because I value his potential, hoping he could unlock the secret hidden behind the Seed of Inheritance. If this kid truly has the strength to unlock it, my Body Sect is willing to give away all our sect's secret techniques free of charge."
Almost instantly, the three Shrek Academy powerhouses' expressions changed drastically.
Give away all their secret techniques free of charge?
The Body Sect had been passed down for thousands of years, and the quality of its secret techniques was in no way inferior to Shrek Academy's.
Ignoring the drastic changes in everyone's gazes, Poison Undying continued, "To put it bluntly, Huo Yuhao is a key, responsible for opening the door to the secret. Once the door is open, we will provide the due rewards, but the secret within belongs solely to our Body Sect."
"What do you say? You decide for yourselves."
Elder Song and Elder Jing remained silent, but Yan Shaozhe seemed to have thought of something, though he said, "Let's wait until Yuhao actually opens this 'door' before deciding on the outcome."
"Indeed." Poison Undying remained noncommittal. "Everyone, it's time for us to enter the far north."
With that, gazing at the pale world where layers of icy winds surged, Poison Undying moved, transforming into a dark green light and plunging inside.
"Let's go too, let's see what's going on in this forbidden zone for humans." Elder Song said calmly.
The next moment, the three of them also transformed into streaks of light, chasing after Poison Undying. "
...
You said the Snow Empress is gone? What exactly do you mean?"
In the ice-crystal-covered valley, over forty hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts had gathered. A terrifying aura emanated from these beasts, large and small, causing the pervasive ice and snow to seem to stagnate, as if in fear of them.
The speaker was a Titan Snow Demon King, over 120 meters tall and resembling a small mountain. His dark blue eyes held an unspeakable astonishment.
His deep voice, carrying for over a thousand meters, instantly startled the dozens of hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts present.
Chaotic chatter began to echo in the valley, their soul power unconsciously dissipating.
The thick snow began to fall, and the ice crystals shattered, scattering across the ground.
Even knowing of the human invasion, the soul beasts remained calm. Why?
Because with the Snow Empress present, they were invincible. Even if a god descended, they would dare to fight.
It can be said that every soul beast that has reached the 100,000-year cultivation level owes the Snow Empress an immense debt of gratitude. It was she who issued the imperial decree in the far north, granting her protection and guidance to any soul beast attempting to break through to the 100,000-year level.
Breaking through to 100,000 years is not a guaranteed success for soul beasts; the failure rate is very high, and failure means annihilation. But with the Snow Empress's presence, the failure rate has remained zero.
This debt of gratitude is so heavy that all soul beasts are even willing to risk their lives to support the Snow Empress.
The soul beasts' reverence for the Snow Empress has never been entirely based on strength, because reverence based solely on strength is at most fear.
But now that they hear the Snow Empress is gone, how can they maintain their composure?
Looking at the expressions of his fellow soul beasts, the Ice Bear King, with his endearing, bear-like appearance resembling a giant polar bear, spoke, his tone grave: "The Snow Empress's time is running out. She chose to go into seclusion several years ago, and to this day, she has not emerged. Even I do not know her current condition."
"What?" Upon hearing the words "time is running out," all the soul beasts held their breath.
Boom.
Even the largest Titan, the Snow Demon King, couldn't help but feel his legs go weak, instinctively taking a step back, causing a tremor as if an earthquake had struck.
The Ice Bear King glanced at him, said nothing, and then looked at a bright green scorpion in the midst of the beast horde. "The Snow Empress is temporarily absent; the Ice Empress can temporarily lead us to face the enemy."
The beast horde, shocked, also turned their gaze to the 100,000-year-old Ice Green Scorpion.
Upon hearing this, Ice Jade Scorpion spoke helplessly, "Our clan leader is nowhere to be found. We can't sense her presence at all."
"What?" Ice Bear King was startled. "I heard Snow Empress say that Ice Empress is also nearing her end, and will undergo her fourth Heavenly Tribulation in at most one or two hundred years. Could it be that she has also gone into seclusion?"
Ice Jade Scorpion didn't know what to say. How could she know? Her clan leader's disappearance worried her more than anyone else.
First Snow Empress, then Ice Empress—the two most powerful beings in the far north were both absent, and the atmosphere in the Ice Valley suddenly became tense.
"Listen to me." Just as the atmosphere froze, Ice Bear King spoke, his attitude serious, instantly drawing the attention of all the soul beasts in the Ice Valley.
The Ice Bear King said in a deep voice, "With the Snow Empress and Ice Empress absent, we need to appoint a leader for our spirit beasts. My personal suggestion is the Titan Snow Demon King."
"Whoosh!" Upon hearing this, all the spirit beasts were stunned. In the far north, who didn't know that the Ice Bear King, Little White, and the Titan Snow Demon King were enemies?
They were always ready to fight. If it weren't for this incident, the Titan Snow Demon King would never have come to the Ice Bear King's territory.
Yet, the Ice Bear King was actually appointing the Titan Snow Demon King as their leader.
In the distance, the enormous Titan Snow Demon King was also dumbfounded. He looked down at the Ice Bear King, who was only about twenty meters tall, probably barely reaching his knees.
The Ice Bear King calmly explained, "In terms of cultivation, the Titan Snow Demon King is slightly higher than me. More importantly, the Titan Snow Demon clan's rule is stronger than my Ice Bear clan's. Perhaps there is a rift between us—no, that's not right—I've always disliked him, and that will never change. But whatever the rift, it cannot compare to the life-or-death crisis facing our homeland."
"I am willing to obey the Titan Snow Demon King's commands in the coming process until the crisis is resolved, or until the Snow Emperor and Ice Emperor return."
Silence echoed within the icy valley; even the raging snow and wind outside seemed to have ceased their howling.
After a brief silence, the soul beasts all turned to look at the Titan Snow Demon King. The awkward part was that they almost all had to crane their necks to look up.
"Titan Snow Demon King, can't you just sit cross-legged?" the Ice Bear King complained.
Hearing this, the Titan Snow Demon King scratched his head and immediately sat cross-legged, but even so, he was still quite tall.
"Well, if I put you in charge of the leadership, can you handle this task?" the Ice Bear King said in a deep voice.
Under the gaze of dozens of eyes, after a moment, the Titan Snow Demon King shook his head.
Seeing this, the Ice Bear King's eyes narrowed, and he was about to lash out when he heard the Titan Snow Demon King speak, "Our Titan Snow Demon clan is best suited to be the first to charge and engage the enemy. After all, we are almost entirely melee-focused spirit beasts. You, Ice Bear King, are different; you can gather ice power from a distance to inflict area-of-effect damage. Therefore, you are more suitable to be the leader than I am. I, the Titan Snow Demon King, am willing to obey your commands."
His deep voice echoed, and within the Ice Valley, the spirit beasts all widened their eyes to varying degrees. No one had expected the situation to turn out this way.
The Ice Bear King glanced at the Titan Snow Demon King with surprise, but noticed the other's resolute expression, and couldn't help but smile. "Very well, then I will be the leader. From this moment on, issue my order: all soul beast clans with ten thousand years of cultivation should immediately proceed to the second level of the protective aura bestowed upon us by the Ice God."
"Upon seeing any humans, first assess their cultivation level. Only attack after confirming you are ready to fight. If any humans you encounter are too powerful, do not leave the protective range of the aura. We will handle these humans. At the same time, all healing soul beasts must be delivered to my presence. If anyone is injured, treat them nearby."
"Yes, sir!" Dozens of hundred-thousand-year soul beasts responded in unison.
Before long, the hundred-thousand-year soul beasts dispersed and left the Ice Valley, but the Ice Bear King's orders quickly spread.
However, the news that the Snow Emperor and the Ice Emperor were not present did not spread, mainly to stabilize the emotions of the soul beasts.
"Those humans from the ocean have the means to break through the protective barrier, which means they were prepared before invading our far north. Tell me, if the last layer of the protective barrier also breaks, will our far north be destroyed?" Titan Snow Demon King didn't leave, looking down at Ice Bear King and asking.
"Whether we're destroyed or not, I don't know, but our homeland is behind us. We have nowhere to retreat. Besides, even if it really comes to that, I'll just perish with them. The chain reaction power caused by my self-destruction, after gathering the power of ice, is enough to be equivalent to a blow from a human Limit Douluo." Ice Bear King's tone was resolute.
"You're ruthless enough." Titan Snow Demon King didn't doubt the power of Ice Bear King's self-destruction. He was silent for a moment, then said, "You dare to self-destruct, I can't lose to you. If it really comes to that, we can fight together on the way, it'll be great."
"Tch." Ice Bear King scoffed, "Who wants to travel with you?"
Titan Snow Demon King chuckled loudly and fell silent.
The two ferocious beasts both looked up at the sky, their expressions turning solemn. The blue-gold light was what truly terrified them, for it was undoubtedly the power of a god.
The Ice God's enemy was the Sea God, a fact recorded in the bloodlines of every soul beast clan in the Far North.
At the same moment
, outside the Far North, a considerable number of people were pouring in, including some ordinary people. After all, it was the outer edge of the Far North; although it was cold, they could still withstand the cold with the help of clothing, so they dared to venture in.
People die for wealth, birds die for food; for a gamble, they were willing to risk everything.
Meanwhile, the human soul masters who had already entered the outer edge of the Far North, gazing at the snow-covered world, gradually became excited.
Some had indeed discovered rare ice-attribute spiritual herbs, and in considerable quantities—it felt like carrying sacks of money.
However, what they couldn't see was that within the second and deeper rings of light in the Far North, an extremely terrifying number of soul beasts were rushing towards the outer edge like an avalanche.
Their eyes were all filled with ferocity. Their
homes lay behind them; they had nowhere to retreat.
...
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School's quadrennial sect competition was about to begin, and more and more people were arriving.
At night, the entire sect was brightly lit and incredibly lively.
However, this exhausted the disciples responsible for guiding the audience and arranging the plaza seating.
In the inner sect, in a courtyard surrounded by flowers, Huo Yuhao stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the bright moon. Beside him was Zhang Lexuan.
A gentle evening breeze carried the fragrance of flowers, and the occasional rustling of leaves brought a sense of peace. They were all waiting for someone—waiting for Ning Tian to arrive.
"Yuhao, who exactly is that Sun Moon Empire Soul Master you know who can become invisible?" Zhang Lexuan couldn't suppress the excitement in her heart and finally asked the question.
Turning his head, Huo Yuhao gazed at Zhang Lexuan's beautiful face bathed in the bright moonlight. His eyes paused slightly before he spoke, word by word, "Shadow Douluo, Xue Chen."
Hearing this name, Zhang Lexuan's brows furrowed slightly; she had never heard of him.
Huo Yuhao explained, "This person is currently the personal bodyguard of the Sun Moon Crown Prince, Xu Tianran. His cultivation is estimated to be at level ninety-one, a Title Douluo."
"Someone close to the Crown Prince?" Zhang Lexuan's eyes flickered. If she really wanted to find out if this person was her mother's killer, it would be difficult. After all, a guard by the Crown Prince's side would never show himself casually.
"I'm back."
Suddenly, a soft female voice rang out. Huo Yuhao looked in the direction of the voice and saw Ning Tian jogging towards him.
Reaching the two, Ning Tian took a few breaths, his delicate face flushed slightly from running. "The outer courtyard list is complete. There are two people you need to keep an eye on, Yuhao."
"Have some hot water first. Running all this way isn't tiring, is it?" Huo Yuhao quickly handed him a cup of warm, fruity tea.
Ning Tian smiled serenely, took the cup, and took an elegant sip. After catching his breath, he said, "The Grand Elder's faction has called in someone from the Body Sect as reinforcements. His name is Long Aotian."
"Who?" Huo Yuhao asked instinctively.
Zhang Lexuan's beautiful eyes widened slightly, then a playful smile appeared on her face.
"Long Aotian," Ning Tian said, puzzled. "I heard he's very strong, and more importantly, his fiancée is an imperial princess. I just didn't expect the Grand Elder to call in someone from the Body Sect."
Huo Yuhao's expression turned strange. If he had to name his most formidable opponent among his peers, Long Aotian would definitely be in the top three.
It's a pity this guy died too early in the original story, otherwise, his future achievements would definitely be second only to the Poison Undying Sect's powerhouse.
Could he be coming for me?
Huo Yuhao suddenly became alert.
"Another formidable opponent is Yu Tianlong. He was brought in by the Second Elder's faction. The other elders' supporters are also around the Soul Emperor realm," Ning Tian explained softly.
"No Soul Saints?" Huo Yuhao asked curiously.
"No." Ning Tian shook his head. "Reaching Soul Saint before the age of twenty-five is definitely a top-tier genius on the continent. Such people are extremely rare; even within the academy, there probably aren't many."
"That's true." Huo Yuhao nodded in agreement.
"Now that the list is out, Yuhao, you should get some rest tonight," Zhang Lexuan said.
"Okay." Huo Yuhao nodded to the two women.
......................
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