Chapter 100 The Valkyrie's Awakening
"The age is too low—it needs to be at least seventy thousand years," Ye Chen said as he shook his head.
Aside from being underaged, the beast below also belonged to the Ice Jade Scorpion lineage.
Ye Chen still intended to "convince" the Little Ice Empress someday, so using a ring from her own tribe would be in extremely bad taste.
"Seventy thousand? You're sure you can absorb that much?" Xian Lin'er asked in disbelief.
"Teacher, my fourth soul ring was already close to sixty thousand years," Ye Chen admitted.
Xian Lin'er: …
"What? Sixty thousand?!"
Her shock made her lose focus for a moment; the aircraft jolted violently as her soul power wavered.
She had always assumed his fourth ring was only around twenty thousand years old—a plausible improvement from his earlier levels. Thirty or forty thousand would've already impressed her.
But sixty thousand?
That was absurd.
"You never asked, Teacher…" Ye Chen said awkwardly, holding onto her waist to steady her.
She had never inquired about his soul rings, and he hadn't volunteered the information. He'd assumed she already knew—and mentioning it first would only sound like bragging, which he didn't enjoy.
"Hmph, you little brat."
Xian Lin'er gave a mock snort of annoyance, though her smile betrayed her delight.
"Hmph, acting mysterious just to surprise me, huh…" she thought, a warm flutter rising in her chest.
To her, it felt like Ye Chen had deliberately hidden this fact just to astonish her in the perfect moment—a trick that worked far too well.
Their thoughts ran entirely different ways…
Perhaps it was luck, but before long, they spotted a massive figure in the snow below.
"Oh? A Frost Crystal Mammoth—almost seventy thousand years old! Xiao Chen, what do you think of that one?" Xian Lin'er asked, eyes gleaming.
The Frost Crystal Mammoth was an ancient species, carrying faint dragon lineage in its blood, granting them enormous power. At this age, such a beast's strength rivaled that of ordinary ninety‑thousand‑year soul beasts.
"Frost Crystal Mammoth? Let me see."
Leaning over, Ye Chen peered downward. A massive elephant‑like creature trudged across the tundra.
It stood nearly eight meters high and stretched over eighteen meters long. Its limb bones were thick as palace pillars, its massive feet pressing half‑meter craters into the ice with each step.
Translucent blue‑gray keratin plates covered its body like natural armor, shimmering with frost patterns and crystal veins.
Along its spine rose jagged ridges of ice, a dozen or more up to three meters tall, exhaling cold mist with each breath.
Its thick tail ended in a crystal‑hammer formation, bristling with six‑sided ice spikes that left trails of frozen vapor whenever it swung.
Most striking of all was its head—two pairs of gleaming tusks. The main pair spiraled over five meters in length, carved like translucent ice drills, while the shorter secondary fangs were razor‑sharp for close combat.
"Yes, that's definitely a Frost Crystal Mammoth. Perfect," Ye Chen said firmly.
He had read about these beasts in Shrek's bestiaries—though the academy's illustrations only detailed ten‑thousand‑year variants. This one, nearing seventy thousand years, was clearly of royal blood among its kind.
"Alright then. Leave it to me, and remember to deliver the finishing blow when I'm done~"
Xian Lin'er smiled confidently. Finally—a chance to show off for her student.
She guided the aircraft down, landing a kilometer from the beast to avoid damaging it in the crossfire.
After disembarking, she activated her spirit.
An overwhelming aura erupted from her slim frame.
"Buzz—buzz—buzz—"
Nine soul rings flared in dazzling array.
A dragon's roar echoed through the icy heavens as a colossal cyan dragon circled once above before diving into her body.
The transformation began.
A moment later, Xian Lin'er stood clad in a jade‑green battle armor formed entirely from her martial soul, its surface patterned with interlocked dragon scales like woven emerald steel.
Curved pauldrons extended into sleek armor down her torso, accentuating her graceful yet powerful figure.
From her back unfolded translucent dragon wings rimmed in faint green light.
Her armored skirt, split into six curved plates, shimmered with the breeze, while her boots—engraved with swirling cloud motifs—flashed with draconic luster.
In her hands materialized a long spear carved with dragon totems, blazing with divine authority.
She looked utterly unstoppable—every inch the incarnation of a true Valkyrie.
"No kidding… she's way too cool," Ye Chen exclaimed, stunned.
"Rooaaar!"
The Frost Crystal Mammoth spotted her descending from the skies. Bellowing furiously, it charged forward.
Such high‑ranking soul beasts had their own domains and followers—rulers of their frozen realms.
Seeing intruders invade its kingdom, it responded with pure rage.
Though it sensed her strength, it wasn't a true ferocious beast; its intellect was still limited, instinct overshadowing reason.
"Azure Dragon True Form!"
Xian Lin'er unleashed her ultimate ability.
A second draconic roar split the air as a massive phantom dragon manifested behind her.
Her body merged completely with the dragon's form, scales gleaming under shards of reflected ice‑light.
The draconic claws slashed downward like blades, cleaving through snow and mist as she dove straight for the charging mammoth.
"Rooaar!!"
Sensing lethal danger, the mammoth trumpeted wildly, whipping up a frozen hurricane with its trunk. Jagged ice ridges burst from its spine, expanding into a dense shield of crystalline thorns.
Then it reared up on its colossal legs and stomped fiercely upon the ground.
Boom—!
The frozen tundra split apart as towering spears of ice erupted upward in a radial explosion.
Each pillar stretched tens of meters high, converging toward the descending Xian Lin'er like a field of glittering lances meant to impale her dragon form.
Any normal Soul Master would've evaded the attack—taking a safer, indirect approach.
But unfortunately for the mammoth, its opponent was Xian Lin'er.
She didn't dodge. Instead, the azure dragon plunged straight through the oncoming storm of ice.
"Boom‑boom‑boom!"
The world beneath them erupted in thunder.
Blinding flames of blue engulfed the battlefield, vaporizing everything within several kilometers.
The mammoth's ice shield shattered under the explosive impact, fragments scattering like glass dust in the wind.
None of it so much as grazed Xian Lin'er.
Though her martial soul was wind‑based, its draconic essence secondary carried fire too—green‑blue fusing into searing azure flame.
Even as a sub‑element, its heat was devastating. The ground below melted into a massive molten crater, ice sublimating instantly.
When the steam cleared, she hovered mid‑air untouched—not a crease on her armor.
The Frost Crystal Mammoth, however, lay crushed in the crater, its spikes obliterated, its protective carapace shattered.
A gaping wound split its back straight through to the abdomen. Its still‑beating heart pulsed faintly in the open air.
For all its formidable strength—comparable to a peak Soul Douluo—it had stood no chance.
Between a Soul Douluo and a Titled Douluo lay a world of difference—and Xian Lin'er had struck with full might.
Predictably, the battle ended almost instantly.
She had, however, left the beast clinging to life—just enough for Ye Chen to deliver the final blow.
"Xiao Chen, the last strike is yours," Xian Lin'er said calmly, glancing toward him.
(END CHAPTER)
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