Chapter 258: Martial Soul Evolution – Ultimate Ice
Holding Ling Luochen's hand, Ye Chen led her out of the dining hall and into his courtyard.
With a thought, he took out a palm-sized jade box from his storage soul device.
The moment the box opened, a bone-piercing chill exploded outward—a cold so pure it felt capable of freezing one's very soul.
Even the air seemed to solidify. Frost instantly crept over the grass, spreading from Ye Chen's feet like a thin, shimmering layer of ice.
"Hiss…"
Ling Luochen shivered and crossed her arms reflexively, breath catching in her throat.
Even as an ice-element soul master, her resistance to cold paled before this power. The chill was different—deeper, sharper, absolute. Her martial soul trembled within her, as if bowing before its sovereign.
Inside the box rested a small lump of translucent, crystal-blue gel, faintly glowing with deep azure light.
This was the "Ice Essence Gel" Ye Chen had told her about—the condensed core of a hundred-thousand-year-old Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.
Though Ye Chen had already consumed most of it, even this little piece held enough power to evolve Ling Luochen's martial soul into Ultimate Ice.
"So powerful… no wonder it transformed Xiao Tao's martial soul…"
Ling Luochen stared wide-eyed, utterly in awe.
Ye Chen's tone grew serious. "Luochen, this Ice Essence Gel is extremely potent. Far stronger than anything you've ever taken. It'll hurt—probably a lot—but if you endure it, you'll gain the power you seek."
Ling Luochen looked at the gel and nodded firmly, eyes burning with resolve. "I know! I can endure it! For Ultimate Ice, I'm willing to face anything!"
Her desire for power overwhelmed her fear of pain.
Those who entered Shrek Academy's inner court were geniuses among geniuses—and their thirst for strength far surpassed ordinary soul masters.
Beyond talent, their resolve was what carried them this far.
If she couldn't handle a little suffering, she'd have been eliminated long ago during Shrek's brutal training.
"Good."
Ye Chen smiled in approval. He had only wanted to warn her, just in case.
He trusted Ling Luochen's willpower completely.
In the inner court, there were no weaklings.
Though he disagreed with Shrek's strict training methods, he had to admit—anyone who survived them had unmatched perseverance and luck.
Ling Luochen was one of them.
Absorbing the gel would be no problem.
Ye Chen carefully wrapped the icy gel in his soul power to prevent it from harming her body. Then he extended his hand toward her lips. "Here. Take it slowly. Hold it in your mouth and guide the energy with your soul force."
Ling Luochen took a deep breath and, without hesitation, parted her lips to accept it.
The gel wasn't as hard as she'd imagined—it felt like a piece of frigid, frozen jelly.
Thanks to Ye Chen's spiritual protection, the icy energy didn't burst out all at once but seeped slowly into her body.
Even so, the force of it was terrifying.
"Mm—!"
A muffled cry escaped her throat as her body shuddered violently, as if struck by an unseen hammer.
In an instant, an incomparably pure icy power erupted inside her.
It surged through her like a storm of needles, spearing from her mouth through her throat, veins, and meridians—flooding every inch of her being.
The pain was excruciating—but fleeting. And even amid the cold, Ling Luochen realized she could endure it.
Gritting her teeth, she began channeling her ice-element soul power, refining the energy coursing within her. She knew Ye Chen was controlling the reaction, buying her precious time to absorb it fully.
As she did, her martial soul manifested behind her.
Her martial soul—pure ice itself—was a fist-sized, diamond-like crystal.
Now, under the gel's influence, it began to tremble, its sharp edges sprouting new spikes of glacial energy.
A terrifying aura swept across the courtyard.
Learning from Ma Xiaotao's experience, Ye Chen instantly erected a massive spiritual barrier overhead. Transparent but impenetrable, it sealed the courtyard like a reversed glass dome.
The evolving Ultimate Ice aura raged violently within, spinning into a blizzard of frost and wind—but not a whisper escaped.
The plants frozen in the courtyard sparkled with frost, yet retained their vitality, protected from destruction by Ye Chen's absorption of most of the stray cold.
Crack… crack…
A faint cracking sound echoed.
It wasn't her martial soul breaking—no, it was transforming. The once-clear ice crystal was etching itself with deeper, profound patterns of power.
Its form melted and reshaped, expanding rapidly.
The once baby-sized crystal grew visibly, gleaming brighter with each heartbeat.
Half an hour later, the final trace of gel dissolved completely.
Ling Luochen's martial soul had doubled in size, now nearly as large as her hand. Its surface was honed to razor sharpness, its color deepening from pale blue to a dazzling, dark sapphire sheen.
The energy radiating from it was overwhelming—an aura that could freeze the earth itself.
Ling Luochen's eyelids fluttered open.
Her bluish eyes now glimmered deeper and brighter than ever, reflecting light like carved ice.
Her presence had changed too—her elegance replaced by a commanding, cold majesty.
She gazed at her martial soul, feeling the overwhelming, absolute chill radiating within it—the power to freeze the world itself.
Joy, wild and consuming, surged through her chest, washing away every trace of pain.
"Ultimate Ice… my martial soul evolved to Ultimate Ice!"
Ling Luochen's thoughts screamed with ecstasy.
A dream she'd longed for had finally become reality—so overwhelming she trembled from the sheer thrill of it.
In this moment, all that pain was worth it.
Too easy, even.
If it had been a hundred times worse, she still would have endured.
"Congratulations, Sister Luochen~"
Ye Chen walked over with a broad smile, pulling her into a tight embrace before planting a firm kiss on her flushed cheek.
"I did it, Xiao Chen! Thank you!"
Tears of pure joy welled in Ling Luochen's eyes as she hugged him back tightly. Gratitude—and unmistakable affection—overflowed from her heart.
(END CHAPTER)
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