Rumble——
The ice spears controlled by Articuno rained down like a violent storm, striking the Frost Imperial Swan's ice wall and gradually shattering it.
"Wuu~~~"
Seeing this, a hint of disdain flashed in Articuno's eyes.
That's it? She thought it was much stronger.
But thinking about it, it was only a 30,000-year-old spirit beast after all. Even if it was a variant species, how strong could it really be?
The next moment, Articuno opened its mouth and fired an Ice Beam toward the Frost Imperial Swan.
In an instant, the Ice Beam pierced through the defensive ice wall and directly hit the Frost Imperial Swan, which was trying to escape, leaving it on the verge of death.
Because Articuno's movement was too fast, only then did the surrounding Frost Swans react—one of their companions had been attacked.
They were filled with anger, but in this situation, their choice was to immediately flap their wings and flee at maximum speed.
Joke aside, the Frost Imperial Swan, as their leader, was one of the strongest spirit beasts in the entire Frozen Forest.
Even it had been instantly killed—what could ordinary Frost Swans possibly do?
Articuno gracefully landed on the icy lake. Then Shui Wuhen and Shui Bing'er jumped down from Articuno's back and arrived in front of the dying Frost Imperial Swan.
Shui Wuhen glanced at it, and after confirming it had no ability to resist, he said to Shui Bing'er: "Bing'er, that's enough."
Hearing this, Shui Bing'er did not hesitate at all and launched an attack on the Frost Imperial Swan, which was lying on the ground with its last breath remaining.
"Guu!!"
After being attacked, the Frost Imperial Swan let out a mournful cry before completely losing its life.
Countless faint black light points floated out from its corpse, eventually condensing into a black Spirit Ring.
Seeing the Spirit Ring appear, Shui Bing'er looked at Shui Wuhen: "Brother, I'm going to start absorbing the Spirit Ring."
"Go ahead. No one can disturb you with me here."
Shui Wuhen nodded.
Hearing this, Shui Bing'er took a deep breath, steadied her emotions, guided the Spirit Ring onto her body, and sat cross-legged to begin absorption.
After Shui Bing'er began absorbing the Spirit Ring, Shui Wuhen stepped forward and examined the Frost Imperial Swan's corpse.
A variant species like this was extremely rare in the world. There might even be a chance it could drop a Spirit Bone.
However, after circling it once, Shui Wuhen found nothing.
"Nothing, huh?"
He was not disappointed. After all, the drop rate of Spirit Bones was extremely low. Unless it was a 100,000-year spirit beast, even a 90,000-year one could not guarantee a drop.
Next, Shui Wuhen and Articuno took up guard duty, protecting Shui Bing'er during her absorption.
Half a day later.
"Still not done?"
Shui Wuhen looked at Shui Bing'er, whose face was filled with pain, and couldn't help feeling anxious.
Back when he absorbed his fifth Spirit Ring, it only took a few hours.
But now, Shui Bing'er had already been absorbing for over twelve hours—far beyond the normal duration.
"Bing'er, you must hold on. Since you chose this path, you must walk it through."
Time slowly passed, and only when the sun rose the next day did Shui Bing'er's painful expression finally relax.
Seeing this, Shui Wuhen finally let out a breath of relief. This meant the most dangerous phase had passed; the rest would proceed smoothly.
After a while, accompanied by a surge of intense spirit power fluctuations, Shui Bing'er slowly opened her eyes.
After opening her eyes, she first checked her condition, and soon her face lit up with overwhelming joy.
Because her spirit power had directly jumped from level 50 before absorbing the ring to level 55, instantly completing half the journey of a Soul King.
"Not bad. It seems that the Spirit Condensation Wisdom Head Bone and the 30,000-year Frost Imperial Swan did have quite an effect, directly pushing your level to 55."
Shui Wuhen nodded in approval.
Although it was hard to judge a spirit master's exact level, the spirit power fluctuation during Shui Bing'er's breakthrough had already revealed it.
Hearing Shui Wuhen's praise, Shui Bing'er's pretty face turned slightly red as she said shyly, "It's all thanks to brother. If it weren't for the Spirit Bone you gave me and helping me find and kill this Frost Imperial Swan, I would need at least two more years to reach this level."
The further a spirit master cultivates, the harder it becomes. After reaching Soul King, even gaining one level per year is considered genius.
Even for a top genius like Shui Bing'er, under normal cultivation without opportunities, she would only improve about two levels per year.
This was also why many major forces, once their geniuses reached Soul King, would send them into dangerous places for training—pure cultivation was simply too slow.
"Right."
Shui Wuhen suddenly said, "Bing'er, what is your fifth Spirit Skill?"
The Frost Imperial Swan was too rare, so he was naturally very curious about its Spirit Skill.
Hearing this, Shui Bing'er smiled slightly. "My fifth Spirit Skill is called Ice Sovereign. When activated, it doubles my spirit power and allows me to freely control all ice elements within a range."
As she spoke, Shui Bing'er activated her fifth Spirit Ring to demonstrate.
In an instant, the ice on the surrounding lake rose into the air, transforming under her control into ice spears, walls, spikes—constantly shifting forms.
In the end, she even condensed hundreds of spinning ice shards.
"With this skill, it will be much easier for me to use your self-created spirit skills in the future. It also enhances other spirit skills. I can say my strength has undergone a qualitative leap because of it."
Soon, Shui Bing'er retracted her martial spirit, placing her hands behind her back as she smiled at Shui Wuhen.
Shui Wuhen stroked his chin. "Indeed a very good Spirit Skill. Although it's not a pure offensive skill, its effect is not weak. It suits a control-type spirit master like you very well."
This Ice Sovereign is essentially a powerful buff for Shui Bing'er. Just the 100% spirit power increase alone is enough to match a Soul Emperor in spirit power.
The free control over ice elements also makes her methods far more versatile, no longer limited to a few Spirit Skills.
It can even enhance the power of other Spirit Skills. No matter how you look at it, it is a net gain.
What is even more valuable is that such a powerful Spirit Skill has no side effects or restrictions. Aside from slightly lacking offensive power, it is almost perfect.
But that is not a problem. After all, Shui Bing'er's role is a control-type spirit master. For her, this level of output is not low—in fact, it is somewhat overpowered.
Shui Bing'er nodded. "I think so too. But brother, my greatest gain this time is not this Spirit Skill."
"What do you mean?"
Just as Shui Wuhen was slightly stunned, a brilliant light suddenly erupted above Shui Bing'er's head.
Immediately after, an exquisitely crafted ice-blue crown, resembling the Frost Imperial Swan, appeared above her head.