On the side, Jingxiang listened to the conversation between Shui Wuhen and Articuno and finally let out a sigh of relief. As long as they were not people from Spirit Hall, that was good.
Although he did not know how strong the Soul Master in front of him truly was, in his eyes, he was certainly not comparable to the Soul Masters of Sea God Island.
If Shui Wuhen were from Spirit Hall, then if he were discovered, the situation would become extremely dangerous, and he would also fall into a dilemma.
Immediately, Jingxiang cupped his hands toward Shui Wuhen and said, "Sorry, my parents are both people of Sea God Island, so I cannot join Spirit Hall."
"I understand. Since you are unwilling to leave, I will give you this book on Soul Master cultivation basics. I will stay here for a period of time. If you have any physical issues, you can come find me."
Shui Wuhen nodded slightly, took out a thick book, and threw it to Jingxiang. Then he turned around and entered the cave together with Articuno.
Rumble——
The cave entrance slowly closed, making a dull echoing sound.
Jingxiang looked at the sealed cave entrance, bowed toward Shui Wuhen, and then left the place.
Today's encounter had given him what he desired most; he needed time to digest it.
Inside the cave, Shui Wuhen once again sat down at his original position. He glanced at the residual ice-attributed energy within the cave and said to Articuno, "Articuno, I'm going to cultivate next. Help me guard the place."
"Alright, leave it to me. This small matter is nothing."
Articuno patted its chest with its wing and assured Shui Wuhen.
Hearing this, Shui Wuhen no longer delayed. He took out more than ten bottles of Ice Spirit Pills from his storage soul tool, guided one with soul power, and swallowed it.
In an instant, a warm energy flowed through Shui Wuhen's entire body, continuously nourishing and strengthening his physique, dantian, and meridians.
After reaching the Soul Saint level, if one had no other opportunities, it was extremely difficult to improve even one rank. Even some geniuses with innate level seven soul power and high-tier or top-tier martial souls often needed one or two years to advance one rank at the Soul Saint stage.
Generally speaking, innate soul power represented a Soul Master's lower limit. For example, someone with innate level three soul power, as long as nothing unexpected happened and they cultivated step by step, would basically reach the Soul Elder level in their lifetime.
But beyond Soul Elder, it was no longer something that could be reached casually.
A person with innate level three soul power needed not only diligence and hard work to reach Soul Ancestor, but also some opportunities.
As for Soul King, small opportunities were not enough; major opportunities were required.
Beyond that, unless the martial soul changed and one's own talent was reshaped, it was almost impossible.
Similarly, for geniuses with innate level seven soul power, their corresponding stage was actually the Soul Saint level. As for breaking through to Title Douluo, it was not impossible, but the probability was extremely low.
Otherwise, among nearly a hundred advanced Soul Master academies in the Continental Elite Tournament, with hundreds or thousands of geniuses—though not all of them had innate level seven soul power, at least a large portion did—there would be several hundred Title Douluo every five years, which was naturally impossible.
Not to mention innate level seven soul power, even innate level nine soul power did not guarantee breaking through to Title Douluo; it only increased the chance significantly.
As one Ice Spirit Pill after another was consumed by Shui Wuhen, his level also began to rise at an extremely fast speed.
In just a few days, Shui Wuhen broke through another bottleneck and reached level seventy-eight.
As for the problem of unstable foundations due to medicinal pills, it did not exist for Shui Wuhen at all.
Not to mention that the Ice Spirit Pill itself was a fusion of the spiritual power and life energy of the Ten-Thousand-Year Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm and residual Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow energy, making it a comprehensive enhancement with mild properties and no risk of forcibly raising cultivation.
Moreover, the Ice God Heart within Shui Wuhen's body continuously tempered his soul power and spiritual power, ensuring his foundation not only remained stable but became even more solid.
One month later.
As the last Ice Spirit Pill in front of him was refined and absorbed by Shui Wuhen, he finally opened his eyes.
He exhaled a long breath of turbid air and sighed, "I didn't expect the bottleneck of level eighty to be so solid. With the help of Ice Spirit Pills, it actually took me a full week to break through."
In the past, Shui Wuhen's breakthroughs were smooth and effortless. This time, even with external assistance, it took so long to break through, which was beyond his expectations.
He even suspected whether his foundation was simply too solid, making breakthroughs more difficult. Otherwise, at this level of difficulty, how many people in the world could even reach Soul Douluo?
Although Soul Douluo were not particularly rare in the Douluo Continent.
However, when Shui Wuhen felt the vast soul power within his body, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
From level seventy-six to eighty, his soul power had increased by more than forty percent, and even his soul skill power had slightly improved. Now, when facing strong enemies, he had a few more means of survival.
Moreover, after breaking through level eighty, he could attach another soul ring. After completing that, his strength would experience another leap.
Shui Wuhen stood up and looked at Articuno beside him. "These days, thank you for your hard work."
"It's nothing. But for your eighth soul ring, how are you planning to arrange it?"
Articuno waved its wing casually, then asked seriously.
Shui Wuhen replied without hesitation, "When I go hunting whale-type soul beasts to obtain whale glue, I'll also look for any Ten-Thousand-Year soul beasts suitable for me."
In fact, with Shui Wuhen and Articuno's current strength, they were not without the ability to face the Ice Emperor. As a top-tier ice-attributed beast, the Ice Emperor was indeed a good choice for Shui Wuhen.
But he would not be going to the Extreme North in the short term. The risk was too great.
He had only been there for a short time and had already encountered two powerful beasts. Who knew if there were more?
Although his current strength was not weak, he could not handle being surrounded by multiple beast-level enemies.
"In that case, can I choose it personally? I want to use the soul ring slot to fix one of my skills."
Articuno replied.
A fixed skill?
Shui Wuhen paused and asked subconsciously, "What skill?"
"Mind's Eye! With your current spiritual power, you should be able to use it."
...
In a small wooden house by the sea, Jingxiang was reading the Soul Master cultivation basics Shui Wuhen had given him with great interest.
In truth, the knowledge recorded in the Soul Master cultivation basics was not particularly special. Many of these things had already been taught to him on Sea God Island. What truly held value were Shui Wuhen's personal notes—that was what Jingxiang truly cared about.
Shui Wuhen's notes were concise, yet always struck at the essence. After reading them, Jingxiang often felt as if a fog had been lifted, and his past confusion was instantly resolved.
At this moment, a figure appeared in front of him. Upon seeing the visitor, Jingxiang immediately stood up and respectfully bowed. "Benefactor!"
Shui Wuhen glanced at Jingxiang and said calmly, "Level ten already. Not bad. It seems you have been cultivating diligently. Since that's the case, I'll give you another fortune. Come with me!"
With that, Shui Wuhen turned and left the wooden house.
Jingxiang quickly followed. After being tempered by whale glue and Ice Spirit Pills, his physical condition was no longer that of an ordinary youth, so he quickly caught up to Shui Wuhen at the seaside.
At the shore, Shui Wuhen narrowed his eyes slightly. When he opened them again, an ice spear instantly condensed and shot toward a certain direction in the sea.
Moments later, when the ice spear returned, it had impaled a struggling fish about four to five meters long.
The fish was blue in color, somewhat resembling a sailfish, and emitted strands of cold air. It was clearly an ice-attributed soul beast.
"Ice Arrow Fish!"
Jingxiang immediately recognized it. This was a powerful soul beast in the ocean. The one in front of them, nearly five meters long, was likely at least seven hundred years old.
Shui Wuhen threw it in front of Jingxiang and said calmly, "Kill it. Absorb its soul ring."
"Yes!"
Although it differed from what he had learned before, Jingxiang chose to trust Shui Wuhen. If Shui Wuhen wanted to harm him, there was no need to go through such trouble.
"Ice Spirit Silver Needle, manifest!"
The next moment, Jingxiang summoned his martial soul—a silver-blue needle emitting cold air—and, under his control, pierced the weak point of the Ice Arrow Fish's head.
"Hiss—"
Instantly, the Ice Arrow Fish began struggling violently. Although soul beasts had strong bodies, their brains were still weak. It could not withstand the Ice Spirit Silver Needle wreaking havoc inside its head.
However, no matter how it struggled, it was firmly pinned to the ground by the ice spear condensed by Shui Wuhen.
Soon, the Ice Arrow Fish's life force was completely extinguished, and a deep yellow soul ring appeared above its body.
Jingxiang looked at the soul ring, swallowed hard, and then followed the method described in the book, guiding it into his martial soul and beginning absorption with closed eyes.
A few hours later.
Jingxiang opened his eyes again and shouted excitedly, "Hahaha, I succeeded! I've become a Soul Master!"
He had actually absorbed the soul ring of a seven-hundred-year Ice Arrow Fish. Even the Sea God Island's Sea God Pillar Douluo had never accomplished such a feat.
Soon after, Jingxiang suppressed his excitement and looked around—but Shui Wuhen was already gone.
Even when he rushed to the cave at the center of the island, it was already empty.
Only then did he realize he did not even know the name of his benefactor.
After a moment of silence, Jingxiang bowed deeply toward the cave.
Meanwhile, Shui Wuhen had already ridden Articuno toward the deep sea, searching for whale-type soul beasts.
"Wuhen, why are you so fixated on whale glue? With your current body strength, unless it's a Ten-Thousand-Year level or the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, it shouldn't be very useful to you."
Articuno asked curiously while flying.
On its back, Shui Wuhen used his spiritual power to scan the surrounding sea area and smiled. "This whale glue isn't for me—it's for Bing'er.
With her current physical condition, if she has enough whale glue, she might be able to attempt absorbing a Ten-Thousand-Year soul ring."
"You're planning to let her absorb a Ten-Thousand-Year soul beast for her seventh soul ring?"
Articuno was slightly stunned.
Shui Wuhen nodded, a hint of affection in his tone. "Yes. The seventh soul ring is different from the others. It is not so strict in terms of attribute compatibility, but it has extremely high requirements for age.
A Ten-Thousand-Year soul ring, even if not of ice attribute, is still stronger than a Ninety-Thousand-Year ice-type soul ring."
Even Shui Wuhen himself had not expected his strength to improve so quickly. Originally, he had considered a Ten-Thousand-Year soul ring for his seventh ring, but due to insufficient strength, he had suppressed the idea.
But now, his strength had already far surpassed Ten-Thousand-Year soul beasts. As long as Shui Bing'er's body could endure it, he could help her obtain a Ten-Thousand-Year soul ring.
"Tch…"
Hearing such extravagant words, Articuno felt a little helpless. This was clearly a serious sister-adoration syndrome.
But Shui Bing'er also seemed to be a serious brother-adoration type, so never mind.
At that moment, Shui Wuhen seemed to sense something. "Thirty miles ahead, there's a Ten-Thousand-Year Deep Sea Demonic Whale. Articuno, don't let it escape."
"Don't worry, it won't get away with me here!"
Articuno flapped its wings and instantly accelerated, turning into a streak of icy blue light toward the direction Shui Wuhen indicated.
On the sea surface, a Ten-Thousand-Year Deep Sea Demonic Whale was crazily devouring surrounding sea soul beasts. Suddenly, a beam of ice light descended from the sky and killed it instantly.
Immediately after, Articuno landed quickly, swung its wings casually, and a huge ice-blue arc of light appeared, directly cutting the Deep Sea Demonic Whale in half.
Shui Wuhen used his spiritual power to scan its body. After confirming there was no soul bone, he extracted the whale glue that had not yet fully solidified from its head.
"So this is Ten-Thousand-Year whale glue. It really is different from thousand-year whale glue."
Shui Wuhen looked at the still-warm whale glue in front of him, its special fragrance drifting out, and his eyes lit up.
The color of Ten-Thousand-Year whale glue was much deeper than the thousand-year version, taking on an amber hue.
Afterward, Shui Wuhen stored it in his soul tool and rode Articuno away quickly, continuing to search for the next target.
After they left, a group of marine carnivorous soul beasts followed the scent of blood and arrived. Upon seeing the carcass of the Deep Sea Demonic Whale, they immediately began feasting.
The Deep Sea Demonic Whale preyed on sea soul beasts; after its death, it also became a feast for others.
Thus, when a whale falls, all things are born.