After extracting the energy from the Ice Dragon's corpse, Shui Wuhen only rested briefly before summoning the Ice Dragon's Spirit Ring above his head and beginning the absorption.
With prior experience absorbing the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's Spirit Ring, although the soul shock from this two-hundred-thousand-year Ice Dragon was formidable, it was still easily suppressed by Shui Wuhen.
Half a day later, Shui Wuhen finally stepped into the realm of Soul Douluo.
Level 81… Level 82… Level 83…
His level rapidly increased until it finally stopped just short of Level 84.
This single two-hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring had actually raised Shui Wuhen's level by nearly four ranks. Under normal circumstances, reaching such a level would have required at least two to three years of arduous cultivation.
At the Soul Douluo stage, even raising one level requires an immense amount of time for ordinary soul masters. Even the leaders of the renowned Lower Four Sects were only at the late Soul Douluo stage.
As Shui Wuhen's level increased, he could clearly feel that the side effects of his Martial Soul True Body had lessened again.
Previously, after his Martial Soul True Body ended, his physical body had been quite weak. But now, that weakness had been greatly alleviated.
Based on his current estimation, it would take no more than two days for both him and Articuno to fully recover.
"You're awake?"
As Shui Wuhen's martial soul, Articuno naturally sensed the sudden increase in his soul power. Seeing him awaken, she lowered her head toward him.
Shui Wuhen smiled and patted Articuno's head. "Now, even if we face that Deep Sea Demon Whale King again, we should at least be able to survive."
Although the Deep Sea Demon Whale King was incredibly powerful, its massive body limited its speed. Combined with the fact that its home ground was the ocean, it was naturally at a disadvantage when facing the airborne Articuno.
Previously, due to their level, Articuno's speed had been insufficient. But now that they had both broken through to Soul Douluo, as long as they didn't fall into a trap, escaping shouldn't be difficult.
As for defeating the Deep Sea Demon Whale King head-on, Shui Wuhen felt they were still far from that level. Moreover, who knew what hidden trump cards the beast might have?
So before reaching Titled Douluo, Shui Wuhen had no intention of provoking it again. After all, revenge can wait.
"We can't defeat it, but escaping shouldn't be a problem. And as your level continues to rise, my control over those moves is becoming more and more refined," Articuno replied.
In her inherited memory, Articuno possessed a vast number of moves, but she had only chosen a portion to train.
After all, with hundreds of moves to practice, master, and comprehend, she simply didn't have that much time.
Not to mention that some of them weren't even of her own attribute, making them even harder to learn.
However, even without deliberately focusing on them, as her level increased, she naturally grasped many moves from a higher perspective.
The most typical example was Flamethrower. Despite being a Fire-type move that directly conflicted with her Ice attribute, she still managed to learn it.
"Articuno, let's go."
At his words, Articuno's body rapidly expanded. Originally, she could only carry one person, but after enlarging several times, she could easily carry ten.
Once the transformation was complete, Shui Wuhen climbed onto her back.
"Wuu~"
In the next instant, Articuno turned into a streak of icy light, launching into the sky and accelerating again midair, quickly disappearing from sight.
Since they had already obtained their final goal—the eighth Spirit Ring—there was no reason to remain here.
Even in a weakened state, Articuno still reached twice the speed of sound, comparable to top-tier fighter jets from his previous life.
Moreover, her endurance far surpassed those jets. Limited by fuel, such aircraft could only fly for dozens of minutes, whereas with Shui Wuhen's inner core, even flying for ten days and nights would have no effect.
As for combat power, it was even less comparable. Those jets' missiles couldn't harm Shui Wuhen and Articuno at all, while any casual attack from them could destroy or even explode an aircraft.
It could be said that if Shui Wuhen returned to Blue Star now, as long as he wasn't foolish enough to tank nuclear weapons or extremely heavy firepower, he would be virtually untouchable.
During the flight, Shui Wuhen took out the right arm Spirit Bone dropped by the two-hundred-thousand-year Ice Dragon.
"I wonder what kind of soul skills it contains."
Looking at the Spirit Bone emitting a deep blue glow, he murmured to himself.
A two-hundred-thousand-year Spirit Bone was top-tier even for him—far beyond the hundred-thousand-year Spirit Bone he had originally expected.
Moreover, his younger sister Shui Bing'er already possessed a thirty-thousand-year right arm bone. Even if he kept this one, she wouldn't be able to absorb it.
After examining it for a while, Shui Wuhen stored the Spirit Bone and began cultivating with the Ice Soul Pill.
Absorbing a Spirit Bone couldn't be interrupted, and since they hadn't yet left the sea region, it clearly wasn't a suitable place.
Because the return trip required no additional tasks, Articuno moved extremely fast. In just one day, they returned from the deep sea to the continent.
"Finally… back."
Looking at the magnificent coastal city before him, Shui Wuhen sighed. After drifting at sea for so long, he had finally returned to land.
He then said to Articuno, "Go back and rest first. I'll find a safe place to rest as well."
Whether in the Extreme North or on the ocean, his nerves had been constantly tense. Only now did he begin to relax.
"I understand. Be careful."
Articuno nodded slightly and turned into a stream of light, returning to his body.
However, her concern was unnecessary. With Shui Wuhen's current strength, there were very few people on the continent capable of harming him.
Even without Articuno, his own strength alone was beyond what ordinary Titled Douluo could contend with. Only Spirit Hall's enshrined elders or a few Super Douluo above Level 95—such as Tang Xiao or the Sword Douluo—might pose a threat.
Entering Vast Sea City, Shui Wuhen took a look around this famous city and then found the best hotel, booking a presidential suite.
"Ah~"
After bathing, he lay on the soft bed and let out a comfortable sigh. It had been a long time since he had rested like this.
After the Elite Tournament ended, he returned to Sky Snow Peak to cultivate, helped his sister hunt spirit beasts, found the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave, cultivated there, then entered the Extreme North Forbidden Land, encountered unexpected events, and drifted across the sea—over a year without pause.
Although the gains were immense, rising from Soul Emperor to Soul Douluo, the mental exhaustion was real.
Suddenly, Shui Wuhen thought of Shui Bing'er, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
"I wonder how that girl is doing now? She wouldn't think I'm dead and be crying, would she?"
He wasn't in a hurry to find her. He understood her personality—no matter how anxious she was, without sufficient strength, she wouldn't recklessly enter the Extreme North Forbidden Land.
As long as she didn't go there, with her Soul Emperor level plus her domain and Spirit Bone, it would be difficult for her to encounter danger.
After all, even Shui Yue'er, the dean of Tianshui Academy, was only Level 79. Shui Bing'er's strength had already surpassed most of the academy's teachers.
As his thoughts drifted, fatigue set in. Shui Wuhen closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The next day, when he woke up, it was already afternoon. He felt completely refreshed, and the side effects of his Martial Soul True Body had fully dissipated.
Upon waking, the first thing he did was take out the two-hundred-thousand-year Ice Dragon right arm bone and begin refining it.
He had already informed the staff yesterday that he needed absolute quiet, so no one would disturb him.
The staff didn't question it—after all, nobles were known for their quirks, and this request was nothing unusual.
After all, this was the most expensive hotel in the city. If it couldn't provide such service, it wouldn't stay in business.
Even if someone did come, it wouldn't matter. Articuno would guard him. Unless it was a soul master with a god-tier martial soul like Qian Renxue, anyone below Titled Douluo could be killed with ease.
The time required to absorb a Spirit Bone depended heavily on the soul master's strength. For an ordinary soul master, successfully absorbing this two-hundred-thousand-year Spirit Bone would take at least a week.
For Shui Wuhen, one day was enough.
As the sun set and rose again, the Spirit Bone was finally completely refined and fused into his right arm.
"Hu~"
Shui Wuhen opened his eyes and exhaled deeply.
As expected, this Spirit Bone contained two soul skills. Their power was decent—had he obtained them during his Soul Emperor stage, he would have been delighted.
But now, their usefulness was limited.
Compared to those two skills, he valued the physical enhancement gained during refinement far more.
Additionally, this Spirit Bone raised his level to Level 86.
After absorbing the Spirit Ring, he had already been close to Level 84. A day of cultivation at sea brought him to the threshold.
Thus, after refining the Spirit Bone, its immense energy easily broke through Level 84 and pushed him up three levels to Level 86.
"An unexpected bonus."
Shui Wuhen thought to himself.
The energy of this Spirit Bone exceeded his expectations. He had thought reaching Level 85 would already be the limit, given how difficult his cultivation was compared to others.
But faster improvement was always good.
Although leveling up wasn't difficult for him due to his large supply of pills—using Ice Soul Pills, he could reach the peak of Soul Douluo within a year or so—it would consume a massive amount of resources.
Now that the Spirit Bone covered that portion, he could save those pills for Shui Bing'er.
Thinking of this, Shui Wuhen sighed, "This world really makes leveling too easy…"
In his previous life's novels, even small breakthroughs were extremely difficult. But here, steady cultivation alone was enough—and with treasures like Spirit Bones and Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, one could advance at incredible speed.
For someone like him to cross two major realms and twenty minor levels in just a year was almost unimaginable in other fantasy worlds.
He then stood up and walked out of the room.
"Honored guest, you're out. How was your stay?"
In the hotel lobby, a staff member greeted him with a smile.
Shui Wuhen nodded. "Not bad. Here's the payment for the past few days."
He tossed out a bag of Gold Soul Coins from his storage soul tool, then instantly vanished.
At the moment he disappeared, the staff member's pupils shrank. "A soul master—and at least a Soul Sage or above."
Regret immediately filled his heart. He had missed the chance to build a relationship with such an important figure.
Shui Wuhen, however, didn't care.
Outside Vast Sea City, in the sky—
"Come out, Articuno!"
With a thought, he summoned her again. Her body expanded rapidly into a rideable form.
The next moment, Shui Wuhen stepped onto her back. With a powerful flap of her wings, she broke the sound barrier, turning into a streak of icy blue light and vanishing into the sky.
His destination—
Tianshui City.
After more than half a year apart, it was finally time to see his adorable younger sister again.
With Articuno's speed, it took only about a day to cross most of the continent and arrive at the location of Tianshui Academy.