The Skydream Iceworm was trying hard to adapt to his new body.
A few minutes later—
"Brother Hao, I tried my best!" said the Skydream Iceworm.
Huo Yuhao already had black lines on his face (i.e., was speechless).
The Skydream Iceworm had indeed stopped crawling like a silkworm, but now he had somehow succeeded in walking on two legs like a human.
What was supposed to be an evolution turned out to be... turning into a spirit monster!
"Brother Skydream, your current form looks just like the centipede demon from Calabash Brothers," Huo Yuhao couldn't help but comment.
"Hehe, I'm not that amazing~" The Skydream Iceworm chuckled awkwardly, trying to get by with cuteness.
Huo Yuhao: "..."
In the end, Huo Yuhao sighed helplessly. There was no rush to master the centipede crawl—he'd just need time to get used to it.
"Anyway, the martial soul has now awakened successfully. It's time to leave the Extreme North. I should also go find a spirit ring. I did tell Beibei that I'd already absorbed my first spirit ring…"
Huo Yuhao spoke while deep in thought. With his current abilities, and the help of the Skydream Iceworm, hunting a 700-800 year-old ice-type soul beast should be no problem.
Now that the Mutated Frost Centipede had become Huo Yuhao's martial soul, and through spiritual resonance, he had gained a deeper understanding of it.
The current Mutated Frost Centipede possessed both ice and poison attributes, as well as dragon bloodline. Naturally, its cultivation direction should be strengthening the ice and poison attributes. The spirit rings he absorbed should also come from ice or poison attribute soul beasts.
Ideally, from the centipede species.
As for the dragon bloodline, that could wait. With his ability to devour bloodlines, there was no need to use all his limited spirit ring slots to enhance the bloodline.
He could just eat, eat, eat later.
As for the wings and mental abilities that the corpse of the large Mutated Frost Centipede had possessed, Huo Yuhao's current martial soul hadn't displayed those yet.
Huo Yuhao suspected that those abilities would only awaken as the martial soul continued to grow.
"But a 700-800 year-old spirit ring is only the limit of my ability, not the limit of my body. Choosing such a ring would waste my potential. But if I pick a higher-level ring, it'll be hard to explain to Shrek Academy."
"I don't want to shortchange myself—so someone else will have to be shortchanged."
As he said that, Huo Yuhao looked in Beibei's direction and pulled out the White Tiger Dagger.
If he couldn't explain it, then he wouldn't. He'd just send Beibei to meet Buddha, then devour his bloodline—nothing would go to waste.
Shrek wouldn't suspect anything. They'd probably just assume that both Huo Yuhao and Beibei were killed by the Titan Snow Demon King.
Let Xuan Zi take the blame.
But just in case, Huo Yuhao figured it was best to leave the Douluo Continent for now and sneak into the Sun Moon Continent. The Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Sect were both decent options for him.
Even if their luck wasn't as strong.
The secret cultivation techniques and soul tools on Douluo weren't essential to Huo Yuhao—what he needed most was luck.
Just as Huo Yuhao was brainstorming possible escape routes, the Skydream Iceworm suddenly spoke.
"Brother Hao, no need to rush. Let me show you something first!"
"Huh?"
Huo Yuhao looked up, confused. He looked toward the Mutated Frost Centipede martial soul.
The Skydream Iceworm excitedly coiled the martial soul's body, drawing on Huo Yuhao's soul power, and began gathering it.
Soon, a phantom of a spirit ring slowly appeared above the Mutated Frost Centipede's body.
"Condensing a spirit ring?!" Huo Yuhao's eyes widened in shock.
He hadn't expected the Skydream Iceworm to go this hard right from the start.
The spirit ring quickly formed, its color shifting from transparent to white, then yellow, and finally stopping at purple.
With the Skydream Iceworm awakened, the Mutated Frost Centipede martial soul sprang into action. Facing a nearby wall, the first spirit ring began to glow.
"First Soul Skill: Frost Centipede Poison!"
The martial soul opened its mouth and spat out a large cloud of icy mist. The mist contained countless glittering ice particles, sparkling like a sea of stars.
Breathtakingly beautiful.
But behind the beauty lay deadly intent.
The mist spread rapidly, instantly hitting the ice wall, which began to sizzle.
Before their eyes, a large section of the wall corroded.
The Skydream Iceworm stood proudly with his eight legs crossed like arms. "Brother Hao, pretty cool, huh?"
Huo Yuhao looked at the martial soul—standing on two legs, with eight legs crossed like hands.
He didn't say anything—because he suddenly had a question.
"Brother Skydream, does the Mutated Frost Centipede martial soul have a gender?"
"Huh?" The Skydream Iceworm was stunned and instinctively looked at the martial soul's abdomen.
Huo Yuhao looked too.
Having accessed the memories of Pudu Cihang, both Huo Yuhao and the Skydream Iceworm knew how to determine a centipede's gender.
Male centipedes had genital appendages or chitinized "parts", while female ones did not.
By logic, Huo Yuhao was male, and the Skydream Iceworm was also male—so the martial soul should've been male.
However, this martial soul wasn't awakened normally. It had absorbed the bloodline of a dead Mutated Frost Centipede. That centipede could reproduce, so it was probably female, which could influence the martial soul's gender.
Before checking, the martial soul's gender was like Schrödinger's cat.
Huo Yuhao and the Skydream Iceworm curiously looked—
And saw a smooth patch.
"AH?!" ×2
It wasn't male.
Nor was it female.
It was nothing!
"I'm a eunuch!" the Skydream Iceworm blurted out.
"Even eunuchs once had something," Huo Yuhao added coldly.
The Skydream Iceworm collapsed in despair.
Huo Yuhao rubbed his forehead, exasperated. "Why are you taking it so seriously? It's just the martial soul's body. Don't tell me you actually wanted to use it for something?"
"…Oh, right~" The Skydream Iceworm slowly recovered.
"Anyway, let's talk about the spirit ring you just created." Huo Yuhao steered the conversation back on track.
The Mutated Frost Centipede martial soul stood up, and the Skydream Iceworm proudly explained again.
"This first spirit ring was created by mimicking a demonic cultivation method—the way monsters awaken innate divine abilities. This is a life-bound spirit ring!"
In demonic cultivation, monsters who reach a certain bloodline level can awaken innate divine abilities—usually more mysterious and instinctive than cultivated skills.
Some high-bloodline monsters awaken these abilities from birth. Weaker ones need to improve their bloodline first.
Pudu Cihang had such an ability, called "Clone," which allowed him to grow duplicates from centipede legs, each with combat strength.
Although the Skydream Iceworm never succeeded in cultivating the demonic path, he had studied it thoroughly.
So when he obtained the Mutated Frost Centipede body, the first thing he did was try this method.
Awakening innate divine ability was the dream of every serious monster cultivator.
Naturally, the Skydream Iceworm's first attempt was this—because the centipede's bloodline was no joke.
But under the Douluo Continent's cultivation system, instead of awakening an innate divine ability, the Skydream Iceworm condensed a life-bound spirit ring!
"A two-thousand-year life-bound spirit ring: Ice and Poison Dual-Attribute Skill — Frost Centipede Poison!"
"The released mist contains cold poison, capable of damaging biological cells, corroding matter and soul power, can't be dispersed by soul power, and can't be detoxified by any soul skill of lower age than the ring."
"The spirit ring's age and soul skill power will grow along with your strength, Brother Hao. And the ring is completely under my control."
He then showed what full control meant.
Under the Skydream Iceworm's manipulation, the first ring freely shifted between white, yellow, and purple.
The Skydream Iceworm knew Huo Yuhao needed to hide the ring's age—especially one that would grow with him.
That ability to disguise ring age was a key trait of a life-bound ring.
But he still wasn't fully satisfied. "It's a pity—I can change the ring's age freely, but the skill's power drops accordingly. And I can only condense one life-bound ring. I'll still need to absorb rings the normal way later."
"This is already more than enough," Huo Yuhao said, clearly satisfied.
He looked at the still-sleeping Beibei and smiled slightly.
"Beibei, congratulations—you just got a life back."
If he could be full every day, Huo Yuhao wouldn't need to kill the chicken to get the egg.
Sleeping Beibei shivered, face twisting in pain—seemingly caught in a nightmare.
Beibei was jolted awake — by something hard and furry pressing into his face.
Groggily opening his eyes, the first thing Beibei saw was... the back of a wolf's head!
"Ah!" Beibei shouted in surprise, his body reacting instinctively. He leapt backward, landing in the snow behind.
As he hit the ground, Beibei had already activated his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul, his body swelling in size, arcs of electricity dancing across his skin. Three soul rings — two yellow and one purple — pulsed around him, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
It was only then that Beibei noticed — he'd just been carried on the back of a white wolf.
No — it wasn't a white wolf.
It was a figure draped in a white wolf pelt!
Beibei looked down — he was also wearing a similar white-furred coat.
The figure turned his head, lifting the hood of his wolfskin cloak to reveal a face that was cold and aloof in expression but exquisitely handsome and pale. It was a young man with ice-blue hair and eyes, snowflake patterns glimmering faintly in his irises.
But... he looked kind of dim-witted.
When the young man saw that Beibei had awakened, he called out excitedly, "Beibei-ge! You're finally awake!"
That goofy grin instantly shattered the previous cold and aloof impression.
"Uh..."
The stranger calling him "big brother" left Beibei unsure how to respond. He asked cautiously, "Who are you? What do you want? How did I get here?"
"Beibei-ge, it's me — Huo Yuhao!" the youth answered, looking wronged.
"Huo Yuhao?!" Beibei's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
No way! Don't lie to me! That's impossible!
The boy in front of him couldn't possibly be little Huo!
Little Huo was a scrawny, plain-looking kid — the only notable thing about him was his sharp, spirited eyes.
"Beibei-ge, it's really me! My Martial Soul has fully awakened — that's why I look like this now." Huo Yuhao scratched his head, distressed.
"Really?" Beibei asked skeptically.
"Really!" Huo Yuhao nodded vigorously.
Eventually, it was only after recounting their shared experiences that Beibei reluctantly accepted that this striking, charismatic young man was indeed his little Huo.
Besides, it wasn't unheard of for a person's appearance to change after awakening their Martial Soul.
Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Beibei deactivated his Martial Soul — but the next second, his expression changed dramatically as a wave of weakness crashed over him.
Thud! Beibei collapsed face-first into the snow, leaving a human-shaped imprint. He just barely managed to turn his head in time to avoid getting his nose and mouth stuffed with snow.
"Beibei-ge!" Huo Yuhao cried in alarm, rushing over to help him up. "Are you okay?"
Grrrrrrrrgle—
A loud sound came from Beibei's stomach. He blushed in embarrassment and muttered weakly, "S-So hungry…"
There went the dignified, heroic big brother image…
It had been nearly three days since they were released into the wild by Elder Xuan.
Huo Yuhao had been diligently eating his rations every day.
Beibei, on the other hand, had been starving the entire time. Given that he was already in a weakened state, the only reason he'd managed to wake up at all today was due to his naturally solid constitution.
Well… that, and the fact that Huo Yuhao hadn't dosed him with another "sleep extension package" this morning.
Hearing Beibei's complaint, Huo Yuhao quickly reached into his wolfskin coat and pulled out… a piece of roasted wolf meat, still warm with his body heat.
Beibei: Huo-didi's flavor… a little salty.
Huo Yuhao led Beibei to a snowbank sheltered from the wind. Beibei began eating — even reactivating his Martial Soul just to be able to chew the tough meat.
It tasted terrible.
But for someone who was starving, Beibei didn't care. Even if it were raw, he'd still eat it.
As he gnawed on the meat, Beibei couldn't help but study Huo Yuhao.
Sensing his gaze, Huo Yuhao grinned sheepishly — the very picture of innocence and obedience.
At least, on the surface.
With his immense spiritual power and the thousand-year experience of Pudu Cihang, Huo Yuhao had become skilled at pretending.
Beibei's scrutiny came from his disbelief at Huo Yuhao's dramatic transformation.
He didn't look completely different, but it was almost like he was a whole new person.
In the end, Beibei sighed inwardly.
"I've lost…"
At Shrek Academy's outer courtyard, Beibei had always thought he was peerless. No one more handsome than him had better talent, and no one with more talent was better looking.
If he weren't devoted to one particular girl, the line of girls chasing him would stretch from the academy gate all the way to Shrek City.
But now, faced with Huo Yuhao, Beibei felt inferior for the first time. And though Huo Yuhao's level wasn't high, his Martial Soul was the Ultimate Ice — a supreme elemental soul.
Against an ultimate element, even top-tier Martial Souls paled in comparison.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon couldn't compare, nor could the Light Holy Dragon.
Suddenly, Beibei froze and asked urgently, "Huo-didi, did you say your Martial Soul fully awakened?"
Huo Yuhao nodded and didn't hide anything. He mentally kicked the Skydream Iceworm back into his soul mark and summoned his mutated Frost Centipede Martial Soul.
There was no need to worry about others seeing the Skydream Iceworm — only Huo Yuhao could see it.
"Frost Centipede, summon!" Huo Yuhao called out.
A three-meter-long variant Frost Centipede appeared before them.
To others, Huo Yuhao would describe his Martial Soul as just "Frost Centipede," with "variant" merely being a prefix.
The chilling aura of Ultimate Ice exploded outward, causing Beibei to shiver.
But Beibei's attention was drawn to something else entirely — the form of the Frost Centipede. He forgot all about his meat and cried out in surprise:
"An external Martial Soul?!"
Wasn't this the same type as their ancestor Yu Xiaogang from ten thousand years ago?!
In the last ten thousand years, starting from Yu Xiaogang, Shrek Academy had documented a few cases of external Martial Souls — but they were extremely rare, and often seen as degenerative mutations.
Beibei couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"But… since it's an Ultimate Martial Soul, maybe… it's fine?" he thought. But he didn't dare say it aloud for fear of discouraging Huo Yuhao.
"Beibei-ge, is there something wrong?" Huo Yuhao asked, confused by Beibei's reaction.
"N-No, no problem at all. It's a type of beast Martial Soul — just very rare. And I've never heard of an ice-element centipede-type Martial Soul before. You said it's called the Frost Centipede?"
"That's right." Huo Yuhao nodded cheerfully. "You're amazing, Beibei-ge! You know so much! I was worried my Martial Soul was too different from typical beast types, but now I know it's just rare!"
Beibei looked at Huo Yuhao's innocent expression and suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
Then, he carefully examined the Frost Centipede Martial Soul again, trying to spot anything unusual.
Soon, his expression grew odd.
"Huo-didi… why is your Frost Centipede… walking on two legs?"
"Huh? Frost Centipedes can't walk on two legs?" Huo Yuhao asked, puzzled.
"Well, not that they can't…"
Beibei hesitated, then stopped, then hesitated again.
One look — weird.
Another look — still weird.
Fortunately, he quickly moved on.
"So, Huo-didi, how did you awaken your Martial Soul? And where's Elder Xuan? I remember… we were fighting the Titan Snow Demon King, weren't we?"
Facing Beibei's questions, Huo Yuhao was already prepared. He put on a heavy expression.
It was time to tell the story he made up.
A long, long time ago...
Okay, fine—Huo Yuhao's story began just one day ago.
Huo Yuhao claimed that he had only been awake for a little over ten hours.
Then he discovered that he and Bei Bei were lying naked in the snow.
Well, that explained why they were now dressed in wolf-skin coats and why Bei Bei's storage soul tool was gone.
Their clothes and soul tools might have been destroyed in the Titan Snow Demon King's attack—or maybe some passing humans had stripped them.
Who knew?
Go ahead and search if you don't believe him!
Anyway, Huo Yuhao could guarantee one thing: Bei Bei wouldn't find the storage soul tool on him.
In any case, surviving the Titan Snow Demon King's attack was already quite the miracle.
But what shocked Huo Yuhao the most was not only that they hadn't frozen to death—but that he had completely awakened his martial soul!
Using the power of the Ice Jade Centipede , Huo Yuhao killed two decade-old Snow Wolves, made two wolf-skin coats, and restored his strength by eating their meat.
Finally, carrying Bei Bei on his back, Huo Yuhao withdrew from the extreme north until Bei Bei regained consciousness.
…
The story ended.
Bei Bei fell into deep thought.
He didn't suspect Huo Yuhao of stealing his clothes or soul tool. In his heart, little brother Huo was a good person.
Bei Bei suspected that someone had passed by, stripped them of their gear, and left them to die.
Otherwise, how could the Titan Snow Demon King's attack only destroy clothes and soul tools without injuring them?
What kind of perverted attack targets only gear?
Just thinking about someone stealing his storage soul tool ignited a flicker of anger and a faint killing intent in Bei Bei's heart.
But what angered him wasn't the loss of the tool itself or the gold soul coins and supplies within—those things were replaceable.
The real reason was that the tool had contained precious herbs and a special crystal!
That light-attributed crystal was important to Bei Bei—it represented the hope of awakening his bloodline power. Elder Xuan had entrusted it to him personally.
And now it was all gone.
"Such despicable behavior! Whoever took my storage soul tool will pay the price! They've chosen the path to death!" Bei Bei cursed inwardly, his expressions shifting again and again before he eventually suppressed his fury.
What use was rage here anyway?
Better to return to Shrek Academy and have someone investigate the matter.
His storage soul tool wasn't some generic model—it bore the mark of the Radiant Holy Dragon. Unless it was destroyed, there was still hope of recovering it.
Huo Yuhao found Bei Bei's shifting expressions rather amusing.
After Bei Bei composed himself, he looked at Huo Yuhao and smiled warmly. "Little brother Huo, I believe our survival is thanks to the awakening of your martial soul. I noticed that despite being in the extreme north, we didn't really feel the cold. That can't just be the work of these crude wolf-skin coats, right?"
Though phrased as a question, Bei Bei had already drawn his conclusion.
Huo Yuhao didn't hide anything and nodded. "Worthy of being big brother Bei Bei! Yes, we survived thanks to my Ice Jade Centipede martial soul."
Bei Bei's eyes lit up. "Could it be… a domain?"
"Not quite." Huo Yuhao smiled modestly. "The Ice Jade Centipede hasn't awakened a domain yet, but it can influence the temperature within a certain range, which significantly slows the loss of our body heat."
Temperature manipulation—a minor trick from the power of Ultimate Ice. It simply required precise control.
Because of this, the degree of temperature manipulation was quite limited.
Also, it was primarily oriented toward lowering temperature. Raising it required more effort. So merely reducing heat loss was the most energy-efficient operation.
"I see."
Bei Bei nodded slightly, realizing he had overthought it.
Still, it didn't change how grateful he felt toward Huo Yuhao.
"Little brother Huo, you saved my life. I will never forget this kindness!" Bei Bei said sincerely.
"Haha, you're being too kind, big brother Bei Bei. I only had this opportunity to come to the extreme north thanks to your help," Huo Yuhao quickly replied.
Seeing Huo Yuhao's humble demeanor, Bei Bei felt that this was someone he could entrust his back to—a true lifelong friend.
At that moment, Huo Yuhao's gaze drifted upward—toward the top of Bei Bei's head.
Because Huo Yuhao had tricked Bei Bei and gained his trust as a close friend, their destinies were beginning to intertwine.
And Huo Yuhao, of course, took a big bite of Bei Bei's fate energy.
So fragrant~
Huo Yuhao's smile brightened even more as he handed Bei Bei another piece of roasted wolf meat. "Big brother Bei Bei, have another bite. Let's leave the extreme north as soon as we can."
"Alright!" Bei Bei nodded.
While eating, Bei Bei continued thinking about Huo Yuhao's martial soul awakening.
According to Huo Yuhao, he had simply awakened with no idea what triggered it.
"Could it be that the threat of death triggered the awakening?" Bei Bei speculated.
It was a highly likely guess!
There were similar cases among soul masters.
According to research in the soul master world, extreme emotions or situations could cause a martial soul to mutate or awaken.
For instance, extreme hatred could corrupt a martial soul into an evil one. Soul masters like Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, with special bloodlines, could temporarily awaken hidden powers when pushed to rage.
And martial soul awakenings or mutations near death weren't unheard of either.
The most classic example was Ghost Douluo from the Spirit Hall ten thousand years ago.
Reportedly, Ghost Douluo had an unusual martial soul. As a child, he had died once, but due to a stroke of fortune, his soul reattached to his body, triggering a unique martial soul awakening. In a way, his very soul became his martial soul, and he himself was like a living dead.
Bei Bei wasn't a scholar, but he knew enough.
After all, he was a good student—he paid attention in class.
Shrek Academy taught all kinds of theoretical knowledge to expand its students' horizons.
After all, you can't afford to lose in a soul duel just because you don't understand your opponent's martial soul. That would embarrass Shrek Academy.
Though the academy didn't focus heavily on academics…
Bei Bei had learned about Ghost Douluo because the academy emphasized the history where the Sea God and Shrek Academy defeated the evil Spirit Hall.
That was Shrek Academy's proudest legacy—of course it had to be emphasized and passed down for generations.
And you couldn't glorify the Sea God without properly introducing the enemies he defeated.
"That's it! Little brother Huo was in a near-death state in the freezing cold, which pushed him to awaken his martial soul!" Bei Bei confirmed his theory.
"Near death and extreme cold—both were essential!"
At that moment, Bei Bei seemed possessed by his ancestors, gaining the power of pure imagination and fabrication. A wise light flashed in his eyes.
All of Huo Yuhao's carefully thought-out excuses were now useless.
Still, when Bei Bei looked at the mutant Ice Jade Centipede circling nearby, he couldn't help but add, "But it seems to have mutated… Let's hope that's not a bad thing."
While chewing on roasted wolf meat, Bei Bei suddenly felt something was off. He glanced at the meat, then at Huo Yuhao in confusion. "Little brother Huo, didn't we lose all our stuff? How did you cook this meat without fire?"
Neither of them was a fire-type soul master!
Huo Yuhao was ready for this. He smiled proudly. "Big brother Bei Bei, just watch."
As he spoke, Huo Yuhao clapped his hands together, and cold air gathered between them. When he separated them, a convex lens made of ice appeared in his palms.
"This is an ancient fire-starting method passed down in my family."
While speaking, he pulled a piece of dry bark from his coat, held the ice lens up to the sun, adjusted its angle, and focused the light on the bark.
Soon, the bark began to smoke—and caught fire.
Lens-based fire starting: success!
"Amazing!" Bei Bei exclaimed in admiration.
He asked no more questions.
Next chapter: Return to Shrek
The Core of the Extreme North
The Ice and Snow Mountain Range
The frigid snowstorm blanketed the entire mountain range, forming a barrier that isolated it from the outside world.
While this region was always plagued by harsh weather, today's storm was particularly bitter and deadly.
Some soul beasts that had been barely surviving were frozen to death in the storm.
Others, unable to bear the cold, tried to escape the mountains—only to find that the further they got, the colder it became. Lacking the strength to return, they perished in despair at the edge of the range.
Those that stayed within the mountains could barely survive.
Because outside the range, a barrier of ice and snow had been cast!
This was jointly created by two of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North—Snow Empress and Ice Empress.
The barrier, infused with the ultimate ice powers of both empresses, could not be broken even by a 200,000-year soul beast—unless permitted by the empresses.
At this moment, Snow Empress and Ice Empress stood atop the highest peak, overlooking the entire range.
Their view was filled with Ice Jade Centipede s and Ice Bears, scattered across the mountains, all searching for something.
In such extreme cold, only soul beasts with innate extreme ice attributes—like the Ice Jade Centipede s—and the extremely cold-resistant Ice Bears could move freely.
They were searching for the thief who had stolen a treasured item from the Snow Empress!
Even a 200,000-year Ice Bear King was among the searchers.
That bear king was none other than Snow Empress's adopted son, Little White, who was searching the hardest—digging through icebergs in his quest for clues.
The soul beasts that lived in the range, even the 100,000-year ones, were afraid to protest and could only hide at home.
Snow Empress and Ice Empress, of course, cared little for their opinions.
Ice Empress swung her powerful pincers, Centipede tail raised, eyes cold and sharp with murderous intent.
"That damn thief! To dare steal Snowy's treasure—once I catch him, I'll freeze him into ice shards!"
After venting, Ice Empress hesitated, then voiced her suspicion:
"Snowy, do you think it might have been a human who stole your treasure?"
She followed with her reasoning:
"Think about it. First, a human expert triggered chaos in the Extreme North and fought Ah Tai. Then right after that, your treasure disappeared. That's too much of a coincidence, isn't it?"
"Could this have been part of a human plot? Maybe a human stronghold even infiltrated the core area?"
Snow Empress pondered for a moment before answering:
"It's possible—but unlikely."
As she spoke, an image of Huo Yuhao surfaced in her mind.
After all, he was the human they'd recently encountered—possessing space abilities, and even managing to escape from right under their noses.
But she quickly dismissed Huo Yuhao as a suspect.
Even if he had the Skydream Iceworm with him, it was a useless being—already sacrificed.
Just the residual blizzard barrier she had left behind wasn't something the Skydream Iceworm and Huo Yuhao could break through.
(Of course, the two empresses had no idea Huo Yuhao still had the Skydream Iceworm's molted remains, an immensely powerful artifact.)
Snow Empress believed that even with space powers, Huo Yuhao couldn't teleport deeper into the core.
After all, he didn't even know about the existence of the 100,000-year Snow Lotus.
Anyone escaping would logically flee outward, not deeper in.
So Snow Empress made a blunt judgment:
Anyone who knows about the Snow Lotus is suspect!
She therefore suspected a soul beast more than a human.
Because she was certain she hadn't told any other soul beast—not even Ice Empress—about the Snow Lotus before.
The original owner of the lotus had already been killed by her.
So whoever knew about the Snow Lotus must have discovered it before she did and failed to steal it—until now.
Even if some beast stumbled upon the ice mountain where the lotus grew, they would have been scared away by the aura she left on the barrier—unless they knew a treasure was hidden there.
In that case, they'd dare to risk offending her and try to steal it.
If a soul beast really did steal it, their first move would be to hide and try to absorb it.
But as soon as she sensed something wrong with the lotus, she returned to the mountain and joined Ice Empress in sealing off the area.
Which meant—the thief had no time to escape.
The thief was still in the mountain range, hiding somewhere.
Because even if they had the power to break through her personal blizzard barrier, they couldn't break through the dual-layer ice barrier cast by both empresses.
No one in the Extreme North could face them both at once.
Still, she was sure of one thing: the thief had unique powers and was very good at hiding.
There was a possibility the thief had escaped.
But Snow Empress had to keep searching.
Because that lotus was her hope for survival. Even if there was only a sliver of a chance—it was not something she could give up on.
She was betting everything on the thief not escaping.
If they did, retrieving the Snow Lotus would become almost impossible.
Sensing her bad mood, Ice Empress tried to change the subject:
"Snowy, I heard Ah Tai is planning a beast tide attack on the human empire. Should we stop him?"
Snow Empress was pulled back to the present. After a pause, she spoke:
"A human expert invaded the core area of the Extreme North, and even targeted Ah Tai. Later, they massacred many soul beasts. If we do nothing, how can we answer to those who died?"
She narrowed her eyes.
"Let Ah Tai go. Let him teach the humans a lesson. Show them the Extreme North isn't to be trifled with!"
In her heart, Snow Empress partly blamed Xuanzi for the loss of the Snow Lotus.
If not for the chaos he caused, she wouldn't have left the lotus unattended—giving the thief a chance.
So, she didn't mind exacting revenge on the humans.
Ten Days Later
Shrek City
The city was as bustling as ever.
Huo Yuhao, carrying Beibei on his back, stepped through Shrek City's gates.
"Shrek... Your emperor has returned—cough, cough."
Gazing upon the city's prosperity, a flicker passed through Huo Yuhao's eyes.
"As expected of Shrek. Even though this isn't my first time, its fortune still shocks me. The luck of this city surpasses that of even the Star Dou Great Forest!" he mused internally.
Shrek's fortune didn't just come from itself, but from the accumulated luck of the three original Douluo kingdoms—and even divine fortune from the God Realm.
Gods can't interfere with the mortal world?
What a joke.
The descent of divine fortune meant Shrek was under the protection of a certain Divine King.
This meant Shrek, the former Douluo kingdoms, and a god from the divine realm were all closely intertwined.
Beibei didn't know what Huo Yuhao was thinking. As soon as they arrived at the gate, he climbed off Yuhao's back.
They had traveled the whole way on foot. Fortunately, the journey had been safe.
Because of Beibei's weak condition, Huo Yuhao had carried him during the last leg of the journey.
This made Beibei even more fond of Huo Yuhao—and he sent him a good deal of fortune in return.
"Huo, little brother, come with me to Shrek Academy. I promise I'll get you in, and the Academy will spare no effort in nurturing you!" Beibei said warmly.
"Really? That's great!" Huo Yuhao replied, feigning excitement.
Did he really care about Shrek's training? Not at all.
But Shrek's fortune? That he coveted immensely!
"Brother Skydream, do you know what this is called?" Huo Yuhao asked through their mental connection.
"What?" the Skydream Iceworm replied, puzzled.
"This is called: a rat entering the granary!"
Skydream Iceworm: "..."
"They're back?"
Shrek Academy, Sea God's Pavilion.
The moment Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei arrived at the academy gates, Mu En sensed their presence.
Due to physical constraints, Mu En usually monitored the outside world through spiritual power. Today, it happened to pick up on the return of Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao.
His spiritual sense swept over them, and joy appeared on his face.
"Huo Yuhao's appearance has changed. If not for the unchanged aura, even I would've failed to recognize him."
"His soul power is active. He's reached the twentieth rank. It seems his Ultimate Ice martial soul has successfully awakened."
"Good, good, very good. Xuan Zi has done well this time."
Clearly, Mu En believed Huo Yuhao's martial soul awakening was thanks to Xuan Zi's efforts.
After all, how could a mere Soul Grandmaster and Soul Elder gain fortune so easily in the Extreme North?
While he was delighted, Mu En also noticed Bei Bei's poor condition.
To put it mildly, Bei Bei seemed even weaker than before departure.
If he was drained previously, now he looked overdrawn.
Mu En was surprised but found it within expectations.
Xuan Zi leading the team and running into trouble seemed par for the course.
Fortunately, both Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei returned safely, so Mu En didn't press the issue. It was within acceptable limits.
Mu En cared for Bei Bei, but wasn't overly worried.
He could tell Bei Bei hadn't sustained any fundamental injuries. A period of recovery would suffice.
Training might be delayed a bit, but with Bei Bei's talent, the impact would be minimal.
Think of it as tempering.
"But… where's Xuan Zi? Off fooling around again? Becoming more unruly—didn't even come to report to me first." Mu En grumbled lightly.
Still, he didn't think much of it—assuming Xuan Zi was indulging himself.
After all, a trip to the barren, icy north without good food? Xuan Zi likely starved and now was making up for it with a feast.
Considering his diligence on this trip, Mu En decided to let him be.
Though Xuan Zi didn't report in, Mu En had his own plans in motion.
He had already dispatched people to investigate Huo Yuhao's background.
Following the leads—ice affinity, orphan, origin from Star Luo Empire—they hadn't found anything useful.
There were a few children with the same name, but none matched Huo Yuhao.
This led Mu En to begin suspecting that either Huo Yuhao's name was fake, or his orphan background was fabricated.
Thankfully, he hadn't gone so far as to imagine Huo Yuhao had switched martial souls.
Still, from the boy's initial state—small stature, blocked meridians, low cultivation—Mu En concluded he likely came from poor conditions.
Not from a major force. No powerful background.
That made things simpler.
Whether fragrant or foul, meat is still meat once it's in your mouth!
Now that the "meat" was at Shrek, there was no reason to spit it out.
Huo Yuhao, a soul master with the Ultimate Ice attribute, must remain at Shrek Academy!
With the glory and legacy of ten-thousand-year Shrek, could they not win over a teenager?
While Mu En considered how to proceed, a white-robed elder hurried over. Upon seeing Mu En, he didn't even bother with formalities and spoke urgently:
"Teacher, did you say you found an Ultimate Ice attribute soul master? Where is he?"
The elder was Yan Shaozhe, the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, a Rank 95 Title Douluo, known as the Bright Phoenix Douluo—Mu En's disciple.
Moments ago, he had been working in his office when he received Mu En's spiritual message about the soul master. Yan Shaozhe immediately dropped everything and rushed over.
Seeing how flustered he was, Mu En lightly scolded him:
"You're almost ninety. Can't you be more composed?"
But Yan Shaozhe couldn't stay calm.
"Ah, Teacher, please don't keep me in suspense! Just tell me where this soul master is. I'll bring him here at once. You can scold me later!"
He had every reason to be anxious. His disciple Ma Xiaotao was still in danger from her berserk evil fire.
Currently, Ma Xiaotao was frozen in ice and required several ice-type Soul Douluos to maintain the freezing state.
These Soul Douluos were expensive hires that Yan Shaozhe had brought in personally.
While Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei were in the north, Yan Shaozhe had been trying to save Ma Xiaotao.
But her condition had worsened, as though ignited like a powder keg.
Ordinary ice- and light-attribute treasures no longer helped.
Unless Mu En personally suppressed the evil fire—a temporary fix—there was no cure. And Mu En, due to his health, couldn't sustain that effort.
Even if they could find an ice-type Title Douluo, it still wouldn't be a true solution.
Ma Xiaotao's condition was deteriorating.
If no cure was found, they might be forced to destroy her martial soul—anything to prevent her from dying or becoming an evil soul master.
But knowing Ma Xiaotao, she'd rather die than live like that.
Raised by Yan Shaozhe, Ma Xiaotao was like a daughter to him.
How could he watch her fall that far?
Yan Shaozhe had visibly aged from the stress.
Seeing how distraught he was, Mu En stopped teasing and explained:
"Bei Bei went to the Extreme North to help a friend awaken his martial soul. That friend has now fully awakened—an Ultimate Ice attribute."
"They've returned and are at the academy gates right now—"
Before Mu En could finish, Yan Shaozhe vanished in a flash, rushing out of the Sea God's Pavilion and toward the gates.
Watching him go, Mu En quickly sent a voice transmission:
"Bring both of them to me first before anything else."
As Yan Shaozhe sped off, Mu En let out a long sigh.
"Sigh~"
He insisted they be brought to him first out of concern for potential conflict between Yan Shaozhe and Bei Bei.
Bei Bei was mature and wouldn't openly argue with Yan Shaozhe, but it might strain their relationship, which would harm Shrek's unity.
Mu En had kept quiet about Tang Ya's incident for fear of adding fuel to the fire.
Though Ma Xiaotao hurt Tang Ya, Yan Shaozhe, blinded by concern, seemed to be blaming Tang Ya too.
As for whether Huo Yuhao could cure Ma Xiaotao, Mu En wasn't optimistic.
Their soul power gap was too large. Ma Xiaotao was over level 60, while Huo Yuhao was only level 20.
At most, Huo Yuhao could help stabilize her a bit—for now. Any further aid would likely cost him dearly in cultivation.
But compare an Ultimate Ice soul master to one with a flawed, nearly Ultimate Fire martial soul—there's no contest.
In the future, perhaps, once Huo Yuhao matured, he could pair with Ma Xiaotao and fully suppress her fire.
The question was: could Ma Xiaotao survive until then?
Because for Ultimate-attribute soul masters, cultivation after level 30 slows significantly. Huo Yuhao's growth wouldn't be fast.
Mu En had already made his decision.
"Huo Yuhao appeared too late… Xiaotao, this is fate…"
Even if Ma Xiaotao was his grand-disciple, Mu En couldn't favor her.
As an Elder of the Sea God's Pavilion, he had to prioritize Shrek's future.
Shrek may seem strong now, but Mu En knew it was at a turning point.
The rise of soul engineers led by the Sun Moon Empire was threatening traditional soul masters.
To keep Shrek from capsizing, they needed a guiding pillar—a martial soul that could be inherited and carried forward.
An Ultimate attribute martial soul was the best option.
"Hopefully, Shaozhe will understand."