Ice Emperor glanced at the scorpions before reporting—
"Lan, there are three that have surpassed 95,000 years. The highest is at 98,000 years."
Three, huh…
Barely enough, but it'll do.
Tang Lan was still considering his next step when—
A thunderous rumbling echoed from afar.
Moments later, a massive ice bear the size of a small mountain came charging toward them,
Stopping only after sliding several meters forward with a sharp four-legged brake.
The sheer size of it completely blocked out the sunlight, casting Tang Lan into sudden darkness.
The ice bear stared at Tang Lan with hopeful eyes.
"Dad! Did you bring Mom to visit Little White?"
Tang Lan blinked.
Little White, the 200,000-year-old Ice Bear King, a beast rivaling the Titan Snow Demon King.
As a cub, it was picked up by Snow Emperor, whom it regarded as its mother.
Thus, it naturally referred to Tang Lan as "Dad."
Hmm…
Tang Lan wasn't very familiar with this "bear son."
He patted his chest and passed the problem off to Snow Emperor.
"Snow Emperor, it's looking for you."
Snow Emperor sighed helplessly, then floated over toward Little White.
Meanwhile, Tang Lan took out three Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Silkworms and fed them to the three Ice Jade Scorpions over 95,000 years old.
—His goal was simple: evolve all three into 100,000-year beasts!
Then, he would make them trigger their Thunder Tribulation together, allowing Tang Lan to exploit the system once more.
—Now, is that genius or what?
Why choose Ice Jade Scorpions?
First, the species itself was naturally strong, and since every single one possessed Ultimate Ice,
Their Thunder Tribulation would be even more potent.
Second, no point letting outsiders benefit—if he was going to power up beasts, it might as well be his own people.
After a while, Snow Emperor returned, holding a fist-sized crystalline stone.
"This is a Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow, a gift from Little White."
A gift, huh…
Though the term seemed a little off, Tang Lan still accepted the Ice Marrow.
Despite its small size,
For an Ice-element soul master, even if their talent was mediocre, this alone could push them to Titled Douluo rank.
Maybe that was slightly exaggerated,
But if Tang Lan absorbed it after reaching level 80, it would easily give him another one or two levels.
—When your energy is 100 times denser than normal soul power, leveling up works like this.
Tang Lan was in no rush.
Before hitting the bottleneck at level 99, it was better to accumulate a strong foundation to execute his plan more smoothly.
'Still, for my plan to work, their levels need to catch up too…'
'I'll have to think of something…'
By midday,
The 98,000-year-old Ice Jade Scorpion was the first to break through the remaining 2,000 years, finally becoming a 100,000-year-old beast.
Following Ice Emperor's orders, it immediately bypassed its natural waiting period and triggered its Thunder Tribulation.
Dark clouds gathered once more, lightning crackling ominously.
Tang Lan jumped straight into the thunderclouds,
Activating his Raijin Domain (Prototype) and welcoming the lightning baptism.
Compared to the quadruple-stacked Thunder Tribulation of the Dark Devilgod Tiger,
This 100,000-year Thunder Tribulation felt like a tickle—
Okay, maybe not that weak, but at most, it was a light massage.
And honestly?
It was kind of nice.
As usual,
Tang Lan hovered at the critical point,
Keeping the Thunder Tribulation from fully descending, so that it continuously absorbed vast amounts of spiritual energy.
—Yet again, he was milking the system for resources.
However…
Whether it was because he had been blacklisted or because 100,000-year Tribulations were simply too weak,
This time, after just half a day, the Thunder Tribulation gave up.
It lazily dropped a tiny bolt of lightning,
So weak that it didn't even chip a single piece off the Ice Jade Scorpion's crystalline shell.
Then, it dispersed entirely—like a petulant child quitting a game.
Tang Lan was speechless.
—Couldn't you last a little longer?!
Even after all that, he had only gained a quarter of the level he needed.
At this rate,
Even after the remaining two Ice Jade Scorpions triggered their Tribulations,
It still wouldn't be enough for him to level up.
Which meant—
Time to exploit the system even harder!
This time, Tang Lan waited until both remaining Ice Jade Scorpions evolved into 100,000-year soul beasts.
Then, he made them activate their Thunder Tribulations simultaneously—forcing a "Double Tribulation" to occur.
—The laws of the world weren't having it.
Clearly recognizing it as cheating,
The Thunder Tribulation amplified itself beyond normal limits, creating a 1+1 > 2 effect.
Tang Lan was delighted.
Without hesitation, he dove headfirst into the storm,
Enjoying another round of lightning purification, his aura slowly rising.
This time, the Tribulation lasted much longer,
Persisting for over half a day before finally dispersing unwillingly.
And at that moment—
Within Tang Lan's body,
A barely perceptible "shattering" sound echoed.
Tang Lan finally broke through to level 80.
「You have successfully absorbed thunder energy in a short time to reach level 80, exceeding the requirements for the Raijin's Second Trial!」
「Reward: Raijin Affinity +7%!」
「Raijin's Third Trial: Obtain a 100,000-year Eighth Soul Ring!」
Hmm…
Hah?
Tang Lan carefully checked the trial's description again.
There was no restriction on which martial soul had to receive the eighth soul ring.
A grin spread across his face.
—Wasn't this just free rewards knocking on his door?
Without hesitation, he prepared to leave, heading toward a dense forest to gather a Life Soul Blue Silver Emperor soul ring.
But suddenly—
The first Ice Jade Scorpion to reach 100,000 years crawled up to him, bowing low.
Its spiritual waves pulsed intensely.
Tang Lan read the transmission—
「My Emperor, please allow your humble subject to sacrifice itself as your Eighth Soul Ring!」
His expression turned strange.
—Lately, he'd been getting 'chased around with sacrifices' way too often.
And the worst part?
—He didn't even need them.
Wasn't that frustrating as hell?!
Of course, he couldn't say it like that—it would hurt the Ice Jade Scorpion's feelings.
So instead—
"You've worked so hard to cultivate for 100,000 years—why not enjoy your achievement for a while?"
"When I ascend to godhood, I'll establish my own divine followers."
"When that time comes, I'll send someone to claim you as their companion beast."
"You don't have a name yet, do you? From now on, you shall be called Ice Sovereign."
"Your designated response code shall be—"
"'Heavenly King Covers the Earth Tiger, Ice Emperor One-Five.'"
Ice Emperor: (⊙_⊙)??
Wait, what did he just say?!
Ice Sovereign looked slightly dejected but still nodded obediently.
And to reinforce its memory, it began repeating the phrase aloud—
"Heavenly King Covers the Earth Tiger, Ice Emperor One-Five!"
"Heavenly King Covers the Earth Tiger, Ice Emperor One-Five!"
"Heavenly King Covers the Earth Tiger, Ice Emperor One-Five!"
Ice Emperor: 😡🤬!!!
—She was furious!
Tang Lan was the future god and her master, so she couldn't lash out at him.
But this little scorpion?!
—Who the hell did it think it was?!
Immediately, Ice Emperor borrowed Tang Lan's spiritual energy,
Converting it into Ultimate Ice soul power, forming an ice whip—
Then she lashed Ice Sovereign mercilessly.
Meanwhile—
The other two newly evolved 100,000-year Ice Jade Scorpions quietly stepped backward.
—Better not get involved.
Ice Emperor kept beating Ice Sovereign until Tang Lan finally called out—
"Alright, enough playing around! Time to go."
Only then did Ice Emperor release Ice Sovereign,
Smashing it deep into the frozen ground one last time.
With a huff, she dissolved into a beam of light, returning to Tang Lan's body.
Meanwhile…
In the distance, Snow Emperor, who had been tangled up with Little White, finally returned.
She didn't even say goodbye, leaving the gigantic Ice Bear King looking utterly devastated, as if it were about to cry.
Tang Lan gave a final instruction—
"Gather any soul beasts above 95,000 years, or those close to their Thunder Tribulation."
"Once you have at least ten of them, use the communicator to notify me."
"I'll personally oversee their ascensions."
Little White nodded rapidly.
"Understood, Dad! Leave it to me!"
Tang Lan waved a hand.
Then, in a streak of blood light, he shot toward the Star Dou Forest.
—It was time for the next great harvest!
(End of Chapter.)
Notes-You can read advanced chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X, i have already finished douluo 1 arc and even quite a great deal of douluo 2 arc