"Haha, excellent, excellent." Poison Undying's face was cold, but Xu Xiaoyun wasn't bothered. He chuckled and shifted his gaze to Xiao Changfeng, who was already dominating the fight several thousand meters away, and leisurely said,
"Changfeng, a quick spar with our friends from the Body Sect is enough. Don't hit too hard. We have important matters to discuss this time."
Xu Xiaoyun used his Soul Power to carry his voice, transforming it into a substantial sound wave that vibrated across the sky, creating visible spatial ripples.
The spatial ripples spread to the battlefield, silently separating the combatants. The blue and golden lights receded, revealing Xiao Changfeng and Jin Peng.
Witnessing this miraculous method of stopping a fight, the members of the Body Sect, including Poison Undying, instantly focused their gazes.
"What a formidable Old Turtle, he actually has this trick up his sleeve." Sweat beaded on Poison Undying's back, raising Xu Xiaoyun's threat level another notch.
In their previous fight, Xu Xiaoyun had only used his physical strength and Profound Water Power to contend with him, never revealing such astonishing Spatial Attainment.
"He's condensed a Second Soul Core with a Space Attribute. How could Old Turtle's cultivation reach such a level? I wonder how long it's been since he broke through. How does he compare to the Clear Sky Sect Master—I hope this Old Turtle hasn't come to the wrong place—"
Perceiving the power contained in Xu Xiaoyun's display, Poison Undying's mindset shifted rapidly, from apprehension and speculation to envy. He hoped the other party could truly lead him to an opportunity for breakthrough.
Xu Xiaoyun was a Limit Douluo; he wouldn't speak idly. Poison Undying still had that much trust in him.
At this moment, Golden Body Douluo Jin Peng, who had disengaged from the battle, came to Poison Undying's side, shivering as he asked:
"Sect Master, how are your injuries?"
Poison Undying looked up, his eyelids twitching. "This Sect Master is fine. I'll recover in a few days. But you, how did you get beaten up like this?"
Golden Body Douluo Jin Peng's clothes were completely torn, his two muscular arms covered in icy frost. His chest, back, legs, and shoulder joints were all encrusted with either azure or snow-white frost, bearing distinct claw marks, and even the blood seeping from his wounds had congealed.
These injuries were clearly not light; it would be difficult to recover even after ten days to half a month of rest. Looking at Xiao Changfeng in the distance, though his clothes were disheveled and blood stained the corner of his mouth, his aura was generally stable, indicating only minor injuries.
Jin Peng smiled bitterly, "Sect Master, it's not that I, Old Jin, fought poorly. This person's Phoenix Domain is very difficult to deal with. Within his Domain, he can appear anywhere in the flying snow with a thought. No matter how strong my attacks are after my Second Awakening, I can't do anything if I can't hit him."
"Moreover, during our exchange, your subordinate occasionally noticed that this person's Soul Power activity is extremely high; he's clearly in the process of breaking through. Your subordinate is subtly a step behind him in cultivation—of course, it might also be because your subordinate lacks a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone."
Poison Undying suddenly turned his head, scrutinizing Xiao Changfeng for a moment, his expression quickly becoming complex. He muttered in a low voice, "Ice Crystal Phoenix, what an Ice Crystal Phoenix! Give him a few more decades, and he'll be another Level 98 Super Douluo! What a good disciple Old Turtle has cultivated!"
With Xu Xiaoyun having just broken through to the Limit realm and now having such a powerful disciple, in a few decades, the Xuanming Sect would have two top-tier powerhouses, ensuring their legacy.
Jin Peng advised, "Sect Master, I see that there are many talented individuals in Aotian's generation. If we cultivate them diligently, it might not be impossible for them to surpass their predecessors."
"Hmm, we won't be able to reclaim this face. Let's see what Aotian and the others can do." Poison Undying sighed lightly, feeling disheartened.
If his elder brother were still alive, he might have also broken through to Limit Douluo. Now that he was alone, he truly felt powerless.
"Hey, Old Poison, we'll stay at your place for a few days. We'll leave once your injuries heal, alright?"
Xu Xiaoyun's deep, powerful voice drifted from afar. Upon hearing it, Poison Undying loudly responded:
"Of course, no problem! Lads, prepare two excellent rooms for these two distinguished guests! Serve them well!"
Xu Xiaoyun subtly curled his lip, thinking, "Crude." Those who knew Poison Undying would know this was the Body Sect, but those who didn't might think it was a bandit's den and Poison Undying was the king of the mountain.
However, the Body Sect's style of doing things… well, it really was quite similar to bandits.
Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, dormitory.
Xu Tianxi slept for an entire day. Upon waking, he ate some soft food, feeling a bit more energized. He walked to the specially built stargazing platform in his dorm room, let out a soft sigh, and his eyes reflected a thoughtful expression.
Absorbing the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's Soul Ring brought immense benefits, but the impact of this Soul Ring on his body was too strong. Even now, he still had some aches and pains; he estimated he'd need a few more days to fully recover.
"But it's good. Zhang Lexuan lay in bed for half a year after absorbing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring during her eighth ring. Excluding some injuries from combat, the Soul Ring's impact on her was still immense; my recovery speed is fast enough."
Whispering "worth it" to himself, Xu Tianxi's thoughts turned to his current situation.
He was now at Level 44 Soul Power. This semester had just over a month left, and with the holidays, it was about two months. Soon after next semester began, he would join the reserve team to participate in the Soul Fighting Grand Competition in Star Luo City.
With the Ultimate Martial Soul's terrifying cultivation speed, it would be difficult for him to advance a single level even after three months of cultivation. He would be thankful if he could participate with Level 44 peak cultivation, and if he was lucky, he might break through to Level 45 during the competition.
However, the overall power level of this competition was still normal. Only the top four teams had Soul Emperors, Soul Kings were powerful, and Soul Ancestors were the backbone. His current cultivation was sufficient.
Without being modest, even without using his three trump cards—Ultimate Water, formidable combat techniques, and the Deep Sea Silver Demon Whale—his current strength was enough to one-punch a small Soul King. Xiao Hongchen would be finished if he got close enough to land a punch. Even the more physically robust Meng Hongchen would cry for a long time after taking one of his punches—unless it was a ruthless individual like Ji Juechen or Long Aotian, otherwise they were completely negligible. The two brothers of San Shi could pose some threat if they fought desperately, but it wouldn't be significant.
If he used Soul Guided Devices, his power would be even more immeasurable. As is well known, the power of non-Fixed Soul Tools is almost entirely dependent on the total amount of Soul Power injected.
Though Xu Tianxi was a Soul Ancestor, due to his Twin Martial Souls and Ultimate Martial Soul, his total Soul Power far exceeded that of most Soul Kings. As long as he was given enough time, he could bring some massive destructive weapons onto the arena and blast a Soul Emperor without breaking a sweat.
As someone with pyrophobia (fear of insufficient firepower), his favorite thing to study was heavy destructive weapons! If he wasn't confident in dealing with a Soul Emperor, he wouldn't dare go to Star Luo City so easily. Who knew what those crazy monsters from Shrek would turn into when they went wild?
"Right, I should be able to increase my Soul Ring's age limit now. I'll talk to Tianmeng Ice Silkworm and increase the investment."
Recalling other factors for strengthening his power, Xu Tianxi's mind stirred. The four black Soul Rings, never before revealed to others, slowly rose from beneath his feet, then instantly vanished. His consciousness sank into his Sea of Spirit, contacting Tianmeng Ice Silkworm.
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was sleeping soundly and was groggy when Xu Tianxi woke him, mumbling in his sleep.
"Bingbing, Bingbing, my dear Bingbing, come give big brother a kiss. Big brother will bring you eternal life—"
Xu Tianxi couldn't bear to look, silently turning away and recording this dark history of Tianmeng Ice Silkworm.
How could a large silkworm develop feelings for a scorpion? Xu Tianxi expressed his incomprehension. Was it truly just because Ice Emperor was beautiful? The world of Soul Beasts was truly complex, and their aesthetics were unique.
A moment later, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's blurry vision cleared. Realizing he was still in Xu Tianxi's Sea of Spirit, he suddenly sobered up, putting on a cheeky smile and greeting Xu Tianxi:
"Hello, little Tianxi. What can your Brother Tianmeng do for you?"
Xu Tianxi's face twitched. "Originally, I wanted to ask you to increase my Soul Ring's age limit again. Now I'm quite curious, who is that 'Bingbing' you mentioned in your sleep, and what do you mean by bringing her eternal life?"
If Tianmeng Ice Silkworm could bring Ice Emperor into the fold, he would naturally be pleased. Her Soul Ring and Soul Bone are top-tier, and there are few stronger than her in the entire continent and ocean.
While Ice Emperor's four Soul Skills had virtually no presence later on, performing even worse than Ice Burst Technique, with a 400,000-year Soul Ring and Soul Bone right in front of him, hesitating for a second would be disrespectful to his strength.
Moreover, Ice Emperor is the only Soul Beast capable of connecting with Snow Empress. With her, he could attempt to bring Snow Empress in as well. Once they were both secured, the entire Far North Land would be within his grasp.
At that point, whether it was gathering faith or promoting Soul Spirit experiments, it would all be effortless. These Soul Beasts are truly single-minded when it comes to devotion.
The only question was, he already had a Second Martial Soul. Could Tianmeng Ice Silkworm still turn Ice Emperor into an Intelligent Soul Ring, as in the original story?
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's answer was yes. A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast always has some unique qualities.
"Oh, oh, Bingbing, she's the beast of my dreams, the most beautiful Soul Beast I've ever seen."
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm replied without hesitation, as he drew out the essence from the first golden light cluster and infused it into Xu Tianxi's first three Soul Rings, speaking with excitement:
"Hehe, you've probably heard her name too. She's incredibly strong, ranked second among the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North Land—the Ice Jade Scorpion King, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, possessing immense power that reaches the heavens!"
Xu Tianxi nodded, indicating he knew a little about the Ice Jade Scorpion. "My Grandmaster said he once considered killing a Hundred Thousand Year Ice Jade Scorpion for my Senior Martial Uncle's Ninth Soul Ring; it was only out of fear of retribution from the Ice and Snow Emperors that he gave up."
"Uh... your Grandmaster is really fierce—"
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm hadn't expected Xu Tianxi to drop such a bombshell right away, making it impossible for him to even brag.
However, with Xu Tianxi's Grandmaster's cultivation approaching that of a Limit Douluo, killing a Hundred Thousand Year Ice Jade Scorpion would indeed be effortless, and even Bingbing might not gain any advantage unless Snow Empress intervened.
But then, considering that the legendary Snow Empress only had around six to seven hundred thousand years of cultivation, and Xu Tianxi's Grand Grandmaster, Heavenly Tyrant Ancestor, was an eight hundred thousand-year-old Old Long Turtle, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm suddenly felt ashamed.
The opponent's background was too powerful; they wouldn't fear a fight with any of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North Land.
But being strong was good; the stronger, the safer. Tianmeng Ice Silkworm quickly changed his mind, focusing on the benefits, and gave Xu Tianxi a mysterious smile:
"Tianxi, I see your Second Martial Soul is currently empty. When you're on break, I'll take you to the Far North Land to find Bingbing. How about I help you abduct her and make her your First Soul Ring?"