The Ice-Sealed Forest was located in the Snow Spirit Province on the northern border of the Heaven Dou Empire.
It was a place of perpetual frost where life was seldom seen; only for a brief two or three months out of the year could one catch a glimpse of summer. While it was not a world-renowned gathering place for powerful soul beasts, it served as a vital barrier separating humanity from the Far North—a forbidden zone for mankind. The harsh and grueling environment meant that the soul beasts surviving here were often exceptionally powerful and not to be trifled with.
After five days of traveling by carriage, Shi Nian, Zhao Liuyun, and Dugu Bo finally arrived.
Their timing was unfortunate, as it was not during those few months of summer. Before their eyes lay a world draped in silver and white, a vast expanse of snow where not a single trace of vitality could be found. The temperature was extremely low; every breath turned into a mist that crystallized into ice instantly.
Fortunately, none of the three were severely affected by the cold. Having tempered his body with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's immortal herbs, Zhao Liuyun could withstand even the power of Ultimate Ice, so this level of low temperature was naturally nothing to him. Shi Nian was a Soul Saint with profound soul power, and Dugu Bo was a Titled Douluo.
While toxins could be affected by the ice element—and Ultimate Ice was the true nemesis of poison—Ultimate Ice did not exist within the Ice-Sealed Forest, so Dugu Bo had no reason to worry.
"Shi Nian, where is that dragon?" Dugu Bo had visited the Ice-Sealed Forest before; he had obtained his sixth soul ring here. However, as the years passed, his memories had blurred, and he required Shi Nian to guide the way to the specific location.
Shi Nian did not answer immediately. Instead, he focused on identifying their position, pulling a finely drawn map from his soul tool to cross-reference their surroundings. Heavy snow often obscured surface landmarks, and the terrain of the Ice-Sealed Forest was complex. Even as a mental-type soul master with a superior memory, he did not dare rely solely on impression.
A moment later, he pointed toward a snow-covered hill in the distance. Following a trail trampled by soul beasts, he said in a deep voice, "Toward the northeast."
Zhao Liuyun remained silent, the Demon Dragon Silver Eye at his brow shimmering with a faint light as he followed silently behind the two. He wasn't needed for the combat; his duty was observation. Using his external spirit bone, which could perceive the flow of energy, he would point out any unusual elemental tracks in the environment for his two teachers.
Shi Nian lacked specialized scouting skills, and using mental power for constant sensing was too draining on his state. In a world of nothing but ice and snow, his senses were far less intuitive than the Demon Dragon Silver Eye's ability to observe energy flow. Dugu Bo also needed to preserve his strength; a true dragon was not easily dealt with.
Zhao Liuyun was on a soul hunt.
In the six months leading up to this hunt, his soul power had surged forward, breaking through to Rank 50. Tang San had not stopped his pace either; his growth was equally rapid. Not long after Zhao Liuyun left for Blue Sunshine Academy, Tang San—stimulated by the strength of his former friend—broke through to become a Soul Elder in one fell swoop. He had also hunted a Man-Faced Demon Spider that exceeded his limit in the Star Dou Great Forest to serve as his third soul ring, obtaining the external spirit bone known as the Eight Spider Lances.
Subsequently, Yu Xiaogang joined Shrek Academy and began overseeing their special training. The training lasted much longer than originally planned, primarily because of Dai Mubai. Having his fiancée taken from him and suffering personal humiliation while the imperial family did nothing had caused his will to collapse. He spent his days drowning himself in wine and women, unable to pull himself out of the abyss.
Yu Xiaogang hoped to prove himself to the world through the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament—specifically, to prove his teaching prowess. However, Shrek only had five members. Through Flender, he learned of the various past upheavals and couldn't help but feel a sense of resentment toward Zhao Liuyun.
He resented Zhao Liuyun for not following his guidance, which deprived his disciple Tang San of a catalyst for his cultivation. He resented him even more for tearing apart the Netherworld White Tiger spirit fusion pair, robbing Shrek of a powerful trump card. Had it not been for him, the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, the auxiliary system genius Ning Rongrong, might not have left either.
The more Yu Xiaogang thought about it, the angrier he became. Ultimately, aside from a few private grumbles, he could only accept reality with resignation. Standing behind Zhao Liuyun was the Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo—a man even the Star Luo Imperial Family had to treat with caution. What could he, a discarded son driven out by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, possibly do?
All he could do was win it back during the tournament!
A soul master battle was, in the end, a team competition; Yu Xiaogang believed this firmly. Blue Sunshine Academy was merely an undistinguished advanced soul master academy. Even if Zhao Liuyun was the disciple of a Titled Douluo, could he really turn the world upside down on his own? Little San was the son of the Great Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao!
A team needed geniuses. Dai Mubai, a prince of Star Luo who could become a Soul Ancestor before the tournament, was one of the indispensable core figures Yu Xiaogang intended to build his team around. Facing the once-decadent and depressed Dai Mubai, Yu Xiaogang displayed his unique linguistic charm. Choosing the perfect psychological nodes and using Tang San as a benchmark, he used words as sharp as knives to pierce Dai Mubai's heart. Eventually, this provocation reignited the long-dormant fighting spirit in Dai Mubai's eyes, pulling him out of his slump.
After the special training ended, they lacked enough members to form a seven-person team, making five-on-seven team matches meaningless. Thus, they did not stay long in Suotuo City and headed straight for Heaven Dou City, intending to find a suitable academy to join. As the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City was a gathering place for talents from all directions and had the highest concentration of advanced soul master academies. As long as they could find suitable teammates to fill the gaps and temper them through repeated combat in the Great Spirit Arena, they would surely forge a truly powerful battle team!
Deep within the Ice-Sealed Forest, the cold wind howled through the treetops, kicking up fine sprays of snow. Zhao Liuyun and the others were resting in a spot sheltered from the wind. The sky was darkening, and the campfire leaped, casting their shadows in flickering lengths.
While warming themselves by the fire, they prepared food. In the iron pot over the flames, meat broth bubbled with steam. Zhao Liuyun poked at the firewood, causing sparks to crackle.
"It's a bit hard to find, Teacher." Since the Soul Hunt Forest, after experiencing two easy hunts, it was rare for him to encounter a situation where they couldn't find their target for a long time. Decades were enough for a forest to change its face. The markers left behind back then had disappeared; trees had fallen and regrown, and everything was now buried under a thick layer of snow, making tracks difficult to find.
Shi Nian was helpless as well. Dugu Bo comforted him, "It's only been ten days. I know people who haven't caught a suitable soul ring for two or three years. Take it slow, don't be anxious."
For the vast majority of people, hunting soul rings was a matter of luck—wandering through a soul beast forest and killing whatever suitable beast they encountered. If one wanted to lock onto a specific type of soul beast, it inevitably required more trouble. Perhaps they would search everywhere to no avail, perhaps the beast in the rumors had already been taken by someone else, or perhaps the age of the beast didn't match their requirements. Many variables could slow the pace of a hunt.
However, a mental-type mixed-blood giant dragon of over twenty thousand years possessed dragon blood of uncertain purity; relying on the trickery of the mental attribute, even an ordinary Titled Douluo would find it difficult to defeat. For instance, the Dugu Bo before he used the "Snow Swan Kiss" wouldn't have been able to do it. Furthermore, mental-type soul masters were rare, and those with a demand for such beasts were few and far between. The likelihood of someone else snatching it first was not high.
The only thing left to do was find its trail.
Ever since entering the forest, the silver glow of the Demon Dragon Silver Eye at Zhao Liuyun's brow had been flowing, never closing for a moment. Holding a warm bowl of soup amidst the rising steam, he casually scanned the distant, snow-covered dead trees with his silver eye. Amidst the silence, his eyes focused and his mind sharpened—there was an anomaly!