After Er Shuang vented her anger, Zhu Ziyang began absorbing the soul ring of the Ice Demon Snow Soul King.
To Zhu Ziyang now, a 200,000-year soul ring was nothing more than a minor matter. It took him only half an hour to successfully absorb this soul ring, which bore two golden lines.
A majestic ice-white four-winged true dragon appeared above the frozen lake. The true dragon had a long form, with one pair of ice-white wings and another of blue-white wings. It stretched over seventy meters in length, its diamond-shaped scales shimmering like gemstones, and its dragon horns gleamed like white crystal—noble and mysterious. The aura and majesty of a true dragon enveloped the entire frozen lake, making even the air itself tremble.
Martial Soul True Body: Heavenly Frost White Dragon King!
After the Heavenly Frost White Dragon King released a resonant dragon's roar, it swiftly shrank and returned to humanoid form. In this form, Zhu Ziyang bore dragon claws and feet, two sets of large dragon wings, a thick, powerful tail, and sharp horns atop his head—this was his complete dragonized state.
Landing on the ground, Zhu Ziyang looked at his now clawed hands, clenched them into fists with satisfaction, and said, "Not bad, not bad. So this is full dragonization? Pretty good!"
"Brother Yang, here, this is the soul bone from the Ice Demon Snow Soul King." At that moment, Qian Lingyi came over and handed him a soul bone.
"Oh? A skull? Nice." Zhu Ziyang took the soul bone and examined it—it was indeed a skull. He smiled. The Ice Demon Snow Soul King possessed spiritual attributes, so this skull would likely enhance a soul master's spiritual power. Unfortunately, he already had a skull, otherwise this one would've been quite suitable.
"Lingyi, do you need a skull?" he asked, looking to Qian Lingyi.
"Brother Yang, if you're thinking of giving that skull to me, then never mind." Qian Lingyi laughed and shook her head. "The Ice Demon Snow Soul was a dark- and ice-attributed soul beast. That soul bone won't help me, since my attributes are light and fire."
"Oh, right." Zhu Ziyang chuckled. "I wasn't thinking straight. My bad."
"No worries!" Qian Lingyi smiled. "Brother Yang, now that we're done here, where to next?"
"Hmm… how about we head west from the Extreme North and experience the local customs along the way?" Zhu Ziyang suggested.
"Sure!" Qian Lingyi nodded in agreement.
"All right, then let's go!" Zhu Ziyang grinned and said to the soul spirits, "Everyone, return for now."
Once the soul spirits had returned to his spiritual sea, Zhu Ziyang and Qian Lingyi began traveling westward. At each town or city they passed, they would stay for a day or two—half sightseeing, half cultivating. The journey was far from dull.
——
At the far northwest border of the Heaven Soul Empire stood Winterpole City, a major city and the northernmost human settlement on the Douluo Continent. It also housed the only port on the Northern Sea. However, the port served more of a symbolic purpose than a practical one. Due to limited seafaring technology, ships could only travel about a hundred li from shore.
What lay in the deep seas of the Northern Sea remained a mystery. Legend said that the deepest part of the Extreme North was the origin of the Northern Sea, but that had never been confirmed. Even Xue Di, the Empress of the Extreme North, couldn't reach its core, let alone explore its link to the sea.
After leaving the Extreme North, Zhu Ziyang and Qian Lingyi traveled westward and arrived in Winterpole City. From there, they planned to enter the Sun Moon Empire.
Though tensions between the Sun Moon Empire and the three Douluo nations were high, the Heaven Soul Empire differed from the Star Luo Empire. While Star Luo stationed a million troops on the border, Heaven Soul kept only standard forces and showed little concern about conflict.
More importantly, several major trade hubs existed along the Heaven Soul–Sun Moon border, and commercial exchanges between the two empires remained frequent. As a result, the general population of the Heaven Soul Empire felt no real animosity toward Sun Moon citizens.
In contrast, the Star Luo Empire harbored deep-seated hatred. Their frequent border clashes in recent centuries, combined with the fact that the Sun Moon Empire's main invasion four thousand years ago targeted Star Luo, had turned their conflict into generational blood-feud.
The Heaven Soul Empire's conflict with the Sun Moon Empire, however, was more ideological. Many ancient sects and clans resided within Heaven Soul's borders, and they strongly resisted soul tools. This disdain filtered upward, causing the elite to oppose Sun Moon's soul tool culture, thereby forming a divide between Heaven Soul's upper and lower classes.
As for the Dou Spirit Empire—its presence was far weaker. Located in the continent's northeast, it didn't directly border the Sun Moon Empire due to being shielded by Heaven Soul and Star Luo. Consequently, it felt little threat. The Dou Spirit Empire was mostly uninterested in continental politics, preferring internal power struggles. Over its four-thousand-year history, the imperial line had changed hands nearly a hundred times—typically via coups and restorations in an oddly cyclical pattern.
In Winterpole City, Zhu Ziyang celebrated his eighteenth birthday, officially becoming an adult.
On the Douluo Continent, men reached adulthood at eighteen, and women at twenty. Adulthood signified the ability to start one's own family. Had Zhu Ziyang been born into a noble house, he could now establish a new branch of the clan with his own political influence.
He and Qian Lingyi celebrated at a luxurious hotel, where she gave him a special gift—her first kiss.
Her own birthday was just two weeks away; she, too, would soon be eighteen.
After a romantic candlelight dinner, back in the hotel room, Zhu Ziyang also received birthday blessings from Electrolux and his four soul spirits.
Zhu Ziyang was in excellent spirits. Even during cultivation, a cheerful smile remained on his face. As the saying goes, happiness enhances energy, and that night, Zhu Ziyang's training was particularly efficient. By the third month after accepting the sixth Death God Trial, he had reached Rank 80 in soul power!
Eighteen years old—an eighty-ranked Soul Douluo!
Zhu Ziyang had once again shattered Shrek Academy's records—and the entire continent's history. Unfortunately, no one but him was aware of this legendary feat.
Holding back his excitement, Zhu Ziyang felt the response from the Other Shore flower mark on his forehead. He didn't immediately enter the divine Inheritance Realm to claim the reward for the sixth trial or accept the seventh. Instead, he chose to first absorb his eighth soul ring and condense his third soul core, forming the Trinity Core System.
According to the Trinity Soul Core Theory, the optimal time to condense the third soul core was during the absorption of the eighth soul ring for his Heavenly Frost White Dragon King martial soul. Conveniently, Zhu Ziyang had just the thing—Ice Dragon King's Dragon Core!
He retrieved the Dragon Core that hung around his neck. Despite countless years, the god-level pill still radiated unfathomable power. Zhu Ziyang's heart filled with anticipation.
But before he began the process, he needed to notify Qian Lingyi. After all, absorbing a soul ring and condensing a soul core wasn't done in a day—they'd be staying in Winterpole City for a while.
When she heard he was going into closed-door cultivation for his eighth soul ring, Qian Lingyi was initially shocked and dazed—then completely ecstatic. "Brother Yang, go ahead and cultivate! I'll wait for you!"
"Good, then I'll head back now!" Zhu Ziyang smiled, gently stroked her hair, and turned to return to his room.
"A Soul Douluo at eighteen…" Qian Lingyi watched his retreating figure with eyes full of admiration and infatuation. Only after he disappeared inside did she snap out of it, shaking her head to stay focused. "I've got to work harder too, or he'll leave me in the dust! No! I have to train—right now!"
The girl turned and sprinted back to her room, shut the door, and began her cultivation.
(End of Chapter)
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