Snow Empress City

Seeing everyone rally their spirits because of Luo Yanglu's words, Huo Yuhao offered a helpless smile. Juechen's talent in certain aspects had also far surpassed ordinary people; judging him purely by his rank three innate soul power was not truly accurate. Yet compared to his own unique situation, Ji Juechen was evidently far more suitable as an aspirational goal for commoner Soul Masters. With that in mind, Huo Yuhao looked toward Gu Yuena. "Did you pass?" He had not watched until the end, but he could tell she had held back. The outcome, in all likelihood... Gu Yuena's expression turned somewhat peculiar as she transmitted her voice: "I was defeated by you using an element-stripping soul tool." Huo Yuhao: "..." There were soul tools designed specifically to counter elemental Soul Masters... though he had indeed researched them ten thousand years ago. Come to think of it, what had Su Tong been thinking back then? Hadn't he told her to erase all the traces he left behind? First the admonishment, now the combat capabilities—just what had Su Tong deleted, and what had she kept? An ominous premonition stirred inexplicably within him... Nearby, Luo Yanglu watched the two of them communicating through voice transmission as if no one else were around. As he uploaded everyone's results to the Spirit Pagoda's internal network, he mused privately: Could it be that Xiaoyao was overthinking things? ... Snow Empress City, on the fringes of the Extreme North. As relations between continental Soul Beasts and humans gradually grew more harmonious, many residents had gathered on the fringes of the Extreme North, eventually forming a major city of the Federation. Named after the sovereign of the Extreme North, it represented the Federation's respect for the Snow Empress and the Extreme North. Pedestrians came and went, bustling through this city forged of ice and snow. The occasional Soul Beast could be seen among them, the snow crunching beneath their feet. Most of the city's buildings were adorned with ice and snow, refracting the sunlight into a kaleidoscope of brilliant hues, like a dreamlike city of crystal. Shops lined both sides of the streets, selling all manner of polar specialties. In the plaza at the center of the city stood a colossal, tower-like structure built of pure ice crystals, gleaming dazzlingly in the sunlight. It was none other than one of the Spirit Pagoda's Eighteen Heavenly Pillars—the Extreme North Branch! Inside the pagoda, a woman dressed in a tight black bodysuit that accentuated her graceful curves possessed snow-white skin, pale and cold as though it had never seen the sun. "Hm? Someone actually passed the Red-tier trial?" Accessing a message on her soul tool optical screen with her clearance, Leng Yulai furrowed her brows in considerable surprise. Was that trial even meant for mortals to pass? If the first Pagoda Master only used Ultimate Ice, it would not have been so bad. Because the first Pagoda Master had not fought many times and historical data was incomplete, the difficulty designed in that regard, though high, was not completely absurd. The real problem lay in the soul tools. For whatever reason, some wire had crossed in the virtual battlefield designers' heads, causing the soul tools wielded by the first Pagoda Master to scale three ranks above the examinee's strength. When people submitted feedback that the Red-tier trial was overpowered and should be reduced by at least one rank, certain researchers would snap back: "You say the first Pagoda Master's soul tools weren't powerful? Then why don't you try crafting a Battle Armor prototype from scratch, becoming a rank ten Soul Engineer while reaching Ultimate Douluo, and cracking the Soul Spirit Contract on the side?!" Faced with that, what else could anyone say? They had no choice but to go along with it. Yet Leng Yulai had always felt it was taken too far. Leaving everything else aside, take the Soul Spirit Contract alone... The fact that ten thousand years had passed without anyone finding a way to crack that contract certainly demonstrated how formidable the first Pagoda Master was in certain areas. But what did that have to do with the power of his soul tools? Could a Soul Spirit Contract really be tied to soul tools? No matter how magnificent the first Pagoda Master had been, he was still a figure of the past. Over ten thousand years of Federation development, in terms of sheer strength, the pinnacle quasi-gods were surely above the Ice Spirit Douluo. Their abilities might not compare to the first Pagoda Master's in every aspect, but what they sought to surpass was not innate talent, but past benchmarks. After ten thousand years of progress, if they dared not even speak of surpassing the Ice Spirit Douluo from ten millennia ago, then if that great figure knew in the afterlife, he too would surely be disappointed. Therefore, in Leng Yulai's eyes, those researchers had become obsessed to the point of madness. Yet someone had actually passed a trial devised by such madmen? Leng Yulai's brow furrowed slightly. She put away the soul tool optical screen and looked toward the upper levels. To the outside world, the Spirit Pagoda currently had only seven figures at the Ultimate Douluo level: The Ruler of the Extreme North, Snow Empress; the Beast God Di Tian; the Bear Lord; the Myriad Demon King; Brigitte; the Spirit Pagoda Douluo Qiangu Dongfeng; and the War Heaven Douluo Qiangu Dieting. Leng Yulai also knew this could not be the true number; only fools would lay bare all their trump cards. But she was only considered quasi-high-ranking, without the clearance to know certain secrets. Nowadays, those figures from the Star Dou Great Forest rarely accepted disciples, unless they encountered someone exceptionally suited to their tutelage. The scions of the Qiangu Clan were also quite decent, so they might not be willing to take in a freakish prodigy to compete against the geniuses of their own family. She just wondered what Lady Snow Empress thought; she seemed never to have accepted a disciple. As these thoughts crossed her mind, an ethereal, peerless figure suddenly appeared before Leng Yulai's eyes. "Once I have settled affairs in the Extreme North, accompany me to Heaven Dou City." An airy, melodious voice sounded by Leng Yulai's ear. ... Life for Class Zero after joining the Spirit Pagoda gradually settled into a steady routine. Academic classes, combat training, battles in the virtual battlefield, the Ascension Platform... Everyone lived exceptionally full days. In the blink of an eye, several months slipped by, and the end of the term arrived. In the virtual battlefield, Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi stood side by side, their expressions grim as they stared at the two enemies before them. The virtual battlefield had a cooperative combat mode designed specifically for Soul Masters who specialized in support, possessed Martial Soul Fusion Skills, or the like. However, the difficulty was also doubled. "Jinxi, let's try the Martial Soul Fusion Skill one more time!" Zhang Yangzi said in a low voice. "Alright." Wang Jinxi nodded, sparse with his words as always. The two shared a tacit understanding, clasping hands almost in the same breath as black light erupted from them simultaneously. Dark Phantasm Hawk and Bone Dragon King—Martial Soul Fusion Skill: Dark Hawk Dragon! ... Tang Wulin had gone home for a visit, and just as he was heading back to the Class Zero dormitory, he suddenly spotted a figure. The girl's appearance was remarkably striking, her features exquisite, with large, crystal-clear eyes that sparkled captivatingly. In the glow of the setting sun, she seemed bathed in a golden aura. Senior Ouyang Zixin? "What, got your eye on that senior?" Xie Xie's mischievous snicker came from the side. He had slipped up beside Tang Wulin at some point and draped an arm over his shoulder. "She's one of East Sea Academy's famous school beauties, you know. Plenty of guys are chasing her—want to give it a shot?" "D-don't talk nonsense!" Tang Wulin's face flushed crimson, and he tried to shrug Xie Xie's arm off and walk away. "I-I was just looking with an eye of appreciation!" Xie Xie curled his lip. "Come off it. You were staring right at her, dumbstruck, and you still won't admit it?" Seeing Tang Wulin's face growing even redder, with hints of embarrassed indignation, Xie Xie tactfully backed off. "Alright, alright, I'll stop, okay? Teacher Luo told me to come find you. Something came up on Jinxi's end—come with me to the Spirit Pagoda." "What happened to Jinxi?" Tang Wulin was startled. Over this period, the seven of them had grown well-acquainted, and he had come to regard Wang Jinxi as an important comrade. He certainly did not want anything to happen to his friend. "It has to do with you." Xie Xie gave Tang Wulin a strange look. "You've been cultivating with Jinxi all this time lately, right?" "Yeah." Tang Wulin nodded. During combat training earlier, Wang Jinxi had discovered that Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon King aura provided a boost to his own strength. When the two of them tested it, they found this was true not only in actual combat, but also when cultivating together, which sped up both of their cultivation rates. According to what their two teachers had said, Tang Wulin's bloodline was likely of exceptionally high grade even among the Dragon Clan, conferring great benefits to the cultivation of dragon-type Martial Souls. So from then on, whenever they had free time, he and Wang Jinxi would cultivate together. Had something happened to Jinxi because of this? Xie Xie cut Tang Wulin's train of thought short. "Come with me and see, and you'll know."