Tianshui Academy Team?
How strange.
After running farther away to avoid trouble, Xiao Lin still couldn't figure out why the Tianshui team had come here.
However, thinking about how Lei Tian and Lei Dong had only recently advanced to Soul Ancestors, Xiao Lin more or less understood the current soul power levels of the younger generation.
Ever since he released the theory of the maximum age limit for soul rings, the potential of most soul masters had become slightly stronger than in the original timeline.
From this, one could roughly infer that the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation might already have reached Soul King level.
By the time of the Academy Grand Competition, they would probably be around mid-tier Soul Kings.
That kind of strength was already quite impressive.
But compared to the Imperial Fighting Team, there was still a huge gap.
Of course, nothing was absolute—who knew if the Golden Generation had encountered some extraordinary opportunities of their own?
Not to mention anything else—just now, that Water Ice Child's Extreme Ice alone was already not inferior to Xiao Lin's.
Although both Xiao Lin and Water Ice Child possessed Extreme Ice—
Extreme Ice was equivalent to getting a guaranteed full score when competing against ordinary ice-attribute soul masters.
Being able to score a perfect hundred and crush other ice soul masters didn't mean Xiao Lin and Water Ice Child were limited to only a hundred points.
Rather, in the eyes of ordinary people, one hundred was the upper limit.
But in reality, there were still differences even among Extreme Ice users.
And Xiao Lin's Extreme Ice was slightly inferior to Water Ice Child's.
This genuinely shocked Xiao Lin.
After all, he possessed a miniature Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Eyes dantian within his body.
His consciousness space also housed two Dragon Kings.
And yet, he was still a bit weaker than Water Ice Child.
"Tch, that's perfectly normal. Xiao Lin, you weren't born with Extreme Ice."
"And you've never deliberately absorbed ice-attribute soul rings, much less soul rings from soul beasts that possess Extreme Ice."
Hearing Xiao Lin's complaints within the consciousness space, the Ice Dragon King quickly offered an explanation.
"Don't underestimate that little girl. Her phoenix martial soul is of a very high grade, and the soul rings she absorbed are definitely close to Extreme Ice."
"It's perfectly normal that you can't match her."
"I didn't say anything. There's no envy or jealousy here."
Xiao Lin replied calmly.
"Just because my Extreme Ice isn't as strong as Water Ice Child's doesn't mean I can't defeat her. And even without Extreme Ice, I still have Extreme Fire."
Xiao Lin's lips curved upward unconsciously.
His sixth soul ring would very likely be a hundred-thousand-year Extreme Fire soul ring.
If he could trick another hundred-thousand-year soul beast into sacrificing itself, the power of Extreme Fire would be absolutely terrifying.
One more glance, and you'd get burned.
"Well said! How could Extreme Ice ever compare to my Extreme Fire?"
The Fire Dragon King burst into laughter inside Xiao Lin's consciousness, then began provoking the Ice Dragon King nonstop.
As for Extreme Ice, Xiao Lin would wait until he siphoned off some benefits from the Sea God, and after condensing his self-formed seventh soul ring, he would then look for an Extreme Ice soul beast.
Moreover, Xiao Lin had a very simple method to strengthen his Extreme Ice.
He could begin condensing a semi-finished soul core.
Given the current solidity of his soul power, he was already capable of preliminary compression and rotation.
He simply didn't want to start compressing so early.
Because with Lei Lei joining him, Xiao Lin planned to do something big.
First, he would have Lei Lei help him condense a lightning-attribute soul core.
Then, with their superior strength, the two Dragon Kings would resonate in the same position with Lei Lei's soul core.
By the time Xiao Lin became a Soul Sage, he would possess three soul cores in trinity.
Of course, whether this grand plan would succeed depended on how powerful his second-stage Weapon Soul True Body actually was.
If he couldn't withstand a trinity soul core, he would take a step back and choose a safer approach.
Water Ice Child—taking shortcuts might get you ahead for a moment, but true speed lies elsewhere.
Xiao Lin had never considered her an opponent.
On the other side—
Unlike the overconfident Xiao Lin, who was practically strolling through the Sunset Forest, the Tianshui team quickly encountered an attack from a powerful soul beast.
Deep within the Sunset Forest, in a dense jungle area, the ground below was a terrifying swamp.
Even an ordinary Soul Emperor would think twice before entering such a place.
After all, anything could emerge from a swamp.
Even a tiny venomous insect could be enough to kill a Soul Emperor.
But the girls of the Tianshui team were extremely confident.
In front of Water Ice Child—who possessed a top-tier beast martial soul and Extreme Ice—the horrifying swamp environment was no different from a playground.
The pressure from her phoenix martial soul was enough to scare poisonous insects into fleeing in all directions, while Extreme Ice could freeze the swamp into solid ground.
Once a soul master could stand on firm footing, they could fully unleash their combat strength.
Thus, the Tianshui team felt no fear toward the massive soul beast attacking them.
Wasn't it just a gigantic Medusa serpent?
"Water Ice Child, fully release your phoenix pressure. Don't waste soul power entangling it. The rest of you—do not look into the Medusa's eyes."
Seeing that it was a snake-type soul beast, Shao Wanqing quickly calmed down.
Because Water Ice Child's martial soul was a natural nemesis of snake-type soul beasts.
"Yes, Teacher."
Upon receiving Shao Wanqing's order, Water Ice Child instantly activated her martial soul.
"—Kree!"
With a clear and resonant phoenix cry, Water Ice Child completed her martial soul possession.
Ice-blue phoenix feathers appeared on her slender body, giving her an indescribably cold and noble aura.
Compared to before—when she merely revealed a trace of her presence to conserve soul power—
The fully possessed Water Ice Child now resembled an aloof Ice Empress.
The moment the phoenix pressure appeared, the terrifying ten-thousand-year Medusa soul beast fled without hesitation.
After the Medusa retreated, Water Ice Child once again returned to her earlier state, only lightly releasing her soul power aura.
There was a reason she was conserving her soul power.
Although Shao Wanqing was a Soul Emperor, the quality of soul beasts in the Sunset Forest was extremely high.
If Shao Wanqing were held back by other soul beasts, they would have no choice but to rely on the martial soul fusion technique of Water Ice Child and Xue Wu.
Once the Medusa left, Qiu Ruoshui finally let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"A ten-thousand-year soul beast… we just entered the swamp."
Qiu Ruoshui was visibly shaken, a thin layer of sweat forming on her forehead.
A ten-thousand-year soul beast already possessed the power to wipe out their entire squad.
And that Medusa—one glance and you'd be petrified.
If not for Water Ice Child, they might have been completely wiped out.
"Don't worry. We'll circle around the outer edge of the swamp. Shen Liuyu only needs a soul ring of around six thousand years—it won't appear deeper inside."
Shao Wanqing was equally alarmed and immediately adjusted their strategy.
Their martial souls were more suited to aquatic environments. Hunting soul beasts in unfamiliar land terrain like this was inherently dangerous.
Before long, under Shao Wanqing's guidance, the Tianshui team began moving along the perimeter of the swamp.
If they could encounter a Diamond Rune Crocodile on the outskirts, that would be ideal.
But given how powerful Diamond Rune Crocodiles were—
Could one with only six thousand years of cultivation really claim territory within a ten-thousand-year soul beast zone?
Would their new route truly allow them to find a Diamond Rune Crocodile?
(End of Chapter)