After traveling day and night for nearly two days, Shen Hanyu finally led Tian Meng out of the area, completely covered in ice and snow. Looking back at the vast expanse of snow and ice slowly disappearing behind him, he suddenly felt a little unaccustomed to it.
The Far North was simply too vast. Not every part of it was covered in ice and snow; most areas still followed the normal cycle of spring, summer, autumn, and winter—a rare sight on the Douluo Continent.
After all, the interior of the continent was mild year-round, coastal regions were hot almost all year, and only the areas close to the Far North had distinct seasonal changes. Because of this, the Far North's tourism industry was extremely developed and served as the main economic source for several nearby major cities.
The place Shen Hanyu had arrived at was roughly northeast of Element City, about three hundred kilometers away—not too far, but it would still take four or five days by carriage.
Tian Meng once again lay lazily on Shen Hanyu's shoulder, comfortably basking in the warm sunlight. An ice silkworm that liked sunbathing—this scene was rather peculiar.
Shen Hanyu walked along a country path beside a small stream, sighed softly, and said,
"I've done nothing but wander around and cultivate. When did my life become so monotonous and boring… tsk…"
Hearing this, Tian Meng rolled its eyes and said,
"You're aware you love running around randomly? Sometimes you don't even look at a map and just go wherever you feel like. Can you really reach your destination that way? But I'm not just criticizing you—your current mindset doesn't resemble that of a fourteen-year-old boy in the slightest. Cultivating like this is good, but it's still missing something. I suggest that after you return this time, you stay home for a while and properly adjust your state of mind. Otherwise, it will only harm your future cultivation."
Shen Hanyu nodded helplessly. He really did need to interact more with others; otherwise, he'd end up completely disconnected from society.
Tian Meng stopped paying attention to Shen Hanyu and fell asleep on his shoulder for an afternoon nap, treating the place like its own home.
Shen Hanyu glanced at it, then continued along the small path, trying to find a main road.
......
Spring was bright and warm; all things revived.
After countless hardships and dangers, Shen Hanyu finally returned to Element City.
The first thing he did upon returning was decisively book a room at a hotel, order hot water to be prepared, and take a comfortable hot bath, washing away the exhaustion and grime of the past several months.
After finishing that, Shen Hanyu went out for a simple meal, then headed to Skywater Academy to see his dear little sister. Facing her resentful expression, he casually made up an excuse and quickly rushed back to the hotel. He still had more important things to do; it wasn't time to relax yet.
.........
The soul bone produced by the Fallen Sea Demon was perfectly intact, containing a complete skeletal structure and vigorous yet tyrannical soul power fluctuations. Moreover, this was the right leg bone of the ultimate ice attribute.
Soul bones from ultimate ice spirit beasts generally could not be absorbed by ordinary ice-attribute soul masters; doing so would lead to irreversible consequences. Yet such a restriction did not diminish the fact that countless soul masters would flock to it…
There was no helping it—human nature is greedy. Even knowing something is beyond their reach, people still insist on taking risks and trying anyway. This is a kind of tragedy.
...…
Shen Hanyu gazed at the soul bone for a long time before finally placing it against his right leg and mobilizing his soul power to begin absorption.
The moment the soul bone entered his body, Shen Hanyu let out a muffled groan. An explosive surge of violent soul power erupted in his right leg, followed by a strange fluctuation.
Within his mental sea of consciousness,
Tian Meng woke up in a daze, suddenly noticing an intruder had entered Shen Hanyu's mental sea. The intruder carried deep malice and hatred, and this aura was extremely familiar—it belonged to the remnant will of the Fallen Sea Demon that it had crushed just two days ago.
After carefully examining it, Tian Meng instantly understood what was happening.
"Heh, trying to pull a little trick like hiding your soul and trading one life for another right under my nose? If I don't toy with you to death today, I wouldn't deserve to be the king of kings among spirit beasts, the true ancestor of the Ice Silkworm clan…"
Immediately afterward, Tian Meng mobilized its spiritual power and delivered a fierce barrage of attacks against the remnant will of the Fallen Sea Demon inside the soul bone.
While beating it senseless, it didn't forget to mock:
"Tch, trash. With just this bit of remnant will, you thought you could drag Hanyu down with you to the grave? I don't even know whether to call you clever or brainless—you're really an idiot. Did you not know I'm a spiritual-attribute ferocious beast? I might not be able to beat you in the outside world, but when it comes to spiritual power, I'm stronger than your dad's dad…"
After suppressing the Fallen Sea Demon's remnant will, Tian Meng began its usual verbal barrage, unleashing a torrent of insults at the remnant soul.
The Fallen Sea Demon's remnant will struggle fiercely, emitting terrifying roars in the mental sea while its form writhes violently, clearly unwilling to give up until death.
Tian Meng glanced at Shen Hanyu, who was still seriously absorbing the soul bone, and gave a disdainful cold snort toward the remnant soul before saying,
"If Hanyu wasn't in the middle of absorbing the soul bone and I was afraid of disturbing him, I would definitely give you a proper 'treatment." What kind of trash dares to shit and piss on your Grandpa Tian Meng's head…"
Then Tian Meng suddenly tore open a crack in one of the seals containing its own energy, drawing out a terrifying surge of power from within. It wiggled over to the Fallen Sea Demon, examined it for a while, and finally said with satisfaction,
"Though I say that, it's still a race whose spiritual power isn't much weaker than mine. The spiritual energy contained in this remnant will is actually quite substantial… hehehe… then just obediently become nourishment for Hanyu. Be good~ I'll be very gentle, don't move~ here I come~."
Accompanied by the Fallen Sea Demon's utterly miserable scream and Tian Meng's strange laughter, Shen Hanyu—who was in the middle of absorbing the soul bone—suddenly trembled without warning, as if startled by something…
......…
In the evening, a gentle soul power fluctuation burst from Shen Hanyu's body, like soft ocean waves lightly lapping, carrying a tolerant feeling that came from the sea.
"Whew…"
"Level 65… not bad. My strength has risen a bit too quickly; there seem to be quite a few hidden dangers…"
Shen Hanyu let out a long breath, clenched his fist, and muttered to himself.
In just one year, his soul power had skyrocketed by more than ten levels—an unprecedented rate of improvement. While Shen Hanyu felt satisfied, he also inexplicably felt emptiness and intense loneliness. A thick wave of exhaustion surged up…
In a daze, Shen Hanyu could only vaguely hear Tian Meng's intermittent calls. He wanted to respond, but the next moment, his eyes closed, and he fell into deep sleep, completely cutting off contact with the outside world. His entire world plunged into darkness…
Tian Meng was scared half to death, but after confirming that Shen Hanyu had merely fallen asleep from accumulated exhaustion, its little eyes turned resentful. Still, it gently used its eight hands and eight legs to do its best to cover Shen Hanyu with a thin blanket, then returned to his mental sea, stretched lazily, and immediately fell asleep itself, completely ignoring the strange sleep-talk it occasionally muttered…