Yun Ming took the intelligence report from Yang Wudi. It detailed not only the establishment of the Martial Soul Empire but also the latest combat developments of Martial Soul Hall.
In just about a month of warfare, under the weight of absolute overwhelming force, the Heaven Dou and Star Luo empires had already lost five cities. The elite forces of both nations had been slaughtered and routed by the organized Spirit Master legions of the Martial Soul Empire. If not for the fact that the Martial Soul Empire was currently plagued by internal issues and unstable territories, forcing them to stop and start, the capital gates of both nations would likely be breached within two years at this rate.
The countdown has begun.
Yun Ming pondered this in his heart, calculating his next steps.
Yang Wudi patted him on the shoulder, interrupting his thoughts.
"Alright, stop thinking about these things for now! You've been out in the wind and rain for over three months; go back to the clan and get some rest!"
Hearing his grandfather's words, Yun Ming smiled slightly.
"Alright, let's go home."
As he spoke, he stomped his foot, and rings of silver array patterns centered on him, enveloping them both. A few breaths later, the two vanished.
Yun Ming rested at home for three days to soothe his weary mind. After meeting with his relatives and friends in the clan, he prepared to head out to obtain his final Spirit Ring. It was time to awaken his last sleeping comrade-in-arms.
Yang Wudi and Yang Wutian arrived at Yun Ming's Small Courtyard.
Looking at the fully prepared Yun Ming, Yang Wutian said in a deep voice.
"Ming Er, your Fifth Grand Uncle knows you are strong, but I also know that any Spirit Beast you choose to be your ninth Spirit Ring must be extraordinary. Are you sure you don't need any help?"
Yang Wudi added.
"Ming Er, if you need anything, just say it. Although I am not as strong as you, I am still a Titled Douluo, and I can at least be of some assistance."
Listening to his two grand uncles, Yun Ming smiled.
"Don't worry! Grand Uncles, I know my limits. But this time, no one can help me; I must do it myself."
"Very well, then I wish for Ming Er to get what he desires and return in triumph!"
Yang Wudi declared loudly.
Yun Ming responded solemnly.
"I will, Grand Uncle!"
The two men nodded upon hearing this and said no more. Yun Ming raised his hand to summon the Sharpness of the Atlas Divine Spear, his spatial perception spreading out along with his Spiritual Power until it locked onto his destination.
After a violent spatial fluctuation, Yun Ming vanished from the Small Courtyard.
Seeing that Yun Ming had left, Yang Wutian asked Yang Wudi, who was standing beside him.
"Big Brother, what kind of Spirit Beast do you think Ming Er has chosen this time?"
Yang Wudi shook his head.
"I can't guess, and I don't know. The Spirit Beasts that kid looks for are all strange and bizarre; who could possibly know?"
"Instead of wasting time thinking about this, you should focus on your cultivation. The younger generation has already surpassed you!"
Yang Wutian: "."
What kind of normal grandchild becomes a Titled Douluo at eighteen? This was simply making things difficult for him. Yang Wutian retorted.
"Big Brother, I will work hard on my cultivation, but don't get too smug. Ming Er definitely won't look for an ordinary Spirit Beast. When he returns, if you haven't broken through yet, you will definitely be surpassed by him. It's just a matter of who goes first between us two brothers."
Yang Wudi looked at Yang Wutian with an unfriendly expression. The point was valid, but for this old fellow to dare say it to his face, it seemed he had truly forgotten the 'majesty' of his elder brother.
He stretched his hands and said to Yang Wutian.
"Come, come, it's been a long time since we two old brothers sparred. Come, let's have a contest! Let me see how much you've improved."
Seeing that this old man wanted to use this as an excuse to beat him up, Yang Wutian didn't want to fight, but since he had already spoken, he couldn't back down. He boasted.
"Fight then, let's go to the Martial Arts Arena."
With that, the two headed toward the clan's Martial Arts Arena.
Just as the two grand uncles were about to trade blows, Yun Ming had arrived at his destination.
This was a snowy mountain range, with peaks piled upon peaks, draped in silver. Every mountain peak was cloaked in a flawless white snow robe, shining with a soft yet dazzling light. Sunlight occasionally pierced through the thin clouds, spilling onto the pristine snow and refracting into ten thousand rays of light, like scattered stars fallen into the Human World, adorning this snowy realm in a way that was both mysterious and dreamlike. In the valleys, the cold wind hummed, carrying the freshness and chill of snowflakes, weaving through the exposed rocks and emitting long, echoing sounds.
This was a special area on the outskirts of the North Pole Land of the Douluo world. Far from the inner circle, the resources here were considered abundant for the North Pole Land, yet it was unusually quiet, as if devoid of any living presence, which defied logic. But Yun Ming's target was right here; it was the very source of this strange phenomenon.
Yun Ming walked through these snowy mountains, each step leaving deep footprints, as if he were writing his own legend in this boundless white world. Everything around him was silent, save for the sound of his own breathing and the crunch of snow beneath his feet. His Spiritual Power carefully swept over every inch of the snowfield along with his footsteps.
The continental shifts over twenty thousand years, the changing of seas into mulberry fields, meant that even Yun Ming could not immediately find the exact location. He could only determine based on the surrounding environment that the target should live here now, but as for where exactly, he would have to search carefully.
A day passed quickly, and Yun Ming did not find his target. Seeing that it was getting late, he took out a small white ball and infused it with Soul Power. The ball, infused with Soul Power, erupted in a burst of white smoke, and in its place appeared a ten-meter-diameter, semi-circular, silver-white metal cabin. This was a mobile resting chamber Yun Ming had rushed to build over the past two days to cope with the environment of the North Pole.
Yun Ming opened the metal door and stepped inside, where the Soul Guidance Lamp and heating system started automatically. Since it was a rush job, the interior was empty and devoid of any extra items. Yun Ming sat cross-legged on the floor, meditating and resting, waiting for dawn to arrive so he could continue his search the next day.
One day, two days. Seven days. This snowfield was not too large; normally, it wouldn't take much time for Yun Ming to search it thoroughly with his Spiritual Power. It was just that the dwelling of the Spirit Beast he was looking for this time was too special and too obscure, forcing him to search for seven days, walking through ninety percent of the peaks in the snowfield, searching as if digging three feet into the ground, before he finally found the place he was looking for.
Yun Ming sensed a faint, almost imperceptible spatial fluctuation at the summit of Tianling Mountain, and the corners of his mouth curled up.
"Finally found you, Ice Mirror!"
Then, with a flash of silver light, he arrived before a massive ice crystal on the mountaintop. After carefully sensing the weak spatial fluctuations on the ice crystal again and confirming he was correct, Yun Ming raised his hand to summon the Sharpness of the Atlas Divine Spear, countless silver light points gathering on the spear tip.
Seeing that the spatial power on the long spear was sufficiently condensed, Yun Ming poked the ice surface with the spear. A strange thing happened: normally, with the Sharpness of the Atlas Divine Spear, any ice would shatter upon such a strike. But now, not only did Yun Ming's strike fail to shatter the ice, the spear tip acted as if it had poked into a water membrane, wobbling continuously with the vibration of the ice surface without advancing an inch.
Yun Ming was not surprised by this. Using the spear as a pen, he wrote on the ice crystal surface in a chaotic stroke order, and the remaining silver light finally formed the character 'Di'. As the character took shape, the ice surface erupted with silver light, and a vortex twisted the reflection of Yun Ming on the ice crystal.
Looking back at the reality where Yun Ming had been, he had already vanished without a trace, for he had followed the Ice Mirror passage to his destination: Di Hong Mountain!
Yun Ming stepped onto solid ground again. Feeling the endless spatial pressure coming from his surroundings, he knew he had been discovered. He did not shy away, instead channeling his Soul Power, his voice shaking the firmament.
"Di Hong, since I have come, why not show yourself?"
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader