"Under the rule of that sibling pair, has the Sun Moon Empire ever been timid?"
Xuan Zi let out a cold snort. He ordered Elder Song, "Elder Song! Please make a trip to the Dou Ling Empire. With your mobility, it'll be much easier for you to catch up to those people. You must completely eradicate those damned fellows!"
Elder Song nodded slightly. "Understood."
After Elder Song left with the messenger, Xuan Zi looked at their departing figures and frowned.
"How did they cross such a long stretch of border without being discovered by the Heavenly Soul Empire or the Star Luo Empire? This isn't just one or two people—it's an entire soul tool regiment!"
To the side, Da Ming reminded him, "Don't forget the Extreme North."
Hearing Da Ming's words, Xuan Zi finally reacted. He frowned.
"Right, I almost forgot. The beasts of the Extreme North are also deeply entangled with the Sun Moon Empire. Those creatures hiding in ice and snow… they've grown bold, daring even to interfere in human wars."
Da Ming listened to Xuan Zi's disdain toward the soul beasts of the Extreme North without any change in expression, but a trace of mockery and cold amusement flickered in his eyes.
Xuan Zi continued, "We can't leave the Extreme North unchecked any longer! But that place… even people who've lived their entire lives in the northern territories have never truly set foot in its depths. Investigating and gaining control over that region won't be easy."
As he pondered, pacing back and forth, someone suddenly came to mind—Ling Luochen.
Her family was an ancient clan located in the Heavenly Soul Empire's northern border, living for generations along the edge of the Extreme North.
Realizing this, Xuan Zi immediately summoned Ling Luochen.
By now, Ling Luochen had already broken through to Soul Sage and was advancing toward Soul Douluo. Although her talent was not outstanding within Shrek Academy's current generation of prodigies, in the eyes of the continent at large, she was already considered extremely gifted.
Xuan Zi explained the situation to her. After listening, Ling Luochen frowned.
"My family has indeed lived on the outskirts of the Extreme North for generations, but we've almost never gone deep! Even when hunting for soul rings, we only move around the periphery. As for the interior… I'm afraid even my family doesn't know much."
"That's fine. I will send people to accompany you back to your clan. We must investigate the Extreme North thoroughly and completely seal off the Sun Moon Empire's northern passage!" Xuan Zi said solemnly.
Ling Luochen looked at his expression and pressed her lips together before nodding.
"Yes, Elder Xuan, I understand."
"Rest assured, once you return to the academy, you'll be rewarded." Even now, Xuan Zi didn't forget to draw her a big promise.
Ling Luochen nodded and left Sea God Pavilion.
After stepping out, she lifted her head and looked at the sun overhead.
In this season, the sun wasn't warm—its light carried no heat at all.
Ever since the Mingdu explosion, Shrek Academy had formed a new generation of Shrek Seven Devils. Although she was included among them, she knew full well she was mostly just filling a slot.
Without a divine inheritance, without Beibei's talent or his dragon pellet, she had already been marginalized for quite some time. She never expected Xuan Zi would have use for her one day.
Her gaze drifted toward the calm surface of Sea God Lake. After a long while, she let out a breath and left.
Xuan Zi sent Cai Meier, Xian Lin'er, and Ma Xiaotao to accompany Ling Luochen back to her clan.
Although the Ling Clan had a long lineage, compared to Shrek Academy, they were insignificant. When the clan members learned Ling Luochen was returning with two Shrek Academy deans, they were overjoyed, as if the clan had suddenly gained immense honor.
Seeing her family like this, Ling Luochen felt something indescribably strange in her heart.
Such is reality.
She sighed softly.
After chatting briefly with the Ling Clan members, Cai Meier turned to her and asked, "Luochen, who in your family is most familiar with the Extreme North? Tomorrow we'll coordinate with the Heavenly Soul Empire's northern troops and head into the Extreme North together."
Ling Luochen pointed out several people—those in the family who specialized in gathering rare resources from the Extreme North.
Cai Meier quickly assigned tasks. Xian Lin'er herself went to the nearby Heavenly Soul Empire military base and, in the name of Shrek Academy, summoned troops.
The natural environment of the Extreme North was far beyond what Cai Meier, Xian Lin'er, and Ma Xiaotao had imagined. They had prepared as thoroughly as they could, yet when they truly stepped into the region, they came to understand the vastness of the icy world—and their own insignificance.
Endless white blanketed everything.
They had not walked far before the footprints behind them were swallowed by wind and snow, gone without a trace.
The path behind was gone; the path ahead, invisible.
Between heaven and earth, only the terrifying wind howled.
"What kind of freakish soul beasts can even survive in a place like this…?" Xian Lin'er muttered while trudging forward, each step sinking deep into the snow.
Ma Xiaotao raised her hand, a cluster of Phoenix True Flame pulsing in her palm. She melted a path through the ice, but once she passed, the temperature dropped and the wind and snow reclaimed the ground, erasing all traces.
The power of nature was not something humans could resist.
Behind them, the Heavenly Soul Empire's general asked,
"Honored elders, how long do we have to keep going? This place doesn't seem like somewhere anyone would pass through. Would the Sun Moon Empire's forces really come through here?"
Cai Meier looked back.
"Lingdou City has already been attacked by a soul tool regiment. Do you still have doubts?"
Hearing her cold tone, the general smacked his lips and muttered,
"I'm just… worried about my soldiers. You elders will be fine, but my men can't take much more."
After he finished, Cai Meier and Xian Lin'er exchanged a glance and nodded.
Cai Meier said, "Fine. We'll stop here. Have your men build a defensive line in this area—take control of everything within fifty li. Completely cut off any possibility of the Sun Moon Empire using this route."
"Here? Build a defensive line…?"
The general froze.
"How long will that take?"
"Until we defeat the Sun Moon Empire." Cai Meier replied sternly.
Upon hearing this, the general's face immediately twisted with misery.
"Honored elder… that's far too difficult for us! To build a long-term outpost in a place like this, we'll need a huge number of soul tools. We don't have nearly enough!"
Ma Xiaotao shot him a glance.
"You're a general—why are you whining like a housewife? Don't tell me you don't dare to hold this position. Are you scared?"
Ling Luochen followed silently at the side, watching Cai Meier and the others negotiate with the general. Her thoughts drifted endlessly.
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