"We lost…"
"You did very well. Among the Spirit Masters of your generation I've seen, you are certainly among the best," Xu Tianyang said with a light chuckle, praising Huo Wu.
"I will continue to work hard in my cultivation and challenge you again. Next time, I will definitely make you look at me differently," Huo Wu said, regaining her composure and looking at Xu Tianyang with fighting spirit.
Xu Tianyang nodded noncommittally, with no intention of discouraging her. He simply humored her, considering it giving face to the Huo family behind Huo Wu.
The small interlude ended, and the banquet continued. Everyone conversed, but it was clear that the harmonious atmosphere from earlier had dissipated.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince certainly has a way with girls," Qian Renxue said casually, leaning back in her chair and toying with the bright wine glass in her hand.
"The Spirit Master's world needs the never-give-up spirit of people like Huo Wu, otherwise it would be lifeless," Xu Tianyang said, seemingly not catching the peculiar meaning in Qian Renxue's words, and showing great approval for Huo Wu's spirit.
"Bang!" Qian Renxue felt an inexplicable irritation. She slammed her wine glass heavily onto the table with a loud thud, stood up, and said, "I've found the key to advancing to a Rank 3 Soul Engineer, so I'll excuse myself."
Qian Renxue had been in Ming City for over a year and hadn't learned nothing. Her spiritual power was very profound, and learning spirit tools was twice as effective with half the effort.
Coupled with her good talent in spirit tools, she reached the threshold of a Rank 3 Soul Engineer within a year.
"Tianyang Gege, are you deliberately trying to annoy Qian Renxue?" Yang Yiyi asked with a smile, sitting next to Xu Tianyang as she watched Qian Renxue leave.
"You're just a child, don't worry about so much," Xu Tianyang chuckled and tapped Yang Yiyi's forehead, eliciting a soft cry from the girl.
He turned to look at Xu Nianshuang, who was quietly chatting with Shui Bing'er. Sensing Xu Tianyang's gaze, she turned her head, gave a slight smile, and showed no signs of displeasure in her eyes.
Seeing this, Xu Tianyang and Xu Nianshuang exchanged a knowing smile. Looking at Qian Renxue's retreating figure, Xu Tianyang's gaze was deep, lost in thought.
Qian Renxue was an extremely arrogant and appearance-obsessed person. To conquer her, one had to be stronger than her and possess an excellent appearance.
And Xu Tianyang happened to meet both of these conditions.
However, Qian Renxue was a person with extremely strong control, and given the adversarial nature of their respective positions, to avoid an awkward situation, Xu Tianyang did not give her any indication.
Once he possessed absolute strength, everything would become clear.
The Heaven Dou Empire group departed the next day, and even Shui Bing'er did not stay behind.
Although her relationship with Xu Nianshuang had become very good within a year due to the Martial Soul Fusion Technique, she still remembered her duty as the captain of Tianshui Academy.
She returned to Tianshui Academy with her teammates, intending to fight their way through the Soul Master Competition a year later and face Xu Tianyang and his group.
After a year of cultivation, with the boost from the Martial Soul Fusion Technique, Shui Bing'er's spirit power directly increased from level 37 to level 44. If Shui Bing'er continued to cultivate with Xu Nianshuang, she might even break through to Spirit King by the Soul Master Competition a year later.
It was simply an astonishing rate of progress.
Furthermore, due to the ultimate ice attribute in Xu Nianshuang's Spirit, her Ice Phoenix Spirit was further developed. Although it hadn't reached the ultimate level, it had become much more powerful.
Xu Nianshuang also gained considerable benefits, successfully breaking through to level 60, and with the help of the Ice Bixie soul spirit from her fifth spirit ring, she condensed her sixth spirit ring.
He himself was also about to break through to level 70, and he currently had no clue about his seventh spirit ring.
The seventh spirit ring was related to the Martial Soul True Body, so naturally, the higher the spirit ring's age, the better, as this would unleash greater power.
Currently, among the known 100,000-year Spirit Beasts and even Fierce Beasts, there weren't any particularly suitable ones.
The Evil Emperor's cultivation was too high, and the Star Dou Great Forest was too deep; he feared it would be a one-way trip.
And while there were countless Sea Spirit Beasts in the ocean, few were suitable. The Deep Sea Demon Whale King was an invincible existence in the sea, so for now, it was only a thought.
Looking around, it seemed the Far North was the only option left.
But he had already absconded with the Snow Empress, one of the three great Heavenly Kings of the Far North. Was he going to wipe out all the Spirit Beasts in the Far North in the future?
Since the Snow Empress obtained that ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow, she had returned to seclusion. No news had come from her, and it was unknown if she had passed the 700,000-year heavenly tribulation.
Having no immediate clue, Xu Tianyang set aside this troublesome problem and began to think about Slaughter City.
Ever since he sent Tang Hao to Slaughter City, he had always had people monitoring it. Recently, there seemed to be some unusual activity... In the small town outside Slaughter City, Xu Tianyang stood on the Undead Bone Dragon, flanked by two elders shrouded in death energy and wielding Coiling Dragon Rods.
Qian Jun and Jiang Mo had already been refined into undead creatures by him. Although their strength could not reach their former peak, they could still exert level 95 power. Together, they could even fight a level 96 Titled Douluo.
"This place truly is a dark and fallen realm!"
Xu Tianyang was silently observing the situation in Slaughter City. Behind him, the figures of Electrolux, the Snow Empress, and the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm slowly appeared.
"Humans actually have such a place to imprison fallen Spirit Masters," the Snow Empress said with a frown, looking at the constantly emanating bloody aura from the cave entrance.
Fallen Spirit Masters were not only hunted and reviled by human Spirit Masters, but they were also infamous in the Spirit Beast World.
"I sense a divine presence here…" the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm said with a solemn look in its small eyes, gazing at Slaughter City.
After advancing to a million years, it was, after all, somewhat different from Fierce Beasts like the Snow Empress.
In ancient times, million-year Spirit Beasts could already become gods. Although Tianmeng had only met the cultivation standard, it had ultimately undergone a subtle change.
It saw more than the Snow Empress did.
"Are you saying there are gods here?" the Snow Empress asked, looking at the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm in surprise.
"I'm not sure…" Facing the Snow Empress's question, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm hesitated.
"I also sensed divinity inside, and not just one, but two," Electrolux said in a faint tone.
"Two!!!" the Snow Empress and the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm looked at the world filled with a decadent aura in front of them, shocked.
"Has the Snow Empress responded?" Xu Tianyang withdrew his observant gaze and looked at the Snow Empress next to him.
Tang Chen was previously a level 99 Limit Douluo, and having completed the Shura Seven Trials, he had even condensed a demigod body, further enhancing his combat power.
In his complete form, he was even slightly stronger than Qian Daoliu and Poseixi.
Although they had Electrolux, a powerhouse capable of exerting demigod strength, he still had the Snow Empress send a message to the Snow Empress for an extra layer of security.
As for whether she could come, or if it would be at a crucial moment, that could only be left to fate.
Slaughter City was on the verge of destruction. If Tang Chen roamed the continent afterward, it might cause unforeseen complications, and he didn't want any accidents to occur.
"The Snow Empress hasn't responded yet. I'm afraid it's too late," the Snow Empress said with a worried bite of her lower lip.
Compared to the safety of their group, she was more concerned about whether the Snow Empress could pass the 700,000-year heavenly tribulation.
"We won't wait for her. Let's go in," Xu Tianyang nodded regretfully, called out to everyone, and walked inside.
"Can't you even wait this short amount of time?"