"Since the Crown Prince is so sincere, how could I possibly refuse?"
Yu Yan wholeheartedly agreed to Xue Qinghe's invitation; the title of Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire meant nothing to someone who had transmigrated from modern society.
Yu Yan only accepted Qian Renxue's invitation out of respect for the two Titled Douluo at her side.
"Haha, shall we set off right now?"
Knowing the answer in his heart, Xue Qinghe, hearing Yu Yan accept, wanted to drag him straight to a tavern in Dragon City for a long talk and then recruit him.
"It's not convenient right now; I'm waiting for my companion and still have things to do. How about Your Highness returns to Dragon City first and waits a moment? Once I finish here, I'll come pay my respects tomorrow."
Yu Yan, who still had to wait for Xiao Wu, check the treasure map, and figure out how to decline Qian Renxue's recruitment, offered a compromise.
Accepting Qian Renxue's offer was impossible—she carried too many entanglements and troubles, clashing with Yu Yan's plan to develop quietly into godhood.
"I was thoughtless and forgot you still have matters to attend to; I'll head back to Dragon City to prepare and await your arrival."
After the important talk, Xue Qinghe stepped closer to Yu Yan, stopping at a polite distance, and began casual conversation.
Trained by Ning Fengzhi, Xue Qinghe carried his teacher's style in dealing with people; even if Yu Yan wanted to refuse, he had to admit the man had the bearing of a true gentleman, impossible to dislike.
Half an hour later, Xiao Wu appeared in the sight of both Yu Yan and Xue Qinghe.
The moment he saw her, Xue Qinghe's eyes lit up; besides recruiting Yu Yan, he also wanted this Genius who was hardly inferior to him.
Walking up to Yu Yan, Xiao Wu leaned in and whispered, "Yu Yan, who is he?"
"Miss Xiao Wu, greetings. I am Xue Qinghe; meeting you both here today is a rare fortune."
Hearing her whisper, Xue Qinghe answered with a gentle smile and introduced himself.
"Hello."
With strangers, especially those she didn't know, Xiao Wu was always cool and distant; she left the handling to Yu Yan.
"Your Highness, Xiao Wu and I still have matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave?"
After chatting at length and finally meeting Xiao Wu, Yu Yan voiced his intention to depart.
"Since you're both busy, I won't disturb you further. Tomorrow I'll host a banquet at the Extreme North Tavern in Dragon City and await your arrival."
Running out of topics, Xue Qinghe agreed to let them go; he would review Yu Yan's dossier and arrange the feast.
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Five Core Abilities of the Northern Plains Giant Wolf (including individual and pack-linked skills):
Ability One: Ice Pulse Resonance (Bloodline Passive)
Effect:
The pack links into an "Ice spirit power Network," sharing vision and life status within a ten-kilometre diameter.
Tactical Use:
Wounded wolves auto-distribute damage (a hundred century-old wolves can disperse one blow from a Titled Douluo).
Prey tracks are relayed in real time (a holographic footprint map forms in the mind).
Awakening Age: century (basis for pack survival).
Ability Two: Frostbone Forge (Defensive Skill)
Trigger: three wolves touch tails and exhale "Extreme Cold Breath."
Manifestation:
Ice crystals condense into ancient mammoth armour (defence rises to ten-thousand-year Armoured Beast level).
Data:
Pack size / Defence boost / Duration
3 wolves: withstand a 92nd-rank attack system Spirit Ability for 30 min
12 wolves: immune to energy shocks below 95th rank for 2 hrs
Weakness: vulnerable to continuous fire-attribute burns (melting point ≥ Phoenix flame).
Ability Three: Rime-Moon Sacrificial Dance (Slaughter Ritual)
Restrictions: full-moon night in the Extreme North Land
Ritual:
Wolves circle an "ice altar," spawning a blizzard tornado;
Sacrifice one wolf's flesh to summon an ancient wolf spirit projection (1.2× the alpha's power).
Rules:
While the projection exists, every 10 s drains one wolf's spirit power until exhausted;
Killing an enemy restores 50 % of the sacrificed wolf's life.
Strategic Value: slay an invading Titled Douluo (costs one-third of the pack).
Ability Four: Everfrost Brand (Mind-Control Skill)
Trigger: claws tear the target while injecting an "Ice-Marrow Seal."
Three control tiers:
Layers / Control strength
1 layer: muscles freeze (speed −70 %)
3 layers: Spirit Ability release delayed 1 s
5 layers: mind frozen (turns target into an ice Puppet for 10 s)
Counter: requires fire-attribute Spirit Douluo–level burn (or a head Spirit Bone's mental shock).
Ability Five: Abyssal Burial (Domain Profound Truth)
User: 60 000-year Winter Alpha (fused with pack will)
Domain:
A[Arctic Night Realm opens] → B[Temperature plummets to −200 °C] → C[Non-ice Spirit Abilities ≤10 % power] → D[Wolves gain "Frost Flash"] → E[Three Teleportations per second for assault]
Cost:
Once per day;
Whole pack hibernates 24 h afterward.
Divine clash record:
Once forced back the 99th-rank Snow Emperor (fearing pack self-destruct), recorded in the fragmentary "Extreme North Codex."
Ability logic loop
Individual → Pack: Frostbone Forge empowers single points, Ice Pulse Resonance builds the network;
Defence → Slaughter: Brand controls prey, Sacrificial Dance/Domain delivers finisher;
Cost balance: every Profound Truth consumes pack resources (stamina/life).
Spirit Master warning: fighting Northern Plains Giant Wolves inside Arctic Night Realm ≈ battling a mobile glacial fortress (Spirit Hall Hunting Manual: requires three 95th-rank Titled Douluo).
Design highlights the wolves' combat aesthetic of "ice as spear, pack as shield" and follows Douluo core Law: power demands price, survival demands sacrifice.
Environment: extreme cold breeds pack wisdom (a lone wolf dies).
Spirit Ability Origin: frost energy manifests as "Ice-Marrow Venom" and "Extreme Cold Domain."
Compensation: low-offence, high-defence race regains parity via age-awakened Domain.
Ecological niche: fills the "mid-sized pack predator" role in the Extreme North Land; its legion tactics devastate Spirit Master teams, countered only by Peak Douluo.
Moonlight charge: under full moon, fur absorbs moonlight, ice-attribute power ×300 %.
Ice-Marrow Venom Chain: after claw wound, toxin spreads with blood, spirit power flow −70 %.
Social structure: pyramid packs (3–12 wolves per clan).
Representative: Winter Alpha (strongest of the pack).