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**
Aurora Town.
"Cucumber"—the yellow-haired man who had previously tortured Qu He—was being lectured by "Onion." His face was filled with lingering fear as he repeatedly promised to carry out the orders Onion had delivered.
Cucumber's real name was Kakumbo.
Because his Martial Soul excelled in concealment and rapid movement, he served as the captain of the assassination squad within the Frozen Ice Syndicate. He had been utterly shocked when he learned that his team members had been killed.
Others might not know, but how could he not be aware of his subordinates' strength? Setting their raw cultivation aside, by utilizing the geographical advantage of the Far North, those two were more than capable of leap-frogging ranks to kill Soul Ancestor powerhouses.
The fact that even they had failed left Kakumbo stunned. However, what truly terrified him amidst the shock was the fact that those two idiots had actually blurted out their Big Boss's name to someone.
That was a supreme taboo.
Their Boss hated it when anyone spoke his name. Even within the organization, everyone addressed the Boss by his codename. Consequently, the entire nature of this matter had fundamentally changed.
Originally, their Boss had only given a casual command to eliminate anyone investigating the syndicate or the "Ice Powder" production base in the Far North. The Boss wouldn't have bothered to pay attention to it personally, as they had never failed before.
But now that his team had failed and mentioned the Boss's name, things had become grave.
After confirming that the Boss was now personally monitoring the situation, Kakumbo knew he had to handle this himself. Otherwise, if those brats weren't dealt with, he would be the one "dealt with" by the Boss.
Their organization had no room for useless trash.
"Onion, go back and tell the Boss that I will personally take action now," Kakumbo guaranteed with full confidence, a hint of ferocity flashing in his eyes.
He wasn't like his two useless subordinates; he was a genuine Soul King level powerhouse. Being stationed in a place like Aurora Town was arguably a waste of his talents.
Having received Kakumbo's assurance, Onion merely nodded coldly.
"I won't say much more. If you leak the Boss's information as well, your death won't be any prettier than your subordinates'."
As soon as Onion's voice fell, he vanished in the blink of an eye. He left behind Kakumbo, who bit his lower lip and silently clenched his fists.
"Snake, we're moving out," Kakumbo commanded coldly within the dark basement.
Ten-odd days later.
Inside the Mixed Zone of the Far North.
Having killed the duo sent to hunt them, Xiao Lin and his group had utilized the time gap before the Frozen Ice Syndicate realized what had happened to successfully reach the area where the Mysterious Underworld Snake-Tortoise had been sighted.
They had arrived at the Mysterious Ice Lake.
What lay before Xiao Lin and the others was a vast, boundless frozen lake.
"We're finally here!"
Upon seeing their destination, the Shi brothers both wore expressions of excitement.
They were about to obtain their Soul Rings, so naturally, they were elated.
Ye Lingling felt much the same.
She didn't particularly care which Soul Beast she chose, as her Soul Skill would always be "Mass Healing" regardless. However, there were quite a few Soul Beasts currently dwelling around the ice lake. Their ages were perfectly suited for the limit of her fourth Soul Ring.
At this moment, Xiao Lin was secretly scouting the Mysterious Ice Lake, helping Ye Lingling and the Shi brothers select their targets.
The Far North wasn't entirely made of ice; it was just that because it was the northernmost continent, the climate was exceptionally frigid. One could say that the further north one traveled—closer to the Core Zone of the Far North—the colder the weather became.
Currently, within this Mixed Zone, the vast majority of Soul Beasts relied on water sources like the Mysterious Ice Lake to survive. Consequently, there wasn't much infighting among the Soul Beasts in this immediate vicinity.
Every species of Soul Beast here seemed relatively friendly, merely drinking water without engaging in conflict. After a brief survey, Xiao Lin helped the three exclude several Soul Beasts that seemed unsuitable.
For Ye Lingling, the ideal Soul Beast would possess either Mental-attribute or Life-force attributes; if those weren't available, a Healing-type Soul Beast would suffice.
At the very least, they would need to find one with a unique special ability. Xiao Lin harbored a hope that Ye Lingling's Martial Soul could achieve some kind of breakthrough.
As for the Shi brothers, their requirements were similar. Since the presence of the Mysterious Underworld Snake-Tortoise was still uncertain, Xiao Lin was determined to find Soul Beasts with powerful defensive capabilities for the duo.
Generally speaking, carnivorous Soul Beasts were more likely to provide offensive Soul Skills. However, in the Far North, there were very few herbivorous creatures, which made the search difficult for Xiao Lin.
"Hey! Xiao Lin, what kind of Soul Beast is that?"
Like Xiao Lin, all the team members were searching for suitable targets, either for themselves or their teammates. Suddenly, Ye Lingling spotted a peculiar-looking Soul Beast in the Mysterious Ice Lake.
Unable to recognize it, she turned to Xiao Lin—the grandson of the great Grandmaster Xiao Yan.
In the direction Ye Lingling was pointing, a strange Soul Beast was drifting across the massive frozen lake. It moved like a localized whirlwind, leaving a trail of ripples across the surface of the Mysterious Ice Lake.
"That is...?"
Xiao Lin had excellent eyesight and quickly discerned the creature's true form.
Its body was nearly transparent, consisting of various swirling gusts of wind, save for three ice-like cores. Among these three ice cores—the vital components of its body—only one was the true core. Striking the real core would injure it, while the other two were mere decoys.
This type of Soul Beast usually moved via the natural whirlwinds formed by its body. In this world of ice and snow, it had almost no natural predators, and few Soul Beasts took an interest in it.
It was a creature born of heaven and earth—a type of Snow Elf, an Elemental Soul Beast. Furthermore, until such a creature reached ten thousand years of cultivation, it possessed almost no intelligence, acting entirely on instinct.
Despite that, its strength was formidable.
It was a rare species capable of rivaling a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast with only five thousand years of cultivation.
"It's a Frost Gale. Originally, it was one of the choices I considered for a Speed-system Soul Beast. However, looking at the cores in its body, its cultivation is over six thousand years. For this species, each additional core represents an increase in its cultivation level."
"Every core beyond the first adds a few thousand years. Specifically, when it has only one core, it has over a thousand years of cultivation; two cores mean over three thousand years; and three cores mean its cultivation exceeds six thousand years."
Following Xiao Lin's explanation, the group finally understood the nature of this rare Soul Beast.
Unfortunately, its age was too low to be suitable for Xiao Lin himself. Left with no other choice, Xiao Lin asked Ye Lingling if she wanted it.
"It doesn't matter much to me, but that Soul Beast looks difficult to defeat, doesn't it?"
Ye Lingling was inclined to refuse, as the Frost Gale was currently in the center of the Mysterious Ice Lake.
It was using its whirlwinds to draw up water, perhaps to restore its body.
They couldn't exactly cross the lake just to kill it!
"Don't worry, leave it to me."
Xiao Lin smiled confidently.
When it came to a Frost Gale, he knew exactly how to lure it in—this applied to almost any Ice-attribute Soul Beast. As he spoke, he reached out to the Ice Dragon King within his consciousness, requesting assistance.
He hoped the Ice Dragon King could help him condense a "fake treasure" of Ultimate Ice to lure the Frost Gale ashore.
"Student Ye Lingling, if you absorb this Soul Beast's Soul Ring, it would be wonderful if you could enhance your own speed or perhaps gain an offensive method like the freezing wind."
After chipping a block of ice from the glacier and infusing it with Ultimate Ice Soul Power, Xiao Lin casually gave Ye Lingling a suggestive hint.
**
Hello everyone,
Thank you for your support! If you enjoy my work, you can check out my Patreon—there are 100+ early access and exclusive content. I update 5 advanced chapter from Monday-Saturday
www.patreon.com/c/FanficTranslator
I truly appreciate it!