"Munch Munch~"
Wu Feng was angrily chewing on the snow pork, shooting Su Wen vicious glares from time to time. Su Wen, however, was enthusiastically chatting with Ning Tian, occasionally giving Wu Feng a provocative smile.
"You said you're not interested in the Young Miss. Hmph, how are you any different from those guys in the sect!" Wu Feng muttered resentfully.
In her eyes, Su Wen was becoming more and more like a cunning fox, making the Young Miss laugh, getting her to let down her guard, and then seizing the opportunity to do something bad. Yes, that must be it!
But by then, of course, the Young Miss's most loyal knight would appear, exposing this guy's scheme at the critical moment and then...
Just as Wu Feng was foolishly daydreaming about being the hero and having the Young Miss fall for her...
Su Wen kindly handed her a wet wipe, then turned to Ning Tian with a smile: "It's not easy for you, Young Miss. Even when you go out, you have to bring an idiot with you."
Ning Tian covered her face, staring at Wu Feng (who was about to drool all over the table) with a dark expression, silver teeth clenched.
"Uh, Young Miss, he's trying to trick you!"
Wu Feng hurriedly wiped her mouth, speaking earnestly.
"Pfft~" Su Wen couldn't hold back a laugh.
As the loyal maid by the heroine's side, she really was a master at playing the fool.
"Wu Feng!!!"
"If you keep talking nonsense, get out!" Ning Tian clenched her fists, her beautiful eyes full of anger.
"Oh…"
Wu Feng drooped her head like a defeated rooster, stuffing snow pork into her mouth with a look of grievance.
"Judging by your age, you're about the same as us, right?" Ning Tian took a deep breath, barely regaining her ladylike demeanor, and asked with a smile.
"Eight." Su Wen nodded.
"So you're traveling to the Extreme North with your elder?" Ning Tian tucked some stray hair behind her ear, asking with interest.
"No, to obtain a soul ring." Su Wen replied with a light laugh.
"To obtain a soul ring?"
Ning Tian's beautiful eyes were momentarily stunned.
She was also eight, but because of her innate level nine soul power, she hit her first bottleneck just three months after awakening her martial soul, around the age of six.
But she didn't look down on Su Wen.
She just felt a bit sorry—his talent seemed a bit lacking. After all, even Wu Feng, with innate level seven soul power, obtained her first soul ring last year.
"Hahaha, from the way you talk, you'd think you had full innate soul power! Turns out you're just a weakling." Wu Feng finally caught Su Wen's shortcoming and looked extremely pleased.
In this world, strength is everything.
Soul power and combat ability are the best indicators of a person's status.
Without strength, all is empty talk.
"Fools have their own luck. It's fine." Su Wen didn't explain, looking at Wu Feng with a hint of affection in his eyes.
"You, you…" Wu Feng's pretty face turned bright red.
"Sigh, what a coincidence, you're all here…" Yan Shaozhe appeared beside the table, seeing the kids bickering, and smiled gently. "Shall I introduce you?"
"No need, Dean Yan." Su Wen nodded.
"Catching soul beasts is the main thing. No time to play around with this silly kid."
"Hehe, this must be Xiao Wen. I've heard a lot about you." Another elder in white robes, thin and tall, chuckled.
"Grandpa Zhu!" Ning Tian's red lips parted in surprise, her eyes widening.
Clearly, she hadn't expected that the elder Su Wen mentioned was actually the dean of the Martial Spirit Department at Shrek Academy!
Even Grandpa Zhu showed him respect, and yet he personally accompanied this junior to the Extreme North to obtain a soul ring?!!
Something's not right!
But Su Wen wouldn't lie to her, right? An eight-year-old getting his first ring, is he just well-connected? Or does he have a special martial soul?
Or is it his second ring?
Impossible! As the future sect master of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had access to all the resources she could want, and her talent was called a once-in-a-millennium genius, but she only broke through to level sixteen yesterday...
Ning Tian shook her head, discarding these absurd thoughts.
…
Extreme North.
Wind and snow raged everywhere.
A group trudged through the snow.
Strangely, though the storm howled around them, they were unaffected—their clothes remained clean, as if an invisible shield protected them from the harsh environment.
Minus ninety degrees. Calling it a human no-go zone was no exaggeration.
No wonder so few humans set foot in the Extreme North, preferring the Star Dou Great Forest. Even a Soul Sage would be hard pressed to deal with such extreme conditions.
"Ice Jade Scorpion? Is your martial soul ice-type?" Ning Tian asked curiously.
The girl's curiosity was growing.
"No." Su Wen shook his head with a smile.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had sent over a dozen people on this trip, supposedly to do business as well—negotiating cold crystal ore with the Lord of Anyang City and surveying the mines.
But the thin elder leading them had left the group, chatting with Yan Shaozhe.
He left the rest of the team to follow the Anyang Lord's people to inspect the mines...
Ning Tian was confused.
Soul rings from ice-type soul beasts give special benefits to ice-type soul masters, but for others, they're pretty useless.
Wu Feng snorted, arms crossed over her chest.
If not for Yan Shaozhe's presence, she would have made a few more jibes.
"There's something up."
Yan Shaozhe halted.
He looked at Su Wen with a hint of joy: "What luck! Didn't expect to find an Ice Jade Scorpion group at the edge of the Extreme North. There are only a few dozen, but they're all centuries or even a thousand years old—perfect for your second choice."
"Let's go have a look!" Su Wen's eyes lit up.
Yan Shaozhe didn't waste words, picked up Su Wen, and flashed forward.
When Su Wen opened his eyes, he saw tracks in the snow ahead, leading to a large group of jade-green, crystal-like scorpions crawling along.
[Ice Jade Scorpion]
[Cultivation: 134 years]
[Attribute: Ultimate Ice]
[Potential: None]
...
[Cultivation: 534 years]
[Attribute: Ultimate Ice]
[Potential: 1]
Su Wen swept his gaze over them.
Surprise flashed in his eyes.
As expected from the Ice Jade Scorpion clan, in this group of dozens, he found three with "potential" not marked as "none"—even if only 1 point, that ratio was amazing.
In the Star Dou Great Forest, finding a potential soul beast below ten thousand years was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Of course, a yellow Pokéball means he can catch any century-old soul beast—even one at 999 years.
But this didn't matter much to Su Wen; at most, it just gave him more options. After all, even a ten-thousand-year beast would sync to Su Wen's level after binding...
"Let's keep going."
Su Wen shook his head.
"These Ice Jade Scorpions just don't have enough potential."
"Alright!"
Yan Shaozhe didn't argue, unleashing his powerful spiritual sense to search for the next batch.
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Advanced chapter here: p-atreon.com/Sajaboyzzz
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