Wei Xuan felt no killing intent toward the Snow Ape. His attacks were purely meant to distract, never to harm.
The soul ring he sought was around ten thousand years in age—this ape's forty-thousand-year cultivation was far too high, unsuitable for him. There was no reason to kill it.
Indeed, Wei Xuan had come to the Extreme North precisely to obtain his next soul ring. He was now a Level 40 quasi–Soul Sect.
Over the past four years, though much of his time had been devoted to the study of Soul Tools, he had never once neglected his cultivation.
Once he fully grasped this world's cultivation system, his progress could only be described as astonishing—advancing by miles each day.
A single day of his training equaled several days—or even dozens—for ordinary Soul Masters.
Were it not for his practice of compressing his Soul Power to the utmost limit at every rank, his level would be even more outrageous—perhaps already a Soul King, or even Soul Emperor.
And all this he achieved without relying on any heavenly herbs, rare treasures, or pills—only pure cultivation.
He had reached Level 30 in just one year and four months.
After that, his speed slowed by about thirty percent. But even with this reduction, his pace was still unmatched among Soul Masters.
Two years later, he broke through to Level 40. All he needed now was a fourth ring to advance officially to the rank of Soul Sect.
This journey to the Extreme North was a solo trial—no companions, no guards.
It was worth noting that Wei Xuan still had not practiced any of the supreme immortal arts from his previous life—not because he was unwilling, but because he could not.
The immortal techniques he once mastered were of a realm too high. Practicing them here would destabilize the very laws of this world, causing unpredictable consequences.
He had once tried, years ago—and he could still vividly recall the result.
The skies above Mingdu darkened. Space itself fractured in several places.
The entire city was swallowed by shadows, as though the end of days had come.
All this chaos had erupted from a single attempt at cultivation. Since that day, he had never dared to try again.
He could not bring himself to endanger the world for his own progress.
Those arts would have to wait—until the day he left this plane entirely.
Fortunately, using the Heavenly Pupils did not cause such devastation. Perhaps because, after becoming his Martial Soul, their full power had yet to awaken.
"Raaagh… boom, boom!"
The Snow Ape, frustrated at its inability to catch Wei Xuan, erupted in fury.
It roared, beating its chest in primal rage. The ground trembled with every strike, snow rippling outward like waves.
Then, with a snarl, it heaved up a massive boulder—easily weighing over a thousand jin—and hurled it through the air.
The rock tore through the wind with a deep, violent hum.
Not stopping there, the Snow Ape grabbed two smaller stones—each over a hundred jin—and flung them while charging forward.
Ape-type beasts were renowned for raw strength, and this one was no exception.
Even a thousand-jin boulder was nothing to it—these smaller ones were effortless to throw, perfect for rapid attacks while in motion.
Each rock, though "light" for the beast, still carried terrifying momentum, whistling through the air like cannon fire.
"Not bad aim," Wei Xuan commented lightly. Through his divine sense, he didn't even need to look back to track their trajectories.
All three stones were aimed precisely at where he might land next.
Had he been careless, any one of them could have crushed him—his body, or at least his movement, completely disabled.
A direct hit from that force could be fatal—
unless he used his defensive Soul Tools, in which case it would merely inconvenience him.
Landing gracefully, he stomped once on the snow, propelling himself upward.
While twisting midair, he raised his Hand Cannon, letting cold energy gather within the barrel.
The runes etched into its black metal glowed faint blue—then deepened to navy in an instant.
Boom!
A sphere of condensed frost energy, the size of a fist, blasted forth—colliding head-on with the largest boulder.
Bang!
The explosion shattered the stone into countless icy fragments, erupting into a storm of razor-sharp shards.
The blast radius spanned several dozen meters; the snowfield churned violently, peppered with deep pits where the fragments struck.
This Hand Cannon was the same one Wei Xuan had crafted at age six—though heavily upgraded since then.
Now, it had reached the level of a Grade Five Soul Tool.
Due to material limitations, that was its upper cap.
Yet despite being "only" Grade Five, its internal array and synergy with the ice-rich environment amplified its power dramatically—
easily rivaling top-tier Grade Six Soul Tools, and not far from Grade Seven.
But Grade Seven represented a qualitative leap, just as Soul Saints surpassed Soul Kings.
That threshold could not be bridged by craftsmanship alone.
Boom! Boom!
Two more shots followed, each striking the remaining stones with perfect precision.
The resulting triple detonation filled the field with roaring blizzards of energy. Even the Snow Ape, with its thick hide and immense endurance, had to brace itself defensively.
After launching one last charged blast, Wei Xuan fired it into the ground several dozen meters before the Snow Ape.
The impact erupted like a frozen volcano, engulfing nearly a hundred meters in an icy storm.
The beast roared in defiance, refusing to dodge, letting the shockwave crash against its body.
When the blizzard finally dispersed, the ape found the world before it empty—only falling snow and wind where its prey had stood.
"Raaagh!"
The Snow Ape's enraged roar echoed through the tundra.
Pounding its chest, it unleashed its fury upon the surrounding ice and stone.
Nearby soul beasts fled in terror, not daring to linger.
Meanwhile, Wei Xuan had already escaped several kilometers away, carried swiftly by his propulsion device.
Once certain he'd lost pursuit, he stopped and began retracting his divine sense—only to freeze.
"…Hmm?"
His expression shifted to surprise. He turned left, focusing his spiritual perception in that direction.
The rest of his senses retracted as he channeled all focus forward.
A few seconds later, a look of delight spread across his face.
"Well now… seems your chase wasn't for nothing, big guy," he murmured with a grin.
He didn't rush immediately. Instead, he sat down cross-legged on the snow to restore his Soul Power.
An hour later, fully replenished, he rose swiftly and sped off in the direction of the discovery—
his powerful divine sense extending around him once more, covering several kilometers in every direction, missing nothing.
(End of Chapter)