Soon, Shui Bing'er arrived in front of the ice-blue bead. Her blue eyes stared straight at the bead that emitted a chilling aura.
"You want it?"
At that moment, Shui Wuhen's voice sounded from behind Shui Bing'er, pulling her out of that special state.
Shui Bing'er turned around and looked at Shui Wuhen, who had already walked to her side, and nodded. "My body's instinct is telling me this thing is very useful to me. Brother, can I have this bead?"
"Of course you can. And I probably already have an idea of what this thing is."
Shui Wuhen smiled and patted Shui Bing'er's head.
"Brother, you know what this thing is?"
Hearing this, Shui Bing'er's eyes lit up as she quickly asked.
At the same time, Shui Yue'er and the Water Heaven Sect Grand Elder at the door were also attracted by their actions and listened curiously to the siblings' conversation.
"Not 100% certain, but I can make a rough guess."
Shui Wuhen nodded, then looked at the ice-blue bead in front of him and asked, "Bing'er, look. Doesn't this thing look somewhat like the inner core of the Ten-Headed Fiery Sun Snake?"
To help Shui Bing'er better understand, Shui Wuhen even took out the Ten-Headed Fiery Sun Snake's inner core from his spatial soul tool.
The moment the Ten-Headed Fiery Sun Snake inner core appeared, the surrounding air seemed to become slightly hotter.
But this reaction was quickly suppressed by the cold aura of the ice-blue bead. Even the light emitted by the Ten-Headed Fiery Sun Snake inner core dimmed considerably.
It was obvious that the Ten-Headed Fiery Sun Snake was completely inferior to the ice-blue bead in front of them.
Shui Bing'er looked at the Ten-Headed Fiery Sun Snake inner core in Shui Wuhen's hand, then at the ice-blue bead on the platform, and seemed to understand something. She asked tentatively,
"Brother, do you mean that this ice-blue bead and the Ten-Headed Fiery Sun Snake inner core are similar things, or even the same type of item?"
Hearing Shui Bing'er's words, Shui Yue'er beside them was completely confused. Inner core? What was that? Why had she never heard of it before?
"Inner core?"
At this moment, the Water Heaven Sect Grand Elder's eyes flashed. A long-forgotten legend suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Inner cores were items that could be obtained after the death of certain extraordinary beasts, similar to spirit bones, both possessing various abilities.
What shocked him even more was that this treasure, which the Water Heaven Sect had treated as a priceless treasure, turned out to be the inner core of an ancient extraordinary beast.
Listening to Shui Bing'er's guess, Shui Wuhen smiled. "That's right. This bead should be the inner core of some ice-attributed lifeform.
And judging from your body's reaction, the original owner of this inner core was very likely an Ice Phoenix.
Even if it's not, it must be a bird-type soul beast with Ice Phoenix bloodline, or something of the same level.
Based on my judgment, if you can absorb this thing, it will bring you enormous benefits. It may even further evolve your martial soul."
As soon as these words came out, Shui Bing'er's gaze toward the ice-blue inner core instantly turned extremely heated.
After absorbing the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Marrow, Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix martial soul had already been strengthened to a certain extent. Her cultivation speed and ice power had both improved significantly, nearly reaching the peak of her martial soul.
If this inner core could truly evolve her Ice Phoenix martial soul again, what level would her martial soul reach? Could she catch up to her brother?
At this moment, Shui Wuhen stepped forward and grabbed the Ice Phoenix inner core. Instantly, endless cold energy surged out from the bead, trying to freeze Shui Wuhen and even his soul power.
"Hmph!"
Shui Wuhen snorted coldly. A wave of even colder soul power erupted from his body, instantly forcing back the cold energy of the Ice Phoenix inner core.
This sudden suppression clearly enraged the inner core. A clear phoenix cry rang out as the bead instantly transformed into a tiny Ice Phoenix, launching a counterattack at Shui Wuhen.
Seeing this, everyone present widened their eyes. Was this thing actually alive? Could it be that the owner of the inner core had revived?
However, Shui Wuhen only sneered after seeing the Ice Phoenix resist. "If you were still alive, I might fear you a little.
But you've been dead for who knows how long. With just a mere inner core, you still dare act so arrogantly?"
The next moment, Shui Wuhen unleashed his full power without reservation. His soul power surged out completely, suppressing the tiny Ice Phoenix in an instant and turning it back into a restrained ice-blue bead of energy.
After sealing it, Shui Wuhen tossed the Ice Phoenix inner core to Shui Bing'er.
Shui Bing'er instinctively caught it. Surprisingly, the bead was not as cold as expected, only slightly cool to the touch.
"This inner core belonged to a beast of at least ten-thousand-year level. After we return, I will help you absorb it."
Shui Wuhen reminded her, worried that Shui Bing'er might try to absorb it immediately without understanding the risks.
Phoenix-type beings in this world, although not as dominant as dragons, were still extremely powerful. Even an Ice Phoenix branch was among the top-tier beast martial souls.
If this inner core's original owner were still alive—even at just ten thousand years—it might be stronger than the twenty-thousand-year Ice Dragon Shui Wuhen had killed before, possibly even comparable to a thirty-thousand-year Ice Empress Scorpion.
However, such beings had long disappeared. The Ice Phoenix martial soul Shui Bing'er possessed was a mutated version and still had a significant gap compared to a true Ice Phoenix martial soul.
At the very least, a perfect Ice Phoenix martial soul would naturally possess a domain, rather than requiring an external spirit bone like Shui Bing'er did.
"Okay, I understand, brother." Shui Bing'er nodded and put the Ice Phoenix inner core away.
Seeing her obedience, Shui Wuhen finally turned his attention to another item—the throne that emitted divine ice energy.
Seeing Shui Wuhen look at the throne, the Water Heaven Sect Grand Elder's eyes flashed with pain, but he still quickly explained, "This is the Ice-Frozen Throne. It was created from a mysterious metal obtained by our second sect master, combined with numerous rare materials, and forged by several master craftsmen of that era.
An Ice-attributed martial soul user sitting on it can greatly increase cultivation speed. Its effect is comparable to a top-tier heavenly secret realm. It can also fly, has its own defensive barrier capable of blocking a full-force strike from a Title Douluo, and can significantly enhance soul skill power. It is one of our Water Heaven Sect's trump cards."
"Such a good item—why don't you use it, and instead let it gather dust in your treasure vault?" Shui Yue'er asked in confusion.
According to the Grand Elder, such an artifact could allow a Soul Douluo to rival a Title Douluo. What did that mean in a world where Title Douluo were extremely rare?
"Exactly, why not use it?" Shui Bing'er also nodded in agreement.
Hearing this, the Grand Elder of the Water Heaven Sect looked embarrassed and said bitterly, "Because the Ice-Frozen Throne has usage requirements. The user must have an Ice attribute martial soul and be at least at peak Soul Douluo level just to barely activate it.
To truly use it freely, one must be a Title Douluo. Since the passing of our second sect master, our sect has never produced another Title Douluo. So it has only remained here as our foundation."
"So that's how it is. The conditions really are strict." Shui Yue'er nodded in understanding.
Shui Bing'er curled her lips. "Your Water Heaven Sect is really useless. With Tian Shui Academy providing talent, you still haven't produced a Title Douluo in all these years."
At that, the Grand Elder flushed red but muttered softly, "If Title Douluo were so easy to produce, why would we support Tian Shui Academy… and it's not like we don't have one right in front of us…"
Shui Bing'er immediately realized who he meant—her and her brother.
"Hah, you're thinking too beautifully," she said speechlessly.
With Shui Wuhen's talent, becoming a Title Douluo was guaranteed even without any opportunities. As for her, reaching that level was also highly likely with normal growth.
But at this point, joining the Water Heaven Sect was impossible.
Shui Wuhen was already level 90, on the verge of becoming a Title Douluo. Shui Bing'er was about to reach Soul Sage. They had already taken the sect's most valuable treasures. Why would they join now?
Not to mention, Shui Wuhen had even rejected the recruitment of the Spirit Hall with ten-thousand-year spirit rings and spirit bones. The Water Heaven Sect could not compare at all.
And there was another crucial reason—the sect had previously tried to seize their things. Shui Bing'er disliked that very much.
Shui Wuhen ignored the conversation and walked straight to the throne, sitting down.
In an instant, massive amounts of his soul power were absorbed by the seat until more than half of it was drained, and the throne finally activated.
Soon, a stream of information entered his mind, revealing the control method and capabilities of the artifact.
"To people in this world, it can indeed be called an artifact. Unfortunately, for me now, it's just a useless item."
Shui Wuhen sighed.
"However… it does suit Bing'er quite well. It's just a pity I must reclaim the Ice God shard within it. Otherwise, it would be a good fit for her."
After a moment, Shui Wuhen stood up and said to the Water Heaven Sect Grand Elder, "I'll take this."
Without waiting for a response, he waved his hand and stored the Ice-Frozen Throne into his spatial soul tool.
The Grand Elder looked at Shui Wuhen with a complicated expression.
This artifact had been kept by their sect for so long without anyone being able to use it. Yet Shui Wuhen not only activated it immediately but also took it away. What else could this be but a robbery in reverse?
Afterward, Shui Wuhen toured the third level of the Water Heaven Sect treasury briefly, allowing Shui Yue'er to select a few treasures before leaving.
Midair, Shui Wuhen looked at Shui Yue'er and said, "Dean, does Tian Shui Academy have a sufficiently safe chamber? We need to go into closed-door cultivation for a while."
"A safe chamber? Of course." Shui Yue'er replied without hesitation. "You can use my personal chamber. Unless it's a Soul Douluo attacking at full power, nothing will disturb it."
"Then thank you, Dean." Shui Wuhen nodded slightly.
Next, he would merge with the Ice God shard, and Shui Bing'er would refine the Ice Phoenix inner core. Both required complete focus and could not be disturbed, so a safe environment was essential.
Shui Yue'er smiled. "No need to thank me. You've already helped me far more than this. If it weren't for you, I might already have been captured by those three old fellows of the Water Heaven Sect."
"Don't worry, Dean. With my brother and me here, even people from the Spirit Hall can't harm you."
At that moment, Shui Bing'er flew over and patted her chest confidently.