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**
For Huyan Li and the others, it seemed they could finally relax a little.
Their breathing slowed slightly, but such a break was an absolute luxury for Ling Xiao. Even as he forced back Huyan Li and the other two, Ling Xiao did not let his guard down for a single second.
This coordinated assault from the seven opponents would never consist of just those three; the two strongest among them had yet to make their move.
Sure enough, just as Ling Xiao heavily injured Huyan Li with an axe strike and shattered his head-on charge, a piercing chill erupted from behind. He clearly sensed a formidable wave of ice-attributed power condensing at his rear.
The frigid aura grew increasingly intense, closing the distance rapidly. There was no time to turn and look. Just as the ice-attributed assault was about to slam into his back, Ling Xiao spun around and swung his axe.
A massive, crescent-shaped axe light instantly tore through the air to meet the attack.
At that moment, Ling Xiao finally saw the true form of this ice-attributed strike.
It was a massive torrent of icy wind and snow surging toward him at breakneck speed.
The ice-blue current was packed with dense, solid particles of ice crystals and a freezing mist that churned like ocean currents. Flying forward with extreme velocity, it looked just like a rushing river of ice and snow.
This was precisely Huyan Ba's third soul skill: Ice and Snow Breath.
The soul ring came from a Blue Ice Python with a cultivation base of over one thousand eight hundred years. As a soul beast, the Blue Ice Python's bloodline rank could be considered upper-level among mid-tier soul beasts.
Not only did it possess immense strength, hard scales, and excellent defense, but it was also a pure ice-attribute soul beast. Its ice power was exceptionally refined, and it excelled at breath attacks.
When a Blue Ice Python with a millennium cultivation base exhaled a blast of freezing air, it was enough to completely seal a small patch of woodland in ice. Against a single enemy of similar cultivation, it could turn them into an ice sculpture, freezing their bloodline and soul power solid.
Furthermore, this type of soul beast possessed a very faint trace of Dragon Clan bloodline. It was merely dormant, but once awakened, its strength would soar to another level, approaching that of a high-level soul beast.
If its cultivation managed to rise to the profound realm of over ten thousand years, and with the right opportunities, it could even transform into a flood dragon—evolving into a Blue Ice Flying Flood Dragon—and embark on the Dragon Evolution.
Its bloodline would then reach the level of a top-tier soul beast.
Therefore, even though it did not quite rank among high-level soul beasts, it was still a highly precious soul beast. As an elite youth of the Huyan Clan, Huyan Ba's choice of this soul beast for his soul ring was excellent.
While a few traces of this type of ice-attributed soul beast could be found within the Star Dou Forest, they mostly inhabited the Frozen Forest in the northern region of the Heaven Dou Empire, as well as the Far North Ice Plains even further north.
Compared to their kin in the Star Dou Forest, Blue Ice Pythons from the Frozen Forest and the Far North possessed a much more refined and dense freezing power at the same cultivation level, making them significantly stronger.
The specific Blue Ice Python corresponding to Huyan Ba's third soul ring was hunted in the Frozen Forest, under the guidance of a Huyan Clan elder. Back then, capturing this Blue Ice Python had taken considerable effort.
Even though its cultivation was only at the millennium level, one had to realize that although the Frozen Forest was not as vast as the Star Dou Forest, it was still a famous, large-scale soul beast habitat within the borders of the Heaven Dou Empire.
While it might not hold one hundred thousand year soul beasts, it still contained quite a few beast kings with cultivations over fifty thousand years. Moreover, the natural ice-attribute energy within the Frozen Forest was incredibly abundant.
There, all ice-attributed soul beasts received a boost to their strength.
On top of that, powerful soul beasts from the Far North Ice Plains would occasionally migrate south into the Frozen Forest. Consequently, entering the forest meant not only enduring the harsh environment but also facing attacks from powerful ice-type soul beasts.
Its danger level was not much lower than that of the Star Dou Forest.
At this moment, Huyan Ba had activated his third soul ring.
The third soul skill he unleashed showcased, to a certain extent, the unique characteristics and power of the Soul Master system.
Soul rings did not just assist Soul Masters in cultivating their Martial Souls or provide a reference framework for mastering their Martial Soul's power; they were also a vital supplement to a Soul Master's combat repertoire.
Beyond the innate skills a Soul Master could learn, a soul ring provided entirely new combat methods or external powers.
Furthermore, this additional power could differ vastly from the Soul Master's own Martial Soul—it didn't even need to be related—allowing them to effectively compensate for their own weaknesses.
Take the Huyan Ba before him as an example.
His Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul was renowned for its strength and defense. Even though it possessed a unique, specialized energy known as Diamond Power, it was still categorized as a Beast-attribute soul.
Beast-attribute soul beasts, and by extension, Beast-attribute Martial Souls, usually shared a common trait: they excelled at controlling physical strength and displaying raw power.
However, when it came to combat style, it was difficult for them to match Element-attribute soul beasts and Martial Souls, which could utilize the unique traits of various elements to create highly volatile and versatile combat methods.
Consequently, Soul Masters with Beast-attribute Martial Souls generally had rather straightforward and single-dimensional fighting styles. This was where soul rings came in, helping a Soul Master acquire powers their own Martial Soul lacked, thereby shoring up their deficiencies.
The ice-attribute energy contained within Huyan Ba's third soul ring, when integrated with his Martial Soul's innate power, was highly impressive whether used for direct assault or for locking down an enemy.
Previously, Huyan Ba had only ever used his first and second soul skills, keeping his third soul skill hidden until now. Its sudden deployment truly gave Ling Xiao quite a shock.
As a dominant force among high-level Martial Souls, the Diamond Mammoth could essentially absorb soul rings from almost any soul beast via a process of assimilation, save for those with top-tier bloodlines.
Therefore, when members of the Huyan Clan chose soul rings, a proficiency in strength and defense served as the baseline; anything beyond that depended on what kind of additional power the ring could grant the Soul Master.
Choosing an Element-attribute soul beast was perfectly reasonable.
However, ice-attribute power did not seem to pair particularly well with the characteristics of the Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul. In terms of defense, it was inferior to the earth attribute, and in terms of offense, it fell short of the fire and lightning attributes.
As for using the wind attribute to boost speed? Heh, one could use their feet to think and realize that was utter nonsense.
Could anyone imagine an elephant manipulating fierce gales, flying through the sky, and bursting forth with a speed comparable to an Imperial Eagle of the same rank? There was no need to even think about it.
If such a thing existed, it would absolutely be a result of pure cultivation suppression; it was completely impossible at the same rank.
Nevertheless, the surprise lasted for only an instant.
With no time for idle thoughts, Ling Xiao unleashed his Profound Sky Slash.
A massive, crescent-shaped axe light erupted from the silver-white blade, cleaving through the air.
The axe light, radiating a blackish-red glow, was condensed to the absolute limit.
It carried an overbearing, tyrannical aura, seemingly overflowing with killing intent, its might reaching a peak. Similarly, any attack capable of making Ling Xiao take it seriously was bound to be extraordinary.
The torrent of ice and snow exhaled from the wide-open mouth of Huyan Ba's Diamond Mammoth form possessed such a biting chill that even the surrounding air seemed to freeze.
The temperature within a dozen-meter radius around him plummeted drastically, and snowflakes seemed to drift through the air.
The vast amount of ice crystals contained within the frigid current was the physical manifestation of condensed freezing energy, while the shimmering blue ice mist expanded the attack's area of effect.
If one were to be caught within its spreading expanse, even their movements would likely be severely impaired. If anyone were to take a direct hit from this Ice and Snow Breath, they would likely be turned instantly into an ice sculpture.
The freezing chill would invade their body, locking down their bloodline and soul power until they could no longer circulate. If they failed to break free from the ice immediately, they would have no choice but to wait for death.
**
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Thanks for reading!
I have 100+ advanced chapter now on Patreon. I will post 5 advanced chapter on Patreon everyday except Sunday