Chapter 31: The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion of the Extreme North

"To be honest, compared to soul guided daggers of the same level, your Soul Guided Electric Baton is much more practical. This kind of weapon would be perfect for low level agility type soul masters. Its power is quite decent, and for Soul Elders and below, it's undoubtedly a powerful melee weapon. "Plus, the electric baton has one advantage over daggers it can be fitted with a Sealed Milk Bottle inside. This would allow for extended usage, making it far more reliable." Xuan Ziwen gave his evaluation, then curiously pointed at the button on the baton and asked, "But what is this? I've never seen something like it before." "It's a button. It's used to activate the Soul Guided Electric Baton. Teacher Xuan, why don't you take it and study it for yourself?" Huo Yuhao smiled. It wasn't surprising that Xuan Ziwen looked a bit inexperienced. While soul tool technology in the Sun Moon Empire was more advanced than in the Douluo Continent, it still had its shortcomings. For example, in the original story, the first time Xuan Ziwen saw mechanical soul tools crafted by Huo Yuhao, he was completely shocked, as if he had never seen such a thing before. "Alright," Xuan Ziwen said, not being polite about it. He directly took the Soul Guided Electric Baton and handed Huo Yuhao a card. "By the way, the Soul Guided Shock Bomb you developed has been approved for use by the academy. This card contains 500,000 gold soul coins as your reward. "Our research found that the shock bomb has the greatest effect on Soul Elders, but its effectiveness drops significantly against Soul Ancestors and higher." Huo Yuhao took the universal card, feeling excited. He had never expected to make too much money from the Shock Bomb, as it wasn't particularly effective against high level soul masters. Even though soul tools had become the era's dominant weapons, strong individuals were still a force to be reckoned with. Even in the original story, when Xu Tianran faced the Limit Douluo Ye Xishui invading the imperial palace, he had to go all out. Because in Xu Tianran's mind, if he failed to eliminate this Evil Soul Master Limit Douluo, it would spell endless nightmares for the Sun Moon Empire. Meanwhile, at the Headmaster's Office When Jing Hongchen heard about Huo Yuhao's successful second tier soul engineer assessment, a smile spread across his face. "Only a month and a half to pass the second tier assessment, and he even created such a unique second tier soul tool? Huo Yuhao is truly a genius in soul tool development. "The record for the fastest second tier soul engineer assessment in the Sun Moon Empire... has now been broken by Huo Yuhao." Meng Hongchen chuckled and added, "Grandfather, I looked into it. According to his background, Huo Yuhao used to be a citizen of the Star Luo Empire. If the Star Luo people found out he had such immense talent in soul tools, they'd probably regret it to death!" "That's for sure. I suspect Star Luo didn't recognize his potential, which is why he came to us. This is a huge loss for Star Luo, and a massive gain for us! "Even if Huo Yuhao doesn't become a powerful soul master, it doesn't matter. Here in Sun Moon, raw personal strength isn't the only factor. "In large scale warfare, how useful a person is in battle determines their true status." Upon hearing these words, Xiao Hongchen's expression darkened. He clenched his fists and muttered, "He broke the record again... Damn it, Huo Yuhao! "Grandfather, I'm heading to the library. Don't wait up for me tonight! I need to win this back!" With that, he rushed out of the room. For Xiao Hongchen, this was another bitter defeat. The records for fastest first tier and fastest second tier soul engineer assessments both belonged to him. And now? They had been broken by Huo Yuhao! Outside the Academy As Xiao Hongchen walked out, a white robed student one of his followers hurried up to him. "Brother Xiao, the entire academy is talking about Huo Yuhao passing his second tier assessment. "People are calling him the greatest genius in Sun Moon history! "Some are even saying Huo Yuhao is the real genius, while you're just a fake genius! "When I heard that, I was furious! I feel like they're undermining your reputation! "So... should we hire some people to teach Huo Yuhao a lesson? "I mean, regardless of the facts, he has to be at fault for something, right?" Xiao Hongchen froze, then coldly said: "I warn you never hire people to deal with Huo Yuhao! "Or else, I'll deal with you first! "I, Xiao Hongchen, refuse to rely on dirty tricks. "If I lose, I'll train harder and win next time. "I would never stoop so low as to hire thugs just because I lost. "I know that in Star Luo, Dou Ling, Tianhun, and even Sun Moon's nobility, many people resort to such cowardly tactics. "But I will never be like them. "I am Sun Moon's number one genius I have my own pride!" His follower hurriedly nodded. Time Skip – End of Semester The semester quickly came to an end, and students at Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy began returning home. Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao stayed in the Third Laboratory, carefully checking over the soul tools he had crafted. Most of them were focused on warmth, flight, and ice traversal. The most important of them all? Warmth. After all, in the original story, Huo Yuhao nearly froze to death in the Extreme North. Now that he was a qualified second tier soul engineer, he refused to repeat that disastrous experience. Of course, to avoid arousing Skydream Iceworm's suspicion, he had spent weeks subtly coaxing information from him. Eventually, Skydream had "accidentally" revealed that their next destination was the Extreme North. This made Huo Yuhao's preparation of thermal soul tools seem completely logical. During this time, he didn't rush to take the third tier soul engineer assessment. Instead, he focused primarily on cultivating his soul power. As a result, he had now reached Rank 20. "Yuhao, are you ready? I can't wait any longer! Once we reach the Extreme North, I'll help you obtain your second martial soul!" Skydream Iceworm's voice was full of excitement. "Mm, I'm almost ready. I just need to let Teacher Xuan know I'm heading home first." Huo Yuhao quickly found Xuan Ziwen and informed him that he would be leaving for a while. Since the Extreme North was extremely dangerous, if Xuan Ziwen knew the truth, he would definitely stop him. A Few Days Later – The Extreme North A piercing cold wind howled across the icy plains. A figure, clad in thick winter clothing, soared rapidly through the sky Huo Yuhao. Although he wasn't a Soul Sage and couldn't fly with his own strength, he had something far better a Flight Type Soul Tool. On the Douluo Continent, soul tool technology was far behind that of the Sun Moon Empire. Even Flight Type Soul Tools were considered rare and precious among the three Douluo nations. But in the Sun Moon Empire, flight tools were as common as dirt. The Sun Moon Empire had even developed Flight Type Soul Tools that non soul masters could use! Huo Yuhao's journey into the Extreme North had just begun... "So Warm... Thank Goodness for These Soul Tools!" Huo Yuhao felt the warmth of his insulated soul tools, his face glowing red from the cold air. He scanned his surroundings and asked, "Brother Tianmeng, where should we go next?" "Keep flying forward! I'll let you know when we get there," Skydream Iceworm's lazy voice echoed in his mind. Suddenly, Skydream's tone changed sharply, his voice filled with urgency. "Something's wrong! There's a giant incoming get out of the way! If it crashes into us, we're both dead!" "A giant?" Huo Yuhao immediately adjusted his flight path, heading for an ice covered mountain peak nearby. He landed and hid between massive chunks of ice, blending into the frozen terrain. Meanwhile, Skydream Iceworm frantically concealed Huo Yuhao's aura to avoid detection. Then, a booming sound shattered the silence BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Each footstep rumbled like thunder, sending tremors through the ice beneath him. Huo Yuhao felt the frozen ground shaking violently, as if the very mountains would collapse at any moment. Looking toward the source of the noise, he spotted a massive Ice Bear charging forward. The beast was enormous, covered in snow white fur that shimmered with a silver glow, exuding a terrifyingly powerful aura. Ahead of it, a deer like soul beast was desperately fleeing for its life. As it ran, snowballs materialized around the Ice Bear, which it launched at the deer with incredible speed. However, the deer managed to evade every single one, leaving the area blanketed in flying ice shards that only made it more panicked. Skydream Iceworm sighed helplessly. "Just our luck... We actually ran into the Ice Bear King hunting? That dumb brute is playing again he could easily kill the deer, but no, he just has to toy with it first! Like a big kid who never grew up! Honestly, sometimes I wonder if Snow Empress spoiled him too much, making him this immature." Huo Yuhao was also at a loss for words. Originally, in the novel, Huo Yuhao had left Shrek Academy for the Extreme North and encountered the Titan Snow Demon King. He had assumed that by changing his departure point and route, he could avoid that fate. Yet, here he was face to face with the Ice Bear King instead. The Ice Bear King: A Fool, But a Strong One The Ice Bear King was Snow Empress's adopted son, referring to her as "Mom" and, in the original story, calling Huo Yuhao "Grandfather" later on. Eventually, it even became one of Huo Yuhao's soul spirits. But in terms of personality, the Ice Bear King was a big, goofy brute with zero scheming ability. Compared to the Titan Snow Demon King, it was a complete fool. That said, while the Ice Bear King was dumb, it was also ridiculously strong. And Then There's Snow Empress... Speaking of the Ice Bear King, it was impossible not to mention Snow Empress. She was the strongest soul beast in the Extreme North, wielding immense influence over the entire region. Yet, despite her status, she still somehow got captured when she attempted to take human form. By a random, unnamed ninth tier soul engineer at that. ...Yeah, that doesn't make much sense. Snow Empress had lived for 700,000 years she wasn't stupid. Would she really attempt to transform alone without having Ice Bear King guard her? The Ice Bear King was insanely loyal to her and would never betray her. Even when Xiao Wu transformed, she had Da Ming and Er Ming nearby to protect her. Would Snow Empress really be dumber than Xiao Wu? Soul beasts in human form were extremely vulnerable, and Snow Empress would have been fully aware of this. Yet somehow, she ended up getting captured. And the mysterious ninth tier soul engineer who captured her? Never identified. The "Mysterious" Ninth Tier Soul Engineer Who the hell was this "ninth tier soul engineer"? This person somehow traveled all the way to the Extreme North, kidnapped a Snow Empress embryo, and then Brought it thousands of miles to the Star Luo Auction House. Where it was then bought by Xu Jiawei, leading to the Du Busi's attack on Mingde Hall. None of it made sense. At the time, there were no ninth tier soul engineers in the three Douluo nations. Which meant this mysterious kidnapper had to be from the Sun Moon Empire. And it definitely wasn't Ye Xishui. Because if Ye Xishui had captured Snow Empress, the embryo would have already been turned into one of the Death God Tower's wraiths. So... Who the hell was this guy? The Truth? It's All Tang San's Will! When all else fails, just blame Tang San. This was clearly the work of Sea God sama himself. The "Capture Snow Empress" mission was personally ordered by Tang Buddha. All soul beasts must be judged under Tang San's divine law! Back to the Present Some time later, the Ice Bear King finally left. Skydream Iceworm sighed in relief. "Alright, the Ice Bear King is gone. Yuhao, you can keep flying." Huo Yuhao nodded and continued piloting his flight type soul tool, soaring toward their destination. After a while, Skydream Iceworm ordered him to stop. Then, he retrieved his molted skin preparing to lure the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, just like in the original story. Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao waited inside a small ice cave, quietly observing Skydream's trap in progress. The Deception Begins Skydream Iceworm mimicked Snow Empress's aura and called out in a weak, trembling voice: "Binger... My time is near... Hurry to me... I have something important to tell you..." A moment later, an overwhelming presence descended. It was like a mountain crushing down, a dominating force blanketing the entire area. The sky turned an ethereal jade green, glowing like an icy aurora. Then, a cold, ruthless voice rang out "Skydream... You actually dare to return? I thought you were long dead." The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had arrived. The Confrontation "Heh, Bing Bing~ I missed you!" Skydream Iceworm grinned mischievously. "Missed me?" Ice Empress scoffed coldly. "Are you finally ready to become my meal?" "Come on, Binger! I came to offer you eternal life! I know you're not confident about surviving the upcoming tribulation, so I've brought you an opportunity!" "Eternal life?" Ice Empress hesitated for a moment. Truth be told, she wasn't confident about surviving the next cataclysmic soul beast tribulation. And she definitely didn't want to die. Of course, if she could just eat Skydream Iceworm, she'd have a shot at surviving. "Skydream, how do I know you're not lying?" Ice Empress narrowed her eyes. "Eternal life? Without becoming a god, that's impossible!" She moved to strike but the moment she did, Skydream's molted skin and spiritual energy formed an inescapable cage, sealing her in place. Seeing her trapped, Skydream sighed. "Alright, Bing Bing... I'll be honest with you. Even if I wanted to become your food, you couldn't eat me. "Because I don't have a physical body anymore only my spiritual essence remains." "...What?!" For the first time, Ice Empress looked truly shocked. (End of chapter.)Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon Read 15 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Albino1