Douluo 2: This Dragon God has too much martial virtue

Chapter 552 Robbery
Even in the heart of the far north, the Ice Sea has never completely frozen over. The vast sea stretches to the horizon, with deep currents surging and warm and cold currents intertwining, so although countless icebergs and ice floes float on the surface, it remains in a state of constant motion.

Even so, the extreme cold here is not something an ordinary soul master can survive. Broken ice floes drifted slowly with the ocean currents, and the biting cold wind, carrying the smell of the sea, raged across the ice surface, emitting a mournful howl.

This extremely cold environment was like a fish in water for Huo Yuhao. His soul power recovered faster than usual, and his powerful mental energy continuously scanned the sea area within a radius of dozens of miles like waves, even having a grasp of the situation in the deep water.

Beneath the ice sheet swam various marine creatures, including many powerful sea spirit beasts. However, upon sensing the oppressive aura emanating from Huo Yuhao, these creatures wisely chose to retreat. As he continued northward, the temperature steadily decreased, the sea ice became increasingly dense, and towering icebergs were scattered throughout the landscape, some of which were even comparable in size to small islands.

The sea spirit beasts inhabiting the icy plains watched him warily, yet maintained a safe distance. These low-level spirit beasts could instinctively judge the difference in strength between the two, let alone Huo Yuhao, who made no attempt to conceal his aura.

"Teacher, do you think the Sea Princess is suitable as my final soul spirit?" Huo Yuhao seemed to be talking to himself. Originally, he had no designs on the mermaid clan, but after the Ice Emperor revealed that the Sea Princess had 600,000 years of cultivation, he was indeed somewhat tempted.

Mu Xing's consciousness transformed into a hazy spiritual entity, gently floating beside him. She licked the corner of her mouth with the tip of her tongue. "Didn't the Ice Emperor say that there are more than one ferocious beast of the Sea Princess's level in this sea area? Whether it's suitable to be a soul spirit is another matter, but the fishtail meat of those mermaids must be extremely delicious."

Huo Yuhao's lips curled slightly: "You're right." Before he finished speaking, a cold, eerie blue light burst forth from his hand without warning. In an instant, the already frozen sea seemed to be frozen by some even more terrifying force, and even the air seemed to freeze.

He held a uniquely shaped short sword in his hand. The blade, about twelve inches long and entirely black, contrasted sharply with its broad back and thin edge. A blue rhombus-shaped gemstone inlaid at the end of the hilt emitted a faint, cold light. Most astonishingly, a fine layer of white mist constantly lingered around the blade. This mist, composed of countless water droplets, was so dense that even the coldest ice could not freeze it.

The moment Huo Yuhao held the Morning Dew Blade in his hand, he felt as if he were connected to it by blood. His five great soul spirits resonated simultaneously, and the extreme cold energy within a hundred miles frantically converged towards the blade. Although his current cultivation level wasn't enough to fully control this divine weapon—after all, he hadn't yet condensed his divine consciousness or formally inherited the position of the God of Emotions—this didn't diminish his confidence in the slightest—on this icy sea, could there be anything more powerful than the divine weapon in his hand?

He flew low over the sea, the water instantly freezing into a crystalline ice path wherever he passed. The gem on the hilt continuously released a bone-chilling cold, repeatedly condensing and compressing his soul power before infusing it into the blade. Even more astonishingly, wisps of divine consciousness seeped from the gem, merging with his soul power and finally allowing this divine weapon to reveal some of its true power.

The sky above the icy sea was eerily silent; Huo Yuhao had flown for so long without spotting a single soul beast. This area was clearly an absolute death zone for flying soul beasts.

As they ventured deeper, the signs of land completely vanished. The towering icebergs on the sea grew increasingly dense, and as far as the eye could see, all was a vast expanse of white snow. The temperature here was rapidly approaching the terrifyingly low temperatures at the very heart of the Arctic ice sheet.

"Roasting it might have a different flavor," Mu Xing said, resting his chin on his hand with a thoughtful expression.

Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, "Teacher, this is the ocean. Although not all the soul beasts under the icy sea are fish, most of them are related to fish. If we grill fish here, that would be a provocation to the entire sea soul beast race." Although he said this, there was not a trace of fear in his tone.

“However,” he suddenly frowned, “why haven’t we encountered any powerful soul beasts along the way?”

Mu Xing snorted: "It was cleaned up by Di Tian a few years ago. Otherwise, where do you think the extra soul bones and seafood in the house came from?" Her tone sounded matter-of-fact, as if she were talking about something very ordinary.

Huo Yuhao suddenly understood; no wonder this sea area was so quiet. With Di Tian's intervention, everything was swept away; those powerful sea spirit beasts were either hunted down or had already fled far away. He looked down at the Morning Dew Blade in his hand; the cold mist on its blade swirled slightly, reflecting the vast light of the icy sea. Perhaps it was also related to the divine weapon in his hand?

He couldn't help but recall those days dominated by seafood, with almost every meal featuring the meat of a ten-thousand-year-old sea spirit beast. The mere thought of sea spirit beasts made him nauseous. Keep in mind that the drop rate for spirit bones is less than one in a thousand; to bring back a dozen or so spirit bones… just how many sea spirit beasts had Di Tian slaughtered?
But then he thought about it again and found it strange. Even if they were sea spirit beasts, the Beast God shouldn't have started a killing spree without reason. Unless they had foolishly blocked the dragon's path or done something to anger the Emperor.

"It seems that some interesting things happened in this sea area back then."

Mu Xing gave Huo Yuhao a sly smile, his figure gradually fading into the air. "It was just a group of demonic great white sharks chasing a little whale, and then the Sea Princess ordered a no-fly zone, which almost caused me to fall into the sea..."

Huo Yuhao understood. No wonder he could eat the shark fin of the Demon Soul Great White Shark every day for those years. No wonder the Sea Princess's clan was plundered by dragons. Even the Sea Princess's most precious golden teardrop was collected and eventually turned into nourishment for his spiritual sea.

His thoughts drifted to the amazing exhibits in the lobby of the Dragon Pavilion: pearls as big as human heads, crystal shells refracting rainbow halos, and that breathtakingly beautiful coral tree... Any one of them would be enough to cause a sensation in the human world.

The most precious item was undoubtedly the personal cat bed crafted from icy jade in his bedroom. The Ice Emperor had once said that such a rare treasure was seldom seen even in the far north. The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm excitedly recalled its first slumber of evolution, triggered by an unexpected encounter with a broken piece of ten-thousand-year-old icy jade. The seeping marrow fluid initiated its long journey of transformation. It could be said that the icy jade played a crucial role in its longevity.

All these rare treasures were spoils of war seized from the merfolk's treasury.

It seems like I've discovered some incredible way to get rich...

Clearly, he wasn't the only one with this idea. Beneath the seemingly calm sea surface, undercurrents were surging, and a gentle yet undeniable fluctuation of spiritual energy was quietly spreading out.

"Is this also part of the test?" Huo Yuhao suddenly recalled Mu Xing's meaningful smile and instinctively wanted to retreat. "Since you're here, why rush to leave?" A cold voice suddenly rang out. In an instant, the calm icy sea suddenly boiled, and countless deep blue lights surged from the seabed. It wasn't ocean waves, but a pure torrent of energy. Caught off guard, Huo Yuhao felt as if he had crashed into sticky glue, and his flight speed instantly plummeted.

The deep blue light grew increasingly intense. Although it didn't directly impact his body, the next second, the entire world suddenly spun around. Huo Yuhao felt the sky and ocean completely reversed, and this dizzying sense of disorientation lasted for several minutes.

When the energy fluctuations finally subsided, Huo Yuhao found himself in a deep blue world—not some kind of realm, but the real ocean floor. In that brief moment, his orientation was completely reversed, and he plummeted from the sky into the deep sea.

This is the absolute home ground of the sea spirit beasts. Huo Yuhao looked up and saw that the deep blue seawater blocked out all light, and he could not see any light coming from the sea surface.

The pressure of the deep sea surged in from all directions like a tidal wave, and the biting cold currents constantly assaulted his body. But surprisingly, the entire sea did not show any hostility towards him. After all, Tang San had lost control of the ocean, while the Water Dragon King Martial Soul granted Huo Yuhao absolute control over the water element.

Suddenly, the Eye of Destiny on Huo Yuhao's forehead emitted a dazzling golden light, illuminating the surrounding dark sea. Hundreds of meters away, hundreds of sea spirit beasts of various shapes and sizes swarmed around. Floating at the forefront was a group of exquisitely beautiful merfolk, both men and women. They wielded coral spears or other strange underwater weapons, their gazes all focused on Huo Yuhao, or more precisely, on the Morning Dew Blade in his hand that emitted a ghostly blue light.

The seawater flowed gently around them, and the mermaids' flowing hair danced lightly with the current. They maintained a wary distance, neither launching an immediate attack nor showing any intention of retreating. The entire underwater world seemed to stand still at that moment, with only the golden light from the Eye of Destiny and the eerie blue glow of the Morning Dew Blade reflecting each other in the deep sea.

Huo Yuhao unleashed his full mental power, extending it in all directions through the amplification of the Eye of Destiny. Golden mental ripples spread across the deep sea, attempting to explore the boundaries of this area.

"Human, there's no need to waste your energy." A cold mental wave suddenly pierced his consciousness. "In this deep sea, the power of the sea god suppresses all outsiders. No matter how strong your mental power is, you cannot break through the ocean's shackles. Now, hand over the weapon in your hand."

Following the source of the mental fluctuations, Huo Yuhao saw a stunningly beautiful mermaid, about three meters long, floating in the center of the school of fish. Her upper body was that of a perfect human female, covered only by two translucent white seashells. Her long, light blue hair spread out like a disc behind her head, unaffected by the water's current. Her slender fishtail was covered with deep blue scales, shimmering with a dreamlike luster under the golden light of the Eye of Destiny. She held a silver spear in her hand, and a sapphire gem was set in the center of the silver crown on her forehead, signifying her noble status.

Hundreds of mermaids stood in neat rows around her, their spiritual power perfectly integrated, weaving an invisible giant net in the deep sea, turning the entire sea area into a cage constructed of pure spiritual power.

Huo Yuhao quickly sensed the strength of the mermaids around him. The mermaid with the silver crown was indeed the strongest among them, but her cultivation was only at the level of a 100,000-year-old soul beast, which was still quite far from 200,000 years. The other mermaids had not even reached the 100,000-year level.

Where is the 600,000-year-old sea princess? Huo Yuhao felt a pang of disappointment. Facing the threat from the silver-crowned mermaid, he calmly transmitted a mental wave: "Why are you so obsessed with the Morning Dew Blade in my hand?"

"Are we being robbed? Teacher, you've set a bad precedent!" Huo Yuhao thought to himself. "Could this group of mermaids be the same ones who were robbed a few years ago?"

"Enough nonsense! Hand over that knife, and I might consider sparing your life!" The silver-crowned mermaid clearly had little patience, her silver spear pointing directly at Huo Yuhao. In an instant, the large net woven from the spiritual energy of hundreds of mermaids suddenly contracted, enveloping Huo Yuhao.

Just as he expected, these merfolk, after being robbed, actually learned the dragon race's methods of getting rich. Huo Yuhao's lips curled slightly upwards, and the cold mist on the Morning Dew Blade suddenly surged violently. Since the other party had taken the initiative, he could finally test the true power of this divine weapon.

The jet-black blade suddenly emitted a hazy glow, and the icy blue gemstone on the hilt burst forth with a dazzling, cold light. In an instant, the temperature of the entire sea area plummeted, and centered on Huo Yuhao, the seawater began to freeze into ice at an alarming rate.

As the combined mental shockwave from hundreds of mermaids swept in like a tsunami, Huo Yuhao focused solely on wielding the Morning Dew Blade. The chilling aura of ultimate ice spread continuously, freezing the approaching sea spirit beasts into ice sculptures one by one.

"Om-"

Just as the mental impact was only ten meters away from Huo Yuhao, it collapsed as if it had hit an invisible barrier, without even lifting the hem of his clothes.

"This is impossible!" the silver-crowned mermaid exclaimed in shock, the sapphire on her crown trembling violently. She had never seen a human emerge unscathed from the combined mental net cast by the merfolk. What shocked her even more was that the soul power emanating from this human was not particularly strong.

The Morning Dew Blade trembled slightly in Huo Yuhao's hand, and the white mist on its blade suddenly transformed into countless tiny ice crystals. These ice crystals spread through the seawater, and wherever they passed, even the surrounding sea spirit beasts were frozen into glittering ice sculptures.

Just as the silver-crowned mermaid was momentarily stunned, a strange fluctuation suddenly appeared in the surrounding space. Huo Yuhao's figure teleported to her side like a ghost, his Morning Dew Blade, gleaming with a chilling light, aimed straight for her slender neck.

Anyone who frequently kills fish knows that you should first knock the head off the fish, but chopping off the head directly is also an option.

A layer of icy blue crystal shield instantly formed around the mermaid's body—her innate defensive ability. However, before the divine artifact, this shield shattered like paper.

(End of this chapter)