Douluo: The Throne of Ice

Chapter 2 Shu Yan, Journey to the Far North

Everything that followed was strangely cliché.

Shu Yan, with the super martial soul Ice and Snow Maiden, possessing the ultimate ice attribute, innate full soul power, a clean background, and a reserved and gentle personality, was all the information Xu Jiujiu and Xu Jiawei received immediately.

These impressive figures once made Xu Jiawei applaud repeatedly. In addition, given the good image that Shu Yan had maintained in the welfare institution, Xu Jiawei once wanted to invite the most mysterious Grand Elder of the Star Luo Royal Hall to take Shu Yan as his disciple. However, the plan ultimately fell through for unknown reasons.

None of the titled Douluo belonging to the Star Luo Empire possessed an ice-attribute martial soul, making the question of who would teach Shu Yan a huge problem for Xu Jiawei.

Xu Jiawei struggled with this issue for a long time, and even considered having Shu Yan go to Xingluo National Academy to study under an assumed name. However, Xu Jiawei quickly dismissed the idea.

Shu Yan's ultimate ice martial soul is already unique among humans in this world, not to mention that this ultimate ice martial soul belongs to the Ice and Snow Maiden, the overlord of the far north. If this news is exposed, it will definitely cause a great shock, and countless forces will follow suit. At that time, Shu Yan's final fate will be truly uncertain...

This is clearly not the situation Xu Jiawei wants to see. What he wants is a peerless genius who is loyal to the Star Luo Empire and remains hidden in the shadows. When necessary, Shu Yan can become the sharpest sword hidden in the shadows of the Star Luo Empire, delivering a fatal blow to the enemy. If Shu Yan is exposed to the light too early, it is by no means a rational decision.

It was at this moment that Xu Jiujiu proposed a solution.

The plan was simple: let Shu Yan study under her. As the Star Luo Princess, Xu Jiujiu had many servants around her, and she didn't need to study at the Royal Academy. With the knowledgeable senior, Nebula Douluo, by her side, no teacher in the Star Luo Empire Academy could compare to her.

Xu Jiujiu is extremely skilled at socializing and winning people's hearts. As long as she spends more time with Shu Yan, she can build a deep friendship with him. This is much more reliable than brainwashing or anything like that, and there will be fewer other troubles and difficulties to face.

Of course, Xu Jiawei and Xu Jiujiu's ideas were both beautiful, but their original friendship gradually changed during their innocent childhood interactions, and the reason for this change was that Xu Jiujiu had developed feelings for him after playing together...

Everything that followed fell into place naturally. Although he lost his sister, Xu Jiawei at least achieved his goal...

This move can be described as killing two birds with one stone!

……

This time, Xu Jiujiu didn't lie. The next day, Shattered Star Douluo appeared and found Shu Yan. This level 95 Super Douluo was incredibly powerful and held a very high position in the Star Luo Empire. He was like a pillar of the Star Luo Empire. But even such a powerful veteran was now forced to do the trivial task of leading his juniors to hunt for spirit rings.

However, Shattered Star Douluo himself wasn't dissatisfied. Befriending a promising young genius like Shu Yan in advance would bring him many benefits... Besides, given his status in the Star Luo Empire, he was bound to know some hidden secrets...

Oops, I almost went off-topic.

Now, all other preparations and arrangements are in place, except for a slight deviation in the original personnel arrangements.

Originally, the only people scheduled to go out to hunt souls were Shu Yan, Shattered Star Douluo, and Nebula Douluo, but in the end, Xu Jiujiu was added.

Shu Yan didn't know how she had convinced Xu Jiawei to let her leave Xingluo City, only that this girl had probably been scolded by Xu Jiawei quite a bit for this...

In terms of achievements and the state of the country during his reign, Xu Jiawei was undoubtedly a qualified monarch. At the same time, he was also an absolutely qualified elder brother. He was rational and dignified, and he also possessed the domineering nature and long-term vision that a monarch should have. However, he was sometimes too concerned about Xu Jiujiu's safety. But from another perspective, this undoubtedly reflects his concern for Xu Jiujiu.

The royal family is usually cold-hearted, but unfortunately these two siblings are exceptions, so everything makes sense.

……

The journey to the far north was extremely long, and they had to pass through the territory of the Heavenly Soul Empire. When passing through some large cities, the four of them had to take detours to avoid being discovered by the Heavenly Soul experts and causing an accident.

Shu Yan had already traveled this route once before, so it wasn't unfamiliar to him.

Shattered Star Douluo remained calm. As a Super Douluo, he was not entirely unfamiliar with the four great empires. When Shu Yan hunted for the third spirit ring, it was he who led the enemy to the far north to obtain it.

To be honest, suitable soul beasts for Shu Yan could be found in the Star Dou Great Forest, but Xu Jiawei preferred to have a Super Douluo take Shu Yan thousands of miles to the far north to hunt for them, and there must be a reason for that.

On the one hand, the far north is home to numerous ice-attribute soul beasts, and their quality is far superior to that of the Star Dou Great Forest, making it a paradise for ice-attribute soul masters.

On the other hand, he also had some little-known concerns. The Ice and Snow Maiden was a super martial soul that had never appeared in a human before, and it also had extreme attributes. This was extremely rare in the entire history of human soul masters. Xu Jiawei's concern was that Shu Yan was a reincarnation of a 100,000-year-old soul beast.

After all, what exactly lies within the core of the far north remains unexplored by humankind. Xu Jiawei believes that vigilance must be maintained at all times, even if the other party is someone he watched grow up and who eventually became his sister's lover...

……

The four were busy traveling and naturally had to eat and sleep outdoors, only stopping to rest occasionally when passing through some villages and towns.

Shattered Star Douluo and Nebula Douluo naturally didn't feel anything, but Xu Jiujiu and Shu Yan were both low-level Soul Masters. Even though their physical abilities were not bad, their complexions still looked quite poor after such a high-intensity journey.

Even so, Xu Jiujiu remained in high spirits, often pulling Shu Yan along to admire the scenery. This was extremely rare for her, being able to see all the beauty of the world with the lover she had chosen. Xu Jiujiu couldn't help but feel romantic about it.

Shu Yan simply stayed quietly by his side for a long time. As time went by and influenced by his own martial soul, his personality became more and more introverted and calm. Perhaps those who spent a long time with him did not notice it, but Nebula Douluo, who accompanied him, gained a lot of insights.

Although the princess and Shu Yan were close in age, they got along surprisingly well. Moreover, they were both rare cultivation geniuses. Although Nebula Douluo was usually a bit serious and rigid, he still had a very high opinion of their relationship.

……

After traveling day and night for three days, the group finally arrived at the edge of the far north.

Over the course of ten thousand years, the gap in combat power between humans and soul beasts has gradually narrowed, and humans' encroachment on the far north has become increasingly apparent.

At least half of the original outer area of ​​the far north has become human territory. In recent years, humans have continued to slowly advance deeper into the region. Of course, in this process, humans are extremely cautious, fearing that a single misstep could trigger a beast tide, at which point everything would be irreversible.

Such is the nature of humanity: people anticipate the outcome before they plunder, yet they still cannot control their inner greed, and it is only a matter of time before disaster strikes.

……

The wind and snow were howling. This was the first time in a long time that she had left Xingluo City so far away. The howling wind and snow made her, who had the soul power of a Soul Venerable, feel cold. Not to mention that the environment became more and more harsh and the temperature was lower the further she went into the far north. It was a true forbidden zone for humans.

Here, the phrase "freezing to death" is no longer a sigh or a complaint, but rather the most realistic description of the area encompassed in the far north...

Extreme low temperatures are fatal to low-level Soul Masters, but Shu Yan was only wearing a white summer robe. Unlike ordinary people, he did not feel anything unusual. On the contrary, he felt that the biting cold wind was very comfortable on his body. The Ice and Snow Maiden Martial Soul's immunity to extreme cold is undoubtedly top-notch, and this was clearly demonstrated in him.

The two titled Douluo on the side, with their profound soul power, were naturally unaffected. The only one who suffered was Xu Jiujiu, who was traveling far from home for the first time.

Xu Jiujiu is fourteen years old this year, two years older than Shu Yan. Her soul power level has reached the level of Soul Venerable at level thirty-four, which is already considered a rare genius. However, the strength of a Soul Venerable is still somewhat insufficient to cope with the wind and snow in the far north, not to mention that the group also encountered a blizzard that is rare in a hundred years.

Just as Nebula Douluo was about to step in to protect him, Shu Yan placed a light blue crystal into Xu Jiujiu's hand. The bone-chilling cold instantly dissipated, replaced by a touch of warmth.

This is a special ice crystal condensed from the original soul power of the Ice and Snow Maiden Martial Soul. Putting aside other effects for now, just considering the effect of being immune to cold when worn on the body, it can indeed be considered a half-divine skill for low-level soul masters in the far north.

She paused for a moment, then gave Shu Yan a clear smile.

Shu Yan chuckled and shook his head, then turned and continued walking into the snowstorm.

……

(End of this chapter)