With a deep sigh and a heavy heart, Dai Yueheng returned to Shrek Academy.
Meanwhile, on the other side, upon the distant snowy plains.
"Whoosh!"
A stream of light, interwoven with green and gold, tore through the wind and snow before coming to a sudden halt.
As the light dissipated, Liu Yuan's figure was revealed.
He glanced back at the vast, boundless white world behind him; there was no longer any sign of Dai Yueheng or that scout.
Traveling at the ultimate speed of "Extreme Speed" with all his might, the distance he had covered in just a short moment was terrifyingly long.
After confirming no one was following, Liu Yuan's mind stirred. The emerald-green dragon scales and golden divine patterns covering his body, which exuded a primordial aura, receded like a tide and vanished back into his form.
The biting cold wind whipped by, carrying ice crystals, yet it couldn't make his upright figure waver in the slightest.
Standing there, his lips slowly curled into a cold arc, and he let out a low, mocking chuckle.
"Want me to return to Shrek? How laughable."
His voice rang out exceptionally clear across the empty snowy plains.
"Setting aside those meager conditions you offered, they are nothing compared to the sincerity shown by the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. Even if you offered better terms, I would never go back."
A flash of undisguised disgust and contempt flickered in Liu Yuan's eyes.
"Summoned when needed, discarded when not—what exactly do you take me, Liu Yuan, for? A dog without dignity?"
At the thought of Xuan Zi's high-and-mighty, entitled face and Dai Yueheng's condescending, charity-like attitude, the flames in Liu Yuan's heart involuntarily flared up.
He slowly clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within his body that moved according to his will. A thought surfaced irrepressibly in his mind.
"If I weren't busy with the System's tasks and urgent to grow stronger, I would really love to report to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy immediately and represent them in the upcoming All-Continent High-Rank Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament."
"Doesn't Shrek Academy value that so-called 'glory' the most? When the time comes, I'll knock down every single one of your proud geniuses in that world-renowned arena and trample that glory into the dust."
"I wonder if Xuan Zi... will have a total mental breakdown then?"
The idea was incredibly tempting, allowing Liu Yuan to almost imagine what a spectacle Xuan Zi's old face would be after such a crushing defeat.
However, it was just a passing thought.
Vengeance is a dish best served cold.
For now, the most important thing for him was to complete the System's tasks, obtain new spirit rings and Spirit Abilitys, and transform his inner power into a truly peerless state as quickly as possible!
After identifying his direction, Liu Yuan didn't linger. He activated his spirit power again, his figure turning into a blur as he sped toward the deepest part of the legendary continent's frigid northern reaches.
...
Time passed; it was unclear how much time had gone by.
When Liu Yuan finally stopped, he was in a completely different world.
This was the true Extreme North Land.
The sky was an eternal grayish-white, without a single ray of sunlight, filled only with endless dark clouds and snowstorms.
As far as the eye could see, there was only white, and more white.
Majestic ice mountains stood like silent giants between heaven and earth, reflecting a grim, cold light.
The air was so cold it felt as if it could freeze one's Soul. Every breath brought in frigid air laced with ice shards, making his lungs sting with pain.
The temperature here had long since dropped to a terrifying level where an ordinary Spirit Master simply could not survive.
However, for Liu Yuan, who possessed the "Freezing Panel," this so-called extreme cold was completely ineffective against him.
After arriving at the Extreme North Land, Liu Yuan felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had come home.
And the moment he stepped into this core region, the familiar, cold System notification arrived right on schedule.
[Ding! Detected that the Host has arrived at a special check-in location—the Extreme North Land!]
[New check-in task released!]
[Task Requirement: Stay in the Extreme North Land for seven days.]
[Task Reward: god-bestowed spirit ring (Rayquaza Exclusive) ×1!]
Hearing the task details, Liu Yuan's brow quirked slightly.
Stay for seven days?
The Extreme North Land was teeming with Spirit Beasts. Although he wasn't afraid of the cold, he couldn't just wander around aimlessly. It would be better to find a hidden place to stay.
He didn't rush into action. Instead, he pushed his spiritual perception to its limit, cautiously exploring this frozen world.
After some searching, Liu Yuan locked his gaze onto the mountainside of a massive ice peak.
There was a section of ice there that appeared deeper and darker than its surroundings, faintly suggesting it was hollow behind.
"This is the spot."
With a shift of his body, Liu Yuan reached the ice wall in a few leaps.
He reached out and touched the ice, which was as hard as Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice, feeling a bone-chilling cold travel up his fingertips.
He didn't use a Spirit Ability; he simply gathered spirit power slowly in his palm, releasing a gentle energy glowing with emerald and gold.
"Sizzle..."
The indestructible ten-thousand-year ice, upon contact with this energy, began to melt rapidly and silently, like butter meeting a hot iron.
In just a few moments, an opening large enough for one person to pass through appeared in the ice wall.
Liu Yuan slipped inside. It was a naturally formed ice cave; the space wasn't large, but it was enough to shield him from the wind and snow.
He didn't seal the entrance completely, leaving a tiny crack to observe the outside world. Then, he sat cross-legged in the depths of the cave and entered a state of meditation.
Time passed day by day in silent waiting and Cultivation.
The biting wind howled outside the cave, whipping up a blizzard that seemed intent on swallowing everything in the world.
Inside the cave, Liu Yuan's figure remained as motionless as a boulder.
Finally, as dusk fell on the seventh day.
The System notification that had been silent in his mind for seven whole days finally rang out again!
[Ding! Countdown finished. The check-in task'Stay in the Extreme North Land for seven days' has been completed!]
[Calculating task rewards...]
[Congratulations Host, you have obtained a god-bestowed spirit ring (Rayquaza Exclusive) (50,000-year level) ×1!]
It's here!
Liu Yuan snapped his eyes open. In the darkness of the ice cave, two divine gleams seemed to flash and vanish!
It's finally here? My fourth spirit ring?
Without any hesitation, he immediately gave the mental command: "Absorb!"
In an instant, a black spirit ring manifested out of thin air, floating quietly before him.
Liu Yuan guided the spirit ring, slowly settling it over his illusory Spirit.
A surge of vast and pure energy, accompanied by a massive amount of information, instantly flooded his mind!
Liu Yuan focused his mind, absorbing this power with all his strength.
A long time later, when the light of the spirit ring had completely merged with his Spirit and disappeared, Liu Yuan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
His face beamed with irrepressible joy!
Success!
The fourth spirit ring absorption was complete!
So, what exactly will his fourth Spirit Ability be?'
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