Chapter 56 Do you think...

About fifteen minutes later.

Two figures moved slowly one after the other across the desolate ice field.

The one leading the way appeared somewhat paranoid, glancing constantly from side to side and refusing to let pass any abnormal movement in the distance.

"What we felt just now should be the imposing aura of a fierce beast... To be able to produce such a powerful mental shock, that fierce beast is probably the Ice Empress, the head of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North!"

The Soul Saint teacher, who had regained consciousness not long ago, clutched his head, the space between his brows still faintly throbbing. "Fortunately, she must have simply been passing by, otherwise the two of us would truly have perished here!"

Being slammed unprepared into his Sea of Consciousness by pressure comparable to a Limit Douluo, and then immediately having a massive lump of mental energy stuffed in by Tianmeng to seal him for over half an hour, he was still somehow able to lead the way properly now.

One had to admit, individuals hailing from Shrek Academy certainly possessed some real substance.

——Although eighty percent of the credit should probably be attributed to inheriting a martial soul of sufficiently high quality.

"Student... can you still hold on?"

The Soul Saint looked back at Huo Yuhao.

If he remembered correctly, the latter's complexion had previously been slightly yellowish with a hint of ruddiness, but it had now turned into a strange, cold white. Even the skin on his neck and hands lacked blood color, presenting a tone similar to the accumulated snow beneath their feet.

At first glance, it was no different from being tossed into a solution and bleached a few times.

'As expected~ Although his mental strength surpasses the vast majority of three-ring ones, he still suffers heavy trauma when facing that fierce beast's pressure...'

The Soul Saint sighed inwardly.

Upon closer reflection, it was quite reasonable. After all, even he, a seven-ring powerhouse, had been knocked headfirst into a snowdrift and fallen unconscious for a considerable amount of time. It was already a miracle that Huo Yuhao, with his lowly cultivation, had been able to wake up.

"Me?"

Huo Yuhao, who was conversing with the Ice Empress, froze for a moment before replying a beat late: "I'm fine~ No big deal."

'It's a huge deal.'

Observing his somewhat sluggish reaction, the Soul Saint frowned, retrieved a huge iron box from his storage soul guide, and unfolded it into a square tent. "Let's rest here for a while. Your condition doesn't look right."

"Huh?"

Huo Yuhao froze once again.

Before Huo Yuhao could figure out what he was talking about, the Soul Saint had already skillfully channeled his soul power to set up a warming stove, and tossed several metal prisms around the tent to prop up a defensive barrier.

Then, with a solemn expression, he patted him on the shoulder:

"If I'm not mistaken, influenced by that fierce beast just now, your Sea of Consciousness has become very chaotic, hasn't it? There might even be a throbbing pain occasionally darting through."

"However, don't panic or fear, nor should you deliberately endure it and say nothing. These are all normal phenomena. The pressure of a fierce beast impacting consciousness easily causes this kind of damage..."

Huo Yuhao subconsciously averted his gaze, glancing at Tianmeng and the Ice Empress who were still bickering inside his mind.

"Generally speaking, relaxing your mind and resting well for a period of time will return things to normal. At the shortest, a few hours; at the longest, two or three days~"

The teacher patted his storage soul guide. "However, you can rest assured and recuperate completely! Our supplies are ample, and we can definitely wait for you to recover your vitality before going to look for the ice silkworm."

"——By the way, what age limit are you planning to go for?"

"With your physique and mental strength as a foundation, I don't think you'd be content with just attaching a soul ring that barely reaches a thousand years."

At this point, he couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement toward Huo Yuhao:

"I've lived for over sixty years, and this is the first time I've seen a one-ring soul master as strong as you."

It was as if he had received the blessing of a god, acquiring formidable power far surpassing ordinary people.

The last person similar to him was probably that Angel God from ten thousand years ago, right?

Inherent full soul power coupled with the ten innate ranks bestowed by a god—he was naturally born standing at a height countless people could never hope to reach.

"I have indeed thought about the age limit of the soul ring."

Huo Yuhao pondered for a long time before giving a relatively conservative answer: "Around eight thousand years or so should be fine. There's no need to pursue the limit."

"Oh? I thought you would directly challenge ten thousand years?"

The Soul Saint's expression turned peculiar. "The ice silkworm clan is quite weak in strength. The pressure when attaching a soul ring, as well as the mental shock brought by a ten-thousand-year soul ring, are significantly lower than those of other fierce beasts. With your abilities, you might just grit your teeth and secure a ten-thousand-year one!"

This was a chance to make history...

An unprecedented ten-thousand-year second soul ring!

Prior to this, no matter how many resources a soul master poured in or how much tempering they underwent, attaching a thousand-year purple ring as a second soul ring was already the absolute limit.

"It's still better to play it safe."

Huo Yuhao shook his head.

The simulation soul skill was inherently a skill tied to mental strength. The amplification brought by the age limit was not much, and a difference of one or two thousand years made little distinction.

Besides, Tianmeng possessed the ability to allocate age limits and elevate the status of soul rings. Whether it was eight thousand years or ten thousand years, they would all be elevated in one breath to a hundred-thousand-year red ring later on.

Rather than dwelling on this, it was better to consider how to attach a fierce beast ring of the highest possible age to his ninth ring, and then leverage Tianmeng's age limit to piece together another million-year one.

"Alright then~ Everything as you wish."

The Soul Saint smiled and sighed with a trace of regret, then concentrated on tinkering with the parts in his hands.

Amidst the silence, for some inexplicable reason, Huo Yuhao suddenly asked on a whim: "Teacher... how did you come to teach at Shrek?"

"Oh? Why ask that?"

Strange emotions surfaced in the Soul Saint's eyes.

"Because I feel you're not quite like the other teachers at Shrek." Huo Yuhao's mind flashed with the figures of Zhou Yi and Wang Yan. "I can't quite put my finger on what's different."

"Not quite like—?"

Tossing a part in his hand, the Soul Saint gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Perhaps it's because they are all dyed-in-the-wool Shrek locals?"

"Those teachers you see on ordinary days—some are golden phoenixes coming out of thatched nests, some are little geniuses emerging from mid-sized and small factions, and a portion are descendants walking out of fallen families and declining sects."

"But without exception, they have all lived in Shrek since childhood, stepping up rank by rank until they joined the inner court or became disciples and juniors of certain high-ranking figures."

"To those people, the academy is their home and the faction they swear allegiance to. This phenomenon is actually widespread—otherwise, how could Shrek have raised its arms several thousand years ago and gathered over a hundred Title Douluo to fight together?"

As he spoke, the Soul Saint couldn't help shaking his head and sighing: "Shrek is not just an academy, it's also a sect faction, it's also a..."

He stopped himself in time.

Reaching this layer, it should end right here. Going any further, some things truly should not be deeply excavated, nor could they be.

"Also a what?"

Huo Yuhao couldn't help pursuing the question.

The Soul Saint glanced at him and abruptly changed the subject: "What do you think... Shrek is? I want to hear your honest thoughts."