Chapter 12: Journey to the Extreme North, Encounter with Evil Soul Masters
"Qinghan, I want to discuss something with you."
Two days after seeing Tang Ya off, Lin Qinghan had just come out of a meditative state when Skydream Iceworm called out to him in the spiritual sea.
"What is it?"
With a thought, Lin Qinghan's spiritual form appeared in his spiritual sea.
The spiritual sea now looked quite different. Once somewhat dry, the ground now seemed covered with liquid, shimmering with golden-green wave-like light under the illumination of the Sun of Living Beings.
"Remember my soul ring? I can help you gain another martial soul. Your level is about right now—it's time to attach a soul ring to that blank martial soul and finalize it."
Skydream Iceworm's tone was no longer lazy but somewhat guilty.
Lin Qinghan knew the Iceworm was still thinking about the Ice Empress. Strangely enough, considering that worms are usually hermaphroditic, it was bizarre that he had such romantic notions. Truly something out of fantasy—science had no place here.
"Alright, tell me."
Seeing that Lin Qinghan agreed, Skydream Iceworm laid out his plan in detail.
"So, what you're saying is… our target this time is the Ice Empress, one of the Three Great Kings of the Extreme North? A soul beast nearly 400,000 years old?"
Lin Qinghan twitched his lips. This sounded outrageous. A level-39 soul master with strength comparable to a mid-tier Soul Emperor, confronting the Ice Empress? If not for Lin Qinghan having read the original story and knowing the Iceworm's plan had merit, anyone else would've thought it insane.
Since he had the Iceworm on his side, Lin Qinghan wouldn't miss the chance to meet the Ice Empress—but he preferred a cautious approach. Maybe wait a few years to grow stronger, so he'd at least have a chance to escape if something went wrong.
"Relax, we're not hunting her. We'll negotiate—ask her to become a being similar to me. Her heavenly tribulation is just a few years away. The chances of success are high."
The Iceworm began wriggling again, blinking its little golden eyes mischievously.
"Alright, let's go. To the Extreme North."
Lin Qinghan stopped hesitating and set off under the Iceworm's guidance.
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Two days later — Border town of the Extreme North
The Extreme North was quite distant. After two days of intermittent flying, Lin Qinghan finally arrived at the border, planning to rest a bit.
Upon entering the small border town, Lin Qinghan used his biological field to scan the area and quickly found a hotel. But the extremely low prices combined with luxurious decor made him suspicious. He assumed it was due to the low population and cost of living and didn't think much before checking in.
He planned to rest for a day and resupply.
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Midnight
Several black-robed figures gathered outside Lin Qinghan's room.
"Are you sure? This is the kid's room?" the leader asked.
"I'm sure. I personally checked him in. He's young but carries several storage soul tools. He must be rich," replied a skinny figure.
"Good. We'll make a fortune this time. We'll kidnap him, extort ransom from his family, maybe even do it multiple times—then kill him."
"Be careful. The kid's likely a soul master."
Outside, they released their martial souls and soul rings. The leader was a Soul Ancestor, while the rest were Soul Masters.
Inside, Lin Qinghan's eyes suddenly snapped open. He exited his meditation, expanded his spiritual field, and sensed the sneaky figures outside. He silently noted the suspicious hotel.
His thoughts raced, but he acted quickly—releasing his martial soul and casting a spirit projection to conceal himself.
"Robbers, and experienced ones too. They must've done this before."
He activated his Bioelectric Martial Soul and used his first soul skill, Thunder Body. His right hand began to charge. These people weren't even worth using his third soul skill.
As he finished charging, the door burst open.
"Huh? No one? Are you sure this was the ro—"
Before the man could finish, Lin Qinghan unleashed his thunder attack. In an instant, all the black-robed men convulsed violently, unable to even scream.
Soon, they were all charred corpses.
Lin Qinghan looked at them, shook his head, then summoned lightning to ignite their clothes, setting the bodies ablaze.
Abandoning the idea of resting there, Lin Qinghan teleported away.
"Damn, who knew even staying at a hotel could lead to getting robbed and murdered?"
Now far from the hotel, Lin Qinghan dismissed his projection and grumbled. Originally, he planned to meditate till late, then rest before heading out—but now he had nowhere to stay.
It was close to midnight, and the night in this area was extremely cold. Most inns were already closed, meaning he had to sleep outside.
Still cursing under his breath, Lin Qinghan maintained his spiritual field at all times, staying alert.
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Suddenly
He froze, sensing several sinister auras. He immediately recast his spiritual projection and flew into the sky.
Sure enough, moments later, faint footsteps echoed as a few more black-robed figures appeared and stopped nearby.
"That kid couldn't have gotten far. His scent ends here," said one man with a Black Dog martial soul.
"Damn it, where is he? There's no one here!"
The more formally dressed leader grew agitated and released his martial soul and rings.
"Evil soul masters! And one of them's a Soul Saint!"
Through his spiritual field, Lin Qinghan recognized their bizarre martial souls and realized who they were.
These guys were insane—sending a Soul Saint after a teenager? Lin Qinghan wasn't a match for that, especially not an evil soul master. A frontal fight would end in instant defeat.
"Time to go."
Seeing the enemies unable to find him and eventually leave, Lin Qinghan quickly headed toward the Extreme North using his spiritual field to mask his presence.
The Extreme North was called the forbidden zone of humans. No way they'd follow him in there just for a kid.
"Today's been a nightmare. Evil soul masters? And one who can track scents?"
Exhausted from sprinting through the skies, Lin Qinghan collapsed into a snowbank, panting heavily.
He vowed to be more cautious in the future—and definitely improve his spiritual projection.
(End of Chapter)
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