Chapter 458: Merging with Xiaobai

Seeing Xiaobai's delighted, ecstatic expression, Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong were both dumbfounded.

"Why does he look a bit dim‑witted?" Ice Emperor coughed awkwardly twice, then whispered to them, "Well… you saw it too, Xiaobai… um, he's a bit overly simple. I hope you can be more understanding of him later."

"…Fine."

The two had nothing else to say, so they just nodded.

Snow Emperor gently stroked Xiaobai's fur and said softly:

"Xiaobai, Yutong is about to join a war, a time when she most needs power. Will you become her soul spirit now?"

"War? Snow Emperor, are you also joining?"

Snow Emperor nodded lightly.

"Mm."

The Ice Snow Bear King immediately said without hesitation, "Then I am willing."

He had little attachment to begin with; upon learning he could aid Snow Emperor on the battlefield, he naturally agreed without hesitation.

"Very well." Snow Emperor looked at Huo Yutong, without further words, "Yutong, how are you? Can we start now?"

"I'm fine."

"Then let's begin; I will guard you."

"Mm."

Huo Yutong stepped before Xiaobai, extended her hand, and closed her eyes.

At the same time, a strong aura of death burst from her, and a gray spirit ring slowly rose.

After all these years, under Ilex's guidance she had already become a competent necromancer.

The biggest proof is that she now casts necromancy without fully relying on the spirit rings Ilex gave her; she can even devise some moderately complex necromantic spells for improvisation.

For her, the soul spirit ritual is no longer an issue; it's just something she can do offhand.

"Relax, no resistance."

A low voice sounded, and pure white flame began to emanate from the center of Huo Yutong's outstretched hand.

The flame drifted slowly onto Xiaobai's body, then quickly adhered.

Xiaobai opened his eyes in astonishment.

His surprise was not from pain; rather, he was shocked that he felt no pain at all.

Not to mention pain; being scorched by the flame, he even felt a sense of enjoyment, as if he were being refined from head to toe.

The fire spread rapidly, soon engulfing Xiaobai entirely.

Huo Yutong's eyes turned serious as she calmly controlled the flame's spread.

She is now enhancing Xiaobai's soul strength.

If she performed the soul spirit absorption ritual directly, the soul spirit would retain self‑awareness without issue, but some of it would inevitably drift into the air during the ceremony.

Therefore she first boosts part of Xiaobai's soul strength, so that any later drift is inconsequential.

Soon the increase in soul strength hit its limit, unable to grow further; it's time for the next step.

Huo Yutong raised her hand, and a staff landed in it—a true super relic of Ilex.

She still cannot fully unleash this super relic's true power, but that's fine; even the portion she can wield already grants her a substantial boost.

Rings of gray‑white light began to drift from her toward Xiaobai, linking the two together.

Xiaobai stared blankly at Huo Yutong, feeling an indescribable connection form between them.

Immediately, a sense of detachment washed over him.

Xiaobai's heart tightened; instinctively he wanted to resist, but recalling Huo Yutong's and Snow Emperor's words, he quickly suppressed the reaction. As time passed, under the gray light, a pure white aura gradually rose from his crown.

Upon close look, it was Xiaobai's figure, but this Xiaobai was countless times smaller than his original body.

As it drifted away, the gaze of Xiaobai's original body grew vacant.

Finally, as Xiaobai's soul completely left his body, a thunderous roar rang out, and his massive form collapsed onto the endless snow.

Xiaobai's soul stared in shock at his fallen body, then at Huo Yutong, momentarily at a loss.

Huo Yutong smiled gently, then raised her staff, which suddenly burst with intense, dazzling light.

When the light faded, Xiaobai's soul form had vanished, and the Ice Snow Bear King's body on the ground had completely lost its warmth.

Yet as the light flickered, a tiny figure appeared beside Huo Yutong.

"Is… is this what a soul spirit feels like? It's unbelievable!"

The figure was a miniature Ice Snow Bear King—Xiaobai.

As he manifested, rings of spirit rings began to rise around Huo Yutong.

Red, red, red, blue, red, red, red—a spirit ring combination that would leave anyone gaping.

Many Honored Douluo cannot find a single hundred‑thousand‑year spirit ring on their bodies, yet none of Huo Yutong's spirit rings are below a hundred thousand years—a truly astonishing sight.

Still, Huo Yutong seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

"Seven spirit rings…"

Indeed, Xiaobai only supplied her with the sixth and seventh spirit rings; the crucial eighth spirit ring needed to break through the Soul Douluo realm was not granted.

In other words, she must still seek a new soul spirit to provide the eighth spirit ring.

Fortunately, she does have a lead.

Huo Yutong looked at Tang Wulin.

"Wulin, it seems we still need to go to the Ice Sea."

"Mm, seems it's unavoidable."

Tang Wulin nodded in agreement.

Snow Emperor could think of only Xiaobai as the most suitable Ice Attribute soul spirit; given the current situation, seeking another Ice Attribute soul beast would be too troublesome.

Therefore, the most direct solution is to go to the Ice Sea to find the Sea Princess clan she mentioned.

As the master of the far north, the Snow Emperor knows not only many land-dwelling soul beasts, but also quite a few sea soul beasts.

In a place where the Ri Yue Di Guo borders the far north, there resides a pure mental-attribute sea soul beast clan, the Sea Princess clan.

According to her, the clan chief of the Sea Princess clan ranks among the top in strength among fierce beasts; if fighting purely in the sea, even she would find it very troublesome to battle them.

Besides that, there is more than one individual over 100,000 years old in the Sea Princess clan; it can be said to be very suitable for Huo Yutong's group.

With the Snow Emperor acting as intermediary, there should be no problem.

Moreover, more importantly, the place where the Sea Princess clan resides is within the Ri Yue Di Guo, geographically close to Tang Wulin's target, making it a convenient detour.

Since the next destination has been decided, they no longer lingered; after a few more words of conversation, they all set off and left the far north.

Target: Ri Yue Di Guo, East Sun City.

By the way, I suddenly discovered that besides the Snow Emperor, there isn't a single soul spirit that gives him more than two soul rings on Old Huo from Douluo 2's body.

One Tianmeng, one Ice Emperor, two Eight Horns, one Xiaobai, one Li Ya, one Evil Emperor.

Yet the Snow Emperor, who gives the most, would be better off just giving two normal 100,000-year rings, instead of wasting two soul ring slots.

(End of chapter)