After over a year of rigorous training, coupled with rewards from trials, she was now only at the seventy-sixth rank, a Soul Sage. She had initially been no match for Su Yu, and now that even her soul power level had been caught up to, it seemed her fate was sealed—to be bullied to death by this man.
Snow Empress let out a light snort, but a hint of a smile flickered at the corner of her eyes. Though she was being bullied, whether or not she secretly enjoyed it was something only she knew.
Cold air overflowed, and in an instant, the Ice God's main hall seemed to have entered an Ice Age. Layers of frost spread to every corner of the hall, and the aura of the Ice Emperor Martial Soul was released without reservation.
Su Yu stood up, the phantom of an emperor looming behind him. Seven soul rings—red, gold, red, red, red, red, and red—shone brilliantly. Except for the second and fourth soul rings, the rest were blood-red soul rings of ferocious beasts.
The fifth soul ring belonged to the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, a 400,000-year soul ring. The sixth soul ring came from the Ice Bear King, a 300,000-year soul ring. As for the seventh soul ring, it was a divine-bestowed soul ring, with a staggering age of 500,000 years.
Notably, as his seventh soul ring was absorbed, Su Yu's ability to endure rose significantly, causing his first soul ring to evolve into a 500,000-year ferocious beast soul ring as well. This was the advantage of the Heaven-bestowed Origin Soul Ring—so long as Su Yu could withstand it, it would continue to evolve.
At this rate, after Su Yu ascended to godhood, his first soul ring could evolve into a divine-level soul ring. In a sense, this first soul ring was the most important one on Su Yu's body, even surpassing the million-year soul ring, Skydream Iceworm, in significance.
"Seventy-sixth rank Soul Sage. Not bad. As expected of a 500,000-year ferocious beast soul ring," Su Yu mused, feeling the surging soul power within him, a faint smile appearing in his eyes.
His efforts had not been in vain—this breakthrough was indeed substantial. One had to know that Su Yu's soul power was of extremely high quality. Soul power from an Ultimate Martial Soul was already renowned for its superior quality, and Su Yu had also cultivated the Supreme Divine Art.
The quality of his soul power was even higher than that of an ordinary Titled Douluo. To achieve a breakthrough to the seventy-sixth rank in one go was an extraordinary surprise for Su Yu. And he was only sixteen years old.
Sixteen years old and already at the seventy-sixth rank Soul Sage—if this wasn't unprecedented, then it was certainly unparalleled. If Zhang Lexuan had broken Shrek Academy's training records of several thousand years, then Su Yu would have shattered records of tens of thousands of years across the continent.
Even during the age of gods ten thousand years ago, no one could compare to Su Yu. What's more, Su Yu possessed an Ultimate Martial Soul, which made his progress all the more unbelievable. If news of Su Yu's cultivation speed spread, countless jaws would drop—and many sleepless nights would ensue for others.
"After breaking through to Soul Sage, it seems my innate domain has finally awakened," Su Yu murmured. A layer of icy blue light spread outward, and in an instant, the entire hall was enveloped in an icy blue world. Endless icy blue snowflakes fell from the sky, and the extreme chill seemed capable of freezing the soul, causing one's very spirit to tremble.
"This... this is..." Snow Empress stared in astonishment at the icy blue world around her. Within this strange domain, her soul power was greatly suppressed.
If she could previously use 100% of her soul power, now she could only use 70%. Moreover, an inexplicable coldness was eerily freezing her soul power. It felt as though her soul power was being drained and diminished at all times.
What shocked Snow Empress the most was how even her movement seemed restricted. This domain not only froze soul power but also slowed down mental reactions. Although she could still control herself, her responses were significantly delayed.
"This is my Ice Emperor Ultimate Domain. What do you think? Pretty good, isn't it?" Su Yu turned around, smiling cheerfully.
His domain encompassed everyone in the hall. However, the strengths of Mu Wu and Shui Lingguang were too formidable, so they were largely unaffected. Only Snow Empress experienced the full effects of the domain's power.
It had to be said—Su Yu's Ice Emperor Ultimate Domain lived up to its reputation as an innate domain. Compared to Ice Empress's Domain, Perpetual Ice Domain, or Snow Empress' Snowy Dance Domain, it was far more powerful.
Indeed, only an innate domain could be this perfectly suited to its user.
"Ice Emperor Ultimate Domain... your innate domain has awakened?" Snow Empress was stunned and quickly asked.
"Mhm." Su Yu raised his chin proudly.
Snow Empress rolled her eyes and snapped, "So your innate domain awakened, and the first thing you did was test it on me?"
"Who else would I test it on?" Su Yu retorted playfully.
"You... and you're acting all self-righteous about it?" Snow Empress felt her anger rising and lunged at Su Yu.
Due to the domain's effects, her movements were sluggish, making her look rather comical. But Su Yu didn't dodge, letting her pounce on him and claw at him playfully.
Wasn't this just another way of showing affection?
Off to the side, Shui Lingguang's eyes were practically brimming with envy.
After a brief scuffle, Snow Empress ended up nestled in Su Yu's arms, lying there obediently. Stroking Su Yu's face gently, she murmured, "Su Yu, your innate domain isn't simple. It seems to have a soul-targeting effect."
Su Yu ran his fingers through Snow Empress's hair and smiled. "That's the effect of the 'Emperor' in my Ice Emperor title."
"In addition to freezing physical bodies and energy, it also has soul-targeting abilities.
"The Ice Emperor Ultimate Domain suppresses enemies while amplifying allies, particularly ice attribute users, who receive even greater boosts."
As Su Yu spoke, he activated the domain's amplification effects. Snow Empress instantly felt restored, and her abilities were significantly enhanced. Her ice attribute powers, in particular, were boosted by a full 40%.
Snow Empress looked at Su Yu in amazement. This simple ability to weaken enemies and strengthen allies put her Snowy Dance to shame.
Snowy Dance was powerful but had a major drawback—it affected both friend and foe indiscriminately. Once activated, both enemies and allies would be frozen.
Even Su Yu's Perpetual ICe Domain had the same issue—it didn't differentiate between friend and foe. Only the Ice Emperor's Domain from Skydream was a supportive-type domain designed to assist allies.
However, the supportive aspect of the Ice Emperor's Domain was completely different from the Ice Emperor Ultimate Domain. One provided invisibility and navigation for allies, while the other roughly amplified all attributes. Which was better depended on the situation.
But the Ice Emperor Ultimate Domain wasn't just a supportive domain—it had far greater offensive capabilities.
Su Yu continued, "Additionally, the Ice Emperor Ultimate Domain continuously freezes the soul power of enemies within it. As long as they're in this domain, the extreme cold will keep draining their soul power until it's completely depleted."
"As for the soul-targeting abilities, well, you've already experienced those."
Listening to Su Yu's explanation, Snow Empress's beautiful eyes reflected her astonishment. The combined effects of this innate domain made it incredibly powerful. With this domain, Su Yu's strength had undoubtedly grown significantly.
Thinking about how Su Yu had now reached the rank of Soul Sage, Snow Empress curiously asked, "Su Yu, just how strong are you now?"
Su Yu shook his head and smiled. "It's hard to say without a point of reference, but I'm much stronger than before."
"What about compared to Yan Shaozhe?" Xue Di suddenly asked.
Su Yu paused for a moment before replying, "I think I could give it a try..."
He didn't underestimate himself. With his absurdly high-level soul rings, multiple domains, and self-created combat techniques, Su Yu's combat strength was formidable.
Against an ordinary rank 96-97 Super Douluo, Su Yu could easily hold his own.
As for the pre-transformation Yan Shaozhe, Su Yu could have killed him without difficulty. However, with Yan Shaozhe as he was now, things were less certain.
Although Yan Shaozhe's soul power is high, he's not very strong in actual combat, so Su Yu isn't particularly afraid of him. There's no guarantee Yan Shaozhe can do much for Su Yu.
After breaking through to Soul Sage, Su Yu underwent an earth-shattering transformation. Just the Martial Soul True Body alone is a qualitative leap for him. Never underestimate the boost a Martial Soul True Body provides to an ultimate martial soul soul master. The stronger the martial soul, the stronger the Martial Soul True Body. The higher the grade of the soul rings, the greater the boost from the Martial Soul True Body.
As for Su Yu, he has both advantages. The amplification he receives is unimaginable to ordinary people.
"You're getting more and more ridiculous," Snow Empress muttered under her breath.
Though they were both Level 76 Soul Sages and both possessed the Ultimate Ice Martial Soul, her strength couldn't compare to Su Yu's. Su Yu could even defeat her in a single move.
He was just a sixteen-year-old, yet his combat strength was overwhelmingly powerful.
"Isn't it a good thing that I'm getting stronger?" Su Yu smiled. "This way, I can protect you better. I don't want to face danger and have my woman stand in front of me to shield me."
He pinched Snow Empress's delicate cheek as he spoke, a playful grin on his face.
"That's male chauvinism," Snow Empress pouted.
"Then it's whatever you say it is. As long as you're happy," Su Yu replied with a chuckle, gently hooking her dainty nose with his finger.
Snow Empress rolled her eyes at him but grabbed his hand lightly. Su Yu grinned mischievously and pulled his hand back, only to poke her cheek again.
Snow Empress quickly reached out to grab his hand once more. The two began playfully teasing each other.
After a while, Su Yu withdrew the Ice Emperor Ultimate Domain and dispersed his martial soul. The icy aura around him gradually faded.
"Young Master," Shui Lingguang called softly.
"Lingguang." Su Yu nodded, a faint smile on his face. "Lingguang, in a few days, would you like to accompany me on a trip?"
"I would be honored," Shui Lingguang agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Snow Empress looked at Su Yu curiously. "You're leaving?"
Su Yu nodded gently and said with a smile, "It's been almost two years since I returned to the Ice God Palace. It's about time for me to go out and explore."