Chapter 30

"Why didn't you kill me?" The bone-chilling cold surrounding them had already faded as Gu You and the Ice Emperor Scorpion stared at each other.

"Hmm... I don't know. The aura on you feels very strange to me, and I can tell you're definitely not with those people."

A strange aura? It seemed there were still many secrets about his martial soul. "Which people? And how exactly did you get captured?" Gu You was puzzled. A talking soul beast meant it had high intelligence, and judging by its strength, it wasn't weak. Yet, it had been captured alive?

"It's a long story. First, help me shut off that hateful sphere. It's suppressing my cultivation." The Ice Emperor Scorpion pointed its pincers toward a frozen box.

Gu You looked over. At the center of the box was a sphere emitting strange ripples of light, surrounded by layers of ice. "No way. If you regain your cultivation and decide to kill me, what then?"

"You despicable humans! We soul beasts are far more trustworthy than you!"

"You soul beasts are far more cunning than we humans."

"You… You! You're making me so mad!" The Ice Emperor Scorpion paced back and forth in the confined space.

"It's not like I won't help you. Just answer my questions first." Gu You found the scorpion rather amusing.

"Really?"

"No nonsense!"

"Alright! I come from the Ice Emperor Scorpion clan and possess a royal bloodline. I was born superior to other beasts, but when I was young, I was quite playful…"

"Hold on. The Extreme North is just a frozen wasteland. What was there to play with?" Gu You was curious. This Ice Emperor Scorpion acted like a child.

"Ah? I wandered around. Sometimes, I used my pincers to carve ice blocks. In your human terms, it should be called sculpting." The Ice Emperor Scorpion clicked its pincers together.

"What? You can sculpt? There are artists among soul beasts?!" Gu You paused, his mind momentarily short-circuiting. Today's events were shattering his perception of soul beasts.

"Am I considered an artist? That's great! I spent about four thousand years just playing around without seriously cultivating…"

Four thousand years?!

Gu You felt this was utterly absurd. Long lifespans were truly an advantage.

"When I got tired of playing, I started cultivating. With my Ultimate Ice and royal bloodline, it took me only about three thousand years to reach fifty thousand years of cultivation. After that, I spent most of my time in deep sleep, and when I woke up a few thousand years later, I had reached sixty thousand years. And then…"

"Stop! Stop! Get to the point!" Gu You quickly interrupted the Ice Emperor Scorpion.

"… One day, I had nearly reached one hundred thousand years of cultivation, but I was still only about ten thousand years old. A royal elder of my clan told me that soul beasts must undergo tribulation every hundred thousand years, and since my physical body was weak, I would struggle to survive my first tribulation. Then, I heard an old legend in my clan—about a powerful ancestor of ours, Ice Emperor, who became one of the Ten Great Beasts but eventually followed a human and became a god. I was naïve at the time.

"As the tribulation approached, I left the inner region of the Extreme North and ventured into human territory. I was really running out of time. Then, I met a woman. She was incredibly strong, and when she saw me, she looked shocked. I boasted a little, saying I wanted to become her soul spirit, and then… and then…"

"And then what?" Gu You was deeply intrigued.

"She revealed nine soul rings and started beating me up. I didn't even fight back." The Ice Emperor Scorpion whimpered as if recalling a traumatic experience.

Nine soul rings?! Gu You fell silent. If that was true, then a nine-ringed Evil Soul Master was here. Running was the only option.

"She beat me up so badly that I was covered in wounds. Then she used a special device to suppress me. That's the thing I told you about. And I hated her aura—it felt disgusting. But she did occasionally bring me food, and it was actually pretty good."

Unbelievable. What kind of absurd story is this? Gu You thought. "Sounds like you're living quite a cushy life." He teased.

"This life is terrible! The space here is too small. I want to go home." The Ice Emperor Scorpion rolled on the ground.

So, if the place were bigger, you wouldn't even want to leave? Gu You rubbed his forehead. Just as he was about to examine the suppression device, a thought struck him. "Wait, didn't you say your hundred-thousand-year tribulation was coming?"

The Ice Emperor Scorpion froze. That's right! It remembered that the tribulation signs had appeared when it left the Extreme North. But why hadn't it descended yet, even after all this time? It was intelligent enough to make the connection—it must be because of that suppression device!

"What should I do? I don't want to die! I just want to leave!" The Ice Emperor Scorpion plopped down and covered its eyes, crying.

"Uh… Didn't you say you wanted to become a soul spirit? Am I not good enough?" Gu You decided to trick this naïve scorpion into following him.

"You?" The Ice Emperor Scorpion examined Gu You. "Your soul power is so weak! You're as pathetic as dung!! What soul spirit would ever choose you?"

What the hell?!

"How am I weak?! I could take on ten of those small fries outside by myself!" Gu You protested.

"How will you withstand my soul ring? I have nearly a hundred thousand years of cultivation, and I can sense that your soul power isn't high enough to absorb more rings." The Ice Emperor Scorpion jumped closer.

"It's simple. I'll force my level up by five. My spiritual power is strong enough to handle it." Gu You took out a Milk Bottle. A surge of immense soul power emanated from it.

"Forcibly breaking through will hinder your future development," the Ice Emperor Scorpion warned.

"My talent is unparalleled! Why would I fear a little setback? If the road is too easy, it's not worth walking." Gu You scoffed.

"Can you become a god?" The Ice Emperor Scorpion asked the most critical question.

Gu You almost blacked out. Becoming a god? Logically, it was impossible since the Divine Realm had been swallowed by the space-time turbulence. There was no path to godhood anymore.

"Probably? Think about it. That human the original Ice Emperor followed wasn't even a fraction as talented as me, and he still became a god. Why wouldn't I be able to?" Gu You declared confidently.

"Hmm… Alright, I guess you'll do." The Ice Emperor Scorpion agreed.

What do you mean, 'I guess you'll do'? Are you picking and choosing?! Gu You grumbled internally. He then sat down and began meditating, drawing in the massive soul power stored in the Milk Bottle.

Level 26!

The sheer concentration of soul power in the air shocked even the Ice Emperor Scorpion. What kind of magical little bottle was this? It could release so much soul power!

Gu You had stored the soul power of an entire Soul Douluo in the Milk Bottle. Now, he was going to forcefully merge it into his body and break through to level 30!

His bones creaked under the pressure. Gu You gritted his teeth, his whole body trembling.

This level of pain… is nothing!

Level 27!

Level 28!

Level 29…!