Douluo: I am the True Master

However, even so, Ye Wen didn't immediately dive headfirst into his next hunt. First, he left the Great Northern Tundra and found a nearby city. There, he wrote a letter to his grandfather in Holy Spirit Village and Ah Yin through a courier caravan, assuring them of his safety. He explained that he would remain in the Great Northern Tundra for an extended period and told them not to worry. With that done, Ye Wen threw himself back into his training regimen. Within a month, his soul power broke through to Level 30.

At the same time, he didn't neglect his physical conditioning. In the local city, he had several large iron plates weighing hundreds of jin custom-made and added them to his barbell.

Before obtaining his second soul ring, Ye Wen had clearly felt that his physical strength had reached a kind of limit, stagnating around 1,300 jin with little room for further growth, as if an invisible barrier existed. However, after acquiring his second soul ring, that barrier vanished entirely. Within a month, his physical strength surged to an astonishing 3,000 jin—a truly mind-boggling feat.

But Ye Wen didn't stop there. The sense of restriction he had experienced at the two-ring stage hadn't reappeared, leading him to believe that this was a unique kind of physical limitation. At certain stages of cultivation, the body had an inherent upper limit, but once that limit was surpassed, the cap would be raised—similar to the concept of limiters in certain bald-headed demon king manga. As one's cultivation improved, the threshold of these limits would also increase.

This limitation varied depending on individual aptitude. For instance, during the first soul ring stage, Ye Wen could reach 600 jin, while others in his dormitory struggled to break 400 jin, nearing the theoretical maximum for their first soul ring's age limit.

Based on this theory, Ye Wen realized how fortunate it was that Yu Xiaogang's disciple had been Tang San, a literal cheat-tier protagonist. If it had been any ordinary civilian soul master absorbing the soul ring of a Mandrake Snake, they would have undoubtedly been torn apart by the overwhelming energy.

Over the next six months, Ye Wen continued his relentless cultivation of both soul power and physical strength. Additionally, under the extreme cold environment of the Great Northern Tundra, he developed an instinctive method of soul power cultivation—an automatic flow akin to the internal energy cultivation techniques described in Jin Yong's novels from his previous life. Even without actively focusing on cultivating soul power, his inner energy would circulate automatically, driving the evolution of his martial soul. The only downside was that this method couldn't match the efficiency of full concentration. Still, Ye Wen was more than satisfied.

Inspired by this principle, Ye Wen planned to create a similar environment back home for Ah Yin to train in. After all, producing ice using saltpeter was child's play for someone with his level of knowledge as a near-graduate student. This would allow Ah Yin to mature faster and alleviate her constant worries.

During these six months, Ye Wen once again encountered the familiar sensation of a physical bottleneck. By now, his strength had reached an incredible 6,000 jin—enough to shatter mountains and crack boulders with a single punch.

"It's time," Ye Wen exhaled deeply after finishing his final day of training, his expression solemn.

Despite possessing the ability to assassinate a Soul King, Ye Wen knew he was still just one person, vulnerable and alone. Fortunately, his second soul skill provided excellent camouflage, allowing him to avoid detection as long as he didn't venture too deep into areas inhabited by ten-thousand-year spirit beasts. Even so, he prepared meticulously for every possible scenario.

With everything in order, Ye Wen re-entered the Great Northern Tundra after half a year.

Still, he remained unaware of the distant figure observing him.

Watching his determined and unyielding figure, Snow Empress remained silent.

As the sole Ice Sky Snow Maiden born from the essence of heaven and earth, she stood at the pinnacle of all spirit beasts in the Great Northern Tundra—a true emperor among beasts.

She should have been humanity's mortal enemy. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, a strange flutter in her heart had drawn her to the edge of the Great Northern Tundra over half a year ago. There, she had encountered this human, and an instinctive desire to protect him had taken root in her heart.

When she saw him successfully hunt a 1,200-year-old Ice Silkworm, she felt no displeasure. Ordinarily, if any soul master dared to kill a spirit beast in her presence, she would have obliterated them without hesitation. But for this human, she found herself unable to raise a hand against him. Instead, she felt a strange joy upon seeing him absorb that soul ring—a feeling that puzzled her deeply. In her tens of thousands of years of empty, monotonous existence, this was the first time such an emotion had surfaced.

"Why? Why do I instinctively want to protect him?" Snow Empress murmured to herself.

Meanwhile, Ye Wen had gradually ventured deeper into the Great Northern Tundra, already covering a distance of over ten kilometers.

Due to their weakness, Ice Silkworms—even those with five or six thousand years of cultivation—still adhered to primitive survival methods, only relocating when their food sources were depleted. Thus, using the old methods to search for Ice Silkworms was always reliable.

However, Ye Wen's luck seemed to have run dry this time. After nearly half a month of searching, he still hadn't found the 4,000–5,000-year-old Ice Silkworm he so desperately sought, leaving him quite frustrated.

"Sigh, if only I had a beast-type martial soul. A simple soul attachment to enhance my sense of smell would make finding Ice Silkworms much easier," Ye Wen grumbled.

Suddenly, a cold and elegant voice rang out:

"You're looking for a 5,000-year-old Ice Silkworm? I know where one is. Would you like me to take you there?"

Hearing this, Ye Wen's face instantly lit up with joy—but then froze. He had already ventured over ten kilometers into the Great Northern Tundra. Typically, soul masters hunting here traveled in groups; very few ventured alone unless they had secrets to keep.

What troubled him most was that he hadn't detected any signs of movement from the owner of this voice until now, indicating that the speaker's cultivation far exceeded his own.

Slowly turning around, Ye Wen swallowed hard as he took in the sight of the figure before him—a woman clad in a thin white robe, exuding an aura of icy nobility. In this environment, even a Title Douluo would need to wear thick furs to conserve soul power. Yet, this woman wore such light clothing. In an era where powerful female soul masters like Bibi Dong had yet to rise to prominence, the presence of such a formidable being could only mean one thing: this person was no mere human. The answer was obvious.

The first and most fearsome spirit beast of the Great Northern Tundra—the Ice Sky Snow Maiden.

Her cultivation exceeded 600,000 years, placing her on par with a 99-level Limit Douluo—a being of unimaginable power.

Ye Wen forced a strained smile onto his face. Even someone as composed as him felt at a loss for words in the presence of such a mighty being.

A hint of amusement flickered across Snow Empress's cold, regal face.

"You seem to know who I am. Yet, as far as I recall, every human strong enough to encounter me has been eradicated. Care to explain how you know of me?"

It was no wonder she was considered one of the top-tier spirit beasts capable of rivaling human intelligence. Just a single glance, and Ye Wen's thoughts had been laid bare.

Realizing this, Ye Wen understood that lying would serve no purpose. Under the perception of such a powerful being, every subtle change in his heartbeat would betray him unless perfectly controlled. After all, while words could deceive, the body was always honest.

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