Douluo Continent: The Ice King's Resurrection

6. Chapter Recalls, the Divine Pearl Appears, Martial Soul Awakens

Regardless of the different opinions of the people in the square regarding that brilliant golden light shield, the two people involved, Ling Jue and Ling Bingtian, were obviously the ones who felt it most deeply.

Ling Jue was extremely surprised because his soul power output had become incredibly large, probably dozens of times more than when he helped other children awaken their martial souls. Even with his cultivation as a level 67 high-level Soul Emperor, he could clearly feel his soul power slowly draining away, which was almost unimaginable in the past.

It's important to understand that a Great Soul Master is qualified to awaken a Martial Soul for a 6-year-old child, though it would be quite strenuous. And once a Soul Master has cultivated to the Soul Grandmaster level, even awakening thirty Martial Souls at once might not be difficult for a Soul Grandmaster, let alone a Soul Emperor like Ling Jue.

Ling Bingtian, however, had a completely different feeling at this moment.

When the pale golden light enveloped Ling Bingtian, his first feeling was warmth. It was as if he had been lying in a warm cotton ball, an indescribable comfort.

When those golden light spots seeped through the light shield and entered Ling Bingtian's body, Ling Bingtian could clearly feel streams of warm energy penetrating into his body. Under the flow of that warm energy, he could feel that it seemed to be pulling something, as if something inside his body was breaking. Then all the warm energy wanted to rush to his palm.

Ling Bingtian could even sense that a prototype extremely similar to the Cold Soul Chain Dragon Spear was about to appear in his hands, but before Ling Bingtian could even feel smug about awakening a martial soul as powerful as his father's, an unexpected event occurred.

An extreme chill suddenly surged from Ling Bingtian's mind, shattering the nascent spear with lightning speed and "hijacking" all the warmth back into Ling Bingtian's mind.

Before Ling Bingtian could react, a chilling cold swept over his entire body from top to bottom, and a memory appeared in his mind.

In this memory, Ling Bingtian clearly "saw" the entire process of his time travel. After the old-fashioned story of the truck from his previous life, everything went black, and his consciousness faded. When he woke up again, he was already in a completely dark space.

Since waking up, Ling Bingtian had been wandering in that pure darkness for an unknown amount of time before he finally spotted a blue light in the endless darkness, different from the surrounding darkness. He desperately tried to get closer to this glimmer of light in the darkness, and only when he was close enough did he realize that the light was actually a bead shimmering with an icy blue light.

Strangely, although Ling Bingtian's consciousness told him that the bead carried an extreme chill, his body felt that the bead made him feel very warm.

When Ling Bingtian, filled with doubt, wanted to examine the bead more closely, he never expected that he would be so captivated by it. In an instant, Ling Bingtian seemed to see countless images flashing before his eyes.

Some were children, boys and girls, practicing boxing in a large square, their tender faces filled with youthful vigor and a determination and maturity that should not belong to their age.

Some are houses with a rich historical atmosphere and the characteristics of their own country in the past, built in a huge city, with a towering tower in the center of the city that even pierces the clouds.

Others were people whose faces were obscured, but whose powerful and terrifying auras could be clearly felt. They were either standing or sitting in the same spacious room, discussing something. And in the deepest part of these people, on the main seat, one could sense a being whose body was also obscured, yet who possessed the most powerful aura in the room, sitting there, looking down at the people talking below.

Besides these, many other fragmented images flashed through my mind, but I could only clearly see and remember three of them.

The first image depicts a person wielding a massive ice-blue halberd, clad in ice-blue armor, and exuding an aura that is both profound and demonic.

He stood atop a giant, ice-blue bird resembling a phoenix, its face obscured, yet he knew it was gazing at something ahead. Behind it followed thousands upon thousands of warriors clad in identical armor, each wielding a different weapon.

They too stood atop giant birds, but the birds beneath them varied in form. Most were eagles, but some had three heads, some had four wings, and some even had horns with crackling lightning. What they had in common was that these giant birds, like their masters, exuded a terrifying aura.

Through the helmets of those soldiers, Ling Bingtian could see their fanatical eyes. Those fanatical eyes made him realize that they had unwavering faith in the person standing before them, even to the point of being willing to die at any moment!

The second image shows the same group of people, but this time it's not a still image; it's a dynamic scene of battle!

The scene shows warriors wielding their weapons, unleashing earth-shattering attacks, including sword energy, lightning, flying arrows, flames, and even direct clashes of blades!

Through the flowing images, Ling Bingtian could feel the chilling impact of each collision. Every clash between these warriors and the enemy before them had the power to destroy at least a small mountain.

Their enemies were creatures with two or more wings on their backs, looking almost exactly like the Western angels they remembered! Two wings, four wings, six wings, even eight wings! With each additional pair of wings, their aura became more terrifying!

The warriors were mainly fighting against two-winged and four-winged angels, while a few warriors clad in different armor, who looked like generals, were battling several six-winged angels. The six-winged angels wielded their longswords, unleashing streaks of holy golden sword light. Ling Bingtian could vaguely sense the terrifying power of these golden sword lights! They possessed a power a hundred times stronger than that of ordinary warriors.

The warriors who resembled generals were also extraordinary. As they wielded their weapons, streaks of icy blue blade and sword light emerged. The icy blue and golden light collided, and the resulting power made Ling Bingtian feel that it could level a mountain.

On the fierce and brutal battlefield, the fighting never ceased. The red blood of humans, the golden blood of angels, and the various colors of blood exploding from giant birds mingled together, and the blood mist painted the entire sky into a mournful and eerie picture.

But within this bleak picture, there is a blank area. That is the battlefield between the halberd-wielding man and the only eight-winged angel on the opposing side!

All the warriors and the other angels on the opposing side consciously avoided this area, because even the aftershocks of their battle were enough to tear their bodies apart and turn them directly into a bloody mist!

Although he couldn't see their faces clearly, for some reason, he felt a strange sense of familiarity with them. Before he could figure out where this familiarity came from, the scene changed again.

In the third image, the background is no longer the sky, but a boundless darkness dotted with numerous glittering points of light. Ling Bingtian found this background familiar; it was none other than the universe and the stars and planets within it!

This time, the scene didn't depict a large-scale battle; there were only nine people involved. But this time, it was one against eight!

The halberd-wielding man who gave him a sense of familiarity was surrounded by eight people. His aura rose and fell, and his armor was damaged in many places, with some wounds even revealing bare bones! He looked very weak, but he still straightened his body and looked at the eight creatures who seemed to be from four different forces attacking him.

Two ten-winged angels with crowns on their heads, holy faces, and spears in their hands; two demons with red skin and green faces, two horns on their heads, and giant blades in their hands; two giant-like creatures wearing full armor, whose faces were obscured but whose bodies were several times larger than the other creatures present; and two humans who were holding longswords and whose faces were full of arrogance!

They stared intently at the back of the halberd-wielding man, their eyes filled with greed. On the back of the halberd-wielding man was an ancient, imposing door.

That's right, it's a door!

The ancient door was covered with strange yet indescribable patterns, resembling both writing and creatures. Ling Bingtian couldn't discern anything special about it. However, the eight powerful figures surrounding the halberd-wielding man were clearly intrigued by it.

While Ling Bingtian was in a daze, one of the eight demons couldn't hold back any longer and transformed into a streak of light, rushing forward first. Seeing his charge, the other seven were not to be outdone, each displaying their own methods as they charged towards the weakened halberd-wielding man in front of them.

Just as the first demon was only a few body lengths away from the halberd-wielding man, Ling Bingtian saw that the halberd-wielding man, facing the massive blade about to fall, showed not even the slightest fear. Instead, he smiled!

How arrogant that smile was! Its arrogance was filled with disdain for the people before him!

As the smile appeared, a blinding blue light erupted from the halberd-wielding man. The blue light instantly repelled the first approaching demon and halted the advance of the remaining seven.

Staring at the blinding blue light, the eight people displayed a variety of expressions: astonishment, panic, or disbelief. It was at this moment that they heard the only conversation they could hear in the entire scene.

A giant clad in full armor, his face contorted in astonishment, asked the halberd-wielding man with an enigmatic air, "Why? This won't kill us anyway. Is it worth it?"

At the last moment, the halberd-wielding man looked at the giant, his disdain seemingly deepening. He let out a final roar!

"To die for one's country"

After the roar, the blue light paused for a moment, then burst into an extremely dazzling blue light, so dazzling that it was impossible to look directly at it.

I didn't see the result of the blue light. In the instant before the blue light burst, I had already left the memory interface and returned to the darkness.

But before breaking away, he clearly saw a faint, icy blue bead appear between the halberd-wielding man's eyebrows. And that was clearly the bead he had just observed!

However, unlike the one in front of him, the bead that appeared between the halberd-wielding man's eyebrows was covered with characters, a mysterious script that gave off a powerful feeling.

The only thing I could feel was that it was with the support of these words that the blue light was able to burst forth!

Compared to the bead that had appeared between the halberd-wielding man's brows, the bead before him now seemed much more plain and unadorned. All the inscrutable, mysterious characters on it had vanished, leaving only a smooth, almost reflective bead.

But he still reached out to grab the bead immediately, after all, it was his only hope of leaving that dark space!

Just as he was about to grasp the bead, a flash of blue light appeared, and the bead shot into his forehead. After the bead entered his forehead, he felt increasingly dizzy, and finally, he closed his eyes and passed out.

When he regained consciousness, he was already the newborn young city lord of Extreme Ice City, the northernmost city of the Heavenly Soul Empire.

However, because there wasn't enough power in his body to activate the bead, the bead and this memory were sealed in his spiritual sea, slowly absorbing the energy he had brought into his body.

Now, after absorbing energy for several years, and guided by Ling Jue's soul power, this bead has finally reappeared in Ling Bingtian's mind, carrying this memory.

From this bead, Ling Bingtian could sense an indescribable charm and power.

This is a fundamental difference compared to soul power. The feeling that the bead conveyed to Ling Bingtian was a difference in status, a power that was several levels higher.

If the bead were in its peak condition, Ling Bingtian believed that the level of energy it contained would be several levels higher than that of soul power.

However, the mysterious writing has now completely disappeared, leaving only a smooth bead.

After absorbing the prototype of the Frost Soul Chain Dragon Spear in Ling Bingtian's hand and Ling Jue's soul power, the originally smooth bead began to emit a faint icy blue light.

Until a certain point, the bead stopped absorbing Ling Jue's soul power. At that moment, a faint light suddenly appeared on the surface of the bead.

"Clang—" A phoenix cry suddenly rang out from the bead, resounding throughout Ling Bingtian's entire spiritual sea.

A phantom-like, icy blue figure suddenly soared out from the bead, with a chicken's head, a swallow's chin, a snake's neck, a tortoise's back, and a fish's tail, standing about six feet tall. It was the same icy blue giant bird that had appeared at the feet of the halberd-wielding man in the previous scene; now it seemed to be a different species from the normal phoenix.

Ling Bingtian focused his gaze and could clearly "see" the entire phoenix.

Unlike a normal phoenix, which is crimson with colorful feathers, this ice-blue phoenix is ​​entirely ice-blue because its feathers are composed of beautiful ice crystals. From a distance, they look like beautiful crystals, as clear and bright as snow. When it flies, it seems as if snowflakes and specks of light are dancing around it.

Only three parts of the phoenix emitted a color different from its icy blue hue: its crimson eyes and a vermilion crystal located in the center of its brow. On this phoenix, entirely composed of ice crystals, these three red hues appeared exceptionally eerie.

After flying out of the bead, the phoenix circled once in Ling Bingtian's spiritual sea before landing in front of him. Its crimson eyes, tinged with scarlet, stared intently at Ling Bingtian's spiritual body.

The moment their eyes met, Ling Bingtian knew the phoenix's bloodline.

Ice Crystal Phoenix!

At the same time, Ling Bingtian also realized where it was going. The Ice Crystal Phoenix raised its wings, let out another loud cry, and flew up in front of Ling Bingtian again. In the air, it transformed into a stream of ice-blue energy, flew out of Ling Bingtian's sea of ​​consciousness, and surged towards Ling Bingtian's right hand.

At the same time, Ling Bingtian was about to leave his sea of ​​consciousness. It was this bead, which originated from the halberd-wielding man, that pulled Ling Bingtian into this sea of ​​consciousness with its special power. Otherwise, with Ling Bingtian's newly awakened abilities, it wouldn't have been so easy for him to enter the sea of ​​consciousness, let alone stay there.

However, in the last instant before Ling Bingtian left his sea of ​​consciousness, he once again "saw" a crimson light emerge from the bead, transforming into a crimson energy that rushed toward his left hand.

Before Ling Bingtian could react, the scene before him transformed into a golden light, which was composed of specks of golden light formed from the dissipated golden light shield.

As the golden light dissipated, Ling Bingtian was confronted with Ling Jue, whose forehead was damp with sweat and whose face displayed a complex mix of surprise, joy, and disbelief, along with the sounds of a series of people falling to the ground behind him.

Ling Bingtian was still confused and his mind was not fully recovered, but he quickly came to his senses when he heard a familiar voice.

"Good! Good! As expected of my grandson, Ling Yongsheng, the Ultimate Ice, the Ultimate Ice, hahahahahaha!" A familiar voice rang in his ears. Ling Bingtian turned his head and saw Ling Yongsheng appear beside him in a flash, staring at him with burning eyes.

At the same time, Ling Yongsheng probably noticed Ling Bingtian's confusion, and with a wave of his hand, an ice mirror appeared in front of Ling Bingtian.

Ling Bingtian stared intently, only to find that the reflection in the mirror was completely different from the image of himself before he awakened his martial spirit.

His short, jet-black hair turned ice-blue, and ice crystals appeared on his body, outlining a thin layer of ice armor. Behind the armor were a pair of ice-blue wings, also composed of ice crystals, and the entire armor was engraved with a phoenix spreading its wings, the carving so lifelike and vivid, it was the very ice crystal phoenix that had just appeared in Ling Bingtian's spiritual sea.

To onlookers, it seemed as if the phoenix was watching them, as if it might soar out of the armor at any moment and devour them.

On Ling Bingtian's face, a mask formed of condensed ice crystals also appeared. Only Ling Bingtian's two eyes were exposed on the mask. Unlike before, his eyes, which were originally black, had turned crimson like the phoenix from before, and at the same time, they emitted an indescribable sharpness.

On the forehead of the mask, a vermilion crystal was also engraved, emitting a strange light.

Overwhelmed with surprise, Ling Bingtian was also filled with boundless joy. An ultimate martial soul! He had actually awakened an ultimate martial soul!

The sound of people falling behind me just now must have been those who also possessed ice-attribute martial souls but lacked the power to withstand the suppression of my ultimate ice bloodline aura, which is why they collapsed so easily.

Feeling the power flowing within his body, Ling Bingtian had a sudden realization: this was the most special power on the Douluo Continent—Soul Power! Subconsciously, Ling Bingtian looked at the back of his right hand, where a circle of ice-blue Martial Soul patterns appeared—the patterns of the Ice Crystal Phoenix.

"That blood-red phantom just now, I'm afraid..." Ling Bingtian had some guesses in his heart, but he didn't stretch out his left hand to check, it wasn't the right time yet.

Moreover, he needed to process the information about his awakened martial soul and the memories that had suddenly surfaced in his mind. Ling Bingtian could sense that these memories likely originated from that mysterious bead, and probably contained a lot of things he wanted to know.

"Come on, Xiao Tian, ​​use your mind to retrieve your martial soul, and then inject the power in your body into this crystal ball." Ling Yongsheng's words rang in Ling Bingtian's ears again, and a blue crystal ball was handed over to him. It was the crystal ball for testing innate soul power.

Ling Bingtian accepted the crystal ball without hesitation. As he withdrew his martial soul, he thought to himself with a sigh, "Judging from my experience in my previous life, this must be an old relic used by the Spirit Hall ten thousand years ago to test people's innate soul power. It seems that my family's prejudice against soul tools is probably among the worst in the entire fanatical Heavenly Soul Empire."

Despite his internal complaints, Ling Bingtian's hands moved swiftly. He guided the flowing power within him, channeling it into the crystal ball, which already emitted a tremendous suction force. As if finding an outlet, the flowing power surged into the crystal ball in large quantities. At this moment, even if Ling Bingtian wanted to release his grip, he would find it difficult to escape the powerful suction.

As Ling Bingtian's power surged into the crystal ball, it gradually lit up. To the eyes of everyone in the central square, a dazzling blue light rapidly rose from the bottom of the crystal ball, and in the blink of an eye, the entire ball shone like a brilliant gem. Its halo was breathtakingly beautiful.

This scene caused an uproar among the people present. With the martial soul awakening ceremony held year after year, the people of Extreme Ice City naturally understood the significance of the crystal ball shining.

Even the slightest reaction from the crystal ball, even just a glimmer of light, would indicate that the child possesses soul power and has the potential to become a Soul Master. And now, with the crystal ball shining with such dazzling light, there can only be one explanation.

That is the genius child in front of us, who has once again written his legendary story. He has awakened a martial soul that looks very powerful, and at the same time, he also possesses the innate full soul power that everyone on the continent wants!

Among the crowd, a few people had a different look in their eyes, but it was fleeting and quickly changed into the same excitement and surprise as the people around them, without any flaws.

"Hahahaha, good! Good!! Good!!!" Ling Yongsheng's laughter rang out again. Since his return to the family, his beloved grandson had been constantly surprising him. Whether it was his past achievements or the awakening of this ultimate martial soul and innate full soul power, it all meant that as long as he protected his beloved grandson, the Ling family would be worry-free for the next hundred years.

Even going further is not impossible... Thinking of this possibility, even with Ling Yongsheng's more than two hundred years of experience, his body couldn't help but tremble with excitement.

Ling Bingtian wasn't surprised. Since he had awakened the ultimate martial soul, it was almost a certainty that he would have full innate soul power. This didn't surprise him. What really puzzled him was that he could feel that there was still some soul power left in his body. The crystal ball had probably not absorbed his limit.

"Could it be that the Ice Crystal Phoenix is ​​more than just an ultimate martial soul?" Thinking of a certain possibility, even Ling Bingtian, who had the soul of an adult, had a breathtaking glint in his eyes.

Outside the Awakening Arena, the purple-robed elder, who had just been affected by Ling Bingtian's Ice Crystal Phoenix Martial Soul due to his own Martial Soul, had recovered from his earlier outburst. Looking at the young man who had retracted his Martial Soul and the middle-aged man laughing beside him, he murmured, "Is another legend about to begin...?"

"Is that a powerful martial soul? I really hope I can awaken such a martial soul too..." These words echoed in the hearts of many children in the formation.

"Damn it, you get all the advantages! My awakened martial soul will definitely be no worse than yours!" Many spoiled children from noble families thought with envy. Of course, they would soon realize how ignorant their thoughts were when they awakened their martial souls.

Under the blazing sun, in the biting wind, in the square, faced with the same breathtaking scene, some were delighted, some envious, some jealous, and some relieved...

This is the epitome of human nature.