Shards of razor-sharp ice constantly grazed past Gu Han's robes, smashing into the ground and blasting open pits, scattering icy debris in all directions.
Even while dodging, Gu Han kept a close watch on the movements of the Mysterious Ice Spirit Crane through his spiritual sense.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. The moment the Mysterious Ice Spirit Crane dropped below five hundred meters in altitude, Gu Han instantly burned ten percent of his soul power and used a teleportation skill to appear directly above the creature.
The soul power cost of teleportation scaled with distance, which was one of the main reasons Gu Han rarely used it. While short-range jumps were tolerable, long-distance teleportation drained so much power that using it two or three times could leave him unable to continue fighting.
However, once one reached the Soul Sage level, this limitation would vanish.
After activating the Martial Soul Avatar, Soul Sages could significantly reduce the soul power consumption of their first six skills, and those skills no longer had cooldown periods.
This was exactly why becoming a Soul Sage marked the first major power threshold in the world of Soul Masters.
Although Gu Han's soul power reserves were impressively deep, this teleportation skill's percentage-based consumption remained brutal.
He had often complained about the downside of this skill, but ultimately had no choice but to accept it—hoping that once he upgraded the soul ring's age, the drawbacks might lessen.
Having learned from its previous mistake, the Mysterious Ice Spirit Crane had grown more cunning. The moment Gu Han vanished, it immediately stopped attacking and turned around, unleashing a breath attack from its beak.
"Hmph."
Gu Han snorted coldly. His second soul skill shifted from armor form into a spherical shield, blocking the breath attack completely.
At the same time, his third soul ring lit up beneath his feet.
"Third Soul Skill—Celestial Lotus Reigns Supreme!"
A pristine white lotus unfurled. Its twelve crystalline petals bloomed midair and, in the blink of an eye, transformed into twelve razor-sharp swords. Infused with the force of Frostblade Nine Slashes, each sword shot toward the Mysterious Ice Spirit Crane in succession.
"Skreee!!"
The soul beast flapped its wings frantically, attempting to evade the incoming barrage.
But the bone-chilling cold carried by the swords seemed to freeze even the air itself, causing the crane—despite being an Ice Attribute beast—to move sluggishly.
Letting out a shrill cry, it erupted with soul power. A violent storm exploded outward from its body, sweeping across the battlefield.
With both combatants wielding ice attributes, the already-freezing environment grew utterly frigid. Thick ice blanketed the ground and frozen lake alike.
Nearby trees were instantly turned into glistening ice sculptures, only to be shattered by the howling wind into deadly shards that whirled into the sky.
Faced with this raging storm of ice and wind, Gu Han's gaze sharpened.
While maintaining control over his third soul skill, he also activated his Taiji Sword Intent. A field of invisible force spread out from him, and a phantom Taiji symbol appeared before him.
The phantom rotated slowly. The chaotic air seemed to fall under its influence, beginning to swirl in a controlled orbit, unable to surge forward.
The ice shards hurtling through the air were redirected by a soft yet unyielding force, scattering harmlessly in all directions.
Despite juggling the Taiji Sword Intent, Frostblade Nine Slashes, and Celestial Lotus Reigns Supreme, Gu Han showed no signs of fatigue, sustained by his immense and refined soul power.
Each sword conjured from the lotus petals carried devastating power. By the ninth sword, the force became near-apocalyptic. Though the final three swords did not stack as heavily in strength, each still surpassed the destructive power of the ninth.
With the True Meaning of Taiji infused into the final blow, the final strike tore through all of the Mysterious Ice Spirit Crane's defenses and attacks, piercing straight through its massive body with overwhelming force.
"Grahh…"
Letting out a final, anguished cry, the Mysterious Ice Spirit Crane's enormous, broken form crashed to the ground.
A surge of potent soul power condensed from its corpse, forming a black-glowing soul ring.
Gu Han landed gently, exhaled, and began regulating his breath. Before long, his soul power calmed.
Clap. Clap. Clap!
A round of applause echoed in his ears. Gu Han turned his head to see Qian Jun approaching with a pleased smile, applauding warmly.
"A truly brilliant battle," Qian Jun praised. "To slay a 37,000-year Ice Attribute soul beast with only quasi-Soul Emperor strength at Rank 60… You're truly a prodigy."
He had sparred with Gu Han before and already knew that the youth was unmatched among his peers.
But that didn't stop him from being amazed every time Gu Han displayed his full strength.
"You flatter me, Uncle Qian Jun. That crane was really troublesome—it forced me to use everything I had."
"You did well. Considering how tricky that beast was, even high-level Soul Sages would have struggled."
"Now then, take some time to recover and start absorbing the ring."
"Understood."
Gu Han nodded. Thanks to the Nameless Manual, his recovery was rapid. After a short rest, he had mostly regained his condition.
Without delay, he sat cross-legged beside the Mysterious Ice Spirit Crane's body and began guiding the soul ring into fusion.
The process went smoothly. Any mental attacks were completely ineffective against Gu Han, whose spirit was already refined and internalized.
Just like the previous rings, this one imprinted itself onto a new chapter of the Nameless Manual, leaving behind only the soul skill.
In less than half an hour, Gu Han slowly opened his eyes.
A powerful aura surged from him, then quickly stabilized.
The excess energy from the Holy Spirit Fruit and the soul ring merged effortlessly into his body, his soul power climbing straight to Rank 65.
"Well done, kid. You're absorbing these soul rings faster and faster. What's the sixth soul skill?"
Qian Jun, impressed by the quick absorption, now looked curiously at Gu Han.
With a light chuckle, Gu Han replied, "Watch closely, Uncle Qian Jun. I'll show you."
As he spoke, his sixth soul ring lit up. Granted the ability of flight by this new ring, Gu Han soared into the sky like a lightning bolt.
At this moment, Gu Han resembled a true Sword Immortal—peerless and ethereal.
Raising the Frostblade Sword high above his head, cold light glinted along its blade. Behind him, countless ghostly sword shadows flickered into being, each emanating a chilling, deathly aura like messengers from the abyss awaiting his command.
"Sixth Soul Skill—Myriad Swords Return to One!"
Though softly spoken, Gu Han's voice rang like a mighty bell across the land—filled with majesty and murderous intent.
With a sudden motion, he pointed his sword toward the lake below.
In an instant, countless sword shadows formed from sword qi rained down like a storm.
Each blade carried a bone-chilling cold that froze the air in its wake, leaving behind streaks of icy blue light.
They moved so fast they left only blurry afterimages—nearly impossible to track.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
The sword rain hammered the frozen lake, producing a deafening barrage of impacts.
Cracks spread wildly across the thick ice layer. The lake's surface, once calm, was now completely ravaged. Ice collapsed into the water below, only for it to be instantly refrozen by the freezing sword qi—forming jagged, glacial towers.
These crystalline ice structures glittered in the sunlight like a fantastical palace of ice… yet they exuded a deadly aura.
Gu Han gently retracted his soul power and landed steadily on the ground.
A faint smile tugged at his lips—subtle, but betraying the joy in his heart.
"Uncle Qian Jun, my sixth soul skill is Myriad Swords Return to One. As you saw, it also grants me flight."
Myriad Swords Return to One—a classic ability befitting any Sword Immortal.
Gu Han recalled a saying: "A Sword Immortal who knows Myriad Swords Return to One may not be unbeatable—but one who doesn't? Absolutely trash."
Indeed, Myriad Swords Return to One was a dream skill for all who pursued the Sword Immortal path.
One sword summons ten thousand—how grand, how stylish!
"Impressive. And it even granted flight—many will envy you for that."
Qian Jun nodded with satisfaction. The soul skill's effects were excellent.
Flight, especially, was a game-changer. Except for those with flying-type Martial Souls, no Soul Master below Titled Douluo could achieve aerial combat.
For any Soul Master under Rank 90 without a flying spirit, flight was an incredibly rare and valuable ability.
As for Myriad Swords Return to One, Qian Jun thought of the Seven Kill Sword lineage. They typically obtained this area-attack type of skill with their fifth or sixth ring.
Its power was overwhelming, its coverage wide—useful both in large-scale battles and one-on-one combat.
But Gu Han's version even carried an intense freezing effect, which, when combined with his fifth soul skill, became terrifyingly potent.
Just imagining Gu Han as a future Titled Douluo made Qian Jun's liver quiver.
He finally understood why the Pope always wore such a proud smile when speaking of his two disciples.
They were truly monstrous.
There was no way he'd want to face someone like Gu Han in battle.
Thankfully, this child belonged to Spirit Hall. The ones who should be nervous were the Three Upper Clans and the Two Great Empires.
But those were concerns for the future. For now, Spirit Hall's top priority was to protect these two—ensuring nothing went wrong before they reached their full potential.
With the soul beast hunt complete, the two returned briefly to Qinghe Village.
The old village chief remained in good health. Before the trip, Gu Han had specially asked Yue Guan for a rare herb that extended life and strengthened the body.
After taking it, the old man didn't become young again, of course—but his energy and spirit greatly improved. His mobility was now on par with the younger men.
After spending a few more days in the village, Gu Han bid farewell to the reluctant villagers and the tearful old chief, setting off once more on his path to supremacy.
~~~
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