Douluo Continent: I am the Ice Archer, my ice power is invincible.

Chapter 6 You Will Become the Captain

The academies participating in the Soul Master Competition can not only showcase their strength, but also attract many sponsors and even enjoy royal subsidies, which is very beneficial to the development of the academies.

Therefore, Soul Master academies attach great importance to the Soul Master Competition.

Although Tianshui Academy is an all-girls academy, as a long-established academy, its overall strength is considerable.

However, they never made it into the final three.

This is also one of the goals they are striving to achieve.

Xiao Han knew that, according to the original timeline, Tianshui Academy would still not be among the top three in the Soul Master Competition ten years later.

But now the situation is different.

As a time traveler familiar with the plot, he has every opportunity to change everything that has not yet happened.

Ten years is enough time.

~~~~~

Two days later, Lin Zhiruo led Xiao Han and Shui Bing'er to the frozen forest in the far north.

The three traveled north in a horse-drawn carriage, and it took them more than half a month to reach their destination.

After getting off the carriage, the three of them walked into the forest.

This icy world is like an ancient secret realm left behind by nature, eternally sealed by endless ice and snow.

Upon entering this area, a chilling yet refreshing cold air rushes towards you, penetrating to the bone and causing you to involuntarily shudder.

All around are endless snow-capped mountains, towering majestically with their peaks covered in snow all year round. Sunlight occasionally pierces through the clouds, shining on them and shimmering with a dazzling and mysterious light.

At the foot of the mountain lies a strange forest composed of giant ice crystal trees.

The branches of these trees are crystal clear, as if they were carved from the purest ice, and the leaves are tiny icicles that make a crisp and melodious sound as the wind blows.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of snow, which felt soft and fluffy underfoot, leaving deep footprints with every step.

This was Xiao Han and Shui Bing'er's first time hunting soul beasts in the forest, and they were both very excited.

The three of them walked and talked.

"This place is so beautiful."

Shui Bing'er exclaimed in admiration.

Lin Zhiruo smiled and shook her head.

"Bing'er, I felt the same way when I first came here. We are all cold-attribute soul masters, so we don't feel the extremely low temperature here. But for those non-cold-attribute soul masters, this place is a death trap. Because they have to constantly consume soul power to resist the cold, and the further they go into the center of the forest, the colder it gets, and the harder it is for them to bear. So, every year, many soul masters die in this forest."

"Dean Lin, I don't understand why those non-cold attribute Soul Masters would risk coming here to hunt Soul Beasts?"

"Because there are soul beasts here that don't exist in the Star Dou Great Forest, such as the Mirror Shadow Beast and the Frost Demon Serpent. Moreover, soul beasts that survive in this extreme environment are even more powerful."

Shui Bing'er nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

She had learned some about cold-attribute soul beasts from the books in the academy library; some cold-attribute soul beasts did indeed possess special abilities.

Lin Zhiruo continued:

"I could have taken you to the Star Dou Great Forest to find suitable water-attribute soul beasts, but the soul beasts with inherent cold attributes in the Frozen Forest are definitely more suitable for you."

"Mom, I know that. If the attributes are perfectly matched, the increase in strength after absorbing a spirit ring or spirit bone will definitely be greater."

"Yes. This is your first spirit ring, so we can't be careless."

Xiao Han chuckled:

"In that case, Mom, please help Bing'er and me find a soul beast that is around four hundred years old. Absorbing its soul ring might help us increase our soul power by two levels."

"You're only six years old, and your first spirit ring is already four hundred years old? Are you kidding me? With Bing'er's physique and mental strength, she might be able to barely absorb a four-hundred-year-old spirit ring, but you probably can't."

"I'm not kidding, Mom. I'm serious."

Xiao Han knew that, according to the theory that Yu Xiaogang had stolen from the Spirit Hall, under normal circumstances, the limit for a Soul Master to absorb their first Soul Ring was 423 years.

However, different Soul Masters have different Martial Soul quality, physical qualities, and mental strength, so this is only a theoretical age limit.

Lin Zhiruo suddenly thought of something and scolded:

"Xiao Han, don't be disrespectful. Bing'er is your senior sister."

"Dean Lin, it's alright, I'm only a year older than Xiaohan."

As they were talking, Lin Zhiruo suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"There are already spirit beasts around here."

"Where?"

Lin Zhiruo pointed to the ground beneath her feet.

"There are quite a few ice silkworms with decades of cultivation in this snowy area, but they don't have much attack power. If we go further ahead, we might encounter a hundred-year-old soul beast. Let's go and take a look."

The three continued walking deeper into the forest.

The closer you get to the heart of the forest, the more ferocious the spirit beasts become.

However, their purpose in this trip was to hunt soul beasts with a hundred years of cultivation, which they could encounter on the outskirts of the forest, so there was no need to go to the center of the forest.

Lin Zhiruo obtained all seven of her spirit rings in the Frozen Forest, so she is quite familiar with the terrain of this forest.

But she remained vigilant at all times, knowing that even before reaching the heart of the forest, ferocious spirit beasts might appear.

"You two must be tired after walking for so long. It's getting dark, let's find a cave to rest."

"Um."

Lin Zhiruo led the two to the foot of a large mountain, where there was a cave.

The cave is very small, only about ten square meters.

Xiao Han looked closely and realized that there seemed to be traces left by human soul masters here.

"Mom, is this where you usually stay?"

"Hmm. Finding a decent cave in the Frozen Forest isn't easy. Staying here can temporarily shelter you from the wind and snow, but it's also dangerous. There might be spirit beasts lurking in the shadows, waiting to ambush you."

"With Mom around, it's not certain who the rabbit will be. We'll use ourselves as bait to lure them over, and maybe we can hunt down a suitable soul beast."

Lin Zhiruo smiled, seemingly sharing the same thought.

"It's getting late, you and Bing'er should rest first, I'll keep watch."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Mom."

After Xiao Han set up the tent, he slept on the same bed as Shui Bing'er, but not in the same quilt; they each slept in their own beds.

Looking into Shui Bing'er's bright, watery eyes, Xiao Han asked:

"Bing'er, are you scared?"

"With Dean Lin here, of course we have nothing to fear."

"I have a feeling that five years from now, you will join the Tianshui Academy team and become the new captain."

Shui Bing'er smiled gently.

"The academy team has only eleven players in total, including the main players and substitutes, selected from hundreds of applicants. You think I can be the captain? I don't believe it."

"You need to have confidence in yourself; my intuition is very accurate."

"And what about you?"

"With my talent, it goes without saying that I'll definitely make it into the team, and I'll be your strongest support then."

Late at night.

Xiao Han and Shui Bing'er were already asleep.

Lin Zhiruo stood guard at the cave entrance.

Suddenly, a low, piercing howl shattered the stillness of the night.

(End of this chapter)