Douluo Continent: My name is Lu Mingfei, and my martial soul is Lu Mingze.

Lu Mingfei sat on the animal skin, his mind still frantically calling out Lu Mingze's name.

That little rascal just wouldn't say a word.

Lu Mingfei gritted his teeth, mentally going over all the curses he could think of, and then despairingly realized that Lu Mingze's ancestors for eighteen generations were also his own ancestors for eighteen generations.

It's really frustrating that someone can't even utter a proper curse.

"Lu Mingze, you come out here!"

There has been no response yet.

Lu Mingfei glanced at the Ice Emperor and Snow Emperor on the other side of the cave and felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

"Lu Mingze." Lu Mingfei closed his eyes and calmed his voice in his mind.

"If you don't come out soon, I'm going to tell those two ladies the truth. I'll tell them I don't know how to bestow the title either, that you were just bragging before, and that we're actually just tourists in the far north."

There was a moment of silence.

Then a voice rang in my head, with that smug, irritating laugh: "Bro, are you threatening me?"

"I'm discussing this with you."

"What are you talking about? You're clearly threatening me."

"Then just take this as a threat. Anyway, I can't handle it, so you figure it out yourself." Lu Mingfei was unusually assertive for once.

My mind went silent for two seconds.

Then Lu Mingze sighed: "Alright, alright, I'll teach you."

Lu Mingfei's spirits lifted.

"The matter of bestowing titles upon the four monarchs is, in essence, quite simple."

Lu Mingze's voice became serious, although there was still a hint of pretentiousness in that seriousness.

"Your martial spirit is me. I am a part of your soul and a part of your power. The Four Sovereigns are titles, not divine positions. They do not require rare treasures or ritual formations. What they require is your will."

"My will?"

"Yes. You recognize them as your followers, and they recognize you as their lord. Their status is naturally established."

Lu Mingfei was taken aback: "It's that simple?"

"It's that simple."

"Are you sure you're not trying to scam me?"

"Brother, have I ever cheated you?"

"You always trick me!"

"I swear to God." Lu Mingze's voice was tinged with laughter.

"This time, really not. The essence of investiture is to establish a connection. You are the lord, and they are the monarchs. Power is shared, and strength is exchanged. Your will is the key, and their approval is the lock. Insert the key, and the lock opens."

Lu Mingfei was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "So, what exactly should I do?"

"Stand up, walk up to them, put your hand on their forehead, and say a word."

"What did you say?"

"In the name of the sovereign of the four great monarchs, I bestow upon you the supreme title—King of the Ocean and Waters. From this day forward, all rivers flow to you, and the vast seas obey your command."

Lu Mingfei's lips twitched: "Isn't this dialogue a bit too melodramatic?"

"You can change the line, like, 'From today onwards, you're my little brother.'"

"..."

Lu Mingfei took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

He stood up and walked to the Ice Emperor and the Snow Emperor.

The gazes of the two ferocious beasts fell upon him simultaneously, causing Lu Mingfei's knees to begin to weaken again.

"Um... ladies," Lu Mingfei tried to make his voice sound less weak, "I can proceed with the investiture now."

Hyotei's tail hook twitched: "What do we do?"

"Put your hands on your foreheads."

Hyotei's eyes turned dangerous.

Did she become a pet?

"No, no, I didn't mean anything by it!" Lu Mingfei quickly waved his hands. "This is a necessary step in the investiture process, really, I swear, I have absolutely no ill intentions."

Xue Di glanced at him and said calmly, "Okay."

Hyo-tei glanced at Suki-tei, then at Lu Mingfei, snorted, and said nothing more.

Lu Mingfei walked up to Hyotei, raised his right hand, and placed it on her forehead.

He focused his mind on making Hyotei his subjects and the king of the sea and water.

A warm current rose from his dantian, flowed down his arm to his fingertips, and then surged into Hyotei's body.

Hyotei's body trembled slightly.

Lu Mingfei spoke, his voice calmer than he had imagined: "In the name of the sovereign of the Four Great Sovereigns, I bestow upon you the title of King of the Ocean and Water. From this day forward, all rivers will flow to you, and the vast seas will obey your command."

As soon as the words were spoken, an invisible force spread out between the two of them.

It wasn't soul power, nor spiritual power; it was something Lu Mingfei had never experienced before—like some rule being triggered, some shackles being broken.

Hyotei's emerald green eyes suddenly widened.

She sensed it.

The oppressive force of the divine realm's rules that had weighed on her for four hundred thousand years was receding at a rate she could perceive.

It felt like a huge boulder had been lifted from her chest, like a rope around her neck had been untied. The feeling was so intense that she almost thought she was dreaming.

not only that.

A new power has entered her body, not any of the powers she has cultivated for four hundred thousand years, but something entirely new and unfamiliar.

That force was like a language, automatically arranging and combining in her mind to form several complete syllables.

She instinctively knew what those syllables meant.

Words of power.

The Word of Power of the King of the Ocean and Water.

Lu Mingfei withdrew his hand and walked back to Xue Di.

The Snow Emperor used the same method and felt the same way.

Lu Mingfei took a step back, and before he could even catch his breath, he felt a change in his body.

The first thing is body temperature.

The extreme cold of the far north has always been a real threat to him.

If it weren't for the constant presence of the Word of Power, I would have frozen to death long ago.

He looked down at his hands.

The hand was still the same hand, with no change, but I could feel a layer of something like an invisible armor under the skin.

Lu Mingze's voice echoed in his mind: "You felt it?"

"I can feel it, I'm not cold anymore." Lu Mingfei looked at his hands.

"Nonsense, you are now the lord of the ocean and water. If you were still shivering from the cold, that would be too embarrassing."

"My body has become stronger too?"

"This is a passive ability that comes with your rank. It doesn't require consuming soul power or being actively released; you're born with it. Wouldn't it be a joke if the rulers of the Four Great Sovereigns had bodies as fragile as ordinary people?"

Lu Mingfei flexed his fingers, feeling an unprecedented sense of security.

At that moment, Hyotei suddenly let out a soft exclamation.

Lu Mingfei turned his head and saw a faint emerald green light appear on the surface of Ice Emperor's body. The light flickered a few times, and then two soul bones emerged from her body and floated in mid-air.

After the two soul bones separated from Hyotei's body, Hyotei did not show any discomfort. Instead, she blinked her eyes, as if she had unloaded some burden.

"The soul bone has withdrawn?" Xue Di's voice carried a hint of surprise.

As soon as she finished speaking, a layer of white light appeared on her body, and two soul bones emerged from her body—one for her left arm and one for her right arm, both silver-white, as if carved from the purest ice and snow.

The two soul bones floated in front of Xue Di, but they had no effect on her.

Hyotei looked at the two soul bones in front of her, then at Lu Mingfei, and frowned slightly: "Soul bones are things that grow naturally over long years and are completely integrated with our bodies."

"Under normal circumstances, once the soul bone has fully grown, it can never be separated from the body."

"And according to what you human soul masters say, these are all external soul bones right now."