Through the distortion, he barely made out countless threads of icy sword intent woven together, forming the cocoon.

How many slashes… did that take?

Before the shock could fade, his breath froze.

A colossal sword light burst forth.

Ten meters long.

Azure and absolute.

The moment it appeared, frost spread outward in a hundred-meter radius, crystallizing leaves, air, and earth alike.

The Ice Fire Demonic Tiger screamed and folded its wings over its head.

Boom!

Its massive body froze solid.

Then shattered.

Arctic mist exploded outward, snow cascading from the sky as if winter itself had been summoned.

Even with the Purple Demon Eyes, Ray could no longer see clearly. Sword lights flashed throughout the mist, accompanied by violent soul power fluctuations that whipped the forest into chaos.

Ray clung to a tree trunk with all his strength, terrified of being blown away.

The storm lasted only minutes.

But to him, it felt like an eternity.

The tiger's roars faded, replaced by weak, broken whimpers.

"Come."

Alfred appeared before him once more, calm and composed.

White robes. Azure sword.

Aside from slightly heavier breathing, there was no sign that he had just fought a four-thousand-year soul beast.

Alfred wrapped an arm around Ray's waist and slashed forward. The surrounding frost mist flowed obediently into the Skyfrost Sword, clearing the battlefield.

The Ice Fire Demonic Tiger lay not far away, wings shattered, its body riddled with countless cuts. Blood stained the frozen ground.

In a flash, Alfred brought Ray onto the tiger's back.

Its heart was still faintly beating.

"Golden Dragon Claw," Alfred ordered.

Ray understood immediately.

Soul power surged.

Golden light erupted as the claw pierced the back of the tiger's skull.

The beast shuddered once—then went still.

Dense spirit energy flooded into Ray.

Gold appeared, bathed in radiance, its eyes blazing with joy.

Alfred nodded. "With its current accumulation, your spirit soul should evolve after absorbing this energy."

Gold had already surpassed seven hundred years. This four-thousand-year Ice Fire Demonic Tiger would translate into roughly four hundred years of spirit energy.

Enough.

Enough to cross the threshold.

Gold shone brighter and brighter as it absorbed the power. Ray felt something stir deep within his body.

His bloodline pulsed.

Golden light enveloped him. Scales rippled across his arm, then spread further. A faint golden pattern appeared on his other hand.

What Ray couldn't see was that the pattern extended across his entire body.

My spirit soul… is ascending?

Numbness spread through him, prickling and strange. He sat down instinctively, cross-legged, focusing inward.

When Gold finally settled, and the golden glow faded, the numbness vanished as well.

Ray looked up, unease flickering in his eyes. "Teacher, I—"

Alfred shook his head calmly. "Don't worry. This is only spirit energy accumulation. Your physical body isn't here, so the true evolution will occur after you exit."

"What you just felt was your spirit soul absorbing energy and your body responding to the influx."

Ray exhaled slowly, heart still racing.

This… was the intermediate spirit ascension platform.

And this… was the path he had chosen.

Ray finally relaxed. Whatever had happened earlier, there truly was nothing wrong with his body.

"Teacher," he asked, unable to hide the anticipation in his voice, "what do we do next?"

"We continue," Alfred replied flatly. "We'll raise your spirit soul to two thousand years. That's just below your current limit. Since we've already entered the intermediate level, we might as well make full use of it."

"Okay!" Ray nodded vigorously, his trust absolute.

Although he hadn't clearly followed every detail of the previous battle, one thing was certain: if a four-thousand-year Ice Fire Demonic Tiger couldn't even graze Alfred, then his teacher was far beyond an ordinary Soul Emperor. That was real power.

The two pressed onward, Ray following closely behind.

Less than a minute later, Alfred suddenly seized Ray's shoulder.

A blur flashed past their vision, followed by faint glimmers of light.

Alfred instantly retreated, executing the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track as countless ivy-green needles fell soundlessly from above. They pierced the earth and trees alike, corroding everything they touched into rotten black sludge.

The plants seemed to shriek as they withered, but Ray had no time to dwell on it. Alfred leapt upward and landed on a thick tree branch, placing Ray down beside him.

An enormous figure lumbered into view.

It stood nearly five meters tall. While it lacked the Ice Fire Demonic Tiger's length, its equally massive width made it resemble a colossal living sphere.

Its entire body was ivy-green, and two elongated fangs jutted from its mouth as it released a low, rumbling growl. Without hesitation, it charged forward and slammed into the tree.

Crack!

The trunk snapped.

Alfred grabbed Ray and leapt away, but the beast had already anticipated their movement. A second wave of poisonous needles erupted into the air, sealing off their escape routes.

So poisonous…!

Alfred thrust out the Skyfrost Sword, releasing a storm of sword waves that shredded the needles midair. Even so, a cloyingly sweet stench assaulted Ray's senses, making his head spin.

A moment later, icy mist surged from Alfred's body and enveloped them both. Ray's dizziness vanished instantly.

A giant porcupine!

It's the Venomquill Porcupine!

With a body this large, its cultivation had to be at least three thousand years.

Only now did Ray truly understand his position in the intermediate spirit ascension platform. If he had entered alone, he would have died before even understanding what had killed him.

The Venomquill Porcupine was terrifying. Its quills were not only extremely toxic but could be launched in dense volleys. Once the poison entered the body, it spread rapidly and destroyed everything in its path. Despite its bulky frame, it was also surprisingly agile, and its ramming power alone was deadly.

"It's covered in poison," Alfred said calmly. "I won't leave your side this time."

For once, Ray could clearly follow Alfred's attack.

The thousand-year purple soul ring lit up.

The Skyfrost Sword slashed outward, releasing a sword wave over ten meters long that tore through the air.

Skyfrost Slash.

Alfred's third soul skill.

From the side, Ray caught a glimpse of Alfred's eyes. A deep purple shimmer glimmered within them. Purple Demon Eyes—far more advanced and terrifying than his own.

The sword wave struck the Venomquill Porcupine head-on. Its thick hide resisted for an instant before splitting open. Icy blue frost surged from the wound, spreading rapidly across its body until the entire beast froze solid.

Its ferocious snarls turned into pitiful screams.

Alfred descended with Ray and activated his fourth soul skill. The Skyfrost Sword expanded tenfold, transforming into an enormous azure greatsword.

He drove it straight into the frozen wound, pinning the porcupine firmly to the ground.

Holding the sword hilt with one hand and Ray with the other, Alfred floated in midair. His white robes fluttered in the freezing aura as the Venomquill Porcupine's spirit energy poured out.

To him, this victory seemed trivial.

He withdrew cleanly, carrying Ray away from the poisonous corpse.

So strong…

As the greatsword shrank back to its original form, Ray shivered. Unable to restrain himself, he asked, "Teacher, what was that soul skill called?"

"Frost Song," Alfred answered indifferently.

"Frost Song…" Ray murmured at the same time.

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