Douluo: I am the True Master

"Respected ruler of the Great Northern Tundra, Snow Empress. Greetings! I know of you because I once read a description of you in a book—likely written by a human soul master who glimpsed you from afar and survived."

This statement was half-true, half-false. After all, novels from his previous life were also considered books, so Ye Wen spoke confidently without lying.

Snow Empress didn't respond but instead gazed deeply at Ye Wen. She knew the human before her wasn't telling the full truth, but she had no intention of exposing him.

With a wave of her hand, Ye Wen's vision blurred. When he regained his senses, he found himself inside a cavern. A plump Ice Silkworm lay sprawled on the ground, seemingly fast asleep. Its five silver-white stripes indicated it was slightly over five thousand years old.

Startled by Ye Wen's footsteps, the Ice Silkworm abruptly raised its body, staring at Snow Empress and Ye Wen with wide eyes. 

Ye Wen's presence didn't concern it, as his aura was almost negligible due to his Mimicry skill. However, Snow Empress's presence loomed over it like a demonic abyss, freezing it in place with fear.

Snow Empress slowly approached the Ice Silkworm and said calmly:

"Sacrifice yourself to this human, Ice Silkworm."

Hearing this, the intelligent Ice Silkworm instinctively wanted to refuse. But recalling the law of survival of the fittest among spirit beasts, it realized that refusing would only lead to its death. After a moment of silence, it reluctantly nodded.

Ye Wen, the beneficiary, was stunned. He didn't recall millennium-level spirit beasts having the ability to sacrifice themselves. But given Snow Empress's words, the Ice Silkworm likely possessed such an ability.

"Go ahead. I'll ask my questions after you've absorbed the soul ring," Snow Empress instructed.

Ye Wen sat cross-legged in front of the Ice Silkworm, knowing that with Snow Empress protecting him, there was no danger.

A trace of sorrow flickered in the Ice Silkworm's eyes. Then, a silvery glow enveloped both Ye Wen and the Ice Silkworm. A purple halo, representing a millennium-level soul ring, coalesced in midair. As the soul ring fully formed, the Ice Silkworm's vitality faded completely, collapsing lifelessly to the ground. The soul ring then attached itself to Ye Wen's martial soul.

The familiar surge of energy coursed through Ye Wen's body. His already formidable physical strength received another boost, and his height gradually increased to 1.7 meters, transforming him into a handsome young man free of childish features.

Thanks to the Ice Silkworm's voluntary sacrifice, Ye Wen absorbed the five-thousand-year soul ring without any resistance, completing the process in no time.

The icy cavern returned to silence. Ye Wen summoned his martial soul again, illuminating the dim cave with one yellow and two purple rings.

"Third soul skill: *Void Control.* 

Building upon the ability to remotely summon my martial soul, I can now fully control its floating movement, creating multiple independent spatial portals. 

Fantastic! With this skill, I can not only better control my martial soul but also develop derivative techniques. Moreover, the space within Black Cloth has expanded to ten cubic meters."

"It seems you're quite satisfied with the soul skill you've gained. Now, answer my question," Snow Empress's cold voice rang out, reminding Ye Wen that he was still in a precarious situation. Who knew what this apex predator might ask? One wrong answer could mean his demise.

Straightening his posture, Ye Wen opened his eyes, ready to respond. But suddenly, a faint white light emanated from Snow Empress, striking Ye Wen. Before he could react, his consciousness blurred, and he collapsed onto the ground, fast asleep.

Snow Empress was equally bewildered by this sudden development. She didn't understand why that white light had appeared or why Ye Wen had suddenly fainted. Rushing to check on him, she sighed in relief upon realizing he was merely asleep.

Only then did Snow Empress have the mental space to reflect on the mysterious white light. It felt both familiar and foreign, stirring memories buried deep within her vast existence.

As the sole Ice Sky Snow Maiden in the Douluo world, her creation process was unique. Though classified as a spirit beast, she was more accurately described as an elemental lifeform. Born from the pure ice energy and fortune of the Great Northern Tundra, she represented both the region's fortune and its governing rules. 

In other fantasy or cultivation worlds, the Ice Sky Snow Maiden would be akin to a primordial deity—a noble existence favored by the world. However, in the forcibly twisted Douluo world, her status had been degraded to that of a spirit beast.

Despite this, as a being destined to become the God of Ice and Snow, her birth granted her immense favor from the Great Northern Tundra's fortune. Within an incredibly short time, she grew into a ten-thousand-year spirit beast and continued her smooth cultivation journey. Unfortunately, due to her status being twisted into a spirit beast, she couldn't escape the inevitable trials faced by all spirit beasts, leading to the events of Douluo II. Otherwise, if left undisturbed, she would have reached a million years of cultivation and transcended the world's limits to become the true God of Ice and Snow.

At this moment, Snow Empress finally understood why the white light felt so familiar—it reminded her of the sensation of being protected and nurtured by the world during her embryonic state as a primordial energy crystal.

"Is this child a chosen son of the world? Does my future lie with him? I will protect him, [World], just as you protected me during my birth," Snow Empress murmured softly.

Meanwhile, Ye Wen was experiencing a surreal dream.

He dreamed of his past life, staying up late to finish his thesis, and then collapsing in sudden death. His soul was swept up by an inexplicable temporal eddy, drifting endlessly until it arrived at the outer reaches of Douluo Star.

Devoid of self-awareness, his soul drifted aimlessly. The Douluo plane captured his soul, reviewed his memories, and prepared to intervene in its own salvation.

Through an esoteric process, he was reincarnated into this world. Under the manipulation of the plane's ruler, he was granted twin martial souls: the Time Pearl and Void Cloth, divine martial souls embodying the essence of time and space. These martial souls were unparalleled in purity, surpassing even the legendary Angel martial soul in power. Moreover, since they were bestowed by the world itself, they lacked the early-stage cultivation drawbacks typical of other extreme martial souls.

However, their simplicity masked their true potential. Only upon reaching the Soul Sage realm would their full power manifest.

The key lay in their innate abilities. *Void Cloth*, or Black Cloth, inherently possessed spatial properties, with further development depending on the user. *Time Pearl* was even more extraordinary—it stored snapshots of the user's body state whenever filled with soul power. In critical moments, such as near-death or actual death, it could rewrite the body's condition using stored soul power, effectively functioning as a built-in resurrection skill.

Due to the sheer power of this ability, the plane's ruler couldn't add further enhancements. Under the twisted rules of the world, Time Pearl was limited to this single function. However, its capabilities expanded with each new soul ring acquired. Each additional soul ring allowed the binding of another person for resurrection.

The requirements for resurrection depended on the bound individual's cultivation level. Reviving a Title Douluo required a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, while lower ranks corresponded to decreasing soul ring ages.

Even so, this martial soul was undeniably game-breaking. Compared to *Void Cloth*, which initially served only as a spatial storage tool, revealing *Time Pearl's* abilities would undoubtedly attract the attention of every major faction.

After all, the strongest and rarest auxiliary skill in Douluo was—resurrection.

In this moment, Ye Wen truly understood why he had been brought to this world and granted such powerful martial souls.

"One sip, one bite—all are karmic connections," Ye Wen murmured.

As the dream neared its end, Ye Wen's consciousness grew stronger. Amidst the fading vision, he heard a faint, gender-neutral voice whisper softly:

"I leave the rest to you… 

To erase your foreign traces and grant you these powerful martial souls, I've expended too much energy. The twisted rules of this godless world continue to oppress me, and I'm about to fall into slumber. 

Please, save this world, wanderer of higher dimensions."

The voice grew weaker and eventually disappeared. Ye Wen opened his eyes, squinting at the light filtering through the icy ceiling. Dawn had broken. Rubbing his groggy head, he surveyed his surroundings.

"Where's Snow Empress?" Ye Wen wondered aloud.

He had expected her to interrogate him about his connection to this world, but her sudden disappearance left him puzzled. However, considering Snow Empress's identity, her absence made sense. A human accompanied by a six-hundred-thousand-year-old apex predator would raise eyebrows, potentially drawing the gods' attention—an undesirable outcome.

Stretching lazily, Ye Wen exited the cavern and began his journey home. Unbeknownst to him, Snow Empress was following him from afar, silently protecting him.

Contrary to Ye Wen's assumptions, Snow Empress saw nothing unusual about entering the human world in her humanoid form. With the gods absent for nearly ten thousand years, her wariness of them had long diminished.

Her decision to stay hidden wasn't out of fear but rather her belief that even a chosen child of the world needed to grow through countless battles. Her role was to intervene only when Ye Wen faced imminent death.

In her view, only such a chosen child, forged through trials, was worthy of the world's needs. After all, she herself had grown in the same way.

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