Chapter 16: The Thousand Year Ice Silkworm, Part I
"Boss, I…" Xiao Lie hesitated, looking at Ye Wen, who had grown even more distinguished over the past year. With a nonchalant glance, Ye Wen cut him off.
"Put away that look. There's no banquet that doesn't eventually end. Everything I could teach you is written down in that little booklet follow it to the letter, and you have a chance at becoming a Soul Ancestor. As for your father's wife, don't worry about her. Her noble family status is actually beneath your father's, and she herself is barely a one ring spirit master. As long as your father isn't blind, he'd never let that woman hurt you, even if you can't inherit the title. In fact, if your brother fails to progress in his cultivation, you're the most likely heir. Your talent is even higher than your father's, and on this continent, a spirit master's strength is everything."
Xiao Lie's eyes filled with tears. Besides his mother, he hadn't expected anyone else would be so concerned about him, even going so far as to investigate his family's situation.
"Thank you, Boss," Xiao Lie said, bowing deeply. "I won't forget that you'll always be my boss. If you ever need anything, just say the word, and I'll be there."
With that, Xiao Lie turned and left. The work study students watched quietly; over the past six months, they'd come to accept Xiao Lie as one of their own.
"Alright, enough staring. Either get back to work or practice your soul power," Ye Wen ordered. "And listen, I'll be away for a while, so you'll have to manage on your own."
"Understood, Boss!" the work study students replied in unison.
Ye Wen's authority had only grown more commanding over time, and as he spoke, they fell into line without question.
Ah Yin soon approached as well. Though only nine, she had an elegance that seemed beyond her years. Gently, she leaned in and whispered, "So, big brother, you're finally planning to get your second spirit ring? Where will you go?"
The crisp sound of her voice, paired with a subtle allure, made Ye Wen shiver slightly, caught off guard by her sudden closeness. He pulled back a little.
"I'll be away for a while, so make sure you stay safe. If it's break time and I'm not back, please check in on Grandpa for me," he said.
"Alright," she agreed.
With the composite crossbow in his possession, Ah Yin felt confident in Ye Wen's combat skills. Understanding that he was being secretive to ease her worry, she didn't press further.
A month later, Ye Wen set out. This time, he didn't bother getting a hunting pass from the headmaster; instead, he traveled alone to the northernmost region of the Heaven Dou Empire, toward the less charted Northern Glacier. Even hundreds of miles from the ice fields, the frigid winds slicing through his carriage sent shivers down his spine.
Ye Wen had decided to seek out a special spirit beast: the Ice Silkworm, a creature with minimal combat prowess but one renowned from the Douluo Dalu II universe, where the fabled Tianmeng Ice Silkworm had become a million year old spirit beast.
The silkworm's species alone confirmed its lack of close range combat abilities, and even in the novels, Tianmeng's sole offensive ability was a mental shock attack. With his composite crossbow, Ye Wen felt confident enough in his attack capabilities to hold off on an offensive ability until later spirit rings. What he craved from the Ice Silkworm was its mental power and potential for control type abilities.
Currently, Ye Wen's command over his Napu was limited; he couldn't make it move with complete precision. To refine it further, he needed the enhancements only a spirit beast with mental power attributes could provide.
Ye Wen's research had only found mental power beasts in the Star Dou Forest. But his current skill level made a trip there too risky. Thus, his thoughts returned to the Ice Silkworm from Douluo II, an innocuous creature weak in power yet capable of offering valuable skills like mental detection and simulation. The primary challenge was surviving the harsh conditions of the northern wilderness, where reliable maps or detailed records were scarce.
Fortunately, the nearby cities in the far north had some documentation on the Ice Silkworm, which Ye Wen was able to locate. The Ice Silkworm typically grew to about a decimeter in length in its early years. At one meter, it could become a century old spirit beast, and from there, its strength would increase by adding white and blue patterns along its back every additional hundred years. When an Ice Silkworm reached a thousand years, the white and blue stripes would begin turning silver. Ice Silkworms over ten thousand years old, however, were so rare that there was no record of them in these cities.
Using this information as his guide, Ye Wen resolved to stay within five kilometers of the northern borders. Venturing deeper was simply too dangerous he had neither the stamina to survive the cold nor the power to survive against the formidable spirit beasts in that area. Preparing himself for the trek, Ye Wen stored plenty of food and water in his spirit storage space, ready to brave the wilderness.
Yet unbeknownst to him, a figure silently observed him from a distant mountaintop, a strikingly beautiful woman with snowy hair and an icy expression.
As Ye Wen continued to journey through the endless white snowfields, he felt a strange sense guiding him forward. Using a specially made spiked staff, he prodded the ground with each step, pushing ahead like a devoted seeker.
"Crack…crack…crack…"
The monotonous rhythm of searching for a compatible spirit beast wore on him.
The Ice Silkworms, being small and weak, typically burrowed into deep, hidden snow caves. Only hunger or desperation would drive them out into the open. Over the course of several days, Ye Wen located several Ice Silkworm nests, but the most powerful among them were only two hundred years old, with some barely crossing into spirit beast territory. For these harmless creatures, Ye Wen felt no need to kill them pointlessly, so he left each nest intact and moved on.
(End of Chapter)
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