"Who ascended to godhood?" Several names flashed through Lin Lei's mind instantly.
"Hopefully, it's not a Saint Realm expert from another plane," Desley whispered. Hearing this, Lin Lei nodded as well. On the Yulan Continent, the local god-level powerhouses were already at a disadvantage. If the newly ascended god was also from another plane…
Their situation would only grow more dire.
"Desley, come on. Let's go see who exactly reached god-level," Lin Lei said.
Desley blinked, then broke into a smile. "Sure, let's go see who was lucky enough to make the breakthrough." They harbored a trace of wariness toward beings who had been lower gods for thousands or tens of thousands of years, but a newly ascended god didn't worry them nearly as much.
Lin Lei and Desley immediately shot northward at extreme speed.
Desley was also skilled in speed, and after ascending to godhood, his velocity had naturally become even more impressive—though still not quite on par with Lin Lei. Flying together, they crossed the sky and arrived above the Dark Forest in a remarkably short time. By then, they could sense that the fluctuation of the Laws of the World had already faded.
"It's to the north, and quite far away," Lin Lei said with a furrowed brow.
He had extended his divine sense just moments ago, but even reaching all the way to the coast of the North Sea, the source of that law fluctuation remained distant.
"Could it be on the Arctic Tundra?" Desley speculated.
Since it was still north of the Yulan Continent, there were only two possibilities: somewhere in the North Sea, or on the Arctic Tundra. Both Lin Lei and Desley were intensely curious—who had ascended? Beyond curiosity, there was also a thread of hope. They hoped it was someone from the Yulan Continent's own side.
"Desley, I've never actually been to the Arctic Tundra. Would you mind accompanying me for a visit?" Lin Lei turned his head toward Desley with a grin.
"Of course I don't mind." Desley was equally interested.
The two of them transformed into streaks of light that slashed across the sky, flying northward at tremendous speed.
The Yulan Continent plane—of all its landmasses, the Yulan Continent itself was actually the smallest. Its north-south span was roughly twenty to thirty thousand li, and its east-west distance was even greater, perhaps around thirty thousand li. But compared to the oceans, the difference was enormous.
Never mind the South Sea—calling the South Sea "vast" would be an understatement. Ten thousand Yulan Continent landmasses wouldn't amount to a tenth of it.
And the North Sea, while considerably smaller than the South Sea, was still far larger than the Yulan Continent.
"Hooo hooo~~~" The bitter wind howled.
The farther north they went, the colder it became. It was also the first month of the year—the peak of winter. Even at Lin Lei and Desley's speed, it took several hours of flight before the white expanse of the Arctic Tundra finally came into view.
Lin Lei and Desley descended onto the frozen ground of the Arctic Tundra.
"The Arctic Tundra—truly awe-inspiring," Lin Lei marveled.
It was bitterly cold here. Those gale-force winds were essentially "wind blades." A warrior of insufficient strength caught in them would be shredded into a paste of flesh and bone powder. Of course, for Lin Lei and Desley, the frigid winds posed no threat whatsoever.
Across the Arctic Tundra, enormous icebergs towered into the sky.
On the Yulan Continent, mountains over ten thousand meters tall were exceedingly rare. Here, however, icebergs exceeding that height were commonplace. There was sunlight even on the Arctic Tundra, but it brought no warmth. When the frigid wind kicked up shards of ice, the sky and earth sometimes turned a hazy gray.
"The one who ascended—it really is Olivia," Lin Lei said, a hint of a smile on his face.
"You've spotted him?" Desley's face lit up with elation. Though Desley had cultivated for thousands of years, his soul's growth was far inferior to Lin Lei's, whose soul had been strengthened by absorbing twenty million soul essences.
This was precisely why figures like Pomont and the Great Sorcerer sought to refine soul essences.
"Follow me." Lin Lei took flight and headed northeast. Desley followed close behind.
After flying roughly several thousand li, they arrived at the foot of a colossal iceberg towering over a hundred thousand meters. By now, Desley had sensed it too—Olivia was dwelling deep within this massive iceberg. A man with a full head of silver hair was walking out from the passage at the iceberg's base.
"Lin Lei, Desley, please come in," Olivia said. Remarkably, there was a faint smile on his face.
Lin Lei and Desley were somewhat surprised. Olivia's hair had once been a mix of black and white, yet now it was entirely silver. Moreover, his aura felt closer to "Light."
"Desley, have you cultivated the Laws of Light to the level of a lower god?" Olivia asked.
Lin Lei and Desley followed Olivia into the ice cave. The tunnel plunged remarkably deep—winding and turning, then angling downward. After flying for what must have been dozens of li, they finally reached Olivia's dwelling.
"It's freezing in here," Desley remarked.
The deep interior of Olivia's iceberg was indeed frigid—ten or even a hundred times colder than the rest of the Arctic Tundra.
"Tinkle." Beside them was a small pool, with droplets of green water dripping from the ice above. The pool radiated an astonishing chill.
"This is the coldest spot in the entire Arctic Tundra," Olivia said with a smile. "Back then, I kept digging deeper and deeper. You have no idea how hard the ice is down here—absolutely no worse than precious ores. I dug for ages before reaching this core. It was right there—"
Olivia pointed toward the pool.
"That Mysterious Ice Longsword of mine—I found it right in this cold pool." The existence of a pool of liquid water in such an极其 frigid place was strange enough in itself, let alone the fact that a Mysterious Ice Longsword lay within it. Lin Lei and Desley both silently wondered whether that sword had some extraordinary origin.