“Let’s see if the ice is as hard as back home.”

Damien picked up another ice rock. The earlier fragility was gone; it felt identical to the Cardinal World’s.

“Wow, it really is!”

“Tch, getting weakened like this? This world’s rules are annoying.”

Unlike Shuna’s excitement, Shion crossed her arms, frustrated by the restrictions.

Not for herself, but for her lord being shackled.

If she could, Shion wanted to conquer this world. “What if Lord Damien became its ruler?”

“Well…”

“If I ruled this world, the Cardinal World would benefit, growing larger.”

“It’s a win-win!”

The Cardinal World would gain, and Damien would grow stronger.

“For now, let’s check this monster’s details.”

Damien cast Appraisal on the yak.

[Ice Plain Yak]

Type: Otherworld Monster

Lifespan: 1208 years

Rank: F

Performance: D-

Innate Abilities: Cold Resistance, Ice Consumption, Ice Element Manipulation, Brute Strength

“What the heck?”

“This cow is over 1200 years old?!”

“1200 years, seriously?”

Appraisal wasn’t omniscient.

The same went for Dragon’s Eye.

Results depended on Damien’s understanding of the world.

But basic energy levels and special abilities were clear.

Seeing the yak’s 1200-year lifespan, even Damien couldn’t help but exclaim.

“No way, a monster that lives 1200 years has only D- performance?”

This was D-rank in this world.

F-rank Magicules, D-rank performance.

Here, F-rank meant its equivalent in the Cardinal World.

Think a Jura Forest goblin… weaker than a child there.

D-rank was roughly a fully armed adventurer team.

“Unbelievable!”

Shuna, Shion, and Ogerpon, also with Appraisal, checked the yak’s stats.

All three were stunned by its age.

1200 years? Even a frog would become a Majin by then!

So why?

Why was this cow so weak?!

“It makes no sense, absolutely no sense!”

Damien muttered, “In any world, lifespan ties to life level. Higher levels mean longer lives.”

But this monster defied that logic.

“And 1200 years isn’t even its limit.”

Imagine a monster with near-infinite lifespan.

Why?

How could it live so long?

Its existence was utterly illogical!

“Wait, Shion, didn’t you say there are lots of these cows?”

“Yeah, hundreds. Should I grab them all?”

“Take me to them!”

Following Shion, they quickly found the herd.

Along the way, Damien appraised other creatures, all showing similar stats to the first yak.

He racked his memory for worlds with matching settings: “Snowy wasteland, odd monsters, near-infinite lifespans, but combat power doesn’t match their longevity.”

“Douluo Dalu?”

Damien thought, “Soul beasts living thousands or tens of thousands of years, yet so weak.”

In other worlds, a ten-thousand-year creature would be a Demon Lord, moving mountains and seas.

In Douluo Continent, a ten-thousand-year soul beast matched a human Soul King.

And a Soul King’s performance?

At best, a second-rate martial artist in a martial arts novel, killable by crossbows.

D-rank performance aligned with that.

“Ten thousand years of cultivation for second-rate martial art strength.”

The more Damien thought, the more this felt like Douluo Dalu.

To confirm, he killed a tiger-like monster that ambushed them.

“Sure enough!”

A purple energy ring rose from the corpse. “Soul beasts produce soul rings upon death. This is Douluo Dalu!”

“With Douluo Continent’s low spiritual energy, it makes sense.”

Damien recalled Douluo Continent’s bizarre physical rules, even the “hydrogen human” jest.

Exaggerated, sure, but the low strength was real.

“Douluo Dalu, icy wasteland… so this is the Far North?”

“No idea which timeline, though.”

“Is it Douluo Continent 1’s Tang San era, Douluo Continent 2, Douluo Continent 3, or an unwritten transition period?”

If possible, Damien preferred Douluo Continent 1’s time.

After Tang San’s ascension, Douluo Continent became Tang’s domain.

Damien had no interest in tangling with Tang San.

“Let’s find someone to ask.”

His senses picked up a human presence to the north.

“Shuna!”

“Yes!”

Having mapped the planet’s space, Shuna raised her hand, teleporting the group near the sensed human.

Whoosh!

In the blizzard, an old man sped south.

White-haired and bearded, he looked over seventy, clad in thick silver-gray armor, travel-worn.

He held a strange metal device containing restless ice-blue energy, struggling to break free.

“Who’s there?!”

Sensing them, the old man halted, his face grave.

“No need to be tense, sir.”

Damien stepped forward, softening his tone. “We’re adventurers exploring the Far North. May we ask you a few questions?”

“…”

The white-haired man stopped, looking up at the sudden group with surprise.

He didn’t speak, silently studying Damien.

A faint golden-blue glow flickered in his eyes, catching Damien off-guard.

Damien sensed an energy in the man, distinct from soul power.

If soul power was low-density magic from sparse Spiritrons, this energy rivaled normal magic in quality.

***

Bonus Chapter:

100 Power Stones = 1 BC

300 Power Stones = 2 BC

500 Power Stones = 3 BC

700 Power Stones = 4 BC

1000 Power Stones = 5 BC

***

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep