The Purple Ring Entered the Azure Lotus Sword

"As long as it can get here, that's enough."

Jin Ling asked, "What are you going to say to it?"

"I'll ask if it can use a little more strength."

"Watch the Soul Ring first." Jin Ling pointed at the purple ring of light by his feet. "Those beast eyes have moved behind the trees."

"It hasn't answered me yet."

Li Zhexian called to the man behind the tall rock, "Soul Hunting captain, how many years has this Ghost Vine been growing?"

The captain was supporting an injured teammate, and his spear was covered in mud. "At least three hundred years. Its roots have reached the rock layer. You're only level twenty right now, so absorbing it will be risky."

"What happens if I fail?"

"Your meridians will be injured. If it's severe enough, you'll lose your life."

The Soul Ring contracted, then expanded again. The vine shadows inside it were still crawling.

Li Zhexian turned to Jin Ling. "Is this thing suitable for me?"

Jin Ling slapped a charging gray-furred beast away with one palm. "Choose the Soul Ring yourself. Hurry up and absorb it. I don't want to stand guard until dark."

The captain added from the side, "A little over three hundred years is a suitable age. Ghost Vines excel at binding and paralysis. If you absorb it successfully, your first Soul Skill will probably have something to do with vines too. But that's only a guess. I can't say for certain."

"That answer is more honest."

Li Zhexian walked over to the Ghost Vine's corpse and examined its broken main root. "Is it completely dead?"

"Are you still planning to ask it?"

"Once I sit down, I'll leave everything around me to you."

"I never agreed to that."

"Then I'll sit here and wait for them to drag me away."

Jin Ling slapped a spiny-backed beast that had just emerged from the grass into the mud. "Don't say useless things."

Li Zhexian sat down cross-legged and laid the Azure Lotus Sword across his knees.

The Purple Soul Ring rose into the air, then descended toward the top of his head.

[First Soul Ring detected.]

[Soul Ring attributes conflict with the Azure Lotus Sword Martial Soul.]

[Control the absorption speed. Forcible assimilation is prohibited.]

"I already know." Li Zhexian closed his eyes.

The captain asked, "Who are you talking to?"

"I'm talking to myself. That way, no one else can interrupt."

The Soul Ring pressed down onto the blade, and vine-type Soul Power wound along its edge.

His shoulder wound began to ache, and his chest tightened.

Jin Ling blocked a small black beast. "Steady your breathing. Do you still remember the method Chen Xin taught you?"

Li Zhexian breathed in the rhythm Chen Xin had taught him, sending his Soul Power into his dantian before guiding it to his palm.

The vine shadows inside the Soul Ring had already wrapped around his waist and arms. Inside the illusion, the Ghost Vine was still alive, and countless roots were dragging him down into the earth.

"If you fail to absorb it, I won't help collect your corpse." Jin Ling slapped another small beast flying.

"Then don't let them come near here."

"You've certainly arranged everything well."

Soul Power surged erratically through his meridians. The shield on his chest shone with golden light, helping him withstand the impact, but it couldn't suppress the chaos.

Li Zhexian tightened his grip on the hilt and followed the Soul Ring's force, directing the Soul Power toward the Azure Lotus Sword.

"If you keep charging around, I'll send you back where you came from."

The blade rang twice, and its lotus markings lit up with an azure glow.

The vine shadows stopped moving. The Soul Ring continued to descend, entering the blade.

Jin Ling knocked down the last small beast and looked back at Li Zhexian. "He didn't use the shield to take it head-on."

The captain hadn't heard her clearly. "What did you say?"

"Nothing."

The purple light had dispersed, and the lotus markings on the sword had joined into a thin line.

Li Zhexian opened his eyes. Level twenty-one Soul Power circulated once through his body before settling in his chest.

The bottleneck that had blocked him for so long.

He had finally passed it.

[First Soul Ring absorption complete.]

[Soul Power raised to level twenty-one.]

[First Soul Skill: Lotus Sword Art.]

Li Zhexian stood up and swung the Azure Lotus Sword, severing vines thirty feet away.

An azure lotus shadow circled halfway around the sword's edge before dispersing.

The captain led his teammates out from behind the tall rock. "Did you really absorb a three-hundred-year Purple Soul Ring?"

"I'm level twenty-one now."

"Aren't you afraid something might go wrong?"

"Even if I'm afraid, I still have to go on living."

"Why did you choose it?"

"It entangled me for half the day, so I paid it back with a sword strike."

Jin Ling reached out and pushed aside a broken branch of the Ghost Vine. "Your sword already destroyed its main root."

"Because it entangled me first."

"You won't have such good luck next time."

"I understand that."

"You'd better really understand."

Li Zhexian glanced at the wound on his arm and opened the system panel.

The shield still had a long string of points left, and the seal had barely loosened. Neither the Soul Ring nor the Soul Skill he had just absorbed had changed that.

"I still need to find someone who can fight."

"You've only just finished absorbing a Soul Ring, and you're already thinking about your next beating?"

"The Soul Ring and the shield aren't things that can be counted together."

Jin Ling looked toward the edge of the forest.

Firelight had already risen in the direction of the town.

The Soul Hunting captain tightened his grip on his spear. "The altar is in that direction."

"What sacrifice are they preparing to offer?"

The sound of iron chains scraping across the ground came from where the firelight shone.

A young girl was bound at the end of the chain. She was shouting curses at the people escorting her. "If you're really so capable, take me off these chains!"