Hell Stab

The world was like this: either you died, or I lived!

If Zhu Zhuqing wanted to live her best life, she could not afford even the slightest bit of softheartedness.

She was going to follow the Dark Style.

Cruelty!

It was the most perfect praise for her!

Squelch!

The sound of a sharp blade entering flesh rang out, and the Guard Captain, who had originally intended to hand Zhu Zhuqing a knife, immediately twitched at the corner of his eye.

What a fierce girl!

She had stabbed it to death with her bare hand. Was she trying to show off how brutal she was?

Calmly pulling out her hand, Zhu Zhuqing took out a silk handkerchief and began wiping her right hand.

Zhu Zhuqing could not describe that feeling.

Wet and hot!

It had been a little disgusting at first, but once the Soul Ring began to condense, she threw that feeling to the back of her mind.

Compared to strength, whether she felt good or bad was nothing more than an accessory.

Knowing that strength reigned supreme in this world, she understood that she was nothing without strength.

As for disgust?

Sorry, that emotion should not have appeared in her.

Well, it was still a little disgusting.

But she was not afraid at all.

As Zhu Zhuqing raised her hand and brought down her claws, the Hell Spirit Cat, which still had a breath left in it, died instantly.

By the time Zhu Zhuqing had cleaned the blood from her hand, the Hell Spirit Cat's Soul Ring had fully condensed.

The yellow Soul Ring gleamed brightly in the dim ravine. A Five-Hundred-Year Soul Ring might have been beyond reach in the eyes of ordinary people, yet it now stood so tangibly before her.

"Spread out and stay alert!"

The Guard Captain gave the order, and all the guards formed a circle around Zhu Zhuqing and the Hell Spirit Cat's Soul Ring.

"Thank you."

Zhu Zhuqing came back to her senses and thanked them, then sat down cross-legged without hesitation.

She had studied Soul Ring absorption more times than she could count.

She had even secretly simulated it countless times!

Drawing the Soul Ring toward herself, she placed it around her body. A surge of heat poured from the Soul Ring into her body.

This Soul Power rampaged wildly through her body. If this had happened to an ordinary Soul Master, most Level 10 Soul Masters would likely have been blasted apart by the force.

But Zhu Zhuqing felt no pressure at all. Her body merely grew slightly warm, leaving her with a cozy sensation.

There was no pressure whatsoever. It even felt somewhat comfortable!

In an instant, Zhu Zhuqing seemed to turn into a water pump, continuously drawing out the Soul Power within the Soul Ring.

The accumulation of her own Soul Power steadily rose as time passed.

With Innate Soul Power at Level 9, a normal cultivation rate should have been around two or three levels per year.

Over the past few years, she had never slackened in her cultivation.

Moreover, because of her powerful physique, she cultivated for more than twice as long as others every day.

But unlike others, who only needed to raise their Soul Power, she also had to improve her physical condition.

As a result, her Soul Power cultivation always suffered somewhat.

As everyone knew, tempering the body was always more difficult than cultivating qi, not to mention that Zhu Zhuqing only knew how to use Soul Power for Body Tempering.

Thus, her Soul Power had only increased by four levels each year.

In other words, over the past two years, she had raised her Soul Power by four levels every year.

And that was only because she had squeezed out a great deal of time from her daily Soul Power cultivation to train her physique, causing her Soul Power accumulation to grow so slowly.

In her eyes, increasing Soul Power was certainly important.

But her physical condition could not be neglected either.

The Zhu Family would never prepare something like a Soul Bone for her.

So if she wanted to absorb a Hundred Thousand Years Soul Ring, she had to begin preparing from childhood!

She had started Body Tempering from a young age, constantly keeping her physique in step with the growth of her Soul Power.

This would only benefit her future, never harm it!

Over the past two years, because gains in Soul Power could neither be seen nor touched, she had become somewhat lax in raising it. Instead, she had been more diligent in integrating Soul Power into her body.

At present, Zhu Zhuqing's physical state was roughly equivalent to Level 17 Soul Power, a Level 20 physique, and unknown Spiritual Power!

But her Spiritual Power was definitely far stronger than that of Soul Masters at the same level!

Even though she had spent a great deal of time using the Soul Power she absorbed to nourish her body, her Soul Power cultivation speed still surpassed everyone else's.

Thus, with such powerful physical attributes, absorbing a Five-Hundred-Year Soul Ring was as easy as playing for her.

However, knowing full well that she could not expose herself too early, Zhu Zhuqing stopped after absorbing nearly all the Soul Power within the Soul Ring.

She did not proceed to the next step, remaining motionless as though she were still absorbing the Soul Ring's Soul Power.

Only after sitting there for another hour did she gradually guide the Soul Ring into her body to fuse with it.

"Success!"

Watching Zhu Zhuqing absorb a Five-Hundred-Year Soul Ring in just one hour and five minutes, the guards could only marvel that a young lady from a great family was indeed different.

Not only was her talent exceptional, but her willpower was equally formidable!

For ordinary people like them, becoming a Level 10 Soul Master at eight years old was already considered genius-level talent.

Not to mention absorbing a Five-Hundred-Year Soul Ring as one's first Soul Ring.

They would have been ecstatic just to absorb a Hundred-Year Soul Ring as their first ring.

Let alone absorb a Five-Hundred-Year one like Zhu Zhuqing.

She truly made them endlessly envious!

Opening her eyes, a sharp glint flashed through them.

Meow!

A cat's cry sounded behind her. The Hell Spirit Cat's body appeared with a yellow Soul Ring around it, then merged into her body.

Her twin pupils turned purple-black, her catlike eyes lively yet cold.

A slender tail emerged out of thin air from the base of her spine, gently flicking through the air with incomparable agility.

There was something Zhu Zhuqing had always dared not reveal.

Her Hell Spirit Cat seemed to have undergone some kind of beneficial mutation.

It was common knowledge that the White Tiger Martial Soul was a top-tier Beast Martial Soul, while the Hell Spirit Cat could at most be considered an advanced martial soul.

But Zhu Zhuqing's Hell Spirit Cat had mutated.

Not only were all of its attributes stronger than the Hell Spirit Cat martial souls of her Eldest Sister and Second Sister,

it had also gained the ability to control darkness.

The Hell Spirit Cat borrowed the Dark Element, but Zhu Zhuqing controlled the Dark Element.

Though the difference was only two words, they were worlds apart!

Only now could she truly be called the perfect assassin!

She was darkness's favored child!

Clenching her fist, the abundant power within her body and the lightness she felt told her that her Soul Power had risen.

It really did feel good not having to restrain and suppress her Soul Power!

The Five-Hundred-Year Soul Ring had raised her Soul Power to Level 19. Two levels from a single Soul Ring—not bad!

As for her soul skill...

The soul skill she had gained was similar to Hell Stab, except her speed would double in shadowy environments.

It was a very good soul skill, and it was not far from what she had hoped for.

After absorbing the Soul Ring, they naturally had to return as quickly as possible. After all, a place where soul beasts gathered was not somewhere pleasant.

Zhu Zhuqing looked back once more at the Netherworld Grand Canyon. This was probably the last time she would ever come here.