An Eight-Year-Old Soul Grandmaster and the Choice of a Second Soul Ring! (Please Vote)

Anyang Junior Soul Master Academy, student dormitories.

Jiang Nannan looked at Zhu Ziyang with a face full of worry and asked, "Brother, are you really not going to wait for Uncle Changhe and the others to come back?"

"Mm!" Zhu Ziyang nodded, reaching out to stroke Jiang Nannan's soft hair reassuringly. "Don't worry. I never do anything I'm not confident about. Be good and wait for me at the academy. If the teachers ask about me, tell them I went with Father and Mother to hunt for a Soul Ring."

"Okay!" Jiang Nannan knew she could not stop Zhu Ziyang. She could only look at him with concern and remind him, "Then promise me that you'll come back safely."

"I promise!" Zhu Ziyang smiled, then left the dormitory without looking back, leaving Anyang Academy as well.

He was going to hunt for a Soul Ring alone!

At eight years and four months old, Zhu Ziyang had reached Rank 20 Soul Power. In two years—twenty-eight months—he had risen from Rank 10 Soul Power to Rank 20, gaining a full ten ranks. Such a pace would absolutely earn him a place among the greatest geniuses of all time.

More importantly, as a Soul Grandmaster at eight years and four months old, he was likely the youngest Soul Grandmaster on the continent in nearly ten thousand years!

Zhu Ziyang was immensely proud.

So why was he going to hunt for a Soul Ring alone?

There were two reasons.

First, Zhu Changhe and the others were not in Anyang City. A week ago, Zhu Changhe had broken through to Rank 30 and become a prospective Soul Elder. At this moment, he, Liang Ying, Hong Zhen, and another Soul Elder from Anyang City should have been helping Zhu Changhe search for a Soul Ring. After hearing Zhu Ziyang's plans, Zhu Changhe had decided to choose a Thousand-Year Light Attribute Soul Beast for his third Soul Ring, so he had specifically invited Hong Zhen and another Soul Elder he was quite close with to help.

Zhu Ziyang estimated that it would take at least another month before they returned. He did not want to wait any longer.

The second reason was Zhu Ziyang's personal ambition.

He planned to absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as his second Soul Ring!

Thanks to the Great Brightness Art, Zhu Ziyang's physique far surpassed that of Soul Masters at the same rank. Based on his own tests, his body could withstand a Soul Ring of at least fifteen hundred years.

If he were with Zhu Changhe and the others, they would definitely never allow Zhu Ziyang to absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Since they did not know that Zhu Ziyang possessed the Great Brightness Art, they naturally did not know his true strength, and would certainly never allow him to take such a risk.

Nor was it convenient for Zhu Ziyang to explain it to them.

Rather than go through all that trouble, it was better for him to find a Soul Ring by himself. He was extremely confident in his own strength. Soul Beasts under two thousand years were absolutely no match for him.

Thus, Zhu Ziyang set out alone on the road to hunt for a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

Traveling day and night, he reached his destination, Heavenly Radiance Grand Canyon, in only two days.

According to his plan, his second Soul Ring had to possess the Light Attribute. Perhaps because he cultivated the Great Brightness Art, Zhu Ziyang could clearly sense his own affinity with the Light Element, an ability that Soul Masters with other attribute Martial Souls did not possess.

When his Radiant Scythe Martial Soul had first awakened, his affinity with the Light Element had been thirty-five. Now, it was around forty-five. Once he absorbed a Light Attribute second Soul Ring, Zhu Ziyang estimated that his Light Attribute affinity would reach somewhere between fifty and sixty. That was already the ceiling for high-grade Martial Souls.

Such a rate of improvement had already far exceeded the scope of Elemental Theory. If the scholars of the Elemental School learned of it, they would surely begin to question life itself.

This showed just how powerful the Great Brightness Art was.

Zhu Ziyang's affinity with the Ice Element was around forty. From that alone, it was clear that the Frost Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was stronger than the Radiant Scythe Martial Soul had initially been.

Elemental affinity was an important theory in the Soul Master World and the core of Elemental Theory.

In the current Soul Master World, Soul Masters believed that elemental affinity was one of the factors determining the quality of a Martial Soul. A Martial Soul with an elemental attribute could increase its elemental affinity by absorbing Soul Rings of the corresponding attribute.

So-called elemental affinity referred to the ratio between the elements a Soul Master could command within their perception and the total amount of those elements. Suppose there were one hundred fire elements in a cubic meter of space centered on a Soul Master. The more elements that Soul Master could command, the higher their elemental affinity.

Normally, everyone had zero affinity for all elements. Martial Souls with elemental affinity below ten percent were called weak attribute Martial Souls. For example, the Dimlight Scythe Martial Soul could be considered a weak Light Attribute Martial Soul.

Martial Souls with elemental affinity between ten and ninety percent were traditional attribute Martial Souls. Nearly eighty percent of Martial Souls in the Soul Master World fell within this category, including ordinary Martial Souls, high-grade Martial Souls, and Top-tier Martial Souls.

As for Martial Souls with elemental affinity above ninety percent, they were the legendary Ultimate Martial Souls. Such Martial Souls were absolutely one-in-a-thousand-year rarities. In the eight thousand years since Elemental Theory was established, only three Soul Masters with Ultimate Martial Souls had appeared on the continent.

Heavenly Radiance Grand Canyon.

"Ugh! This is so hard to find! Now I finally understand why Father and the others still haven't returned after more than a week." Zhu Ziyang complained as he moved through the forest.

He had already been inside Heavenly Radiance Grand Canyon for two days, yet he still had not found the Soul Beast he wanted.

The second Soul Ring Zhu Ziyang wanted was from a Soul Beast called the Blazing Light Mantis. It was an advanced Soul Beast with both Light and Metal Attributes. He had wanted to choose this Soul Beast for his first Soul Ring back then. Based on his judgment, the Blazing Light Mantis's Soul Ring should be able to grant him a decent enhancement-type Soul Skill.

Zhu Ziyang had already searched more than half the places where Blazing Light Mantises frequently appeared, but none of the ones he encountered were Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. The oldest had only been eight hundred years old, leaving Zhu Ziyang deeply disappointed.

"Wait, what's that smell? It's so fragrant!" As Zhu Ziyang complained, he suddenly caught a faint, elusive fragrance, like the scent of osmanthus flowers. It instantly refreshed his weary mind.

There was treasure here!

Zhu Ziyang realized it at once. Without hesitation, he followed the scent. After walking roughly four to five hundred meters, the fragrance in the air only grew richer. Under normal circumstances, this was a sign that some spiritual herb had ripened!

He spotted a dense thicket taller than himself. The fragrance was coming from within.

"This is it!" Zhu Ziyang narrowed his eyes slightly, a dangerous glint flashing through them. With a stretch of his right hand, the Radiant Scythe instantly appeared in his grasp. A yellow Soul Ring silently floated around the scythe's handle, where faint golden patterns had already begun to take shape.

He raised the Radiant Scythe and slowly parted the bushes before him, stepping inside. The thicket was quite deep. Zhu Ziyang walked three or four meters in without seeing any clearing. The fragrance, however, grew even stronger.

"Whoosh!" Zhu Ziyang pushed aside a clump of bushes, and a giant bronze-colored mantis with golden patterns suddenly lunged out from behind them. Raising its pair of serrated, scythe-like forelimbs, it slashed at Zhu Ziyang. Zhu Ziyang had been prepared. The Radiant Scythe in his hand shot out at once, blocking the ambusher's weapon.

Upon seeing the giant mantis, Zhu Ziyang was not angry at being ambushed. Instead, delight appeared on his face. This giant mantis was precisely the Thousand-Year Blazing Light Mantis he had been searching for!

After searching everywhere in vain, he had found it without even trying!

What delighted Zhu Ziyang even more was that behind the Blazing Light Mantis stood a one-meter-tall sapling, bearing a pale yellow fruit the size of an apple. It was the source of the osmanthus-like fragrance. Beneath the tree lay several broken Blazing Light Mantis corpses.

Bright Yellow Fruit, a spiritual herb that could increase Soul Power and strengthen the body. It was especially effective for those with the Light Attribute.

Zhu Ziyang finally understood why there had been no other Thousand-Year Blazing Light Mantises within a radius of ten miles. They had died fighting over this Bright Yellow Fruit.

So the Blazing Light Mantis before him was the final victor?

Zhu Ziyang looked at the Blazing Light Mantis, which had retreated before the Bright Yellow Fruit tree and was staring at him with vigilance and ferocity. His expression turned rather strange. Did that make him the oriole waiting behind?

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