Second Ring Against Third Ring

Lu Jun moved like lightning, darting through layers of dense forest. The chill from the Ice Abyss Sword condensed into tiny ice crystals around him, silently severing the vines and bushes blocking his path.

When he finally burst out of the trees, the sight before him made his pupils constrict.

In a forest clearing, Gu Yue Na was surrounded by dense spiritual power from a thousand-year Spirit Beast. She had clearly just completed a hunt.

But it was precisely this spiritual power that had drawn unwelcome guests.

Three youths stood in a triangular formation around her, their burning gazes fixed on the halo of spiritual power she had yet to fully absorb.

At their head stood a tall red-haired youth of about fourteen or fifteen, dressed in the uniform of Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy. Two yellow and one purple Soul Rings flickered around him.

He had two Spirit Souls, clearly possessing considerable combat strength.

"Hand over the Spirit Beast spiritual power," he said coldly. "We had our eyes on that thousand-year Spirit Beast for a long time. You merely took advantage of it while it was badly injured and killed the Spirit Beast we were after."

"I'll warn you only once. Hand over the spiritual power, and we'll let you go. You can continue hunting other Spirit Beasts."

With a single glance, Lu Jun spotted a handsome boy of around ten standing to the left of that Soul Elder. A faint Light Sacred Dragon Shadow emerged behind him.

Two yellow Soul Rings quietly revolved around him.

"Is that the Light Sacred Dragon? Hahaha, a dragon-type Martial Soul running into the Silver Dragon King is truly Hitting A Rock With An Egg."

Lu Jun immediately found it amusing.

He hid there with the mindset of watching the show, quietly waiting to see Gu Yue Na slaughter them all.

Other than that boy, the people on either side of him were both Three Ring Soul Elders.

Gu Yue Na gave no response to this group's attempt to rob her. She merely tilted her head slightly, her beautiful eyes glancing toward the bushes where Lu Jun hid.

"So I've been discovered..."

In the bushes, Lu Jun sighed helplessly. He had planned to sit back and watch, but since Gu Yue Na had already noticed him, there was no point in continuing to hide.

So Lu Jun stood up and slowly walked out, the Ice Abyss Sword angled toward the ground. The chill on its blade froze a trail of frost across the grass.

His white clothes fluttered gently in the breeze. The ice-blue blade pointed diagonally downward, and tiny ice crystals condensed at its tip before falling with soft rustles.

His appearance stalled the atmosphere in the clearing. The gazes of the three Soul Masters snapped toward him.

"Heh, another one here to die?" The red-haired Soul Elder sneered. His eyes swept over the two yellow Soul Rings beneath Lu Jun's feet, and a trace of disdain flashed through them. "A two-ring Soul Grandmaster dares meddle in our affairs?"

The Soul Elder beside him narrowed his eyes and mocked, "White clothes, blue sword—you're putting on quite the act. Which novel's protagonist are you copying with that look?"

"...Don't misunderstand. I didn't want to dress like this either."

At the mention of this, Lu Jun sighed.

All his clothes had been chosen by Leng Yaozhu. Whenever he wanted to wear something else, Leng Yaozhu would refuse and only let him wear white.

Even the clothes she bought for him were all custom-made white outfits.

As a result, Lu Jun seriously suspected that Leng Yaozhu was raising him as if he were Yun Ming.

What kind of bizarre fetish was this world full of?

He couldn't understand it. Not even a little.

The corner of Gu Yue Na's lips lifted almost imperceptibly. She folded her arms and stepped half a pace back, clearly preparing to watch the show.

Seeing Lu Jun standing there without moving, the red-haired Soul Elder assumed he was afraid and could not help but advise him.

"You should leave while you can. You're still so young, and you only have two rings. The whole hero-saves-the-beauty routine isn't for you yet."

Lu Jun's expression turned strange.

What?

Hero saves the beauty?

I'm only worried she'll beat you to death.

"I think you've misunderstood." Lu Jun finally spoke, his tone calm. "I didn't come for this girl."

"Oh?"

The two Soul Elders both became somewhat interested.

"Then what did you come for?"

"I came for the spiritual power on your bodies." The instant Lu Jun finished speaking, he swung the Ice Abyss Sword and revealed his First Soul Ring.

Ice Abyss Domain.

With the blade as its center, terrifying cold erupted like a tsunami. The air within a hundred meters instantly froze into ice crystals, the ground cracked amid sharp cracking sounds, and countless sharp ice spikes burst from the earth, turning the entire area into an Ice and Snow Purgatory.

"W-What is this?!" The red-haired Soul Elder's expression changed drastically. He tried to retreat, only to discover that his legs had already been frozen in place.

As for the ten-year-old boy with the Light Sacred Dragon Martial Soul, he did not even have time to react before the oncoming tide of cold swallowed him.

His eyes widened in terror as the Light Sacred Dragon Martial Soul erupted instinctively, attempting to resist.

However, before the Ultimate Ice, his resistance was nothing more than child's play.

"Crack, crack—"

Ice crystals spread from his ankles and covered his entire body in the blink of an eye.

He remained frozen in his struggling posture, completely turned into a crystalline Ice Sculpture. Even the fear in his pupils was eternally fixed in place.

"Long Chen!"

The red-haired Soul Elder's eyes nearly split apart. He desperately drove his Soul Power, and his three Soul Rings flashed wildly.

Flames formed in his hand, creating a Soul Power Barrier in an attempt to ward off the encroaching chill.

But the moment the flames emerged, Lu Jun's Ultimate Ice extinguished them.

Martial Souls with Ultimate Attributes were inherently invincible against opponents of the same rank.

Thus, even against two Three Ring Soul Elders, Lu Jun felt no fear.

Especially after seeing that one of them possessed a Fire Attribute Martial Soul, Lu Jun was so delighted that he nearly laughed out loud.

Attribute suppression, kid.

That made this even more effortless.

The Ice Abyss Sword in Lu Jun's hand trembled lightly, and the temperature within the domain plummeted once more.

"Ah—!!"

The red-haired Soul Elder let out a miserable scream. Frost began forming over his skin, the blood seeping from his pores froze instantly, and it felt as if countless Ice Needles were piercing his body. The pain forced him to his knees.

The other Soul Elder was no better off. Under the erosion of the Ultimate Ice, his Soul Power Barrier became covered in cracks like fragile glass.

Cold seeped in through those cracks. His fingers lost all feeling first, followed by his arms, chest...

"My Martial Soul is being suppressed!" the red-haired Soul Elder shouted.

The Third Soul Ring of the other Soul Elder lit up, and the battle axe in his hand immediately shot out, tracing a strange arc through the air as it blasted toward Lu Jun.

Yet Lu Jun did not even raise an eyelid.

With a slight movement of his mind, thick Ice Walls abruptly rose from the ground before him.

The battle axe slammed into the Ice Walls but could not leave even the slightest crack.

A deep-blue glow rippled across the surfaces of the Ice Walls, absorbing all the attack's energy and making them even more solid.

"How is that possible?!" That Soul Elder's pupils shrank sharply.

Even more terrifyingly, the cold that had invaded their bodies began spreading frantically.

"Urgh, ah—!"

The red-haired Soul Elder suddenly dropped to his knees. Web-like ice-blue patterns appeared across his skin, and every breath brought piercing pain.

The Soul Power in his meridians was like a frozen river, its flow becoming slower and slower.

His flame Martial Soul was nothing but child's play before the Ultimate Ice.

The cold flowed backward along his Soul Power circuits, pressing directly toward his heart.

In the blink of an eye, his Soul Power was nearly depleted. To his horror, he discovered that his blood was gradually freezing.

The two watched Lu Jun slowly approach in despair. At that moment, the youth in white was more terrifying in their eyes than the Grim Reaper.

Lu Jun finally raised the Ice Abyss Sword once more. The Second Soul Ring circling the blade lit up.

Second Soul Skill, Ice Abyss Slash.

The blade trembled lightly, releasing a clear hum. Lu Jun once again activated his Spiritual Power.

The next moment, countless swords formed of Ice Crystals burst from the bodies of the two Soul Elders, sending them straight home.

Second Ring against Third Ring—an effortless instant kill.