The First Ring in a Thousand Years

"Sister Xue, Sister Bing, I want to try absorbing a thousand-year spirit ring as my first."

Just as Snow Empress and Ice Empress were discussing where to hunt a spirit ring for Lang Lei, his words suddenly reached their ears.

For a moment, they even wondered if they had misheard.

But clearly, as the continent's top existences, their ears weren't faulty—meaning that while they were worrying about Lang Lei having to absorb a thousand-year spirit ring for his second ring, the very person they worried about was thinking of absorbing one for his first?

At this, they both felt a little like they might have been too conservative...

Still, thoughts aside, they had to talk him out of it.

"Lang Lei, are you really sure? This is a matter of your safety. If something goes wrong, the outcome won't be as simple as losing a game." Snow Empress said with a serious expression.

"But Sister Xue and I haven't lost at games either, have we?"

Snow Empress was momentarily speechless. Lang Lei wasn't lying—she and Ice Empress had played games with him plenty, yet with tens of thousands of years of experience, they still couldn't beat a child. It was honestly embarrassing.

"Lang Lei, no one's going to go easy on you in this game, and the consequences of losing are severe!" Ice Empress said stubbornly.

Though she was concerned about him, her wording still made Lang Lei can't help but curl his lip.

You sure didn't say that when you got tilted losing to me at games!

"Sister Xue, Sister Bing, you always say I'm not an ordinary child, so why measure me by ordinary standards? If I follow the beaten path step by step, growing according to their rules, won't I just become one of them in the end?" Lang Lei said, his face stern, holding firm to his stance. "Since I was born extraordinary, why should I cower and shrink back?"

Snow Empress and Ice Empress were a bit surprised. This was the first time he'd been so "rebellious." Normally, if they forbade something, Lang Lei never touched it again. But this time...

Of course, they were happy about it. If it were anything else, they'd let him have his way. But this—this was the most dangerous thing yet...

They knew Lang Lei wasn't an ordinary child; in fact, they were the ones on the continent who understood him best.

But a thousand-year first ring was unprecedented. They still hesitated. After all, if Lang Lei just cultivated step by step, he was destined to become a lofty deity, bringing them immortality along the way. Why take such a risky path?

Seeing them still wavering, Lang Lei sighed helplessly and decided to reveal a little to put them at ease.

"Sister Xue, Sister Bing, look."

Lang Lei spread his palm, and a pink crystal flower condensed out of thin air, floating above his hand, radiating a mesmerizing aura.

Snow Empress and Ice Empress couldn't help but be drawn to it, sensing the heart-stopping power within.

"This is..."

"Origin Power. A girl as brilliant as drifting petals told me about it."

"Another deity?"

"Maybe she was just an ordinary human?"

Snow Empress and Ice Empress naturally didn't believe that. How could such power belong to a human? To put it bluntly, they could sense a level of force far above the Heavenly Tribulation of spirit beasts.

And the Heavenly Tribulation was an embodiment of Douluo Continent's laws!

Still, the fact that Lang Lei could wield such power now was a pleasant surprise.

"So... this is your trump card?" Snow Empress looked into his eyes.

"Not all of it." Lang Lei paused, then spoke seriously and solemnly.

Seeing he wasn't lying, Snow Empress and Ice Empress relaxed.

As long as he hadn't made the decision on a hotheaded impulse.

But then Ice Empress's face flushed with mock anger.

"Oh, you little rascal! Xue'er and I treat you so well, and you hide something this big from us?!"

With that, she reached out to grab his ear.

Lang Lei wasn't about to just stand there and let her. He had his pride, didn't he?

So he darted over to Snow Empress in a flash, grabbing her clothes and starting a game of Qin Wang Rao Zhu around her to evade Ice Empress.

Snow Empress watched helplessly as the two circled her. Usually, they were both so composed—why did they turn so childish whenever they got together?

As for Lang Lei hiding things, Snow Empress didn't mind. At least he knew the wisdom of keeping his cards close at such a young age. Compared to those flashy peacocks, this personality would let him grow up much safer.

As for why a six-year-old child would know that...

She chalked it up to the title "Child of Deity."

--

"Aiya~, little Lang Lei looked so cool saying that just now~?"

"'Since I was born extraordinary, why should I cower and shrink back!'"

"I didn't expect Lang Lei to show his chuunibyou side at a time like this~?"

"And with his little body saying it, it's just too funny~?"

"Elysia!!!"

"Hmm~?"

"I'm here~?"

"Forget it..." Hearing Elysia's voice, Lang Lei instantly lost all his steam, completely wrapped around her finger.

"But Lang Lei, have you really made up your mind? The First Ring of a Millennium has never appeared in the history of this continent before, and our Origin Power has only a limited influence here. Absorbing it rashly would still carry some risk..."

"That's fine. Before I met Elysia, I wasn't exactly an ordinary person, was I?" Lang Lei replied nonchalantly. "Even if something does go wrong, I can just fall back on the power of [Past and Present Life]."

"True, I forgot—Lang Lei's trump card was never really my power, was it~?"

"Even so, Elysia, saying it like that makes me feel a bit weird..."

"Huh? Does it?"

"Sorry, I'm probably overthinking it." Lang Lei paused, then spoke again. "But Elysia, you really are my greatest trump card."

"Eh? What?"

"Nothing..."

"How can you do that! Say it again~?"

"Say what?"

"Lang Lei's gone bad..."

"Have I? I really didn't say anything~"

"You jerk, say it again~?"

Lang Lei listened to the voice in his mind, his face flushing slightly. He simply pretended not to hear and sat cross-legged to begin cultivating.

Seeing this, Elysia didn't press further, but sensing Lang Lei's restless emotions, she secretly chuckled to herself.

"Just as stubborn as Mobius when it comes to being honest~?"