Azure Blade Mantis, the First Soul Ring

Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong arrived at the back mountain.

Chen Xin sensed the area, then frowned.

"That sword aura truly belongs to Banished Immortal."

Ning Fengzhi caught the faint scent of wine in the air.

He sighed.

"Banished Immortal's room is already empty."

"The money he saved over the past six years is still inside."

"That child may seem unruly, but he is actually quite proud."

"Rongrong's words were too much for him to accept. He has even turned to drink to drown his sorrows."

Gu Rong shook his head.

"Pride without the ability to back it up is nothing but a joke."

Ning Fengzhi said nothing.

He clearly agreed with Gu Rong.

Meanwhile, Chen Xin's frown deepened.

He did not want to see Li Zhixian become so despondent.

After all, he had once regarded him as the inheritor of his legacy.

In his view.

A qualified swordsman could not drink.

How could a drunkard hold a sword steady?

Chen Xin flicked his sleeve, turned around, and shouted angrily, "Drowning your sorrows in drink will never make you great!"

Just then, a graceful figure ran toward them.

"Dad, Banished Immortal Brother has left the sect?"

Ning Fengzhi nodded.

"Banished Immortal has suffered a heavy blow."

"Rongrong, if you ever have the chance to see Banished Immortal again, remember to make it up to him."

Ning Rongrong nodded with a complicated expression.

Still, she felt that it would be difficult for her to ever meet Li Zhixian again.

She was going to study at Shrek Academy, which claimed to accept only monsters.

Li Zhixian, on the other hand, was destined to live an ordinary life.

"Let's go, Dad."

Just as she was about to turn and leave.

Ning Rongrong suddenly felt as though she had stepped on something.

She lowered her head and lifted her foot.

A small clay sword, split in two, came into view.

Along the winding road.

Li Zhixian rode a Spirit Beast known as a Cloud Hoof Horse, tilting his head back from time to time to take a swig of wine.

He looked travel-worn. Dust clung to his white robes, and the long hair hanging beside his forehead had become tangled from going too long without washing or combing it.

He looked rather bedraggled.

Yet somehow.

He had also gained a bit of the air of a young wandering swordsman.

Li Zhixian's destination was the Star Dou Great Forest.

He now possessed level twenty Soul Power, yet he did not even have a single Soul Ring.

Several more days passed.

Li Zhixian finally arrived at the Star Dou Great Forest.

Tap, tap—

The sound of leaves being crushed beneath his feet rang out.

Even at the outskirts, the forest already blocked out the sky and sun.

Though it was daytime, visibility was dim. Everywhere he looked, vegetation grew wildly, while the air was filled with the mingled scents of grass and decay.

The bushes taller than a man rustled from time to time.

"Luckily, during the six years my Soul Power stagnated, I learned much about Spirit Beasts."

Li Zhixian swept his gaze across the dense undergrowth.

"Azure Blade Mantises have sword-like forelimbs and astonishing speed!"

"As the saying goes, no martial art can withstand speed. My Azure Lotus Sword Martial Soul requires speed and attack taken to the extreme!"

After half a day.

Li Zhixian avoided the attacks of several Spirit Beasts.

At last, he found his target.

Amid the lush forest, atop a towering tree.

A giant mantis with a slender body and dark green carapace that glinted with a metallic sheen clung to the trunk.

On its triangular head, a pair of compound eyes gleamed like amber. Its forelimbs, shaped like two sharp sword blades, were folded before its chest.

Li Zhixian secretly observed the Azure Blade Mantis.

"A hundred-year Azure Blade Mantis has a green carapace."

"This one has nearly turned black. It probably is not far from becoming a thousand-year Spirit Beast."

Li Zhixian's eyes flickered.

"It far exceeds the limit that a first Soul Ring can absorb."

"And Azure Blade Mantises are exceptionally powerful in combat. This near-thousand-year Azure Blade Mantis would likely be too much even for a level thirty Battle Spirit Master to defeat with confidence."

He prepared to find another target.

He did not even possess a Soul Ring skill. Fighting it head-on was hardly a wise choice.

Just as Li Zhixian was about to leave.

A sudden buzzing sound rang out.

Another Azure Blade Mantis landed on the giant tree.

This Azure Blade Mantis was also dark green, but it was twice the size of the first.

Li Zhixian said in surprise, "This is... a Female Azure-Blade Mantis?!"

Insects differed from animals.

Among animals, males were larger.

But insects were the opposite. Females were larger than males.

Li Zhixian wondered why this female mantis had flown over.

Then.

He saw the male mantis climb onto the female's back.

Li Zhixian: "..."

He picked up the celadon gourd hanging at his waist.

Glug, glug. He took a gulp of wine.

Li Zhixian did not leave.

He was not a pervert.

He had simply remembered one of a mantis's habits.

Within the dense thickets.

Li Zhixian hid himself.

On a towering tree several dozen meters away, the two Azure Blade Mantises were mating.

About half an hour later.

The male Azure Blade Mantis suddenly withdrew his tail organ, spread his wings, and flew toward the sky.

But the Female Azure-Blade Mantis had anticipated it.

She abruptly turned, and her blade slashed out. So fast it tore through the air, it viciously hooked into the male mantis's chest and abdomen.

Green blood sprayed out.

Li Zhixian's eyes lit up when he saw this.

This was exactly what he had been waiting for!

After mating, a female mantis would eat the male!

And male mantises generally would not simply wait to die!

Thus, the two were bound to fight!

"Such a good opportunity lies before me."

"Even if it exceeds the limit of what a Soul Ring can absorb, I have to try."

Six years of silence.

Had taught Li Zhixian how precious the chance to grow stronger was.

He had to seize this opportunity.

With that thought, Li Zhixian looked toward the two Azure Blade Mantises locked in battle.

The agonizing pain provoked the male mantis's ferocity.

It screeched and spun around. Its blades flashed like lightning as they slashed toward the female mantis's head.

The female mantis pulled free her blades and crossed them before herself to block.

Clang!

The two pairs of blades collided, producing the ring of metal striking stone.

Whoosh, whoosh—

Whoosh, whoosh—

The two mantises beat their wings and took flight.

They clashed fiercely in midair.

Even with Li Zhixian's eyesight, he could only see two dark green bolts of lightning crashing madly into each other.

"Good thing I didn't rashly attack!"

"The Azure Blade Mantis's combat strength is truly terrifying!"

"If a level thirty Battle Spirit Master lets down their guard for even a moment, they could be killed instantly!"

Li Zhixian drank one mouthful after another.

The Wine Spirit was a full Soul Power martial soul on the same level as the Azure Lotus Sword.

Though it had not been equipped with a Soul Ring, it still possessed heaven-defying effects.

Besides enhancing Soul Power and healing injuries.

The more Li Zhixian drank, the sharper his Azure Lotus Sword became.

The sword and Wine Martial Soul complemented one another.

The wine flowed down his throat.

The lotus patterns on the Azure Lotus Sword in Li Zhixian's hand slowly blossomed.

A startling Aura of Sharpness surged forth.

The sound of metal clashing against stone rang out without end.

Severed limbs and shattered wings continuously rained down.

Several dozen breaths later.

Bang—

The male mantis fell from the sky.

The female mantis also crashed down shortly afterward.

She had won.

But she had suffered grievous injuries.

One compound eye had been cut away, most of one blade had broken off, and a huge gash had opened in her slender neck, green viscous blood flowing from it.

She went to the male mantis's corpse.

And began devouring her prize in large bites.

As the male mantis entered her stomach, her dark green carapace gradually deepened into a pitch-black hue.

The Female Azure-Blade Mantis was advancing toward the realm of a thousand-year Spirit Beast!

Just as she was completely absorbed in feeding.

Buzz—!

A streak of sword light flashed abruptly.

In the dim forest, a dazzling cold gleam appeared.

The Female Azure-Blade Mantis's feeding motion froze.

The next second.

Green blood splashed.

The Female Azure-Blade Mantis was severed in two at the neck.

A pale purple Soul Ring rose from her corpse...