Destruction Sword Bamboo

As the spirit ring flew toward the Heavenly Sword, Lin Feng felt a surge of pressure descend upon him. Every bone in his body tightened beneath it. A force carrying an icy chill surged in through his right hand, violently battering his meridians and internal organs. In an instant, it felt as though he had been struck by a blunt force from the inside out. Lin Feng circulated the internal energy of the Nine Yin Manual, guiding the spirit ring's power through his body. Yet the spirit ring's power was so fierce that it felt like a child trying to pull a cart. Only after exerting every ounce of strength did he manage to make the wheels slowly roll forward.

Fortunately, though it was difficult, his internal energy could still guide the spirit ring's power in circulation. It would simply take some time to complete the absorption. Seeing the pain that had appeared on Lin Feng's face the moment the spirit ring entered his body gradually subside as his internal energy circulated, Lin Lan and his wife finally relaxed. Having endured the first wave of impact and begun circulating his soul power through his body, Lin Feng's absorption of the spirit ring was now on track. As long as he was not affected by a powerful external force, there would be no risk of absorption failure.

While absorbing the spirit ring, Lin Feng also sensed its power and gained a clearer understanding of his physical limits. This Azure Water Flood Dragon's cultivation was nearly at his limit. At most, he could probably bear another hundred years. If it truly reached a thousand years, he likely would not be able to absorb it. Though his parents would keep him from exploding to death, severe injury would be unavoidable. Judging from the Azure Water Flood Dragon's quality, if it were an ordinary spirit beast, such as the Ironhead Arrowfish from the water earlier, he might truly be able to absorb a spirit ring that had just reached a thousand years. The age limit for absorbing spirit rings depended not only on one's physique, but also on the quality of the spirit beast's bloodline. Yu Xiaogang's absolute claim of 423 years had no idea how many commoner soul masters it had misled.

As his soul power gradually stabilized, Lin Feng focused his mind into his dantian and entered a state of Internal Vision. Within his dantian, the Heavenly Sword stood suspended upright. Wave after wave of blue energy crashed against it. After repeated impacts, blue light began to radiate from the Heavenly Sword itself. This light gradually filled his dantian before flowing through the meridians of his body. As Lin Feng watched the blue soul power circulate, it released an aura that nourished his meridians, strengthening their toughness. He knew that his plan to gain an attribute by absorbing an attribute-bearing spirit beast had succeeded. He then completely calmed his mind and entered deep cultivation.

When Lin Feng opened his eyes again, the sun was just rising on the following day. Today's sunrise seemed especially bright to him. With the absorption of his first spirit ring, he had truly entered this world's cultivation system. In a sense, he had truly become part of this world.

In truth, he had completed the spirit ring absorption before midnight. He had merely entered a state of deep meditation through the process. Seeing that he had absorbed it successfully, Lin Lan and Hua Jieyu did not wake him, and so he cultivated through the entire night.

The moment Lin Feng opened his eyes, the couple opened theirs as well. Seeing the joy in their son's eyes, they knew his original plan had succeeded. Hua Jieyu asked, "Feng'er, what did you gain from absorbing this spirit ring?"

Lin Feng said, "Mom, after half a year of cultivating the Nine Yin Manual, combined with the increase in soul power brought by absorbing this spirit ring beyond my level, I'm now level 14. I also truly gained the Water Attribute within my body. Nourished by the Water Attribute, my meridians have become more resilient. I believe the benefits will grow even greater with long-term cultivation. My First Soul Skill infuses Water Attribute into sword qi, increasing its attack power by 200% over the original Heavenly Sword. As my strength increases and the amount of Water Attribute soul power I can draw upon grows, its attack power will increase as well. It's a soul skill with growth potential."

Lin Lan said, "As expected of a top-tier spirit beast. Its Water Attribute alone can increase attack power by two hundred percent. Still, that can only be considered icing on the cake. The most important thing is gaining the Water Attribute. Once you form the Five Elements Mutual Generation in the future, that will be your true foundation. Soul skills themselves are not that important either. Aside from truly exceptional soul skills, the power of our family's Self-Created Soul Skills is far beyond what spirit ring skills can compare to."

Hua Jieyu said, "That's right, Feng'er. It doesn't matter what soul skill you gain. The swordsmanship I taught you is the true growth-type soul skill. The stronger your soul power becomes, the greater its power will be. Just practice your swordsmanship well."

Lin Lan said, "Let's wash up and have breakfast, then we'll head toward the Destruction Sword Bamboo. Feng'er, today I'll let you properly witness the power of your mother's Seven Star Sword."

After breakfast, the three set off toward the core area. However, after entering the Mixed Zone and traveling roughly halfway through it, they did not continue deeper toward the core. Instead, they turned north, circling around the Mixed Zone. Traveling at the speed of two Soul Emperors for half a day, they entered a valley. The valley seemed like it was not part of the Star Dou Great Forest at all. There was not a trace of greenery, only desolation. Corpses of all kinds of spirit beasts littered the ground. It was difficult to imagine that deep within this valley stood a Plant Spirit Beast.

Upon entering the depths of the valley, Lin Feng saw a pitch-black bamboo stalk at least several dozen meters tall. Compared to ordinary arrow bamboo, it was hard to believe that it had once been arrow bamboo as well. At the sight of this bamboo, Lin Feng understood why his mother said it should be called the Destruction Sword Bamboo. Even under the protection of his parents' power, he could still feel the sword qi that continuously radiated outward from it, carrying an aura of annihilating all things.

At the sight of the Destruction Sword Bamboo, Hua Jieyu breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was still there. She then gave Lin Lan a look. Lin Lan grabbed Lin Feng by the back of his neck and retreated. After absorbing his first spirit ring, Lin Feng had grown from 1.2 meters to 1.3 meters tall, but as his father hauled him backward by the neck, he felt like a little chick.

Up ahead, Hua Jieyu released her martial soul. The Seven Star Sword appeared alongside six spirit rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black. Excluding the hilt, the sword blade was around one meter long and six centimeters wide. It was straight and upright, with a thick spine and thin edges, its cross-section forming a perfect diamond shape. The entire blade was an even, matte blue-gray, without the slightest reflection. It looked utterly ordinary, yet it gave off a feeling of "absolute, precise sharpness."

Having released her martial soul, Hua Jieyu did not say a word. She immediately shot forward. An aura of annihilation even stronger than that of the Destruction Sword Bamboo erupted from her sword as she charged straight at it.

Lin Feng hurriedly asked, "Dad, aren't you going to help? You're letting Mom fight it alone?"

Lin Lan said, "Didn't I say I was going to let you witness the power of your mother's Seven Star Sword?"

Lin Feng was about to say more when Lin Lan pinched his mouth shut with one hand. "Don't talk. Watch carefully."

Sensing the threat, the Destruction Sword Bamboo fired thousands upon thousands of bamboo leaves at Hua Jieyu, each carrying annihilating sword qi. Hua Jieyu swept her sword qi across them. Wherever the sword light passed, the bamboo leaves turned to ash. She then swung another strike backhanded, landing squarely on the bamboo stalk. The Seven Star Sword carved a one-meter-long wound into it. The Destruction Sword Bamboo suffered from being a Plant Spirit Beast. Unless it reached the Hundred-thousand-year level, it could not move and could only stand there and take the blows. Yet due to its mutation, it was a top-tier Plant Spirit Beast with sixty thousand years of cultivation, making both its defense and offense formidable. It was simply unlucky today to have encountered Hua Jieyu.

Hua Jieyu sidestepped the bamboo stalk's lash, swept away another mass of bamboo leaves with a sword strike, then flashed to the Destruction Sword Bamboo's roots. Her left hand gathered the full force of the Heartbreak Palm before she slammed it directly into the bamboo's base. In an instant, the swaying bamboo stalk and whirling leaves of the Destruction Sword Bamboo seemed to encounter frozen time, stopping completely. After an unknown number of seconds, all the leaves slowly began drifting down with the passing wind. The bamboo stalk remained upright and did not fall, but a pitch-black spirit ring slowly floated out from the Destruction Sword Bamboo's roots. Hua Jieyu then sat down cross-legged and began absorbing the spirit ring.

In the distance, Lin Feng had already gone blank. After a while, he recovered and said to his father, "My mom is that strong? Isn't that a mutated top-tier spirit beast with sixty thousand years of cultivation? Normally, even an ordinary Spirit Saint wouldn't be able to defeat it. Isn't Mom only a prospective Spirit Saint?"

Lin Lan said, "Otherwise, why do you think we brought you here? If dealing with it required your mother and me to act together, then leaving you alone beside us in a place this close to the Star Dou Great Forest's core area would mean you could be killed in under three seconds. Now do you understand why the Martial Soul Fusion Skill of two Soul Emperors like your mother and me can directly contend with a high-level Soul Douluo? It's because we were already strong to begin with!

"You think you're the only genius? Your Heavenly Sword is a top-tier martial soul, its strength even surpassing the Seven Kill Sword of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Sword Douluo. Though your mother's Seven Star Sword is not as sharp as your Heavenly Sword, it is also a top-tier martial soul that surpasses the Seven Kill Sword. What's more, every one of your mother's spirit rings was absorbed beyond the limit. You didn't think you were the only one capable of absorbing spirit rings beyond your level, did you?

"Besides, judging by your mother's strength, throughout the entire Douluo Continent, before absorbing her seventh spirit ring, she is unquestionably the number one among Soul Emperors. Your mother deserves the title of the greatest genius under heaven. If her enthusiasm for cultivation were not so inconsistent, she might already be a Soul Douluo by now. Compared to her, Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect is not worth mentioning. He is merely older.

"Kid, cultivate diligently. Your Twin Martial Souls are an innate advantage, but no one knows what you will become once you begin cultivating. At the same realm, when you can defeat your mother, then you will be a true genius."