Sword Flight, Light Splitting Shadow

"Go ahead," Master Meng urged.

"After the medicinal bath, absorbing a Soul Ring from a Thousand-Year Soul Beast will pose no problem for you."

"I had originally planned to help you absorb a two-thousand-year Soul Ring, but it seems that won't be necessary now."

Master Meng had not expected this situation either.

This Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast was a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. It could hardly be called a sacrifice, and its intelligence was not particularly high.

Still, it had willingly offered up its Soul Ring, so Lin Qi would have a much easier time absorbing it.

At the very least, its soul would not resist. Lin Qi only needed to endure the energy within the Soul Ring.

With the Mountain River Sword Martial Soul in hand, Lin Qi gently stabbed it into the Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast's existing wound.

Until it drew its final breath, the Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast did not struggle in the slightest. Instead, it seemed strangely content.

Xiao Wu crouched nearby and watched in silence, repeatedly poking the ground with her fingers.

She was trying to make sense of this insane world all over again.

Had she simply seen too little? Were Soul Beasts and humans already one big happy family?

Or were the Soul Beasts outside the Star Dou Great Forest all this generous, handing over their Soul Rings whenever asked?

"Don't overthink it. Little Qi always does things and encounters opportunities beyond ordinary people. You don't need to force yourself to understand."

Seeing that Xiao Wu was about to lose her mind, Master Meng offered a casual word of comfort.

"That's right, what am I even agonizing over?"

Xiao Wu suddenly jumped to her feet.

"Lin Qi's name even has the word 'Qi' in it. What's wrong with him being a little miraculous? It's just a Soul Beast voluntarily offering its Soul Ring. What's the big deal?"

After saying that, Xiao Wu immediately stopped dwelling on it.

Master Meng fell silent.

He had no idea whether this Rabbit had attained enlightenment or gone mad. Either way, she did not seem quite normal.

The Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast had gone completely cold. A purple Soul Ring condensed above its corpse, flickering as though it were calling to Lin Qi.

Lin Qi sat cross-legged on the ground. Without even using Soul Power to draw it over, the Soul Ring floated toward him on its own.

"Normal. This is all normal."

Xiao Wu muttered under her breath.

As the Soul Ring drifted above the Mountain River Sword, a powerful stream of energy surged into Lin Qi's body.

Hiss~

Lin Qi felt a slight numbness in his meridians and a faint swelling sensation, but it was not painful.

He felt no resistance at all. Instead, it felt as though everything blended together perfectly.

Forget absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring—even when absorbing a ten-year Soul Ring, ordinary Soul Masters could hardly hope for such a smooth process.

As time passed, Lin Qi became increasingly proficient at absorbing the Soul Ring's energy, and the speed of absorption grew faster and faster.

With no hindrance whatsoever, Lin Qi completely absorbed this two-thousand-year Soul Ring in just over an hour.

Buzz~

Lin Qi gripped the Mountain River Sword, and a sword cry rang out, echoing across the wilderness.

"Little Qi, congratulations on successfully obtaining your first Soul Ring—and a two-thousand-year First Soul Ring at that."

Master Meng said as he stroked his beard.

"It was all thanks to Master's medicinal bath. Otherwise, even if this Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast had willingly allowed me to absorb its Soul Ring, my body wouldn't have been able to contain it."

Xiao Wu jogged over.

"Lin Qi, what is your First Soul Skill?"

Xiao Wu had become far more accepting of new things. She no longer obsessed over things she could not understand, though her curiosity remained.

"Is it the ability the Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast used to fly over here?"

Lin Qi smiled faintly.

"You'll know once you see it."

The purple Soul Ring circling the hilt of the Mountain River Sword flashed faintly. Lin Qi turned into a streak of light and merged into the Mountain River Sword.

"Just as I thought. I knew it."

Xiao Wu looked as if she had guessed it all along.

The Mountain River Sword hovered in midair, its sword light flickering uncertainly.

Lin Qi's sensation was strange. He was not inside the Mountain River Sword—he was the Mountain River Sword.

The Mountain River Sword had no eyes, yet he could see more clearly than before.

After familiarizing himself with his current state, Lin Qi willed it, and the Mountain River Sword became a streak of light, shooting into the distance with a whoosh.

"Now this is what Sword Flight is supposed to be."

Compared to standing on a sword like he was surfing, fleeing as sword light suited Lin Qi far better.

After testing his top speed, he easily left several hundred-year and Thousand-Year flying Soul Beasts far behind.

When Lin Qi flew back, Xiao Wu's neck was sore from craning it upward.

"Lin Qi, you're so fast! You're faster than many flying Soul Beasts."

"My First Soul Skill is more than just fast."

Lin Qi's voice came from the Mountain River Sword.

Immediately afterward, the Mountain River Sword split into dozens of sword lights that rained down from the sky. Sharp Sword Qi scattered in every direction, leaving gashes in the earth, trees, and rocks.

The dozens of Mountain River Sword duplicates then plunged deep into the ground.

One sword light did not enter the earth. It floated gently down and turned into Lin Qi, holding the Mountain River Sword.

"Th-this... is this another skill of the Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast?"

Xiao Wu remembered Master Meng saying that the Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast could use its sword ridges to split into phantoms and attack enemies.

But had Lin Qi not already obtained the Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast's other ability?

"Lin Qi, one Soul Ring actually gave you two skills?"

Xiao Wu had thought she would not be easily surprised anymore, but she still could not hold it in.

"Who said there are two Soul Skills? It's one Soul Skill, just used differently."

Xiao Wu pinched her thigh and began hypnotizing herself again.

"That's right. Lin Qi is right. It's just one Soul Skill. There's nothing strange about it."

Master Meng did not know what to say either.

His greatest expectation had merely been for Lin Qi to gain the ability of Sword Flight.

For someone without a flying Martial Soul to gain the power of flight upon obtaining his first Soul Ring was already an astonishingly unbelievable thing.

Yet Lin Qi's First Soul Skill had also incorporated another ability of the Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast.

"That final move of yours, Light Splitting Shadow, would be even more effective for escaping than for attacking."

Master Meng's ability to accept things was far stronger than Xiao Wu's. In an instant, he thought of Light Splitting Shadow's other uses.

"Master is right." Lin Qi nodded.

If he encountered an enemy he could not defeat, and those dozens of sword lights were not used to attack but instead flew in all directions—

It would be difficult for the enemy to stop them all, greatly increasing Lin Qi's chances of escape.

However, with Master Meng and Leng Qing around, such a situation was almost impossible.

"Let's bury this Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast."

Lin Qi was very satisfied with his First Soul Skill. This Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast had given everything it had, so it deserved to rest in peace.

"Very well."

Master Meng's Rotten Wood Martial Soul appeared, and his fourth Soul Ring lit up. Dense gray mist scattered outward like drifting wood dust.

When the gray mist fell, it corroded a deep pit into the ground.

Lin Qi pushed hard against the Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast's corpse, shoving it into the pit.

Then the Mountain River Sword swept once, and the pit was instantly filled in.

"Huh? Lin Qi, look over there."

Xiao Wu pointed at the spot where the Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast's corpse had been.

There, a long, narrow bone lay in the mud.

"Master, is this a Spirit Bone?"

Lin Qi picked up the bone. It felt smooth and warm like jade, but its shape resembled a small sword.

"That's right. This Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast truly gave you everything it had. Not only did it give you its Soul Ring, it even left behind a Spirit Bone."

The chance of a Thousand-Year Soul Beast producing a Spirit Bone was not high, and this Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast was only two thousand years old.

"What a kind and wonderful Soul Beast." Lin Qi praised the Earth Nether Sword Ridge Beast's burial site.

Then Lin Qi looked at Xiao Wu.

"Learn from it."