Absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, First Encounter with Zhu Zhuqing

A purple Soul Ring!

A thousand-year limit!

Li Zhexian sat on the ground, drained of strength.

It looked as though he had only swung his sword once.

But in truth,

that strike had gathered all of his Soul Power.

If he had failed to kill the Female Azure Edge Mantis, he would have had to run.

After recovering a little strength,

Li Zhexian staggered toward the purple Soul Ring.

A trace of hesitation flashed across his handsome face, stained with grime.

"The female mantis devoured the male mantis and actually evolved to the thousand-year limit."

"That exceeds the absorption limit of a First Soul Ring by far too much."

"But if I don't absorb it..."

"it would be such a waste!"

"How much longer would I have to search before finding a suitable Soul Ring?"

"Besides, the older the Soul Ring, the more powerful the Spirit Skill!"

Li Zhexian took a huge gulp of wine.

Feeling the Soul Power within him gradually recover, the hesitation in his eyes turned into resolve and pride.

"With an opportunity like this before me, if I give up, then I'm not Li Zhexian!"

"With the healing of the Wine Martial Soul, I will succeed!"

At once,

Li Zhexian sat down cross-legged.

Gulp after gulp of wine went down his throat, and his depleted Soul Power became full again.

He brought himself to peak condition!

Li Zhexian's eyes gleamed as he began absorbing the Soul Ring!

Buzz—!

The strange energy of the purple Soul Ring, carrying the Azure Edge Mantis's traits of extreme speed and sharpness, rushed brutally into Li Zhexian's body.

"Humph!"

Li Zhexian grunted, a streak of crimson flowing from the corner of his mouth.

The veins on his forehead bulged violently, and every inch of his skin felt as if it were being pierced by sharp swords.

The thousand-year Soul Ring's energy rampaged through his body. His blood vessels swelled like purple dragons winding beneath his skin, beading with droplets of blood.

Generally speaking, even a gifted genius with exceptional physical strength would be remarkable if their First Soul Ring reached four or five hundred years.

But Li Zhexian was different!

His First Soul Ring was a thousand-year one!

It was simply unheard of!

Li Zhexian clenched his teeth tightly.

His white robe, already soaked through with blood, stuck to his back.

His fingers dug deeply into the earth, while an unshakable determination burst from his dark eyes.

"I said it before..."

"I, Li Zhexian!"

"Am no ordinary man!"

"I do what ordinary people cannot, and endure what others cannot endure!"

"One day, the roc shall rise with the wind and soar ninety thousand miles into the sky!"

"Absorb—for—me!"

The Celadon Gourd floated before Li Zhexian.

He grabbed it, tipped back his head, and swallowed the wine mixed with the blood in his mouth.

His body, riddled with wounds, began to heal.

Li Zhexian hardened his heart and increased the speed at which he absorbed the Soul Ring.

Buzz—!

The purple Soul Ring trembled.

Its surging energy was like floodwaters bursting through a dam, pouring into Li Zhexian's body.

His recovering body was torn apart again.

But immediately after,

he took another gulp of wine.

And so...

Li Zhexian was injured, healed, injured again, then healed again.

The process

was no less than torture.

Yet his physical strength was gradually increasing.

And the purple Soul Ring floating before him

was unknowingly beginning to fade.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick,

Li Zhexian lay flat on the ground.

His face was pale and his expression weary, yet a smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"I succeeded."

He closed his eyes, and his smile grew ever more unrestrained.

"Hahahaha, I succeeded!"

The process of absorbing a thousand-year Soul Ring had been far too perilous.

Fortunately, his Wine Martial Soul had allowed him to fulfill his wish.

Had it been anyone else, they would have exploded and died.

It took Li Zhexian another half hour to recover his spirits.

He summoned the Azure Lotus Sword.

The Three-foot-six Azure Blade hovered before him.

The lotus pattern branded along its spine gave off an eerie azure-green glow.

The cold gleam flowing over its edge made one's eyes sting with pain after only a glance.

Now this was a sword!

Supreme sharpness—a weapon made for killing!

In a flash of insight,

Li Zhexian understood that the skill granted by this purple Soul Ring was called—Azure Edge Severance!

A sword technique that pursued speed and sharpness!

"The power of a thousand-year Soul Ring shouldn't disappoint me."

Li Zhexian gripped the hilt, his gaze suddenly turning razor-sharp.

"Azure Edge Severance!"

The instant the sword light appeared,

the entire mountain forest was dyed azure-green.

He swept his sword horizontally, drawing a fierce arc of light.

The air tore apart with a piercing shriek. In an instant, the strike reached a massive tree, so fast that even its afterimage had not yet faded.

Sshhk—!

The blade touched the trunk without the slightest resistance.

The sword light did not stop. It continued forward until it completely passed through the massive tree.

The tree stood still for three breaths before slowly toppling over. Its cut was smooth as a mirror, without even a splinter.

Li Zhexian sheathed his sword and stood tall, its edge untouched by dust.

"Good!"

He was extremely satisfied with that strike.

The immense pain he had endured had not been in vain.

After briefly testing the sword technique,

Li Zhexian looked down at himself.

His tattered white robes were mottled with bloodstains.

"Hmm. Before searching for my Second Soul Ring, I should wash up a little."

It was not as if he had come all the way to Star Dou Forest and still insisted on staying clean.

The main problem was that with the smell of blood all over him, the Spirit Beasts would detect him before he even got close.

A dozen or so minutes later,

Li Zhexian found a stream in the outer forest.

It was a little over a meter deep, its water crystal clear to the bottom.

He carefully checked both upstream and downstream.

After confirming there was no danger,

"The outer region of Star Dou Forest is so huge. I probably won't run into anyone. Time for a bath!"

He took off all his clothes.

With a splash, Li Zhexian jumped into the water.

And began washing himself in bliss.

Meanwhile,

in the forest several hundred meters away.

Splurt—!

Blood splashed across the leaves.

A Wolf Beast over two meters long collapsed to the ground.

A pale white Soul Ring rose above it.

Zhu Zhuqing's expression was indifferent. She did not even spare it a glance, and not a trace of emotion stirred in her beautiful black eyes.

"My training is over. It's time to go to Shrek Academy."

She had originally intended to leave Star Dou Forest.

But when she noticed a few drops of blood on her fair arm,

she changed direction and headed for a nearby stream.

Splash, splash~~

Splash, splash~~

Zhu Zhuqing crouched on a rock beside the stream and carefully washed her arm.

Once she had cleaned it,

she stood up and subconsciously looked upstream.

Then she saw a pale naked body lying face-up in the stream, drifting down with the current.

Zhu Zhuqing: "..."

Her Martial Soul was the Hell Spirit Cat.

Her eyesight was excellent. She had seen everything.

No matter how cold and detached she was, she was still only a young girl.

This scene

was far too great a shock to her heart.

Her cool little face flushed bright red at a visible speed.

Overcome with shame and anger, Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth and shouted:

"Pervert!"

Li Zhexian felt wonderful.

Having just gone through such torment, floating in the cool stream was simply the greatest pleasure second only to drinking wine.

He had his eyes closed.

Letting himself drift along with the current.

Li Zhexian was so comfortable that he let down his guard.

He did not even realize someone was standing by the stream.

Not until an angry shout of "Pervert!"

did he suddenly open his eyes.

He immediately submerged his body, leaving only his head above water as he looked around.

"Where's the pervert?!"

He looked around but did not see anyone.

Li Zhexian only saw the beautiful girl who had called him a pervert standing on the bank, staring at him with a face full of shame and anger.

Then he realized.

Was she calling him a pervert?

Zhu Zhuqing stared at the young man in the stream, gritting her teeth as she said:

"Y-You... why aren't you wearing clothes?"

Li Zhexian frowned.

"Is something wrong with your head?"

"I'm taking a bath. How am I supposed to wear clothes?"

Zhu Zhuqing's pretty face flushed even redder.

It was hard to tell whether she was angry or embarrassed.

"You're bathing in broad daylight?"

"Don't you care whether there are other people around?"

Li Zhexian stood up.

Water streamed down his bare upper body.

Zhu Zhuqing hurriedly turned her head away.

Seeing the girl's slender neck turn pink as well,

Li Zhexian slapped the water's surface, sending up a beautiful splash.

"Women and petty men are the hardest to deal with."

"Is the Star Dou Great Forest your home?"

"Before bathing, I specifically checked upstream and downstream. There was no one around."

"I took every precaution, yet I still couldn't guard against a female hooligan like you."

Giving her a taste of her own medicine.

Who was he calling a hooligan?