The blizzard in the Extreme North Core Region remained as violent as ever, but within the emerald-green barrier Du Busi had raised, an almost frozen silence had descended.
Liu Yuan sat cross-legged, his hands forming seals atop his knees. The Twenty-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, gleaming with a faint black radiance, was like a greedy black hole, continuously releasing violent, icy energy.
That energy surged in through Liu Yuan's brow and flooded his limbs and bones, carrying the Ice Qilin's pride and dominance from its lifetime as it attempted to overwhelm his young body.
"Come on!"
Liu Yuan let out a low shout in his heart, crimson light blazing deep within his Double Pupils.
The moment the energy entered his body, he felt as though he had swallowed an erupting iceberg. Extreme cold and overwhelming force clashed madly within his meridians.
Had he not been tempered by the Body Secret Technique and countless secret medicines over the past half year, that strike alone would have shattered his meridians inch by inch like fragile porcelain.
But now, he was going to gradually refine this power...
At the edge of the barrier, Du Busi stood with his hands behind his back, his dark green eyes fixed intently on Liu Yuan, who was wrapped in streams of black light.
Though he had acted incomparably arrogant before Liu Yuan, repeatedly claiming that twenty thousand years was "just right," that had mostly been to instill absolute confidence in his disciple.
As the Body Sect Master, he understood better than anyone just how great a leap this was—having a ten-thousand-year ring at three-ring was already taboo in the Soul Master world, let alone one that was twenty thousand years old, nearing the limit of a Soul King.
"Good disciple, you must succeed..."
Du Busi muttered softly. His great hand, normally as steady as a mountain, involuntarily clenched the corner of his robes as anxiety filled his face.
Time passed second by second.
After one hour, a fine layer of frost appeared over Liu Yuan's skin. It was the Ice Qilin's lingering extreme-cold will attempting to strike back.
After two hours, Liu Yuan's breathing grew heavy. The Body Secret Technique began circulating on its own within him, constantly reinforcing the toughness of his meridians.
Three hours passed, yet Liu Yuan remained seated with his eyes closed, like an ice sculpture. Only the black Soul Ring's pulsation accelerated more and more, its hum making the surrounding air tremble.
By the fourth hour, Du Busi could no longer remain calm.
He paced anxiously back and forth within the cramped barrier, crushing the deep snow beneath his feet with creaking crunches.
"Why isn't he awake yet? This is taking too long..." Du Busi frowned tightly, his eyes full of worry.
"Could something have happened? That shouldn't be possible! With this brat's Spirit Power and physical foundation, he should be able to succeed!"
Several times, he wanted to forcefully inspect Liu Yuan's condition, but each time he stopped himself.
He knew that this kind of deep fusion feared outside interference above all else.
Just as Du Busi was burning with anxiety and nearly stepped in by force, Liu Yuan, who had been still as dead water, suddenly shuddered violently!
Buzz—!
A powerful aura so intense it made one's heart pound erupted from Liu Yuan like a storm, directly sweeping away all the accumulated chill around him!
The instant he sensed that aura, Du Busi's eyes lit up!
He clearly discovered that the fluctuations of Soul Power within Liu Yuan were rising at an utterly astonishing rate. The massive energy contained within the Twenty-Thousand-Year Soul Ring was feeding back into him.
Level thirty-one...
Level thirty-two...
Level thirty-three...
In the end, that violent surge slammed heavily into the threshold of level thirty-four and stabilized there.
"He jumped four levels in a row?! He went straight to level thirty-four?!" Du Busi froze for a moment before bursting into wild laughter that nearly tore through the blizzard.
"Ha ha ha ha! I knew it would work! The energy feedback from a Twenty-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, combined with this brat's accumulated potential—he's made an absolute killing this time!"
Liu Yuan slowly opened his eyes. His two pupils overlapped and rotated, revealing a faint abyss-like glow.
He rose to his feet and sensed the power within him, as though he could shatter mountains and rivers with a single kick. His heart was filled with wild joy.
"Master, I broke through." Liu Yuan clenched his fists. With Soul Power brimming within him, even his skin faintly glowed with a treasure-like radiance.
"Good! Hurry! Show this old man!" Du Busi strode forward in a single step, his gaze feverish.
"I want to see exactly what kind of treasure skill that Twenty-Thousand-Year Soul Ring you risked your life to obtain has given you!"
"Alright!"
Hearing Du Busi's words, Liu Yuan nodded and took a deep breath.
Beneath his feet, one yellow, one purple, and one black Soul Ring—three utterly unreasonable rings—pulsed in orderly succession.
Then, the ink-black Third Spirit Ring shone brilliantly.
"Third Soul Skill—Qilin Precious Technique!"
At Liu Yuan's low shout, two dense blue beams emerged from his Double Pupils and rapidly spread, completely covering his body.
At that instant, Liu Yuan's aura changed. He became like a true ancient ferocious beast.
He lightly tapped the ground with his toe, and his entire body vanished from where he stood. He moved so quickly that several solid afterimages remained in midair.
"This speed... teleportation?" Du Busi was uncertain.
Liu Yuan's figure abruptly appeared before a massive block of mystical ice several dozen feet tall, a hundred meters away. Without any flourish, he simply threw a punch.
Boom—!
That enormous block of mystical ice was as fragile as tofu beneath Liu Yuan's fist, instantly exploding into powder that filled the sky.
Not only that, as Liu Yuan stepped forward, he actually borrowed force in midair as though stepping upon solid ground. He took several consecutive steps through the void, darting left and right across several hundred meters with unpredictable movements.
"This isn't merely a movement technique. It's a full-body physical enhancement!"
Liu Yuan landed before Du Busi again, the sharp light in his eyes yet to fade. "Master, this is my Third Soul Skill. Once activated, my physical strength increases severalfold, granting me extreme close-combat explosive power."
"And most importantly, there is the 'Qilin Step.' It allows me to ignore terrain and even walk through the air, achieving instantaneous displacement."
Du Busi looked at the shattered remnants of the giant ice block Liu Yuan had destroyed with that one punch, then at the faint radiance Liu Yuan gave off from his enhanced body. He was completely stunned.
"So fierce?"
He suddenly felt immensely fortunate about his choice, fortunate that he had chosen to trust Liu Yuan...
Because the Third Soul Skill Liu Yuan had gained this time—the Qilin Precious Technique—was truly incredible.
Du Busi had been utterly dazzled after watching Liu Yuan demonstrate it.
How was this merely one Soul Skill?
If it had to be counted, it could be considered two, couldn't it?
The ability to move through the air!
And that terrifying increase in strength and speed!
This Soul Skill was truly extraordinary!
That was why Du Busi was practically laughing himself silly right now.
Looking at Liu Yuan before him, he found himself more and more satisfied the longer he looked.
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