Mirror Shadow Beast, Mirror Image Skull, Round Two of the Reveal!

[Dou Er Era]

A month later.

Skywater City, on the northern border of the Heaven Dou Empire.

This magnificent city, built upon the ice plains, was covered in snow and wind all year round.

The grandest complex of buildings in the city was the estate of the Tianshui Clan.

In a quiet room as warm as spring, sandalwood incense curled through the air, dispelling the last trace of chill from outside the window.

Ji Xuan sat cross-legged on a thick woolen rug and slowly opened his eyes.

He let out a long breath, expelling the stale air from his lungs.

"At last... I've fully recovered."

Feeling the fullness and calm of his Spirit Sea, Ji Xuan couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of dread.

With only twenty levels of Soul Power, he had forcibly activated the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill [Mirror Flower, Water Moon] and created an illusion capable of fooling a Soul Saint. The price had been devastating.

If Ling Luochеn hadn't spared no expense on rare treasures and called on a healing-type Soul Saint from her clan to treat him,

then even if he had survived, his Spirit Sea might have suffered permanent damage, leaving him unable to make any further progress.

Over the past month, he had done nothing but recover and reflect.

"This time, I'll keep my pride and impatience in check."

Ji Xuan silently made up his mind, engraving the lesson deep in his bones.

He stood up and pushed open the door. A bone-chilling wind blew straight at him, yet it cleared his muddled thoughts.

In the courtyard, several maids were sweeping away the snow.

When they saw him emerge, they stopped what they were doing and bowed respectfully.

"Master Ji."

Ji Xuan nodded. "Where is Miss Ling Luochеn?"

"The young lady is waiting for you in the study," one of the maids answered softly.

Ji Xuan thanked her and headed straight for the study in the main courtyard.

The study door was ajar, and Ji Xuan gently pushed it open.

The sight before him gave him pause.

The room was as warm as spring. A wall of bookshelves stood against one side, filled with all kinds of volumes.

In front of a broad rosewood desk sat a beautiful figure, quietly writing.

It was a completely unfamiliar Ling Luochеn.

She had shed her oversized black cloak and changed into a sky-blue qipao, the Tianshui Clan's signature attire.

The qipao was tailored to perfection, its intricate ice-flower patterns embroidered in silver thread, beautifully outlining her tall, slender figure;

through the slit, a pair of straight, elegant legs appeared and disappeared, inviting the imagination.

Her glossy black hair was swept up high with a translucent ice-crystal phoenix hairpin, revealing a smooth forehead and a graceful, swanlike neck.

Head bowed, she held a wolf-hair brush and wrote on a sheet of xuan paper, her expression focused and serene.

The chill in her features still kept others at a distance, but she now carried more of the dignity and poise unique to a young lady of a great clan.

Compared with her earlier, disheveled appearance in a black robe, she looked like an entirely different person.

At the sound of the door opening, Ling Luochеn raised her head.

When she saw Ji Xuan, her cool, pretty face softened like the spring breeze thawing the ice.

"You're awake? How are you feeling?"

She put down her brush and rose to meet him.

"Thanks to you, I'm more or less out of danger," Ji Xuan replied with a smile, stretching his limbs.

"What about you? How are you doing?"

At Ji Xuan's question, which may or may not have been concern, Ling Luochеn's cheeks flushed slightly.

"Thanks to several elders in my clan, the evil aura inside me has been temporarily suppressed."

"But it'll probably take some time to get rid of it completely."

She looked up at Ji Xuan, her expression serious.

"Now that you've recovered, it's time to make plans to obtain your Second Soul Ring. Are you ready?"

"Whenever you are." Ji Xuan nodded.

Ling Luochеn looked at him, undisguised amazement and admiration flashing in her eyes.

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I never would have believed that someone's First Soul Ring could be ten thousand years old."

"How did you manage it?"

"And how is it that you're only a work-study student?"

These were questions she had been unable to answer throughout the past month.

"Maybe my Martial Soul is a little unusual," Ji Xuan offered vaguely.

Ling Luochеn was clever enough to know it was his secret, so she didn't press him.

She turned to pick something up, and Ji Xuan happened to see what she had just written.

There were only two characters on the xuan paper: Ji Xuan.

The brushstrokes were elegant, yet carried a sharpness that seemed to cut to the bone, just like the person herself.

Ji Xuan raised an eyebrow.

Ling Luochеn's cheeks turned even redder. She hurriedly gathered up the paper and forced a change of subject.

"Ahem... Right, the ones accompanying you to hunt the Soul Beast are my second grandfather, a powerful Soul Douluo, and two uncles, both Soul Emperors."

"Just as you told me before, I told them you're a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor and that we're going to obtain your Fifth Soul Ring."

Ji Xuan nodded. His Mirror Martial Soul appeared, shining its light over him.

[Mirror Flower, Water Moon] activated.

Four Soul Rings appeared behind him: yellow, yellow, purple, and black.

At the same time, they gave off the genuine aura of a Soul Ancestor.

Over the past month, Ji Xuan had found all sorts of ways to use [Mirror Flower, Water Moon].

When he used the Soul Skill on himself, it could produce an effect similar to Huo Yuhao's Simulation Soul Skill.

But if his mental power came under pressure, the deception would still be exposed.

"No matter how many times I see it, I'm still amazed by your Soul Skill."

A glimmer of wonder shone in Ling Luochеn's beautiful eyes. Even with her Soul King cultivation, she couldn't tell the difference just by looking.

"They're all trusted members of my branch of the clan. They would never reveal your situation."

Ji Xuan withdrew his Soul Rings and acted as if he hadn't heard Ling Luochеn's remark.

"Besides... they're rather eager to meet you, too."

There seemed to be more to those words than met the ear.

Ji Xuan looked at her strangely.

As if she sensed the curiosity in his gaze, Ling Luochеn's usually unapproachable face took on a rare, uneasy blush.

"I'll arrange the team. Get ready, and we'll leave in half an hour."

With that, she turned and hurried out of the study, leaving Ji Xuan only a glimpse of her slender figure as she disappeared.

Ji Xuan rubbed his nose and decided not to think too much of it.

Half an hour later, Ling Luochеn led Ji Xuan to a practice field.

An energetic old man in blue martial attire and two stern-looking middle-aged men were already waiting there.

"Second Grandfather."

Ling Luochеn bowed respectfully.

"Mm." The old man nodded, then fixed Ji Xuan with a sharp gaze.

"So you're Ji Xuan?"

He looked him up and down, surprise flashing in his eyes.

"You look rather ordinary. I wonder what it is about you that's made our Ice Princess so concerned."

"Second Grandfather!"

Ling Luochеn's cheeks flushed scarlet, and she stamped her foot in embarrassment.

Ji Xuan, however, remained calm. He bowed without fawning or showing any disrespect.

"This junior is Ji Xuan. Greetings, Senior."

"No need for formalities."

The old man waved a hand.

"Luochеn has already told me all about you. Tell me, have you decided what Soul Beast you want to hunt?"

"I have."

A glint flashed in Ji Xuan's eyes.

"This junior's target is the Mirror Shadow Beast in the Ice-Sealed Forest!"

The Mirror Shadow Beast?

The three powerful Soul Masters present were all taken aback.

This kind of Soul Beast was extremely rare, and it wasn't very strong in terms of raw offensive power.

But its abilities were bizarre, making it exceptionally difficult to deal with.

The old man nodded.

"Your Martial Soul is a mirror, so choosing a Mirror Shadow Beast makes sense."

"Let's go. There's no time to waste—we'll set out at once."

The outskirts of the Far North.

The group of five soon set off for the Ice-Sealed Forest, on the outskirts of the Far North.

Ice blanketed the earth inside the forest; everywhere they looked was silver-white.

The bone-chilling wind cut like a knife. Ordinary Soul Masters could barely breathe here.

With a Soul Douluo leading the way, they soon reached the forest's core region.

"Found it!"

The old man abruptly stopped, fixing his gaze on a strange Soul Beast walking behind a huge ice crystal.

The beast was small. Its entire body was an unusual crystal color, somewhere between white and transparent, and it shimmered with a beautiful glow.

Its strange scales reflected light, allowing it to blend perfectly into its surroundings and making it difficult to spot.

And its cultivation had astonishingly reached forty thousand years!

"That's the one!"

Ji Xuan's breathing quickened slightly.

This was the kind of Soul Beast that Oscar had absorbed for his Sixth Soul Ring during the Douluo I Period. It possessed an extraordinary ability to copy!

"Attack!"

At the old man's command, the two Soul Emperors struck first, one from each side. Their Soul Rings flashed, and their powerful Soul Skills instantly sealed off every escape route.

"Roar!"

The Mirror Shadow Beast let out a shrill cry, and light suddenly blazed across its entire body!

The next moment, something uncanny happened!

Two identical copies of the Soul Emperors appeared beside the Mirror Shadow Beast. They unleashed Soul Skills identical to those of the originals and collided head-on with the real Soul Emperors!

Boom!

Amid the deafening explosion, the two Soul Emperors were actually sent reeling by their own reflections!

"What a bizarre ability!" one of the Soul Emperors cried.

"Leave it to me."

The old man remained composed, and his Eighth Soul Ring suddenly lit up!

"Eighth Soul Skill: Ice Age!"

He pressed one hand against the ground. A terrifying surge of cold, powerful enough to freeze the soul, swept outward from him in an instant!

Crack! Crack!

The earth, the trees, the air—everything was instantly sealed in ice by the cold!

Even the reflections froze into ice sculptures before shattering with a crash!

The Mirror Shadow Beast let out a mournful cry. It could barely move, clearly gravely injured.

"Ji Xuan! Now!"

Ling Luochеn called out urgently from the side.

Ji Xuan was already prepared.

He drew a sharp dagger from his belt and shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow, driving the blade with unerring precision into the Mirror Shadow Beast's heart!

As the Mirror Shadow Beast cried out in despair, a deep black Soul Ring slowly rose from its body.

But that wasn't all!

Along with the Soul Ring, a crystal-clear skull, dazzling as a diamond, floated out from the Mirror Shadow Beast's head!

"It's... it's a Soul Bone!"

"And a Head Soul Bone, no less!"

Even the well-traveled Soul Douluo second grandfather couldn't help exclaiming, his eyes filled with shock.

"That kid's luck is just too good!"

Ji Xuan's heart began pounding wildly at that moment.

Suppressing his excitement, he immediately sat cross-legged and began absorbing the hard-won Soul Ring and Soul Bone.

By the time Ji Xuan opened his eyes again, dusk had fallen.

An unprecedented sense of power filled every part of his body.

After absorbing a forty-thousand-year Soul Ring, his Soul Power had soared straight to level twenty-three!

Two new abilities had also appeared in his mind.

[Second Soul Skill: Mirror Image Replication!]

[Effect: Can replicate and store other people's Soul Skills through a mirror (each Soul Ring adds one storage slot; currently, two can be stored). Replicated Soul Skills retain 70% of their original power (their power decreases by 10% for every 10 levels of difference).]

And there was the Soul Bone.

[Soul Bone: Mirror Image Skull!]

[Attached Skill: Mirror Clone!]

[Effect: Can create a Mirror Clone with 80% of the original body's abilities. The clone has an independent consciousness and can last for one minute.]

[The Mirror Clone can also use all Soul Skills, including "Mirror Image Replication."]

"Now I finally have a few trump cards of my own."

Ji Xuan slowly rose to his feet. Feeling the surging power within him, his eyes flashed with brilliance.

Whether replicating Soul Skills or creating a clone, these were powerful abilities that could turn the tide of battle at a critical moment!

After returning to the Tianshui Clan, Ji Xuan politely declined Ling Luochеn's second grandpa's warm invitation and went back to his room alone.

He stood by the window, watching the last rays of sunset on the horizon, his heart surging with excitement.

At last, he had his second ring.

Then it was time... to stir up this long-quiet continent once again!

With a thought, he contacted the system in his mind.

"System, begin the second round of exposure!"

[Ding! The second round of exposure is about to begin!]

[Top Ten Hypocrites List, Number Nine—]

[Yan Shaozhe!]

(The plot has been revised. Here's Ling Luochеn to apologize to all the dear fathers out there. Please forgive us.)