Qian Renxue's process of absorbing the Soul Rings went exceptionally smoothly, without the slightest hindrance.
In just half an hour, she absorbed a God-Bestowed Soul Ring. The Soul Ring progressed from white to yellow, purple, and black, finally rising to a 100,000-Year Soul Ring—red!
Immediately afterward, at Chen Qingxuan's prompting, she absorbed a second God-Bestowed Soul Ring, which ultimately reached 150,000 years!
Qian Daoliu stood nearby, his eyes gleaming as his hands trembled slightly with excitement.
Starting with two 100,000-Year Soul Rings—such a foundation was unprecedented across the entire Douluo Continent! The Angel Clan's glory was within reach!
Qian Renxue lowered her head to look at the two overlapping red Soul Rings beneath her feet, her brows knitting slightly.
Her cultivation rose from the early stage of the first level of Qi Refinement to the late stage, then abruptly stopped. All the excess power flowed into her body and soul, improving them slightly.
"Master~" Qian Renxue pouted. "Why can't I enter the perfected realm? My body and soul only got a little stronger too."
Chen Qingxuan said calmly, "You absorbed the Angel God Armor, then two 100,000-Year Soul Rings. Your body has already reached the first level of the Mountain Moving Realm, and your strength has increased to 108,000 jin."
"An ordinary cultivator at the early stage of the first level of the Mountain Moving Realm only has ten thousand jin of strength. You already surpass them by more than tenfold."
"Your cultivation has advanced too quickly. It is normal for your realm to become stuck. Temper your foundation for three months, and you will naturally break through."
"Temper my foundation? How do I do that?" Qian Renxue tilted her head, her golden hair spilling over her shoulders.
Chen Qingxuan raised a hand and drew a circle. The spiritual energy within the hall began to rotate with it. "Continuously release your qi, then absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to replenish it. Repeat this cycle for three months, and success will come naturally."
Only then did Qian Renxue understand. She nodded. "Oh, so that's how it is. Then Xue'er understands."
Qian Daoliu took out the crystal ball again.
"Xiao Xue, test your Soul Power once more."
Qian Renxue obediently extended her left hand and pressed her palm against the crystal ball. The light slots shot upward from below, finally stopping at the twenty-eighth slot.
"Level twenty-eight!" Qian Daoliu laughed heartily. "Eight levels in a single day! Good! Wonderful!"
At that moment, a clear recitation drifted in from outside the hall, every word crisp and precise, carrying an air of uninhibited freedom:
"Zhao's knights wore tasselled caps, Wu hooks gleamed like frost and snow.
Silver saddles shone on white steeds, galloping like shooting stars."
The voice drew nearer, carrying a distinct rhythm.
"The interesting one has arrived." A meaningful smile curved Chen Qingxuan's lips. Before his words had even faded, his body became a streak of azure light and vanished into Qian Renxue's brow.
Qian Daoliu remained calm at the sight and said nothing.
Over these past days, he had indirectly learned from Xiao Xue that this mysterious senior was merely a remnant soul.
Yet even a remnant soul possessed such heaven-shaking power. If he recovered to his peak...
Qian Daoliu did not dare dwell on it.
Qian Renxue touched her brow and looked curiously toward the hall entrance. "Master, who is this person? He dares to make such a racket in the Worship Hall, yet you are not teaching him a lesson."
Qian Daoliu smiled, anticipation flashing in his eyes. "Xiao Xue, you will know soon enough."
The recitation rang out again, filled with killing intent yet concealing a touch of detachment:
"Ten paces, one man slain; a thousand miles, no trace left behind.
When the deed is done, I brush off my robes and leave, hiding both my name and self."
As the words fell, a figure in white drifted gracefully into the Worship Hall.
The newcomer was a young man dressed in a moon-white robe. An ancient-looking longsword hung at his waist, its tassel gently swaying with his steps. A wine gourd hung on his other side, its mouth plugged with red cloth, lending him an air of casual ease.
His features were handsome, and his brows carried a hint of wild freedom, but his gaze was sharp as a sword. As it swept across the hall, it finally settled on Qian Renxue.
Li Taibai looked at the girl before him—golden hair cascading like a waterfall, golden eyes like glazed crystal, skin fairer than snow. Though young, she already possessed breathtaking beauty, with a faint sacred aura lingering around her.
He silently praised her. So beautiful. This must be Qian Renxue. Choosing the Worship Hall was indeed the right move—she is far more exciting than Hu Liena.
"Teacher, who is this?" Li Taibai withdrew his gaze, cupped his hands toward Qian Daoliu, and asked with feigned confusion.
Qian Daoliu smiled. "This is my granddaughter, Qian Renxue. This is my final disciple, Li Taibai. Xiao Xue, you should have heard his name before."
Whenever Porcupinefish Douluo returned from outside, he would inquire about the younger generation of Spirit City.
Li Taibai, Ling Feng, and Ye Fan were known as the Martial Soul Hall Trio. Their fame completely eclipsed that so-called Golden Trio, so there was no reason Xiao Xue would not know of them.
A perfectly measured look of surprise appeared on Li Taibai's face. He cupped his hands toward Qian Renxue, his tone bright and forthright. "So you are Lady Qian Renxue. I am Li Taibai. I have long heard of your extraordinary talent, and seeing you today, your reputation is indeed well deserved."
Qian Renxue looked him over from head to toe, then nodded. "I know you. You, Ling Feng, and Ye Fan are called the Martial Soul Hall Trio. You are much stronger than Spirit Hall's so-called Golden Trio."
Li Taibai laughed and waved a hand. "You flatter me, my lady. They are merely empty titles."
"Compared to the Angel bloodline you possess, my little skills are not worth mentioning." Though humble in words, he was secretly assessing Qian Renxue's potential.
Then, Li Taibai silently recited in his heart, System, bind Qian Renxue.
Qian Renxue would become a god in the future and was also Spirit Hall's young mistress. Both her status and talent stood at the peak. Binding her would certainly bring an immense amount of points.
However, the expected binding prompt did not appear. Instead, a string of piercing alarms rang out in his mind:
"Binding failed! Error! Error!" "Binding failed! Error! Error!"
The smile on Li Taibai's face stiffened as intense surprise rose within him.
Since the system had followed him through transmigration, it had never failed. Why had the binding failed today? And why had it reported errors repeatedly?
Within Qian Renxue's Sea of Consciousness.
Chen Qingxuan extended a finger and lightly grasped a strand of light that was wildly twisting about.
The strand was as thin as a hair and flickered with faint silver light. One end connected to Li Taibai outside, while the other was trying to burrow deep into Qian Renxue's soul, only to be firmly held in Chen Qingxuan's hand.
Qian Renyou popped out from the side, silver-haired and purple-eyed, staring curiously at the strand of light. "Master, what is that? It looks so strange, and it keeps moving."
"This is a Karmic Thread." Chen Qingxuan's fingertip moved slightly, and the strand stopped struggling. "Once it binds someone, the other party can continuously draw upon your luck."
"This thing is that powerful?" Qian Renyou's purple eyes widened in surprise. "Wouldn't that make it very dangerous?"
Chen Qingxuan smiled, a trace of disdain in his eyes. "It belongs to a system, after all. Naturally, it has some tricks."
"What is a system?" Qian Renyou pressed on, her little head brimming with curiosity.
"A system is an artifact used by high-level cultivators to gather the origin power of various worlds, most of them spirit artifacts."
Chen Qingxuan explained, "Spirit artifacts are divided into nine ranks. Li Taibai's system is merely a first-rank spirit artifact, nothing worth mentioning."
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