When Qian Renxue walked over, Lan Si immediately wore the flustered expression expected of someone his age. He froze for a moment, then blushed shyly and fumbled for words. "Um, miss, hello. My name is Lan Si. Sorry about just now. I was..."
Seeing Lan Si's shy, flustered appearance, Qian Renxue looked him up and down again. A trace of smugness crossed her heart. She covered her red lips with one hand and giggled, pointing at the Soul-Eater Demon Spider's corpse in the pit. "You were going to say you were chasing this Soul-Eater Demon Spider, and accidentally drove it to where I was absorbing my Soul Ring, nearly disturbing me, right?"
Qian Renxue had always been confident in her looks. She believed that, apart from that woman, no other girl could compare with her. Lan Si was merely a boy in the throes of his first crush; it was no surprise that seeing her beauty had left him bashful and flustered.
"That's about it. I'm really sorry." Lan Si stood ramrod straight and bowed slightly, keeping his head lowered.
Seeing Lan Si's "sincere" apology, Qian Renxue's beautiful face curved into the faintest smile. She nodded and said, "You didn't do it on purpose, and the Soul-Eater Demon Spider didn't hurt me. Besides, you protected me while I was absorbing my Soul Ring, so let's call it even."
As she spoke, Qian Renxue walked over to the Soul-Eater Demon Spider and casually asked, "Your name is Lan Si, right? If I'm not mistaken, your Soul Power has reached level thirty, and you plan to use the Soul Ring formed by this Soul-Eater Demon Spider?"
"Yes." Lan Si nodded slowly and went to stand beside Qian Renxue.
"I advise you not to do that. You managed to kill it at level thirty, and I admit you're impressive, but this Soul Beast is well over two thousand years old—somewhere between two thousand and two thousand five hundred. That far exceeds what a Third Soul Ring can withstand. If you absorb it recklessly, the enormous energy inside the Soul Ring will burst you apart." Qian Renxue sighed and tried to dissuade him.
After learning that Lan Si had Twin Martial Souls, and since he had left her with a good impression, Qian Renxue couldn't help feeling that it would be a shame to lose such a gifted talent. If she could, she didn't want this genius with Twin Martial Souls to die young.
"I know," Lan Si said solemnly.
"Then why are you still—" Qian Renxue furrowed her fine brows, but before she could finish, Lan Si said, "I know you mean well, but as I see it, danger and opportunity often go hand in hand. Besides, the limit for a Third Soul Ring only applies to ordinary people."
"I've read quite a few theories about Soul Masters absorbing Soul Rings. In my view, the maximum age of a Soul Ring a Soul Master can absorb depends on the strength of their body. The stronger their physique, the older the Soul Ring they can withstand. That's why the age of the Soul Rings a Soul Master can absorb increases as their cultivation rises: their bodies grow stronger along with their Soul Power."
"I've always put a great deal of emphasis on training my body. My First Soul Ring came from a Red Feather Eagle between four hundred and ten and four hundred and thirty years old, and my Second Soul Ring came from a Shadow-Splitting Beast that was nine hundred years old. Both exceeded the limits known to the Soul Master World, so I'm confident I can do this."
Qian Renxue nodded repeatedly, then couldn't help asking, "Who's your teacher?"
"Myself," Lan Si replied with a smile.
"Pah! If you don't want to say, then don't. I'm not curious anyway." Even Qian Renxue relaxed for once and pouted.
"We've talked so much, but I still don't know your name. I can't keep calling you 'miss' forever, can I?" Lan Si glanced at the darkening sky, sat down beside the Soul-Eater Demon Spider's corpse, and asked her.
Qian Renxue pondered for a moment before answering, "Leng Xue." She gave him a false name.
"Leng Xue?" Lan Si raised an eyebrow, so subtly it was almost unnoticeable, then smiled. "It suits you."
"Why?" Qian Renxue asked curiously.
"You're so beautiful, your skin is as white as snow, and you're so aloof. Leng Xue, Leng Xue—it describes you perfectly, doesn't it?" Lan Si said with a smile.
"You're an amusing fellow." A smile tugged at Qian Renxue's lips. Then her expression suddenly turned serious. "Are you really going to absorb this Soul Ring?"
Lan Si nodded slowly.
"Aren't you worried I'll harm you while you're absorbing it?" Qian Renxue looked at Lan Si, seated beside the Soul-Eater Demon Spider and preparing to absorb its Soul Ring.
"It's not that I'm not worried, but I'm only a lowly quasi-Soul Elder, while you're a Soul Emperor. If you wanted to kill me, any Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill would be enough to wipe me out. Besides, I already apologized, and you forgave me. You don't seem like someone who would kill an innocent person. Since we have no conflict, I don't think you'll attack me." Lan Si spread his hands.
"You never know. What if you've misjudged me?" Qian Renxue covered her red lips with one hand, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
"Then I can only accept my bad luck. I can't beat you, and I can't escape either." Lan Si looked utterly helpless.
"All right, you win. Before you absorb the Soul Ring, I want to ask you one last question," Qian Renxue said.
"Go ahead. You're making it sound like we're saying our final goodbyes." Lan Si pouted.
"Don't be so ungrateful. I was going to ask where your home is. If the Soul-Eater Demon Spider's Soul Ring bursts you apart, I can at least call your parents to come collect your body." Qian Renxue glared at Lan Si in exasperation.
"You don't need to worry about that. My parents passed away long ago. But if you want to know about my background, just ask around in Nuoding City, a thousand miles to the northwest. It's nothing I need to hide." As he spoke, Lan Si closed his eyes and circulated the Supreme Heaven and Earth Art and the Five Thunders Heart Art, beginning to absorb the Soul Ring.
He made it sound easy, but in truth, he was far from certain. There was no way he could be completely confident against a Soul-Eater Demon Spider more than two thousand years old, perhaps even as old as two thousand five hundred years. But since Tang San in the original story had managed to absorb a Man Faced Demon Spider over two thousand years old with nothing but the Mysterious Heaven Skill, then surely he—who possessed two supreme arts that complemented each other—could do it too. If he couldn't, he might as well die. How else could he become stronger, or reign supreme at every level he reached?
Watching Lan Si enter the meditative state of absorbing the Soul Ring, Qian Renxue's smile gradually faded. After a moment of silence, she suddenly spoke, her ethereal, melodious voice seeming to cleanse the soul.
"Come out."
As the girl's voice fell, two shadows, one fat and one thin, suddenly emerged from within a nearby tree behind her, appearing in a way that was eerie and uncanny. They were Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo, secretly protecting Qian Renxue.
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