Facing Qian Linfeng's questioning, Flender did not panic in the slightest. He replied calmly,
"I know the age limit was exceeded. Xiao Linzi knows it too. This was his choice. He said he has a Death Escape soul skill to protect himself, so even if the absorption fails, he won't lose his life."
"What? A Death Escape soul skill?!"
"He's only a Soul Grandmaster who hasn't even advanced to Soul Elder yet, and he can actually master such a heaven-defying soul skill."
Qian Linfeng's face was filled with shock.
Over the past two years, he had remained by Lin Feng's side and understood Lin Feng's temperament better than anyone. Lin Feng had never been impulsive or reckless; he always planned before acting. If he dared take such an enormous risk, then he most likely had complete confidence in escaping unharmed.
With that thought, he calmed down somewhat as he looked at Lin Feng, who resembled a bloody man. His trembling hand wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he muttered fearfully.
"That scared me to death. I nearly thought something would happen to the Little Ancestor right under my watch."
"No! The Little Ancestor is far too bold. This is simply madness. I have to tell the Young Master about this."
Half an hour later,
Lin Feng's chaotic, feeble aura finally began to stabilize bit by bit, slowly returning toward its peak state.
Flender and Qian Linfeng both let out heavy sighs of relief. Their suspended hearts finally settled completely.
When a soul master absorbed a soul ring, the most dangerous stage was the beginning, when the massive energy surged through the body and the mind could lose control. Since he had survived that stage, there would be no major problems with the later refinement and completion.
Qian Linfeng focused and checked Lin Feng's condition once more.
Though Lin Feng looked rather frightening, he was indeed no longer in danger. With a flash, Qian Linfeng vanished soundlessly from the spot and retreated back into the shadows to continue his duty of protection.
An hour later,
As Lin Feng entered the final stages of refining the soul ring, sharp Terror Claws slowly emerged from the knuckles of his right hand.
The tips of the five claws gleamed with an eerie chill beneath the sunlight. Even the breeze brushing past them seemed to be sliced in two.
"External Soul Bone!"
Flender's pupils suddenly contracted. Almost instinctively, he stepped sideways to shield Lin Feng. Seven soul rings rose instantly, and the Soul Power of a level seventy-six Soul Saint surged forth without restraint, ready to erupt at any moment.
"Damn it. I should've brought Old Zhao along this time. Of all times, it had to happen now."
An External Soul Bone that could grow alongside a soul master was a hundred times more precious than an ordinary Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. Once news leaked out, it would be enough to make the top powers of the entire soul master world fight over it madly and stir up a bloody storm.
His only hope now was that the person Lin Feng's teacher had sent was loyal enough not to harbor any murderous thoughts of stealing the treasure.
In the shadows,
Qian Linfeng looked at the golden, gleaming External Terror Claw, his eyes filled only with envy. He did not dare entertain the slightest malicious thought.
As a member of the Angel Clan, the faith etched into his bones would never allow him to commit such a disgraceful act as betraying his master and stealing treasure.
More importantly, he knew very well how much Lin Feng meant to Qian Renxue. If anything happened to the Little Ancestor in his care, then even if he fled to the ends of the earth, there would be nowhere in the world for him to hide.
Seeing that Qian Linfeng remained motionless in the shadows, without the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power, Flender's taut heart relaxed slightly. He muttered to himself,
"He can even resist this. It seems the man Lin Feng's teacher sent is a trusted clan retainer willing to die for his duty. This kid really is lucky."
Two hours later,
The thousand-year soul ring around Lin Feng slowly sank into his body, and he gradually opened his eyes.
The moment he opened them, his own terrifying appearance, covered in blood scabs, startled him into crying out.
"Hey! What's going on?!"
He looked down at the bloodstains on his body, already dried black, and could not help sucking in a cold breath.
"Hiss! I lost so much blood, and I'm still not dead?"
"Yeah! You're not dead after all that. There really is no justice."
Flender rolled his eyes, then immediately put on a stern expression and scolded him seriously,
"You brat can still laugh? This soul ring was never something your body could withstand. It was practically forced into you. You were lucky this time, but luck won't always be on your side."
"It really was dangerous."
Lin Feng nodded with lingering fear. Recalling the several moments when his meridians had nearly shattered and his consciousness had blurred, he laughed loudly.
"Several times, I nearly couldn't endure that pressure and almost gave up... But in the end, I still won."
Feeling something unusual in his right palm, he lowered his head and stared in wild delight.
"This... this is an External Soul Bone—the claws of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear."
With a casual swing, he slashed at a piece of hard granite beside him that stood a full three meters tall. The Terror Claw passed through it without the slightest resistance or even a sound.
Only after he withdrew his claws did the granite slowly slide down along the cut and fall to the ground at an angle. The cut was smooth as a mirror.
Looking at the Terror Claws in his palm, gleaming with eerie cold light, Lin Feng could not help sucking in another cold breath.
"They're so sharp. No wonder legend says they can tear open a Giant Dragon's scales."
After playing with the Terror Claws for a while, he soon discovered a serious problem.
Whenever he controlled the Terror Claws, there was always an inexplicable feeling of sluggishness, as though they might slip out of control. It reminded him of the half-controlled state Tang San had been in after absorbing the Eight Spider Lances in the original story.
Fortunately, it was not a major problem. His Terror Claws were not as difficult to control as the Eight Spider Lances, so the effect was almost negligible.
Flender, standing nearby, finally relaxed completely.
Even if Qian Linfeng truly developed malicious intentions now, with Lin Feng assisting him, the man would never be Flender's match.
"Xiao Linzi, what level is your Soul Power now?"
Lin Feng focused on sensing it for a moment, then grinned.
"Level thirty-three, at the peak. Once I go back and stabilize it, I'll probably break through to level thirty-four before long."
"You jumped nearly four levels at once and forcibly saved yourself a year of hard cultivation. Sure enough, fortune has to be sought amid danger."
Seeing no lingering fear in Lin Feng's eyes, only excitement, Flender seemed to see his younger self daring to charge into danger. He clicked his tongue and laughed.
"Hahaha, being young is great! When you're young, you're not afraid of death."
"Xiao Linzi, your third soul skill should be an offensive Godly Gear, right?"
At that, the smile on Lin Feng's face grew even wider.
"That's right. A purely physical attack Godly Gear."
"Dean, let me show you the great might bestowed by Infinity."
His third thousand-year soul ring lit up as he murmured,
"Infinity Edge!"
The Blessing Gold Pouch martial soul appeared in his palm. Its opening spread wide and spat out a gilded coin. A battle blade of peerless sharpness was engraved upon its surface, as if it contained boundless power.
With a light flick of his finger, the Infinity Gold Coin turned into a streak of light and instantly merged into Flender's body.
"This..."
Flender was greatly shocked. He could clearly feel the strength within his body surge by one hundred and twenty percent without warning, filling every part of him with power.
Thinking of the stacking limit of Lin Feng's martial soul blessings, did that not mean his strength could be increased nearly fourfold at most?
Lin Feng could clearly sense the oppressive aura emanating from Flender grow far stronger in an instant.
He smiled and flicked the three Infinity Gold Coins he had been playing with in his palm toward Flender one after another.
"Dean, that's only the first one. Don't make such a fuss. Help me test whether three Godly Gears are really the maximum that can be applied at the same time."
"Alright..."
Flender forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart, but when the three Infinity Gold Coins merged into his body one after another, his strength doubled and surged again without warning.
With three Infinity Edges stacked together, his base strength had increased by a full three hundred and sixty percent.
Powerful—unprecedentedly powerful!
Though he forced his face to remain calm, his hands, trembling faintly beyond his control, had already betrayed the overwhelming storm raging in his heart.
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