"Alright, let's go." Lin Ye stood up.
For the past half year, he and Qian Renxue had spent almost twenty-four hours a day together.
They trained together, took assessments together, and ate together.
They had even spent countless nights sleeping right in front of Angel Path.
Though they did not talk much, their relationship had subtly changed over time. At the very least, they were no longer quite so hostile toward each other.
Together, they went to find Qian Daoliu.
"You've both broken through! Good, that saves trouble." Qian Daoliu smiled and immediately set off with Lin Ye and Qian Renxue for the Star Dou Great Forest.
Inside the carriage, Qian Daoliu considered it. "Disciple, your first soul ring was seven hundred years old. As for your second soul ring..."
"Wait, wait!" Qian Renxue suspected she had misheard and hurriedly interrupted, "Grandpa, what did you say? His first ring was seven hundred years old!?"
"Yes, Xiaoxue."
Upon hearing Qian Daoliu confirm it, Qian Renxue stared at Lin Ye with a look of utter disbelief. What kind of monster is this kid?
Qian Daoliu continued, "With a seven-hundred-year first ring, a thousand-year second ring should theoretically be no problem. But throughout the ages, there has never been a precedent for a Soul Master with a thousand-year second ring. Your teacher cannot guarantee that you will succeed one hundred percent."
"So, to be safe, your teacher will give you two options. You may decide for yourself."
"First, absorb one over nine hundred years old. Second, absorb one over a thousand years old."
Although Qian Daoliu believed that a thousand-year soul ring would theoretically pose no problem for Lin Ye, without any precedent, he truly did not dare make any guarantees.
Besides, Qian Daoliu had his own private considerations. He did not want his disciple to be too monstrous.
But Lin Ye's answer was extremely decisive. "Teacher, I choose a thousand-year second ring!"
"Good. Then your teacher will help you obtain a thousand-year soul ring." Qian Daoliu nodded.
Can this guy really pull off a thousand-year second ring? Qian Renxue could not help but doubt it.
After a long while, by the time they were nearing the Star Dou Great Forest, it was almost dark.
"You both need Light-attributed soul beasts. Such soul beasts rarely appear at night, so they will not be easy to find. Let's rest for the night in a small town near the Star Dou Great Forest," Qian Daoliu said.
"Alright."
Most Soul Masters came to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain soul rings. Wherever there were people, there were business opportunities and gathering places.
After all, Soul Masters needed to prepare supplies before entering a soul beast forest—food, weapons, tents, snake-repellent powder, and so on.
Thus, several small-town settlements had sprung up around the great forest.
By the time they arrived at a nearby town, it was already six in the evening and nearly dark.
The three found an inn and booked their rooms. Qian Daoliu then took out a ring and handed it to Lin Ye. "Disciple, I have not given you any gifts before, have I? Take this ring as a welcome gift."
"A ring?"
"This is a spatial Soul Tool that can store items. If our luck is poor when we enter the Star Dou Great Forest this time, we may need to spend the night there. You can go into town now and buy whatever supplies you want to bring in tomorrow."
"I finally have a spatial Soul Tool of my own. Traveling will be much more convenient from now on." Lin Ye smiled. "Thank you, Teacher!"
"Then I'll go buy some ingredients. If we stay in the forest for a long time, we can cook something hot for ourselves."
Qian Renxue was somewhat surprised. "You can cook?"
"If an orphan like me did not know how to cook, wouldn't I starve to death?" Lin Ye said as he turned to leave. "I'm heading out."
"Hey, wait. I'll go with you."
Qian Renxue quickly followed after him.
Lin Ye joked, "What, are you planning to make a move on me while your grandpa isn't around?"
Qian Renxue rolled her eyes. "I said I would not make a move against you for two and a half years, and I won't. What are you thinking?"
The two chatted as they walked down the town's main street.
At that moment, two luxurious carriages came down the road ahead, accompanied by a hundred knights clad in heavy armor and wielding weapons. Two Soul Masters who looked quite formidable led them.
It was an imposing procession!
And it was extremely overbearing. The two carriages traveled side by side, taking up nearly the entire road.
"Move aside! Move aside! Everyone, get out of the way and keep to the side!" the lead knight domineeringly drove away the pedestrians.
Qian Renxue frowned. "Who is so arrogant? This is a two-way road. Can't they move to one side?"
"They look like nobles."
"Most of these imperial nobles are corrupt scum who oppress the common people!" Qian Renxue's eyes were filled with disgust as she said coldly, "If Spirit Hall unifies the Douluo Continent in the future, I will abolish the noble fief system!"
The original story always described Spirit Hall and the Soul Masters from its branch halls abusing their power to bully others.
But on second thought, how could nations like the Star Luo Empire and Heaven Dou Empire, which used a noble fief system, lack corrupt nobles and local officials who abused their authority?
In fact, there was a very good chance that there were far more rotten apples among them than in Spirit Hall.
Lin Ye had a feeling that trouble was about to start. He looked at Qian Renxue beside him. "Should we move aside?"
"Do you think the young mistress of Spirit Hall would yield the road to some insignificant noble?"
"As expected." Lin Ye smiled helplessly. He had guessed as much.
Although Qian Daoliu was not beside them, Qian Renxue's Angel martial soul was a symbol of Spirit Hall's upper ranks. Once she released her Angel martial soul, ordinary nobles would not dare provoke her.
They did not yield and continued walking straight ahead.
The lead knight began shouting, "Hey! You two up ahead, move aside now!"
When Lin Ye and Qian Renxue showed no intention of backing down, the knight grew angry and roared, "I'm talking to you! Did you hear me? Do you know who is inside those carriages? If you don't want to die, get the hell out of the way!"
"Is this road your family's property? It's a two-way road, yet you refuse to keep to one side and insist on taking up both lanes?" Qian Renxue said coldly.
"Insolence!!"
The lead knight flew into a rage and charged forward, placing his sword directly against Lin Ye's throat. "Either die or get lost!"
"...?" There was no fear in Lin Ye's eyes, only speechlessness. "No, brother, did you get this wrong? She was the one talking back to you. Why are you putting your sword to my neck?"
"A grievance has its cause and a debt has its debtor. Whoever talked back to you is the one you should threaten. Could you please move your sword and put it to her neck instead? Thanks!"
The knight's face remained cold and indifferent. He did not care who had talked back; he only knew Lin Ye was closer. He repeated, "Either die or..."
But before he could finish—
Lin Ye struck in an instant, snapping the sword in the other man's hand with a flick of his finger before kicking him away.
"Ah!" The knight screamed as he was sent flying several meters.
Lin Ye could not help complaining, "Are you fucking sick? You saw I'm young and thought I was easy to bully, didn't you!"
"You're courting death! You actually dared to attack!"
All the surrounding knights drew their weapons.
At that moment, a lazy young man's voice came from inside a carriage. "What happened?"
"Your Highness! Someone blocked our way and injured one of our men!"
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