Qian Renxue blushed. "You may be young, but you know far too much. Y-You should let go of my hand already."
"Alright, alright, I'm letting go. You're making it sound like I enjoy touching it that much."
Lin Ye withdrew his hand.
At that moment, the Angel God's voice rang out within the Land of Inheritance.
[Lin Ye and Qian Renxue's Angel Nine Trials: First Trial—cross the Angel Path. Completed. Reward: Soul Power increased by 1 level.]
Tired smiles appeared on both their faces.
The next second, the God Trial rewards descended.
Lin Ye's Soul Power rose to level 29.
Qian Renxue reached level 46.
Over the course of an entire year, Lin Ye's Soul Power had skyrocketed by a terrifying fifteen levels.
Qian Renxue's had increased by ten levels!
Both of their strengths had improved by leaps and bounds!
The gap between Qian Renxue and Lin Ye had shrunk from twenty-two levels before the trial began to seventeen levels now that it was over.
Once I absorb the Immortal Herb resources, the gap between Qian Renxue's Soul Power and mine will definitely shrink to within ten levels. At the same level, my strength might not necessarily be inferior to hers, Lin Ye pondered.
Qian Renxue still felt no sense of crisis at all. In her eyes, it was simply impossible for Lin Ye to catch up to her in strength or Soul Power.
As they rested,
a second card condensed before their eyes.
The contents of the Second Angel Trial had arrived!
Lin Ye and Qian Renxue immediately stood up and carefully read the trial's contents.
[Second Angel Trial: Battle of the Demon Spider. Hunt and kill a twenty-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider alone. Time limit: one year.]
"What?! A twenty-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider?!"
Both their expressions changed drastically.
A twenty-thousand-year soul beast required at least Soul Emperor-level strength to kill alone.
Moreover, soul beasts differed in species and race, so even at the same cultivation age, their combat abilities could vary.
The Man Faced Demon Spider was already considered relatively powerful among soul beasts.
Even an ordinary Soul Emperor might not be able to kill one alone!
"The angels really can't get along with spiders, can they?" Lin Ye's expression turned grave.
In other words, within a year, he needed to possess at least Soul Emperor-level combat strength before he could possibly kill a twenty-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider and complete the Second Trial.
"Qian Renxue has a chance of breaking through to Soul King within a year. Fighting a Soul Emperor as a Soul King isn't especially difficult for her, but for me, this is practically hell difficulty!" Lin Ye felt unprecedented pressure.
Although he had the trump card of summoning the Angel Divine Artifact, last time, merely summoning its power had exhausted him.
He also could not determine whether, when the Angel Divine Artifact instantly killed that Soul Saint, it had precisely targeted the dangerous enemy, or whether it had simply happened to land there by chance and killed the Soul Saint.
If he summoned the Angel Divine Artifact and it failed to kill the Man Faced Demon Spider, then once his Soul Power was exhausted, he would not even be able to lift the artifact to fight.
Lin Ye could not place all his hopes of killing the Man Faced Demon Spider on the Angel Divine Artifact.
"It seems I have to secure the Immortal Herb resources as soon as possible. Otherwise, I may find it difficult to kill a Man Faced Demon Spider alone within a year. After breaking through to the Soul Elder realm, I'll need to make a trip to Sunset Forest."
Qian Renxue was under considerable pressure as well. Her martial soul was currently only in its two-winged form and had not reached the strength of a god-level martial soul.
Thus, she was not completely confident that she could kill a twenty-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider either.
Still, she was full of confidence in herself, while she believed Lin Ye had reached his limit.
"Lin Ye, in a year, you'll be able to break through to Soul Elder at most. Killing a twenty-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider alone as a Soul Elder is simply impossible."
"Looks like I won't even need to suppress you myself. You won't be able to complete your Second Trial anyway." Qian Renxue smiled.
She was smiling very happily.
After spending this year together, she truly did not dislike Lin Ye, the little brother five years younger than her. She even felt a sense of mutual appreciation toward him.
If possible, she was willing to get along well with Lin Ye.
But as competitors for a godhood, Qian Renxue could not form any deep emotional bond with Lin Ye, because she feared that if he posed a tremendous threat in the future, she would be unable to bring herself to deal with him ruthlessly.
But if Lin Ye failed the trial and there was no longer any conflict of interest, Qian Renxue would no longer need to worry about such things. If she built a good relationship with him, Lin Ye could still become a supreme powerhouse of Spirit Hall in the future!
To her, that would be the best of both worlds.
But after experiencing how rapidly the Angel Nine Trials increased his strength, how could Lin Ye give up so easily? He smiled as well. "Heh, don't celebrate too early. How strong I'll become in a year isn't something you can predict."
"Tch, stop putting on a brave face. I refuse to believe that a Soul Elder like you could kill a twenty-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider in a year." Qian Renxue looked unconvinced.
"Xiaoxue, disciple, come down."
At that moment, Qian Daoliu's voice came from below.
The two immediately got up and came before Qian Daoliu.
After learning the contents of Qian Renxue and Lin Ye's Second Trial, a faint trace of delight clearly appeared on Qian Daoliu's face.
Clearly, he did not believe Lin Ye could complete the Second Trial either.
Once he confirmed that, Qian Daoliu's mood improved considerably.
Qian Daoliu said with a serious expression, "Xiaoxue, your combat techniques, abilities, awareness, and all your foundational skills related to battle are already outstanding enough. Therefore, you no longer need any combat training."
"To complete the Second Trial, your top priority right now is raising your Soul Power to the Soul King realm."
"Mm, I understand, Grandpa."
"Disciple, although your Soul Power has already reached level 29, your combat experience is far too shallow. You could say you are still a blank sheet of paper, but that also means you have enormous room for improvement."
"So, over the next year, focus mainly on improving your swordsmanship and combat ability. This will bring you greater gains in combat strength than spending more time raising your Soul Power."
Qian Daoliu's words were extremely fair.
Lin Ye was only seven years old and had awakened his martial soul just one year ago. Although he had mastered the Angel Sword Technique to a considerable degree, he had barely fought any soul masters, so his combat experience was far too lacking.
He still had much room for improvement in every aspect of combat.
Improving his combat ability would indeed benefit him more than gaining another one or two levels of strength.
"For the next year, all Seven Great Elders will be your teachers. We will take turns giving you special combat training. If you have any questions or any area you wish to improve, you may also come ask us directly." Qian Daoliu said with a smile.
The Seven Great Elders taking turns guiding my cultivation? This is probably the most elite group of instructors on the continent, Lin Ye thought with a smile before replying, "Alright, Teacher."
"Oh, right, Teacher. To what extent must I cultivate my Angel Sword Technique before I reach the complete mastery of swordsmanship you mentioned?"
Qian Daoliu said, "Sword Follows the Heart. Your swordsmanship will no longer be bound by fixed moves or routines. When your intent moves, the sword follows, achieving the unity of intent and sword."
"The unity of intent and sword? Teacher, could this be the realm of Unity of Man and Sword?"
"No. It can only be said that you will have crossed the threshold toward comprehending the realm of Unity of Man and Sword."
Before you continue