It was also at this time that Lin Ye's Soul Power finally broke through to level 40.
At this moment, Qian Renxue was level 53.
They had also made ample preparations and planned to head straight to the Star Dou Great Forest to complete the Second Angel Trial.
"Let's go, Teacher."
The two stood before Qian Daoliu.
"Good. Once we help Lin Ye obtain his fourth Soul Ring, you will begin the trial immediately. Let's depart."
Qian Daoliu led the two of them toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
Lin Ye said, "Teacher, this time I want a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring."
"What? Ten... ten thousand years?" Qian Daoliu's heart jolted.
Good lord, he dared to demand a ten-thousand-year ring for his fourth ring?
His expression turned solemn. "Disciple, I believe your physical strength can withstand a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring, but ten-thousand-year Soul Rings differ from thousand-year ones."
"Ten-thousand-year soul beasts have already developed intelligence. The Soul Rings they produce also carry their resentment, what is known as soul shock."
"What ten-thousand-year Soul Rings test is also one's spiritual power—whether one can withstand the soul beast's resentment."
"Teacher, my spiritual power won't be a problem," Lin Ye said confidently.
His spiritual power had already been stronger than that of ordinary people. The Holy Orchid of Light he later absorbed had also improved it to some extent, and Guang Ling's special training had strengthened it further.
For Lin Ye, absorbing a ten-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring was no problem at all now.
"Then all right. Teacher believes in you." Qian Daoliu agreed.
Two days later.
Qian Daoliu successfully found a fifteen-thousand-year soul beast for Lin Ye.
Lin Ye killed it with a single sword strike.
He began absorbing his fourth Soul Ring!
An eight-year-old four-ring Soul Ancestor... if news of this gets out, it'll probably shock all of Douluo Continent, won't it? Lin Ye smiled inwardly and began focusing on absorbing the Soul Ring.
He successfully withstood the soul shock and passed the most dangerous stage of Soul Ring absorption.
Qian Renxue and Qian Daoliu both let out long sighs of relief when they saw this. "Whew, he really did it."
"Yes! Xiaoxue, you need to work even harder. With Lin Ye's talent, he may be able to catch up to you in the future."
"Mm."
Qian Renxue's heart tightened, and she began feeling even greater pressure.
A long while later.
Lin Ye's Soul Power surged straight to level 43.
He had advanced three consecutive levels of Soul Power.
"Awesome!" Lin Ye was exhilarated. This roller-coaster-like surge in Soul Power felt unbelievably good.
The gap between his Soul Power and Qian Renxue's had now narrowed to ten levels.
Lin Ye had also obtained a powerful area-of-effect fourth soul skill, called Angel Descent. Effect: Upon activation, Lin Ye transformed into a holy angel and soared into the sky, remaining in a Super Armor state throughout the process.
Then, from a height of one hundred meters, he instantly executed Ground Slash.
After landing, he unleashed spinning slashes in all directions, striking every enemy within two hundred meters.
The closer an enemy was to the point where Lin Ye landed with Ground Slash, the greater the damage.
In other words, if Lin Ye's Ground Slash landed directly on an enemy, its power rivaled that of a single-target attack.
"Not bad. This fourth soul skill of mine is not only an area attack; transforming into an angel also grants me Super Armor. That means I can use it as a defensive skill too, swiftly switch between offense and defense, and immediately launch a counterattack." Lin Ye nodded to himself.
Lin Ye's strength was now terrifying. It felt as though he had no rivals below the Soul Saint realm.
"Everything is ready. It's time to complete the Second Angel Trial."
"Teacher, let's officially begin our second trial."
Both Lin Ye and Qian Renxue were brimming with fighting spirit.
"Good, then let's begin." Qian Daoliu activated his power. In that instant, Angel God marks appeared on two Man Faced Demon Spiders in the inner region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
They had been selected in advance by the Angel God.
"Surely you have already sensed the locations of the Man Faced Demon Spiders, yes? You may depart and kill them."
Qian Renxue asked, "How about it? You first, or me first?"
"Ladies first."
"Heh, good. Then watch my performance first." Qian Renxue smiled confidently and rushed forward.
Lin Ye and Qian Daoliu followed after her.
One hour later.
Qian Renxue stood before a twenty-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider.
With a wave of his hand, Qian Daoliu laid down a Soul Power barrier, enclosing both Qian Renxue and the Man Faced Demon Spider within it. The Battle Space spanned five hundred meters.
It blocked interference from any person or soul beast.
An absolute one-on-one environment.
"Screech! ~(A human seeking death!)" the Man Faced Demon Spider roared.
"Beast! Prepare to die."
"Martial Soul Possession, Six-Winged Angel!"
Her angel martial soul emerged. Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—five Soul Rings circled beneath Qian Renxue's feet, while a sword appeared in her hand.
Both sides charged at one another simultaneously.
The demon spider thrust one of its legs at her.
Qian Renxue evaded with exquisite footwork, then slashed its lower abdomen with her sword. The demon spider shrieked in pain.
While it was still reeling in pain, Qian Renxue had already displayed her superb Angel Sword Technique and launched a fierce assault.
The demon spider was driven back step by step by Qian Renxue. Before long, numerous sword wounds had appeared across its body.
The demon spider was enraged and spat out a massive web.
"Heh." Qian Renxue's lips curled upward. "Second soul skill, Angel Light Blade!"
Angel feathers drifted down and condensed behind her into twelve light blades, which shot out in an instant.
The web was sliced apart, and the twelve light blades struck the demon spider one after another.
"Screech~" the demon spider howled in agony.
But it had also been completely enraged, entering a berserk state and bursting forth with astonishing speed as it charged at her recklessly.
Qian Renxue stood calmly in place as the purple Soul Ring beneath her feet lit up. "Third soul skill, Angel Protection!"
A gigantic angel appeared. Its hands cupped Qian Renxue in its palms, forming a protective barrier that blocked the Man Faced Demon Spider.
"Get lost!"
The demon spider was blasted backward.
Qian Renxue immediately activated her fourth soul skill. "Angel Free Will!"
Countless golden threads flew toward the demon spider, tightly binding its eight legs and body. The black Soul Ring beneath Qian Renxue's feet rose as she pressed forward to finish it in one stroke. "Fifth soul skill, Holy Sword!"
A gigantic holy sword over ten meters long condensed into existence. Qian Renxue raised it with both hands, like an arbiter of justice about to pronounce the Man Faced Demon Spider's death sentence.
It was only after Qian Renxue unleashed her fifth soul skill that Lin Ye finally sensed her overwhelming power. "This... is the Holy Sword?"
In this world, the soul skills one acquired were not entirely random and impossible to choose.
When a specific martial soul absorbed the Soul Ring of a specific soul beast, there was a high chance it would obtain the desired soul skill.
For instance, the students of Elephant Armor Academy who possessed Diamond Mammoth martial souls all had Copper Wall and Iron Bastion as their first soul skill.
Then there were Zhu Zhuqing, Zhu Zhuyun, Dai Mubai, and Dai Weisi. They also possessed several identical soul skills!
This phenomenon was known as inherited soul skills!
It was knowledge passed down through the continual experimentation of predecessors with the same martial soul—what soul skill a given martial soul would likely produce from absorbing a certain kind of soul beast, and whether that soul skill was best suited to that martial soul.
Later generations could then follow the templates left behind by their predecessors to obtain the same soul skills.
And the Holy Sword was an inherited soul skill of the Six-Winged Angel lineage. Both Qian Xunji and Qian Daoliu possessed it, and it was one of the most core soul skills of the Six-Winged Angel martial soul!
Before you continue