"Yuan Ge, can you keep the secret of my first Soul Ring to yourself?"
"Sure."
"Really?"
"So what's my reward?"
"Huh?"
Huo Yuhao blinked, then dug a few Copper Soul Coins out of her pocket. "This is all I have."
"Uh, you might have misunderstood what I meant." Ji Siyuan really was at a loss over how to deal with this Daughter of Destiny.
"Anyway, I need to absorb a Soul Ring now, so you'll have to pitch in later."
"Understood!" Huo Yuhao nodded again and again. As far as she was concerned, that was only right.
They hadn't gone far when a Wind Baboon attacked them.
Tang Ya took the opportunity to show Huo Yuhao the Tang Sect's Hidden Weapons and techniques.
Ji Siyuan watched from the side and offered his critique. "Tsk, your Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track isn't very good. Your Hidden Weapon techniques are better than mine, though."
Tang San said crossly, "If you weren't slacking off every day, there's no way she'd be better than you at anything."
"Uncle Tang, you have to consider my situation. I have to cook, too. It's really exhausting."
He complained, but fortunately, the technique was still useful.
Tang San said, "Why does this feel a little strange? That girl's technique is from before our Tang Sect refined it. It's more like a combination of the Inner Sect and Outer Sect methods. It takes a few shortcuts. I studied this Hidden Weapon technique and discarded it."
Learning something from a teacher wasn't the same as stealing it; one had a teacher to guide them, while the other could only learn on their own. That was why Tang San could still refine all sorts of things, while God King Tang couldn't.
"Xiao Ya, look out!" Bei Bei pulled Tang Ya behind him.
Ji Siyuan, meanwhile, grabbed Huo Yuhao. "A snake!"
A Mandala Snake dropped from a tree with a thud. It wasn't issuing a warning; it was hunting.
After landing, Tang Ya activated her Martial Soul, and two Hundred-Year Soul Rings appeared. Blue Silver Grass coiled around Ji Siyuan and Huo Yuhao, dragging them backward.
Compared to Tang Ya, Bei Bei was much stronger. Though they were the same age, Bei Bei was already a Soul Elder. Two yellow Soul Rings and one purple one proclaimed his strength.
Lightning crackled in his hand and coursed around his body. His right arm swelled, transforming into a dragon claw covered in scales. It looked incredibly reassuring.
"Xiao Ya, keep them safe."
"Got it!"
She grabbed the two of them. "Watch closely. Bei Bei's Martial Soul is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!"
Tang San couldn't help feeling nostalgic. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon—he hadn't seen one in so long.
Huo Yuhao was envious, too. If only her Martial Soul were that powerful.
Of course, if her Martial Soul had been the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, she wouldn't have made it out of the Duke Mansion. She would have died on the day she awakened her Martial Soul.
Bei Bei's strength kept the Mandala Snake suppressed.
For the moment, neither side could gain the upper hand.
"Mandala Snakes are powerful Soul Beasts, too. Bei Bei might not be able to kill it."
Tang Ya really wanted this Soul Beast as her Soul Ring, but she was even more worried about Bei Bei's safety.
"I'm a Soul Master, too. I have to help Senior Brother Bei Bei!"
Her Body Martial Soul didn't even need to be activated; only her Soul Ring became much more visible. The white Soul Ring was so deceptive that nobody knew just how powerful it was.
A 3D Stereoscopic Image formed in everyone's minds.
With something like this, it was as if they had a God's Eye View.
Ji Siyuan couldn't help marveling at the strength of the Daughter of Destiny.
"That's amazing."
"My Soul Skill is Spiritual Detection Sharing."
With Huo Yuhao's help, Bei Bei immediately began to counterattack.
"Bei Bei! Even if you get hurt, end this quickly!"
The others hadn't understood why Ji Siyuan had shouted that when they saw the air ripple at the edge of the image in their minds. It was the distortion caused by extreme heat. A fire-type Soul Beast was nearby.
Sure enough, a thousand-year Flame Demon Lion appeared in the distance.
It was clearly targeting them. It looked like it planned to reap the rewards after they had worn each other down.
Bei Bei had no choice but to grit his teeth and attack, trying to finish off the Mandala Snake as quickly as possible.
Rushing things was an easy way to get hurt and poisoned.
"Tang Ya, come with me. We'll hold off this lion for a while."
They were completely out of options. They could only have the two of them hold it back.
The difference in their stats was too great. They couldn't withstand it even if it simply charged them without breathing fire.
"We can only try Martial Soul Suppression."
Ji Siyuan activated his Martial Soul, and flames from the Geocentric Red Lotus immediately rose into the air.
His flames were the royal bloodline of fire. Even the ruler of the earth's core had to bow before them.
The flames around the Flame Demon Lion instantly shrank, and it dared not act recklessly.
But it came back to the same problem: the difference in their stats was too great. It was hard to withstand the lion's attacks.
Ji Siyuan was having a rough time. Ji Dong hadn't given him any offensive abilities. He hadn't even given him Blazing Sun Triple Strike.
Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass caught fire at once. It was completely useless against the Flame Demon Lion.
Tang San said, "Why not just cut it down with the sword?"
"If I have to use the sword for this, am I really that useless?"
"Then leave it to me."
Their bodies switched. Tang San was far better than Ji Siyuan at Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and all kinds of techniques.
He managed to hold it off for another dozen seconds.
The Blue Silver Grass at Tang Ya's feet went limp. "Is that our Tang Sect's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track? It's so graceful!"
"Siyuan, I'm ready. Leave it to me!"
A Lightning Net immediately blocked the Flame Demon Lion's path.
Bei Bei took over the fight.
Tang Ya pulled Ji Siyuan back, tears as big as beans rolling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'm so useless."
She was clearly stronger. She was a Soul Grandmaster, yet she had still made Ji Siyuan buy them time.
"You don't have to cry over this. I'm the Supreme Elder, remember?" Ji Siyuan said helplessly.
Tang Ya took too much responsibility on herself.
"Siyuan, this lion would make the perfect Soul Ring for you."
"Huh? Uncle Tang, isn't this thing a thousand years old?"
"You still have Immortal Spirit Qi in your body. Absorbing this lion's Soul Ring won't be a problem at all."
He raised his hand high. "Bei Bei, this lion's mine!"
He waved to Bei Bei, telling him to leave the lion alive, just as he had with the Mandala Snake.
Ji Siyuan felt pretty embarrassed, too. He was probably the reason this thing had shown up. Without him, the other three would have had an easy time.
Bei Bei answered him. With Huo Yuhao's help and Ji Siyuan's Martial Soul Suppression, they quickly subdued the lion.
Bei Bei thought Ji Siyuan just wanted revenge. It never occurred to him that Ji Siyuan intended to absorb its Soul Ring.
He picked up the Hidden Weapon Tang Ya had given him and killed the lion.
A purple Soul Ring appeared above the corpse. Ji Siyuan sat cross-legged and prepared to absorb it.
The other three immediately stopped him. "That's a thousand-year Soul Ring! Don't you know the most a first Soul Ring can absorb is one that's 432 years old?"
In the Sea of Consciousness, Tang San smacked his forehead. "Could this be that theory from Yu Xiaogang of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family? People actually passed this nonsense down?"
Tang San tore into Gangzi. "That idiotic Grandmaster took an early draft compiled by someone else and claimed he'd come up with the Ten Great Theories. He never even stopped to wonder why the other person hadn't published it.
"He's someone who hasn't even absorbed a thousand-year Soul Ring, and he dares to spout all this."
"Don't worry. I know your body. You'll definitely be able to absorb it."
Reassured, Ji Siyuan said, "My Martial Soul is stronger than this lion, and I'm confident I can absorb it. That's the feeling my Martial Soul gives me."
When in doubt, just blame the Martial Soul. Every Martial Soul was different, and each had its own wonders. Nothing was impossible.
Besides, Ji Siyuan was certain no one else had a Martial Soul like his.