Qin Yao withdrew his Martial Soul, brushed the dust from his hands, and walked over to Qian Renxue.
"Clean and decisive."
Qian Renxue put away the Holy Sword and let out a breath. A thin sheen of sweat had appeared on her forehead.
The Holy Sword was incredibly powerful, but it also consumed a great deal of Soul Power. Especially after slaying a Soul Beast that was more than thirty thousand years old, she had used nearly sixty percent of her Soul Power in that one strike.
"Xiao Yao, stand guard for me." Qian Renxue didn't bother with formalities. She sat cross-legged beside the Unicorn's corpse and began absorbing its Soul Ring.
Qin Yao took up position beside her. The Amethyst Heaven-Burning Domain silently spread out, covering the entire area within fifty meters. The temperature inside the domain rose sharply, and the air warped. Any Soul Beast daring to approach would be detected by him at once.
Qin Xiong emerged from the woods just then.
The old man folded his arms across his chest and leaned against a large tree, a complicated expression on his face.
He had watched the whole thing from the shadows.
The coordination between the two youngsters had surprised him.
Qin Yao had blocked and interrupted their opponent, while Qian Renxue had dealt the damage and delivered the finishing blow. They hadn't exchanged a single unnecessary word from start to finish; a glance or gesture was all it took for them to understand each other.
What surprised him even more was Qian Renxue.
The girl had only broken through to level sixty a few days ago, yet she had already gained such precise control over her new Soul Power. The force and accuracy of that strike would have been among the best even for a Soul Emperor of the same rank.
"Xue'er really is exceptional."
Qin Xiong muttered to himself, then fell silent and dutifully kept watch for the two of them from the perimeter.
Time passed, little by little.
Qian Renxue sat cross-legged on the ground as the black Soul Ring slowly sank into her body. Golden Angel Soul Power flowed around her, steadily merging with the light energy contained in the new Soul Ring.
Qin Yao stood motionless beside her.
His Amethyst Heaven-Burning Domain continued to operate, consuming his Soul Power. But with his current reserves and recovery rate, he could maintain it for two or three hours without trouble.
During that time, two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts tried to approach, but the Purple Fire within the domain and the Lion King's Might drove them away.
One particularly bold six-thousand-year-old Flame Tiger even charged to the edge of the domain. Qin Yao didn't so much as turn his head. Purple Fire erupted from the ground, and the Flame Tiger yowled as it fled.
About an hour and a half later, the golden light around Qian Renxue suddenly flared.
Six Soul Rings settled into place within her: two yellow, two purple, and two black.
The sixth Soul Ring had melded perfectly with her.
Qian Renxue slowly opened her eyes and rose to her feet.
Her aura had grown stronger still. Her Soul Power had stabilized at level sixty-one, and pure Angel's Holy Light radiated from her.
"Did it work?" Qin Yao withdrew his domain and turned around.
Qian Renxue nodded lightly and held out her right hand, palm up.
A faint golden ripple gathered in her palm. It wasn't energy taking physical form, but a special fluctuation created by the conversion of spiritual power.
"My sixth Soul Skill is called Angel's Roar," Qian Renxue said calmly.
Qin Yao's brow twitched slightly.
Angel's Roar.
He knew this Soul Skill all too well.
By means of the special conversion of Angel Soul Power, it instantly transformed Soul Power into a spiritual shockwave and unleashed a wide-area attack.
An opponent whose spiritual power was less than half the user's would have their soul shattered and their head explode. Those whose spiritual power was less than twice the user's would still suffer severe mental damage.
It was a Soul Skill that killed without a trace.
"Want to try it?" Qin Yao asked.
Qian Renxue shook her head. "This isn't the right place. Angel's Roar has too wide a range. It would disturb the Soul Beasts deeper inside."
"True." Qin Yao didn't press her.
Qin Xiong emerged from behind the tree and strode over to them. He looked Qian Renxue up and down, his face full of pride.
"The aura you showed when you broke through is already stronger than that of many Soul Emperors."
Qian Renxue replied politely, "Thank you for the compliment, Fourth Grandfather."
"No need to be so polite. We're family." Qin Xiong waved a hand, then looked at Qin Yao. "Xiao Yao, now that Xue'er's taken care of what she came for, what next? Back to Heaven Dou City?"
Qin Yao didn't answer right away.
He stood where he was and looked up through the gaps in the canopy. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering mottled shadows across the ground.
Star Dou Great Forest.
He'd gone to all the trouble of coming here. It didn't feel right to leave just like that.
"Xue'er, are you in a hurry to go back?" Qin Yao turned to look at her.
Qian Renxue thought it over. "The stand-in can last half a month at most, so there's still time. Why?"
Qin Yao considered it. Since they were already here, they might as well train a little and fight some Soul Beasts.
"If you're not in a hurry to go back, let's head farther in."
Qin Yao raised a hand and pointed toward the heart of Star Dou Great Forest.
Qian Renxue furrowed her brow. "Farther in? Are you planning to go to the core area?"
"Nothing that extreme." Qin Yao waved a hand.
"The mixed zone will do. Let's find a few Soul Beasts over fifty thousand years old and test ourselves. We won't kill them, just fight.
"Since I broke through level fifty, I haven't fought anyone truly strong. I need to find out where my limits are."
Qian Renxue gave him a couple of measuring looks. A Soul Beast over fifty thousand years old was a formidable creature anywhere on the continent.
Ordinary Soul Saints would give one a wide berth, let alone a level-fifty-one Soul King.
But then she thought about it: he had an Innate Domain, two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones, a Mutated Martial Soul, and an absurdly powerful body. His actual combat strength had long since stopped making sense by ordinary standards.
"Fine." Qian Renxue nodded, then added, "But I'm fighting too."
Qin Yao blinked, then smiled. "Of course. You've just broken through to Soul Emperor, Xue'er. This is the perfect chance to get used to your new Soul Skill."
Then the two continued deeper into Star Dou Great Forest.
Qin Xiong led the way, keeping his released Soul Power suppressed to around level seventy. Along the way, several Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts sensed his aura and hurriedly gave them a wide berth.
After about an hour, Qin Xiong suddenly stopped.
"Xiao Yao, Xue'er, the depths of the mixed zone are just ahead."
Qin Xiong looked back at the two of them.
"There are Soul Beasts between thirty and forty thousand years old everywhere in there, and plenty over fifty thousand years old too. If you want to fight, I'll stand guard nearby, but I won't step in unless I have to."
He looked specifically at Qin Yao. "Xiao Yao, if you really can't handle it, call out. Don't push yourself too far."
Qin Yao answered, "All right, Grandfather."
Qian Renxue, meanwhile, gave Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo a few instructions, telling them to keep watch around the perimeter and not venture too deep into the mixed zone.
The two Douluos accepted her orders and left.
That day, Qin Yao and Qian Renxue encountered a forty-eight-thousand-year-old Green-Eyed Golden Eagle at the edge of the mixed zone.
The eagle's wings spanned a full fifteen meters. It swooped at incredible speed, razor-sharp wind blades clinging to its talons. It launched its ambush from high above, tearing through the canopy with its rush and sending leaves flying.
Qin Yao was the first to meet it.
He activated the Amethyst Lion King Body. His muscles swelled all over, and his bones cracked.
He didn't unfurl his bone wings. Instead, he chose to meet the attack on the ground, using the most direct method to feel the strength of a fifty-thousand-year-level Soul Beast's attacks.
The Golden Eagle's first swipe struck his crossed arms. The impact drove both his feet half a foot into the ground. Fine cracks appeared in the Amethyst Body Protection covering his arms.
Qin Yao gritted his teeth and endured the blow, quickly assessing the situation. A fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast's physical attack was roughly equivalent to a Soul Emperor between levels sixty-five and seventy putting everything into a single strike.
He could still take the damage head-on, but if his opponent kept attacking, his Amethyst Body Protection wouldn't last long.
He changed tactics, no longer taking its attacks directly. Instead, he used the all-attribute boost from Lion King's Might to create distance and wore it down from afar with Lion's Fang.
Qian Renxue supported him from the side. Her fifth Soul Skill, the Holy Sword, was ready to be summoned, but she didn't rush to use it. She watched the Golden Eagle's attack patterns and looked for its weaknesses.
It took them nearly half an hour to leave the Golden Eagle covered in wounds and drive it back to its nest.
Qin Yao sat on the ground, panting hard. Most of his Amethyst Armor had shattered, exposing the skin beneath, reddened by the impact.
Qian Renxue walked over and crouched in front of him, pressing a hand against his arm.
"Nothing broken?"
"No." Qin Yao flexed his joint. "My body can take it, but the defense costs too much. I need to find a more efficient way to fight."
Qian Renxue pulled him to his feet. "Take it one step at a time. You picked a fight with something nearly fifty thousand years old on the very first day. You've got guts, I'll give you that."
Qin Yao brushed the debris from himself. "If I don't fight something strong, how will I know where I fall short?"
Up in the treetops, Qin Xiong sat cross-legged on a thick branch, a blade of grass between his teeth.
He'd watched the whole thing, his palm slick with sweat. If that last blow from the Golden Eagle had been even a little stronger, he would've had to step in.
But he held back.
The kid had said he wanted to train, so he'd let him train. If it really came down to life and death, there would still be time to intervene.
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