The two of them walked together until they reached a secluded, empty corridor.
Qian Renxue stopped and tightly clasped Lin Yuan's hand in hers.
At such close quarters, her exceptionally keen senses immediately detected something amiss.
The aura around this little fellow was deep and powerful, carrying a deadly pressure.
This was absolutely not the level of someone who had just obtained his First Soul Ring.
Qian Renxue's beautiful brows furrowed slightly as her clear eyes fixed on him.
"What's going on with your aura?"
"Be honest with me. Just how many years old was the First Soul Ring you absorbed?"
Looking at her worried yet curious expression, Lin Yuan gave her a warm smile.
"Why don't you guess, Sis?"
"If you guess right, there's a reward. If you guess wrong, though, you'll be punished."
Qian Renxue shot him an exasperated look and poked his forehead with her jade-like finger.
"You ungrateful little thing. I came all this way back because I was worried about you, and here you are, keeping me in suspense."
"Punishment? If I find out your First Soul Ring was just some ordinary hundred-year one, wasting your peerless talent, I'll spank you myself!"
Lin Yuan chuckled and asked her outright,
"What if you lose?"
Qian Renxue raised her snow-white chin haughtily.
"If I lose, you can ask for whatever you want. You can do whatever you like."
"Come on, how old was it?"
According to Spirit Hall's most authoritative theory, the limit for an ordinary Soul Master's First Soul Ring was 423 years.
But this boy was a complete monster. There was no way to judge him by ordinary standards.
So Qian Renxue doubled that theoretical limit in her head.
"Eight hundred years?"
She tentatively offered the astonishing number.
Lin Yuan's gaze remained calm as he gave the slightest shake of his head.
Qian Renxue's heart jolted, and a ripple crossed her golden eyes.
She bit her tender lip and said a number that could shatter the theories of the entire Soul Master World.
"One thousand years?"
A thousand-year first ring? That was simply absurd!
Yet—
Lin Yuan still wore a smile as he gently shook his head once more.
This time, Qian Renxue was completely stunned.
Beyond the thousand-year limit?
How could a First Soul Ring possibly reach such a terrifying level?
No matter how powerful the Martial Soul was, a six-year-old's body couldn't possibly withstand such a vast amount of violent energy. It would surely burst apart in an instant!
She swallowed, her throat unbearably dry, and her voice trembled with astonishment.
"Could it be... that you crossed the two-thousand-year threshold?"
Under Qian Renxue's stunned gaze,
Lin Yuan didn't say another word.
He simply stood there and focused his thoughts.
"Vumm!"
A terrifying pressure, powerful enough to change the color of heaven and earth, swept out from his small body.
The air in the surrounding corridor was crushed by the pressure, letting out a piercing series of explosive cracks.
Then—
A deep purple ring, so dark it was almost black,
rose slowly from beneath his feet, bearing an immense energy that made even the soul tremble.
Its thick, dark-violet glow cast shifting shadows across Qian Renxue's beautiful face.
Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years.
At the sight of the terrifying Soul Ring hovering quietly around Lin Yuan,
Qian Renxue felt as though she had been struck by lightning.
The deep blackish-purple glow lent the secluded corridor an eerie cast.
Her stunning golden eyes widened, her red lips parted, and even her breath stopped.
Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years!
This wasn't merely breaking convention. It was trampling the laws of the entire Soul Master World into the dirt!
A child who had just turned six had forcibly contained nearly ten-thousand-year-level violent energy—and not only had he survived without bursting apart, his aura was frighteningly steady.
Lin Yuan withdrew his Soul Ring, and the air around them began to flow again.
He looked at Qian Renxue, still frozen in shock, and a mischievous smile rippled across his eyes.
"Sis, you guessed wrong all three times."
Only then did Qian Renxue snap back to her senses at the teasing, clear voice.
She took a deep breath, her full chest rising and falling as she struggled to calm the storm raging inside her.
This little fellow was a complete monster!
But once the shock passed, Qian Renxue actually felt more at ease.
As long as he was safe and strong, nothing else mattered.
"Fine, you win."
Qian Renxue glared at him, but she couldn't hide the affection in her eyes.
"Since I lost, I'll honor the bet."
"So, how are you going to punish me?"
She folded her arms across her chest and regarded the boy, who was considerably shorter than her, with interest. She found the whole thing rather amusing.
She wanted to see what kind of troublesome trick the little fellow could come up with.
Lin Yuan's eyes darted about, and his smile grew brighter.
"Close your eyes first, Sis."
Qian Renxue arched a brow but didn't hesitate. She obediently closed her star-bright eyes.
The corridor fell quiet.
With her eyes closed, the sacred, untouchable aura of an Angel around Qian Renxue softened a little, replaced by an endearing innocence and purity.
She was breathtakingly beautiful, with skin like snow and features so exquisite they were without a single flaw.
Her tall, slender figure was draped in ornate palace robes. Especially her long, shapely legs, straight and free of an ounce of excess flesh, peeked through the gaps in her skirt, radiating an astonishing allure.
Her noble Angel aura and her perfectly proportioned figure were both enough to drive any man in the world wild.
"What now?" Qian Renxue asked with her eyes closed.
"Lower your head a little," Lin Yuan said softly.
Qian Renxue obediently bent forward slightly, bringing her beautiful face closer.
Just then—
Lin Yuan rose onto his tiptoes and gently kissed Qian Renxue's fair, delicate cheek.
The soft touch was gone in an instant.
Qian Renxue's body trembled, and her eyes flew open.
Two unmistakable blushes bloomed across her beautiful face, spreading all the way to her crystalline earlobes.
She had never expected the punishment this little fellow had in mind to be this!
"You little rascal..."
Qian Renxue was just about to scold him when she suddenly felt something settle into her palm.
Something had been slipped into her hand without her noticing.
She looked down, and her whole body froze again.
It was an Immortal Herb that glowed with a pure golden light. Its petals were layered like Angel wings, and a vast, sacred aura of light washed over her, even stirring a powerful resonance with the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul inside her.
"This is Heavenly Light Grass."
Lin Yuan's clear voice came from ahead.
Qian Renxue looked up and saw that Lin Yuan had already turned around and was trotting toward the other end of the corridor.
As he ran, he waved to her without looking back.
"Absorb the Immortal Herb as soon as you can, Sis. It'll do wonders for your Martial Soul!"
"I'm going to find Aunt Dong!"
Before you continue