Copying...! This Test Is Way Too Hard! A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring! That's So Cruel...

"Ah? All right!"

Qian Renxue looked a little puzzled as she took the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot out of her Storage Soul Tool.

At that moment, Ling Xiao's soul body also swayed out from above her head, floating in midair with his hands behind his back.

The two Immortal Herbs, which had absorbed the Soul Imprint of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings, had already developed a rudimentary intelligence.

Sensing Ling Xiao's presence,

their leaves alternately unfurled and trembled, as if both excited and afraid.

Ling Xiao pointed at the two pots of Immortal Herbs, and the seals on them quietly loosened a little.

Before the extremely cold and hot auras could fully escape,

he waved his hand,

and two streams of energy, one red and one blue, were drawn from between the leaves. They intertwined in midair and, in the blink of an eye, condensed into a hazy gray humanoid silhouette.

"Hiss—"

Qian Renxue suddenly felt a slight sting on the top of her head.

A golden, slightly curled strand of long hair had somehow appeared in Ling Xiao's hand.

He gently blew on it, and the strand drifted toward the hazy figure.

Qian Renxue rubbed her head,

frowning slightly, unsure what her teacher was up to this time.

The next second,

the figure shimmered and transformed into Xue Qinghe.

Moreover, compared with the motionless plastic doll from before,

this "Xue Qinghe" had noticeably more life to him—

his gaze, his expression, all vividly rendered!

"Remember, your name is Xue Qinghe, the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire!"

Ling Xiao spoke to the figure.

"My name is Xue Qinghe... Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire!"

The replica spoke too, in a tone and pitch exactly like Qian Renxue's,

even the gentle smile at the corners of her eyes reproduced to the tiniest detail!

"Teacher... what is going on?"

Qian Renxue's eyes widened in shock, making her scalp crawl.

"My strand of hair... has it become a spirit?"

She had thought this was merely a more sophisticated version of his previous trick,

but she had never expected it to be able to speak!

And its expression was exactly like hers. It was downright horrifying!

"Just a little trick!"

Ling Xiao stood with his hands behind his back, his tone nonchalant.

"The one with true intelligence isn't the replica. It's the two Immortal Herbs that fused with the Soul Imprint of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings!"

Hearing this, Qian Renxue looked at the two Immortal Herbs with a little more sympathy.

Those two Dragon Kings...

First, someone shoved them into Immortal Herbs, and now they'd been turned into tools!

That was so cru... No, they were certainly making the most of them!

"Once their intelligence has matured a bit more, they'll be able to take your place entirely and handle some of your daily affairs!"

"Just focus on your cultivation!"

There was a hint of dissatisfaction in Ling Xiao's voice.

"You already have the identity of the Heaven Dou Crown Prince. From now on, stop wasting your time on that heap of nonsense in the Heaven Dou Empire."

"Once you break through to Titled Douluo, taking the whole empire will be as easy as reaching into a bag for something!"

He had the impression that Qian Renxue had gotten a little too attached to her "Crown Prince" job.

Wasting her outstanding talent on power struggles was like throwing away a watermelon to pick up sesame seeds!

"Teacher is right. Your disciple will heed your teachings!"

Qian Renxue gazed at the still somewhat bewildered "Xue Qinghe" with a complicated expression.

She wasn't greedy for power.

Back then, when her cultivation hadn't advanced at all,

she had been consumed by anxiety with nowhere to release it,

so she could only pour her energy into the Crown Prince's affairs and power struggles.

She had used them to numb herself, to prove she was still useful... that she still had value!

But things were different now.

Although she felt a little reluctant, she resolutely chose to let go!

After briefly "instructing" the replica, Ling Xiao left the Crown Prince's Residence with Qian Renxue and headed toward the Soul Fighting Arena.

Although it was nearing midnight,

Heaven Dou City, one of the continent's greatest cities, showed no signs of quieting down.

The commercial center in the south of the city was especially brightly lit,

with shops of every kind lining its broad streets in close-packed rows.

The buildings' blend of Eastern and Western styles shone alongside the great Soul Tool lamps,

lighting the entire street as bright as day.

Street vendors called out one after another, while bustling crowds streamed ceaselessly through the lamplight.

As Ling Xiao walked down the street,

the long-lost warmth of everyday life made him feel, for a moment, as though he had returned to his previous life.

He fell silent for quite a while!

It was Qian Renxue's first time experiencing the bustle of ordinary life up close, too.

In the past, whether as the young mistress of Spirit Hall or as the Heaven Dou Crown Prince,

all she had seen were layers of guards and a crowd of "convincing" performers.

But now that she had set aside all her burdens,

she could look closely at each vivid face and feel the joys and sorrows of the people around her.

It was a completely different feeling!

Though she was one of the most revered people in the world, she was like Granny Liu visiting the Grand View Garden.

Everything looked fresh to her,

and she wanted to walk over and take a closer look at everything!

Though she was still dressed as a man, now in simpler clothes, her pure, otherworldly air

still drew frequent glances from many young women, their eyes shimmering with affection...

"All right, you'll have plenty of time to go shopping later. Let's get down to business!"

Watching her, Ling Xiao shook his head.

Sure enough, women were the same in every world. They just loved shopping.

The Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena stood at the heart of the busiest commercial street,

covering an area of several million square meters.

From a distance, it looked like an upside-down rhinoceros horn stabbing into the sky,

wide at the bottom and tapering to a point above,

its sharply sloping curve exuding an imposing, domineering presence.

As soon as Qian Renxue entered the main gate,

two welcoming attendants in revealing clothes greeted her with bright smiles.

"Sir, are you here to watch or compete?"

Perhaps sensing the distinctive air about Qian Renxue, the two attendants treated her even more warmly than the other guests.

Yet neither noticed Ling Xiao standing beside her.

"I'm here to compete. This is my first time, so please take me to register."

Qian Renxue replied.

She had competed in Soul Fighting matches before, but to avoid exposing her identity, she had to register anew.

"Certainly. This way, please. I'll take you to the registration desk."

Though the attendant thought that "Soul Fighting" seemed rather at odds with this refined young man before her, she politely led her toward the registration desk.

"Name?"

"Fei Xue."

"Martial Soul?"

"Flying Snow Goose."

"Soul Power Level?"

"Thirty-ninth rank."

No one checked her Martial Soul. After she paid ten Gold Soul Coins as a registration fee

and completed the Soul Power Level test,

Qian Renxue received an iron badge of her own.

"Teacher, what now?"

Qian Renxue looked at Ling Xiao, who was watching the battle in the arena with evident interest.

"Now—"

Ling Xiao's lips curled upward slightly.

"Of course, it's a Wager Match! Let's start with a stake of 100,000 Gold Soul Coins!"

Soul Fighting came in three types:

Sparring Matches, Death Matches, and Wager Matches.

Sparring Matches were meant for practice, with the competitors earning prize money from the Soul Fighting Arena.

Death Matches were fights to the death without any rules.

In Wager Matches, both sides agreed on a stake, and the Soul Fighting Arena acted as guarantor. The winner took the entire pot.

Once such a huge stake was posted, challengers would inevitably come swarming.

Qian Renxue wasn't particularly concerned.

Even if she had neglected her cultivation, she had once been a Soul King. Fighting Soul Elders was practically bullying the weak.

And in terms of results, it wouldn't do much for her anyway.

She had no idea what Ling Xiao was thinking.

But before she could stay happy for long, Ling Xiao's next words nearly made her break down on the spot.

"You're not allowed to use your Martial Soul or Soul Skills."

"That includes the cultivation technique and Dou Techniques I taught you."

"You can only win through your own combat skills."

"What?"

Qian Renxue stared at Ling Xiao in disbelief, her voice rising.

"How is that possible?!"

After all, ninety-nine percent of a Soul Master's combat strength came from their Martial Soul and Soul Skills.

Taking both away at once—

wasn't that like cutting off her hands and feet?

Even if she had once reached a higher realm and seen what lay beyond, this was still nothing short of a wild fantasy!

If she still had the body she'd possessed at the Soul King level, there might have been a glimmer of hope.

But after going so long without Soul Power nourishing her, her physical condition was only a little better than that of someone at the same level. How was she supposed to fight?

"If you can win ten matches in a row, I'll help you recover to the next minor realm."

"Win another ten in a row, and you can regain your former cultivation."

The excitement on Qian Renxue's face had barely appeared before it faded again.

The chance to recover her cultivation was tempting enough, but...

"If you can still win ten more matches at the Soul King level,"

Ling Xiao paused, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly as he leisurely delivered the final blow,

"I'll help you break through to Soul Emperor, and... find you a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring!"

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?!

Qian Renxue was stunned by the staggering offer.

She opened her mouth, but for a moment, not a word came out.