Wind and Thunder Conceal Ice, Extinguishing Silver Bloom

In the direction his finger pointed, there stood a Silver Hero Beast. Although he had only seen it in books, its size made it clear that it was undoubtedly a ten-thousand-year-old specimen. But how could this be? Shouldn't Silver Hero Beasts be located in the deeper regions? Especially a ten-thousand-year-old one—how could it appear between the outer perimeter and the mixed zone?

"I told you, Sister Lexuan is my lucky goddess."

Ignoring Zhang Lexuan's astonishment, he strode forward. Having spent all his time researching soul skills, he had never experienced real combat, and his hands were itching for a fight. Seeing Su Qing intend to face the Silver Hero Beast alone, Zhang Lexuan instinctively wanted to call him back, but just as she opened her mouth, Su Qing looked back at her and smiled:

"Sister Lexuan, I want to try it myself first. If things go wrong, I'll retreat behind you immediately. After all, I'm most afraid of getting hurt."

With that, the Silver Dragon Spear appeared in his hand. Under the effect of Light-Dark Intertwining, Zhang Lexuan only saw his first soul ring light up, and a pair of transparent wings sprouted from his back. In an instant, he soared into the air and hovered.

"Elemental Tide, Wind-Thunder Form, Instant Thunder, Autumn Sweeping Over Chu Sky."

As the words fell, two elements converged within his body, intertwining like a spiderweb, and finally transformed into a streak of light flying into the sky. Suddenly, a muffled thunderclap exploded, a storm erupted, trapping the Silver Hero Beast in place, and lightning rained down upon the restricted beast.

However, it was not one to wait for death. It immediately activated its Imprint soul skill. Following this, bolts of lightning began to emerge around its body, tracing the path of the lightning Su Qing had summoned, surging upward to scatter the thunderclouds in the sky.

Zhang Lexuan's expression sharpened. The massive soul skill Su Qing had unleashed was casually neutralized by the opponent. Yet, she saw no trace of nervousness on Su Qing's face. Just as she wondered what he was up to, she saw a faint, ghostly blue light emerge around him.

"Elemental Tide, Ice Form, Ten Thousand Li Ice Seal."

The previous move was actually a bluff, meant to intimidate. His goal was to force the Silver Hero Beast to imprint that soul skill, then seize the opportunity to launch a sneak attack with an offensive soul skill. Before the storm completely dissipated, the beast couldn't see Su Qing casting his skill, so there was no chance of it being imprinted again.

Just as the Silver Hero Beast was feeling smug about breaking the opponent's lethal move and waiting for the storm to fade, rows of slanted ice spikes erupted from the ground. Within a few breaths, they spread from beneath Su Qing's feet to under the Silver Hero Beast. Caught off guard, the beast was pierced by three ice spikes simultaneously and forcibly lifted off the ground.

The energy of Ultimate Ice surged wildly from the spikes into the Silver Hero Beast's body, and before long, it lost all signs of life.

After a painful howl, Su Qing willed the storm to end. Looking at the carcass of the Silver Hero Beast, Zhang Lexuan gasped. This kid's combat awareness was truly incredible; he actually knew how to exploit the Silver Hero Beast's traits to target it.

However, as a two-ring quasi-Soul Elder, where did he get so many skills? After ruling out the possibility that his first two rings were hundred-thousand-year rings, Zhang Lexuan gradually formed a guess: Self-Created Soul Skill. If that were true, this kid's future was truly immeasurable. However, she did not intend to report this to Shrek.

For one, she had promised Su Qing to keep his secret, and for another, a genius like him would likely establish his own faction once he grew up, rather than being confined to Shrek.

"Sister Lexuan, there's a piece of good news and a piece of bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Su Qing's voice came from nearby, leaving Zhang Lexuan bewildered. What was this kid up to now? Good news and bad news? Did he find something on the Silver Hero Beast's corpse?

"Let's hear the good news first."

Though puzzled, she decided not to be a killjoy.

Seeing her response, Su Qing continued: "The good news is that through my own hard work, I successfully hunted a ten-thousand-year soul beast!"

In truth, that wasn't the case at all. Aside from normal cultivation, he hadn't worked hard in the slightest. Everything he achieved was due to his "cheats," combined with the fact that he had tricked the Silver Hero Beast into using its Imprint ability to copy a useless move, only to be ambushed outside its field of vision.

"Tell me something I don't know."

Zhang Lexuan was speechless. Was this kid just making conversation?

"Something Sister Lexuan doesn't know? That would be the bad news. It's... I just used up all my soul power. You might have to suffer a bit when you take me out later, hehe."

Su Qing approached Zhang Lexuan with a cheeky grin. He wasn't lying; to kill a ten-thousand-year soul beast, he had to go all out. Those two attacks had drained almost all his soul power, especially the storm—maintaining the intensity required to trap the beast had consumed a massive amount of energy.

"Get lost and hurry up and absorb the soul ring!"

Zhang Lexuan knocked him flying toward the corpse of the Silver Hero Beast with a punch. Su Qing didn't mind; he rubbed his backside and sat cross-legged to begin the absorption. The process was remarkably smooth. The impact of a ten-thousand-year soul ring on his physical body couldn't shake him in the slightest, let alone the mere soul shock. Faced with his massive spiritual power, the Silver Hero Beast's resentment couldn't even muster a whimper before being instantly suppressed.

Zhang Lexuan, who was guarding him, sighed slightly. This guy was truly the most troublesome child she had ever encountered—no, not troublesome, but rather clingy. One second he said something that touched the heart, and the next he could make someone half-dead with anger, leaving one wanting to punch him away while simultaneously feeling reluctant to do so.

Absorbing this ring took only two quarters of an hour. Although she had already accepted that he was a freak, it was hard not to be shocked. Even the most talented soul masters at Shrek took at least an hour to absorb a thousand-year third ring, yet this kid's third ring was ten-thousand-year, and it only took him two quarters of an hour?

Moreover, she now understood why Su Qing didn't hunt for soul beasts that provided offensive skills—he didn't need them. If her guess was correct, Su Qing's martial soul should be able to control more than four types of elements, especially ice and fire, which were likely approaching the level of Ultimate Attributes.

"Oh, Sister Lexuan, absorbing the soul ring is so tiring. I can't walk anymore. Can you carry me?"

Just after finishing the absorption, Su Qing stumbled toward Zhang Lexuan, bumped his head against her, and blinked pitifully.

"Don't start. Do you think I've never absorbed a soul ring before?"

Zhang Lexuan was almost amused to the point of laughter. This kid, couldn't he at least pretend properly? If he really had no strength, how could he have stood up so quickly? And that running posture was anything but stumbling; it was more like being top-heavy, with his big head leading his small body.

"Sister Lexuan, you really are a cold-hearted woman!"

"Get lost!"

Zhang Lexuan slapped the back of his head again. She, who was usually unflappable, had been taken on an emotional rollercoaster by Su Qing in just one day. Her usual gentle image was gone; besides him, who else had ever seen Zhang Lexuan hit someone like this?

"Alright, let's head out."

Su Qing rubbed the back of his head, which was stinging from the slap, and shook his head helplessly. He spoke with feigned obedience, but secretly reached out to hold Zhang Lexuan's hand. This time, Zhang Lexuan did not pull away.