Absorption, Upgrade

Hearing his wife say that, Zhang Lingyue's expression changed at once. His Martial Soul appeared in his hand, and in an instant, he was standing in front of Zhang Yang.

Zhu Ranqing sprang to her feet and stood beside Zhang Lingyue. She pointed her cat's paw diagonally upward. "Lingyue, over there."

Zhang Lingyue followed the direction of Zhu Ranqing's paw and soon spotted the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow.

"Dark silver all over, with ink-blue gradients at the tips of its feathers. It really is a Hundred-Year Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow." Zhang Lingyue nodded, gripping the axe in his hand even tighter.

"I just sensed it spying on us. Its target is our son," Zhu Ranqing said softly.

Zhang Lingyue nodded. "Good. Then we can't let it leave."

The Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow tilted its head as it watched the three people on the ground, then chirped twice.

Hearing its call, Zhang Lingyue narrowed his eyes. "Flying Soul Beasts sure are arrogant. A mere Hundred-Year Soul Beast dares provoke me right in front of a Soul King."

"Ranqing, let's attack together."

As soon as Zhang Lingyue finished speaking, Soul Power erupted around him. The immense Soul Power of a Soul King burst forth, and his figure shot into the air like a cannonball.

At the same time, Zhu Ranqing vanished from where she stood.

"Hah!"

Zhang Lingyue twisted the axe in his hand. Its broad, heavy back traced a fierce arc as he slammed it toward the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow perched on the branch.

"Chirp, chirp."

The two enemies in its sight vanished in an instant. Sensing danger, the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow beat its wings and appeared in midair.

"Crack!" The axe's back smashed into the spot where the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow had been standing. The branch, as thick as an adult's thigh, snapped in an instant.

"Hell Stab!"

The next moment, a slender, willowy figure with a purple afterimage changed direction twice in midair by stepping off tree trunks, appearing behind the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow.

Her sharp, slender claws swept through a dangerous arc. The Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow had no time to dodge and could only take the attack head-on.

"Chirp!" The Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow let out a cry of pain and plummeted.

In midair, Zhang Lingyue's Soul Power surged. He gathered strength in his axe, his eyes fixed on the wounded Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow.

The Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow knew it couldn't fall within the Soul King's attack range below. Enduring the pain, it struggled to beat its wings. Its tiny body traced an arc through the air as it tried to escape.

Seeing the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow try to flee, Zhang Lingyue's First Soul Ring lit up. A brown glow spread across the axe in his hand.

"Go!"

Zhang Lingyue raised his arm and hurled the axe. It split into two, then four, then eight. In an instant, thirty-two axe shadows formed an airtight net, whirling as they cleaved toward the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow in midair.

"Chirp, chirp."

The Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow's crystal-like vertical pupils trembled rapidly as it pinpointed the axe shadow with the densest Soul Power among the thirty-two.

"Chirp, chirp."

The Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow called again and flickered aside, evading the whirling path of the "real axe."

"Chirp, chirp."

The Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow wobbled as it beat its injured wings harder, trying to flee.

Just then, Zhang Lingyue's First Soul Ring flashed again.

"Bang!"

The illusory became real. The axe the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow had taken for a phantom struck it squarely.

The heavy axe back slammed into the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow's head.

The Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow fell unconscious at once, its body dropping like a pebble onto the thick layer of fallen leaves.

Meanwhile, the other thirty-one axe shadows passed through the dense canopy like phantoms, then dissolved into bubbles and vanished without a trace.

The unreal becomes real, the real becomes unreal—turning illusion into reality and reality into illusion. That was the effect of Zhang Lingyue's First Soul Ring skill.

"Hmph. As expected, no matter how clever a Soul Beast is, it's still just an animal."

Zhang Lingyue raised his hand and summoned his Martial Soul again. The next moment, Zhu Ranqing landed, then leaped over to the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow and clamped both its wings in her grip.

"Yangyang, come quickly. Your Soul Ring is here."

At his mother's call, Zhang Yang hurried to Zhu Ranqing in three quick strides, his face full of excitement. "Mom, Dad, you were so cool just now."

Zhang Yang had stood still and watched the whole fight as the two of them surrounded the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow.

Whether it was Zhang Lingyue's Soul Ring skill, with its axe shadows filling the sky, or Zhu Ranqing's rapid changes of direction, leaving afterimages behind her, both had left Zhang Yang in awe.

What fascinated Zhang Yang even more, though, were the Soul Rings beneath their feet.

The colors of the ideal Soul Ring configuration—just those rings of different colors revolving beneath their feet, spinning and pulsing in the air as they fought—looked incredibly cool.

"You can praise your mom later. Quick, kill it and claim your Soul Ring." Zhang Lingyue produced a gleaming dagger and held it out to Zhang Yang.

The Star Dou Forest was complicated and full of danger. Gunshots were too loud and stood out badly against the surroundings.

So before entering the Star Dou Forest, Zhang Lingyue had warned Zhang Yang that he wasn't allowed to fire his gun without permission.

Zhang Yang took the dagger and drove it forcefully into the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow's chest, where its wing joined its body.

"..." With a faint hiss, the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow's chest caved in.

Pale yellow specks of light began to gather above its body, soon forming a distinct yellow ring.

"Son, manifest your Martial Soul. Use your Soul Power to draw the Soul Ring onto it, then start meditating right away and absorb the Soul Ring's energy."

Feeling the energy contained in the Soul Ring, Zhang Yang nodded. He returned the dagger to Zhang Lingyue, sat cross-legged, and M14 appeared in his hands.

As Zhang Yang released his Soul Power, the Mirror Shadow Prism-Eye Sparrow's Soul Ring seemed to receive a signal. It floated over to him and settled around the barrel of the M14.

Zhang Yang felt a rush of boiling water surge through his veins and into his body. A wave of scorching energy spread throughout him in an instant.

"Stay conscious. Son, remember, if you stay conscious, you've won. If the Soul Ring's power can't overpower you, it'll obediently serve you."

Zhang Lingyue's voice seemed to drift down from the highest heavens. In the last moment before Zhang Yang lost consciousness, he opened the system interface.

The next moment, a refreshing sensation seeped into every nerve in Zhang Yang's body. The relief was so intense that he couldn't help letting out a soft moan.

Looking at the system interface again, he saw a flash of yellow light. A golden border appeared around the entire interface.

Then the border began to crumble, breaking into countless specks of light. One by one, they drifted from the edge of the interface and slowly gathered beneath Zhang Yang's feet.

Slowly, a pale yellow ring took shape beneath Zhang Yang's feet.

But it wasn't over yet.

The golden border kept crumbling into specks of light, which continued gathering in a ring beneath Zhang Yang's feet. The ring grew wider and more solid.

When the golden border had completely crumbled and all the specks of light had gathered, the ring solidified. A pale yellow pillar of light then shot upward from beneath the interface, enveloping Zhang Yang's entire figure within it.

The pillar of light rose into the air, and the circular ring beneath Zhang Yang's feet began to change shape. Mysterious patterns appeared as it rotated and pulsed in harmony with nature...

Only after all the changes were complete did a new interface appear:

10>>>11-->11>>>12

Lv.1up↑,3120EXP↑

4235/0-->7355/20000

The Soul Ring had been absorbed. The system had automatically leveled up to Level 11.

The experience Zhang Yang had saved up was also automatically carried over to his Level 11 experience bar.

In addition, absorbing a Soul Ring also granted experience, with the experience gained equal to ten times the Soul Ring's age.

That was another 9,000 experience points.

Right after, the system interface went black again, and a line of large, stylized text slowly appeared.

Second Season: New Star Before the Palace

The screen remained still for ten seconds before slowly fading away.

The next moment, a new system notification appeared.

Congratulations, you have unlocked [Season Mission: Prove Yourself].

You can view it under Season Missions.

Two more pale blue system panels appeared.

Gun Modification Bench unlocked. You can now unlock the first attachment slot for your Martial Soul.

Soul Ring Age Enhancement Function unlocked. For details, go to Gun Modification Bench—Enhance Martial Soul Age.