Late at night, one month later.
Emperor Soul Village, a dilapidated wooden house.
Lin Qing sat cross-legged on the bed, Soul Power surging violently around him.
The Heavenly Eye Martial Soul on his brow emerged on its own. Its vertical pupil opened, emitting a faint silver glow.
The Gold of Life lay beside him, its warm aura of life lingering in the air.
Boom!
A wave of Soul Power spread outward from Lin Qing.
The windows of the ramshackle wooden house buzzed from the vibration.
Level ten!
He had broken through!
Lin Qing let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes, a glint flashing through them.
"Finally, level ten!"
He did not waste any time.
He directly took out the Two-Thousand-Year Illusion Fox Soul Ring from the Relic Space.
The instant the Soul Ring appeared in the room, dazzling purple light illuminated the entire broken wooden house. Its powerful energy fluctuations even slightly warped the air.
Gulp!
Lin Qing swallowed.
It would have been a lie to say he was not nervous.
Two thousand years already far exceeded the theoretical age limit for a first Soul Ring.
A normal soul master's first Soul Ring could only be around three or four hundred years at most.
But he had eaten four pieces of Thousand-Year Whale Rubber. His physical constitution far surpassed that of others at the same level.
He should... be able to withstand it, right?
Just in case, Lin Qing moved the Gold of Life closer to himself.
Its powerful life aura might save his life at a critical moment.
Everything was ready.
His Soul Power extended outward and slowly drew the purple Soul Ring toward him.
Buzz!
The Soul Ring shook violently under the pull.
Then it turned into a streak of light, flew toward Lin Qing, and instantly entered his body!
"Urgh!"
Lin Qing let out a muffled groan.
A violent force exploded inside his body!
His blood vessels swelled, and fine beads of blood seeped from his skin.
His muscles were tearing! His bones were groaning!
But he clenched his teeth and held on desperately.
At the same time.
The life aura emitted by the Gold of Life beside him suddenly intensified. Warm life energy poured into Lin Qing's body, rapidly repairing the blood vessels and muscles torn apart by the violent energy.
Destruction, repair.
Destruction again, repair again.
The cycle repeated over and over.
It continued for half an hour.
Boom!
The final surge of energy from the Thousand-Year Soul Ring was completely absorbed.
Lin Qing slowly opened his eyes.
Purple patterns now ran across the Heavenly Eye on his brow.
His Soul Power Level had soared as well!
Level eleven, level twelve, level thirteen... finally, it stopped at level fifteen!
"Success!"
Feeling the surging power within him, Lin Qing could not help smiling.
Of course, what delighted him most was that the First Soul Skill granted by this Soul Ring was exactly the same as the skill of twelve-year-old Lin Qing!
[First Soul Skill—Illusion]
After activation, it could cast an illusion upon a target while also changing his own appearance and the color of his Soul Rings!
"Change the color of Soul Rings?"
Lin Qing's eyes lit up.
With a thought, the color of the purple Soul Ring beneath his feet began to change.
Yellow, the color of a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
Black, the color of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
Even... red, the color of a 100,000-Year Soul Ring!
"It really works!"
Lin Qing was so excited he nearly jumped up. This ability was far too useful.
From now on, he could make his Soul Rings black or even red whenever he revealed them. Heh, would that not let him imitate Huo Gua's fine virtue of showing off?
"Then what about changing my appearance?"
He activated the Soul Skill, and Er Ni's appearance surfaced in his mind.
The next second, his body's outline began to change—his height, build, face...
In mere seconds, another "Er Ni" appeared in the broken wooden house.
She was identical in every way, even her expression was lifelike.
Creak.
The broken wooden door was suddenly pushed open.
The real Er Ni walked in carrying a bowl of hot soup.
Seeing that "herself" in the room, she froze on the spot.
The bowl in her hand fell to the floor with a clatter, spilling soup everywhere.
"Y-you..."
Er Ni pointed at "herself," her lips trembling as she failed to form a complete sentence.
She thought she had encountered some kind of monster.
Only then did Lin Qing realize what had happened. He hurriedly dispelled his Soul Skill and returned to normal.
"Big Sister Er Ni, it's me."
He scratched his head awkwardly.
"I was testing my Soul Skill just now."
Er Ni stood there in a daze for quite a while before she slowly came back to her senses.
She patted her chest and let out a long breath.
"Phew... so it was Little Qing. Good thing it wasn't some monster..."
"Little Qing, you've become a soul master already?!"
She was happy for Lin Qing.
But her gaze soon dimmed again.
She felt somewhat despondent.
She could not even become a soul master, so she could not help him with anything.
It was an urgent fear that the growing gap between herself and Lin Qing would eventually turn them into strangers.
Lin Qing stepped forward and gently took her hand.
"Big Sister Er Ni, you've already helped me so much. Without you, I might have starved to death long ago."
He paused and looked earnestly into Er Ni's eyes.
"You can still help me with other things, like learning how to manage a shop. I have some money. Once I get established in Suotuo City, I'll open a store and leave it for you to manage."
Upon hearing that, light returned to Er Ni's eyes.
"I'll learn! I'll study hard! I'll help you manage the shop well!"
A smile bloomed across the young girl's face, full of hope and motivation.
As long as she could stay by Little Qing's side, she was willing to do anything!
Early the next morning.
At the entrance to Emperor Soul Village.
Lin Qing carried a simple bundle on his back, ready to leave the small village where he had grown up.
Er Ni stood before him, her eyes red.
"Little Qing, you must take good care of yourself."
Lin Qing reached out and gently wiped away her tears.
"Why are you crying? I'm only going away to study, not heading to war."
As he spoke, he took a small cloth pouch from his clothes. It contained ten Gold Soul Coins.
"Help me give this to Aunt Li. Tell her it's my thanks for all these years, and have her improve your lives a little."
"There's one more thing."
Lin Qing's expression turned serious.
"Big Sister Er Ni, remember this. If one day Er Gouzi brings back a piece of metal he found on the mountain, the kind I showed you, you must hide it well. Do not tell anyone about it."
In the timeline of twelve-year-old Lin Qing, Er Gouzi's family had died because of the Gold of Life.
Even if he was not certain it would happen in this world, he could not let history repeat itself.
Although Er Ni did not understand why, she carefully remembered it.
Lin Qing gave her one final look, then looked at the village where he had grown up.
Then he turned and set foot on the dirt road leading out of the village.
Er Ni stood at the village entrance, watching his back until it disappeared into the distance.
On the carriage heading to Suotuo City.
Lin Qing leaned back inside the carriage with his eyes closed, resting.
Yet his mind was rapidly considering his plans for what came next.
"First, reach level twenty as soon as possible and obtain my second Soul Ring."
"Second, find an opportunity to deal with those bandits and eliminate that hidden danger."
"Third, go to Suotuo City and establish myself."
"Fourth, find a chance to kill that old pervert Priest."
How would he kill Viscount Priest?
A cold curve rose at the corner of Lin Qing's mouth.
Using Illusion, his First Soul Skill, he could change his appearance, put on another face, and approach that perverted priest.
Then he could find an opportunity to kill him in a single blow.
As for Tang Hao and Tang San...
Lin Qing opened his eyes and looked at the scenery rapidly passing outside the window, his gaze profound.
"There's no need to rush. Debts must be settled slowly, and the road must be walked one step at a time."
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