Holy Wings

"How come? That fifty-thousand-year-old Holy Golden Beetle still isn't dead?"

Hearing Hu Liena say this, Qian Yu was genuinely surprised.

Two whole days had passed. Even if the Soul Beast hadn't died, it should've recovered enough strength to escape by now.

"While you were absorbing your Soul Ring, that fellow did recover some strength. But every time he recovered a little, I struck him again, keeping him gravely wounded without letting him die."

Seeing Qian Yu once again look astonished and surprised, Hu Liena felt pleased with herself all over again.

In just a few days, she'd seen this cocky brat look surprised twice. That had never happened before.

How could she not feel smug?

"Thanks!"

"A fifty-thousand-year Second Soul Ring is worth trying, too."

Qian Yu spoke with confidence shining in his eyes.

His many advantages at this stage far surpassed Huo Yuhao's even after ten thousand years. He was fully confident he could absorb a fifty-thousand-year Second Soul Ring.

Qian Yu then went over to the fifty-thousand-year-old Holy Golden Beetle, killed it, and began absorbing its Soul Ring.

Absorbing Soul Rings was like anything else: the first time was unfamiliar, but by the second, you knew the ropes.

He'd gotten quite practiced at it.

The process was indeed painful, but with divine power protecting him and a full set of God-Level Spirit Bones backing him up, he was guaranteed not to fall apart. It would only hurt a little. What couldn't he endure?

Pain, torment, agony.

This time, it lasted a full three days and three nights.

Only then did he successfully absorb his Second Soul Ring.

The moment Qian Yu opened his eyes, his entire being surged with vitality and vigor.

A razor-sharp aura shot straight into the sky.

"Still couldn't get a rule-based Soul Skill?"

After reining in his sharp aura, Qian Yu was still somewhat disappointed.

He had done some research into absorbing Soul Rings.

The Soul Skill one obtained could be influenced by the subconscious.

Take two people with the same Martial Soul. One was a civilian Soul Master with no idea what skill absorbing a certain Soul Ring would give him. The other had read about it and knew that someone before him had obtained the Soul Skill he wanted from that very Soul Ring.

The two would end up with completely different Soul Skills.

The latter would be influenced by his subconscious and, with a precedent to follow, would unconsciously gravitate in that direction.

The most representative example was the White Tiger branch of the Star Luo Imperial Family.

Why could they consistently obtain the Soul Skills they wanted from the Soul Rings they'd passed down through the generations?

It wasn't just because of the match between the Soul Beasts and their Martial Soul. First impressions and psychological suggestion played a part, too.

Of course, psychological suggestion could only have some influence. It couldn't change the underlying rules.

For example, if someone with a White Tiger Martial Soul absorbed a Mandala Snake Soul Ring, no amount of psychological suggestion would let him obtain the Entanglement Skill.

It still depended on how well the Martial Soul matched the hunted Soul Beast.

So, while absorbing the Soul Ring, he kept giving himself psychological suggestions, hoping to obtain a rule-based Soul Skill.

Unfortunately, it hadn't worked.

Both of the Soul Skills he obtained were amplification-type skills.

"This is..."

Just as Qian Yu was about to check his Innate Soul Power, he sensed something unusual about his body.

His face lit up with delight.

With a thought, he stopped suppressing the strange sensation. The next moment, a pair of golden wings, thin as cicada wings, appeared behind him.

"An External Soul Bone!"

At the sight, both Qian Yu and Hu Liena were stunned.

Hu Liena knew just how precious these things were because she had an External Soul Bone herself.

In a sense, External Soul Bones were every bit as rare as Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones.

After all, they could grow.

"What kind of luck does this guy have?"

"One Soul Beast, two Spirit Bones!"

Hu Liena clicked her tongue in amazement.

She said two Spirit Bones because while Qian Yu had been absorbing his Soul Ring, she had found a fifty-thousand-year-old Head Soul Bone on the Holy Golden Beetle.

And now, another Spirit Bone had appeared.

An External Soul Bone, no less!

"External Soul Bone: Holy Wings!"

He slowly closed his eyes and sensed the abilities of the External Soul Bone.

As information appeared in his mind, the delight on Qian Yu's face grew more and more intense.

The Holy Wings matched his Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul perfectly, with a hundred percent compatibility. Once absorbed, they merged directly with his original six wings, without adding any extra strain on his body. As he advanced, they could absorb Soul Ring Soul Power in tandem to strengthen the Soul Bone.

Their core attribute was a permanent hundred-percent boost to all attributes, including but not limited to speed, strength, defense, bodily resilience, physical toughness, and resistance to abnormal states.

The Soul Bone's trait was elemental immunity. It directly nullified fifty percent of any elemental attack. Against attacks with holy or light attributes, elemental immunity could reach seventy percent. It could even absorb the enemy's power to replenish his own.

The Soul Bone Skill of the Holy Wings was called Resonance. It was an auxiliary cultivation skill that increased the owner's affinity with elemental Soul Power and accelerated cultivation. It kept him in the best possible Mimicry Cultivation Environment at all times. It also had energy-storage capabilities—in other words, it was like carrying a backup power source around with him.

This haul had exceeded his expectations.

Qian Yu then controlled his thoughts and tried to draw the Holy Wings back into his body.

Until they were fully integrated, he shouldn't show them to outsiders.

He wasn't very practiced yet, so operating them really wasn't easy.

While doing this, Qian Yu also kept a discreet eye on Hu Liena.

If she showed even the slightest greed, he'd run at once.

Fortunately, Hu Liena had no such thoughts.

"Let's test your Soul Power!"

Seeing that Qian Yu had successfully learned how to summon and retract his External Soul Bone, Hu Liena took out a crystal ball and handed it to him.

She was curious about how strong Qian Yu's Soul Power had become.

Qian Yu was just as curious.

As soon as he placed his palm on the crystal ball, he felt a suction force. The next moment, the ball blazed with light.

"Soul Power... Level 30!"

The result left Hu Liena dumbfounded.

He'd only obtained two Soul Rings, yet his Soul Power had already reached Level 30.

He'd hunted a fifty-thousand-year-old Soul Beast for his Second Soul Ring. What would his Third Soul Ring be like?

Seventy thousand years? Eighty thousand? Maybe even older.

Would she really be able to kill one?

"I won't get a Soul Ring just yet. I need to spend some time getting used to everything. Once I've stabilized, I'll come back for one."

Of course, Qian Yu was just making an excuse.

If he could obtain his Third Soul Ring right away, why keep waiting?

As for getting used to his Soul Skills and stabilizing his cultivation, he could still do that after obtaining his Third Soul Ring.

Ultimately, they didn't have the ability to hunt a Soul Ring of even greater age.

They'd best wait until Hu Liena had recovered from her injuries and they'd found Yan and Xie Yue.

With their current strength, continuing to hunt Soul Beasts would be far too difficult.

"All right!"

Hearing Qian Yu say this, Hu Liena finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The instant she let that breath out, she completely collapsed and fainted on the spot.

She'd been wound tight for far too long, and she was injured, too.