Rongrong playfully stuck out her tongue, then hurried off.
Sword Douluo's fierce attitude toward the Evil Soul Master vanished, and he spoke gently instead. "Young man, you should go too. I'll stand guard for you."
"Certainly. Thank you, Senior." Chu Qing bowed to the two of them, then turned and walked toward the Flame Sovereign Mountain Lord, which was barely clinging to life.
"Old Chen, that young man really is a fine prospect," Bone Douluo said, watching Chu Qing's retreating figure.
"He certainly is. He's strong, steadfast, and fearless in the face of danger. Most importantly, he has a kind heart. Our little princess barely knows him, yet he was willing to risk his life to save her. He's a once-in-a-generation talent." Sword Douluo Chen Xin straightened his rumpled clothes, admiration plain in his eyes.
"And the most important thing is, the boy looks to be under ten, yet he already has twenty levels of Soul Power. Do you know what that means?" Bone Douluo's eyes gleamed.
"Innate Full Soul Power? And he's a Power Attack System Soul Master!" Sword Douluo's eyes lit up. He exchanged a glance with Bone Douluo, and the two silently reached an understanding.
Chu Qing paid no attention to their conversation, focusing instead on absorbing the purple Soul Ring before him. Black flames rose from his palm once more, quickly enveloping the purple ring. A vast stream of Soul Power immediately surged into Chu Qing's body.
Sword Douluo frowned as he watched the boy absorbing the Soul Ring. "The boy's quite strong, but that's still a four-thousand-year Soul Beast. It won't be easy to absorb."
After all, a few hundred years was already considered a long time for an ordinary person's Second Soul Ring. Many ordinary people would explode and die from being unable to withstand the Soul Power if they tried to absorb a Soul Ring that was even a thousand years old. And this was a four-thousand-year Flame Sovereign Mountain Lord, whose fire-type Soul Power was exceptionally fierce. Things could easily go wrong.
"No, I think the boy will be fine." Bone Douluo pointed at the young man. His face was calm; though Chu Qing's eyes were closed, he showed no sign of pain. His Soul Power was violent, but within the black flames it was as calm as a lake, steadily absorbed by Chu Qing.
Bone Douluo stroked his beard and smiled. "Old Sword, seems your worries were unnecessary."
Indeed, the Void Devouring Flame's ability to consume made absorbing any kind of energy exceptionally easy. That was Chu Qing's greatest trump card—and why he'd dared to hunt a four-thousand-year Soul Beast.
The girl beside them had already finished absorbing her Soul Ring, and a Yellow Soul Ring now circled her.
"Grandpa Sword! Grandpa Bone! I did it! The Azure Flowing Light Snake I absorbed can increase the healing boost from my Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda by thirty percent!" Ning Rongrong exclaimed happily, bouncing over to the two Douluo.
But the two Douluo gestured for her to be quiet, pointing at Chu Qing. The girl immediately stopped talking.
Seated cross-legged beside the Soul Ring, Chu Qing had reached the most critical moment. Soon, he absorbed the Soul Ring completely, and the Flame Sovereign Mountain Lord's corpse vanished as the Void Devouring Flame refined it!
Chu Qing slowly opened his eyes, a smile spreading across his face.
"Success!"
He carefully sensed his Soul Power. It had more than doubled, reaching level twenty-five! He'd gained five whole levels at once!
No wonder it was a four-thousand-year Soul Beast—the Flame Sovereign Mountain Lord!
"Young man, from the look on your face, I take it you succeeded? What does your Soul Skill do?" Sword Douluo asked at the opportune moment.
Ning Rongrong stared at him with wide, curious eyes.
"Thank you for asking, Senior. I did get a pretty good Soul Skill this time." Chu Qing grinned, brimming with the heady confidence of a young man who'd just made good.
He raised his hand and circulated his Soul Power. Black flames surged up, purer and more refined than before.
Second Soul Skill! Flame Split Wave! A sheet of flame burst out from around Chu Qing, blasting toward the center of the lake.
A momentary void was blasted open in the middle of the lake, and the water within it instantly evaporated! Even the surrounding water vanished as soon as it touched the flames, leaving behind a deep, drained pit!
Before, when Chu Qing released a Soul Skill, he'd sent out one clump of flame after another. This time, Flame Split Wave had gained an enormous boost in power, speed, and range!
And that wasn't all. Chu Qing checked his physical condition and realized his body's strength had risen by more than one level. Though he wasn't even ten, his physical strength had reached an astonishing level.
Chu Qing walked over to the boulder where the Azure Flowing Light Snake had been coiled. He gathered his strength, held his breath, and effortlessly lifted the thousand-jin boulder with one hand!
Ning Rongrong watched, her eyes sparkling with wonder, stars filling them. Her father had told her since she was little that, by family tradition, she could only marry a battle Soul Master...
She'd never paid much attention to it before, but now she felt differently. An unfamiliar emotion stirred in her eyes.
But she was still too young to understand what it was. She merely planted a few seeds deep in her heart.
The two Douluo paid no attention to Rongrong's girlish feelings. They watched the young man before them, utterly absorbed.
"The young will surpass us. The young will surpass us!" Sword Douluo murmured.
"Indeed. We're old now; the world will belong to the young from here on out! How many years has it been since we've seen a genius like this? No, he can't even be called a genius. He's a monster!"
Chu Qing didn't notice the others' reactions. He simply continued releasing his Soul Power, delighting in the fullness of his strength.
"Little Qing, that Soul Skill of yours is incredibly powerful. I imagine it uses up a lot of Soul Power, doesn't it?" Sword Douluo asked.
After all, everything had its pros and cons. Great power meant a heavy drain on Soul Power.
"Indeed. It does use up quite a lot."
"Phew, good. At least that's normal." The two Douluo wiped at their brows, though there was no sweat there, and breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief.
"I can only use it a little over twenty times in a row. That's not very many." Chu Qing gave an ingenuous grin.
"Wh—how many?" The two could hardly believe their ears. A Soul Skill that powerful could be used that many times in a row? Was he even human?
"Still, it seems there's more to it." Chu Qing's thoughts stirred. A crimson domain, fifty meters across, spread out around him, its entire area blazing with raging flames. A Ten-Year Soul Beast that accidentally wandered into the domain was instantly covered in black fire. It beat at itself frantically, but no matter what it did, it couldn't extinguish the flames. Before long, it was dead.
Chu Qing's experiments showed that, at his current level, he could maintain the domain for about thirty seconds. Anyone caught within it, whether person or Soul Beast, would have their attack power reduced by thirty percent and be targeted by countless wisps of Void Devouring Flame, inflicting continuous burn damage. The damage wasn't as great as the main flame's, but it clung like a bone-deep parasite and was difficult to extinguish.
Chu Qing scratched his head bashfully and grinned at the two Douluo. "The domain doesn't last very long."