The Slowly Rising New Star

Only Xue Mingqing himself knew that his battle against the Ice Wind Horse had not been as effortless as it appeared on the surface.

Yes, it was true that he possessed the combat power to solo an Ice Wind Horse, but—

If he were to be struck even once by the Ice Wind Horse's attacks while in his Snow Sword form, he would be finished.

The fight between him and the Ice Wind Horse was a high-stakes, adrenaline-fueled game of mutual destruction; whoever landed their attack first would be the winner.

The only reason Xue Mingqing won was simple: pure luck.

Sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, Xue Mingqing was not mocking the Ice Wind Horse while he recovered his soul power; rather, he was truly drained.

His soul power was completely tapped out.

Hurricane Sword Art looks cool, right?

Sword Chant is flashy, isn't it?

High damage, right?

Well, here is the problem: it's a damn mana hog!

At level 14, Xue Mingqing could only unleash three strikes of the Hurricane Sword at full power. Now that he was level 20, he could still only manage three strikes.

Furthermore, because he had improvised a brand-new third sword technique, his body, meridians, and force-exertion techniques were all being used for the first time, which had directly squeezed out the last of his remaining soul power.

This was why, after only two strikes, Xue Mingqing had become the Prince of Lanling.

It could be said that if Xue Mingqing's second strike had missed, he would have had no choice but to beg his dear mother, Xue Ningxian, for rescue.

However.

All in all, Xue Mingqing had successfully pulled off his act, leaving both Xue Ningxian and Zhang Lexuan stunned!

Exhaling a long, turbid breath, Xue Mingqing stood up. Maintaining a calm expression, he walked toward the corpse of the Ice Wind Horse to absorb its soul ring.

Just as he prepared to sit cross-legged and begin the absorption, he seemed to think of something. A playful smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he looked at Xue Ningxian.

"Mother, this time, don't you want to test whether my physique is suitable?"

Hearing this, Xue Ningxian, who had been watching with her arms crossed, froze. Once she realized what he meant, she gave a faint smile, her pink lips curling into a cold expression.

"Hmm... that's right. It is time to test your physical strength. So then..."

She raised her hand, activating the first soul skill of her Blizzard martial soul, and the Snow Sword manifested in her grip.

"Why don't you spar with your mother? That should be a good way to test your foundation, don't you think?"

As she spoke, three soul rings rose beneath Xue Ningxian's feet to show she was serious.

Seeing this, Xue Mingqing's expression tightened. He coughed and said with a straight face, "No, I, Xue Mingqing, have always respected the elderly and cherished the young; I don't hit women. You are my mother and a woman, so I won't fight you."

"Heh..."

With a look of disdain, Xue Ningxian pouted and glanced at Zhang Lexuan.

"See that? If he gets cocky again next time, just beat him up."

"Pfft..."

Covering her mouth with a light laugh, Zhang Lexuan nodded with a smile.

"I know..."

Watching the two women 'conspire' in public, Xue Mingqing's eyelid twitched. He was touched that they had given him a chance to show off, but he wasn't very happy that they were immediately turning around to slap his face.

Sighing, Xue Mingqing glanced at the two women. What else could he say? He couldn't say anything at all...

Shaking his head, Xue Mingqing sat cross-legged and began to absorb the five-thousand-year soul ring of the Ice Wind Horse...

As the soul ring descended over his head, the soul power accumulated by the Ice Wind Horse over five thousand years surged toward Xue Mingqing's body from all directions, attempting to crush him.

However.

Feeling the pressure transmitted by the soul ring, Xue Mingqing's brow arched.

Hiss...

This pressure...

This pressure seems...

Too weak, right?

At this very moment, the pressure the soul ring was exerting on Xue Mingqing was not even as strong as the soul pressure Mu En released during his usual hellish training.

It didn't even amount to half of what Mu En could unleash.

Feeling the pressure around his body, Xue Mingqing opened his eyes and looked at the soul ring around him with a strange expression.

Tsk... it's deep purple, not yellow, so why is this soul pressure as weak and incompetent as a loli?

In fact, if one were to judge based on Xue Mingqing's actual physical strength, he could likely absorb a soul ring of over eight thousand years without much trouble.

After all, the hellish training under Mu En, the rare treasures, and the nightly medicinal baths over the past six months were no joke.

All that training and nutrition had been completely absorbed by Xue Mingqing, becoming his foundation.

If a mere five-thousand-year spirit ring were enough to pressure him now, then the past six months under Mu En would have been a complete waste, and all those precious treasures he consumed might as well have been fed to the dogs.

He cast a faint glance at the spirit ring; though he couldn't quite figure it out...

But—

Forget it. Either way, it wasn't a bad thing for him, and he was happy to take it easy.

Closing his eyes, Xue Mingqing stopped worrying. Ignoring the laughable pressure of the spirit ring, he began to absorb it with all his might...

As the spirit ring was absorbed, Xue Mingqing's hair underwent another change.

It shifted bit by bit from its original black-gray to a pure gray.

Off to the side, Zhang Lexuan, seeing this for the first time, was quite curious. She stared fixedly at Xue Mingqing's hair, witnessing his transformation.

At this moment, every strand of Xue Mingqing's black-gray hair was gradually turning gray.

His skin, already fair and delicate, was tempered by the energy of the spirit ring, becoming even whiter and purer than the fine snow of the Far North.

If Xue Mingqing could see his own changes in real-time, he would surely exclaim:

All those medical beauty treatments are just for fooling children; if you really want to talk about beauty, you have to look at the spirit ring system of the Douluo Continent!

Half an hour later.

Having finished absorbing the energy within the spirit ring, Xue Mingqing opened his eyes, a flash of cold light that could not be hidden flickering through his pupils...

He stood up and clenched his fists, feeling as though he were now strong enough to kill a bull with a single punch!

"How is it? How much did your spirit power increase, and what is your spirit skill?"

Xue Ningxian's voice came from the side. Xue Mingqing turned his head to look at her, her arms crossed over her ample chest, her posture exquisite and cold.

With a light chuckle, he curled his lips and spoke of his improvements.

"My spirit power increased by three levels; I am currently at level 23. My second spirit skill seems to have two effects."

"One is passive: it increases my proficiency in controlling ice and wind elements. The other is an active skill called Myriad Change Two Absolutes."

"It increases my speed by 200% and provides an additional 20% boost to ice and wind attribute damage."

As for why he only gained three levels after absorbing a five-thousand-year spirit ring, it was because Xue Mingqing was intentionally compressing his spirit power to achieve a level of density that would make him invincible among his peers and capable of fighting those at higher levels.

Furthermore, the effects of the spirit skills altered by the Snow Transforms Into All Things martial soul transformation still varied.

For instance, in the Snow Bow form, it allowed for the instant firing of three explosive Snow Arrows.

The Snow Shield form increased defense attributes by 200% and allowed for the blocking of one frontal attack.

Of course, considering Zhang Lexuan was present, Xue Mingqing did not mention these latter effects.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Zhang Lexuan, but rather that Xue Mingqing didn't want to expose his trump cards just yet.

After all, even if it was just for the sake of showing off, it was always good to keep an ace up one's sleeve, wasn't it?

After hearing Xue Mingqing's description, Xue Ningxian raised an eyebrow but didn't ask any further questions.

She glanced at Zhang Lexuan beside her and spoke with a pointed tone.

"The Ice and Snow Fireworks Festival is held once a year in Blizzard City. If you're interested, you could take her for a walk in a scenic spot tonight..."