Only Xue Mingqing himself knew that his battle against the Ice Wind Horse had not been as easy as it appeared on the surface.
It was true that he had the combat power to kill an Ice Wind Horse alone, but—
If he was hit by even one of the Ice Wind Horse's attacks, he would be finished even in Snow Sword form.
His battle with the Ice Wind Horse had been an extreme, passionate exchange of instant kills. Whoever landed the first hit would win.
The reason Xue Mingqing had won was nothing more than luck.
Sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, Xue Mingqing was not mocking the Ice Wind Horse as he recovered his Soul Power. Rather—
The Soul Power in his body was truly depleted again.
The Hurricane Sword Art was cool, right?
Sword Chant was awesome, right?
The damage was high, right?
But here was the problem: it consumed way too much mana!
At level fourteen, Xue Mingqing could unleash the Hurricane Sword Art only three times with all his strength. Now that he was level twenty, he could still only use it three times.
Moreover, because he had temporarily used an entirely new third sword art, his body, meridians, and force-exertion techniques were all employing it for the first time, directly squeezing dry what little Soul Power Xue Mingqing had left.
That was why Xue Mingqing had become Prince of Lanling after using only two swords.
It could be said that if Xue Mingqing's second sword had missed, he would have had no choice but to ask his dear mom, Xue Ningxian, for help.
However.
Overall, Xue Mingqing had successfully shown off this time, leaving Xue Ningxian and Zhang Lexuan completely stunned!
After slowly exhaling a breath of stale air, Xue Mingqing stood up. Maintaining a calm expression, he walked toward the Ice Wind Horse's corpse and prepared to absorb its soul ring.
Just as he was about to sit cross-legged and begin absorbing it, he seemed to think of something. A playful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he looked at Xue Ningxian.
"Mother, wouldn't you like to test whether my physique is suitable this time?"
Hearing this, Xue Ningxian, who had been watching with her arms crossed, froze for a moment. Once she understood, she smiled sweetly, a hint of coldness curling her pink lips.
"Mm... Yes, I suppose we should test your physical strength. In that case..."
She raised her hand. Her Blizzard martial soul's first soul skill activated, and Snow Sword appeared in her grasp.
"How about sparring with your mother? We can use that to test your foundation."
As she spoke, three soul rings rose beneath Xue Ningxian's feet, showing how serious she was.
Seeing this, Xue Mingqing's expression turned solemn. He coughed twice and said seriously,
"No. I, Xue Mingqing, have always respected the elderly and cherished the young, and I don't hit women. You're both my mother and a woman, so I won't fight you."
"Heh..."
Xue Ningxian let out a scornful chuckle and pursed her lips. She looked toward Zhang Lexuan.
"See that? If he shows off again next time, just beat him up."
"Pfft..."
Covering her lips as she giggled, Zhang Lexuan nodded with a smile.
"Got it..."
Watching the two women "plot" against him in public, Xue Mingqing's mouth twitched. He was touched that they had given him the chance to show off, but he was not very happy about them immediately slapping him in the face.
Xue Mingqing sighed and glanced at the two women. What else could he say? He could say absolutely nothing...
Shaking his head, Xue Mingqing sat down cross-legged and began absorbing the five-thousand-year-old Ice Wind Horse soul ring...
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, seemingly intent on crushing him.
However.
When he felt the pressure transmitted from the soul ring, Xue Mingqing's brows rose.
Hiss...
This pressure...
This pressure seemed...
Too weak, wasn't it?
At that moment, the pressure the soul ring transmitted onto Xue Mingqing was not even as strong as the soul pressure Mu En released during his usual hellish training.
It was not even half as strong as the soul pressure Mu En released.
Feeling the pressure around his body, Xue Mingqing opened his eyes and gave the soul ring around him a strange look.
Tsk... It was dark purple, not yellow, so why was its soul pressure as feeble and useless as a little girl?
In fact, judging by Xue Mingqing's physical strength, he probably would not have much trouble absorbing a soul ring of more than eight thousand years.
After all, Mu En's hellish training over the past six months, the heavenly treasures, and the nightly medicinal baths had not been for show.
All that training and nourishment had been completely absorbed by Xue Mingqing and turned into nourishment for him.
If a mere five-thousand-year soul ring could make him feel pressured now, then Mu En's efforts over the past six months would have been for nothing, and all those heavenly treasures he had eaten might as well have been fed to a dog.
Xue Mingqing cast a casual glance at the soul ring. Although he could not understand it...
But—
Forget it. In any case, it was not a bad thing for him. He was happy to have it easy.
Closing his eyes, Xue Mingqing stopped worrying about it. Ignoring the soul ring's laughable pressure, he began absorbing it with all his strength...
As he absorbed the soul ring, Xue Mingqing's hair began changing once again.
It slowly transformed from its original black and gray into gray.
Beside him, Zhang Lexuan, who was seeing this for the first time, was very curious. She stared unblinkingly at Xue Mingqing's hair, witnessing his transformation.
At that moment, the black and gray strands covering Xue Mingqing's head gradually turned gray one by one.
His already fair and delicate skin became even whiter and purer than the fine snow of the Extreme North under the tempering of the soul ring's energy.
If Xue Mingqing could see his own transformation in real time, he would certainly have sighed and said,
"Forget medicine and beauty treatments—they're all just fooling children. If you really want to talk about beauty, you have to look at Douluo Continent's soul-ring system!"
Half an hour later.
After absorbing the energy within the soul ring, Xue Mingqing opened his eyes. A chilling gleam that he could not conceal flashed through them...
He stood up and clenched his fists, feeling that he was now strong enough to punch a cow to death!
"How much did your Soul Power increase, and what is your soul skill?"
Xue Ningxian's voice came from the side. Xue Mingqing turned his head and looked at her as she held her arms across her ample chest, her bearing beautiful and aloof.
He chuckled and curled his lips, then stated the improvements he had gained.
"My Soul Power increased by three levels. I'm currently level twenty-three. My second soul skill should have two effects."
"One is passive: it increases my proficiency in controlling ice and wind elements. The other is an actively triggered skill, Myriad Change Two Absolutes."
"It increases my speed by 200%, as well as granting an additional 20% increase to my ice and wind elemental damage."
As for why absorbing a five-thousand-year soul ring had resulted in an increase of only three levels—
That was because Xue Mingqing had deliberately compressed his Soul Power, seeking to achieve a profound foundation that would make him invincible among those of the same level and still let him fight those above his level.
As for the changes to the soul skill effects after Snow Transforms Into All Things transformed his martial soul form, they were still different for each form.
For example, the Snow Bow form instantly fired three Snow Arrows that exploded.
The Snow Shield increased his defensive attributes by 200% and blocked one frontal attack.
Of course, because Zhang Lexuan was present, Xue Mingqing did not mention any of the effects above.
It was not that he distrusted Zhang Lexuan. Rather, Xue Mingqing did not currently want to reveal his trump cards.
After all, even if it was just for showing off, it was still good to keep something in reserve, wasn't it?
After hearing Xue Mingqing's description, Xue Ningxian raised her brows but did not ask anything further.
She glanced at Zhang Lexuan beside her and spoke with pointed meaning.
"Recently, Blizzard City has been holding its annual Ice and Snow Fireworks Festival. If you're interested, you can take her somewhere scenic for a stroll tonight..."
Before you continue