Two God-Gifted Soul Rings

"From now on, if you ever run into trouble, come find your big sister."

Luo Yun finally reacted. The corner of his mouth twitched—not quite in disdain, more like helplessness.

"Trouble?" His voice was soft, but carried a young man's pride. "I'm the son of King Frost Extreme. What trouble could I possibly have?"

Qian Renxue was at a loss for words.

She looked at him for two seconds, then suddenly laughed.

She had genuinely been amused.

She no longer looked like the haughty young master of Spirit Hall, but like a young woman who had been charmed by a child.

She couldn't come up with a retort.

Because she knew that the son of King Frost Extreme really did have the confidence to say that.

Unless the elders of the Worship Hall stepped in, they truly couldn't threaten King Frost Extreme.

A monster who had fought his way through a hundred battles in Slaughter City at just six years old; a genius with Twin Martial Souls and a divine inheritance; a young lord whose father was a level-ninety-five Super Douluo.

He truly didn't need anyone's help.

But she had still said those words.

They weren't empty courtesies. She meant them.

The white light grew brighter and brighter, swallowing their figures.

Luo Yun felt Qian Renxue shift slightly. Then a warm hand touched his cheek, its fingertips gliding over it as lightly as a dragonfly skimming the water—so lightly he could barely feel it.

He wanted to turn and look at her, but the white light was too dazzling. He couldn't see a thing.

The next instant, Luo Yun's soul seemed to enter a wondrous space.

"So cold. Is this the domain formed from killing intent?"

"Divine Slaughter's Domain!"

Luo Yun was shaken, but he couldn't see what surrounded him.

After a long while.

Feeling the sunlight sting his eyes, Luo Yun slowly opened them.

"This..."

An endless blue sky and white clouds greeted him.

A forest stretched as far as the eye could see.

Luo Yun dropped from the sky. At the last moment, his Destruction Wings spread open, slowing his fall.

His feet touched down. He bent his knees slightly, landed steadily, and looked around.

The trees were unfamiliar, the wind was unfamiliar, even the scents were unfamiliar. This was neither Slaughter City nor Frost Ridge City.

He stood in place, silent for a moment.

"Qian Renxue."

He murmured the name.

Spirit Hall, the Qian Family, Qian Daoliu, invincible beneath the heavens.

The information circled through his mind, piecing together a complete picture.

That Heaven Dou Crown Prince who called himself "Xue Qinghe," that "Angel King" who had worn an angelic halo in Slaughter City—she was actually a spy Spirit Hall had planted in the Heaven Dou Empire.

A girl in her teens had disguised herself as the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire and infiltrated the royal household of an enemy nation.

Such patience, such restraint, such acting.

Luo Yun had to admit he was a little impressed.

But it had nothing to do with him.

He was the son of King Frost Extreme, stationed in the Northern Territory. He didn't involve himself in the empire's internal struggles.

Who ruled the Heaven Dou Empire, what Spirit Hall wanted to do—it had nothing to do with him.

He was here to complete his God Trials, not to play the hero and save the nation.

Luo Yun shook his head and put the matter aside.

He spread his Destruction Wings. Purple-black lightning danced along their tips as he rose into the sky and flew toward the northern horizon.

In the forest, Qian Renxue stood atop the canopy of a giant tree, looking up at the dark figure growing smaller in the sky.

Her fingers curled slightly.

That touch just now might have been instinct.

Or perhaps it had been farewell.

Qian Renxue closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pushed down the feelings she shouldn't have had.

When she opened her eyes, the usual composure and calm had returned to her azure gaze.

"Better to win him over than make an enemy of him."

Then she leaped down from the treetop and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

High in the sky, Luo Yun flew at an unhurried pace.

The wind roared past him, making his robes snap and flutter.

Frost Ridge City lay to the north. It would take about half a month to fly there from here.

There was no need to hurry. He had done everything he needed to do: the Third Trial was complete, the God-Gifted Soul Rings were in hand, and his Soul Power had increased. Now was the perfect time to return and report to his father.

Two voices rang out in his mind at once.

One was low and cold: "Destruction Nine Trials, Third Trial complete. Reward: one God-Gifted Soul Ring, Soul Power increased by three levels."

The other was warm and clear: "Life Nine Trials, Third Trial complete. Reward: one God-Gifted Soul Ring, Soul Power increased by three levels."

Luo Yun's lips curved slightly.

As the two voices faded, a warm energy surged through him. It felt as if something were cleansing his meridians and expanding his capacity for Soul Power.

He knew the sensation well: a breakthrough.

Level twenty-seven, level twenty-eight, level twenty-nine... level thirty. Level thirty-one. Level thirty-two. Level thirty-three.

A six-level leap, taking him straight from level twenty-seven to level thirty-three.

Luo Yun felt the surging Soul Power inside him and clenched his fist. Tiny streaks of purple-black lightning danced at his fingertips.

It still wasn't enough. He had two more God-Gifted Soul Rings to absorb.

He found a secluded mountain valley, landed on a massive boulder, and sat cross-legged.

He summoned the God-Gifted Soul Rings from his Sea of Consciousness to absorb them.

Luo Yun first summoned the Sun Corona Sword. The golden-green sword shimmered with a gentle light beneath the sun. He took a deep breath and guided the first God-Gifted Soul Ring toward its blade.

A God-Gifted Soul Ring had no fixed age. How many years it could reach depended entirely on the limits of one's body.

Luo Yun closed his eyes and slowly drew the Soul Ring's energy into himself.

Half an hour later, Luo Yun opened his eyes.

A pitch-black Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet and slowly revolved around him.

A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. Its black light stood out beneath the sun, shining alongside the Sun Corona Sword's golden-green glow.

Luo Yun felt his Soul Power surge again.

Level thirty-four, level thirty-five, level thirty-six.

The three-level increase, together with the Soul Ring's own energy, let his Soul Power break through repeatedly in a short time.

Luo Yun gripped the Sun Corona Sword and sensed the information conveyed by his Third Soul Ring.

An image, a feeling, a name: Sun Flare Cross Slash.

He raised his sword and casually swung it toward a distant cliff face.

A mass of golden flame surged from the blade, gathered in midair into a gigantic cross, and hurtled toward the cliff at astonishing speed.

Boom!

A huge cross-shaped hollow exploded in the cliff face. Flames burned inside it, lingering for a long time.

Loose stones rolled down the mountainside and hit the ground with dull thuds.

Luo Yun looked at the hollow and nodded in satisfaction.

A ranged attack—just what he needed to make up for the Sun Corona Sword's lack of offensive moves.

He put away the Sun Corona Sword and summoned the Moon Eclipse Sword.

The purple-black sword appeared in the air. Lightning danced along its blade with a faint crackling sound.

Luo Yun guided the second God-Gifted Soul Ring toward the blade. This time, the energy poured in far more violently than it had with the Sun Corona Sword.

The power of destruction devoured the God-Gifted Soul Ring's energy.

Another half hour passed.

A pitch-black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring rose from beneath Luo Yun's feet and slowly revolved around him.