Xue Qinghe, King Frost Extreme, a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring?

After a few breaths, he pointed toward the right: "Over there... it feels like something is summoning my martial soul."

Luo Shang looked in the direction of his finger, where a dense thicket of bushes stood, with the faint sound of flowing water drifting from further beyond.

"A martial soul resonance?"

Luo Yun nodded, an indescribable light flickering in his eyes.

Luo Shang pondered for a moment, released his grip on the sword hilt, and began walking toward that direction: "Let's go, let's take a look."

The two pushed through the bushes and walked about two hundred paces in the direction of the water, when the view suddenly opened up.

A clear, small river wound its way through the forest; the water was shallow, revealing the shimmering pebbles at the bottom.

Just as Luo Yun was about to step forward, Luo Shang suddenly reached out to stop him.

"Shh."

His gaze was locked onto a patch of grass by the riverbank.

Luo Yun followed his line of sight.

It was a deer.

No, not an ordinary deer.

The deer was snow-white, without a single stray hair, its form elegant and slender, its four legs as delicate as if it had stepped out of a painting.

Its antlers, in particular, were crystal clear, emitting a faint golden glow.

Several emerald-green leaves hung from the antlers, each leaf radiating a gentle, verdant light.

The deer was lowering its head to drink, its movements calm and graceful, exuding an indescribable aura of sanctity that made even the surrounding grass and trees appear exceptionally lush.

Luo Yun stared, dumbfounded.

The phantom of the Sun Corona Sword behind him emerged uncontrollably, its golden-green light interweaving with the radiance of the deer as if in response.

"Holy Leaf Spirit Deer." Luo Shang's voice was extremely low, yet his tone carried clear astonishment.

Luo Yun snapped out of his trance and whispered, "What kind of deer?"

"A Holy Leaf Spirit Deer, an extremely rare species of spirit beast." Luo Shang's gaze remained locked on the white deer. "The holy light and life aura it possesses are a perfect match for your Sun Corona Sword. This is my first time seeing one in person; I have only ever read about them in ancient texts."

Luo Yun's eyes lit up: "Then can it serve as my spirit ring?"

"It's at the thousand-year level, likely between fifteen hundred and two thousand years of cultivation." Luo Shang estimated, "It fits your current physical capacity perfectly."

Father and son exchanged a glance, preparing to act.

Suddenly, Luo Shang frowned, his expression turning cold in an instant.

"Someone is here."

No sooner had he spoken than the bushes opposite them were pushed aside, and three figures emerged.

Leading them was a young man of about fifteen or sixteen, dressed in gold-and-white brocade robes, his hair tied up with a jade crown. His features were handsome, and his temperament was as gentle as jade.

His eyes were bright, carrying an innate air of nobility.

Behind him followed two men: one was tall and thin with a cold expression and eyes as sharp as a hawk's; the other was a burly, red-haired man with broad shoulders and a thick waist, clad in golden armor that made him look formidable.

The trio's gaze fell first on the Holy Leaf Spirit Deer by the river, then shifted to Luo Shang and Luo Yun opposite them.

Both sides stared at each other.

The air suddenly went quiet, save for the sound of the babbling river.

The Holy Leaf Spirit Deer seemed to sense something; it raised its head and looked around warily, but did not flee immediately, remaining in place with its ears twitching gently.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

Luo Shang's hand moved away from his sword hilt to his side, but his body remained slightly angled, ready to draw his blade at any moment.

The tall, thin man on the other side also twitched his fingers.

Neither side made the first move, both sizing the other up.

Luo Yun stood behind Luo Shang, poking his head out to look curiously at the three people opposite them.

The standoff lasted for about a minute.

The young man opposite spoke first, his voice gentle and carrying just the right amount of a smile: "Are you two also here for this Holy Leaf Spirit Deer?"

Luo Shang did not answer, merely giving a slight nod.

The young man smiled, his gaze lingering on Luo Shang's attire and bearing before glancing at Luo Yun behind him, as if weighing something.

A moment later, he cupped his hands, his tone neither servile nor overbearing: "I am Xue Qinghe, Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. I have brought men into the Star Dou Great Forest specifically to find a spirit beast with a compatible attribute. This Holy Leaf Spirit Deer happens to be a perfect match."

He paused, his smile deepening slightly: "I wonder if you two might be willing to grant us a convenience?"

Luo Shang's eyes flickered slightly.

Xue Qinghe? Someone from the Heaven Dou royal family?

He certainly knew this name.

The eldest son of Emperor Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire, he had held the title of Crown Prince for many years. His reputation in the outside world was excellent; gentle, refined, and respectful toward the talented, he was the very model of a successor.

Under normal circumstances, Luo Shang would have given him some face.

But not today.

"King Frost Extreme, Luo Shang." Luo Shang's voice was not loud, but it carried immense weight.

Xue Qinghe's smile faltered for a brief moment.

The two men behind him also furrowed their brows.

"King Frost Extreme?" Xue Qinghe repeated, the mirth in his tone fading, replaced by a look of earnest scrutiny. "The guardian of the Northern Frontier, the only peerage king of Heaven Dou... Luo Shang?"

"Indeed."

Xue Qinghe remained silent for a few breaths, his gaze shifting past Luo Shang to the young boy peeking out from behind him.

That child could not have awakened his martial soul long ago; this Holy Leaf Spirit Deer was at least a thousand years old, so how could it possibly have become the child's spirit ring?

Unless...

Xue Qinghe shook his head; such a thought was highly unrealistic.

Even with his own innate full spirit power of level twenty, he would never have dared to absorb a thousand-year spirit ring as his first.

Therefore, there had to be some secret hidden within this.

Luo Shang did not speak again.

But he moved.

A long sword slowly emerged from his palm. The blade was entirely translucent white, as if forged from ten-thousand-year glacial ice. Pale blue patterns flowed along the spine, and the edge was as thin as a cicada's wing, refracting a bone-chilling, icy light.

The moment the long sword appeared, the surrounding temperature plummeted by over a dozen degrees. A thin layer of ice formed across the surface of the river, and the very air seemed on the verge of freezing and shattering.

"Frost Cold Sword!"

Luo Yun's eyes widened.

This was the first time he had ever seen his father's martial soul.

It wasn't that he hadn't seen his father fight before, but in the past, his father had always just swatted him away with a palm; he had never once used his martial soul.

At this moment, the ice-blue long sword hovered beside Luo Shang, and the chill radiating from the blade made Luo Yun shiver uncontrollably.

"So strong!"

Even standing behind his father, that frigid aura rushed toward him, as if it intended to freeze the very marrow in his bones.

Then, the spirit rings appeared.

One after another, they rose from beneath Luo Shang's feet, slowly circling his body.

Yellow. Yellow. Purple. Purple. Black. Black. Black. Black. Red.

Nine spirit rings—two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red—slowly rotated around him.

They radiated a formidable pressure!

Luo Yun's mouth hung open in a perfect circle.

That red one, it was...

"A hundred-thousand-year spirit ring?!" Luo Yun's voice cracked in disbelief.