Soul Power Level Forty, Soul Rings... Black! Purple-Black! Black!

Yet Zhu Kai did not dwell on the matter for long.

Though he could not see through the true strength of the youth before him, based on his experience, no matter how gifted the other party was, the age gap was there. At most, he could only be a three-ringed Soul Elder.

He had five Soul Elder-level guards under his command, while he himself was a bona fide five-ringed Soul King. Taking care of this ignorant brat and bringing Third Miss Zhu Zhuqing back with him would be no more than a simple matter.

"Attack together. Take care of this brat, but do not hurt Third Miss."

Zhu Kai casually waved a hand, his tone light, his gaze barely lingering on Yang Jian.

As soon as he spoke, the guards naturally did not dare disobey. Even the guard whose chest Zhu Zhuqing had scratched earlier endured the stabbing pain from his wound, gritted his teeth, and charged at Yang Jian alongside the other four.

A vicious glint flashed through his eyes. He was determined to regain his dignity from Yang Jian. Being injured by Zhu Zhuqing had already been humiliating enough; if he could not even handle this brat, then his future would end as a mere guard.

The five figures shot forward almost simultaneously. With their Ghost Cat Martial Soul Possession active, ghostly shadows swirled around them as they transformed into black arrows streaking toward Yang Jian.

With five Soul Elders rapidly closing in, an ordinary person would likely have been trembling in fear already.

Yet Yang Jian's expression remained calm. He did not meet them in battle immediately. Instead, he slightly turned his head to look at Zhu Zhuqing behind him, his tone as placid as water.

"If you trust me, do not try to end your life again. Leave the rest to me."

As the words fell, he released the wrist of Zhu Zhuqing that he had been holding.

Zhu Zhuqing froze slightly. Before she could say anything, Yang Jian had already turned around and calmly walked toward the five charging Soul Elders.

Moonlight poured over him like water, his figure standing straight as a spear.

With his first step, Yang Jian loosely clenched his right hand, and dazzling golden light suddenly surged from his palm.

The golden light blazed brilliantly, like a tiny sun rising in his hand, illuminating the surrounding night as brightly as day.

Immediately afterward, a strange cry rang out from within him. It was as sharp as a serpent's hiss yet as deep as a dragon's roar, the two entirely different tones intertwining and making everyone present's eardrums hum.

The next second, a streak of golden light burst from his palm like a golden flood dragon breaking free of its restraints.

When the radiance faded, an ancient-looking Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear rested steadily in his hand.

The spear shaft was long, gleaming with a cold dark-golden light beneath the moon. Its three-pronged blade pointed straight at the sky like a dragon's fangs.

As his second step fell, immense Soul Power erupted from Yang Jian's body without restraint, sweeping in every direction like floodwaters bursting through a dam.

The aura of that Soul Power was vast and mighty, making even the surrounding air seem several degrees heavier.

Level forty...

The instant they sensed the Soul Power fluctuations emanating from Yang Jian, everyone present changed expression.

Zhu Kai's confident look instantly froze before turning into intense disbelief.

His brows furrowed as his eyes fixed firmly on the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear in Yang Jian's hand. His thoughts raced as he desperately tried to figure out the youth's origins.

Soul Power at level forty? How was that possible! He was clearly only twelve or thirteen. A twelve- or thirteen-year-old Soul Ancestor—such a thing had never been heard of in the entire history of Douluo Continent!

The five guards reacted even more directly. Their pupils contracted violently in an instant. Though they had not yet shown outright terror, their previously unstoppable charge gradually slowed without their realizing it.

They were all Soul Elders, yet the pressure released by this youth gave them the suffocating sensation of facing a Soul King.

Behind Yang Jian, Zhu Zhuqing stared blankly at his tall, upright back, complicated emotions rising in her beautiful eyes.

She had never imagined that this youth, who was about her age, had already reached such a terrifying level of strength.

Soul Power at level forty...

She bit her lower lip, unable to conceal the trace of envy in her eyes.

If I had such strength too, would I... would I no longer have to suffer at my family's mercy?

Yang Jian ignored the shifting expressions on everyone's faces.

Holding the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear, he took his third step.

When that foot came down, heaven and earth changed color.

A deep, abyssal darkness, black as night, blossomed beneath his feet. The light was not glaring, yet it seemed capable of devouring all illumination.

At the same time, a stifling aura quietly spread, like an invisible mountain pressing down upon everyone's hearts.

Even Zhu Kai, a Soul King, found it somewhat difficult to breathe.

He instinctively looked beneath Yang Jian's feet. His pupils shrank in an instant, and the disbelief on his face transformed into utter incredulity.

A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring!

That black radiance was unmistakably the unique color of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring!

After several breaths, Zhu Kai finally came back to his senses and frantically rubbed his eyes, so hard that the rims turned red. He still seemed to doubt whether what he had just seen was an illusion.

Yet no matter how hard he rubbed them, the black glow beneath Yang Jian's feet not only did not fade, but grew increasingly dense.

Black, purple-black, black!

The instant the three Soul Rings fully emerged, Zhu Kai's expression completely froze.

Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings... and more than one!

Zhu Kai felt as though his mind had gone blank. He even felt a hint of envy welling up within him.

After all, even as a five-ringed Soul King, he had never possessed a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, because he could not withstand the spiritual shock unleashed by a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast before its death.

Yet this youth, only twelve or thirteen years old, a prospective Soul Ancestor who had yet to obtain his fourth Soul Ring, possessed Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings—two of them, at that!

This completely overturned everything he knew about Soul Master cultivation.

Moreover, although Yang Jian's second Soul Ring was a thousand-year ring, its purple color was so deep it was nearly black. It was clearly close to the eight-thousand-year level, even surpassing the age of Zhu Kai's fifth Soul Ring!

Such a Soul Ring configuration was something he had never seen before, nor even heard of.

Unlike Zhu Kai's shock, the moment the three Soul Rings rose beneath Yang Jian's feet, the five Soul Elders seemed to have been struck by a immobilizing spell. They stopped in unison, not daring to take even half a step forward.

They exchanged glances and saw deep fear in one another's eyes.

Setting aside how he had absorbed such Soul Rings, merely being able to hunt Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts was enough to prove that this youth's identity was extraordinary. No wonder he had remained unfazed upon hearing the name of the Star Luo Zhu Clan!