(A beautiful picture of Wang Dong'er)
Lin Ye held down her hand, but he did not push it away.
"Xiaotao is still outside," he whispered, sounding a little helpless.
Wang Dong'er's hand paused. Then she pressed herself closer instead.
"Why worry about her?" she said, sounding a little put out. "We just have to be quiet..."
Before she had finished speaking, she rolled over and climbed on top of Lin Ye.
Her breathing quickened, and her chest rose and fell. Through the thin fabric, he could feel her warmth and the pounding of her heart.
She leaned in to kiss him.
Her pink-and-blue eyes sparkled in the dark like two stars, filled with shyness, nerves, and a stubborn streak.
It did not matter if Ma Xiaotao found out.
Wang Dong'er wanted to stake her claim.
Besides, she wanted to grow stronger through More Children More Blessings right away! She wanted to catch up to Ma Xiaotao as soon as possible!
Lin Ye swallowed.
Just then...
BOOM!!!
A tremendous crash outside shook the ground.
It came so suddenly and with such force that something seemed to have fallen from the sky and slammed into the ground near the camp.
Through the tent's thin fabric, they could see a streak of golden light and flames plunging from the sky in a blinding arc.
Then came a dull impact that made the earth shudder several more times.
Lin Ye's expression changed. He pushed Wang Dong'er off him, sat up, and threw open the tent flap to crawl outside.
"What was that?!"
He emerged from the tent into a gust of night wind carrying scorching heat and the stench of burnt feathers.
Ma Xiaotao was no longer by the campfire.
She stood at the edge of the camp, facing south. Her pale pink eyes were fixed on a thicket nearby, her pupils slightly contracted.
"Is that... a Swift Light Red Falcon?"
Surprise and disbelief mingled in her voice.
Lin Ye followed her gaze.
A huge crater had been smashed into the thicket. Plants around it were still burning, the flames crackling in the night wind.
At the bottom lay an enormous falcon over three meters long. Its wingspan must have been five or six meters.
Its feathers were dark brown, with golden light along their edges like gilded trim. Now that light was rapidly fading.
Its wing drew his attention most of all.
A horrific wound marked the base of its left wing. Flesh peeled outward around charred edges, clearly burned by some incredibly fierce flame.
"A Swift Light Red Falcon?" Lin Ye frowned.
Ma Xiaotao hurried to his side, her eyes never leaving the giant falcon as she explained quickly:
"A very rare Soul Beast. It's incredibly fast, with both light and fire attributes. It's a top predator among flying Soul Beasts.
"Even a hundred-year-old one is hard to find, let alone one over a thousand years old."
Excitement crept into her voice.
"And we happened to run into one!"
Lin Ye studied the giant falcon's size and plumage. "How old is it?"
"Judging by its size, definitely over a thousand years."
Ma Xiaotao sounded certain. Then she seemed to realize something and whipped her head toward Lin Ye.
"Wait, Lin Ye. You're not thinking of taking its Soul Ring, are you?"
Before Lin Ye could answer, a violent surge of Soul Power erupted from the tent behind him.
It was fierce and wild, as though a long-dormant power had suddenly awakened.
Blue-gold light shot from the tent and tore through the darkness.
Wang Dong'er flew out.
Behind her, the dazzling wings of the Light Goddess Butterfly spread fully, spanning more than two meters and shimmering blue and gold beneath the moonlight.
The golden patterns on her wings flared as if set alight, blazing so brightly that everything within dozens of meters looked like daylight.
Fury filled her delicate face, and fire burned in her pink-and-blue eyes.
"You ruined my fun!"
Wang Dong'er roared and beat her wings. She shot toward the Swift Light Red Falcon like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Her speed was astonishing. Even Ma Xiaotao raised an eyebrow.
Lin Ye stood at the tent entrance, watching Wang Dong'er. He suddenly froze.
He saw the Soul Rings rising around her.
Two of them.
They pulsed slowly around her body.
Neither Soul Ring was yellow or purple...
They were black.
A deep, dense black that seemed capable of swallowing all light.
Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings.
Both of them.
Lin Ye's pupils shrank. His mouth fell open and stayed that way.
"???"
His mind went blank. Only one thought kept echoing through it—
What the hell???
How are Dong'er's first two Soul Rings ten-thousand-year rings?
And here I thought I'd been exaggerating???
Ma Xiaotao was stunned too.
Her pale pink eyes went wide as she stared at Wang Dong'er's two black Soul Rings. She stood rooted to the spot.
One word described her expression: shocked.
No, two words: utterly shocked.
She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
By then, Wang Dong'er had reached the Swift Light Red Falcon.
She gave it no chance to react. Her first black Soul Ring flashed.
"First Soul Skill—Wing Guillotine!"
Her voice was cold, without a trace of emotion.
The dazzling wings of the Light Goddess Butterfly swept forward. Their sharp golden edges flared into two enormous blue-gold blades of light that slashed down in a cross.
The Swift Light Red Falcon instinctively tried to dodge, but its injured wing left it unable to fly.
All it could do was twist desperately, trying to shield its vital points with what remained of its light and flame.
It was no use.
The blades were so fast they left no afterimages.
Thud—
A muffled impact.
Blood sprayed.
The Swift Light Red Falcon gave a shrill cry as the blow sent it flying. It snapped two trees as thick as bowls before coming to a stop.
Already badly wounded, it had now taken Wang Dong'er's Wing Guillotine head-on, making its injuries far worse.
Its golden light had faded completely, and its flames were out. Only thin wisps of smoke rose from between its feathers.
Wang Dong'er folded her wings and landed lightly.
Her high heels made a soft sound against the fallen leaves.
She dusted off her hands, turned, and walked toward Lin Ye.
The movement had ridden up the hem of her tight skirt, revealing a glimpse of her pale upper thigh and the edge of her fishnet stocking.
The top two buttons of her shirt had somehow popped open, revealing deep cleavage.
Lin Ye's gaze fell there despite himself, then quickly darted away.
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