Columbina's Power!

The sun set and the moon rose.

It was only when the moon hung high in the sky that Kong Deming realized he had been away from Ming Capital for quite some time.

However, seeing his nephew's enthusiastic desire to continue hunting for a second soul ring, he pondered for a moment and decided that a little indulgence wouldn't hurt.

Although the Evil Demon Forest was several times more dangerous at night than during the day, with him—the continent's number one soul engineer—providing personal protection, he figured nothing would go wrong.

"Tianming, since you feel you're ready to absorb your second soul ring, let's proceed. With your uncle here to guard you, I guarantee everything will be foolproof."

Hearing this, Xu Tianming paused, only then realizing his previous phrasing had been slightly inaccurate.

"Uncle, I didn't feel any pressure when absorbing my first soul ring, which led me to a bold conclusion... I might be able to challenge a higher-aged second soul ring, for instance... eight thousand years!"

Kong Deming had thought that after being shocked so many times today, he might have become immune to his nephew's heaven-defying talent, but upon hearing this, he was inevitably shocked once again.

What did he mean by attempting an eight-thousand-year second soul ring?

Was this even human?

One had to know that for an average soul master on the continent, even a fifth soul ring might not be able to withstand the pressure of an eight-thousand-year ring, yet his nephew wanted to challenge that for his second?

What Kong Deming didn't know was that Xu Tianming had actually been somewhat conservative.

The eight-thousand-year limit was merely Mavuika's rough estimate before he absorbed his first soul ring. Now that he had grown stronger, Mavuika had just told him that she felt his second soul ring could withstand at least nine thousand years of pressure.

If Xu Tianming used some rare treasures to improve his physical constitution before absorbing the second ring, he might even have a shot at a ten-thousand-year ring!

However, a ten-thousand-year soul ring carried an additional soul shock compared to a thousand-year ring. While Xu Tianming was confident in his physical strength, he wasn't entirely sure if his mental sea could withstand the impact of a ten-thousand-year ring.

For the sake of caution, he decided to play it safe; after all, an eight-thousand-year second soul ring was already something soul masters across the continent wouldn't even dare to imagine.

Just as this thought crossed Xu Tianming's mind, Columbina, who had been silent in his mental sea for quite a while, suddenly spoke up.

"Although I may not be of much help in combat right now, I can help you guard your mental sea."

Her voice was soft, yet it carried an unquestionable sense of confidence.

These words were like charcoal in snowy weather, reigniting the hope in Xu Tianming's heart to absorb a ten-thousand-year second soul ring.

However, this was a major matter. While he trusted that Columbina wouldn't lie to him, it was best to run a test first.

Afraid that Columbina might misunderstand, Xu Tianming shared his thoughts with her first.

"Columbina, I trust you, but I need to test the limit of the impact you can withstand... do you understand?"

"Mm, I understand. It is indeed necessary to test it first. Don't worry, I am not angry."

Hearing Columbina's calm response, Xu Tianming nodded and turned to Kong Deming again.

"Uncle, I suddenly want to test how strong my mental power is. Could you simulate the impact that a soul beast's ring brings to a soul master's mental sea?"

Kong Deming, who hadn't yet recovered from his shock, was surprised by the request. Though he didn't understand what his nephew was planning, he nodded.

"Very well. I will start from the most basic hundred-year... no, let's start from the mental impact of a thousand-year soul beast and gradually increase it. If you feel you can't take it anymore, remember to tell me immediately."

For a Title Douluo-level powerhouse, simulating the soul shock of a soul beast was incredibly simple as long as they were careful.

Seeing Xu Tianming nod, Kong Deming focused his mental power, applying pressure at the intensity of a thousand-year soul beast.

An invisible impact instantly enveloped Xu Tianming's body, but an intangible barrier of moonlight appeared, blocking Kong Deming's mental assault firmly at the surface of Xu Tianming's skin, unable to advance even an inch.

Noticing this, Kong Deming was surprised, though not yet shocked. After a two-second pause, he began to gradually increase the intensity of his mental power.

One thousand five hundred years, two thousand, two thousand five hundred, three thousand...

The intensity of the mental power increased steadily, yet Xu Tianming's state remained unchanged; to him, it was as if nothing had happened at all.

When the intensity reached six thousand years and he saw that Xu Tianming still seemed to be under no pressure, only one thought remained in Kong Deming's mind:

A monster!

An absolute monster!

If it were an ordinary soul master, even a level 30 Soul Elder would be severely injured or even die instantly under such mental pressure.

Yet his nephew, with only twenty-something levels of soul power and having never even begun to cultivate his mental power, was able to withstand this level of impact without any pressure!

Noticing the horror in his uncle's eyes, Xu Tianming thought for a moment. To avoid being too outlandish, he intentionally twitched the corners of his mouth, feigning a look of slight strain.

He then proactively released his Frost Moon Martial Soul. Under the illumination of the moon high above, the Frost Moon Martial Soul emitted a sacred aura of moonlight, covering his entire body.

After that, Xu Tianming's expression returned to normal, and he signaled for Kong Deming to continue increasing the intensity, claiming he could still hold on.

This simple set of actions provided Kong Deming with a reasonable explanation.

So, it was his nephew's other martial soul helping him block the mental shock!

But was the imperial family's inherited Silver Moon Martial Soul really this heaven-defying?

Kong Deming's own martial soul was the Silver Moon; it could be said that no one in the entire imperial family understood the Silver Moon Martial Soul better than he did. If his nephew had only awakened the Silver Moon Martial Soul, it would be impossible to achieve such a shocking feat!

The only explanation was that his nephew's martial soul had undergone some kind of beneficial mutation he wasn't aware of!

Thinking of this, and seeing his nephew still looking relaxed, Kong Deming decided to increase the intensity of the mental shock while speaking.

"Tianming, the twin martial souls you awakened are likely not the Sun and Silver Moon souls inherited by the imperial family."

"Uncle, you feel that way too? Ever since my awakening, I felt something was off, but the situation was unclear, so I didn't dare to speak. Now that I hear your words, I can be certain... but Uncle, what exactly is the martial soul I awakened?"