Ever since obtaining her Soul Ring, she had spent the past sixty days training so tirelessly that she practically forgot to eat and sleep.
She wished she could spend even mealtimes cultivating. Sure enough, hard work paid off—her Soul Power Level had successfully reached level twenty-eight, and she was very close to level twenty-nine.
Over two months as a Soul Grandmaster, her Soul Power had risen by more than a full level. That rate of cultivation was enough to leave countless people dumbfounded.
But everything feared comparison. Once someone stronger appeared, the former no longer seemed so impressive.
Her brother was precisely the latter. Over these past two months, she had cultivated so diligently, yet she had never seen her brother seriously sit down and meditate in cultivation.
And the result? Qian Renheng's Soul Power Level had broken through as effortlessly as drinking water. He had already reached the peak of level twenty-nine; with just one final push, he could break through the level-thirty threshold and absorb a ten-thousand-year third Soul Ring!
Comparing people really could make one furious, especially when the other person had not put in any effort at all yet cultivated so quickly!
Just like now, Qian Renheng had no idea that he had utterly shattered his little sister's resolve. He was still over there researching a Self-Created Soul Skill.
At that moment, he was fully focused. With a sharp gaze, he raised his right hand and pinched the air between his index finger and thumb.
"First Soul Skill—Abyssal Edict!"
Qian Renheng let out a low shout. The Soul Ring beneath his feet rose, blooming with purple light as his Soul Skill activated.
A stream of ink-black Soul Power surged wildly through his meridians, converging into the narrow space between his two fingers.
Compress, compress, compress again!
The immense Soul Power was forcibly squeezed together, eventually forming a black dot the size of a soybean between his fingers.
Qian Renheng controlled the black dot and set it spinning at high speed. Then, aiming at a marble floor tile over ten meters away, he flicked it fiercely outward.
The instant the black dot touched the ground, it did not explode. Instead, it unleashed an immensely terrifying shredding force.
The seemingly indestructible marble tile was as fragile as tofu before that force, instantly ground into powder.
When the dust settled, a deep pit roughly half a meter wide was left in the ground, its edges smooth and cleanly cut.
"Hmm... the power isn't bad. From now on, I'll call this Self-Created Soul Skill Star Plucking Moon Grasping!"
Qian Renheng looked at the pit before him and clapped his hands in satisfaction. This was the result of his efforts over the past two months.
Every day, he had squeezed out time to immerse himself in the Library Hall, reading the Self-Created Soul Skills of others.
Though most of them were unsuitable for him, they could still offer him a different line of thought and help him develop his own Self-Created Soul Skills!
This move of his used the first Soul Skill to grant himself an extremely high degree of control over his Soul Power, compressing the vast amount of Soul Power between two fingers.
It formed a rapidly spinning black dot, which he then threw out. Once it struck a target, it would unleash an incredibly powerful shredding force!
Qian Renheng silently assessed the Soul Skill. If he threw it at a Soul Grandmaster, even if the opponent activated a defensive Soul Skill, it could instantly shred them, bones and all, into a pile of bloody pulp!
Not only did this move possess overwhelming single-target killing power, it also had considerable suction force.
If his Soul Power Level rose in the future and he had enough Soul Power stored within his body, he could even enlarge it and use it as a large-scale Soul Skill to clear the field!
After the test was over, Qian Renheng turned around in satisfaction, only to see Qian Renxue sitting on a rock with a gloomy face and her little lips puffed out.
He frowned and walked over, saying with a hint of reprimand, "Xiao Xue, why are you sitting here spacing out again?"
"How is the Self-Created Soul Skill I taught you coming along?" As he spoke, Qian Renheng tapped Qian Renxue's forehead with a finger. "You... is it because it's too difficult to cultivate?"
"That won't do. The path of cultivation is like rowing upstream—if you do not advance, you fall behind. If you slack off whenever you encounter a setback, how will you ever accomplish anything in the future?!"
Hearing Qian Renheng's mildly reproachful words, spoken so easily by someone who had no idea what he was talking about, all the grievance in Qian Renxue's heart surged forth at once.
"Brother, anyone can talk a big game, can't they?"
Deep resentment filled Qian Renxue's bright eyes as she shot back without the slightest courtesy, "And you have the nerve to criticize me?!"
"Every day, you're either here taking your sweet time researching your Self-Created Soul Skills, or soaking in the Library Hall and wasting time reading books. You never cultivate seriously at all!"
"But Brother, why does your Soul Power Level rise so quickly?!"
As Qian Renxue spoke, her eyes reddened slightly. "It makes Xiao Xue so upset... and puts so much pressure on me."
"Xiao Xue has clearly worked so hard, tried so desperately, yet Brother has still left me so far behind."
"And... those Self-Created Soul Skills you taught me, the principles behind them are ridiculously complicated."
"They aren't simple at all. Xiao Xue already has to spend most of every day cultivating. Where would I find so much time to study your Self-Created Soul Skills?"
"Uh..." Listening to Qian Renxue's rapid-fire accusations, Qian Renheng froze completely and looked at her awkwardly.
Thinking it over carefully, it seemed his little sister really did have a point.
His Self-Created Soul Skills were built upon his first Soul Skill. They required powerful Mental Power to control the Soul Power within one's body with greater precision, so there was indeed a learning threshold.
Having lived two lives, his Mental Power naturally went without saying, making cultivation relatively easier for him.
But what about Xiao Xue? She was just an ordinary six-year-old child. Every day, in order not to be left behind by him, she devoted vast amounts of time and energy to refining her Soul Power.
She simply had no extra time to cultivate these complicated Self-Created Soul Skills, so naturally her progress was slow.
"Ahem, Xiao Xue, you're right. Your brother did not think this through. Learning Self-Created Soul Skills cannot be rushed—too much is as bad as too little. With your talent, you'll learn them sooner or later."
Qian Renheng awkwardly rubbed his nose and simply changed the subject. "Just practice the few Self-Created Soul Skills I gave you as you see fit. Pick whichever ones you like. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
"Brother!" Qian Renxue looked at Qian Renheng upon hearing that, but in the end, she still asked what she truly wanted to know.
"In the morning, when Xiao Xue gets up and cultivates beneath the rising sun, you're still sleeping!"
"At noon, when Xiao Xue cultivates after eating, you're over here blowing up floor tiles while playing with your Self-Created Soul Skills."
"At night, when Xiao Xue is still cultivating, you run off to the Library Hall to read."
"But Brother, what method are you using? You clearly slack off so much, so how do you still cultivate so quickly?"
"Brother, can you teach Xiao Xue? Xiao Xue really wants to work hard, really wants to improve, and really, really wants to keep up with you!"
Qian Renxue looked at Qian Renheng pitifully, her eyes full of pleading as tears nearly spilled out.
Qian Renheng's mouth twitched. The reason he cultivated so quickly was because he had two super workers laboring around the clock without interruption!
Ming Ji and Chun Xing cultivated day and night while hiding inside his ear, which allowed him to completely remove himself from the tedious process of cultivation.
Although he did not cultivate normally and merely spent his days researching Self-Created Soul Skills and reading in the Library Hall for inspiration,
his cultivation speed was still twice Qian Renxue's.
Even if he wanted to teach his little sister, she would not be able to learn it. This method was only suitable for Detached Martial Souls.
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