More Displays

Yang Xing looked at her eyes, so bright they seemed ready to sparkle, and smiled.

A faint, imperceptible gleam flashed in the curve of his lips.

He had her. Eighty percent.

"This is called the Heaven-Piercing Talisman." He spoke with a cheerful smile, his tone naturally carrying the kind of intimacy that made Ning Rongrong want to roll her eyes the moment she heard it. "My good disciple, of course I can teach you."

Ning Rongrong did not roll her eyes.

That fact alone said a great deal.

Yang Xing continued in an infuriating tone, "Why would I show it to you if I couldn't teach it? Was I just teasing you for fun?"

Well, when he had drenched her with the Rainmaking Talisman earlier, wasn't that exactly what he had been doing?

But Ning Rongrong selectively ignored that fact.

"As long as my good disciple doesn't mention breaking the agreement," Yang Xing added, spreading his hands with the frankness of someone stating that one plus one equaled two, "your master will teach you everything he knows and hold nothing back."

Ning Rongrong's lips moved.

Her eyes were already filled with the light of wanting to agree. The Heaven-Piercing Talisman and Wind Empress Qimen—two abilities from entirely different systems. Either one alone was enough to overturn everything she knew about soul skills. If she could learn them both...

But although her lips opened several times, she simply could not say the word "okay."

Her face turned red.

She was the esteemed young mistress of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Just moments ago, she had sworn that she would rather die than become his disciple, and now he wanted her to take it back? Where would she put her pride?

Yang Xing was in no hurry as he watched her face redden all the way to her ears, her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish.

"No rush, no rush." He waved a hand. "My good disciple, don't be so quick to decide. Take a look at some of your master's other soul skills first."

As if she had grabbed hold of a lifeline, Ning Rongrong immediately nodded.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat, lifted her chin again, and tried to restore that lofty air to her voice. "If you're willing to demonstrate them, then go ahead. This young lady shall graciously spare a little more time to watch."

She crossed her arms and turned her face aside, chin slightly raised.

She looked as though she were bestowing him a favor.

But the redness at her ears had yet to fade.

Yang Xing looked at her exquisite little face. Tsundere as she was, the plump collagen of a twelve-year-old girl's face and the liveliness of her bright eyes and white teeth made it impossible to be angry at her no matter what expression she wore.

She was even a little pleasing to the eye.

What a pity.

He was her master. She was only twelve.

Yang Xing spat at himself several times in his heart, cleared away those messy thoughts, composed his expression, then walked over to the overturned table and set it upright with one hand.

He picked up a piece of wood beside the table.

It was just an ordinary piece of wood, about the size of a palm and irregularly shaped. It was probably a leftover scrap from when he had chopped firewood earlier.

Yang Xing placed the wood on the table and covered it with both hands.

Ning Rongrong tilted her head and watched him.

Ten seconds passed.

Yang Xing removed his hands.

A rhinoceros had appeared on the table.

A wooden rhinoceros. It was palm-sized, with sturdy limbs, a sharp horn, and every pattern on its body rendered in meticulous detail. The flow of every muscle and every fold of skin had been carved with lifelike precision.

Ning Rongrong leaned closer to inspect it. The craftsmanship really was exquisite, but it was only a wooden carving. It wasn't as if she had never seen one before...

The wooden rhinoceros moved.

It lifted a front hoof and took a step across the tabletop.

"Tap."

The sound of its hoof was crisp as it struck the wooden table.

Then came a second step, then a third. The little wooden rhinoceros began running across the tabletop, its four hooves flying as it raced from one end of the table to the other. When it reached the edge, it even knew to turn around.

Ning Rongrong's mouth fell open.

Yang Xing picked up several more pieces of broken wood from the floor. He rubbed them between his hands, then released them.

A wooden hawk flapped its wings and flew up, circling around the room. A wooden horse carried a tiny wooden rider as it galloped across the tabletop. A wooden fish swam through the air, the movement of its tail fin exactly like that of a real fish.

The room was filled with living wooden creatures—some running, some flying.

Ning Rongrong's gaze followed the wooden hawk around twice before shifting to the rhinoceros and wooden horse racing on the table. Her mouth would not close.

"Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements," Yang Xing's voice came from beside her. "Creation Infusion."

Before Ning Rongrong had time to process those words,

Yang Xing pulled a small knife from somewhere at his waist and, without changing expression, cut across the back of his left hand.

"What are you doing?!" Ning Rongrong jumped in fright.

Blood welled up.

Yang Xing raised his right hand and held his palm downward above the wound. A layer of faint golden light seeped from his palm and enveloped the cut.

Two seconds passed.

He removed his hand.

Ning Rongrong stared at the back of his left hand.

Clean. There was not even a trace of blood. The knife wound, which had been at least half an inch deep, vanished as though it had never existed.

"Twin Complete Hands." Yang Xing casually tossed the knife aside. "It can revive the dead and regrow flesh from bone. Of course, it has other abilities as well, but I won't go into them for now."

Ning Rongrong swallowed.

Seeing her stare without blinking, terrified of missing even the slightest detail, Yang Xing gave himself a satisfied thumbs-up in his heart.

He leaned back against the chair and crossed one leg over the other.

"There are a few more that aren't very convenient to demonstrate on the spot, so I'll just tell you about them."

Ning Rongrong unconsciously leaned forward a little.

"Qi Body Origin Stream." Yang Xing held up one finger. "After learning it, your body can automatically absorb all kinds of spiritual energy and power from the air, endlessly converting them into your own soul power. Put simply, you'll never lack soul power again. No matter how long you fight, your soul power will always remain full."

Ning Rongrong's breathing noticeably quickened.

As an auxiliary-system soul master, what was her greatest problem? Soul power consumption. The stronger the support effects of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the greater the soul power it consumed. After an intense battle, she was often the first to run dry.

If her soul power could always remain full...

"Spirit Binding and Command." Yang Xing raised a second finger. "After killing a soul beast, you can directly enslave the resentful soul left behind in its soul ring after death."

Ning Rongrong's brows drew together slightly.

"Once you enslave it, there are two ways to use it." Yang Xing waved his finger. "First, eat it. Absorb its power to increase your own soul power. Second, keep it. Have it obey your commands and attack your enemies for you. It's like having a group of ghostly little underlings who can fight under your command."

Ning Rongrong's eyes shone frighteningly bright.

"There's also a side effect," Yang Xing added lightly. "Because you can directly deal with the resentful remnants of soul beasts inside soul rings, you'll never have to worry about backlash when absorbing soul rings again. You'll be able to absorb them perfectly."

Ning Rongrong's lips trembled.

Perfectly absorbing soul rings.

She understood all too well what those four words meant across the entire Douluo Continent.

How many genius soul masters had died from the backlash of absorbing soul rings? How many had been forced to compromise because they could not find suitable soul rings, wasting their potential?

If she could perfectly absorb any soul ring...

Ning Rongrong's face had reddened all the way to the base of her neck. Not from embarrassment, but excitement.

It was the red of frustration and longing intertwining—the feeling of seeing a room full of gold soul coins, only to be told she could not take them.