More Displays

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

There was a glint of barely noticeable shrewdness 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 that familiar intimacy that always made Ning Rongrong want to roll her eyes. "Of course I can teach you, my good disciple."

Ning Rongrong did not roll her eyes.

That fact alone said a great deal.

Yang Xing continued, sounding unbearably smug. "Why would I show it to you if I couldn't teach it? Was I just teasing you?"

Well, when he had drenched her with the Rainmaking Talisman earlier, wasn't he teasing her?

But Ning Rongrong selectively ignored that fact.

"As long as you don't bring up breaking the agreement, my good disciple," Yang Xing added, spreading his hands as openly as if he were stating that one plus one equaled two, "your master will teach you everything without holding anything back."

Ning Rongrong's lips moved.

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

But though her lips opened several times, she simply could not force out the word "okay."

Her face reddened.

She was the young lady of the mighty Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Just moments ago, she had solemnly declared that she would never become his disciple even if she died. And now he wanted her to take it back? Where would she put her pride?

Yang Xing watched her face flush all the way to her ears, her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish's, and felt no hurry at all.

"No rush, no rush." He waved a hand. "My good disciple, don't be in a hurry to decide. Why not admire some of your master's other soul skills first?"

As if she had found a lifeline, Ning Rongrong nodded at once.

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

She folded her arms and turned her face to the side, 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 delicate little face. She might be tsundere, but the full collagen of a twelve-year-old girl's face combined with her bright eyes and lively features made it impossible to be angry at her, no matter what expression she wore.

She was even rather pleasing to the eye.

What a waste.

He was her master. She was only twelve.

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

He picked up a piece of wood from beside the table.

It was just ordinary wood, about the size of his palm and irregularly shaped. It was probably 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 as she watched him.

Ten seconds passed.

Yang Xing removed his hands.

A rhinoceros now stood on the table.

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

Ning Rongrong leaned closer for a look. The workmanship truly was exquisite, but it was just a wood carving. It was not as if she had never seen one before...

The wooden rhinoceros moved.

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

"Tap."

Its hoof struck the wooden table with a crisp sound.

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.

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 eagle flapped its wings and soared into the air, circling the room. A wooden horse carried a miniature wooden rider as it galloped across the tabletop. A wooden fish swam through the air, its tail fin swaying exactly like that of a real fish.

The room was filled with living wooden creatures. Some ran, some flew.

Ning Rongrong's gaze followed the wooden eagle for two circles, then shifted to the rhinoceros and wooden horse racing across the table. Her mouth would not close.

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

Ning Rongrong had not even had time to process those words.

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

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

Blood welled out.

Yang Xing raised his right hand and held his palm over 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 wound, at least half an inch deep, had vanished as though it had never existed.

"Twin Complete Hands." Yang Xing casually tossed aside the knife. "It can bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh over bone. Naturally, it has other abilities as well, but I won't go into those for now."

Ning Rongrong swallowed.

Watching her stare without blinking, afraid of missing even the smallest detail, Yang Xing gave himself a satisfied nod inwardly.

He leaned back in his 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 raised one finger. "Once you learn it, your body can automatically absorb all kinds of spiritual energy from the air and continuously convert it into your own Soul Power. Simply put, you will 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 expenditure. 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 spirit lingering within its Soul Ring after death."

Ning Rongrong's brows drew together slightly.

"There are two ways to use it after enslaving it." Yang Xing wagged 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 would be like having a whole group of combat-capable ghost underlings."

Ning Rongrong's eyes shone almost frighteningly brightly.

"There's also an additional effect." Yang Xing added lightly. "Since you can directly deal with the Soul Beast's resentful remnant spirit inside a Soul Ring, you'll never have to worry about backlash when absorbing Soul Rings again. You'll be able to absorb all of them perfectly."

Ning Rongrong's lips trembled.

Perfectly absorbing Soul Rings.

She knew 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 own potential?

If she could perfectly absorb any Soul Ring...

Ning Rongrong's face had flushed all the way down to her neck. It was not 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.