Second Soul Skill, Starlight!

Far North, outskirts.

The temperature here was extremely low, remaining at a frigid forty-odd degrees below zero year-round.

The biting north wind carried shards of ice that lashed against their faces like dull blades cutting flesh, leaving their cheeks stinging with pain.

However, the Far North's extreme climate was, to Jiang Lan with his Innate Domain active, no more than a slightly chilly breeze.

"Lan'er, for your second Soul Ring, I recommend a five-thousand-year Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon." Shui Qinghan held a map of the Far North and looked at several marked locations as she spoke.

"The Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon excels in strength and defense. It should provide you with a Soul Skill that boosts strength and defense."

Shui Qinghan's thinking was simple. Jiang Lan did not lack mobility, feared neither control nor debuffs, was immune to elemental attacks, could double his attack power, possessed an additional fifty percent damage boost, could increase both defenses by fifty percent after being hit, stack it up to three hundred percent, and constantly regenerate health and Soul Power.

With such an outrageously overpowered setup, what else could she say?

Just pile on strength and defense as much as possible.

Before the eighth ring, it would be best for all his Soul Skills to be enhancement abilities like strength, defense, attack, and armor penetration.

Once he reached the eighth and ninth rings, he could choose offensive Soul Skills.

By then, six enhancement Soul Skills would stack together, combined with a Hundred-Thousand-Year eighth Soul Skill and a buff that doubled attack power.

Among Soul Masters of the same rank, who could withstand a single punch from her good disciple?

Forget those of the same rank—even blowing apart a Titled Douluo while fighting above his rank might not be impossible.

As for having only enhancement Soul Skills before the eighth ring and therefore lacking offensive ability?

Ha~ Didn't he still have Soul Bones?

As his teacher, she could not simply enjoy the benefits her disciple brought her without giving anything in return, could she?

Once they returned, no matter what, she would get Jiang Lan two or three offensive Soul Bones with cultivation ages of at least thirty thousand years.

Three offensive Soul Bone skills from Soul Bones at least thirty thousand years old would be enough for Jiang Lan until the seventh ring.

By the time Jiang Lan cultivated to the seventh ring, she would probably have already broken through to Titled Douluo—perhaps she would even reach level ninety-five. Would it not be perfectly normal for her to help her good disciple hunt a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

"Mm! I'll listen to Teacher." Jiang Lan looked up at Shui Qinghan and replied obediently.

Unfortunately, he was going to disappoint his teacher.

All of his Soul Skills came from Starlight King and would not be affected by the Soul Beast at all.

As for his second Soul Skill, Jiang Lan had already made his choice.

It would be Starlight!

In the game, Starlight King, as a PVE powerhouse for ordinary players, usually carried ordinary Restraint. It could ignore many of a BOSS's damage-reduction effects, allowing it to deal high rebound damage.

Starlight, on the other hand, was generally only used in PVP. Some players even used ordinary Restraint in PVP as well.

But reality was not a game. If he died, he would truly be dead.

He had not cultivated to level one hundred yet, so he could not revive on the spot at full health.

Therefore, the guaranteed hit of Starlight, its ability to restore an equal amount of stamina after dealing damage to an opponent, and its substantial damage reduction were what Jiang Lan needed most right now.

As for why Jiang Lan chose Starlight as his second Soul Skill?

It was because Starlight itself had no power at all. How much damage it dealt to an enemy basically depended entirely on the enemy's own output.

Thus, whether it was a Millennium Soul Ring or a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, the effects of Starlight would be essentially the same.

Therefore, Starlight was the best choice for his second Soul Skill.

"Good~ Then we'll find an Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon first." Shui Qinghan smiled faintly, raised a hand to pat Jiang Lan's head, then added,

"As for Bing'er's second Soul Ring, we'll hunt an Ice Spirit Sparrow of around three thousand years. This Soul Beast carries a trace of Ice Phoenix bloodline. It is best at stirring up wind and snow, freezing its prey before devouring it."

"Yes~" Shui Bing'er nodded.

Following the map's directions, the three of them searched the outskirts of the Far North for several days, investigating several marked locations.

At last, at the final marked location on the map, they found the target of their trip—an Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon.

The Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon was a subdragon Soul Beast with spines growing from its back, a frosty white body covered in scales, a dragon's head, and an Alligator Body.

However, the Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon they encountered was not alone, but part of a small Dragon Clan of Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragons.

The leader of this small clan was a six-thousand-year Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon. Its mate was only a little over four thousand years old. There were seven or eight clan members of two to three thousand years beside them, as well as several juveniles under a thousand years old.

"This male Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon is six thousand years old, which exceeds your limit by far. Yet this female Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon is only a little over four thousand years old, nowhere near your limit." Shui Qinghan looked at the small Dragon Clan of Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragons and could not help frowning slightly.

"Teacher, have you forgotten how I absorbed my first ring?" Jiang Lan asked with a smile.

Shui Bing'er blinked. What did her junior brother mean?

"This..." After hesitating for a moment, Shui Qinghan still nodded and said,

"Then let's try it."

She still chose to trust Jiang Lan.

After all, she had personally witnessed Jiang Lan forcibly absorb a Millennium Soul Ring with the three-hundred-percent boost to both defenses from his Innate Domain.

"You two, lie here and don't move." Shui Qinghan had them lie low and hide in the snow. She herself activated Martial Soul Possession and charged toward the Dragon Clan of Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragons.

This group of Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragons, whose highest cultivation was only a little over six thousand years, naturally had no ability to resist a veteran Soul Douluo with profound Soul Power. Shui Qinghan knocked the six-thousand-year Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon unconscious on the spot and carried it away.

After a brief moment of panic, the remaining Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragons suddenly began fighting among themselves for mating rights.

Before long, Shui Qinghan returned and tossed the nearly two-zhang-long, one-meter-tall, six-thousand-year Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon onto the snow.

"Lan'er, pierce through its eye, and you can kill this Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon." Shui Qinghan took a sharp dagger from the storage bracelet on her wrist and handed it to Jiang Lan.

"Yes, Teacher~" Jiang Lan took the dagger and cleanly ended the Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon's life.

A deep-purple Soul Ring slowly rose from the Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon's corpse, giving off a splendid glow.

After lightly tapping his fists together three times to stack both of his defenses to full, Jiang Lan immediately sat cross-legged. The Lord of Tides Martial Soul possessed him directly, and he used Soul Power to guide the six-thousand-year Soul Ring slowly onto his body.

"Mom, isn't Junior Brother's limit for his second Soul Ring only five thousand years? Will he really be all right absorbing this six-thousand-year Soul Ring?" Shui Bing'er watched Jiang Lan sitting cross-legged and absorbing his second Soul Ring, unable to hide the worry on her face.

"Lan'er's Innate Domain can grant him a three-hundred-percent defense boost, enough to let him withstand the extra thousand-plus years." Shui Qinghan immediately explained.

"So that's how it is..." Shui Bing'er finally relaxed.

In just over two hours, Jiang Lan successfully absorbed the six-thousand-two-hundred-year Soul Ring.

At the same time, Jiang Lan chose Starlight from Starlight King's skill pool as his second Soul Skill.

Starlight: Guaranteed hit; reflects twice the damage to the opponent and restores an equal amount of stamina; if the damage dealt is below 200, the next damage received is reduced by 300 points.

Of course, those were only the skill effects in the game.

As for the actual effect...

The actual form of Starlight became an invisible shield over his body that absorbed enemy Soul Skills and attacks, converting them into his own Soul Power.

The converted Soul Power could repair his injuries or be transformed into his own strength, allowing him to unleash an even more powerful strike. The stronger the attack he received, the greater the power he could unleash.

As for breaking the shield?

Unless an opponent's attack was powerful enough to instantly overload him with Soul Power and make him explode, his shield simply could not be broken.

Moreover, any opponent he counterattacked with his second Soul Skill would have the power of their next attack reduced by thirty percent.