Angel Sanctuary!

Two months passed swiftly in cultivation.

Li Long's daily life followed a highly regular rhythm: he circulated the Guidance Method at dawn, practiced staff techniques in the morning, soaked in medicinal baths to temper his body in the afternoon, and meditated at night to recover.

The residual effects of the Aptitude Cleansing Fruit continued to be released over those two months. Every week, he could feel his meridians becoming slightly smoother. The time needed to complete one cycle of the Guidance Method grew shorter and shorter, and his Soul Power recovery speed rose accordingly.

The barrier between level thirty-five and level thirty-six was gradually worn away over those two months.

There was no violent breakthrough, no risky gamble. He simply advanced bit by bit every day. The quantitative changes accumulated over two months finally completed their final qualitative transformation that morning.

Li Long slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air beneath the corridor. When he opened his eyes, the Soul Power gathered in his palm was more solid than yesterday. He had firmly stepped over the threshold of level thirty-six.

He rolled his shoulders and adjusted his breathing rhythm. Just as he was about to get up and retrieve the Iron Rod, footsteps sounded beyond the courtyard gate.

When Qian Yaoting pushed open the gate and entered, his gaze first settled on Li Long's face. His footsteps were lighter than usual, but his aura was steady. After two months of adjustment, his level sixty-one Soul Power and the twenty-five-thousand-year soul ring he had absorbed had completely merged into one. The Six-Winged Angel martial soul slept quietly within him.

He had originally wanted to say, "Junior brother, I've finished consolidating," but before the words left his mouth, he sensed something first.

"You broke through?"

Li Long nodded. "Yeah, level thirty-six."

Qian Yaoting blinked, then sat down on the stone bench in the courtyard in a relaxed posture.

"I've finished consolidating my sixth soul ring too. These past two months were mainly about getting it fully accustomed to my body. I came to find you today because I promised last time that I'd let you see my sixth soul skill. Come on, feast your eyes."

He stood and walked to the center of the courtyard, then glanced back at Li Long. "Stand by the courtyard wall. Don't get too close."

Li Long retreated beneath the corridor, his gaze fixed on Qian Yaoting.

He truly was curious about what level the sixth soul skill of the Six-Winged Angel martial soul had reached.

Qian Yaoting did not delay. He closed his eyes for a moment. As Soul Power surged from within him, six soul rings rose beneath his feet in succession: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black.

The two black soul rings rotated quietly at the end of the six rings, radiating the solid luster unique to ten-thousand-year soul rings.

The sixth soul ring lit up, and its glow abruptly spread outward.

A circle of golden radiance spread from beneath Qian Yaoting's feet in every direction. With him as its center, it formed a translucent golden domain spanning a radius of ten zhang.

Within the domain, the light became gentle and even. The Soul Power flowing through the air seemed to have been reorganized by some kind of law, and even breathing became smoother.

Angel Sanctuary.

Standing at the edge of the domain, Li Long immediately felt the change.

The recovery speed of the Soul Power within his body had clearly accelerated inside the domain. Though he was not its master, merely standing at its edge allowed him to feel the warm, gentle infusion brought by that golden radiance.

Qian Yaoting's figure turned into a streak of golden light within the domain. In an instant, he appeared at the other end of the courtyard, with no visible trace of movement in between.

He stopped at the other side of the domain, a longsword already formed in his hand. Yet its blade was not pointed toward Li Long, but hung casually at his side.

"Within the domain, I can lock onto any target. As long as they're within range, I can launch one guaranteed-hit attack." Qian Yaoting's voice carried through the golden radiance, firmer than usual. "At the same time, enemies within the domain have their speed reduced by thirty percent, while allies recover Soul Power at twice the rate."

After hearing that, Li Long quickly ran through the possible applications of the soul skill in his mind.

Crowd control in group battles, suppression in duels, and team support—a versatile soul skill combining all three.

Combined with Qian Yaoting's speed and swordsmanship, once this domain spread out, opponents of the same rank would have almost no room to counter it.

"It really is strong," Li Long said, his tone carrying genuine approval.

Qian Yaoting withdrew the domain, and the golden radiance slowly faded from the ground.

He sheathed his sword, returned to the stone bench, and sat down beside it, looking at Li Long. "Well?"

"Nearly invincible in group battles," Li Long said honestly. "The suppressive power within ten zhang is too comprehensive. With the opponent's speed reduced by thirty percent, the speed gap between them and you only gets wider. They can only take a beating."

Qian Yaoting nodded. He knew the strength of this soul skill himself.

But then he changed the subject and added, "Still, this soul skill consumes a lot. At full power, it can only be maintained for less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick. It's similar to your situation—both are trump cards."

Li Long gave a quiet hum.

The two stood quietly in the courtyard for a while. Morning light slanted in over the eastern wall, completely gathering away the lingering golden afterglow on the ground.

"Oh, right." Qian Yaoting suddenly remembered something and turned to Li Long. "After you get your fourth ring, do you want to find some time to go out with me? Before I got my sixth ring, I traveled to quite a few places on my own. Some of them are worth visiting, and you can broaden your horizons while you're at it. You have plenty of combat experience, but most of it is against people or fixed-target soul beasts. Wilderness survival and adaptability aren't things you can develop through practice alone. You have to get out there."

Li Long glanced at him and nodded without much thought. "Sure. You can lead the way then."

He thought about it. Perhaps he could use that opportunity to search for the Icefire Yin-Yang Well.

His teacher had shown him kindness, and his senior brother treated him well. Spirit Hall was also good in this era. Within a suitable scope, he could tell the two of them about the Icefire Yin-Yang Well, allowing the Immortal Herbs there to be put to proper use rather than handed over to Tang San and his group.

Besides, he could not consume all the Immortal Herbs by himself. Even after being consumed, different Immortal Herbs could still have mutual rejection and medicinal conflicts.

So he would only take what he needed. The rest could go to his teacher and senior brother, or perhaps to his future wife and himself.

Qian Yaoting rose and patted down his clothes as he headed toward the courtyard gate. When he reached it, he paused, turned his head, and said, "Hurry up and break through to your fourth ring. I can't wait too long."

Then he stepped out of the courtyard and left, his steps light and brisk, his figure casting a long shadow in the morning light.

Li Long stood where he was and watched him leave, then returned beneath the corridor and sat down again.

His level thirty-six Soul Power circulated steadily through his meridians. The pathways widened by the cleansing fruit were much clearer than before, and his Soul Power recovery speed had increased by roughly twenty percent as well.

He took out the remaining portion of the ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber from his storage ring and cut off a piece, preparing for another medicinal bath soak that night.

The Aptitude Cleansing Fruit had changed the foundation of his Innate Soul Power, while the ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber continued strengthening his body. With both aspects advancing together, his speed of breaking through to the fourth ring would only grow faster and faster.

He closed his eyes and began circulating the Guidance Method again.

The Iron Rod lay quietly across his knees, still retaining the lingering warmth from yesterday's training.

The courtyard became quiet again, leaving only Li Long's long, steady breathing and the faintest hum of Soul Power circulating.

Qian Yaoting walked along the road back to Angel God Mountain, his pace neither hurried nor slow.

When he displayed his sixth soul skill today, he had deliberately not used it at full power. Even so, the instant that layer of golden radiance covered the courtyard, he saw the change in Li Long's eyes. It was not simple amazement, but the look of someone rapidly analyzing, rapidly breaking down, and rapidly absorbing something new. That look made Qian Yaoting feel that his junior brother's rate of improvement likely far exceeded his imagination.

Once he gets his fourth ring, I wonder if he'll be able to spar with me for longer...

With that thought, his pace quickened slightly.

He needed to return and continue cultivating. If a twenty-five-year-old Soul Emperor got caught up to by a junior brother barely ten and a half years old, it would be rather hard on his pride.