"From this day onward, Li Qinglian, you shall be the Holy Son of our Spirit Hall."
"I believe no one will question you again."
Bibi Dong took a deep breath and channeled her Soul Power, her voice reaching the ears of everyone across Pope Mountain.
The calculation in her eyes as she looked at Li Qinglian was gone.
She suddenly realized a very serious problem.
Where exactly had Li Qinglian come from?
Why did both Qian Daoliu and Qian Renxue value Li Qinglian so highly?
Li Qinglian's talent was indeed exceptional, even far surpassing Qian Renxue's.
Both had innate level twenty Soul Power, yet Li Qinglian's Soul Rings were stronger!
It could even be said that Li Qinglian's Martial Soul was superior as well!
"The limit of an ordinary Martial Soul is level ten. Even with two powerful Martial Souls, one can only awaken level ten Soul Power at most."
"Xue'er's Martial Soul came from the Angel God and was a god-tier Martial Soul, which was why her limit reached level twenty. If Li Qinglian also possessed innate level twenty Soul Power, then he was likely connected to some god as well..."
Bibi Dong's gaze froze.
The Qian Clan had always worshipped the Angel God. The Worship Hall was named for its worship of the Angel God.
As the Grand Worshipper, Qian Daoliu even had the right to communicate with the Angel God at certain times.
Perhaps this child had an extraordinary background.
Otherwise, Qian Daoliu would not be sucking up to him so shamelessly!
If that was truly the case, then offending Li Qinglian was definitely not a good idea.
"If I'm not mistaken, Li Qinglian is definitely connected to the Goddess of Life in some way."
"He might even be her illegitimate son."
"You won't benefit from offending him."
At that moment, the Rakshasa God's voice echoed in Bibi Dong's mind.
After choosing Bibi Dong as her successor in the City of Slaughter years ago, the Rakshasa God had remained within Bibi Dong's body.
After seeing Li Qinglian's enormous tree, she had been utterly stunned as well.
That was practically a dark version of the Tree of Life!
The Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction had a stable relationship, but if something like this had truly happened, she could understand it.
As the Goddess of Life, she had never truly created a little life of her own.
As the mother of countless living beings, yet never having been a mother herself, it was undoubtedly a torment for the Goddess of Life.
That was why she felt the Goddess of Life had every motive to commit the deed!
"The Goddess of Life?"
Bibi Dong drew in a sharp breath!
"Yes. But I still cannot guess who his father is. His status is likely not low, either. You should not provoke someone like him."
The Rakshasa God spoke faintly before falling silent again.
She decided that she would never show herself again in the future.
From now on, she would pretend she knew nothing about this sort of thing.
Otherwise, when the God Kings started tearing each other apart, she would not be able to bear the responsibility.
Why say such sarcastic things now? Why didn't you say so earlier?
Bibi Dong grumbled inwardly.
Damn it!
Whether she could ascend to become the Rakshasa God was still uncertain, yet before even entering the God Realm, she had already offended a second-generation god?
All at once, she could understand Qian Daoliu and the other worshippers' excessive goodwill toward Li Qinglian, as well as Xue'er's affection for him.
If, in her youthful years, she had met a divine son instead of Yu Xiaogang... her behavior would only have been even more outrageous.
Women, after all.
If they could truly find someone to rely on, what woman would not want to be delicate and dependent? Who would willingly struggle and strive alone?
"Xue'er's judgment is still better than mine."
A rare trace of gentleness flashed through Bibi Dong's beautiful eyes.
She and Qian Renxue were destined to be incompatible, but she did not mind hoping that Qian Renxue could find a suitable person.
"Yan, how did you lose?"
Yan returned dejectedly to Xie Yue and Hu Liena.
Xie Yue could not help asking.
He remembered that Yan's true strength was not limited to this.
"Li Qinglian's Soul Skill is extremely strange. You absolutely cannot let those branches bind you."
"After those branches wrapped around me, the Soul Power in my body was constantly siphoned away, and my attack power rapidly declined as well."
"I made a rough estimate. In just those few minutes, at least forty percent of my Soul Power was drained away, while my attack power steadily decreased. By the time I lost, the power of my Soul Skills had been reduced by thirty percent."
A trace of apprehension flashed in Yan's eyes.
Faced with Li Qinglian's bizarre skill, he truly had no way to deal with it.
"The Flame Lord is simply too bulky. He was completely countered and had no ability to resist at all."
"If an agility-type Soul Master could evade his attack range and avoid being chained by those strange chains, things might be much better. As for assault-type Soul Masters, they would need to use brute force to directly destroy Li Qinglian's branches and vines..."
"Otherwise, once Li Qinglian binds you, losing the match is only a matter of time. He can constantly siphon the energy within you to replenish himself. It is like fighting someone who is always at full strength and is even continuously growing stronger. There is no chance of winning."
Yan sighed.
"There is actually a Soul Master like that?"
Hu Liena's fox-like eyes gleamed.
She was becoming more and more curious about Li Qinglian.
Merely from Yan's complaints, she could sense the pressure Li Qinglian brought.
Just how strong were Li Qinglian's branches?
They had constricted Yan's granite-covered body until it creaked!
Even an assault-type Soul Master would probably need to be above level thirty-five to barely break free from Li Qinglian's control through brute force.
Li Qinglian's branches did not merely extend from his body. They could also burst from the ground, making them impossible to guard against. Even agility-type Soul Masters would find them troublesome!
"Li Qinglian's Martial Soul is truly powerful. Ninety percent of Martial Souls would be countered by him. I wonder how my Demon Fox Martial Soul would fare? If I use Charm and Mental Control, could I deal with him?"
After returning to his bedroom,
Li Qinglian washed up under the attendants' service, then climbed onto his bed to cultivate.
"My gains today seemed quite considerable!"
Li Qinglian channeled his Soul Power, and his Martial Soul flickered indistinctly behind him.
A ball of fiery-red energy rested in his hand.
This was precisely the energy Li Qinglian had siphoned from Yan.
Most of it had long since dispersed into the world, but a small portion of its essence had been purified and retained.
Half of this energy was pure life essence, while the other half was the purest energy Yan had cultivated.
Human cultivation of Soul Power was fundamentally the process of refining the primordial energy scattered throughout heaven and earth. The Soul Power energy Li Qinglian siphoned was likewise pure energy.
"Death Siphon... this Soul Skill really is the innate skill of the Death Divine Tree." Li Qinglian's eyes lit up.
He activated the Death Divine Tree Martial Soul, and the ball of energy was swiftly absorbed completely.
At the same time, the two purple Soul Rings beneath Li Qinglian seemed to brighten somewhat.
The change was not great, but Li Qinglian still sensed it keenly.
"It seems I can use my first Soul Skill, Death Siphon, to absorb energy. This energy seems capable of affecting the Martial Soul itself. The most direct benefit is that it can increase the age of my Soul Rings!"
This ability was somewhat heaven-defying!
Did that not mean that, given enough time, he could eventually evolve all his Soul Rings into million-year Soul Rings?
Using Death Siphon on Soul Masters would not endanger their lives as long as he did not overdo it. The small amount of life energy he had siphoned from Yan was roughly equivalent to Yan donating blood once. After resting for three or four months, he would be fine.
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