Fifth Soul Skill and the Jade Spirit

Having successfully absorbed the 21,000-year fifth soul ring and the External Spirit Bone, Li Xuansheng sat cross-legged on the ground and continued regulating his breath for about an hour, thoroughly stabilizing the surging soul power from absorbing beyond his level and his slightly fatigued mind. When he opened his eyes again, the weakness from before had vanished completely, replaced by a restrained yet powerful aura. A sharp gleam shone in his eyes.

Under everyone's concerned and expectant gazes, he rose to his full height. With a thought, the Divine Phoenix Halberd appeared in his hand. Compared to before, the golden-red glow flowing along the halberd's shaft seemed deeper and more restrained. The invisible sharpness around its blade felt capable of slicing through the air with ease, carrying a faint, heart-palpitating scorching pressure.

"How does it feel? What's your fifth soul skill?" Li Xuanbei asked impatiently, while everyone else pricked up their ears.

Li Xuansheng smiled slightly, sensing the vast soul skill information in his mind. He said in a deep voice, "My fifth soul skill is called—Azure Luan Heaven-Burning Strike!" His tone carried a trace of barely concealed excitement. "This skill compresses soul power to the extreme and condenses it at the halberd's tip, transforming it into a crimson-gold flaming halberd with extreme penetration and explosive force. It specializes in single-target attacks. Its power... far surpasses any soul skill I had before!" He had a feeling that if he unleashed this strike with full force, it might pose a fatal threat even to a Soul Emperor-level expert.

Everyone revealed looks of amazement upon hearing this. The soul skill gained from absorbing beyond one's level truly was extraordinary!

Then, crimson-gold light flashed behind Li Xuansheng, and the pair of magnificent wings with a one-meter wingspan—Azure Luan Wings—silently unfolded. With a gentle flap, they lifted him steadily more than a foot off the ground. "This soul bone's wings currently possess the skill Blazing Sky Acceleration. It can greatly increase my flying speed for a short time. While flying, it can also draw in surrounding fire elements, slightly enhancing the power of my fire soul skills and slightly increasing my fire resistance. Although it is still in its initial stage, it has tremendous potential and a promising future," he explained.

Flight ability, speed enhancement, and attribute boosts—the value of this External Spirit Bone made even the two well-informed Titled Douluo nod inwardly. Li Xuansheng's gains this time could truly be called a complete transformation.

Just as Li Xuansheng was carefully experiencing his greatly increased strength, the system's crisp notification sounded in his mind:

[ Ding! Detected that the host has successfully absorbed a 21,000-year soul ring beyond his level, challenging the limits. Your courage is commendable! Distributing rewards... ]

[ Congratulations, host, for obtaining: 100 Summoning Points! One Level 97–98 Summoning Card! ]

[ Current Summoning Points: 500. ]

Li Xuansheng was instantly flooded with wild joy, as if he had drunk from a sweet spring. Five hundred Summoning Points! A Level 97–98 Summoning Card! This meant the family's top-tier combat strength was about to make a huge leap! He forcibly suppressed the urge to use the Summoning Card immediately and buried his delight deep in his heart. He knew that now was not the time.

While everyone was happy for him, they also knew this was not a place to linger. After a brief rest, the group set off again. Only Dongyue Xuejian's third soul ring remained to be obtained. Their target was around 1,700 years old, which was not difficult to find in the outskirts of the Azure Jade Forest.

The group slowed their pace and carefully searched for traces of a suitable soul beast. Sure enough, after only half a day, as they passed through a quiet valley filled with strange white jade stalagmites, Dongyue Qingxuan, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped and said in a low voice, "There's something in the valley. Its energy fluctuations are pure and dense, carrying a... sturdy quality."

Everyone perked up and quietly entered the valley. Vegetation was sparse within, and white jade stones of all shapes could be seen everywhere. On a relatively flat jade platform at the valley floor, they saw their target—a few strange creatures about half a person tall, their bodies seemingly carved from the finest mutton-fat white jade. They had vague humanoid forms, with two pure sapphires for eyes. They were lazily hopping and playing on the jade platform, giving off a soft white glow.

"They're Jade Spirits!" Dongyue Xuejian's beautiful eyes lit up as she cried softly. These elemental spirits were rare, renowned for their unique petrifying rays and their astonishing defensive power after entering a jade state. Only in a place with abundant life essence like the Azure Jade Forest could they occasionally still be found. One of them was slightly larger, and the glow around its body was gentler and more restrained. It was around 1,300 years old, making it perfectly suited for Dongyue Xuejian.

However, almost at the same moment they discovered the Jade Spirits, a somewhat noisy set of footsteps and the shouts of young people came from the other side of the valley.

Another group of roughly six or seven people burst into the valley floor from that direction. At their head was an elderly Soul Ancestor who appeared to be around sixty years old, with soul power fluctuations around Level 48. He had an ordinary face and plain clothing. Behind him followed four or five boys and girls between twelve or thirteen and fifteen or sixteen years old. The strongest among them was only a Great Soul Master, while the weakest was merely a One-Ring Soul Master. Their faces were filled with excitement and nervousness as the old man directed them in an attempt to surround the thousand-year Jade Spirit. Clearly, they had come for it as well.

Judging by their composition, they seemed to be a small family or small academy that had brought its core disciples out to hunt an important soul ring.

The two sides suddenly came face-to-face, and the atmosphere immediately became somewhat delicate. When the elderly Soul Ancestor saw the large number of people on Li Xuansheng's side and their extraordinary bearing—especially the two seemingly ordinary old men who instinctively made him feel uneasy, Dongyue Qingxuan and Li Tianji—his expression changed at once. He hurriedly signaled for his own disciples to stop, then put on a humble, even slightly frightened smile. Cupping his hands, he said, "I did not know that such esteemed experts were here. This old man has been presumptuous and disturbed you. We'll leave at once, at once!" His words came out urgently, as though he feared causing a misunderstanding.

Seeing this, Dongyue Ling prepared to step forward and negotiate. In his view, the other side was weak and respectful. Whether they discussed a trade or simply made them retreat in the face of difficulty, obtaining this Jade Spirit should not pose much of an obstacle.

"Cousin Ling, wait."

However, just as he took a step, Li Xuansheng reached out and stopped him.

Dongyue Ling and the others all looked at Li Xuansheng in confusion.

Li Xuansheng did not explain. He merely fixed a sharp gaze on a black-clothed youth standing at the very back of the opposing group. The boy looked around eleven or twelve, thin and ordinary-faced, and had kept his head lowered the entire time, as though he had no presence at all.

At the instant the two sides had met eyes, Li Xuansheng had cautiously activated the system's detection function and scanned the other group. Everyone else's information was entirely unremarkable and matched their displayed cultivation. But when his "gaze" fell upon this low-key black-clothed youth, the information panel returned by the system made Li Xuansheng's heart jolt. This boy!

The information on that panel was beyond his expectations and instantly changed his original intention of negotiating peacefully.

(End of Chapter 10)