Qian Renxue: Your Master Is Qian Daoliu?!

"I've already reached level twenty."

"Moreover, Master believes I need to face danger on my own."

Lin Tian answered.

Xue Qinghe studied Lin Tian's calm profile, and the curiosity in her eyes deepened.

"Your master is quite at ease with you."

"He can't protect me forever."

Lin Tian swept his gaze over the shrubs ahead.

"If I want to become truly strong, I have to solve problems myself."

Xue Qinghe did not refute him.

Such talent was worth Spirit Hall pouring all its resources into cultivating.

The two continued deeper into the forest.

While observing the surroundings, Lin Tian searched for spirit beasts suited to him.

The choice of a second Soul Ring was extremely important.

The Primordial Chaos Azure Lotus required soul skills focused on control and sustained damage.

The Nine Nether Beast, on the other hand, was better suited for attack and destruction.

He planned to find the first Soul Ring for the Nine Nether Beast first.

Only when both martial souls possessed soul skills would his combat methods become more complete.

Xue Qinghe walked beside Lin Tian.

"What type are you planning to choose for your second Soul Ring?"

"I haven't decided yet."

Lin Tian answered.

"I'll look at the spirit beasts first."

"If I encounter a suitable one, I'll judge its soul skill then."

Xue Qinghe nodded.

"That's the more prudent choice."

"The soul skills different spirit beasts provide vary greatly. You can't judge by cultivation age alone."

Lin Tian said nothing further.

His gaze fell upon the dense woods to the left.

The sound of breaking branches came from there.

The next instant, a massive black shadow charged out from the brush.

It was a giant wolf over five meters long.

Its entire body was covered in grayish-black fur, its limbs thick and powerful, its head raised high.

Its blood-filled maw opened as it lunged at them.

Xue Qinghe immediately halted.

She glanced at the soul power fluctuations around the giant wolf.

"A thousand-year spirit beast."

"Judging by its aura, it's around two thousand years old."

Before Xue Qinghe had finished speaking, Lin Tian had already stepped forward.

The wolf's sharp claws were only a few feet from his chest.

Lin Tian raised his right leg and kicked directly at it.

Bang!

The giant wolf's enormous body flew backward.

It smashed through several ancient trees, then rolled another dozen meters after hitting the ground.

A deep trail was carved into the earth.

Xue Qinghe remained where she was.

She watched the struggling giant wolf in the distance, surprise flashing through her eyes.

That giant wolf had been brimming with ferocity just moments ago.

Now, its limbs twitched as blood continuously poured from its mouth.

Lin Tian lowered his right leg and stood in place.

"With that level of cultivation, it's too weak."

The distant giant wolf struggled a few more times before its body completely lost strength.

A purple Soul Ring slowly rose above its corpse.

Lin Tian gave it a glance, then looked away.

His second Soul Ring clearly would not come from a spirit beast like this.

Xue Qinghe walked over from behind.

She looked at the fallen giant wolf, then at Lin Tian.

"It's already close to two thousand years old."

"For a level-twenty soul master, a Soul Ring like this isn't bad."

"Why won't you absorb it?"

Lin Tian did not answer.

He walked to the wolf's corpse and raised a hand to touch the Soul Ring.

The Soul Ring swayed lightly, then drifted away from his fingertips.

"For others, a thousand-year Soul Ring is indeed not bad."

Lin Tian turned around.

"But to me, it's trash."

Xue Qinghe's brows lifted slightly.

"Trash?"

"Every one of my Soul Rings must be at least ten thousand years old."

Lin Tian's tone was calm.

Xue Qinghe looked at him and fell silent for a moment.

"Every Soul Ring you have will be over ten thousand years old?"

"Do you know what you're saying?"

"I do."

Lin Tian clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze settling on the depths of the forest.

"The higher the Soul Ring's age, the stronger its soul skill."

"My martial souls and physique can both withstand Soul Rings of higher ages."

"Since there's a better option, why should I lower my standards?"

Xue Qinghe did not argue immediately.

Even the most powerful soul masters in history had not dared to make all their Soul Rings ten thousand years old.

The older a Soul Ring was, the greater the risk one had to bear while absorbing it.

This was especially true for the first few Soul Rings.

A soul master's body had not fully matured yet. One misstep could rupture their meridians or even kill them on the spot.

Yet Lin Tian's first Soul Ring was already a black Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring.

That Soul Ring still circled the Primordial Chaos Azure Lotus, emanating dense power.

His first Soul Ring had indeed reached ten thousand years.

Since he could accomplish it with the first, perhaps he could do the same with the second and third.

Xue Qinghe looked at Lin Tian's back.

If Lin Tian truly could make every Soul Ring at least ten thousand years old, just how powerful would he become once he matured?

Eight black Soul Rings.

Perhaps even nine black Soul Rings.

With such a Soul Ring configuration, no one across the entire continent would be able to compare.

"Perhaps he really can."

Xue Qinghe murmured softly.

Lin Tian turned around. "What did you say?"

"Nothing."

Xue Qinghe shook her head, her expression turning serious.

"Lin Tian, there's something I want to ask you."

"Go ahead."

"Within Spirit Hall, the Hall of Consecration and the Elder Hall have always each held part of the power."

"Which side do you belong to?"

Xue Qinghe paused briefly.

"Are you with the Elder Hall, or the Hall of Consecration?"

Lin Tian glanced at her.

Qian Renxue was currently concealing her identity and infiltrating the Heaven Dou Empire.

However, he already knew her true identity.

There was nothing he needed to hide from Qian Renxue.

"I belong to the Hall of Consecration."

"Not long ago, Master took me as his disciple."

Xue Qinghe's eyes shifted slightly.

"Who is your master?"

"Qian Daoliu."

As Lin Tian's words fell, Xue Qinghe's expression changed at once.

"Qian Daoliu took you as his disciple?"

"Yes."

Lin Tian nodded.

Xue Qinghe looked at him, quickly understanding the reason behind it.

With the talent Lin Tian had displayed, Qian Daoliu naturally could not let him go.

Twin Divine Martial Souls.

Level-twenty soul power.

A first Soul Ring that had reached ten thousand years.

A genius like this was enough to make any faction fight with all its strength to secure him.

It was only natural that Qian Daoliu had personally taken him as a disciple.

At that thought, the caution on Xue Qinghe's face gradually faded.

The way she looked at Lin Tian gained a hint of closeness.

"With your talent, it truly is the best choice for Senior Qian Daoliu to accept you as his disciple."

"The Hall of Consecration has a long legacy, and the resources it possesses are beyond what ordinary soul masters can imagine."

"You should cultivate diligently from now on."

Xue Qinghe's tone softened.

"As long as you don't give up halfway, you'll certainly achieve great things in the future."

"I won't stop."

Lin Tian looked at her.

"What I want to see isn't the peak of this continent."

Xue Qinghe's gaze flickered.

"Then what do you want to see?"

"Higher places."

Lin Tian did not explain further.

Xue Qinghe did not press him either.

Just then, a tremendous crash suddenly came from deep within the forest.

Boom!

The ground shook violently.

Countless branches and leaves flew into the air in the distance, while several towering ancient trees snapped one after another.

The birds and beasts in the forest scattered in panic.

Dense soul power surged into the sky, making vast stretches of treetops sway.

Lin Tian turned his head.

That soul power carried a powerful wood-element aura, along with the heavy pressure of a flood dragon.