Hiding Their Strength

Three days passed quickly. Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling returned safely from their hunt for soul rings, and both had absorbed rings suited to them.

Dugu Yan's second soul ring came from a 1,300-year-old Jade Phosphorus Centipede. This Soul Beast belonged to the Jade Phosphorus Five Poisons alongside the Jade Phosphorous Serpent, and their venom shared the same origins.

Dugu Yan's Seven-Colored Rainbow Phosphorus Serpent martial soul had evolved from a Jade Phosphorous Serpent. Their venoms sprang from the same source, though they differed in subtle ways.

After absorbing the Jade Phosphorus Centipede's soul ring, Dugu Yan gained the Rainbow Phosphorus Myriad Poisons soul skill.

Rainbow Phosphorus Myriad Poisons was a sustained, deadly poison buff that gathered all the venom in Dugu Yan's body into her palms. Once activated, every strike she made carried a viciously potent poison attack.

A single strike could rival the second soul skill of an assault-type Soul Grandmaster.

The difference was that an ordinary Soul Grandmaster could unleash their second soul skill three or four times at most before exhausting their Soul Power.

But once Dugu Yan activated Rainbow Phosphorus Myriad Poisons, the buff would remain even after she struck a hundred times in succession.

By the time the soul skill's duration ended, most of the Soul Power Dugu Yan had spent would already have recovered.

It was an excellent sustained buff. Against a formidable opponent, it lacked explosive power, but against an ordinary soul master, every one of her strikes was as fearsome as a full-force attack.

Better still, the skill was rooted in the innate venom flowing through Dugu Yan's body.

As her cultivation rose and her martial soul's venom grew stronger, Rainbow Phosphorus Myriad Poisons would grow more powerful alongside it.

Dugu Yan's Soul Power now stood firmly at level twenty-seven. Thanks to the special boost from her Life-Bound Soul Ring, her increase to all attributes had also reached twenty-seven percent.

A seven-year-old, level twenty-seven Soul Grandmaster. Across twenty thousand years of soul master history, Dugu Yan's talent was more than worthy of the word "genius."

Ye Lingling, meanwhile, had obtained her second soul ring from a 1,300-year-old evergreen vine. This plant-type Soul Beast possessed an extraordinarily vigorous and resilient life force.

After absorbing the ring, Ye Lingling's healing abilities improved once more.

She was now a level twenty-six Soul Grandmaster, her talent only a shade below Dugu Yan's.

Though the Seven-Heart Begonia ultimately fell short of the complete Nine Heart Begonia, their healing effects differed little before the Soul Sage stage.

In other words, until Ye Lingling reached the Soul Sage Realm, she needed only to absorb rings from Soul Beasts rich in life force, prioritizing plant types, to find a good match for her martial soul.

Ye Lingling's time to shine would come after she broke through to Soul Sage and could begin adding soul rings to her second martial soul.

If she could then obtain nine water-attribute soul rings of fifty thousand years or even a hundred thousand years, she could swiftly become a powerful Titled Douluo.

"Brother Lu Xuan." Ye Lingling walked over to Lu Xuan and said softly, "We have to go back."

"Lu Xuan." Standing nearby, Dugu Yan called to him. "Don't you have anything to say to us?"

Sunset Forest was no place to linger. Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan had both obtained their soul rings, and it was time for the group to leave.

Lu Xuan knew they had come to say goodbye. He nodded. "Have a safe journey. Lingling, Yanyan, the three of us are extraordinary talents who appear once in ten thousand years. But until we've truly grown strong, we must know how to hide our strength. We can't show off recklessly."

Becoming a Soul Grandmaster at six or seven was a feat previously possible only for someone with a Six-Winged Angel martial soul and innate Soul Power at level twenty.

If the three of them revealed their true cultivation, factions everywhere would set their sights on them.

Dugu Bo and Ye Renxin had already taken every precaution to keep the two girls' talents hidden and prevent disaster. Lu Xuan had kept the matter in mind as well.

"The simplest workable solution is to move away from Heaven Dou City and tell outsiders we're older than we are." Lu Xuan looked at the two girls and warned them earnestly, "If word gets out that we reached Soul Grandmaster at six or seven, countless people will take an interest in us. But if we say we're nine or even ten, we'll still be considered geniuses without seeming impossibly gifted."

Lu Xuan paused before offering his suggestion. "I think we should all say we're ten."

"Ten?" Dugu Yan asked, her face full of curiosity. "Why that age?"

"Because a ten-year-old Soul Grandmaster is believable," Lu Xuan explained patiently. "With exceptional talent, ample resources, and a lucky opportunity, reaching Soul Grandmaster at that age wouldn't strike anyone as strange."

"At your current pace, you'll both reach level thirty within a year!" Lu Xuan considered this for a moment, then continued, "Spend plenty of time strengthening your bodies and aim for third soul rings of at least five thousand years. Then we'll all have a chance to attempt ten-thousand-year fourth soul rings."

Lu Xuan laid out this ideal plan without expecting the two children to understand it all. He was speaking more for the elders behind them.

Dugu Bo and Ye Renxin, standing nearby, clearly took his advice to heart.

Lu Xuan's plan was hardly ingenious, but as long as the two girls did not boast or flaunt their strength, nothing should go wrong.

The Dugu and Ye families were both small and had always kept a low profile. Even the cultivation Dugu Bo displayed publicly was only at the Soul Douluo level. Most outsiders did not know Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling existed.

Next, Zhao Yan and Dugu Bo would each seek a soul ring—their eighth and ninth, respectively. Once they succeeded, their families would have two more formidable fighters.

With a Titled Douluo to protect them, they could keep the three young geniuses safe with confidence.

If they also spread word of Whale Rubber's remarkable ability to strengthen the body, most factions would turn their attention to that wondrous treasure instead of a few children who had never appeared in public.

Lu Xuan's scheme was not especially far-sighted and still bore the rough edges of youth. But he was certain his master, Ye Renxin, could make the proper arrangements and eliminate every hidden risk.

"We'll give this matter careful thought." Ye Renxin looked at Lu Xuan, his voice solemn. "Xiao Xuan, I've taught you everything I know. I look forward to the day you surpass me."

After a pause, he added, "While you study the Immortal Herb, don't neglect your own cultivation."

"Rest assured, Master. I won't disappoint you." Lu Xuan laughed, his eyes shining brightly. "When I come out of seclusion, I'll have an incredible surprise for you!"