Azure Jade Bird

Lu Xuan looked toward the trapped Emerald Jade Cicada from afar and continued, "This Emerald Jade Cicada has cultivated for over four hundred years. It might attract an Emerald Swan that's over five hundred years old."

"An Emerald Swan?" Zhao Yan's eyebrows rose.

The Emerald Swan was a top-tier healing Soul Beast, every bit the equal of the Nine Heart Begonia.

If his daughter's First or Second Soul Ring came from an Emerald Swan, the benefits to her would be immense.

Ye Lingling would not turn six for another few days and could only awaken her martial soul then, but that did not stop him from planning ahead for his daughter.

"Then we'll wait here." Tempted by the prospect of an Emerald Swan, Zhao Yan was no longer in a hurry to act.

The two lay quietly in wait. Two and a half hours slipped by.

Just then, a bird came hurtling through the air.

But it was not the Emerald Swan they had hoped for. It was an Azure Jade Bird with roughly five or six hundred years of cultivation.

The Soul Beast was large and agile, its entire body a translucent blue-green like fine warm jade. It was an excellent specimen. Lu Xuan compared it with the records in the Soul Beast Compendium he had committed to memory, then said, "Uncle Zhao, that's the one. Let's take it."

"You're sure you want this one?" Zhao Yan asked. When Lu Xuan nodded without hesitation, he said no more and prepared to strike.

"Martial soul, appear!"

Fire flared. A crimson spear wreathed in flames appeared in Zhao Yan's hand—the top-tier weapon martial soul, Phoenix Crying Spear.

Lu Xuan had heard both his master and Zhao Yan say that the Phoenix Crying Spear was of exceptionally high grade, its power in no way inferior to the Clear Sky Hammer or the Seven Kill Sword.

Unfortunately, Zhao Yan was limited by his own talent. He had been stuck at level seventy-nine as a Soul Sage for years, unable to take that final step.

If he ever broke through that bottleneck, his strength would soar once more.

But his current strength was more than enough for the Soul Beast before them.

Zhao Yan snapped his wrist. The spear soared like a crimson dragon, and he unleashed the Flame Spear Art from afar. Scorching spear flames spread in an instant, sealing off every side of the Azure Jade Bird.

"Squawk?"

The sudden pressure of the flames engulfed it. Caught off guard, the Azure Jade Bird froze, utterly bewildered.

It was only a low-level Soul Beast with a few hundred years of cultivation. How could it have imagined a mighty Soul Sage would come after it with such force?

Zhao Yan moved cleanly and effortlessly. In moments, he subdued the Azure Jade Bird and retrieved the four-hundred-year-old Emerald Jade Cicada from the spiderweb as well.

The Jade Cicada was an excellent specimen. He could raise it and later use it as his daughter Ye Lingling's First Soul Ring. It could hardly be more suitable.

He took a cage from his storage space and shoved the Emerald Jade Cicada inside.

As for the thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider lurking in the shadows, it had likely sensed Zhao Yan's terrifying strength and fled long ago, too frightened to show itself.

"Here." Zhao Yan handed the subdued Azure Jade Bird to Lu Xuan. "Xiao Xuan, you can kill it and absorb its Soul Ring now. I'll stand guard. No one will disturb you."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhao!" Filled with gratitude, Lu Xuan took the Azure Jade Bird and ended its life with a dagger.

As the Soul Beast died, a deep yellow Soul Ring with a mellow glow slowly rose above its head and hovered in the air, light rippling across it.

Lu Xuan cleared his mind, immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, and summoned his Jade Flute.

The elegant Jade Flute appeared in his palm, a faint jade radiance flowing along its length amid a haze of spiritual energy. He raised his hand and drew on his Soul Power, guiding the Azure Jade Bird's Soul Ring toward himself.

The instant the Soul Ring touched his body, a vast surge of warm energy poured through his limbs and bones. The Azure Jade Bird's Soul Ring energy was fierce and unruly, its Soul Power rampaging inside him.

Lu Xuan steadied his mind and circulated his Soul Power with all his might, gradually refining and assimilating the enormous influx of energy.

Strands of Soul Ring power seeped into his Jade Flute martial soul. The two quickly resonated and aligned, and the glow around the flute grew brighter, taking on a faint blue-green tint.

The energy of a five-hundred-and-sixty-year Soul Ring was abundant and potent. It pushed Lu Xuan's body to its current limit, making the absorption far from smooth.

Zhao Yan stood nearby with his hands behind his back, watching their surroundings closely. Soul Power radiated faintly from him, securing the entire area against any disturbance as he guarded Lu Xuan.

Time passed. More than half an incense stick later, the Jade Flute martial soul devoured and fused with the last trace of Soul Ring energy.

Hum—

A clear, melodious note from the flute rang through the forest, sending out waves of invisible sound.

Lu Xuan's Soul Power surged. His aura rose and stabilized in an instant as his First Soul Ring settled firmly into place, layers of yellow light flowing around him until the ring took its complete form.

He slowly opened his eyes, a gleam flashing in them. Feeling the surge of power within him and the newly unlocked Soul Skill, he could not help but smile.

"Level fourteen!"

Lu Xuan examined himself and sensed how much his Soul Power Level had risen. A smile spread across his face.

A month and a half had passed since he arrived in this world. Even without a Soul Ring, he had never once neglected his nightly Soul Power training.

Before absorbing the Soul Ring, both his foundation and his physical strength had already reached level thirteen.

That solid foundation was what gave him the confidence to withstand a Soul Ring beyond the usual age limit.

Now, after fusing with this Azure Jade Bird's five-hundred-plus-year Soul Ring, he had broken through to level fourteen in one leap.

And the Soul Skill he had just awakened... its effect had truly exceeded his expectations.

"Xiao Xuan." Seeing that Lu Xuan had finished absorbing the Soul Ring, Zhao Yan urged him on. "We shouldn't stay here. Let's head back."

"All right." Lu Xuan had no wish to linger either. He rose and followed Zhao Yan back toward the Ye Family Medical Hall.

By the time they returned home, Ye Renxin, Ye Qingxian, and Ye Lingling were already waiting.

At the sight of Zhao Yan and Lu Xuan, the tension left them all, and they quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Ye Renxin glanced at the cage in Zhao Yan's hand and smiled. "I didn't expect you to come back with an unexpected prize."

He recognized the Emerald Jade Cicada in the cage at once. Its abilities would make it an ideal First Soul Ring for his granddaughter Ye Lingling.

"Dad, we're back." Zhao Yan set the cage containing the Soul Beast inside, then turned to his wife and daughter, a hint of apology in his voice. "Sorry for making you worry."

Ye Qingxian shook her head gently. They had only gone to obtain Lu Xuan's First Soul Ring. With Zhao Yan accompanying him, she had not been too worried.

"Brother Lu Xuan!"

Ye Lingling hurried over to Lu Xuan and looked him up and down. Only after confirming that he did not have a single wound did she blink her curious eyes and ask, "Brother Lu Xuan, what's your First Soul Skill?"