A Strange Soul Ring Mechanism, Ning Rongrong's Friendly Overture

Tang San knew just how vicious the Dragon Whisker Needle was.

A vein bulged at his temple. He gritted his teeth and dropped to one knee, clamping the fingers of his right hand around his left forearm.

He swiftly channeled his Soul Power, trying to force the Dragon Whisker Needle out.

He had no time to waste.

If it stayed inside him too long, the pain would be the least of his worries. He could lose the use of his entire arm.

Tang San turned his Soul Power into a reverse pull, slowly drawing the needle out through the wound.

Every fraction the golden needle moved brought a fresh bead of bright red blood with it.

But just then—

The Carbon Monoxide poisoning chose that exact moment to strike.

A violent wave of dizziness rushed through his head, and his ears rang.

Tang San's fingers trembled. His Soul Power nearly scattered.

The Dragon Whisker Needle slipped half an inch back in, and pain drenched his back in sweat.

Tang San clenched his teeth and forced the dizziness down.

He knew he could not stop. If he did, the Dragon Whisker Needle would seal off his meridians completely. Then forcing it out would be impossible, and he might not even keep his left arm.

He drove the Mysterious Heaven Skill to its limit. At last, he slowly pulled the golden crystalline filament free.

Tang San collapsed to the ground, drained, and gulped for air.

Blood soaked his left arm from elbow to fingertips. The flesh on the inside of his forearm had split and curled back, swollen purple and blue. His whole arm trembled faintly beyond his control.

He looked down at his wound, then raised his eyes to Qin Yun, who stood a few paces away with his hands behind his back. Resentment and spite mingled in his gaze.

"Enough!"

Flender stepped forward.

His gaze swept over the four new students, all panting and in a sorry state.

"Time's up."

"One stick of incense. Right on the mark."

"All four of you lasted a full stick of incense against Qin Yun. You didn't faint, fall, or cry for him to stop."

"By the rules, you pass."

Then he continued.

"First, an introduction. I'm Flender, the academy dean!"

"And this is Qin Yun, a senior who enrolled a few years before you."

"To have reached your current levels at twelve years old, you could certainly be called geniuses out in the world."

"But you need to understand that there is always someone stronger."

"Beat Qin Yun before you call yourselves peerless geniuses."

Having just seen Qin Yun's strength, they all fell silent.

"All right." Flender waved a hand, slipping back into his lazy manner.

"Qin Yun, clear the poison from them."

Qin Yun smiled faintly and walked toward the four of them.

He went to Ning Rongrong first. She was more alert than Xiao Wu, but her cheeks were still pale from the lack of oxygen, and her knitted brows showed that the dizziness had not entirely passed.

Qin Yun raised his right hand and gently tapped her shoulder with his palm. A thread of Soul Power entered her body through the shoulder acupoint.

It precisely caught the Carbon Monoxide molecules dispersed throughout her body.

Ning Rongrong felt the tightness in her chest ease, and stale air surged unbidden from her throat.

She let out a long breath. The suffocating feeling vanished, and her vision cleared.

Qin Yun then went to Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, and Tang San in turn, clearing the poison from each of them.

Unless something unexpected had happened, Tang Hao was probably watching from nearby.

Qin Yun had no problem defeating Tang San, but he could not actually kill him.

Once Ning Rongrong had fully recovered, she got up and walked over to Qin Yun.

"Senior, I wanted to ask while we were fighting—what exactly is your Martial Soul?"

"We never saw how you attacked! First explosions, then diamonds, then magnets... That's ridiculous!"

"And how are all three of your Soul Rings thousand-year rings?"

The questions came spilling out one after another.

The little princess temperament Ning Rongrong had developed since childhood drove her to ask outright.

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, but her catlike eyes remained fixed on Qin Yun's face. The curiosity in them ran even deeper than Ning Rongrong's.

Even Tang San could not help listening closely.

More than anyone, he wanted to know what secrets this "senior" who had beaten him so easily was hiding.

Qin Yun looked down at Ning Rongrong's bright eyes.

He chuckled softly.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes!"

Qin Yun stopped keeping them in suspense and slowly opened his right palm.

The instant his fingers spread, a soft white glow rose from his palm. Its light swirled and formed an illusory chart.

The chart was translucent, its surface covered in tightly packed characters and symbols arranged in a neat grid, like a mysterious scroll shrunk to the size of his palm.

The symbols flickered, giving off an air of mystery.

On closer inspection, the symbols in the first three rows had become solid and substantial, their hazy outlines replaced by a weighty texture.

Two in the first row, eight in the second, eight in the third—eighteen symbols linked by a faint golden glow hung motionless within the chart. Each represented the essence of a different substance.

"This is my Martial Soul."

"I call it the Periodic Table of Elements!"

The Periodic Table of Elements encompassed the fundamental power of every known element in the world.

Qin Yun did not need to hunt soul beasts to obtain Soul Rings.

Each time he advanced ten levels, he could unlock access to the elements of the next period;

To keep raising his Soul Power, he had to activate every element in that period.

Once he had activated them all, their Elemental Power would gather on its own to form his next Soul Ring.

In general, Qin Yun's Soul Rings were somewhat like Tang San's Blue Silver Overlord Spear in the original story.

And as his strength grew, the age of his Soul Rings would gradually increase.

At first, Qin Yun's first and second Soul Rings had also been yellow. When he became a Soul Elder and formed his third Soul Ring, the first two rose with it to the thousand-year level.

Ning Rongrong stared, dumbfounded, her mouth slightly open.

She came from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and had seen countless rare Martial Souls, yet she had never heard of one as extraordinary as the "Periodic Table of Elements."

If Qin Yun dared show it to them, he naturally did not mind them looking.

He was probably the only person in this world who understood it anyway.

Ning Rongrong, however, was not about to let Qin Yun off so easily.

She circled to his left, tilted up her delicate face, and pressed on.

"Senior, senior, how do you actually use it in a fight?"

"When you snapped your fingers those two times, I didn't see a thing. How did those explosions happen?"

Everyone admired the strong, and she was no exception.

Besides, Qin Yun was handsome, and his Martial Soul was mysterious.

He had a natural appeal to women.

Zhu Zhuqing stood a few paces away. She did not crowd him as Ning Rongrong did.

But her gaze rested quietly on Qin Yun too.

Xiao Wu saw this and pursed her lips, her cheeks puffing slightly in disdain.

"Hmph, what's so great about him?"

"Keep at it, Xiao San! I know you'll beat him next time!"