Lin Ye Still Had Another Card Up His Sleeve?!

"It's yours."

Lin Ye kicked the Ice Jade Scorpion to Shui Bing'er's feet.

Shui Bing'er froze for a moment. "Thank you."

She had never imagined obtaining her Fourth Ring would be so easy.

Still less had she imagined Lin Ye would be the one to hunt it for her.

"Hmph!"

Shui Yue'er stamped her foot in a huff.

The sight made her green with envy.

Shui Bing'er had even claimed the two of them hadn't done that last night.

If they really hadn't, would Lin Ye be kind enough to hunt a Soul Beast for you?

They hadn't done that...

Then she must have put it in her mouth!

While Shui Yue'er conducted her meticulous analysis, Shui Bing'er had already drawn the Soul Ring onto herself.

She sat cross-legged and circulated her Soul Power.

She had entered the final stage of merging with it.

Lin Ye sat on a rock nearby, praying his Fifth Soul Ring would appear soon.

His goal was clear.

He had to hunt a True Dragon Soul Beast for his Fifth Soul Ring.

Only a True Dragon Soul Beast's Soul Ring offered the best chance of awakening the Ice Dragon King Bloodline within him.

"Who would've thought..."

"That Lin Ye kid is so strong!"

"What did you expect?"

"If the family head didn't value his talent, why would he offer him his daughter's hand in marriage? He certainly wouldn't give him a Ten-Thousand-Year Herb every month."

"The family head isn't doing this just to help Shui Bing'er repair her unstable Martial Soul foundation. More importantly, he hopes the two of them will have a child who can shoulder the Shui Family's future."

"Where did this kid come from? How come I've never heard of him?"

"Apparently..."

"He was abandoned as a baby outside the Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

"Meng Shenji took him in."

"Until he turned six, Lin Ye was pretty much left to his own devices."

"On the day of his Martial Soul Awakening, an Ice Dragon circled overhead and the crystal ball blazed with dazzling blue light. Only then did the Heaven Dou Royal Academy begin grooming him in earnest."

"If that's so..."

"Why would the Heaven Dou Royal Academy agree to let him go?"

"An Ice-Type Dragon Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power is a rare find."

"At the time, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy refused to budge. They even offered Lin Ye equally generous terms."

"In the end, our family head visited them in person. No one knows what deal he struck with Meng Shenji behind closed doors."

"But after that night, Meng Shenji relented."

"So Lin Ye isn't marrying into the Shui Family?"

"Of course not!"

"He still belongs to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and he's also the Shui Family's son-in-law."

"Then how did he get that ten-thousand-year Fourth Ring?"

"No idea."

"..."

Shui Bing'er spent half a day absorbing her Fourth Soul Ring.

Now,

her Soul Power had reached Level Forty-One.

The leap in strength made the corners of her mouth rise of their own accord, and she turned her gaze toward Lin Ye.

"Well, well—"

"You're looking at him with such longing, your eyes might as well have strings attached."

"If you can't hold back, just go kiss him."

"Don't be shy!"

"I'll make sure all these third wheels close their eyes."

Shui Bing'er had meant to thank Lin Ye, but Shui Yue'er's teasing killed the impulse completely.

She drew a deep breath...

Then turned all her gratitude toward Lin Ye into a clenched fist and brought it down hard on Shui Yue'er's head.

"Ow... That hurts!" Shui Yue'er clutched her head and begged for mercy. "Bing'er, I was wrong."

Once the joking was over,

the group resumed their search for Soul Beasts.

Just as Lin Ye had expected,

Soul Beasts were scarce in the Frozen Forest to begin with. Finding a True Dragon Soul Beast was harder still.

Half a month passed without success...

Everyone was growing restless, but none dared say so.

Before they set out, the family head had warned them time and again: they had to find Lin Ye a suitable Soul Ring, or they were not to return.

"It's coming!"

Lin Ye darted to the front of the group.

The Ice Dragon King Bloodline within him had suddenly stirred. A Soul Beast was approaching.

The others stared at him, baffled.

It's coming?

What's coming?

They couldn't see a thing.

A few breaths later...

they realized Lin Ye had been right.

A massive beast was closing in through the air, visibly growing larger by the moment.

"An Ice-Spike Dragon!"

"A True Dragon Soul Beast."

"Looks about thirty thousand years old."

As he spoke, the Soul Emperor leading the group glanced at Lin Ye.

He was puzzled.

How had Lin Ye sensed the approaching Soul Beast before he had?

Could this kid's senses surpass those of a Level Sixty-Eight Soul Emperor?

"It's mine!"

Lin Ye could no longer hide his excitement.

A thirty-thousand-year True Dragon Soul Beast.

Wasn't this exactly the Fifth Soul Ring he had spent half a month searching for?

"You..."

"Thirty thousand years?"

The Soul Emperor suddenly realized Lin Ye intended to absorb a Soul Ring above his level again.

But...

remembering Lin Ye's ten-thousand-year Fourth Ring, he was no longer as shocked as he had been at first.

While the man was still reeling,

Lin Ye charged ahead of everyone else.

Only when he drew closer did he make out the Ice-Spike Dragon's fearsome features.

It was over ten meters long.

Ice-blue dragon scales covered its massive body, with wisps of cold seeping through the gaps.

Its most striking feature was the dozens of ice spikes running from neck to tail, each able to rise upright.

Twenty meters away!

Lin Ye hurled the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword formed by his Fourth Soul Skill.

Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!

The blade struck the icy scales with a teeth-grating clash of metal, blasting shards of ice in every direction.

The Ice-Spike Dragon's scales were harder than he had imagined.

The blade sank in less than half an inch before lodging fast, and the recoil sent the sword flying.

Lin Ye leaped high, caught the hilt, and drove the blade toward the Ice-Spike Dragon's back.

First Soul Skill—Ice Dragon Power!

Third Soul Skill—Winter's Command!

Both skills enhanced his strength.

As Lin Ye thrust, his strength surged severalfold.

But...

a thirty-thousand-year Ice-Spike Dragon was no ordinary foe.

The instant the sword tip touched its scales,

dozens of spikes on its back rose and crossed like living things, forming an impenetrable coat of spiked armor.

Clang!

The blade struck it, throwing off a spray of fine ice chips, before the dragon's brute strength knocked it away.

Rooar!

The Ice-Spike Dragon let out a deep roar.

Its thick tail swept across with a violent rush of shattered ice.

The wind shrieked!

The blow whipped straight toward Lin Ye's ribs.

Shui Bing'er's heart lurched at the sight.

She and Lin Ye were husband and wife in name only, but she still didn't want to see him hurt.

Yet...

when she saw Lin Ye block the strike with his Second Soul Skill, Ice Dragon Protection, she breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

That must be the full extent of Lin Ye's strength, Shui Bing'er thought.

Laughable as it sounded,

this was the first time she, his wife, had seen him use his first three Soul Skills.

In their last Soul Fighting match, Lin Ye had defeated her with a single sword strike.

Wait!

Lin Ye still had another card up his sleeve.

Was that... a Self-Created Soul Skill?!