Second Soul Ring (5.4k) (Please invest! Please send recommendation votes! Please send monthly votes!)

Dragon Vein Trolls were humanoid, darkness-attribute soul beasts of the lesser dragon species, with pointed ears, black hair and scales covering their bodies, and a pair of dragon horns on their heads. Adults generally stood over two meters tall, with a few reaching three meters. They excelled at running and climbing, were powerful close-range fighters, and favored nighttime raids.

Dragon Vein Trolls lived in family groups, usually consisting of one adult male and two to five adult females, along with several juveniles. Thus, a troll family had at least three members.

The northern foothills of the Heaven Dou Mountains had the widest distribution of Dragon Vein Trolls. Their active figures could be spotted on almost every mountain over a thousand meters high.

On their second day in the mountains, Qin Xu's party found traces of Dragon Vein Trolls on a peak called Loki Mountain, within an area frequented by soul beasts.

"This is a group of seven Dragon Vein Trolls, with three adults and four juveniles."

In a secluded spot, Qin Feng reported his scouting results to everyone. "The three adults meet our criteria. The male has over six thousand years of cultivation, while the two females have fifty-five hundred and fifty-one hundred years, respectively."

"What luck!" Qin Xu exclaimed delightedly. "One of them is just right for me!"

"Fifty-one hundred years..." Bai Jian hesitated. "My eldest brother told me Xu'er's second soul ring should ideally be close to five thousand years, but not exceed it. Fifty-one hundred years clearly goes beyond that limit."

"Then we'll look somewhere else!" Qin Feng stood up and said without hesitation.

"Third Great-Granduncle, Sixth Grandpa, I want to try!" Qin Xu said firmly instead. "It's only a fifty-one-hundred-year Dragon Vein Troll. My physical strength test showed I could absorb a soul ring up to fifty-three hundred years old, but I feel I could absorb a six-thousand-year one!

"I understand Great-Grandfather wants everything safe and risk-free, but he's being far too cautious! So I want to try!"

"Well..." Hearing this, Bai Jian and Qin Feng began to waver.

"Third Great-Granduncle! Sixth Grandpa!" Qin Xu gazed at them with unwavering determination.

Beside them, Ya Yun, Xue Zhao, and Ye Guyi all remained silent. Vielvi wanted to speak, but Ya Yun clapped a hand over her mouth. This was not something she could offer an opinion on.

Faced with Qin Xu's determined gaze, Bai Jian and Qin Feng exchanged a look. Qin Feng said, "Uncle Bai, you're the elder. You should decide."

"You little brat!" Bai Jian shot Qin Feng a fierce glare, then held Qin Xu by the shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Xu'er, you're the head of the Qin Family, the ruler of the Black Dragon Duchy, and, above all, my eldest brother's only remaining bloodline in this world. You should understand how important your safety is..."

Well, hearing even the normally wild and unrestrained Bai Jian start rambling, Qin Xu knew his hopes had gone up in smoke. It looked like he could only compromise.

"Third Great-Granduncle, I understand..."

"...So promise me this: you may try, but if you feel any difficulty, you must stop immediately. Understood?"

Qin Xu's words cut off abruptly. His eyes widened as he stared at Bai Jian. "What? Third Great-Granduncle, you're letting me try?"

"Yes," Bai Jian said. "I also think my eldest brother is being a little too cautious. As a soul master, as a man, how can you avoid taking any risks at all? How can you grow into a towering tree without weathering wind and rain?

"He loved taking risks himself when he was young, but now that he's old, he's become cautious instead. Still, we can't blame him. What happened five years ago dealt him far too great a blow."

"Third Great-Granduncle, I understand!" Qin Xu said, breaking into a delighted smile.

Seeing this, Qin Feng could only say, "All right. In that case, I'll get moving."

With that, he leaped away, becoming a streak of black light as he flew toward the Dragon Vein Trolls' territory.

Before long, he returned carrying a Dragon Vein Troll covered in black hair and scales, its body over two meters long. The troll had already been knocked unconscious. Qin Feng casually tossed her at his feet, where she lay motionless.

"So this is a Dragon Vein Troll? She's so ugly!" Vielvi said, her eyes wide as she looked at the troll on the ground, a trace of disgust on her face.

"Wouldn't killing this female Dragon Vein Troll be too cruel? Her children haven't grown up yet!" Ye Guyi could not bear the thought. As a child with an angel martial soul, it was only natural for her to have a little more compassion than others.

"The weak are meat for the strong. That's nature's law." In comparison, Xue Zhao was much colder. "Yiyi, remember this: we aren't what killed her. Her weakness killed her!"

No one paid attention to the three girls' remarks, because all their attention was focused on Qin Xu.

"Xu'er, her weak point is her heart. Do it!" Qin Feng instructed.

"Understood!" Qin Xu released his Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon martial soul. His right hand transformed into a dragon claw, which he raised, aimed at the Dragon Vein Troll's heart, and plunged down.

Squelch!

The dragon claw easily pierced the thousand-year Dragon Vein Troll's body, bursting out the other side with a massive heart in its grasp. Blood slid down the scales on the claw without leaving the slightest trace.

A purple soul ring drifted out and hovered above the Dragon Vein Troll's corpse.

"Begin. We'll guard you," Bai Jian told Qin Xu.

"Mm."

Qin Xu immediately sat cross-legged, holding his left hand below and his dragon-clawed right hand above in a special posture. The purple soul ring floated over to him on its own. As the soul power within him circulated, it slipped directly over his right claw, flickering as though drawing in and releasing his soul power.

He smoothly entered the process of absorbing and merging with the soul ring.

Bai Jian, Qin Feng, and Ya Yun all visibly relaxed. The first step was always the hardest. Most failures in soul ring absorption occurred right at the beginning, when accidents were most likely to happen. Once that stage was passed, the rest was usually fine.

Still, Bai Jian did not dare let his guard down. He watched Qin Xu's condition with intense concentration. This was his eldest brother's only remaining bloodline. Nothing could be allowed to happen to him!

Qin Feng began searching the Dragon Vein Troll's corpse. Thousand-year soul beasts were slightly more likely to produce soul bones than hundred-year soul beasts, but this Dragon Vein Troll had died without any pain, so the chances were slim. Sure enough, after searching the corpse inside and out, Qin Feng found no soul bone.

Ya Yun looked through the latest reports on soul beast sightings, preparing for Vielvi's second soul ring.

Vielvi, Xue Zhao, and Ye Guyi sat quietly in the carriage, each resting with her eyes closed and getting herself into condition.

Several hours later.

As the final ripple of soul power faded, Qin Xu successfully completed the absorption and fusion of his second soul ring.

"He did it!" Bai Jian cried, his voice brimming with joy.

His voice alerted the others, and Qin Feng, Ya Yun, and the three little girls all gathered around Qin Xu.

Thus, when Qin Xu opened his eyes, he found everyone surrounding him and staring straight at him, giving him quite a fright. "Third Great-Granduncle, Sixth Grandpa, Grandma Ya, everyone, what are you doing? Why are you all gathered around me?"

"We were worried about you," Bai Jian said with a smile. "After all, absorbing a fifty-one-hundred-year second soul ring is probably unprecedented throughout history. Everyone wanted to witness it, right, little Ya Yun?"

"I wonder who was pacing back and forth anxiously just now." Ya Yun glanced at Bai Jian and retorted before turning to Qin Xu. "Xu'er, how do you feel? Is there any discomfort anywhere?"

"Thank you for worrying, Grandma Ya," Qin Xu said. "I feel great right now. My whole body is bursting with strength. I feel like I could swallow an Earth Profound Pig alive!"

"Yes, everything does seem normal." Qin Feng had already placed his hand on Qin Xu's shoulder. Feeling the steady soul power inside him and seeing his rosy complexion, he relaxed as he spoke.

"Xu, hurry up and tell us. What's your soul power level now? And what's your second soul skill?" Vielvi leaned over beside Qin Xu, her little face smiling as she asked.

Her questions were also on everyone else's minds, and they all looked at Qin Xu.

"My soul power is level twenty-three," Qin Xu said. After absorbing the soul ring, his soul power had finally stabilized at level twenty-three, a full two levels above an ordinary newly advanced Soul Grandmaster. This was not only because he had absorbed a thousand-year soul ring, but also because of his hard work.

Bai Jian was delighted. "A level twenty-three Soul Grandmaster. Yes, excellent. My eldest brother will surely jump for joy when he hears!"

"Your soul power actually rose two whole levels at once!" Ya Yun marveled. "Is this what a thousand-year second soul ring can do? Truly impressive!"

"What about your second soul skill?" Qin Feng asked. "Is it Black Dragon Demon Body?"

Black Dragon Demon Body was the second soul skill of the Qin Family's Dark Demon King Dragon.

The first three soul skills of the Qin Family's Dark Demon King Dragon martial soul were almost always fixed: Dark Dragon Breath first, Black Dragon Demon Body second, and Dark Dragon Blast third. They covered ranged attacks, attribute enhancement, and close-range burst power, making for a fairly comprehensive set.

"No." Qin Xu shook his head. "Demon Empress Blazing Sun Flash. That's my second soul skill."

With Demon Empress Blazing Sun Flash, Qin Xu locked onto a single target within a certain range, then charged forward, flashing like a blazing white sun. Every enemy along his path would take the same damage as the final target. After unleashing the soul skill, his speed would increase greatly.

It was a standard assault-type soul skill. Combined with the stunning effect of his first soul skill, Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon Roar, it could catch opponents completely off guard. Used properly, it could also inflict damage on multiple enemies. More importantly, it increased his speed. Qin Xu was quite satisfied.

"Demon Empress Blazing Sun Flash?" Qin Feng looked thoughtful upon hearing this. "An offensive soul skill, then. Hmm, all right."

"What exactly does it do?" Bai Jian asked.

Qin Xu explained its effects, and everyone looked surprised. They had thought it was simply an offensive soul skill, but it was actually a movement skill with an additional speed boost after use. It seemed somewhat geared toward countering control system soul masters.

Everyone began discussing it.

"All right. We'll rest for a moment, then set off to find White Spirit Bei," Bai Jian said.

They rested in the carriage.

A quarter of an hour later, they finished resting and continued onward.

White Spirit Bei were spiritual-type soul beasts, one of the more common spiritual-type soul beasts in the continent's north. Skilled at using spiritual power to disrupt prey and confuse enemies, they were small hunters of the Heaven Dou Mountains.

They were said to be close relatives of the Purple Spirit Bei of the Star Dou Great Forest. This claim arose because, aside from both being bei with short forelegs, the only difference in their appearance was their fur color. As their name suggested, White Spirit Bei had white fur, while Purple Spirit Bei had dark purple fur.

Their habits, however, were completely different, making it hard to believe they were related. White Spirit Bei lived in the cold northern lands, while Purple Spirit Bei inhabited the Star Dou Great Forest, where it was spring all year round. White Spirit Bei excelled at ambushes and picking off easy prey, whereas Purple Spirit Bei preferred controlling wolf-type soul beasts to launch attacks.

White Spirit Bei were Ya Yun's choice for Vielvi's second soul ring. They were also a common choice among the royal family's historical brain martial soul masters. In addition, Ya Yun's own second soul ring had come from a White Spirit Bei, so choosing one for Vielvi was perfectly normal.

When selecting the first three soul rings for their younger members, most soul master families on the continent usually chose fixed species of soul beasts. Their own Black Dragon Qin Family, the White Tiger Dai Family, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Yu Family were all examples. Though rigid, this approach provided the most reliable foundation, allowing their descendants to pass safely through the lower soul master ranks.

According to their information, the nearest White Spirit Bei group had appeared on Jiaji Mountain, roughly eighty kilometers from Loki Mountain, where they currently were. It was a small mountain only eight hundred meters tall, but it lay farther north, with lower temperatures, and closer to the depths of the mountain range, where high-level soul beasts roamed.

Qin Feng drove the carriage at a furious pace through the mountains. Fortunately, soul masters frequently visited the mountains for hundreds of li around, leaving many narrow trails just wide enough for a carriage. Otherwise, they would have had to disembark and walk much earlier.

Even so, they eventually left the carriage twenty or thirty kilometers from Jiaji Mountain, because there were no roads farther in. The carriage was too large a target, and forcing it through would mean crashing straight ahead, creating too much commotion. That would not do.

Even with three Titled Douluo in their party, they still needed to exercise caution. After all, they had four children with only one or two soul rings.

Thus, the three elders and four youngsters had no choice but to get out and continue toward Jiaji Mountain on foot.

"It's snowing," Vielvi said, extending her palm to catch a snowflake.

It was winter, and the northern foothills of the Heaven Dou Mountains lay near the Far North, so snow fell frequently. Though Jiaji Mountain was only eight hundred meters tall, its location meant it was already covered in a thick blanket of snow.

"No," Xue Zhao explained. "The wind is blowing the snow down from the mountain."

Her expression was relaxed. The silver-white mountains reflected in her beautiful eyes, which gleamed with contentment. It had been so long since she had seen a landscape blanketed in snow as far as the eye could reach!

"Girls, now isn't the time to admire the snow," Qin Feng reminded them from the rear of the party. "Once you've all obtained your second soul rings, I'll take you somewhere better for snow viewing. For now, keep moving!"

"Oh, all right!" Vielvi nodded and immediately broke into a run.

Xue Zhao said nothing, but ran alongside Vielvi, catching up with Qin Xu and Ye Guyi ahead.

They found a group of White Spirit Bei in a valley on Jiaji Mountain. The three elders stood around the four children halfway up the mountainside, taking in the entire valley below, including the thoroughly relaxed White Spirit Bei.

"A small group, about thirty in number," Qin Feng said. "The strongest has two thousand years of cultivation. Four have between one and two thousand years. The rest are hundred-year and ten-year ones."

"What are the exact ages of those four thousand-year White Spirit Bei?" Ya Yun asked.

"One is fifteen hundred years old, two are thirteen hundred, and one is exactly a thousand. Its aura is unsteady, so it probably only broke through recently," Qin Feng said. "What do you think? Shall we choose the one that's exactly a thousand years old?"

Though Qin Feng spoke to Ya Yun, his eyes were on Vielvi.

"Yes, yes! Sixth Grandpa, I want that one!" Vielvi hurriedly said, a hint of eagerness appearing on her pretty little face.

Ya Yun also spoke. "Yes, let's take the one that just passed a thousand years. If the emperor learned that his daughter could absorb a thousand-year soul ring but I hadn't hunted one for her, he might well blame me."

Thus, Qin Feng captured that thousand-year White Spirit Bei and brought it back.

Unlike most girls her age, Vielvi did not feel compassion or hesitate to kill. She decisively slew the White Spirit Bei, then began merging with its soul ring.

Everyone gathered around her and began waiting.

Ten hours later.

Vielvi finished absorbing her second soul ring and opened her eyes. A faint, wavering radiance spread out, and her eyes were unusually bright.

"Whew! It's finally over." Ya Yun let out a deep breath of relief, thankful. No matter how one looked at it, ten hours was far too long. Ordinary soul masters took between four and six hours to absorb their second soul rings, as Qin Xu had.

Vielvi, however, had taken ten hours, leaving Ya Yun worried sick.

"Congratulations, Vielvi," Qin Xu said. "You're a Soul Grandmaster now too."

"That's right! Hahaha!" Vielvi sprang up from the ground, planted her hands on her hips, and laughed proudly. "I'm a Soul Grandmaster too! Hahaha! My spiritual power increased so, so much!"

"Your spiritual power increased greatly? What about your soul power?" Bai Jian asked. "Isn't soul power what matters?"

"Uh..." Vielvi's smile froze. A hint of annoyance and disappointment appeared on her little face. "My soul power is only level twenty-one."

"Bai, don't spout nonsense if you don't understand. Vielvi is a spiritual-type soul master. Spiritual power matters more than soul power!" Ya Yun retorted. "Soul power can be raised quickly through cultivation, but there's no way to quickly increase spiritual power. So, Vielvi, don't pay any attention to what that man Bai says."

"Mm-hmm, I understand!" Some of the disappointment faded from Vielvi's face.

Qin Xu stepped forward and took Vielvi's little hand. "Vielvi, don't forget what I told you. Strong spiritual power helps with learning about soul tools. Having your spiritual power grow more significantly than your soul power is actually a good thing!"

"That's right! Xu, you're right!" At his words, a smile immediately blossomed on Vielvi's face.

Seeing Vielvi brighten, Qin Xu smiled too. Inwardly, however, he thought how good it would be if he could introduce the spiritual power system to the Douluo Continent sooner. That would also make it easier for them to know their precise spiritual power realms.

The Douluo Continent's spiritual power realms were still far too crude. All that talk of having form without substance or substance without form sounded mysterious, but in reality, it was completely unsuited to widespread teaching or the development of soul masters.

How should I introduce the Holy Demon Continent's spiritual power system?

A vague idea surfaced in Qin Xu's mind.

"All right, let's talk about the soul skill instead," Qin Feng reminded them. "Neither soul power nor spiritual power stays fixed, but a soul skill truly is permanent. No matter how high your soul power and spiritual power are, if your soul skill is no good, it's all wasted."

"Vielvi, what's your second soul skill?" Ya Yun immediately looked at Vielvi and asked.

After a moment's thought, Vielvi answered, "Thought Synchronization. It connects my consciousness with someone else's, allowing telepathy, synchronized senses, and shared vision. Right now, I can only synchronize my thoughts with one person. Each additional soul ring will let me connect with one more person."

"Well..." The three elders exchanged looks. From Vielvi's description alone, they could not judge whether this soul skill was good or bad.

Isn't this just a weaker version of Spiritual Sharing?

Qin Xu, however, was quite surprised. Vielvi's description reminded him of Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sharing. From their descriptions alone, the two sounded very similar, but Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sharing had no limit, whereas Vielvi's Thought Synchronization did.