At that moment, inside the inn, a snowflake was emitting a barrier that tightly enclosed a certain area.
Within the barrier, Tian Chen sat cross-legged on the floor, a black Soul Ring slowly pulsing around him.
"Not enough. Still not enough. I have to push my body to its limit."
Tian Chen gritted his teeth and held on, even releasing his Heavenly Phoenix Wings.
"Break through!" Tian Chen roared. The black Soul Ring pulsed faster and faster, emitting wisps of red light until red swiftly covered it entirely.
This was the hallmark of the powerful in the Soul Master World: a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, something usually obtainable only by Titled Douluos standing at the pinnacle of Soul Masters.
Yet now it had appeared on a Soul Ancestor. If those Titled Douluos outside heard about this, they would probably turn green with envy.
"No, I need even greater power."
Beads of sweat the size of beans covered almost all of Tian Chen's face as he kept pushing himself to his limits.
Gradually, the red of the Soul Ring grew even more vivid.
Only then did he slowly stop, but Tian Chen knew that increasing its age was merely the beginning. Next came the most important step, next came the most important step: fusing with this Soul Ring.
"Come, my fourth Soul Ring. You will be my first step toward fulfilling my promise to my two older sisters."
With that, Tian Chen steadied his breathing and focused his mind, beginning to absorb the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.
A self-condensed Soul Ring was formed by carving out Soul Power pathways, absorbing martial soul origin, and then pouring Soul Power into it. In other words, Tian Chen himself determined how much energy this Soul Ring contained.
Although its energy was at the very limit of what Tian Chen could withstand, and absorbing it would not make his body explode and kill him, a bout of pain akin to death was unavoidable.
As the Soul Ring slowly fused with him, a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of Tian Chen's mouth. He paid it no mind, merely staring at the ring with an even more resolute gaze.
"Aaaah!"
Screams tore from his mouth, but his gaze remained unwavering.
"Fuse!" Violent energy battered Tian Chen's body without pause. Blood kept spurting from him until he looked like a man made of blood.
An unknown amount of time passed. After a surge of blood-red air was stopped by the barrier, a boy drenched in blood could be seen lying on the floor.
Beneath his body, three black Soul Rings and one red one kept revolving.
Tian Chen slowly opened his eyes. Looking at his hand, he broke into a smile.
"I... I'm still alive!"
Although he felt terribly weak inside, his voice held a surge of excitement, for today he had finally taken the first step toward fulfilling his promise to his two older sisters.
Tian Chen's level had now soared straight to the peak of level 48.
This was not because of the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. A self-condensed Soul Ring came from his own strength, after all, rather than a Soul Beast's cultivation, so it would not raise his level at all.
Although Tian Chen had been focusing on his physique to ensure that his fourth Soul Ring reached a hundred thousand years,
he had never given up on increasing his Soul Power Level and had continued cultivating diligently.
The moment he obtained his Soul Ring, the Soul Power Levels Tian Chen had previously suppressed surged back all at once.
Only with the energy he had absorbed from the Heavenly Phoenix Wings added to that had he achieved such a terrifying result.
"Not bad. My Soul Power actually rose eight levels in a row. The Soul Power I accumulated before should have pushed me to around level 45. Unfortunately, to break through to Soul King, I absorbed the Heavenly Phoenix Wings' energy without restraint and nearly damaged my foundation. Otherwise, I would have crossed an entire major realm long ago!"
Then he drew a deep breath and calmed the turmoil within him. Slowly closing his eyes, he began to sense his newly acquired Soul Skills.
The Emperor-Slaying Ghost Blood Blade's fourth Soul Ring had granted him two Soul Skills.
The first, Blood Prison Flame Sea, summoned a sea of flames centered on himself, restricting the movements of Soul Masters within its range and burning away their Soul Power, causing them to lose 20% every minute.
The second, Blood-Burning: Evil Flame Phoenix Slash, consumed bloodline power to increase attack power by 300%, though excessive use would damage his vitality. In addition, the released blade slash transformed into a phoenix with a tracking effect. Upon impact, evil fire would engulf the enemy's entire body and could not be extinguished.
"Not bad, not bad. To think my very first self-condensed Soul Ring would give me such powerful Soul Skills!" Tian Chen said in satisfaction.
He briefly sensed the ring and found that its age was roughly a hundred and seventy thousand years.
He thought to himself, At this rate, once I break through to level 50, I should be able to absorb a two-hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring.
However, Tian Chen quickly calmed down and shook his head slightly. "My Soul Power has only just broken through. Rushing for results isn't a good thing. There's still the Yin-Yang Profound Dragon Pill!"
Tian Chen took a box suffused with medicinal fragrance from inside his clothes.
"A pill that lets you rebuild after being broken. It might prove useful later, so I need to take it as soon as possible."
Then Tian Chen swallowed the Yin-Yang Profound Dragon Pill, sat cross-legged, and began consolidating his Soul Power.
Meanwhile, as Tian Chen consolidated his Soul Power,
in a third-year classroom, Tang Ya wore a black dress. Tall and long-legged, she paired a devilishly alluring figure with an innocent appearance, her blue eyes forming a striking contrast with her seductive curves.
At that moment, however, she had no mind to listen to the teacher's lecture. Her eyes were unfocused, and there was no telling what she was thinking about.
Suddenly, a cough rang out. Tang Ya snapped back to her senses and saw the teacher staring at her sharply, with a trace of displeasure and reproach.
"Tang Ya, what are you thinking about? You're completely lost in thought!" The teacher's voice carried a hint of severity, and the classroom immediately fell silent.
Tang Ya stood up with an embarrassed smile. "I'm sorry, teacher. I was thinking about cultivation and got a little distracted. Sorry."
Upon hearing this, the teacher snorted coldly. "Pay attention during class. Don't think about other things. Don't let it happen again. Sit down!"
"Yes!"
Seeing this, Jiang Nannan leaned a little closer from beside her and whispered, "Xiaoya, were you thinking about someone you like?"
"Of course not. I wasn't. Don't talk nonsense."
Tang Ya grew flustered at those words, her cheeks reddening as she spoke. At the same time, she thought, How does Nannan know? Did she see me with Tian Chen that day?
"And you still deny it? Xiaoya, you should have seen your eyes just now. Your gaze was practically stretching into threads of longing!"
Tang Ya's cheeks grew even redder. She instinctively lowered her head, trying to conceal her panic, but Jiang Nannan saw it all.
"Let me guess. Could it be Bei Bei? No way, our great Sect Master Tang actually..."
Jiang Nannan deliberately drew out her words, her tone brimming with teasing.
Tang Ya abruptly raised her head and glared at Jiang Nannan. "Stop talking nonsense. Bei Bei and I are only master and disciple. There's nothing else between us."
"All right, all right, I'll stop. But let me remind you: if you like someone, you'd better tell him how you feel outright. Otherwise, someone else could easily snatch him away!" With that, Jiang Nannan went back to listening to the lecture.
"Snatch him away?" Tang Ya's voice held unmistakable unease. That was right. He was so outstanding that the girls at the academy who wanted to be his girlfriend could practically line up all the way to the school gates. If she did not confess her feelings in time, how could she possibly compete with anyone else?
But she was merely pretty. Even her talent had only improved because of him. How could she be worthy of him?
Jiang Nannan's words took root in Tang Ya's heart like a seed.
She lowered her head, her gaze somewhat lost, and her fingers unconsciously began sketching lightly on the paper.
Without thinking, she outlined a figure-the likeness of that person in her memories.
As the face grew increasingly lifelike, Tang Ya's breathing quickened slightly. She stopped her pen and carefully studied the portrait before her.
It was a handsome face, its eyes holding a trace of tenderness, as though he were smiling at her. Her heartbeat involuntarily quickened, and her cheeks grew redder still.
"Is this the person I like?"
Tang Ya murmured to herself, her voice carrying a hint of uncertainty and a hint of sweetness.
Before you continue