"How does your second Soul Skill work?"
Qian Renxue hadn't cared how long Lu Yang took to absorb his Soul Ring, but she was very interested in his second Soul Skill. The Crimson Flame Feathered Sparrow was no ordinary Soul Beast. The Soul Skills it yielded were options many Soul Masters with flying or fire-attribute Martial Souls would consider.
And Lu Yang's Light Ball Martial Soul was already unusual, so Qian Renxue very much wanted to know what kind of Soul Skill he had obtained after absorbing this Soul Ring.
In the Soul Master World, detailed information about a Martial Soul and its Soul Skills was a Soul Master's greatest secret. An outsider who rashly asked about it could even make an enemy over the matter.
Back when Su Yuntao had taken Lu Yang to hunt for a Soul Ring, this was precisely why he hadn't pressed Lu Yang for details about his Soul Skill after he successfully absorbed it.
Across the entire Douluo Continent, there were few people like Yu Xiaogang who shamelessly asked about other people's Martial Soul traits and Soul Skills.
But Qian Renxue was different. In her eyes, Lu Yang was now a subordinate she had recruited. In the future, he would be a fighter under her command-or, rather, a blade held in her hand. As the one in control, she naturally needed to know how to wield that blade. So Qian Renxue asked without any reservations.
Lu Yang didn't hide anything, either. When he had chosen to join Spirit Hall and Snake Lance Douluo had brought him from Nuoding City to Heaven Dou City, he had already anticipated a situation like this.
Although Lu Yang wasn't naive enough to trust Qian Renxue completely, at least she could currently provide him with cultivation resources and adequate protection. Until they fell out completely over an issue that crossed their bottom lines, he wouldn't do anything to antagonize her.
With that in mind, Lu Yang responded directly. He raised his hand toward a clearing in the woods and activated his second Soul Skill. In an instant, a fireball condensed from Soul Power fell from the sky and struck the ground with a thunderous explosion.
"This is my second Soul Skill, Blazing Sun Shakes the Earth-an attack formed entirely from condensed Soul Power," Lu Yang said.
"A ranged attack Soul Skill. Its power is decent, too." Qian Renxue nodded, though a faint doubt lingered in her mind.
As far as she knew, the Crimson Flame Feathered Sparrow didn't seem to yield Soul Skills like this. Still, she didn't dwell on it. She knew that when many powerful Martial Souls absorbed a Soul Ring, their traits could alter the resulting Soul Skill.
And even now, Qian Renxue didn't know how to classify Lu Yang's Light Ball Martial Soul. Perhaps this was simply part of what made it so unusual?
"Since we've obtained the Soul Ring, let's leave the Star Dou Great Forest as soon as possible." Even with a Titled Douluo protecting them, Qian Renxue didn't want to spend the night in the Star Dou Great Forest after securing the Soul Ring.
Lu Yang had no objection. He had just absorbed his Soul Ring and was brimming with energy. A little traveling was nothing.
The group safely left the Star Dou Great Forest and returned to the Soul Hunting Town outside it.
By then, the sky had gone completely dark, and Qian Renxue had no intention of traveling through the night to return to Heaven Dou City. Once she returned, she would have to face that endless pile of memorials again. Even for the sake of the nation-stealing plan, she still found it exhausting and tiresome.
In the small inn, Lu Yang soon fell asleep. His body clock had always been steady, and his sleep schedule was so precise that he hardly seemed like a Soul Master.
But in another room, Qian Renxue and She Long were still awake.
Qian Renxue sat beside the table, her slender fingers tapping rhythmically against its surface with a steady tap, tap.
"Uncle She Long, how do you think I should arrange things for Lu Yang once we return?" Qian Renxue suddenly asked.
Although her tone sounded somewhat casual, She Long knew very well that this matter had actually been troubling her for some time.
In truth, given Qian Renxue's current identity, recruiting subordinates in Heaven Dou City wasn't suitable for her.
She was posing as Xue Qinghe, the crown prince in Heaven Dou City, while her true identity was the young mistress of the Worship Hall and heir to the six-winged angel Martial Soul. Subordinates recruited under her public identity would be loyal to Xue Qinghe, the Heaven Dou Crown Prince. When the truth came to light in the future, unforeseen trouble might arise.
Yet subordinates recruited under her identity as Qian Renxue brought all manner of problems as well. The one confronting her now was Lu Yang's education.
Lu Yang was only six years old, an age when he should have been receiving a Soul Master's education at a junior Soul Master Academy. But if she actually sent him to a Soul Master Academy, the extraordinary talent he displayed at his age would inevitably draw attention from various quarters-including the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
With Lu Yang only six years old and facing temptation at every turn, Qian Renxue truly couldn't be certain whether people from other factions might win him over.
For Qian Renxue, the best solution was to send Lu Yang to Spirit City. Once she entrusted him to the Worship Hall and her grandfather, no one could possibly snatch him away.
"Young mistress, perhaps we could give this some more thought," She Long said cautiously.
"With the talent Lu Yang has shown so far, as long as he doesn't die young, he will definitely become a Titled Douluo. He even has a considerable chance of becoming a Peak Douluo. Someone so talented would be an excellent helper when you inherit your great undertaking in the future."
"And you met him while he was still an unknown. Spending more time with him while he's young and his character is still taking shape is sure to leave a deeper impression."
"As for the other issues, either Ci Xue or I can teach everything a Soul Master Academy teaches. Even the servants assigned to him would have no trouble teaching Lu Yang at his current stage."
Hearing this, Qian Renxue nodded silently. This answer was indeed very much to her liking.
"Then we'll keep him in Heaven Dou City. When the right opportunity comes, we'll bring him to the Crown Prince's Residence," Qian Renxue decided.
A few days later, Lu Yang and the others returned to Heaven Dou City.
"Little Yang, now that you're a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster, what plans do you have next?" Qian Renxue suddenly asked after their carriage entered Heaven Dou City.
"Plans?" Lu Yang murmured.
After absorbing a second Soul Ring beyond his normal limit, Lu Yang's Soul Power had already broken through to rank twenty-two. With his astonishing cultivation speed, he was confident he could reach rank thirty within a year and break through to the Soul Elder realm.
But considering how drastically the cultivation speed of Soul Masters with ultimate Martial Souls dropped after rank thirty, Lu Yang had begun to form some ideas.
The cultivation speed of those with ultimate Martial Souls decreased after rank thirty because their Martial Souls placed an immense burden on their bodies. Put plainly, their physical constitution couldn't keep up. They could only slow down and refine their Soul Power to let their bodies adapt.
And the ultimate fire possessed by Lu Yang's the Winged Dragon of Ra Martial Soul was one of the most explosive ultimate attributes, placing an even greater burden on his body. If he couldn't find a way to resolve this problem, his cultivation after rank thirty would be severely affected.
Before you continue