"You know me?"
Ye Lingling looked at Ji Yang curiously.
She was keenly observant and had noticed the odd change in Ji Yang's expression.
Especially his reaction just now when he heard her name.
"Your grandfather is pretty famous, so I happened to learn about you too!"
Ji Yang replied casually.
"I see!"
Ye Lingling nodded slightly, suspecting nothing.
Compared to that, she was more concerned about what would happen to her next.
"Don't worry. We won't hurt you, and we'll let you go back afterward!"
Ji Yang saw through Ye Lingling's concerns.
"Thank you!"
Ye Lingling gave Ji Yang a searching look and thanked him.
She could sense that Ji Yang wasn't lying, which let her breathe a little easier.
After reassuring Ye Lingling, Ji Yang set her aside for the time being.
He then walked toward the three gravely injured, unconscious Soul Beasts hanging by a thread.
The three Soul Beasts were a Life Sunflower, a Starwind Wolf, and a Moonshadow Leopard.
Ji Yang could identify all three Soul Beasts accurately thanks to a certain theoretical grandmaster.
Although he had never had any intention of becoming Yu Xiaogang's disciple, he had often sneaked into Yu Xiaogang's dormitory during his time at the academy to browse the various books on his shelves.
Among them were detailed records and descriptions of all sorts of Soul Beasts, most of which contained information unavailable in Nuoding Academy's library.
That was exactly what he needed.
He had to admit that Yu Xiaogang was quite useful in that regard.
"Nearly seven hundred years, five thousand years, and just over ten thousand years?"
After identifying their species, Ji Yang quickly determined the cultivation ages of the three Soul Beasts.
The cultivation ages of these three Soul Beasts were very close to the ages of the Soul Rings that Ye Lingling and the two scar-faced men needed to absorb.
After all, the Titan Giant Ape had captured these three suitable Soul Beasts based on the cultivation levels of Ye Lingling and the two men.
Leaving aside the two scar-faced men, whose Martial Souls he didn't know, the Life Sunflower was an especially good match for Ye Lingling's Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul.
"Now that I have the ingredients, let's start refining pills!"
Ji Yang was about to summon his Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace Martial Soul.
Before doing so, however, he first glanced at Ye Lingling, then at Xiao Wu, who had come closer.
"Xiao Wu, take Ye Lingling for a little walk nearby!"
Ji Yang said.
Naturally, he didn't want outsiders he couldn't fully trust yet to learn things that should remain secret.
Ye Lingling was one such outsider.
"Leave it to me!"
Xiao Wu understood immediately.
Even if she wasn't particularly quick-witted, she could still understand what Ji Yang meant at this point.
"Come with me. I'll show you around!"
Xiao Wu took Ye Lingling by the hand and started to leave.
Ye Lingling didn't resist, simply allowing Xiao Wu to lead her away.
Although she wasn't quite sure why, she could guess that Ji Yang was about to do something that an outsider like her wasn't allowed to watch.
It might even involve Ji Yang's secrets.
A few breaths later, Xiao Wu and Ye Lingling slowly disappeared from Ji Yang's sight.
Only then did Ji Yang summon his Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace Martial Soul and prepare to refine pills.
From that moment on, the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape began examining Ji Yang's Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace Martial Soul with curiosity.
Was this the power bestowed by a Deity?
It certainly was unusual!
Ji Yang paid no attention to the Sky Azure Bull Python's and the Titan Giant Ape's reactions. Before their eyes, he placed the three Soul Beasts that had been beaten within an inch of their lives into his Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace Martial Soul, one after another.
Fortunately, the Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace Martial Soul could be enlarged and shrunk at will.
Otherwise, fitting the enormous Starwind Wolf and Moonshadow Leopard into the Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace Martial Soul for refinement would have been rather difficult.
Boom-
As the three Soul Beasts were placed inside the Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace Martial Soul, a roaring fire sprang up within it.
In an instant, the three Soul Beasts were swiftly refined one after another, ultimately becoming individual Soul Spirit Pills.
"Is this the power of a Martial Soul bestowed by a Deity? How wondrous! These Soul Spirit Pills look quite special too."
The Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape both clicked their tongues in wonder.
From their appearance alone, they truly couldn't tell that these pills had been refined from entire Soul Beasts.
Still less could they tell that each pill contained everything belonging to a Soul Beast, or that a human Soul Master could obtain the corresponding Soul Spirit by absorbing it.
That didn't matter, though.
What mattered was that they would soon witness firsthand whether Ji Yang could prove his earlier claims.
"Next comes the moment to witness a 'miracle.'"
After finishing the three Soul Spirit Pills, Ji Yang approached the two scar-faced men who were still unconscious and kicked each of them awake.
Their cultivation levels were forty, a Quasi-Soul Ancestor, and fifty, a Quasi-Soul King, respectively, so they possessed a modest amount of strength.
Unfortunately, because the Titan Giant Ape had caught them doing evil and captured them, a miserable end was surely in store for them.
And he would be the one wielding the blade that brought about their tragic end.
"Aah-"
"Ugh-"
With two different cries of pain, the scar-faced Quasi-Soul Ancestor and Quasi-Soul King immediately jolted awake.
They first looked around at their unfamiliar surroundings in confusion, then turned vicious gazes on Ji Yang, the culprit.
Where had this brat come from? How dare he kick them? He was asking to die!
However, when their eyes caught sight of the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape, the two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts behind Ji Yang, they immediately remembered everything that had happened and began trembling again.
"You, and you. Each of you take one of these two pills, then refine its power to obtain the corresponding Soul Spirit!"
Ji Yang pointed at the two men before him and commanded them without the slightest courtesy.
"Huh?"
Both scar-faced men looked bewildered.
Soul Spirits?
What were those supposed to be?
They had only ever heard of Soul Rings and Soul Bones!
Could these be two poison pills?
At that thought, both scar-faced men shuddered.
"Do as you're told, or I'll pound you to death!"
Before either man could timidly ask questions or beg for mercy, the Titan Giant Ape slammed a fist into the ground, making it quake.
"Yes, yes! We'll do it right away!"
The two scar-faced men were instantly frightened out of their wits, almost wetting and soiling themselves.
No longer caring about anything else, they stepped forward one at a time, took the Soul Spirit Pills from Ji Yang's hand, and shakily tossed them into their mouths.
The pills soon reached their stomachs.
As soon as they did, the two scar-faced men quickly noticed something unusual.
A surge of energy poured out of their abdomens and spread throughout their bodies.
That familiar, unusual sensation felt exactly like what they had experienced when absorbing Soul Rings in the past.
So these so-called Soul Spirits were Soul Rings, and absorbing these Soul Spirit Pills would directly give them the Soul Rings corresponding to their next cultivation levels?
This was simply too miraculous!
At that moment, the two scar-faced men were utterly astonished.
Still, they had no time to dwell on it.
After further confirming that the Soul Spirit Pills were miraculous pills that would help them obtain Soul Rings, they hurried to absorb and refine their power, seeking to gain their fourth and fifth Soul Rings, respectively.
What were they hoping for at that moment?
They only hoped that the ages of the Soul Rings they were obtaining wouldn't fall too far below the standard.
And, preferably, that they wouldn't exceed it either.
Especially the latter!
That could very well cost them their lives.
Before you continue