Hunting Soul (III)

"But there's no trace of fire-attributed Soul Power here. What exactly caused that explosion?!"

Crouching beside the crater, the confusion in She Long's eyes only deepened. He could smell a pungent odor, yet he could not sense any fluctuations of fire-attributed Soul Power.

"Uncle Yu, if we want to know, why don't we just go take a look?!" Qian Renxue pointed at the trail Li Ming had left while dragging the Adamantine Bull.

"But what about your spirit ring, Saintess?! We promised the Grand Elder we would find a suitable spirit ring for you!" She Long hesitated.

"Divine Attribute Soul Beasts are rare to begin with, and they have no fixed habitat. It will take a long time to find one. Taking a look at that soul hunter won't delay us for long!"

"Alright, then!"

Knowing it was Qian Renxue's good intention, the three of them began following the trail.

"Saintess, look! The soul hunter is up ahead. That spirit ring is actually dark yellow!"

Before long, She Long spotted Li Fei's family. Just as the Adamantine Bull completely died, a dark yellow spirit ring emerged. She Long pointed at it with a shocked expression.

"That's an eight-hundred-year Adamantine Bull!" As the Saintess of Spirit Hall, which possessed the most comprehensive information on soul masters across the Douluo Continent, Qian Renxue recognized the Adamantine Bull's age at a glance.

Seeing Li Fan summon his Black Iron Rod and prepare to absorb it without a single spirit ring, Qian Renxue instinctively shouted, "Stop!"

"Who's there?!"

Hearing this, Li Ming and Li Fei, who had been watching Li Fan absorb the spirit ring, instantly snapped awake. They shouted as their martial souls immediately possessed them, warily looking toward the source of the voice.

With just one look, Li Ming and Li Fei froze in place. Cold sweat poured down their faces, and terror filled their eyes.

Li Ming could sense the terrifying aura radiating from She Long and Pufferfish. He recognized them as well. Spirit Hall's publicly available records on Titled Douluo included these two: She Long and Pufferfish, the two newly promoted Titled Douluo of this year.

"Why is Qian Renxue here?!"

Looking at that distinctive golden hair, along with the two guards behind her radiating terrifying auras, Li Fei could only think of Qian Renxue. Only Qian Renxue had such a powerful background.

"Li Ming greets the two Your Excellencies. May I ask what business Your Excellencies have with me?!"

Li Ming quickly recovered, tugging at Li Fei and Jiang Xin. He placed his right hand over his chest and knelt on one knee in greeting.

"Greetings, Your Excellencies!"

Li Fei and Jiang Xin followed suit and immediately knelt on one knee. As for Li Fan, he was focused entirely on absorbing the spirit ring and had no idea what was happening outside.

"It wasn't me who called you. It was Her Highness the Saintess!" She Long said coldly.

Li Ming immediately turned his gaze toward Qian Renxue, his expression full of respect. Spirit Hall was the only organization in all of Douluo Continent that had a Saintess, and anyone who could be called Saintess was certainly someone he could not afford to offend. Li Ming had no choice but to be cautious.

"Looking at your spirit ring configuration, you're a fairly strong Spirit King. Do you not even possess this much common sense? Don't you know that the limit for the First Spirit Ring is four hundred and thirty-five years?! Are you trying to send your child to his death by making him absorb an eight-hundred-year spirit ring?!"

Qian Renxue stepped forward two paces, her expression incomparably cold and killing intent flashing in her eyes. As Bibi Dong's daughter, thinking of her mother's treatment of her, she immediately assumed that Li Fan too was unloved by his parents and was being made to absorb a spirit ring until he died. She hated people like that most of all.

At this, She Long and Pufferfish erupted with Soul Power, their terrifying pressure crashing directly down upon Li Ming. In an instant, Li Ming spat out a mouthful of blood, and his aura weakened.

"Lady Saintess, you misunderstand. I have confidence in letting my child absorb an eight-hundred-year spirit ring. If you don't believe me, look. My son Li Fan has been absorbing the spirit ring for so long. Aside from a somewhat pained expression, he has not shown any signs of being unable to withstand the spirit ring, such as bleeding from his seven orifices!"

Though he had no idea what was wrong with this Saintess, Li Ming still forced himself to withstand the pressure and explained with difficulty in order to survive.

At this moment, Qian Renxue also noticed Li Fan's condition. It was indeed as the man before her had said. She raised her right hand and waved it, and She Long and Pufferfish immediately withdrew their pressure. Li Ming spat out another mouthful of blood and panted heavily as he recovered his strength.

"Thank you, Your Excellencies, and thank you, Your Highness the Saintess, for sparing my life!"

Qian Renxue showed little reaction. She walked over to Li Fan and began observing him, her eyes filled with curiosity. She Long and Pufferfish beside her were also extremely curious, though there was now a hint of excitement in their eyes. If the little brat before them could successfully absorb a spirit ring beyond his limit, the soul master theories of the Douluo Continent would undergo a revolution.

Seeing Qian Renxue's actions, Li Ming, Jiang Xin, and Li Fei could not help worrying. Li Fei especially had already prepared himself to hand over his theory.

No matter how much he calculated, he had never expected to encounter Qian Renxue, the Saintess of Spirit Hall, while hunting a soul beast, much less have her witness Li Fan absorbing a spirit ring beyond his limit.

Qian Renxue waited like this for more than three hours. During that time, no one spoke, and everything was extremely quiet. More than once, Li Fei grumbled inwardly that Qian Renxue did not seem like a child at all. She could actually remain so composed.

Li Fan's expression had already calmed, and everyone knew he had reached the final stage of absorbing the spirit ring. Accompanied by a wave of Soul Power, Li Fan opened his eyes.

He was also startled when he saw Qian Renxue, She Long, and Pufferfish.

"Fan Er, this is Her Highness the Saintess, as well as Their Excellencies Snake Lance and Pufferfish. Hurry and greet them!"

Seeing Li Fan's expression, Jiang Xin feared that he might anger Qian Renxue and the others, so she immediately stepped forward to introduce them.

"Li Fan greets Your Highness the Saintess and greets Their Excellencies Snake Lance and Pufferfish!" Li Fan hurriedly bowed.

"No need for formalities! You're Li Fan, correct? Tell me, how did you manage to absorb a spirit ring beyond its age limit?!" Qian Renxue asked, her little face full of majesty.

"Speak!"

Hearing that unyielding tone, Li Fan was momentarily at a loss. He turned to look at Li Fei, and after receiving his approval, he stammered, "This is a theory my brother came up with. I did everything according to his ideas. I don't really understand the specific principles myself!"

"Your Highness the Saintess, these were merely my child's naïve ideas. I thought they were feasible, so I let the two of them test them. I never expected it to truly succeed!" Li Ming explained weakly.

"It was your idea?!" Qian Renxue turned to Li Fei.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Li Fei nodded.

"Explain the theory!"

Hah. With an inward sigh, Li Fei organized his words in his mind. Then he raised his head, met Qian Renxue's gaze, and slowly began, "My theory is actually very simple. It's just that no one before has considered why attempts to absorb spirit rings beyond the limit fail. Based on the information I collected, I discovered that when absorbing a spirit ring, a soul master must endure the impact of two kinds of energy."