As Good as His

"No!"

When he heard that Ye Qing actually wanted to risk absorbing this Soul Ring, Ye Feng's first reaction was to refuse.

Why had he weighed so many factors?

Wasn't it all to play things safe?

Would absorbing a Soul Ring a few hundred years beyond his limit now really let him become a god in the future?

"I have my reasons," Ye Qing said.

Ye Feng said nothing, merely watching Ye Qing quietly. Unless he gave a reason convincing enough, Ye Feng would never agree to this, no matter how silver-tongued Ye Qing was.

Ye Qing's answer was simple, too: "The Wings of Light."

Those few simple words perfectly expressed where Ye Qing's confidence came from. Though Mu En and Ye Feng had accounted for every aspect, finally arriving at the essentially sound figure of six thousand years.

But external soul bones were forever among the most miraculous cheats on the Douluo Continent!

"Sea God Tang San made history as the first Soul Master ever to absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as his fourth Soul Ring. Besides his own formidable foundation, the most important reason was his external soul bone." The clothing on Ye Qing's back tore open, and the snow-white Wings of Light unfurled behind him.

"External soul bones can absorb a Soul Master's soul power to grow on their own, and Soul Masters can also actively channel soul power into them to help them grow. Back then, Sea God Tang San likewise channeled the Soul Ring's excess energy into the Eight Spider Lances. That was how he successfully absorbed it."

"If he could do it, why can't I? Besides, this is only a Thousand-Year Soul Ring."

His words were highly persuasive, especially to anyone from Shrek.

Tang San's achievements carried more weight than anything else.

It had to be said, that brainwashing was truly powerful. Ye Feng, whose expression had been utterly resolute moments before, was persuaded just like that-fighting poison with poison.

"All right, I can agree to let you absorb this Soul Ring. But if you show any signs of being unable to withstand it during the absorption, I'll interrupt you immediately." Ye Feng sighed, then spoke in a stern tone.

"If you can't withstand it and I interrupt your absorption, you're certain to be injured. You won't fully recover for at least a month, and you won't be able to absorb another Soul Ring during that time. You should understand very well how important a month of prime cultivation time is to you right now."

"Have you... really thought this through?"

"The rougher the waves, the dearer the fish. Risk and reward go hand in hand." Ye Qing chuckled, a hint of pride appearing on his little face. "If I still can't absorb this Soul Ring after using so many resources and having so many advantages, how am I any different from trash?"

"Let's do it. This is the one!"

Light elemental spirits were rare to begin with. If he really failed to absorb it, he would merely be unable to try again for a month. But even if they spent another month on Heavenly Dawn Peak, there was no guarantee they could find a Light Spirit of exactly the right age.

Either way, time would be wasted, so he might as well take the gamble. Besides, Ye Qing truly was completely confident he could absorb this Soul Ring.

There was a risk in Ye Feng's eyes. In Ye Qing's own eyes, however, this Soul Ring was as good as his!

"All right. Since you've made up your mind, I won't try to dissuade you anymore." Ye Feng turned toward the Light Spirit he had firmly suppressed with his soul power and barked, "Get ready!"

The next instant, immense soul power gathered in Ye Feng's hand, even condensing into black, mistlike soul power visible to the naked eye.

Then he flashed in front of the Light Spirit and pressed his palm against its body.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

A sound like boiling oil suddenly rang out where Ye Feng touched the Light Spirit. The irreconcilable darkness-attribute and light-attribute soul powers immediately began eating away at each other.

Having its own power eroded by soul power of a completely opposing attribute clearly inflicted immense agony on the Light Spirit. It could barely maintain even its basic spirit form, which had begun to blur.

And in this tug-of-war of eroding soul power, Ye Feng clearly held an overwhelming advantage.

Elemental spirit soul beasts naturally possessed an extremely high affinity for their corresponding attributes. Accordingly, the soul power stored within them also far exceeded that of other types of soul beasts.

This was especially true of spirits such as Light Spirits, which were practically light elements made tangible. Their total soul power was twice or even three times that of soul beasts of the same age.

Yet no matter how immense their soul power reserves were compared with their peers, before a Titled Douluo like Ye Feng, this one was merely a 6,800-year-old Light Spirit.

To exhaust Ye Feng's soul power, it would need to be at least five times as old.

Right now, it was nowhere close.

As the soul power within the Light Spirit was steadily eroded, its body grew dimmer and dimmer. When its remaining soul power reached a critical point, Ye Feng shouted.

"Now!"

Ye Qing, who had long been ready, swung his right fist, wrapped in a great amount of soul power, and slammed it into the Light Spirit's body.

Like the final straw that broke the camel's back, this punch caused the Light Spirit's already blurred, nearly invisible body to burst completely into a skyful of specks of light.

Immediately afterward, those specks gathered at extraordinary speed, forming a magnificent, brilliant purple Soul Ring.

At the center of the Soul Ring floated a bone shaped like a human lower leg. Judging by its shape, it was clearly a left-leg Soul Bone, but its completeness was limited because its age was insufficient.

It had only condensed into a Soul Bone comprising a complete lower leg.

After its soul power had been worn away over such a long time, killing the Light Spirit in a manner akin to death by a thousand cuts, one could easily imagine how intense its negative emotions had been before death.

Moreover, Light Spirits were a sufficiently powerful species to rank among the top tier in the Star Dou Great Forest. Even a 6,800-year-old Light Spirit had a very high chance of dropping a Soul Bone.

But Ye Qing certainly had no interest in this Soul Bone.

Even though absorbing it would benefit a light-attribute Soul Master more than absorbing certain Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones, its age was simply too low. Besides, Ye Qing already possessed a seventy-thousand-year-old Light-Breaking Demon.

After handing the Soul Bone to Ye Feng for safekeeping, Ye Qing sat cross-legged before the Soul Ring. Without the slightest hesitation, he drew it down and around himself.

"Pfft-"

The instant the Soul Ring descended, immense soul power surged into Ye Qing's body, jolting him so violently that he spat out a mouthful of blood.

But Ye Qing did not panic in the slightest, because all of this was exactly as expected!

As long as the Soul Ring's first surge of soul power did not burst him apart, there would be no further surprises in absorbing it.

It was as good as his!