Xiao Xuan stood as steadily as an old pine, the muscles in his forearm tensing instantly as the Collapse Character Art poured down the shaft of his spear!
There was nothing fancy about the bamboo spear in his hand. Meeting the descending wolf claw head-on, he thrust it fiercely upward!
Puchi!
Crack-!
With the sound of shattering bone, the hard forepaw the Space-Rending Moon Wolf was so proud of proved as frail as rotten wood and thin paper before the bamboo spear's Armor Piercing!
Its entire right paw was severed at the base by the sharp, overpowering force, sending splintered bone and scalding, stinking blood spraying out!
Awoo-!
A shrill, agonized howl echoed through the mountain hollow.
The Space-Rending Moon Wolf recoiled in pain and rolled across the ground. For the first time, its crimson eyes showed disbelief, terror, and the urge to retreat.
Never in its dreams could it have understood how the fragile-looking jade spear in the human youth's hand could so easily shred its paw!
The shadow of death hung over it. The Space-Rending Moon Wolf could not even spare a thought for its severed limb as it scrambled to its feet, ready to tuck its tail between its legs and flee for its life into the forest behind it.
Run?
If you run, what am I supposed to do about my Soul Ring?
The corners of Xiao Xuan's mouth rose slightly, and with a thought, he set it off.
A ring of purple light quietly lit up beneath his feet!
"First Soul Skill-Lone Bamboo Thrust!"
There was no dazzling opening move, not even the whistle of something slicing through the air.
Beneath the frantically fleeing Space-Rending Moon Wolf, the rocky soil across a three-meter area suddenly stirred!
The next instant!
Puchi, puchi, puchi!
Boom-!!
Several long bone-spike spears erupted from the ground without warning, stabbing viciously upward!
The Space-Rending Moon Wolf had no way to dodge. Two of the spikes burst through the earth and pierced straight through its abdomen and hind leg, spraying crimson blood. Its enormous body was forcibly flipped onto the ground, and it let out one despairing wail after another!
Grievously wounded, it had completely lost its speed and could only struggle wildly in the mud.
Xiao Xuan gave his prey no chance to catch its breath.
He pushed off the ground and shot into the air like an arrow loosed from a bow. In midair, he turned the jade spear in his hand and drove it straight down at the Space-Rending Moon Wolf's vulnerable crown!
Bang!
Crack!
The crisp sound of a skull shattering rang out!
The Space-Rending Moon Wolf's muscles suddenly stiffened, and its four paws twitched a few times. The light vanished completely from its eyes, and it collapsed heavily into the pool of blood, lifeless.
The entire battle had flowed like clouds and water, taking only the space of three to five breaths.
Meanwhile, Shui Yuehua had finally relied on her profound Soul Power cultivation to kill one of the giant beasts.
The remaining Rhinoceros Horn Beast saw its companion die a gruesome death, then turned its head to see the ferocious Space-Rending Moon Wolf neatly speared to death by a youth in just a few moves. Scared out of its wits, it gave a strange cry of terror, turned around, and smashed through several small trees as it fled in panic.
With the powerful enemy gone, Shui Yuehua gasped for breath. She did not even stop to wipe the sweat from her forehead before hastily circulating her Soul Power and rushing toward Shui Bing'er.
"Bing'er, are you all right?!"
Shui Yuehua grabbed her disciple's hand and looked her over. Only after confirming that Shui Bing'er was completely unharmed did her heart finally settle back into her stomach.
But when her gaze passed over Shui Bing'er's shoulder and landed on Xiao Xuan, she froze on the spot.
Lying on the ground was, beyond any doubt, a thousand-year-old Space-Rending Moon Wolf.
And the youth who had slain this ferocious beast looked to be no more than twelve or thirteen. Though his build was well-proportioned and sturdy, his face had yet to lose its childishness.
A young boy had single-handedly killed a Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!
Before Shui Yuehua could sort through her astonishment, her gaze suddenly dropped and fixed on the Soul Ring still visible around Xiao Xuan.
It was a genuine Purple Soul Ring!
Shui Yuehua felt dizzy. She rubbed her eyes hard, almost wondering whether she had injured her head in the fierce battle and was hallucinating.
His First Soul Ring... is purple?!
How is that possible?!
By then, Shui Bing'er had also recovered from her relief at being saved. She looked at Xiao Xuan and said softly, "Th-thank you for saving me."
"There's no need to thank me. Even if I hadn't intervened just now, this senior beside you probably could have saved you."
Shui Yuehua fell silent for a moment. She had indeed been prepared to save Shui Bing'er just now, even at the risk of suffering serious injuries.
Then Shui Yuehua smiled and said, "In any case, we must thank you! Why don't you join us in town, so we can repay you for stepping in to save her?"
Hearing this, Xiao Xuan smiled faintly.
"Thank you for your kind offer, Senior, but I'd like to absorb this Soul Ring first. May I ask you to stand guard for me for a little while?"
Hearing that, Shui Bing'er involuntarily opened her mouth wide and blurted out:
"You're going to absorb it? But this moon wolf is clearly a Soul Beast over a thousand years old. How could your Second Soul Ring possibly withstand..."
Halfway through her sentence, Shui Bing'er's voice cut off as if someone had seized her by the throat.
She had belatedly realized that the First Soul Ring the youth who had saved her had just displayed was purple, the color representing a thousand years!
His first ring was already a thousand-year one, so absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Beast for his second ring seemed... perfectly reasonable?
Shui Bing'er's pretty face flushed bright red. She coughed awkwardly twice and hurriedly corrected herself:
"S-sorry, I shouldn't have spoken out of turn. No problem. You just saved me, so my teacher and I will make sure to guard the surroundings for you!"
Shui Yuehua also took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in her heart. With a solemn expression, she said:
"Rest assured, young brother. You saved Bing'er's life. As long as I, Shui Yuehua, have a breath left in me, I won't let anything disturb you!"
"Sorry for the trouble."
Xiao Xuan cupped his fists in return, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief.
After all, he had come alone this time, and absorbing a Soul Ring without anyone to watch over him could easily be dangerous.
Xiao Xuan then sat down cross-legged in front of the Space-Rending Moon Wolf's corpse. He stirred his Soul Power and steadily guided the Purple Soul Ring slowly taking shape in midair onto his Martial Soul.
Hum!
The Soul Ring resonated with the Martial Soul inside Xiao Xuan, and a fierce, domineering torrent of heat instantly poured into his limbs and bones!
Had it been an ordinary level-twenty Soul Grandmaster facing such a violent impact, he probably would not have lasted even half an incense stick before the blood vessels throughout his body burst on the spot.
But Xiao Xuan had ample grounds for confidence.
His bones had long since been tempered to the hardness of metal and refined steel, and his meridians were broad and supple. His physique was strong enough to withstand this Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
With his heart as still as water, Xiao Xuan guided his Soul Power as it surged like a great river, grinding down and absorbing the Soul Ring bit by bit.
Time quietly passed.
Keeping watch nearby, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yuehua never dared to shift their gazes from Xiao Xuan in the slightest.
Seeing Xiao Xuan's healthy complexion and gradually steadying breathing, and how he had barely even furrowed his brow, Shui Yuehua was overwhelmed with shock.
Even direct disciples painstakingly raised by major sects would suffer terribly and break out in sweat when absorbing a Soul Ring from a Soul Beast a little over seven hundred years old as their second ring.
Yet the youth before her was taking it as calmly and easily as drinking water!
Shui Bing'er's beautiful eyes widened, and she studied Xiao Xuan in a slight daze.
Ever since she was young, she had been hailed as the most gifted leader of her generation at Skywater Academy. She had broken through to Soul Grandmaster at a young age, and her usual temperament was aloof and proud. Few of her peers caught her eye.
But now, as she looked at the handsome, upright youth before her, Shui Bing'er felt a sense of inadequacy and defeat for the first time in her life.