Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring

After telling Yu Tianshuang about the Soul Beast, Shui Xinrou slowly descended the hill on her long legs, walking toward the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger as it gorged itself.

A piece of giant ape meat still clamped in its jaws, the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger sensed the dangerous presence radiating from Shui Xinrou as she approached. It stopped eating and parted its gaping maw slightly, baring a row of chillingly sharp fangs as it growled at her.

"Grr, grr, roar!" The Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger, which had been watching her like a tiger eyeing its prey and growling, saw Shui Xinrou ignore its warning and continue toward it. Its powerful hind legs abruptly kicked off, sending dust billowing behind it as it charged at her like the wind.

"Take flight, Diamond Flying Bird." With that, Shui Xinrou summoned her Martial Soul and used Martial Soul Possession. A white bird appeared behind her, its entire body white and its mirror-like feathers reflecting the winter sunlight as it spread its wings and flew.

Watching the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger charge toward her, Shui Xinrou moved with graceful steps, Soul Power surging in her hand. She pointed a slender finger at the tiger.

"Third Soul Skill, Diamond Ice Sealing."

Shui Xinrou waved her condensed Soul Power toward the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger, and countless diamond ice shards reflecting the images around them shot swiftly at it. The tiger, charging straight at her, darted from side to side, but countless tiny, drifting shards still clung to it. It became an ice sculpture a short distance in front of Shui Xinrou, its outstretched left paw falling just a hair short of reaching her.

Seeing the tiger's paw so close to reaching Shui Xinrou, Yu Tianshuang couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat. Then he sighed in relief.

Teacher was so calm and composed. She must have accurately judged both her own strength and that of the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger. What was a Quasi-Soul Grandmaster like me worrying blindly for?

Shui Xinrou circulated her Soul Power and moved the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger's ice sculpture in front of Yu Tianshuang. "All right, Tianshuang, end its life and start absorbing its Soul Ring. Teacher really can't wait to witness the birth of a Soul Grandmaster with a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring."

Yu Tianshuang nodded, then condensed a frost shortsword with his Soul Power and stabbed at the main artery in the frozen tiger's neck.

But just as Yu Tianshuang's frost shortsword was about to pierce the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger, the diamond ice shards freezing it rapidly cracked and shattered.

"Tianshuang, look out! Run!"

Sensing that she had lost her connection to the Soul Power in her Soul Skill, Shui Xinrou hurriedly cried out to Yu Tianshuang. But it was too late. The Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger had already burst free of the ice and pounced at him.

At the sight, Shui Xinrou's heart nearly leaped out of her chest, and feelings of regret and frustration filled her heart.

Only a few breaths had passed between the first cracks appearing in the ice around the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger and its escape. But Yu Tianshuang, who possessed the Extreme Ice Eternal Frost Eye, had abandoned the shortsword the moment the ice began to crack.

Still, Yu Tianshuang was only a Quasi-Soul Grandmaster. Even though he had sensed the danger beforehand, he could not reach Shui Xinrou's side in the space of a few breaths.

Having retreated only a few steps, Yu Tianshuang watched the sharp tiger claws as they were about to hook into him. His star-like eyes flashed with a dazzling blue light.

"Extreme Ice Eternal Frost Eye."

As Yu Tianshuang's eyes flashed, frost spread rapidly over the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger, which was right in front of him, starting from the paw it had reached out to claw him.

But the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger was frozen for only a single breath before it broke free of his control.

"Ice Shadow Seven Star Steps." That brief instant, however, was enough for Yu Tianshuang to use the Ice Shadow Seven Star Steps and move away.

Seeing Yu Tianshuang narrowly escape by the hill, Shui Xinrou quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Her suspended heart, which had been pounding wildly, settled back into place. Soul Power then surged around her as she sped toward Yu Tianshuang, who had gotten away from the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger.

"This beast actually pretended to be frozen. I underestimated this Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."

Remembering how the cunning Soul Beast had played her for a fool, Shui Xinrou's pretty face filled with subdued anger. She transformed directly into a giant diamond ice bird and dived at the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger.

"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar."

As the enormous ice bird swooped down, the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger was frozen by its cold temperature before the bird even struck it.

"Whew. Tianshuang, how are you? You weren't hurt anywhere, were you?"

Shui Xinrou had only just landed when she seized Yu Tianshuang's shoulders, looking him up and down with a worried expression.

"I'm fine, Teacher." Seeing Shui Xinrou's beautiful eyes fixed on him with concern as she anxiously looked him up and down again and again, Yu Tianshuang felt a warmth in his heart.

Looking at the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger, which had been frozen into an ice sculpture once again, Shui Xinrou did not lower her guard this time. Though her beautiful eyes turned worriedly toward Yu Tianshuang, she kept the tiger's ice sculpture in the corner of her eye.

"All right. This time, Teacher will stay by your side. Go and kill this cunning Soul Beast."

With that, Shui Xinrou circulated the Soul Power in her hand and melted an opening at a vital spot on the frozen Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger's neck, large enough for Yu Tianshuang to insert his shortsword.

As Yu Tianshuang drove the shortsword into the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger's neck, a pitch-black Soul Ring floated out of its corpse.

After calming his turbulent emotions, Yu Tianshuang sat cross-legged and circulated his Soul Power, drawing the black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring toward him.

Standing beside him, Shui Xinrou was still somewhat uneasy. Though she had tested Yu Tianshuang's physical strength herself and confirmed that it had indeed reached the Soul King level, he was only a Quasi-Soul Grandmaster, after all. Moreover, absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring meant confronting the soul impact from the dead Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. To be honest, Shui Xinrou herself had no confidence in the outcome. But things had already come this far, and if she told Yu Tianshuang to give up, he would certainly be unwilling. She could only pray that everything went smoothly.

Feeling the black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring from the Frost Saber-Toothed Tiger enter his body, Yu Tianshuang circulated the Frozen Sky Condensing Sea Art and began taking the ring into his body and absorbing it.

Teacher said that the hardest part of absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring wasn't the impact of the Soul Ring's own energy, but the soul impact from the dead Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Though I was only a Quasi-Soul Grandmaster, I had lived two lives, and my soul was already incomparably resilient.

At that moment, the Big Dipper Seven Primordial Purple Extremity Seal in his dantian sensed the foreign Soul Ring entering his body and automatically began spinning furiously, sending ripples of purple light surging toward the Soul Ring.

Six hours passed. The sky had begun to brighten, and the rising sun drove away the night, leaving heaven and earth full of life.

"Whew." With a long exhale, Yu Tianshuang slowly opened his eyes.

He had felt none of the supposed soul impact. Just as when he had absorbed a Soul Ring beyond his age limit last time, everything apart from the energy impact had gone exceptionally smoothly. Presumably, this was also the effect of the Big Dipper Seven Primordial Purple Extremity Seal inside him.

Seeing Yu Tianshuang open his eyes after successfully absorbing the Soul Ring, Shui Xinrou, who had been guarding him with her full attention, finally relaxed her taut nerves. A wave of exhaustion swept over her, but she still forced herself to ask, "How was it? What Soul Skill did this Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring grant you?"

Sensing Shui Xinrou's condition, Yu Tianshuang felt another current of warmth flow through his heart. He said, "Teacher, first, after absorbing the Soul Ring, my Soul Power Level rose by six levels. The Soul Ring also passively increased my Martial Soul's attack power. And when I use Martial Soul Possession with my Frost Dragon Martial Soul, a dragon claw appears on my right hand. The Soul Skill it gave me is an area-of-effect group attack."

As he spoke, he summoned his Martial Soul, used Martial Soul Possession, and released the skill toward an open patch of ground nearby.

"Second Soul Skill, Frost Sword Tooth Rain."

Yu Tianshuang stretched one hand toward the nearby clearing, condensing Soul Power in his palm. A dense array of ice swords began to appear behind him. Then he swept his hand downward, and the countless ice swords condensed behind him shot toward the open space with piercing whistles. "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

Once the ice mist dispersed, Shui Xinrou looked toward the clearing that had been bombarded.

Countless ice swords had sunk three-tenths of their length into the ground, densely packed together. From each sword, she could sense its sharp edge and bone-chilling cold.