"Six years!"
"Six whole years!"
"Do you know how I've gotten through these six years?"
On the Spirit Rhinoceros Sect's training square, winds surged and lightning flashed amid peals of thunder.
Chu Qing continuously compressed the wind in his right hand, forming a Storm Bullet, and began channeling lightning into it with his left. The two forces churned against each other, wind and thunder howling without end.
His eyes gleamed as he looked at the four men opposite him, his expression wild.
"Yang Ming, you four had better watch out! My newly developed Thunder Storm Bullet is going to blow you all away!"
Two Hundred-Year Soul Rings floated around each of the four men—Yang Ming, Song Hu, Bai Chen, and Ye Mao—like Soul Skills. They summoned their Spirit Rhinoceros Shields and joined the four shields into one sturdy Shield Wall, defending together.
"Young sect master, what did we do to deserve this?"
"We only just came back from Qianling Academy for the holidays, and you've been dragging us into sparring practice every day."
Yang Ming poked his head out to answer. As soon as he pulled it back, he began muttering:
"Why do I get the feeling the young sect master isn't very reliable?"
For six years, because he had not absorbed a new Soul Ring, Chu Qing had been constantly studying how to create his own Soul Skills.
He had failed countless times with the four weather elements of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. At present, he had achieved some control only over wind, and by compressing it, he could barely produce a few minor skills such as the Storm Bullet, which had the strength of an ordinary Ten-Year Soul Ring's Soul Skill.
Today was Chu Qing's first attempt to channel lightning into a Storm Bullet, so, as usual, they did not quite trust him.
Bai Chen had just opened his mouth to agree with Yang Ming when a loud explosion came from in front of the shields. He immediately changed his tune:
"You really have a crow's mouth."
The four looked over to see that Chu Qing had blown himself to the ground, smoke rising from his body.
"Young sect master, are you all right?"
They immediately ran forward to check on him.
Before they reached him, Chu Qing raised a hand and waved it, saying somewhat dejectedly:
"I'm fine. I'll be all right after a little sleep."
The four covered their mouths, holding back their laughter, their minds at ease.
Although twelve out of every ten of Chu Qing's Self-Created Soul Skills were unreliable, his resistance to the four attributes of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning was quite strong. He had also been continually tempering his body over the years, so this could only count as a minor accident.
"Go on and get back to what you were doing. I'll be fine after lying here for a while."
Chu Qing spoke with feigned ease. Only when he heard their footsteps recede did he cry out in pain and crawl to his feet.
His resistance was indeed high, but it really did hurt quite a lot.
"How did it blow up on me?"
He turned the matter over in his mind.
"Where exactly did I go wrong?"
As he thought, he put wind in his left hand and lightning in his right, unwilling to give up as he tried again.
Just as it looked like he was about to succeed, it exploded again with a boom, leaving his face covered in soot and his hair standing straight up.
He breathed out a mouthful of black smoke and held back his tears, forced to accept reality.
Sure enough, creating a Soul Skill wasn't as easy as saying it.
He felt he needed to apply some medicine, or he might end up disfigured.
As a result, Chu Jiazheng postponed taking him to hunt for a Soul Ring by another two days.
After recovering, Chu Qing got himself into peak condition and accompanied him to the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Over the years, the Spirit Rhinoceros Sect had long since found a suitable Soul Beast for Chu Qing.
It was a 5,500-year-old Black Feather Demon Snake with the dual attributes of wind and darkness. It carried some of the bloodline of the Feathered Serpent God, a primordial exotic beast, and was formidable, with the powerful innate skill Feathered Transformation.
After searching for five days, the group finally found it again.
The Black Feather Demon Snake controlled a current of black wind as it flew past at a low altitude.
They did not rush to attack, however, and simply followed it.
The Shield Armored Spirit Rhinoceros possessed the Black Rhinoceros Gazes at the Moon trait, which increased its abilities by 50% at night when the moon was out.
They planned to wait until nightfall to act. Chu Qing had a 30,000-year-old Shield Armor Spirit Rhinoceros Left Arm Bone in his body, which would give him an additional measure of protection then.
When night fell, a bright, clear moon hung in the sky, and joy showed on everyone's faces.
The elders, who had lain in ambush for a long time, managed to severely wound the Black Feather Demon Snake without much effort.
Chu Qing stepped forward to deliver the finishing blow. He drew his sword and compressed the wind, gathering it along the blade.
He drove his sword through the snake's eye and into its brain. The next moment, the wind he released churned its brain to pieces. The Black Feather Demon Snake fell silent, and a magnificent purple Soul Ring floated out.
Looking at the Thousand-Year Soul Ring before him, Chu Qing felt his mouth go somewhat dry. Absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as his Second Soul Ring could be called astonishing enough.
He withdrew his sword and controlled the water vapor in the air, condensing it on the blade into a trickle that washed away the blood. Then he summoned the wind to dry it and returned the sword to its sheath.
Chu Jiazheng carefully took half a withered Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum from a jade box.
"Xiao Qing, your mother traded her dowry for this. Are you confident you can absorb the Thousand-Year Soul Ring?"
He had always been somewhat worried, after all.
Chu Qing's breathing quickened a little. The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum was a famous immortal herb. Eating it sent Qi coursing through the limbs and blood flowing through the eight meridians, allowing one to forge an indestructible body.
"I feel like I could absorb a ten-thousand-year one."
He spoke with complete confidence and ate the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, then sat down cross-legged before the Thousand-Year Soul Ring, his eyes burning.
After he took the immortal herb, the blood and Qi throughout his body began to boil, most noticeably in his left arm. Under the moonlight, every pore breathed with excitement.
He began absorbing the Soul Ring.
The Spirit Rhinoceros Sect had spent six whole years preparing for this day. The many elders watched with rapt attention, all standing guard for Chu Qing alone.
As he absorbed it, sweat began pouring from Chu Qing's forehead.
Absorbing the Thousand-Year Soul Ring, he did indeed feel the difficulty, but it was still within what he could bear. He even felt that he really might be able to absorb one of a greater age.
Half an hour later, the absorption succeeded. Chu Qing let out a long breath and stood up. Apart from being covered in foul-smelling sweat, he had encountered no danger.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Delighted, Chu Jiazheng asked:
"Xiao Qing, was the Soul Skill you obtained the Black Feather Demon Snake's innate Feathered Transformation?"
Chu Qing nodded and held out his right hand. A Sky Azure Bull Emperor Python immediately appeared in his palm, soaring and tumbling.
He said excitedly:
"Not only did I obtain the Feathered Transformation Soul Skill, but my Martial Soul also seems to have evolved a little further."
Those words instantly struck everyone's nerves.
Every one of these elders had a discerning eye, and they all noticed the black feathers, thin as cicada wings, that had grown beneath the Sky Azure Bull Emperor Python's scales.
"Hahaha~"
The elders spoke in high spirits.
"In that case, the Black Feather Demon Snake was quite a good match for your Martial Soul. I never imagined that even though your Martial Soul's quality was already so high, it could evolve again."
"All our years of effort finally haven't gone to waste."
"It's just a pity we couldn't find a true Feathered Serpent God."
Chu Qing immediately saluted and thanked them.
"Thank you for your efforts, elders. Now that I've successfully absorbed a Thousand-Year Soul Ring for my Second Soul Skill, the third will be much easier."
The elders all nodded.
"Young sect master, this is what we should do."
Joy written all over his face, Chu Jiazheng said:
"Xiao Qing, try hitting me. Let's see just how good the Second Soul Skill you obtained is."
Chu Qing cupped his fists.
"Father, please forgive my discourtesy, then."
His Second Soul Ring immediately lit up with a magnificent purple glow.
Second Soul Skill: Feathered Transformation.
A percentage-boost Soul Skill. After Feathered Transformation, it burned Soul Power, doubling Soul Power consumption and increasing all attributes by 100%.
As he activated the Soul Skill, his Soul Power boiled over in an instant. The Soul Power spilling out burned, turning into feathers of cyan light.
Amid the feathers of light, the imperial bearing around him grew stronger. He resembled a wingless angel, powerful and mysterious, majestic and sacred.
"Father, I'm going all out."
He compressed the wind and wrapped it around his right arm, increasing the speed and force of his punch.
Wind swirled and feathers danced as he unleashed a punch, smashing it fiercely toward Chu Jiazheng.
The force of the punch dispersed and the wind died down. Chu Qing looked at Chu Jiazheng, who had neither put up any defense nor been shaken in the slightest, and could not help feeling somewhat puzzled.
Seeing this, Chu Jiazheng could not resist giving him a light slap on the head.
"You little brat, what are you thinking?"
"I'm a level 75 Defense System Soul Master. Did you actually think you should have made me cough up blood with one punch?"
Chu Qing nodded sheepishly. He had thought he could at least knock Chu Jiazheng back a few steps with one punch and shock the elders.
Chu Jiazheng laughed heartily and said:
"Still, your Martial Soul is exceptionally gifted. Now that it has the boost from the Feathered Transformation Soul Skill, that punch just now would have had no trouble sending an ordinary Soul Elder flying."