Both sides released their Martial Souls, and the battle began.
A dazzling Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda appeared in Ning Tian's hand, with two Yellow Soul Rings coiling around it.
After Xue Shi used Martial Soul Possession, his body swelled dramatically, bursting through his clothes. His muscular contours were frightening, and his full head of red hair fluffed out like a lion's mane, making him look majestic and domineering.
Two Yellow Soul Rings circled his body.
Sensing the presence behind him, he couldn't help glancing back.
Ning Tian was two or three years younger than him, yet she had two rings just like him. It was the first time he had met someone more gifted than himself.
Princess Xue Li, beside Ning Tian, had also used Martial Soul Possession. Four snow-white Swan wings grew from her waist and hung down, lending her an extraordinarily sacred air.
But there was a hint of confusion in her eyes. She felt as though she ought to be standing on the other side.
A richly colored, deep-yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath her feet. It was clearly beyond the usual absorption limit.
Xue Shi, standing right beside her, could feel it keenly. He felt its age was nearly as great as that of his Second Soul Ring when he absorbed it.
Princess Xue Li's Martial Soul was the mutated Four-Winged Swan. Although it still fell short of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, it was much stronger than an ordinary Swan Martial Soul and possessed formidable vitality.
That was precisely why the Dou Ling Emperor had chosen Princess Xue Li from among his many princesses for a marriage alliance with the Spirit Rhinoceros Sect and invested heavily in her development.
The cultivation resources Princess Xue Li received could be said to rival those of the crown prince, or even be somewhat better.
Xue Shi looked at Chu Qing across from him, his eyes brimming with excitement.
With the two of them supporting him, he was confident that even fighting a Battle Soul Elder would be no trouble.
Seeing that they had all released their Martial Souls and Soul Rings, Chu Qing deliberately waited, taking his time so the others could get a good look before he began his own Martial Soul Possession.
The instant he used Martial Soul Possession, his eyes turned an awe-inspiring azure-gold.
His hair changed from black to blackish blue and began growing wildly.
A pair of coiled bull horns that exuded a domineering air also grew from his head.
His frame did not swell dramatically like Xue Shi's across from him. It simply became sturdier, while remaining tall and well-proportioned.
Soon his hair reached his waist. The long, blackish-blue strands moved without wind, as though alive, and were as nimble as snakes.
Some azure-gold snake scales also grew on his body, emerging from the body of the Sky Azure Bull Emperor Python tattoo he had acquired after awakening his Martial Soul. They gave off the majestic bearing of an emperor, making the tattoo look more real; it even swam slightly.
Since his clothes had not burst apart, outsiders could only see some of the scales at his neck, where they resembled soft armor, and the bull's head peeking out slightly on his right hand.
Immediately afterward, two Soul Rings, one azure and one purple, emerged from beneath his feet. They rose and pulsed slowly, radiating considerable pressure.
The instant the Soul Rings appeared, they caused an uproar throughout the crowd.
"An Unusually Colored Soul Ring!"
Fei Yuyan and An Lengye shot up from their seats, nearly spraying the juice from their mouths.
An Azure Soul Ring-it was actually an Azure Soul Ring?
Soul Rings had always been white, yellow, purple, black, or red. Many people didn't even know that a million-year Soul Ring was gold.
An Azure Soul Ring had never been seen before!
Even if Chu Qing accomplished nothing else, this Unusually Colored Soul Ring alone would earn him a mention in the future history of Soul Masters.
It was simply too extraordinary.
Hearing the cries of surprise all around them, Xue Lingyi and her husband struggled to keep the corners of their mouths down, their faces filled with uncontainable pride.
Xu Sanshi, beside them, grumbled to himself incessantly, sour with envy.
Behind the screen, the Dou Ling Emperor was suddenly filled with great aspirations. He saw a powerful new force being injected into the moribund Dou Ling Empire, and he hoped that in the future he could bring the carriage of the Dou Ling Empire, which was steadily rolling toward a cliff, to a stop and set it back on the right path.
Of the two Titled Douluo present, Wu Feng's grandmother now somewhat regretted her earlier arrogance.
She understood now that she should not have regarded a talent like Chu Qing with an appraising eye.
Her approach would have been fine with an ordinary genius, but Chu Qing defied common sense. Recalling how he had acted earlier, she realized he probably could not be persuaded to enter a marriage alliance with their Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. It seemed she had botched the task the sect master had entrusted to her.
Mad Lion Douluo, right beside her, had not been this surprised and puzzled in many years. He couldn't help exclaiming:
"The pressure from that Azure Soul Ring rivals a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. A thousand-year First Soul Ring-even Shrek might not have a monster like that. He's practically a Ferocious Beast cub!"
"But that Martial Soul doesn't look like the Shield Armored Spirit Rhinoceros!"
Someone with a thousand-year first ring!
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to Mad Lion Douluo.
A Titled Douluo's eye was so discerning that their words shook everyone to the core once more.
Of course, there was one exception. Hearing this, Chu Jiazheng grew quietly worried. He felt that perhaps he should not have gotten carried away and increased the age of Chu Qing's First Soul Ring.
On the stage, even with two powerful supporters, Xue Shi began to lose confidence.
He didn't understand the Azure Soul Ring, but he wasn't blind to that purple Second Soul Ring!
Xue Li and Ning Tian's eyes also shone with fascination.
Ning Tian in particular, as someone with two rings, knew very well how difficult it was to absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
The wealth of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect went without saying, and it was not as though they lacked thousand-year Whale Rubber. Even so, Ning Tian's Second Soul Ring was still only in the hundred-year range. She now understood how powerful the Sky Azure Bull Python Martial Soul her father had spoken of was.
When Chu Qing had said he would take on all three of them, she had been somewhat skeptical, but now she believed him.
Fighting spirit rose in her eyes. She wanted to see whether the powerful Soul Beast overlord recorded in the ancient texts would be just as formidable now that it had appeared as a Soul Master's Martial Soul.
"Are you ready?"
Chu Qing kindly called out a reminder to the three people across from him, who were clearly lost in thought.
He knew how unusual the Azure Soul Ring was, and before coming onstage, he had considered whether to release only his Martial Soul and not his Soul Rings.
In the end, however, he decided to reveal it.
Risk and reward went hand in hand. He needed to show his potential and shut everyone else up.
As for his safety, he had thought it over: if even the Dou Ling Imperial Family couldn't protect him, then even if he were captured by Evil Soul Masters, the worst he could do was acknowledge the thieves as his fathers and stay alive first.
With his talent, this Unusually Colored Soul Ring, and this Martial Soul, anyone with a sound mind should be unwilling to kill him. Leaving research aside, at worst he ought to have some value as breeding stock.
Integrity and the like weren't worth worrying about in the face of life and death. Once he was strong enough, no one would dare say anything anyway.
So he might as well show it off and act cool.
Xue Shi let out an angry roar and released his first Soul Skill.
"Wild Lion's Furious Aura!"
In an instant, fierce flames surged up from his full head of lion-like red hair, and his imposing presence intensified.
This was a percentage-based enhancement Soul Skill that Mad Lion Douluo had personally selected for him. In Mad Lion Douluo's words, even a Soul Skill from a purple First Soul Ring would not be as good as choosing this compatible Soul Ring, because it could continuously enhance the Flame Mad Lion's attacks.
Ning Tian also began enhancing Xue Shi, the first and second Soul Rings on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda lighting up in succession.
"Seven treasures turn, and glazed light shines forth. Seven Treasures Have Names: First: Strength, Second: Speed."
With a thirty-percent boost to strength and speed from Ning Tian's two rings, Xue Shi rejoiced. He silently marveled that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's supporting abilities were indeed powerful. As though encouraged, he spoke with fighting spirit blazing:
"Come at me!"