Chapter 23: The Two's Shock
Seeing that Qi Tian showed no interest in acknowledging his ancestral roots, Yu Xiaogang immediately changed his approach.
"If you don't wish to recognize your ancestry, that's fine," he said with a smile that tried to look sincere. "We're still cousins. Blood is thicker than water, after all. If you ever need help, you can always come to me!"
He recalled that Liu Erlong had mentioned heading out in the morning to hunt for a soul beast to obtain a soul ring and break through her bottleneck.
Since he prided himself on his research in Martial Soul theory, he thought this was the perfect chance to display his 'brilliance.' Perhaps, if he impressed her enough, she might finally look at him differently!
With that thought in mind, he continued confidently:
"Cousin, the soul ring you absorbed just now was your fourth one, right? I'm curious—what kind of soul beast did you obtain it from?"
Flender, who had been about to praise Liu Erlong for reaching over rank forty, paused when he saw Yu Xiaogang's eager expression. He swallowed his words and simply listened, realizing that the 'theory master' was about to start lecturing again.
Qi Tian found Yu Xiaogang's pale face and forced arrogance rather amusing.
"Yu Xiaogang," he said flatly, "just call me by my name. I have nothing to do with your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—or with you."
"If you have something to say, just say it directly."
Yu Xiaogang took the hint, suppressing his urge to bring up their supposed blood ties.
"Liu Erlong," he turned to her, "you set out this morning to hunt a soul beast, and you've already absorbed your fourth ring after just half a day? Don't you think that's a bit… too fast?"
In his mind, there was only one explanation: Liu Erlong must have helped her absorb a low-year soul ring.
"From what I know, this is the outer region of the Sunset Forest. Most of the soul beasts here are ten-year or hundred-year ones."
"Could it be that your fourth soul ring is only a hundred-year ring?"
Qi Tian didn't respond. When he had fought earlier, neither of them had seen the color of his rings anyway.
Seeing his silence, Yu Xiaogang grew more confident in his own deductions and continued to expound his theories.
"According to my Martial Soul theory, the maximum limit for a Soul Master's fourth ring is five thousand years."
"The higher the age of the soul ring, the stronger the power of its attached skill."
"Also, from my research, animal-type Martial Souls can absorb rings from plant-type soul beasts, and vice versa."
"If you can't hunt a five-thousand-year animal-type beast, you could always target a plant-type one instead."
Growing more animated, he even began recommending certain 'easier' plant-type soul beasts, like Blue Silver Grass and Solitary Bamboo.
Inside Qi Tian's spiritual sea, Liu Erlong's doubtful voice sounded:
"Benefactor, is what he's saying true?"
Qi Tian replied calmly,
"There's no absolute limit to a soul ring's age. It's just that, for most talented soul masters, the fourth ring's safe limit happens to be around five thousand years."
"The actual limit depends on the Martial Soul's quality, the soul master's spiritual power, physique, and the compatibility between the ring and their soul."
"Everyone's situation is different. Some can't endure even a three-thousand-year ring, while others can absorb one well over five thousand years."
Liu Erlong finally understood. Yu Xiaogang's so-called 'theory' suddenly sounded rigid and bookish.
And indeed—her guess was correct. His so-called research was merely copied from the Spirit Hall's archives, which contained generations of data from tens of thousands of soul masters. Yu Xiaogang had merely plagiarized it.
"Then… can I also absorb a ring from a plant-type soul beast?" Liu Erlong asked.
"You can," Qi Tian said, "but it's not recommended—unless the soul beast's attributes are highly compatible with your Martial Soul or the ring's quality is exceptional."
"For example, if it's a Dragonblood Vine or Thunder Prison Vine—both top-tier and compatible with you—or perhaps a ten-thousand-year beast."
"Otherwise, absorbing a random plant-type soul ring could hinder your future cultivation."
"I understand," Liu Erlong nodded firmly. She naturally trusted Qi Tian more. Compared side by side, Yu Xiaogang's theories seemed childish and hollow. Her disdain for him grew even deeper.
After answering Liu Erlong's question, Qi Tian turned toward Yu Xiaogang and said casually,
"Yu Xiaogang, if there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave."
Without waiting for a response, Qi Tian stepped out of the Sunset Forest and began heading home.
"Liu Erlong, my theory… I haven't finished explaining yet!"
Yu Xiaogang called out, trying to stop him.
Unfortunately, Qi Tian didn't even glance back. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished from their sight.
Curious, Flender decided to take a look at the place where Liu Erlong had absorbed her soul ring.
"Xiaogang! Come here, quick!"
"What did you find? Help me over there!" Yu Xiaogang asked anxiously.
His body was still weak and battered. He could barely move without Flender's support.
Flender helped him over, and what they saw made both of them freeze.
A soul beast's corpse lay sprawled on the ground, mangled beyond recognition. Its flesh was torn apart, its bones shattered—completely ruined and useless. Qi Tian hadn't even bothered to collect it.
"This is… the Earth King? A thousand-year-level soul beast? No—its tail has ten segments… that means it was at least five thousand years old!"
Yu Xiaogang's face flushed hot. His earlier confident lecture came crashing down in his mind. All that boasting, all that analysis—completely wrong. And right in front of Liu Erlong, no less. He wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
But Flender, still in awe, exclaimed,
"Xiaogang, your theory was spot on! The fourth soul ring really should be around five thousand years! Miss Liu is truly incredible—she managed to defeat such a powerful beast by herself!"
Even as a Soul Ancestor, Flender knew that fighting a five-thousand-year soul beast required great caution. To think Liu Erlong had slain one alone—it was beyond impressive.
Her strength completely shocked him.
Yu Xiaogang also realized just how terrifying Liu Erlong's talent truly was. A woman who could single-handedly slay a five-thousand-year soul beast—how could he possibly let her go?
"Flender, it's getting dark. Let's leave this place first," Yu Xiaogang said, forcing himself to stay composed.
He was badly injured, and staying in the forest any longer would only invite danger.
"Alright."
Flender nodded and supported him as they made their way out of the forest.
"Xiaogang, how's Luo Sanpao doing? Can he still track Miss Liu's scent?"
Yu Xiaogang shook his head bitterly.
"Not until my injuries heal."
---
By the next morning, Qi Tian awoke in his dorm room at Nuoding Academy.
As soon as he opened his eyes, a wave of soul power surged through his body—his cultivation had broken through once again.
It had only been a few days since his last breakthrough, yet his soul power had already risen from level seven to level eight.
"As I thought—absorbing soul rings through their bodies really does feed back soul power to me!"
Qi Tian smiled faintly. He had discovered a small shortcut for boosting his cultivation.
Unfortunately, such opportunities would be rare in the future. Both Liu Erlong and Bibi Dong's next soul rings were destined to be ten-thousand-year rings.
If he tried to help them absorb those, the overwhelming spiritual shock alone would probably fry his mind and leave him an idiot.
"Forget it. I've already gained initial insight into the Blue Silver Domain. My cultivation speed is increasing—I don't need to rush."
He could clearly feel that the speed of his soul power growth using his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul had doubled compared to when he first awakened it.
It was still slow—but at least now, there was hope.
---
(End of Chapter)