Chapter 14: The Second Ring of the Millennium.
Rewind to the moment before the Purple Serpent launched its final attack.
Ye Xuanming concealed himself in the tree canopy twenty meters away, like a leaf that did not reflect light.
"Xuanming, that snake isn't dead; it's faking it."
Ah Yin's voice echoed in the sea of consciousness, carrying a hint of solemnity.
"That purple-haired girl is in danger, aren't you going to help?"
Ye Xuanming did not respond immediately.
He looked at the spirited young woman; her martial spirit and her soul skills all pointed to one identity.
Dugu Yan is the granddaughter of Poison Douluo Dugu Bo.
To plan the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye, establishing contact with the Dugu family is an inevitable step.
Now, opportunity has come knocking on our door.
...
Let's go back to the present.
"Thank you."
Dugu Yan's voice was very soft, and her head was lowered. Her short, dark purple hair covered most of her face, with only her bright red earlobes exposed to the air.
Ye Lingling rushed out from behind the tree. Instead of helping Dugu Yan immediately, she released her martial spirit.
A nine-hearted begonia appeared in her palm, its soft light casting a gentle glow as she carefully examined Dugu Yan's physical condition.
After confirming that Dugu Yan had not been harmed by the aftershocks of the poisoned arrow, Ye Lingling withdrew her martial spirit and bowed slightly to Ye Xuanming.
"Thank you for saving my life."
A black veil concealed her face, with only her cascading blue hair swaying gently with her movements.
Dugu Yan finally raised her head. She didn't dare to look at Ye Xuanming's face, and her gaze fell on the clothes on his chest.
"I...I am Dugu Yan from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and this is Ye Lingling. May I ask your name?"
"Ye Xuanming".
His answer was concise and to the point, without any unnecessary pleasantries.
Ye Xuanming turned to look at the Purple Kui Snake, which had been tormented to the brink of death by the devouring power of the Annihilation Overlord Spear and then thrown away by the Life Overlord Spear, completely unconscious.
"Miss Dugu, that snake isn't quite dead yet. You can go and get the soul ring. I'm here to hunt souls as well."
The hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress trope may be old-fashioned, but it's certainly effective.
Ye Xuanming could feel that Dugu Yan's heart was racing when she looked at him.
Dugu Yan nodded after hearing his words, and quickly walked towards the Purple Kui Snake, gripping the dagger in her hand tightly again.
However, she hesitated for a moment, and after taking a few steps, she couldn't help but look back.
The boy stood there quietly, while I couldn't help but want to turn around. Could it be...?
Dugu Yan shook her head, focused on blocking, and quickly ended the life of the Purple Kui Serpent. A purple soul ring then appeared.
Without hesitation, she immediately sat down cross-legged and began absorbing her third spirit ring.
Dugu Yan entered a meditative state, leaving only Ye Xuanming and Ye Lingling, who was protecting her, in the forest.
Ye Lingling was still standing in the shadows. She remained silent for a moment before finally speaking.
"Excuse me... is your martial soul Blue Silver Grass?"
Ye Lingling clearly saw the vines that had appeared out of nowhere.
But Blue Silver Grass is a recognized useless martial soul, so how could it possibly have the resilience to withstand the dying blow of a thousand-year-old soul beast?
Moreover, the appearance of the vines was not accompanied by the lighting of the spirit rings.
That means it's either the ability of his martial soul itself, or a self-created soul skill.
What puzzled her even more was the two spears he unleashed later—one that devoured life force, and the other that created life. These two completely different attributes came from the same person.
This young man named Ye Xuanming is shrouded in mystery.
"My martial soul is a mutated Blue Silver Grass," Ye Xuanming replied.
He ignored Ye Lingling and walked straight to the bamboo forest guarded by the Purple Kui Snake.
One of the bamboo stalks was entirely black, its texture like ink jade, reflecting a cold, eerie luster in the dim forest.
"Xuanming, this Jade Bamboo is about 1,100 years old. Are you sure you want to absorb it as your second soul ring?"
Ah Yin's voice was filled with worry.
"My physique far surpasses that of other Soul Masters of the same level, and I also have the restorative ability of my Soul Bone, so I should be fine."
Ye Xuanming responded in his heart.
The black jade bamboo itself is not aggressive, but its energy is extremely tough, making it far more difficult to absorb than that of other soul beasts of the same level.
Without delay, Ye Xuanming raised his right hand, and the Dark Blue Silver Grass appeared.
"First Soul Skill, Annihilation Overlord Spear."
A purple-gold spear materialized, but instead of throwing it, he gripped the handle and swept the shaft horizontally towards the roots of the black jade bamboo.
With a crisp "crack," the hard black jade bamboo snapped in two.
A pale purple soul ring slowly rose from the broken bamboo.
Ye Xuanming immediately sat down cross-legged, guided the soul ring, and began to absorb it.
The reason he dared to absorb the soul ring in front of Ye Lingling was because he had calculated it correctly.
Having just saved Dugu Yan, and knowing Dugu Yan's proud yet principled nature, she would never allow her companion to turn against her.
Ye Lingling herself is a gentle person.
More importantly, Ye Xuanming was confident that he could absorb spirit rings faster than Dugu Yan.
Ye Lingling stood not far away, protecting Dugu Yan while also keeping an eye on Ye Xuanming.
When she saw Ye Xuanming pull the thousand-year-old soul ring toward his body, she froze.
How could that be!
His first spirit ring was at the hundred-year level, and for his second spirit ring, he actually dared to challenge a thousand-year level!
This completely violates the ironclad rules of the Soul Master world!
Ye Lingling's heart was in turmoil; she had never heard of anything so outrageous.
She stared intently at the boy sitting cross-legged, wanting to see how he would end up.
The violent soul power surged into Ye Xuanming's body through the spiritual connection, like countless steel needles, rampaging through his meridians.
The resilience of that energy far exceeded his expectations.
Ye Xuanming's body began to tremble uncontrollably, fine beads of sweat appeared on his skin, and his face turned pale.
But he remained focused, mobilizing all his soul and spirit to repeatedly sort out and guide that violent energy.
The soul bone in his right leg emitted a warm current, continuously repairing his damaged meridians.
In Ye Lingling's perception, the fluctuations of soul power on Ye Xuanming's body gradually became more orderly from the initial chaos, and finally tended to be stable.
This process took only one hour.
An hour later, Ye Xuanming suddenly opened his eyes.
Beneath him, two rings of yellow and purple spirit rings shone brightly, and an aura far more solid and resilient than before emanated from his body.
He succeeded.
Ye Xuanming stood up and felt the changes within his body.
The leaves of the Life Blue Silver Grass have become more supple, and their surface has gained a layer of dark jade-like luster.
The edges of the leaves of the Dark Blue Silver Grass reveal a striking sharpness.
His soul power had only reached level twenty-one, not far from level twenty-two.
Ye Xuanming felt it was a bit of a pity that he didn't directly reach level twenty-two.
However, Ye Xuanming was very satisfied with the two brand-new soul skills.
The second soul skill of the Blue Silver Grass of Life, Ink Jade Transformation.
All attributes are increased by 100% for one hour.
Dark Blue Silver Grass's second soul skill, Ink Jade Divine Edge.
Attack power and penetration power are increased by 100% for one hour.
Just as Ye Xuanming was examining his gains, Dugu Yan's absorption was also coming to an end.
The light of her third spirit ring stabilized completely, becoming a deep purple.
Dugu Yan slowly opened her eyes. Her first reaction was not to feel the power she had gained, nor to look at her teammates beside her.
Her gaze immediately passed over Ye Lingling and landed on Ye Xuanming, who had just stood up.
Bringing such a genius back to the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy would be of great benefit to the team.
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(End of this Chapter)