After activating his Martial Soul, Meng Shenji, with the strength of a Soul Douluo, faced a soul beast that was less than a thousand years old. Naturally, he didn't even need to use his Soul Skills. He simply used his immense soul power to restrain the beast from a distance.
Then, with a simple motion, he squeezed from afar!
With a sound that made one's teeth ache, the two-meter-tall Diamond Mantis almost immediately shrank in size. The pressure from the soul power crushed its exoskeleton, leaving it barely alive.
A Soul Douluo is terrifying!
Li Chang'an made a shocked and admiring expression, greatly satisfying Meng Shenji's vanity. He gently stroked his long beard and said with a smile, "This soul beast is the right age, and its characteristics are well-suited to your Martial Soul. Go ahead and finish it off."
"Alright."
Li Chang'an nodded, summoning his Blue Scale Sword. He casually walked up to the dying Diamond Mantis and thrust the sword directly into a vital spot.
"Szz!"
It was as though he was stabbing through thick iron. The process of piercing was exceptionally difficult, and Li Chang'an could clearly feel how tough the exoskeleton of the Diamond Mantis was. This was after its exoskeleton was almost crushed by soul power. From this, one could imagine how insane the defense of the exoskeleton would be in its normal state.
Gritting his teeth, Li Chang'an exerted soul power, and the long sword in his hand emitted a blue light as he pressed down forcefully.
With a "szz" sound, the entire green jade-like sword body pierced into the Diamond Mantis's body, and the savage-looking soul beast finally took its last breath. A yellow soul ring slowly floated upwards.
Li Chang'an exhaled, withdrew his sword, and sat cross-legged on the ground, placing the sword across his knees. He began to draw in his soul power, guiding the soul ring into his body...
Meng Shinji watched quietly, keeping a close eye on his condition. Even though he felt there was no problem, and the absorption was virtually certain, he couldn't help but feel tense. After all, this child was the future pillar of the empire, and he was extremely important, so nothing could go wrong.
The entire process of absorbing the soul ring went smoothly.
Li Chang'an could clearly feel the soul ring's power not only merging into his body but also enhancing his Martial Soul... improving his foundation and talent!
The Diamond Mantis was indeed a soul beast very suited to the characteristics of his Martial Soul.
About two hours later, he slowly opened his eyes, and two yellow soul rings had appeared around him. The first ring was around 500 years old, and the second was close to 800 years old. This was the most recognized, best soul ring configuration in the Soul Master world.
"Chang'an, you're awake. How do you feel?" Meng Shenji hurriedly stepped forward to ask, worried about any issues.
For the past six months, he had truly taken a liking to Li Chang'an, who was extremely talented and hardworking, and had started to treat him almost like a grandson.
"Grandpa Meng, I'm fine."
Li Chang'an smiled, shaking his head. "I feel surprisingly good now! My soul power has reached level 22."
"Level 22? It seems your foundation is truly deep." Meng Shenji let out a sigh of relief and couldn't help but exclaim.
Every time a Soul Master reaches the limit of level 10, their soul power can accumulate even without adding a soul ring. When they do add a soul ring, the accumulated power is released in a burst.
Typically, a second soul ring of about 800 years would only raise soul power by one level, making it level 21. But now, Li Chang'an had reached level 22, which clearly had little to do with the soul ring itself. Meng Shenji guessed that he had already accumulated deep soul power, which was now released after obtaining the soul ring.
This undoubtedly confirmed just how diligent Li Chang'an's daily training was.
"By the way, what's your second Soul Skill?" After a moment of admiration, Meng Shinji asked.
"My second Soul Skill is Sword Ray!"
Li Chang'an said, standing up, holding the Azure Scale Sword. At the same time, the second soul ring lit up!
Immediately, the jade-like sword blade was covered with a faint golden light.
Then he casually swung it and struck the leg of the nearby Diamond Mantis. It was effortlessly sliced into two pieces.
This was in sharp contrast to the earlier struggle when he had to use all his strength to thrust into the Mantis.
"After adding Sword Ray, the sharpness of my Martial Soul has greatly improved, allowing me to cut through objects more easily." Li Chang'an explained. After the Sword Ray was added, using the Azure Scale Sword to cut the Diamond Mantis no longer faced the resistance it once did. It was as easy as cutting tofu.
"Not only the Martial Soul body but even the sword Qi released is also enhanced by the Sword Ray," he said, swinging his sword again.
A Azure sword Qi wrapped in golden light shot out, piercing a large moss-covered stone in the distance.
Before, his sword Qi could barely penetrate halfway into such a stone, but now it could easily pierce through it. This showed how much Sword Ray enhanced the sword Qi.
After watching his demonstration, Meng Shenji nodded repeatedly. As a Soul Douluo, his experience was far beyond that of lower-level Soul Masters. Thus, he could clearly recognize how powerful Li Chang'an's two Soul Skills were.
This kind of penetrating and destructive power would likely not be any weaker than the top-tier Sword Martial Souls like Seven Killing Sword.
The Heaven dou Empire had really struck gold this time.
With the soul hunt finished, the return journey was naturally uneventful.
After returning to his small courtyard dormitory, Li Chang'an stood before a full-length mirror, examining himself. He realized that after absorbing the second soul ring, his body had grown significantly taller. Now, just by looking at his appearance, he no longer resembled a six-year-old child.
When Soul Masters absorb soul rings, the energy from the soul rings causes certain enhancements and promotes growth in their bodies. Therefore, in the Soul Master world, one cannot simply judge a person's real age by their appearance.
After absorbing two soul rings, Li Chang'an, who was still not yet seven years old, looked like someone in their late teens or early twenties, growing far too quickly.
However, there was no need to worry about him aging prematurely due to rapid growth.
The energy from the soul rings only promotes physical growth. The specific effects vary from person to person. When the body reaches a certain point, around twenty years old, absorbing soul rings will no longer change one's appearance.
At around twenty, the human body has typically fully developed, and won't change physically because of soul ring energy.
After that, a Soul Master's appearance will only gradually change with age, naturally aligning the real age with the appearance. This means that once Li Chang'an absorbs a soul ring that makes his appearance look around twenty, his appearance will not change anymore, like a frozen age. Only when his real age reaches twenty will it start to change.
Of course, higher-level Soul Masters can also control their appearance to avoid aging, but that's another matter.
Therefore, there is no need to worry about a teenager absorbing several soul rings and looking like a middle-aged man, which is impossible.
If absorbing soul rings led to rapid aging, no one would dare absorb them.
(End of Chapter)