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Qianqian's four-winged angel martial soul possessed both fire and light attributes, and according to elemental affinity, both had reached their peak levels.
(A/N: The concept of "extreme attributes" inherently has issues. For example, ice is somewhat understandable since there's an absolute zero limit, but fire has no upper temperature limit. Therefore, here's a secondary setting: if an element's affinity is lower than another's, it will be suppressed.)
This should have been good news because extreme attributes meant Qianqian had the potential to surpass Super Douluo level and even reach level 99. However, due to the extreme attribute setting, despite the immortal herb's meridian remodeling and impurity purging effects, her cultivation speed, while improved, was still significantly slower compared to soul masters with similar talent levels.
This was the drawback of an extreme martial soul—cultivation speed before level 70 would be painfully slow.
Qianqian, however, remained calm about it. After all, she had spent six years cultivating with only level 1 innate soul power. Now that her cultivation speed had increased significantly, she was quite pleased. "It's just a bit slower," she said nonchalantly. "No big deal."
Although she didn't possess the innate soul power of 20 levels like Qian Renxue from the original story, after awakening her four-winged angel, Qianqian also spontaneously awakened a domain.
Sacred Judgment Domain – Weakens dark, evil, and similar attributes by 30% while boosting her own strength by 20%.
Overall, it truly lived up to its reputation as an Angel martial soul—it was practically a specialized counter against evil soul masters.
Afterward, Ye Wen examined Qianqian's body and discovered that her physical condition had undergone a qualitative leap. Originally, her first soul ring could only handle 300 years' worth of spirit energy, but now her second soul ring position could accommodate a 1,500-year spirit ring.
Given the uniqueness of Qianqian's martial soul, Ye Wen taught her some techniques for disguise—he himself was an expert at hiding his true strength.
After finalizing plans to take Qianqian hunting for soul rings the next day, Ye Wen let her rest, as refining the immortal herb was mentally exhausting.
He then asked Qianqian to call Lanlan and Ah Yin over.
Ye Wen had mixed feelings about Lanlan. On one hand, she seemed lazy in terms of cultivation, yet she made significant contributions to the Tian Xing Academy's operations, acting like his personal secretary. But when it came to her primary duty as a soul master, she didn't seem to care much.
As she put it:
"With my level of talent, I'll never reach Title Douluo in this lifetime. Besides, with Master and Mistress protecting me, what soul master would dare mess with me?"
Not long after, Lanlan entered the chamber. Unlike her usual lazy or paperwork-buried self, her eyes were now filled with anticipation.
"?"
"Master, is it finally my turn?!" Lanlan exclaimed joyfully.
By now, Lanlan had fully matured into a graceful woman, standing only half a head shorter than Ye Wen. Her figure was voluptuous, and her demeanor exuded nobility, making Ye Wen feel slightly uneasy.
You're only 17, for heaven's sake!
Seeing Ye Wen frozen in place, Lanlan impatiently shook his shoulders.
"Master, Master! Where's my immortal herb? Stop hiding it, bring it out already!"
"What? How do you know about it? Didn't your senior brothers and sisters keep it a secret?"
Lanlan proudly placed her hands on her hips, completely contradicting the refined aura she had just displayed.
"I'm not blind! My seniors and juniors have improved so much and changed so drastically—what else could it be besides immortal herbs? I didn't read all those books for nothing!"
Her reasoning was so sound that Ye Wen was momentarily speechless. Wasn't this supposed to be a world where intelligence was in short supply? Had his teachings somehow overcorrected things?
Upon reflection, though Lanlan's cultivation aptitude was lacking, her constant involvement in the Tian Xing Academy's affairs had made her adept at navigating human relationships. It made sense that she possessed such insight.
At this moment, Ah Yin also arrived.
Ye Wen sighed and said, "Since you already know it's an immortal herb, I won't waste words. Sit down cross-legged."
He then took out two jade bottles containing the essences of the Fiery Apricot Delicate Vegetable and the Eight-Trigram Mysterious Ice Grass.
After briefly explaining the effects of these two immortal herb essences, Ye Wen had Lanlan drink them. Though the refinement process would be painful, the benefits would be immense.
In the original story, these two immortal herbs hadn't significantly boosted Tang San's soul power, but they had granted his ordinary Blue Silver Grass immunity to ice and fire, as well as deeply strengthened his physical body.
Lanlan's third soul ring came from a 5,000-year-old Blue Silver Tree nearing the end of its life. Under Ah Yin's manipulation, the tree willingly sacrificed itself to Lanlan.
With the infusion of the powerful Blue Silver Tree essence, Lanlan's martial soul underwent a transformation—from Blue Silver Vine to Blue Silver Tree.
"Third Soul Skill: Earth Absorption."
This ability allowed her to materialize her martial soul and plant it on the ground, absorbing nutrients from the earth to enhance her endurance as a soul master.
Though it might sound underwhelming, for Lanlan, an auxiliary-type Blue Silver Grass soul master, it was perfectly suited. It gave her the ability to heal more people and provided a clear direction for the future of Blue Silver Grass medical soul masters.
The essences of the two immortal herbs, each representing an extreme attribute, intermingled within Lanlan's body.
Surprisingly, Lanlan, who usually led a pampered and lazy life, didn't flinch once. Instead, she gritted her teeth and struggled through the painful refinement process. At this moment, Ah Yin stepped in to assist. Given their shared origin of martial souls, Ah Yin was more suitable than Ye Wen.
Ye Wen couldn't help but feel moved by Lanlan's unwavering determination.
"Indeed, no soul master is content with mediocrity. Once given the chance, they'll work tirelessly. Lanlan must have known her cultivation prospects were bleak and relied on me as her safety net, which is why she acted lazy. But now, seeing her former sisters reaching Soul King level and leaving her behind, how could she not feel competitive? It was just masked by her carefree attitude."
After a long while, Lanlan finally opened her azure-blue eyes and summoned her martial soul, her gaze filled with joy.
Her soul power had only increased by two levels, but her martial soul had undergone a complete transformation.
At the center of every vein in the leaves of her Blue Silver Tree, red and blue intertwined patterns appeared, signifying that her Blue Silver Tree now possessed immunity to both ice and fire.
At this moment, Ah Yin remarked, "Lanlan's physique has been strengthened, and her meridians have expanded. She should now be able to rival soul masters with innate soul power levels of seven or eight."
This outcome wasn't bad at all. Next year, when the meridian-remodeling immortal herb essences condensed, Lanlan would be able to match geniuses with full innate soul power.
For now, though, there was no need to rush and tell her. To prevent her from slacking off, Ye Wen decided to surprise her later, a mischievous grin forming on his face.
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