The two of them returned to the seaside town and headed to the town's only inn.
They booked a private room, planning to grab a bite to eat.
Inside the room, Qian Lingyi—who had been holding back her curiosity for the whole journey—couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes sparkled with questions as she asked, "Zhu Ziyang, why do your soul rings look like that?"
"Soul rings? What about them?" Zhu Ziyang feigned ignorance, pretending not to understand.
"Aiya!" Qian Lingyi puffed her cheeks. "Your soul rings, of course! Why are they five ten-thousand-year soul rings? Are you actually a twin martial soul user? Is the Stillness Fate Ending Scythe your second martial soul?"
"Actually… I don't know either. I just went to sleep one night, and when I woke up, my soul rings looked like this," Zhu Ziyang replied with an innocent look, as if he genuinely had no clue.
"Huh? How could that be?" Qian Lingyi looked at his expression and didn't pick up on the lie. Instead, she tilted her head, face serious with thought, trying to figure it out.
"Hahaha!" Zhu Ziyang burst into laughter at her innocent expression.
To be honest, after spending so many days traveling together, Zhu Ziyang had come to understand Qian Lingyi thoroughly. Although she could be arrogant and cool-headed, toward people she trusted, she often showed a rather naïve kind of trust. It was exactly this trait of hers that made Zhu Ziyang love teasing her—and she fell for it every time.
It made him sigh inwardly with gratitude that he wasn't someone with malicious intent. Otherwise, she wouldn't even know if she got sold off.
But when he pointed this out, the girl argued with righteous confidence, saying not everyone was worthy of being her friend. She had been traveling the continent for over half a year but had only ever given Zhu Ziyang special attention.
"Ahh! You're teasing me again!" Qian Lingyi immediately realized what was happening when she heard him laugh. She huffed in frustration and began lightly pounding on Zhu Ziyang with her pink fists like falling rain. "You're the worst! Can't you be serious for once?"
"Alright, alright! I'll be serious!" Zhu Ziyang was still laughing as he caught her little fists and said, "Don't hit me anymore or I might die!"
"Hmph!" Qian Lingyi pouted, pulling her hand back from his. She tossed her golden hair proudly and sat across from him, crossing her legs with elegance. "Now talk. About your soul rings! And I'm warning you—no more messing around!"
"Alright, alright!" Zhu Ziyang finally stopped laughing. "There's not much to say, really. You know my Stillness Fate Ending Scythe possesses the death attribute, right?"
"Mhm!" Qian Lingyi nodded, then suddenly seemed to realize something. "You mean… it's because of your death attribute?"
"Exactly. You've seen plenty of evil soul masters, haven't you noticed that some of them also have overpowered soul ring configurations?" Zhu Ziyang explained. "That's because of the death attribute."
"So that's how it is!" she said in awe. "If you didn't have an ultimate light attribute, I'd actually be afraid you might turn into an evil soul master!"
"Hah, are you looking down on me that much?" Zhu Ziyang said disdainfully. "Those evil soul masters aren't even worthy to be compared to me! Their death is filthy and sinful, but my death is sacred redemption!"
"Uh…" Qian Lingyi didn't quite understand what he meant, but her curiosity only grew. "Can you explain how the death attribute enhances soul ring age?"
"Sure," Zhu Ziyang nodded. "It's actually tied to the essence of soul rings. Do you know what the essence of a soul ring is?"
"Let me think," Qian Lingyi said, brows furrowed. After digging through her memory of books she had read, she hesitantly replied, "Condensed soul power?"
"Not completely wrong—more like only half right," Zhu Ziyang said with a smile. He wasn't surprised by her answer, as it was the general belief among soul masters today.
"Only half?" Qian Lingyi tilted her head, puzzled.
"Yes," Zhu Ziyang nodded and shared the thoughts he had prepared long ago. "Based on my research, soul rings are not just condensed soul power. They're composed of three components: soul power, life force, and spiritual power."
"Life force and spiritual power?" Qian Lingyi's mouth fell open. This was something she'd never heard or even thought about before. Like most soul masters, she only cared about the strength that soul rings granted, not their fundamental nature.
Though soul masters were incredibly popular and thriving on the Douluo Continent, the field of soul master theory and scholarship was shockingly underdeveloped. Aside from a rare few who gave up cultivation to pursue research, most had no interest in foundational theories. As a result, the soul master world's understanding of the basics was still stuck in ancient times.
As Electrolux once put it, other worlds built professions on top of theory. But Douluo Continent had professions first, then tried to build theory afterward. It was bizarre—truly bizarre.
"That's right. Soul power, life force, and spiritual power are the true components of a soul ring," Zhu Ziyang explained seriously. "Soul power's role is obvious. Life force determines the ring's form—its color and size. Spiritual power defines its nature, which determines the formation and evolution of soul skills."
"Think of a soul ring like a wine glass. Life force is the glass itself. Soul power is the wine inside. Spiritual power is the wine's quality and flavor. How much wine you can hold, and what kind of wine, all depend on the shape and size of the glass. Similarly, the amount of soul power and quality of soul skills a ring has depends on the life force it contains."
"This…" Qian Lingyi murmured, deep in thought. "So by that logic, the life force forms the ring's structure, soul power fills it, and spiritual power carves out the soul skills… then the ring is complete?"
"Exactly!" Zhu Ziyang gave her an approving nod. "So, do you now understand the core of what determines a soul ring's age?"
"Life force?" Her talent for comprehension was excellent, and she immediately locked onto the key point. Her eyes sparkled. "It's the life force, right?"
"Mmhm!" Zhu Ziyang smiled and nodded. "For a soul ring, life force is the most important foundation. The more life force, the higher its age. With that comes more soul power and better soul skills. Now you understand how the death attribute enhances soul ring age?"
"I get it!" Qian Lingyi exclaimed, face glowing with admiration. "The death attribute can devour life force and turn it into a soul ring's life force, increasing its age!"
"Correct," Zhu Ziyang agreed. "But let me correct you on one thing. The death attribute doesn't 'devour' life force—it 'strips' it. There's a key difference between the two."
"Hm?" Qian Lingyi tilted her head with interest.
"Devouring means absorbing everything along with the life force—souls, emotions, impurities—resulting in contaminated life energy. If you don't filter it, the devourer will eventually be corrupted or suffer soul backlash," Zhu Ziyang explained. "Stripping, on the other hand, extracts only the pure life force. It carries no risk or side effects."
"Mmm~ So that's why those evil soul masters are always half-insane and mentally unstable?" Qian Lingyi suddenly connected the dots.
"Smart girl!" Zhu Ziyang praised her with a smile. "Death isn't evil. It's one of the most fundamental forces of the world. Those evil soul masters… they've ruined the reputation of the death attribute!"
"Zhu Ziyang, is there any way we can increase our soul ring age too?" Qian Lingyi didn't linger on his sigh. She looked at him with thoughtfulness and asked.
"That… I'm still studying. Maybe it's possible. Maybe not," Zhu Ziyang admitted thoughtfully.
"Then… if you succeed, will you teach me?" Qian Lingyi asked, eyes filled with hope.
"Of course. We're good friends, aren't we?" Zhu Ziyang answered with a smile.
(End of Chapter)
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