"Qi Lin, you didn't lie to your sister, did you?"
Si Si hesitated for a moment before walking over to Qi Lin and stroking his head.
"If you can't absorb the three-hundred-year-old Storm Devil Wolf and instead absorb a weak Spirit Beast...
We can come back next time. Lying is not good, you know."
Si Si didn't believe Qi Lin because the idea of a first Soul Ring with four Soul Skills was simply unheard of.
Throughout the history of the Douluo Continent, each soul ring or soul bone typically has one skill. No one on the continent had ever had a first soul ring with four soul skills.
(Each soul ring or soul bone usually has one soul skill, unless it is at least 100,000 years old, in which case it can have two. A million-year-old soul ring or bone may provide up to four soul skills.)
As he listened to Si Si's gentle tone, Su Yuntao suddenly felt a pang of sadness.
'Si Si,' he said, 'I've never seen you this gentle with me before.'
Qi Lin felt very warm inside after hearing these words from Si Si.
"Sister Si Si, I would lie to anyone but not you!" Qi Lin said.
If you don't believe me, I can show you my Soul Skill right now!"
After speaking, Qi Lin opened his hand and a four-leaf clover emerged from his palm.
Compared to before he had absorbed the Skydream Ice Worm's Soul Ring, the four-leaf clover looked slightly larger, but the biggest change was the golden patterns on its four leaves. They looked dazzling and emitted a faint golden halo.
"Gift of Destiny - Strength!"
"Gift of Destiny - Speed!"
"Gift of Destiny - Defense!"
"Gift of Destiny - Soul!"
As Qi Lin chanted these four gifts consecutively, the shimmering white Soul Ring above his head flashed four times.
Four faint golden rays then surged into Si Si's body.
Qi Lin smiled and suggested, "Sister Si Si, you can test it out now."
Hearing this, Si Si felt the power surging within her and shifted her gaze towards Su Yuntao.
Seeing this, Su Yuntao immediately waved his hand, saying quickly, "Si Si, how can this be? How could I bear to lay a hand on you?'
His Martial Soul was a wolf, whereas Si Si's Martial Soul was an ordinary green vine. In terms of attack power, he was still superior.
Furthermore, his Soul Power level was higher.
Therefore, it was clear who was stronger and who was weaker between them. What was there left to compare?
What if he accidentally injured Si Si?
Although she had the amplification from Qi Lin's Soul Skill, how much could a small, one-ring Spirit Master amplify a two-ring Spirit Grandmaster?
Si Si, however, felt the sudden surge of energy within her body and didn't want to waste such a good opportunity.
She glared at Su Yuntao.
"If I tell you to fight, then fight! What are you talking nonsense about?"
"Uh..."
Seeing this, Su Yuntao shot Qi Lin a resentful look.
"It's all your fault, you brat! You've taken Si Si's love away from me!"
"Fine!'
"Si Si, don't worry. I'll go easy on you."
"Who wants you to go easy!" Si Si frowned; she felt incredibly powerful right now.
A great battle was about to break out.
Si Si's Martial Soul was a Green Vine, so her physique was no match for Su Yuntao's Wolf Martial Soul. In theory, she should have drawn out the battle to win.
However, this time she chose to engage in close combat with him.
In the past, she might not have lasted long before being defeated.
However, this time she was able to fight Su Yuntao on an equal footing in a short space of time.
As time passed, Su Yuntao himself was even shocked.
Si Si's strength, speed, defence and Soul Power had all increased marginally. While a single attribute increase might not seem significant, the combination of all four made her incredibly formidable.
Most importantly, fighting her was also incredibly taxing.
"I surrender! I'm not fighting anymore!"
After seven or eight minutes, Su Yuntao took several steps back and began shouting.
Si Si also stopped. After all, she was just testing Qi Lin's Soul Skill, not actually trying to defeat Su Yuntao.
Once they had recovered, both Si Si and Su Yuntao believed Qi Lin's words.
"Qi Lin, which Soul Beast's Soul Ring did you absorb for your first Soul Ring? This Soul Skill is heaven-defying," Si Si exclaimed.
Most importantly, the amplification was not only significant, but also lasted a long time. They just didn't know if there were any side effects.
Su Yuntao agreed, saying, "Yeah, I'm afraid that even the Soul Skills of thousand-year-old Soul Rings aren't as good as yours."
"Qi Lin, you've really struck it rich this time!"
"Oh, right. What level are you now?"
Qi Lin replied with a smile, 'My first Soul Ring was absorbed from an Ice Silk Worm, and I'm level thirteen now.'
"Hiss~"
Su Yuntao gasped in shock. "Can absorbing a ten-year-old Soul Beast's Soul Ring also increase your level by three?"
For a moment, he wasn't sure whether the ten-year-old soul beast that Qi Lin had absorbed was special or if Qi Lin himself was.
Si Si, on the other hand, had found the problem.
"Ice Silk Worm?"
"Could it be related to the big ice silk worm that appeared earlier?"
Qi Lin nodded.
Having heard this, Si Si didn't ask any further questions because she knew that asking more would likely invade his privacy.
However, she was genuinely happy for Qi Lin to have such an opportunity.
"All right, since Qi Lin has obtained his first Soul Ring, we should go back."
After Si Si had finished speaking, Su Yuntao nodded too.
The three of them then walked towards the exit of the Soul Hunting Forest.
On the way back, the three also encountered a hundred-year-old Jade Horned Ox.
Qi Lin saw that its horns looked like jade, so he asked Si Si and Su Yuntao to help him cut off its two horns.
"The horns of a hundred-year-old jade-horned ox are valuable. We can make accessories from them and sell them. They could be worth a lot of money," assessed Su Yuntao.
A few moments later, Qi Lin held the two severed jade horns in his hands and said:
"'I want to make two horned ox combs, one for you, Sister Si Si, and one for Xiao Wu."
Hearing this, Si Si couldn't hide her joy and happily reached out to pinch Qi Lin's cheek.
"Sister didn't pamper you for nothing!"
Su Yuntao observed this scene and secretly rejoiced.
"He's very good at winning girls' hearts. It's a good thing he's young; otherwise, I'm afraid Si Si wouldn't even be mine."
On the way back, Qi Lin picked up a piece of emerald-green jade in the Soul Hunting Forest. He planned to make a bracelet for his mother with it.
As for his father?
Qi Lin thought the whole way back, but he couldn't think of anything suitable to give to him. In the end, he bought a piece of thousand-year-old whale glue for him from the market outside the forest.
The true effects of this substance had yet to be discovered; it was only used as an aphrodisiac.
As he didn't have much else to offer Qi Tian, Qi Lin simply had to give him the whale glue.
When they returned home, Qi Tian and his wife were disappointed that their son had only absorbed a ten-year Soul Ring. However, they also understood that it wasn't Su Yuntao and Si Si's fault.
Furthermore, they both said that although Qi Lin's Soul Ring was only ten years old, the effect of its Soul Skill was much better than that of an ordinary thousand-year Soul Ring — it could even be considered a blessing in disguise.
However, Su Yuntao and Si Si still felt a little guilty, so they suggested that they should also take Xiao Wu to the Soul Hunting Forest.
Although only a few days had passed, Xiao Wu had already absorbed a Soul Ring.
And it was a hundred-year-old Soul Ring!
They learned that, while she was out playing, she had encountered a four-hundred-year-old Soft Bone Rabbit being chased by its enemy.
Moreover, when the rabbit encountered Xiao Wu, it was already on its last breath.
She finished it off and successfully obtained the Soul Ring.
This experience was also incredibly bizarre.
Of course, compared to Qi Lin's outrageous experiences over the years, this one was a bit lacking.
Therefore, neither Qi Tian nor his wife felt that anything was wrong, and Su Yuntao and Si Si just thought Xiao Wu was lucky.