"Run!" Ye Lingling cried, her voice sharp with panic as she spun to flee.
But the Heavenly Feathered Phoenix Crane had anticipated them. With a powerful beat of its silver-and-jade wings, it unleashed a violent gust of wind. The force struck Ye Lingling squarely, lifting her from her feet and sending her tumbling through the air with a startled gasp.
Just as she began her terrifying freefall, Arthev was already moving. He lunged forward, his movements a blur, and caught her securely mid-air. He landed with a soft, controlled impact, absorbing the momentum in his knees before setting her gently on her feet.
"Focus," Arthev said, his tone clipping through her panic. "Panic kills faster than the beast."
"I... I can't keep up with its speed," Ye Lingling stammered, gripping his arm for support.
"You don't need to. I will," Arthev ordered, his voice low and firm, his gaze locked on the circling soul beast. "Hide behind that tree. This one will be your soul ring."
"But its aura... it's so strong!" she protested, her eyes wide.
"That's the point," he replied, not looking at her. "Now, go!"
This time, Ye Lingling didn't hesitate. She nodded once and sprinted towards the cover of a massive tree, her heart pounding as she peered out to watch the battle unfold.
Ye Lingling watched from behind the tree as the Heavenly Feathered Phoenix Crane swept its wing and launched a Featherwind Slicer. The blade whistled toward Arthev. He lifted his hand, eyes steady.
"Aqua Vortex."
His third black soul ring lit up and a whirl of water spun into place. The wind blade hit the vortex and disappeared inside the swirl.
The Crane answered with a powerful downdraft that tore across the clearing. Arthev's first purple ring glowed.
"Sand Barrier."
Sand rose around him and locked into a tight shield. The gust slammed against it, but the barrier held.
Ye Lingling's breath caught. "He is countering everything…"
Seeing its attacks fail to even scratch its opponent, the Crane began to climb again, spiraling higher into the sky. Its feathers took on a soft, pearlescent glow, the tell-tale sign of its innate ability, Radiant Healing, as it prepared to recover any stamina it had lost and mend the minor injuries it had sustained from the earlier clash.
"A healing ability? Annoying," Arthev muttered, his calm voice cutting through the chaos. He shifted his stance, his eyes narrowing. "It thinks it has time. I can't allow it to reset the battle."
He stomped his foot,channeling soul power directly into the earth. "Sand Bindings!"
Tendrils of sand, sharp and swift as serpents, shot from the ground, coiling around the Crane's slender legs and talons. The beast shrieked in surprise and fury, thrashing wildly, its powerful wings beating the air in a desperate attempt to escape the sudden, gritty restraint. One leg tore free, spraying sand
"It's too strong physically," Ye Lingling whispered, terrified the beast would escape.
"Strength means nothing without leverage," Arthev said coldly. In that moment of distraction, his black soul ring flared once more.
"Water Prison."
This time, the water did not form a vortex. It condensed directly around the Crane's wings, a sphere of dense, heavy liquid that instantly saturated its feathers. It didn't just trap the bird; it soaked it. The feathers, designed for lift, became heavy anchors.
Robbed of aerodynamics, the added weight was catastrophic. With a final, desperate cry, the Heavenly Feathered Phoenix Crane was dragged from the sky, crashing to the earth in a ruin of water, sand, and broken pride.
The impact shook the ground beneath Ye Lingling's feet. The beast tried to rise, its healing glow flickering pathetically, but the combination of heavy, wet sand and water held it fast. It snapped its beak at Arthev, but he was already moving
"Now," Arthev stated, his voice devoid of emotion.
His second purple soul ring flared to life, brighter than before. Crackling arcs of white-hot plasma gathered around his clenched fist, the energy pulling inward, compressing until the air itself hummed and distorted around a core of blinding white light. The scent of ozone filled the air, sharp and electric.
BZZZZZZT-ZZTT…
The sound was the antithesis of the Crane's graceful cries, a terrifying, high-frequency whine of pure destruction, a sound that promised absolute annihilation.
"White Star Fist."
Arthev didn't rush. He took a single, measured step forward and drove his fist not into the beast's body, but into the space just above it.
BOOOOOM
The explosion was not messy or wild. It was a contained, concussive detonation of pure energy that ripped outwards in a perfect sphere. The violent light bleached the color from the world, and the shockwave whipped Ye Lingling's hair back even from her hiding spot.
As the light faded, it revealed a circle of scorched, glassy earth. The Heavenly Feathered Phoenix Crane lay broken at its center, its magnificent plumage now a smoldering tapestry of black and grey. A faint, pained rasp was the only sign of life, its body a paralyzed, charred wreck. The faint, sickly-sweet smell of burnt feathers and ozone hung heavy in the air.
"Finish it off!" Arthev said to Ye lingling.
Ye Lingling froze for a few seconds, then pulled out the dagger strapped to her calf,
and stabbed it in. With a violent convulsion of the heavenly feathered phoenix crane's body, deep purple soul power overflowed from its body.
Seeing the swirling purple soul power, Ye Lingling and Arthev were overjoyed. They had found it! A thousand-year-old soul beast!
However, after a brief moment of joy, a sense of unease arose in Ye Lingling's heart. The size and aura of this Phoenix crane clearly indicated that it was not a soul beast that was only a little over a thousand years old; its age was probably over two thousand years.
"The limit for the third ring is usually around 1,700 years," Ye Lingling whispered, her voice shaking. "This... this could be 2,200. Maybe more."
'This is my third spirit ring. Can i withstand it?' Ye Lingling asked herself. Although her martial soul has extremely strong healing abilities, if she cannot withstand the impact of the residual soul in the spirit ring, the consequences will be unimaginable.She could suffer permanent damage to her spirit channel, or worse, her spirit could be shattered.
Witnessing the purple soul power condense into a solid, gleaming ring, Ye Lingling hesitated, her hand pausing mid-air.
Arthev caught the look on her face. "You can take it. Even if it is two thousand years old. I will help you through it.Your Nine Heart Begonia is the most powerful healing martial soul in the continent. It will not fail you. Just do it."
Encouraged by his unwavering confidence, she drew a steadying breath and settled onto the ground. If she wanted true power, she would have to take the risk. With this spirit ring, she could step into the Heaven Dou Royal Academy as a three-ring spirit master, a thought that steeled her resolve. Closing her eyes, she began to draw the ring toward her.
The soul ring settled over her, and the energy inside the Heavenly Feathered Phoenix Crane began to pour into her body in thin, controlled streams. Even controlled, it hit hard. The force felt sharp, like drinking from the edge of a blade. Her skin tingled as if scraped from the inside by a thousand tiny knives. She braced herself. This would not end quickly.
Arthev formed several wooden clones and posted them around the clearing. The real him took a cross-legged seat in front of her. Ye Lingling had removed her black veil so he could watch her condition without guessing.
A soft sound slipped from her throat. "Uh…"
Arthev leaned forward. Purplish black lines were spreading across her neck and down toward her collarbone.
Ye Lingling's brow tightened. She kept pulling in the ring's energy while her Nine Heart Begonia worked to mend her body, knitting damage as fast as it came. Even so, the crane's lingering will tore at her again and again. Within minutes her clothes clung to her, soaked with sweat.
"Is the backlash this severe?"Arthev murmured, watching the red beads roll down her face.
To be continued.....