The two of them returned to the coastal town and went straight to the only inn it had.
They rented a private room to have a meal together.
Inside the room, Qian Lingyi, who had been holding back her curiosity all the way, finally couldn't contain herself. Her eyes sparkled as she asked,
"Zhu Ziyang, why do your spirit rings look like that?"
"My spirit rings? What about them?" Zhu Ziyang feigned ignorance.
"Come on!" Qian Lingyi huffed. "Your spirit rings—why are they all fifty-thousand-year rings? Could it be that you actually have twin martial souls? Is the Reaper's Eternal Scythe your second martial soul?"
"Well, I'm not really sure myself," Zhu Ziyang replied with an expression of pure bewilderment. "I just went to sleep one night, and when I woke up, my spirit rings had changed into this." His tone was so convincingly clueless that it seemed as though he truly didn't know anything.
"What? How could that even happen?" Qian Lingyi asked, staring at his expression. She didn't realize he was lying and instead took him seriously, her delicate face actually adopting a thoughtful look as if she were trying to figure it out.
"Hahaha!" Zhu Ziyang burst out laughing at her innocent reaction.
After spending so many days together, he had come to know Qian Lingyi inside and out. Although the girl was proud and outwardly aloof, with those she trusted she could show a naïve, almost brainless kind of faith. Because of this, Zhu Ziyang often couldn't resist teasing her on their journey—and she would always fall for it.
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Thank goodness he wasn't the scheming type. Otherwise, she might get sold off without even realizing it.
Naturally, Qian Lingyi protested indignantly at his teasing. She declared that not just anyone was worthy of being her friend, and that in over half a year of traveling the continent, he was the only one she treated differently.
"Ahh! You tricked me again!" she cried in frustration as soon as she realized. Her little pink fists rained harmless blows on him. "Can't you be serious for once?"
"Alright, alright, I'll be serious!" Zhu Ziyang said, still laughing, catching her small hands in his own. "Stop hitting me, or I'll really die!"
"Hmph!" She gave a soft snort, pulled her hand free from his grasp, flicked her golden hair with an air of pride, and sat down across from him. Crossing her legs elegantly, she said, "Now talk. About your spirit rings! And I'm warning you—don't you dare mess with me again!"
"Fine, fine!" Zhu Ziyang finally stopped smiling and said, "There's not that much to explain. You know my Reaper's Eternal Scythe also carries the death attribute, right?"
"Mhm, I know," Qian Lingyi nodded quickly, then her eyes lit with realization. "You mean… it's because of your death attribute?"
"Exactly. Haven't you noticed that among the Evil Soul Masters you've encountered, some of them also had spirit rings beyond the normal configurations?" Zhu Ziyang said. "That's because of their death attribute."
"So that's the reason!" she exclaimed in amazement. "If you didn't also have the ultimate light attribute, I'd be worried you'd turn into an Evil Soul Master yourself!"
"Hah! You underestimate me far too much," Zhu Ziyang said dismissively. "Those Evil Soul Masters aren't worthy of comparison. Their death is nothing more than filthy sin. Mine, however, is sacred redemption!"
"Uh…" Qian Lingyi didn't quite understand what he meant but remained full of curiosity. "Then can you explain how the death attribute increases the age of spirit rings?"
"Of course," Zhu Ziyang replied. "It all ties back to the essence of spirit rings. Do you know what a spirit ring truly is?"
"I think…" Qian Lingyi frowned slightly, recalling what she had read in books. "It should be condensed soul power, right?"
"Not entirely right. Or, rather, only half right," Zhu Ziyang said with a smile. He wasn't surprised at her answer—that was the common belief across the entire soul master world.
"Half right?" Qian Lingyi tilted her head, confused.
"Yes," Zhu Ziyang nodded, speaking words he had long since organized in his heart. "Based on my research, spirit rings aren't merely condensed soul power. They're made up of three things: soul power, life force, and spiritual power."
"Life force and spiritual power?" Qian Lingyi's mouth fell open in shock. She had never heard of such a theory before. To her—and to ninety-nine percent of soul masters—the essence of spirit rings didn't matter. All they cared about was the strength spirit rings gave them.
Though the profession of soul master flourished across the Douluo Continent, the soul master world's academic and theoretical research was pitifully lacking. Only a few turned to theory after giving up on advancement. For most, the foundation of soul master knowledge hadn't moved beyond what it had been tens of thousands of years ago.
As Electrolux had once said, other worlds developed theory before professions; on Douluo Continent, professions came first, theory came after. Strange, truly strange.
"That's right," Zhu Ziyang continued seriously. "Soul power, life force, and spiritual power—that's what makes up a spirit ring. Soul power's role is obvious. Life force determines its form—what we see as its color and size. Spiritual power defines its nature—what soul skills are created and how they evolve.
"If we compare a spirit ring to a wine glass, then life force is the glass itself, soul power is the wine it holds, and spiritual power is the quality and flavor of the wine. How much wine the glass can hold, and what kind of wine it is, all depend on the glass's size and shape. Likewise, the amount of soul power and the quality of the soul skills in a ring all depend on the life force that forms it."
"So that means…" Qian Lingyi murmured thoughtfully, "life force condenses into a ring, soul power fills it, and spiritual power carves soul skills onto it—and that's how a spirit ring is formed?"
"Good comprehension!" Zhu Ziyang praised with a smile. Then he asked, "So now, do you understand the essence of spirit ring age?"
"Life force?" she answered at once, her eyes shining with clarity. "It's life force, isn't it?"
"Exactly." Zhu Ziyang nodded. "Life force is the foundation of a spirit ring. The more life force, the older the ring—the more soul power it can contain, and the better the soul skills it will grant. Now you understand how the death attribute raises spirit ring ages."
"I see!" Qian Lingyi's face was full of awe and envy. "The death attribute can strip life force away and transform it into the ring's life force, increasing its age!"
"That's right," Zhu Ziyang said with a nod. "But let me correct you—the death attribute doesn't devour life force, it strips it. There's a fundamental difference."
"Hm?" she tilted her head curiously.
"Devouring means taking in everything bound to life force—like the soul and emotions—resulting in tainted, impure energy. If the devourer can't cleanse it, their own soul will inevitably be corrupted. That's why Evil Soul Masters go mad. But stripping means extracting pure life force, free of corruption, with no backlash or side effects," Zhu Ziyang explained.
"Oh! So that's why those Evil Soul Masters are always insane and unhinged," Qian Lingyi realized.
"Smart girl," Zhu Ziyang praised with a smile. "The death attribute isn't inherently evil—it's one of the most fundamental laws of heaven and earth. It's those Evil Soul Masters who've sullied its name."
"Zhu Ziyang, then… can we also raise the age of our spirit rings?" Qian Lingyi asked hopefully, her eyes bright with expectation.
"Well… I'm still researching that. Maybe yes, maybe no," Zhu Ziyang said thoughtfully.
"If you succeed… will you teach me?" Qian Lingyi asked, her voice full of anticipation.
"Of course. We're good friends, aren't we?" Zhu Ziyang answered with a smile.
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