Douluo Continent: The Ruler of Time, Reigning Supreme

Chapter 20 Styx Death Scythe
"Om-!"

The spirit ring was drawn in and instantly transformed into a surging purple torrent, carrying the residual energy of the Banshee of the Underworld, and frantically poured into Xiaodie's young body.

"Ugh—!"

The intense pain erupted instantly, far beyond imagination.

Although her Golden Descendant body was far stronger than that of her peers, the energy of absorbing a thousand-year-old soul ring, especially the soul ring of a top-tier death-type soul beast like the Howling Banshee, was so violent that it almost ruptured her delicate meridians and tore her consciousness apart.

The icy energy pierced my limbs and bones like millions of ice needles.

Xia Die's face instantly lost all color, her body trembled violently, and fine cold sweat seeped out, almost soaking her dress.

She clenched her teeth, even biting her lower lip until it bled, and pale golden blood slowly flowed down.

Fei Yan watched quietly from the side, her expression serious.

She could feel the intensity of the energy impact. Even she had to admit that for a six-year-old child absorbing a soul ring for the first time, it was nothing short of hellish torture.

She was ready to intervene at any time, not to interrupt, but perhaps to save Xia Die's life when she was truly on the verge of collapse.

Although that would mean all previous efforts were in vain, and also meant a sharp drop in Xia Die's value in Ye Xishui's heart.

Time passed slowly, and the only sounds in the valley were the surging of energy and the suppressed, painful gasps of the butterfly.

"I want to become stronger..."

"I will become the strongest..."

No one can control my destiny...

In the midst of boundless suffering, what sustained Xia Die from collapse was the unyielding spirit deep within her soul, her yearning for power and freedom.

This obsession, like a lighthouse in a storm, held fast to her last shred of clarity, allowing her to guide the raging energy with unwavering will, gradually eroding and expanding her meridians, merging it into her soul power, and undergoing a difficult fusion with her Death-Ruling Martial Soul.

This process lasted for a full two hours.

For a Soul Master absorbing a Soul Ring for the first time, this time is astonishingly long, which also indirectly proves the danger and difficulty of the absorption process.

Finally, as the last bit of energy was completely absorbed, Xia Die's violent aura gradually calmed down.

The deep purple soul ring, like a docile pet, quietly appeared beneath her feet, pulsating slowly.

She succeeded!

The first spirit ring absorbed a thousand-year spirit ring, which was beyond the level of the first spirit ring.

Xia Die slowly opened her eyes, and a deep, dark aura of death seemed to have appeared in the depths of her originally amethyst-like eyes.

Her soul power fluctuations were noticeably stronger, officially making her a one-ring soul master.

"How do you feel, little saintess?"

Seeing that she had succeeded, Fei Yan breathed a sigh of relief and asked with great interest.

"What soul skill did you acquire?"

Xia Die did not answer directly, but slowly raised her right hand.

As the purple millennium soul ring beneath her feet shone, a dense aura of death condensed and took shape in her hands.

In a moment, a strangely shaped and ornate weapon appeared in her hand.

It was a scythe that was dark purple all over.

The scythe's handle is long and slender, seemingly forged from a fusion of some dark metal and the bones of an unknown creature, with delicate black patterns like butterfly antennae entwined on it. The scythe's blade is huge and curved, its graceful arc exuding extreme sharpness and danger, with eerie veins resembling butterfly wings on its surface, shimmering with a ghostly purple light.

The entire scythe looks like both a murder weapon that reaps lives and a meticulously crafted work of art with an aesthetic of death—the Styx Death Scythe.

"This is my first soul skill."

Xia Die spoke softly, her voice still weak, yet unusually calm.

Fei Yan raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: "Weapon-type soul skill? That's rare, but... it does match your death attribute. What's the effect? ​​Sharpness enhancement? Or does it come with death erosion?"

Xia Die's lips curled into a faint, slightly dangerous smile:
"As for the effects... why don't you, Senior Scarlet Nightmare, experience it for yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Fei Yan's scarlet eyes flashed with a hint of amusement.

She had absolute confidence in her strength. Even if a young Soul Master who had just acquired his first Soul Skill had a special Martial Soul, how could he possibly harm her in the slightest?

She casually extended her right hand, her fair index and middle fingers together, and smiled:

"Alright, let me see what mysteries the little saintess's soul skills hold."

Xia Die didn't stand on ceremony. She gripped the Styx Death Scythe tightly and casually swung it towards Fei Yan's closed fingers.

A dark purple blade flashed past, moving at an astonishing speed.

As expected, Fei Yan did not dodge. Just as the scythe was about to strike, she precisely pinched the tip of the scythe with her index and middle fingers, seemingly effortlessly.

The feeling was like catching a falling feather.

"The speed is acceptable, and the sharpness is also..."

Fei Yan was about to comment when her words came to an abrupt halt.

She frowned slightly, looking at her fingertips.

On the pad of her index finger, which was gripping the blade, a cut thinner than a hair was visible, and a tiny bead of blood was slowly seeping out.

This injury is negligible for a Super Douluo; it's not even as bad as a mosquito bite.

Under normal circumstances, with her abundant life force and soul power, such a tiny wound would heal instantly.

However, several breaths later, the tiny wound remained, the small blood droplets congealed and did not disperse, showing no sign of healing.

Fei Yan's playful smile gradually faded, replaced by a hint of surprise and seriousness.

She could sense an extremely subtle yet exceptionally stubborn death energy, like a leech clinging to a bone, entrenched in that tiny wound, preventing it from healing naturally. Even when she mobilized her soul power to dispel it, the effect was minimal.

“This is…?” Fei Yan looked up at Xia Die.

The butterfly retrieved the Styx Death Scythe, and the magnificent scythe vanished in specks of purple light.

She looked at the tiny, unhealable wound on Fei Yan's finger and explained softly:
"This is my first soul skill - the Styx Death Scythe. Its effect is very simple: anyone injured by this death scythe will not be able to heal naturally, nor will they be healed or purified by conventional means."

She paused and continued:

"Of course, this 'unhealable' condition is not permanent. Its duration depends on the amount of death power I imbue the Death Scythe with during the attack. With my current soul power, if I were to exert my full strength, it would be enough to prevent the wound from healing for at least a day."

It cannot heal in a day.

Fei Yan was startled.

For ordinary people, or even low-level Soul Masters, an unhealable wound, even if it was initially a minor injury, can be fatal if it continues to bleed and cannot be treated.

(End of this chapter)