Soul Ring

Biodata

Background

Soul Rings are left behind by Soul Beasts after death and must normally be absorbed by the Soul Master who personally delivers the killing blow. A ring dissipates if it is not attached within roughly an hour; severely wounded Soul Beasts may also self-destruct their soul power rather than be harvested. 8

A Soul Ring's usefulness depends on both its age and compatibility with the recipient's Martial Soul. Higher-aged rings grant greater attribute enhancement and stronger Soul Skills, but incompatible attributes can cause rejection or harm the absorber. 8 9

Soul Masters are generally limited to nine Soul Rings. Unlike Soul Bones, Soul Rings primarily provide Soul Skills; their age also limits the later growth of those skills. 22

Classification

Acquisition and Absorption

Standard requirements

• The prospective absorber normally needs to personally kill the Soul Beast; assistance in hunting is permitted, but the final blow is crucial. 8
• A Soul Beast's attribute must suit the recipient's Martial Soul. For example, beast-type Martial Souls generally struggle to absorb poisonous rings, while Tang San's Blue Silver Grass can accommodate many attributes. 9
• Absorption depends on the Soul Master's physical condition and willpower; outside help cannot directly complete the absorption process. 8
• Higher-aged rings are more difficult to bear. Attempting to exceed one's physical limit can cause the ring's power to destroy the absorber. 8

Exceptional absorption

• Kanna absorbed a 980-year Light-Attribute Flying Dragon ring as her first ring because her natural physique greatly exceeds that of ordinary people. 6
• Tang San's long-term physical strengthening allowed him to safely exceed normal limits, including absorbing a Human-Faced Demon Spider ring exceeding 2,300 years as his third ring. 85
• A Soul Beast that willingly sacrifices itself can be absorbed perfectly regardless of age and is guaranteed to leave behind a Soul Bone. 128
• Wu Liang's team possesses an abnormal sharing characteristic: with Wu Liang's permission, a Soul Ring can be given to another person even if they did not kill the Soul Beast. Meng Yiran demonstrated this by absorbing a Human-Faced Demon Spider ring through her Snake Lance. 86

Functions

Soul Skills and enhancement

Soul Rings enhance a Soul Master's inherent attributes and ordinarily grant Soul Skills. A stronger ring increases both the magnitude of the attribute boost and the power of the resulting skill. 8 22

• Tang San's Mandala Serpent ring improved the toughness and toxicity potential of his Blue Silver Grass. 9 10
• Oscar's Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent ring granted Mushroom Sausage, enabling flight at the serpent's speed for one minute. 81
• Zhu Zhuqing's Ghost Tiger ring granted Nether Shadow Clone and raised her to level 42. 123
• Xiao Yanzi's owl ring granted Rapid Lock, combining night vision with a target-locking, hit-guaranteed aerial pursuit effect. 120

Cultivation advancement

Absorbing a ring can raise Soul Power and allow a Soul Master to pass a cultivation bottleneck.

• Wu Liang absorbed a nearly 600-year ring for Tyrant Barak and rose to level 12. 9
• A ten-thousand-year ring raised Wu Liang from level 50 to level 55 because its remaining energy continued converting into Soul Power after his breakthrough. 124
• Meng Yiran's evolved Golden Sacred Dragon automatically formed a fourth ring that progressed from white through yellow and purple to black. 159

Fixed-skill exceptions

Not every Martial Soul receives conventional Soul Skills from Soul Rings.

• Wu Liang's Heavenly Phoenix Facing the Sun Flower gains no Soul Skills from attached rings; its support effect is fixed, while each ring expands the number of recipients and stacks its fire-related bonuses. 7 125
• Wu Liang's Tyrant Barak relies on its inherent abilities, including Shadow Fist, Slaughtering Frenzy, and Barak's Strike, rather than ordinary ring-granted skills. 9
• Members of Wu Liang's transferred lineage may display Soul Rings as decoration or for breakthrough purposes while relying on their own skills instead. 70

Alteration and Storage

River of Oblivion water

Wu Liang possesses water from the River of Oblivion, which can wash away a selected Soul Ring without removing its Soul Skill. A replacement artificial ring can then be condensed through another person's Soul Power. 101

• Washing away only the ring preserves the user's level and retained Soul Skill. 101
• Washing away both a ring and its Soul Skill reduces the user's strength by ten levels. 101
• Bai Diao, Bai Hu, and Hou Zhu used the process to replace weak first rings while retaining their original abilities. 101
• The Bai Sisters' replacement rings reached yellow-purple, while Hou Zhu's was successfully recast into a purple thousand-year ring. 101

Soul Ring storage

Wu Liang owns a Soul Tool capable of storing Soul Rings indefinitely without energy dissipation. He used it to preserve the Earth King's ring for Ma Hongjun's future absorption. 121

Notable Instances

• Kanna's first ring — A 980-year Light-Attribute Flying Dragon ring, manifested as yellow tinged with purple; it granted Dragon Roar Wave, a long-range light-and-lightning blast that burns and paralyzes targets. 6
• Tang San's fourth ring — A black ten-thousand-year ring whose reveal during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament stunned both the audience and opposing team. 158
• Shrek Team Two — Its members can release Martial Souls and use skills without visibly manifesting their Soul Rings, preventing opponents from judging their ring count. 108
• Soul Ring configurations — The commonly recognized optimal first three-ring configuration is two yellow rings followed by one purple ring: a hundred-year first ring, a second ring above 500 years, and a thousand-year third ring. 106