Soul Ring Ownership

Qian Bing had practiced the First Soul Ring Skill Ring Avatar with Pidgeotto many times before. He knew that after each possession ended, the Soul Power within him would be nearly depleted and would take an entire day to fully recover.

At the same time, summoning Pidgeotto would also enter a cooldown period. He would have to wait until more than half his Soul Power had recovered before he could summon it again.

But this time, Pidgeotto had tangled with the Mandala Snake for longer than during their private practice sessions, and the expenditure had been greater.

Moreover, Pidgeotto had been seriously injured. Logically, it should have required more Soul Power to nourish it and a longer summoning cooldown.

So why was his Soul Power recovering faster instead?

Could this be the effect of the Mysterious Heaven Skill?

Damn, Tang San actually possessed such a powerful cultivation method. No wonder he could break through his limits and become someone like a God King!

Qian Bing could not figure out the logic or reason behind it, so in the end, he could only attribute it all to the power of the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

He could not help but feel even more envious of Tang San.

Keeping his thoughts to himself as he quietly pondered the anomaly in his body, he shifted most of his attention back to what was before him.

He lightly patted Tang San on the back and said,

"Xiao San, if a Soul Ring isn't absorbed within two hours, it'll dissipate on its own. Hurry up."

Tang San nodded, a rare trace of anticipation and delight appearing on his face.

He had long looked forward to his first Soul Ring, and he immediately strode toward the Mandala Snake's corpse.

However, Tang San did not notice the faint concern rising in Qian Bing's eyes.

Qian Bing seemed to have a premonition that Tang San's first Soul Ring would likely not turn out as expected.

Before Qian Bing could think any further, Tang San had already reached the Mandala Snake's corpse. Hope gleamed in his eyes, and his expression was somewhat excited.

"It's finally happening!"

No Soul Master on Douluo Continent could remain too calm when absorbing the first Soul Ring of their life. Tang San was no exception.

He quickly extended his right hand, carefully reaching toward the almost tangible yellow Soul Ring.

Unable to suppress his surging emotions, he asked Qian Bing,

"Boss, how do I absorb a Soul Ring? Can I just touch it directly like this?

Will it merge straight into my body, like how your Soul Ring fused with Pidgeotto?"

Qian Bing did not want to waste time explaining this question in detail. When it came to absorbing a Soul Ring, one would naturally understand upon trying it.

Rather than listening to someone explain it, it was better to do it himself.

Thus, Qian Bing did not launch into a lengthy explanation as he usually would, answering simply,

"Use your own Soul Power to draw the Soul Ring onto yourself, then begin meditating and absorb the Soul Ring's energy."

By then, Tang San's hand had already touched the Soul Ring floating in the air. His fingers had even poked into its interior.

His fingertips felt slightly warm, but there were no other changes.

Only after hearing Qian Bing's explanation did he suddenly understand.

So absorbing a Soul Ring was not as simple as casually touching it.

He also had to draw it in with his Soul Power!

Thus, he channeled the Soul Power within his body into his palm, and a faint glow lit up the skin below his wrist.

If someone observed closely, they would notice countless tiny specks of dust in the air involuntarily flying toward Tang San's palm.

Clearly, some inexplicable force was drawing everything around it toward him.

Yet this miraculous ability had absolutely no effect on the Soul Ring produced by the Mandala Snake!

Seeing this, a trace of frustration flashed across Tang San's face. Just as he was about to increase his Soul Power output, Qian Bing stopped him.

"All right, Xiao San, stop."

"What's wrong, Boss? Didn't you tell me to absorb this Soul Ring? Is my Spirit incompatible with it?"

Qian Bing shook his head and said,

"No. According to the notes my parents left me, someone on the continent proposed the Spirit Mimicry Theory long ago.

The general idea is that a Plant Spirit does not necessarily have to absorb the Soul Ring of a plant soul beast, and a Beast Spirit may not necessarily be unable to absorb a plant Soul Ring.

As long as certain prerequisites are met, the two can absorb each other.

Although both ordinary Soul Masters and some so-called experts in Soul Master theory at Spirit Hall dismiss this with scorn,

my parents' notes indicate that it is highly feasible in practice.

Especially your Blue Silver Grass Spirit. Because it is weak by nature and lacks exclusivity, it is the most suitable Spirit for testing this theory.

The Mandala Snake's Soul Ring can grant toughness and deadly poison effects. If you successfully absorb it, it will greatly strengthen your Blue Silver Grass Spirit immediately."

Tang San's eyes lit up. Not only did he not doubt Qian Bing's judgment in the slightest, he trusted it completely. Naturally, he wanted even more to absorb the Soul Ring before him as quickly as possible.

But no matter how he tried, the Soul Ring remained completely unresponsive. It was truly frustrating!

"Boss, then how am I supposed to absorb this Soul Ring? My Soul Power doesn't seem able to draw it into my body."

"Ah."

Qian Bing sighed first before slowly saying,

"I suspect that, because Pidgeotto was the one fighting the Mandala Snake in the final stage, even though the Short Sword you threw into its mouth was the fundamental cause of its death, still..."

Qian Bing did not continue, but Tang San was no fool. His heart skipped a beat, and he had his answer.

Because Pidgeotto had fought the Mandala Snake to the end, this Soul Ring belonged to Qian Bing...

Thinking of this, Tang San's face darkened.

Just as a hint of resentment toward Qian Bing rose in his heart, he immediately remembered that it was Qian Bing who had blocked the splashing Snake Venom for him at the critical moment, allowing him to stand here safe and sound now.

Moreover, even while on the verge of losing consciousness, Qian Bing had reminded him to kill the Mandala Snake.

So how could he blame him?

Only a complete bastard could do something like that!

"Xiao San, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I made you miss out on such a good Soul Ring for nothing."

Before Tang San could finish reflecting on himself, Qian Bing's apology reached his ears.

His ears immediately grew hot, and shame welled up in his heart.

Old Qian is such a good person, yet I actually wanted to resent him just now!

How could I do that!

Thus, he hurriedly said,

"Boss, don't say that. How could I blame you!

It's fine. The Soul Hunting Forest is so big. Since we missed this one, we can keep going and kill another Mandala Snake.

Wait here. I'll get the Short Sword out of its stomach first."

As he spoke, Tang San crouched down, produced a Small Flying Knife from his sleeve, and began working on the Mandala Snake's corpse.

However, Qian Bing still felt guilty toward him, and it was not appropriate to say much more at this time. He could only watch from afar as Tang San used the knife to dissect the clearly protruding section of the snake's body.

The Mandala Snake's body, especially the thick snake scales covering its exterior, was truly hard. After quite some time, the burning heat in Qian Bing's palm gradually cooled, and the streams of warmth ceased flowing from it. When he looked up at Tang San, he found that Tang San had still not managed to remove the Short Sword from the corpse.

Thinking he had nothing else to do, Qian Bing decided to step forward and help him.

But just as he reached Tang San's side, the yellow Soul Ring still floating in midair suddenly flew toward Qian Bing like iron drawn to a magnet.

He instinctively raised his right hand to block it, but the Soul Ring directly merged into his palm.

This scene happened without any warning. Not only Qian Bing, but even Tang San, who was busy cutting open the snake's belly, froze on the spot.

"Boss, you..."