Su Cheng's Third Soul Ring (Please Follow)

"Can't I have two teachers?" Hu Liena asked timidly. "Mr. Su often comes to the academy to teach us."

As Bibi Dong's personal disciple—and her only disciple—Hu Liena was even closer to Bibi Dong than a daughter would be to her mother, so she naturally knew Qian Renxue's true circumstances.

She understood very well that Qian Renxue held an extremely high status within Spirit Hall, and she knew just how terrifying her Elder Sister's talent was. She had always held her in great awe.

Although Qian Renxue's smile was sweet to an unnerving degree at that moment, Hu Liena instinctively sensed that she was already very displeased.

In fact, despite their fairly good relationship over the years, Hu Liena had almost never seen Qian Renxue smile.

"These are two different matters. You can't mix them together." Qian Renxue shook her head. "If you call him teacher, Her Majesty the Pope will be angry."

Hu Liena instinctively wanted to argue, but guided by her sharp intuition, she wisely shut her mouth and walked dejectedly to the side.

Su Cheng paid no attention to the conversation between the two girls.

Given Hu Liena's talent and age, she was not even qualified to be one of his pawns.

Besides, in some ways, this girl was actually very similar to Bibi Dong. She was also the ultimate lovestruck fool, someone ordinary people simply could not handle.

If you could not become the one she loved, then you were merely a tool in her eyes.

Su Cheng had never intended to waste any effort on her.

Hu Liena had come to see him today because of an earlier agreement between him and Bibi Dong.

When the younger core generation of Spirit Hall acquired their Soul Rings, Su Cheng was to personally guide them and help determine the most suitable Soul Ring Limit.

The upper limits of Soul Ring years that soul masters on the continent had followed in the past could already be surpassed by certain exceptionally gifted individuals.

Although his theories had raised those limits once again, the figures were still conservative for safety's sake, and different physiques could vary to a certain extent.

"You've reached level twenty?"

When Hu Liena nodded, Su Cheng was not surprised. With her Innate Soul Power of level nine and her upbringing at Spirit Hall Academy, reaching level twenty at nine years old was not an unexpected rate of cultivation.

He rose, intending to test the resilience of her meridians and the strength of her bones, flesh, and blood.

Just then, Qian Renxue suddenly stopped him. "Wait."

She took Hu Liena's fair little hand. "Your disciple can handle it."

"That works too."

Su Cheng paused, then sat back down and casually flipped through the soul beast illustrated guide beside him.

Accurately determining the optimal absorption limit for a Soul Ring required a whole series of procedures, including examining the entire body's bones and using silver needles to pierce acupoints. It was indeed troublesome to carry out every step, and he had no interest in putting his hands all over a little girl.

Though she had developed quite well, her face was still far too young.

Hu Liena looked at Qian Renxue, who was holding her hand, then secretly glanced at Su Cheng, who was reading with his head lowered. She did not dare say anything.

Qian Renxue nodded in satisfaction, and the smile on her face became much more natural. "Come with me, Na Na. You can probably absorb at least a Second Soul Ring of over 1,200 years. That's far stronger than mine was back then."

With that, she led Hu Liena toward the door.

"Wait."

Just as the door opened, Su Cheng's voice suddenly came from behind them.

Qian Renxue frowned and glanced at Hu Liena, who stood obediently at her side, before turning around with a calm expression.

Su Cheng was still reading with his head lowered, but he said, "Na Na, Her Majesty the Pope decides all of your Soul Ring choices, so I won't say much. But if you choose a soul beast with a charm-type ability, it won't matter if the Soul Ring is another thirty or fifty years older."

Her First Soul Ring had been obtained through Cross-Year Absorption, based on a theory Su Cheng had once released. Her Second Soul Ring could already exceed the limit by a great deal.

Before absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, soul masters would not suffer particularly intense spiritual impacts.

Now, Spirit Hall's younger generation had been taking medicine over long periods to steadily strengthen their Spiritual Power and lay foundations for the future. Before the Third Soul Ring, the only bottleneck was physical strength.

Su Cheng had conducted extensive research into martial souls and soul beasts over the years. He knew that Soul Rings from charm-type soul beasts contained relatively little energy, so the selectable age limit could be raised a little further.

"Alright. Thank you for the guidance, Teach... Mr. Su."

After the two left, Su Cheng put away the soul beast illustrated guide in his hand and lightly tapped the tabletop with his fingers, a thoughtful look on his face.

"With this, I've gathered data on Soul Rings from seven types of soul beasts. Once I absorb my Third Soul Ring, I can begin researching and developing Soul Ring attributes."

It had to be said that having a force like Spirit Hall at his back was truly comfortable.

Unlike the Upper Three Sects, Spirit Hall was not a family inheritance. Whether they were members of the younger generation they raised or powerful figures they recruited, each possessed distinct traits and a wide variety of martial souls.

This provided him with a considerable amount of material and data.

A stone from another mountain could be used to polish jade. Although Su Cheng's talent lay entirely in medicine, as his research had deepened over the years, his talent and insight in martial soul research had also rapidly improved through analogy.

Although his current physical aptitude was poor, none of this was wasted effort. Once the simulation ended and he returned to reality, all of these experiences and results would become precious assets. In his view, they were even more important than the Twin Martial Souls awarded by the mission itself.

More than two hours later, the door opened again. This time, Qian Renxue returned alone.

"Have you finished all the tests?"

"Finished. Thirteen hundred years." She gave Su Cheng a pitiful look. "She's so lucky. She can obtain such a high-year Second Soul Ring. It's much stronger than mine was back then."

"Drop the act. What the hell is a Thousand Year Soul Ring worth?" Su Cheng said without even raising his head.

Given Qian Renxue's pride, she would not care at all about the strength of Hu Liena's Second Soul Ring. The gap between their talents was simply too great.

The girl pouted at that and said nothing more.

"We'll talk about your Soul Ring later. First, go take a look at the soul beast prepared for me. I need to conduct an experiment."

When core members of Spirit Hall like them absorbed low-level Soul Rings, they did not need to hunt the soul beasts themselves. Specialists would naturally capture the soul beasts and prepare them in advance.

"What soul beast are you going to absorb?"

Qian Renxue was somewhat curious.

As far as she knew, when Su Cheng absorbed his first two Soul Rings, he had not sought any particular targets. He had simply chosen whatever he found with a suitable age.

"A five-thousand-year Cloud Pattern Copper Horn Rhinoceros." As Su Cheng walked outside, he said, "To find a similar soul beast, I specifically had Chrysanthemum Douluo make a move."

"Is there something special about it?"

"There's nothing particularly special about it itself. But the soul beasts I'm referring to are all bloodline descendants of the Mountain Dragon King clan. They are extremely rare and possess a certain extreme earth attribute."

With Su Cheng's current physical aptitude, he could actually absorb an older Soul Ring, but such soul beasts were not easy to find.

After reaching adulthood, Mountain Dragons would transform into mountain ranges and earth veins, making them exceptionally rare. Naturally, their bloodline descendants were far fewer in number than those of the other great dragon clans.

Moreover, because they were exceptionally gifted and possessed formidable combat power, the energy within their Soul Rings was likely much greater than that of ordinary soul beasts. Five thousand years was enough.

There won't be any padding. The plot and emotional arcs will progress steadily, and the pace won't slow down. Please keep following during the new book period—please don't let it sit unread. Thank you all for your Monthly Tickets and recommendation votes.