Setting Out for Star Dou, Searching for Spirit Rings

When Su He woke again, it was already the next morning.

As a ray of morning light spilled down, droplets of dew slowly slid from the flowers and leaves outside the door, falling onto the slightly damp earth. Clearly, there had been a light rain the previous night, washing the air until it was exceptionally fresh.

Sunlight shone upon the pond outside the hall, reflecting specks of shimmering light.

Looking up at the beautiful scenery beyond the window, Su He could not help but sigh at how wonderful the environment of the Douluo world was during the Douluo I era, without the severe ecological pollution of Blue Star.

Seeing the beauty still sleeping soundly in his arms, Su He chose not to wake her and instead let Qian Renxue rest a while longer.

Though these days of intense activity would not have physically affected Qian Renxue, a Soul King-level powerhouse, her mental exhaustion was very real. No wonder the two of them had slept from yesterday evening all the way until the next morning.

As Su He stared blankly out the window, he suddenly felt his waist being viciously pinched. The pain made him break out in a cold sweat, making a tremendous contribution to combating global warming.

Then Qian Renxue's lazy yet dangerous voice reached him.

"Little He, which beauty outside the window are you looking at?" Qian Renxue narrowed her beautiful purple eyes and looked at Su He dangerously.

"How could that be, Xue'er?" Su He immediately put on a solemn expression and began speaking righteously. "I, Su He, am a bona fide high-quality man of the Douluo Continent, possessing talent, looks, character..."

Before Su He could finish, Qian Renxue rolled her eyes at him. Then she suddenly sat up and ambushed him with her crimson lips, sealing his mouth.

Before Su He could react, Qian Renxue had already swiftly fled the scene, putting on Xue Qinghe's disguise to handle government affairs.

Qian Renxue had already requested leave from Xue Ye to obtain spirit rings. Still immersed in the grief of losing his son, Xue Ye had also suffered from the long-term effects of chronic poison and severe emotional turmoil. He was already in his twilight years and had no energy to deal with state affairs.

When Xue Ye learned that "Xue Qinghe" had broken through in Soul Power and needed to obtain a spirit ring, he readily approved the leave. He merely told Qian Renxue to distribute and arrange the government affairs of the next few days before departing.

It was not that Xue Ye intended to make things difficult for his "son," but aside from the fake Crown Prince played by Qian Renxue, the other two members of the royal family were simply too incompetent to be entrusted with responsibility.

Although Xue Beng used his playboy image to protect himself, he had also picked up many bad habits over the years. His ability to handle government affairs had long since dwindled to almost nothing.

As for Prince Xue Xing, he was a complete old bastard who had never possessed the ability to handle government affairs in the first place.

That was why Xue Ye had entrusted affairs great and small throughout the country to Qian Renxue. The main reason was that he had no one else he could trust.

The day to obtain their spirit rings had also been decided: the morning three days later. Golden Crocodile Douluo, Ci Xue, and Dugu Bo would help Su He and Qian Renxue hunt soul beasts, while Elder She Long would return to Spirit City to report on the recent mission.

The soul beast Su He sought this time would be between ten thousand and twenty thousand years old. Even Tang San in the original work had managed a Ten-Thousand-Year fourth ring, so Su He was naturally extremely confident. As for Qian Renxue, her ideal Sixth Spirit Ring was around sixty thousand years old.

The Qian Renxue of this life was vastly different from the one in the original work. Not only had she frequently trained her body alongside Su He since childhood, but she had also fully brought the advantage of her innate Soul Power Level of twenty into play. All five of her current spirit rings exceeded Grandmaster's so-called core competitive strength theory, with her Fifth Spirit Ring reaching twenty-five thousand years. As a result, Su He still had a considerable gap in Soul Power Level compared to Qian Renxue. But with the system and future Divine Trials, who would become a god first was still uncertain.

Su He had considered giving the more than forty-thousand-year-old Radiant Lion King in Sunset Forest to Qian Renxue as her Sixth Spirit Ring, but Qian Renxue had refused. Her reason was that lion-type soul beasts were rare to begin with, and it was so compatible with Su He's martial soul that it should be saved for his Fifth Spirit Ring.

A warm current flowed through Su He's heart.

Moreover, deep within Qian Renxue's heart lay an even greater ambition. Because of Su He, Qian Renxue also scoffed at the supposed maximum age limit for spirit rings absorbed by soul masters. She also understood that the maximum age of a spirit ring one could absorb depended on the soul master's physical constitution.

And the reason she trained her physical body so hard was to challenge a hundred-thousand-year Seventh Spirit Ring!

She would use her own strength to seize the authority of Spirit Hall back from that woman and restore Angel's Glory to greatness!

Three days later, the five of them boarded a luxurious Golden Silk Nanmu carriage. This carriage had been custom enlarged by the Crown Prince's Palace. Its compartment could hold eight people, with silver-plated furnishings and two rows of soft sofas. Su He pulled Qian Renxue onto one row, while the other three elders sat on the opposite row.

Speaking of which, Golden Crocodile had presided over Dugu Bo's Titled Douluo conferment ceremony back then. Thus, when Dugu Bo learned that Golden Crocodile Douluo was Su He's teacher, he was immensely shocked. He also felt extremely fortunate that he had been sensible enough at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Otherwise, with Su He's Level Ninety-Seven grandfather, Lion, and his even more powerful teacher, Golden Crocodile, Dugu Bo might not even know how he died.

What Dugu Bo did not know was that, thanks to the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, Su He's grandfather had already advanced to Level Ninety-Eight and had hope of breaking through to Level Ninety-Nine. His teacher, Golden Crocodile, had been chosen by a god and had already entered the realm of the peak.

The carriage was pulled side by side by four century-old Bloodfire Steeds, placing extremely high demands on the driver as well. This time, the driver was a Soul King-level powerhouse, using his formidable Soul Power to suppress the four violent steeds and make them obediently gallop forward.

The carriage moved swiftly, reaching Star Dou Great Forest in roughly two days. Su He could not help but remark that the steeds truly deserved to be called century-old soul beasts, saving everyone quite a bit of time.

By dusk, five figures were cautiously making their way along the outskirts of Star Dou Great Forest's core region.

Of the two on the outside, one wore a black robe patterned in green, with lifelike Jade Scale Flood Dragon designs. The other wore golden armor and had a dignified expression, a dazzling halo behind his back, his face solemn.

The three in the middle were a young couple and an old man. The old man's aura was deep and steady, making it impossible to gauge his true strength. Dressed in a majestic gold-patterned crocodile robe, he had already reached the realm of returning to simplicity.

The girl wore a light-colored court gown that outlined her graceful curves, her golden hair flowing in the wind. The young man wore a gold-patterned lion robe, upon which a mighty Golden Lion was depicted with lifelike detail. Beneath the robe was lightweight black-and-gold armor that occasionally reflected dazzling light under the evening glow.

These five were naturally the three Douluo, Su He, and Qian Renxue, who had come to Star Dou Great Forest in search of spirit rings. They had now gradually ventured deeper into Star Dou Great Forest, a paradise for Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

The spirit rings Su He and Qian Renxue required were both over ten thousand years old, and Star Dou Great Forest, which held the greatest number of soul beasts, was unquestionably the best choice.