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Chapter 19 ▄█〓█(╯▄-▄)シ!

"Dean Flander, be careful. Here I come!"

Flender confidently waved a hand and casually used his skill.

Tang San, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, and Zhu Zhuqing, who knew what was coming, said nothing to warn him.

—Could a white Soul Ring affect a Soul Saint?

They did not believe it.

They all thought Zhuge Lan was deliberately making excuses to give Zhu Zhuqing a chance to catch her breath.

Under everyone's "prejudice,"

Zhuge Lan swung the Li Jing Longsword and activated his First Soul Skill—

100% Barehanded Blade Catch!!!

"Whoosh—"

▄█〓█(╯▄-▄)シ!

Everyone else: (ΩДΩ)ДΩ)ДΩ)ДΩ)

Emotional Value +6666

Emotional Value +7777

Emotional Value +8888

Emotional Value +9999

Seeing the record-breaking 9999 above Flender's head,

Zhuge Lan was immensely satisfied.

This was exactly the effect he wanted!

Zhuge Lan feigned a dumbstruck expression and enjoyed the delight of the massive flood of notifications.

More than ten seconds later,

Tang San was still the first to react, abruptly rising to his feet!

He shouted in disbelief, "Your control-type Soul Skill can even control a Soul Saint?"

Flender snapped back to his senses as well.

His old face reddened as he prepared to stand.

His body swayed.

It did not work?!

Emotional Value +9999

Too embarrassed to say anything, he simply exerted force with his hand.

"Crack—"

The Li Jing Longsword, which had not activated Sword Hardening, shattered.

But did he think that would let him stand up?

Zhuge Lan silently activated the Sword Hardening trait, Unbreakable—forcing the sword's fragments back together!

This kept Flender kneeling perfectly straight, utterly unable to move.

Emotional Value +10999

Flender was completely stunned!

It had been nearly twenty seconds already, right?

A seven-ring Soul Saint like him had been forcibly controlled by a three-ring Soul Elder for a full twenty seconds?!

This was a freaking white Soul Ring?!

That was simply ridiculous!!!

But then he remembered that he was still kneeling.

"Ahem!" Flender said quietly. "Zhuge, remove the Soul Skill first!"

Zhuge Lan's unfocused eyes gradually sharpened as he slowly looked toward Flender and uttered one word—

"Huh?"

His Oscar-worthy acting left Flender unable to find any flaw in it.

Just as Flender was about to repeat himself,

Zhuge Lan's Second Soul Skill reached the end of its duration.

The Unbreakable effect vanished, and his martial soul shattered.

Consume 1 Emotional Value to negate the damage from martial soul shattering!

Oh!

What a considerate system, and the fee was not even expensive.

The strange force binding Flender vanished.

He immediately shot to his feet and dusted off his knees.

"Everyone's rested enough, right?" Flender said awkwardly. "Then let's get going!"

Using Swift Step and Flash, he took off at the front.

Leaving the others staring at one another.

They contributed a huge amount of Emotional Value to Zhuge Lan.

After a long while,

Dai Mubai said with difficulty, "No, Zhuge, just how many years old is your First Soul Ring?"

Everyone looked at him intently.

Zhuge Lan knew

that using the excuse of a white Soul Ring again would be far too forced.

So—

Talk-no-Jutsu, activate!

"I don't know how many years old it is either." Zhuge Lan shrugged. "This Soul Ring was in my family's inventory. When I awakened my martial soul, it flew out on its own and slipped onto me."

Emotional Value +6666

Emotional Value +6666

Emotional Value +6666

Every single person present was dumbfounded.

Soul Rings...

Could actually be passed down through generations?

"Impossible!" Tang San declared firmly. "Only Soul Beasts can produce Soul Rings, and after a Soul Beast dies, its Soul Ring can only exist for one shichen! How could it possibly have been in your family's... storeroom?"

Everyone unconsciously nodded.

But when they saw Zhuge Lan's white Soul Ring and recalled Flender's earth-shattering kneel,

they hesitated again.

This...

The facts were right before them. Zhuge Lan seemed to have no reason to lie to them, did he?

"You learned a little common knowledge somewhere and now you're making conclusions?"

Zhuge Lan rolled his eyes and said—

"At their core, Soul Rings are forces of attribute laws. They are restraints, shackles, and poison imposed upon Soul Beasts by the gods."

"As long as you understand their essence, they can be preserved."

"For example, God-given Soul Rings allow Soul Masters to obtain Soul Skills that are most compatible with their martial souls, as well as the maximum age their bodies can withstand."

"Or when Soul Beasts take human form. Before level sixty, they do not need to hunt Soul Beasts for Soul Rings; they can condense their own."

His gaze swept across the group before suddenly meeting Xiao Wu's eyes.

Emotional Value +11111

Excellent!

That was the second one to break ten thousand.

Zhuge Lan gave her a friendly smile—such a wonderful humanoid experience pack had to be protected properly.

He did not explain any further.

Instead, he quickly caught up with Flender.

Let them fill in the blanks themselves.

Ask again?

If they wanted to pry into his family secrets, they could first take one of his sword strikes standing up!

He opened the system panel and checked his balance.

Emotional Value: 551653;

Holy shit!

He already had 550,000?

Flender's single kneel had harvested over 150,000 Emotional Value?

"Hiss—"

Although he knew the first time was the most shocking,

Zhuge Lan still could not help thinking of finding another chance to trick Flender!

He did not need another absurd 150,000.

Surely 100,000 would do, right?

Even 50,000 was negotiable!

Outside the Great Soul Arena in Suotuo City.

Inside a restaurant.

Zhuge Lan and the others sat at the dining table, burying themselves in their food.

First, they really were hungry.

Second—

After secretly glancing at the Black Face Flender, they all lowered their heads even further.

They were afraid of provoking him.

Only Zhuge Lan looked entirely relaxed.

—A mere Soul Saint could be wiped out by a level-seven Soul Tool.

"Dean Flander, don't keep such a dark face either."

Zhuge Lan "comforted" him—

"According to my family records, this First Soul Skill was deliberately stripped away and left behind by an ancestor who became a God before ascending to the Divine Realm."

"It's perfectly reasonable that you couldn't resist it, Dean Flander."

Emotional Value +6666

Emotional Value +6666

Emotional Value +6666

Emotional Value +12999

Flender wore a strange expression, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"Become a God? The Divine Realm?" Tang San exclaimed. "Are there really gods in this world?"

Everyone raised their heads and looked toward Zhuge Lan.

"How would I know?" Zhuge Lan spread his hands. "It may be written in my family's historical records, but it happened ten thousand years ago. Who knows whether it's true or not?"

With that said,

the credibility of gods dropped considerably.

"Zhuge." Flender said bitterly, "This Soul Ring has been preserved for ten thousand years. You didn't know what it did?"

"I really didn't." Zhuge Lan said helplessly. "My ancestors experimented with it countless times, but no one could successfully absorb it. It was gathering dust in the warehouse and nearly forgotten. I was the first one it latched onto."

Emotional Value +5555

Flender was almost in tears.

Well then!

He had become an experimental subject?

Now he could be certain.

This Soul Ring was definitely not of ten-year quality!

As for its exact origin—

Flender was not a scholar and had no interest in it.

—Once Yu Xiaogang arrived, he could study it.

For now—

Flender's eyes gleamed as he abruptly stood up!

"Let's go!"

"We're heading to the Great Soul Arena for today's lesson!"

On the way,

Flender explained how the Great Soul Arena could sharpen their practical combat skills.

Then he had Dai Mubai explain the operating rules.

Once they understood the differences between Gambling Matches, Life-and-Death Duels, and Wager Matches,

he handed out masks and assigned their task.

"Each of you will participate in one Solo Match, one Duo Match, and one Team Match today."

"Pair up now. Whoever is left over will clean the toilets for the rest of the term."

The seven of them: Σ(っQДQ;)っ

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