Sudden Change

As someone born and raised on Douluo Continent, Su Lie could not understand why Su Luo did not want to go to Shrek, the Holy Land of Soul Masters. Still, he did not say much, only telling Su Luo to think it over carefully.

"I've thought about it long ago. Shrek's management is too strict. I'm used to being free and undisciplined, so it doesn't suit me. I'd probably be expelled not long after getting in, and in the end, I'd likely still have to study at an academy in the Star Luo Empire. Rather than going through all that trouble, I might as well join Star Luo Royal Academy from the start."

"Fine, then. If it's Star Luo Royal Academy of Soul Masters, you can go directly. The Su Family name will be enough to get you in. But if possible, I still suggest that you give Shrek a try. When it comes to educating Soul Masters, Shrek Academy is ultimately the best on the entire continent. I'll write you a letter of recommendation later. If you change your mind midway, do it quickly. The Su Family has very limited influence at Shrek. Unless you can reach above level fifty-five before the age of twenty, joining Shrek later will be difficult."

Su Luo nodded. "I know what I'm doing."

Su Luo did not explain Shrek's teaching ability to Su Lie. Shrek being the number one Soul Master academy on the continent was common knowledge throughout Douluo Continent. Although its actual teaching standards were merely so-so, and even after twenty thousand years it was still making students run to build their foundations, Shrek's reputation was there for all to see.

The reputation it had earned over the past ten thousand years had reached the point where even Xu Tianran and Jing Hongchen longed for it. Those who had never read Douluo Continent and knew the true quality of Shrek's education could not understand why anyone would not want to attend Shrek.

After all, no matter how high Shrek's teaching made the casualty rate among geniuses, those who survived such a harsh environment were indeed gifted enough. And those sufficiently gifted students would make people who knew nothing of the truth admire Shrek even more, creating a perfect positive cycle for Shrek.

As for the genius Soul Masters who lost their lives in Shrek's positive cycle, Shrek's reputation alone ensured that they would be seen as people who had simply failed to meet Shrek's standards.

Everyone would only think that those failures had not cultivated diligently enough, and that their Soul Power growth had failed to keep up with Shrek's teaching pace.

On the second day after returning to the Su Family, Su Luo and Su Muyue set out for the Star Dou Great Forest.

They had originally returned to the Su Family partly so Su Luo could see the state of the Su Family and tell them about his separation from the Qin Family, and partly to gather a team to help Su Luo hunt a Soul Ring.

But after seeing the Su Family's current situation, Su Muyue did not have the heart to ask them to continue helping her at such a time.

Fortunately, more than three years of cultivation in the Dou Qi Continent had given Su Muyue complete confidence that she could help Su Luo obtain a high-level Soul Ring with her own strength alone.

Unlike Su Luo, who cultivated and refined medicine at the same time, Su Muyue had no interest in alchemy and only needed to cultivate normally.

More importantly, unlike Su Luo, who only had one ring, Su Muyue was a genuine Five-Ring Soul King.

As a Five-Ring Soul King, setting aside her combat strength, her meridians were certainly tough enough.

Unlike Su Luo, who could only rely on Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid and had to be extremely cautious even when occasionally using first-grade pills, Su Muyue had no such concerns.

After obtaining the property in the cave, Su Muyue quickly gave up on the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, which did not boost her much, and instead bought ordinary medicinal pills to aid her cultivation.

With meridians strengthened by Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, she had taken the first of the two Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills bought from the Mittel Auction House while she was still a Dou Zhe. She had taken the second when she became a Dou Shi.

The medicinal potency, excessive enough to kill ordinary Dou Zhes and Dou Shis, was rapidly digested after Su Muyue circulated her Earth-tier low-grade cultivation technique for a while, without the slightest risk.

With the Five-Ring Soul King's enhanced meridians combined with dou qi's strengthening effect, Su Muyue was only a Seven-star Great Dou Shi at present, but the toughness of her meridians had already surpassed that of a Dou Ling. By the time Su Muyue reached the Dou Ling realm, she would likely be able to consume the Dou Ling Pill obtained from the cave.

If not for the fact that the person in the cave had only been a Sixth-grade Alchemist and had left behind only an Earth-tier low-grade cultivation technique, Su Muyue could even have switched to an Earth-tier mid-grade cultivation technique by now.

Still, Earth-tier low-grade cultivation techniques and Dou Techniques were enough. A Seven-star Great Dou Shi using Earth-tier low-grade cultivation techniques and Dou Techniques would not necessarily lose even against an ordinary Dou Ling expert.

A Dou Ling expert was strong enough to serve as the city lord of a second-tier or quasi-first-tier city.

In the former three Douluo kingdoms, the city lords of second-tier or quasi-first-tier cities were also almost all at the level of Soul Sages to Soul Douluos.

Dou Lings and Soul Sages to Soul Douluos held roughly equivalent status. Their strength also seemed comparable: both possessed formidable power, yet neither was strong enough to alter the outcome of an entire battlefield.

The Gamma Empire needed Dou Wang experts, who could manipulate Heaven and Earth Energy, to inflict large-scale damage and use their dou qi wings and raw power to change the situation in a localized battle.

On the side of the former three Douluo kingdoms, those capable of changing a local battle situation needed power at the level of a Title Douluo. The Soul Power of Soul Douluos and Soul Sages was insufficient.

Coincidentally, Dou Wang experts and Title Douluos received similar treatment in their respective empires. The royal families respected both Dou Wang experts and Title Douluos, but it ended at respect. To become someone the emperor had to treat like a father, one needed to be at the level of a Dou Huang or a Limit Douluo.

Jia Xing Tian, the supreme grandfather of the Gamma Empire's retired emperor, and Ye Xishui, Xu Tianran's godmother after he became emperor, were both existences who stood above emperors.

This time, Su Luo only needed a Four-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Even Su Muyue alone, with combat strength comparable to a Dou Ling, was more than enough.

After all, besides being able to contend with a Dou Ling through her dou qi, Su Muyue's Su Family Summoning Gate martial soul could summon a giant eagle whose strength was close to that of a Six-Ring Soul Emperor. This Soul Ring hunt was effectively equivalent to a Soul Sage and a Soul Emperor working together to help Su Luo hunt a Four-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Since the only requirement was that the Soul Ring be of the Wood Attribute, it was nearly impossible for anything to go wrong.

In fact, the hunt went extremely smoothly. Since Su Muyue had no intention of testing Su Luo's combat experience against Soul Beasts, she quickly captured a Four-Thousand-Year Green Wood Vine Soul Beast in an overwhelming fashion.

Wind-attributed dou qi easily severed the Green Wood Vine's tendrils. Relying on an Earth-tier movement Dou Technique, Su Muyue had brought Su Luo and the Four-Thousand-Year Green Wood Vine outside the Star Dou Great Forest in less than a day. She selected a quiet spot and had Su Luo begin absorbing the Soul Ring.

With one slash of Su Luo's blade, the Four-Thousand-Year Green Wood Vine's Soul Ring soon floated out. Relying on the Third-grade Meridian Protecting Pill he had bought and his meridians strengthened by the Dou Zhe realm, Su Luo began absorbing the Soul Ring.

So this is the impact of power brought by a Four-Thousand-Year Soul Ring? It feels like adding another thousand years wouldn't be a problem. Forget it, I've already started absorbing it, so I'll just go with this. After sensing the power brought by the Four-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, Su Luo silently thought to himself.

Just as Su Luo finally relaxed and began absorbing the Soul Ring, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Hehe, if Soul Ring absorption is interrupted midway, one will either die or be crippled. My following you in secret for so long was not in vain."