"Lingling, what do you want for your fourth Spirit Ring?"
As they walked through the Star Dou Great Forest, Gu Changge asked Ye Lingling beside him.
"I don't really mind. The Soul Skills are all the same anyway. As long as it's suitable, anything will do!"
Ye Lingling held Gu Changge's arm and smiled sweetly.
Gu Changge pondered briefly. "Then let's choose the Jade Water Nether Orchid. It's a plant-type Soul Beast with dual water and wood attributes, renowned for its immense vitality. As for its age, around nine thousand years should do. Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings carry the risk of Soul Shock, so we won't take that chance!"
Although Gu Changge was speaking to Ye Lingling, his gaze was directed toward Ye Guanlan and Mu Qingyu.
This was not merely a matter of courtesy.
It was also a matter of respect for them as her parents.
Ye Guanlan smiled. "The Jade Water Nether Orchid is a good choice. We'll do as you say, Chang Ge."
Mu Qingyu also smiled and nodded.
Gu Changge had genuinely given this serious thought when choosing the Jade Water Nether Orchid as Ye Lingling's fourth Spirit Ring.
As for its age—
That was no longer within their concerns.
For one thing, Whale Rubber could strengthen the body.
Gu Changge had brought it out when he was still young.
Not only Gu Changge, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling—
Even Dugu Bo had used plenty of it over the years.
Secondly—
There was also the MC World.
When absorbing Spirit Rings, they could simply open the Void Gate.
They could sit inside the gate and absorb it there.
With the Steve Physique empowering them—
Let alone a mere thousand-year Soul Beast—
Even if they dragged the Dragon Chief over and killed him—
They could still absorb it successfully within minutes.
Speaking of this—
Some viewers would surely ask—
"Streamer, streamer, if even the Ancient Chief can be absorbed, why choose a thousand-year Soul Beast for Lingling's fourth Spirit Ring?"
Naturally, it was because Gu Changge was not certain whether the Steve Physique could ignore Soul Shock.
If it could ignore it, then everything would be easy.
But if it could not, wouldn't that be a disaster?
So rather than take the risk—
It was better to safely absorb one at the upper limit below ten thousand years.
After all, sooner or later, they would unlock the [Soul Master Continent Survival Module].
Whether it was thousand-year or ten-thousand-year made no real difference.
After confirming Ye Lingling's Spirit Ring target—
They soon found one in the mixed zone.
It was a Jade Water Nether Orchid approximately nine thousand two hundred to nine thousand four hundred years old.
Dugu Bo, whose spiritual level had undergone another transformation, found it.
Then, without any trouble at all, it became Ye Lingling's fourth Spirit Ring.
After settling Ye Lingling's Spirit Ring—
About half an hour later—
They found a Spirit Ring target suitable for Dugu Yan as well.
It was an Earth Azure Dragon nearly thirty thousand years old.
Clearly, in this life, Dugu Yan—
Had not followed Dugu Bo's poison-attribute path as she had in the original story.
Under Gu Changge's influence—
She had abandoned the poison-attribute path from a young age.
Instead, she had embarked upon the path of Flood-Dragon Ascension.
By now, all four of her previous Spirit Rings possessed an extremely high degree of dragon bloodline.
This nearly thirty-thousand-year-old Earth Azure Dragon was no exception.
Moreover, compared with her first four Spirit Rings—
This creature possessed an even greater concentration of dragon bloodline.
Its bloodline purity was absolutely among the best of the subdragon species.
As a result, its ferocity and combat strength were both exceptionally high.
Unfortunately, it had encountered a group of cheaters.
So the little dragon was finished.
Dugu Bo cleanly slapped it half to death.
Then Dugu Yan took it away before it could even be carried off.
With the MC World's support—
She absorbed it through the Void Gate.
Then, something delightful happened.
The Flood-Dragon Ascension that had frustrated Dugu Bo so greatly—
Appeared once more in Dugu Yan.
And compared with Dugu Bo's mere signs of transformation—
Dugu Yan's path of Flood-Dragon Ascension was clearly much more stable.
A pair of tiny dragon horns directly emerged atop her Jade Phosphor Serpent Martial Soul's head.
Though its limbs had not grown out, the four little bulges beneath its belly were far larger than Dugu Bo's.
"Good, good, good!"
Dugu Bo was overjoyed at the sight.
The path of Flood-Dragon Ascension!
Although Gu Changge had brought it up when he was very young—
As a native of the Douluo world with generally little learning, Dugu Bo had always harbored doubts.
It was only when his Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor Martial Soul had unexpectedly shown signs of transforming into a Flood Dragon that he believed Gu Changge had not been talking nonsense.
Even so—
Dugu Bo had never been confident about when his precious granddaughter, Dugu Yan, would reach the stage of transforming into a Flood Dragon.
After all, his own transformation had been built upon the fact that his Martial Soul had once evolved from the Jade Phosphor Serpent into the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor.
Compared to that, Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphor Serpent Martial Soul naturally had far less foundation.
Therefore, although the path of Flood-Dragon Ascension had been proven—
He still had no idea when Dugu Yan would be able to take this step.
But now, with only her fifth Spirit Ring, Dugu Yan had already begun the process of transforming into a Flood Dragon.
And it even looked as though she had transformed more thoroughly than his Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor had.
How could Dugu Bo possibly not be excited?
After all, this represented that the Martial Souls of their lineage—
Had truly embarked upon an entirely new journey, just as Gu Changge had said.
Once they completely transformed into Flood Dragons or true dragons—
Their family's Martial Souls would no longer be those damned, innately flawed Jade Phosphor Serpents.
As the Spirit Ring absorption ended—
Dugu Yan impatiently summoned her Martial Soul and fused with it.
Then, a pair of tiny dragon horns appeared on her forehead.
At the same time, formidable power surged from within her body.
"What powerful strength! Chang Ge, is this the evolution you mentioned, the Flood-Dragon Ascension?"
Dugu Yan felt the new power within her and spoke to Gu Changge with eyes full of delight.
Gu Changge smiled and touched the adorable little horns on her forehead. "This is only the beginning. Once your strength rises again and your dragon bloodline source grows stronger, this evolution will become even more pronounced!"
"Okay."
Dugu Yan nodded her little head. "Then I'll strive to completely evolve my Martial Soul into a Flood Dragon when I reach seven rings and gain my Martial Soul Avatar. Then, when I become a Titled Douluo, I'll completely evolve into the Dragon Raja!"
Listening to Dugu Yan's bold declaration—
If this had happened in the past, even Dugu Bo would have merely smiled and encouraged her.
In his heart, he would not have taken it seriously at all.
But now, not a single person present doubted that Dugu Yan could accomplish it.
Because the past was the past, and the present was the present.
Do not use the past as the measure of the present.
After Dugu Yan had obtained her Spirit Ring—
The group continued deeper toward the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
As for Gu Changge's fifth Spirit Ring—
Before you continue