The Choice of the First Soul Ring, Bilin Seven Absolute Flower

After all kinds of training, Chen Ming finally faced an important step on his path as a Soul Master: absorbing the first Soul Ring of his life.

Through intense training, various medicines, and the partial assistance of Whale Rubber, Chen Ming's body far surpassed those of his peers. He did not look like a child who had just turned nine, but more like a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old middle school student.

Within the vast, dark cave, clusters of emerald-green vines spread and grew everywhere, unconsciously releasing "faint" poisonous gas.

This gas was extremely corrosive. An ordinary person would begin melting after only a few minutes in such an environment, while low-level Soul Masters would die screaming. Yet Chen Ming and the other two stood quietly in the center of the cave, expressionlessly watching the vines.

The Bilin Seven Absolute Flowers had been personally planted and cultivated by the Chen Family. Long before they matured, the family had prepared medicines to deal with them. Furthermore, the Chen Family's Jade Scorpions had mutated under the influence of the Bilin Seven Absolute Flowers, so this deadly poisonous gas had little effect on members of the Chen Family...

Of course, little effect did not mean no effect at all.

Staying in this cave for less than a day at a time would cause no harm. If they stayed less than three days, the damage to their bodies could still be remedied. But if something unexpected happened or they lost their Soul Power, even members of the Chen Family could only survive for one more shichen.

Over the past several hundred years, the Chen Family had lost a double-digit number of people in this cave for various reasons. If not for the fact that so few people could become Soul Masters in the first place, that number reaching three digits would not have been difficult.

Generally speaking, plants had a difficult time becoming Soul Beasts. Their numbers mainly relied on sheer quantity. Among plants of the same kind, some might live for a hundred years without becoming Soul Beasts, while others could become Soul Beasts in just over a decade. The criteria were confusing, and there was still no good explanation.

For example, some snow lotuses might become Soul Beasts after hundreds or thousands of years on ordinary snowy mountains. Yet some top-grade snow lotuses, even after one hundred thousand years in the Extreme North Land, could only be considered heavenly treasures and would still not become Soul Beasts. In the end, they could only be eaten by other Soul Beasts.

Generally, behind every plant-type Soul Beast stood many of its kind that had failed to become Soul Beasts. Even among common plant-type Soul Beasts, the only difference was that they had a higher chance of producing Soul Beasts.

The Silver Dragon King had fallen upon Douluo Continent hundreds of thousands of years ago. Its scattered power became the Lake of Life, which in turn gave rise to the Star Dou Great Forest. Yet after hundreds of thousands of years, the trees beside the Lake of Life, though nourished enough not to die, still had not become Soul Beasts.

Bilin Seven Absolute Flowers generally only had a chance of becoming Soul Beasts after ten thousand years. Clearly, however, the Bilin Seven Absolute Flowers in this cave were no ordinary case. They grew in a supreme treasure ground for poison-attributed plants, and with the Chen Family's artificial intervention, the current situation had come to be.

There were nearly a hundred Bilin Seven Absolute Flowers of varying sizes throughout the cave, but fewer than ten could be considered Soul Beasts. The rest could only be classified as plants with Soul Power, and no one knew when they would become true Soul Beasts.

A Bilin Seven Absolute Flower was entirely dark green, with a huge flower bud and several vines coiled around it. These vines were one of its methods for absorbing nutrients and attacking.

Because of their age, most of the Bilin Seven Absolute Flowers cultivated by the Chen Family had not bloomed completely. Most of the time, their tightly closed buds disguised themselves as dark-green rocks, leaving only their vines as conspicuous markers.

Although Bilin Seven Absolute Flowers were indeed high quality, they generally still chose to conceal themselves. Unless their age or numbers had reached such a level that they believed no threat could possibly appear, it was rare to see Bilin Seven Absolute Flowers remaining open all day.

After all, releasing poison consumed energy, and not a small amount. Releasing too much would not only delay their growth, but might also lead to all kinds of accidents due to their weakened condition.

Chen Ming stared at a Bilin Seven Absolute Flower before him, his eyes filled with determination. Soul Power stirred faintly within him. With every breath, he seemed to echo the Bilin Seven Absolute Flower before him. Each of Chen Ming's breaths and heartbeats made the enormous flower bud in front of him tremble slightly.

"Xiao Ming, have you really made up your mind? Although we've asked you many times before, I still want to ask you again here. Have you truly decided to absorb the Soul Ring of a Bilin Seven Absolute Flower?"

"Your body and meridians are roughly equivalent to those of an ordinary Soul Grandmaster, perhaps even slightly stronger. In theory, you could even absorb an eight-hundred-year Soul Ring."

"Some ordinary Soul Elders don't even have a third Soul Ring with that age."

"Xiao Ming, if you've made up your mind, Grandpa will immediately find you an excellent hundred-year Soul Beast. Once you absorb your First Soul Ring, your strength will immediately surpass that of ordinary Soul Masters. It may even be possible for your Second Soul Ring to reach the thousand-year level..."

"Have you really decided to use this five-hundred-year Bilin Seven Absolute Flower as your First Soul Ring?"

Chen Shijie reached out and rubbed Chen Ming's head, earnestly trying to persuade him. His eyes were full of pleading. Beside him, Chen Tianyun also seemed to want to speak but held himself back.

Absorbing a Soul Ring with an age equivalent to someone else's Second Soul Ring as one's First Soul Ring was absolutely impossible for ordinary Soul Masters. No one knew who had set the rule, but this was what the Soul Master world had said for hundreds, even thousands, of years. Thus, deep down, Chen Shijie and Chen Tianyun did not believe Chen Ming could absorb a seven- or eight-hundred-year Soul Ring as his First Soul Ring.

If Chen Ming had suggested it himself, the two of them would certainly never have allowed it.

But... that depended on what it was compared with.

If one forcibly absorbed an over-aged Soul Ring below the thousand-year level, Chen Shijie still had the ability to intervene and stop it. Even if the price was substantial—being unable to increase Soul Power or absorb Soul Rings for several years—he could at least preserve Chen Ming's life and let him remain a Soul Master.

But the Bilin Seven Absolute Flower was far too tyrannical. If an ordinary-quality Thousand-Year Soul Beast were thrown beside a Bilin Seven Absolute Flower that had not even become a Soul Beast, that Thousand-Year Soul Beast would be dissolved into pus within moments. Its poison and Soul Power were several times stronger than those of ordinary hundred-year Soul Rings. Even some Soul Rings over a thousand years old were not as intense as a five-hundred-year Bilin Seven Absolute Flower.

Once he began absorbing it, there would be no turning back and no hesitation. He would either succeed or die violently. Even if a Titled Douluo were present, at the very least they would need the help of a Healing System Soul Master above the Soul Saint level to preserve Chen Ming's life. Even in the best-case scenario, Chen Ming would never again be able to become a Soul Master. In a worse scenario, he could probably only lie in bed and linger on for a few years.

If he failed under the current circumstances, not even a corpse would remain. There would only be a puddle of water.

In Chen Shijie and Chen Tianyun's eyes, Chen Ming was practically seeking death of his own accord.

They had witnessed Chen Ming's talent over the past few years. He truly had the potential to become a Soul Saint or even a Soul Douluo. If he cultivated steadily in the future and continued the family line, there might yet be a chance to resolve the family's problems. There was absolutely no need to gamble like this and risk absorbing the Soul Ring of a Bilin Seven Absolute Flower!

"I've already made my decision..."

Chen Ming could feel their concern, but he still shook his head and spoke firmly.

He reached out and touched the poisonous vine before him. The instant he made contact, the Bilin Seven Absolute Flower, which originally possessed no intelligence at all, seemed to be stimulated. It suddenly writhed, its previously closed flower opening slightly as the poisonous gas around it grew noticeably denser.

"When I first came here to train, I took a liking to this Bilin Seven Absolute Flower at first sight. At that time, it was not even a Soul Beast yet. I fed this Bilin Seven Absolute Flower with my own Soul Power and blood for two and a half years. I can feel that some kind of connection seems to have formed between it and me."

"When my hand touches it, I can feel as if I have gained an extra arm connected to my flesh and blood, as though a special organ has grown inside me..."

At this point, Chen Ming shook his head.

"Though this is difficult to understand, and I can't explain the principle behind it, that is simply how it is. If it were another Bilin Seven Absolute Flower, I would not be completely certain that I could absorb its Soul Ring. But if it is this one before me, I think there should be no problem."

"It will not reject me."

As Chen Ming spoke, the vines before him twisted slightly, as if responding to something, or perhaps expressing their dissatisfaction. But to the two people beside him, the movement held no meaning whatsoever.

"Plant-type Soul Beasts only develop some spirituality after ten thousand years. It is said that only after one hundred thousand years can they develop true intelligence. A mere five-hundred-year Bilin Seven Absolute Flower became a Soul Beast only through favorable timing and terrain. How could something like spirituality possibly exist? Xiao Ming, you need to think this through..."

At that moment, Chen Tianyun, who had remained silent until now, could finally no longer restrain his emotions. He reached out and grabbed Chen Ming's sleeve, speaking with a pleading tone.

Chen Ming's father, Chen Tian Feng, had had a son late in life and loved Chen Ming dearly. However, he and his wife had suffered an accident while hunting Soul Rings and passed away.

Chen Shijie had to serve as the pillar supporting the entire family, while Chen Tianyun had raised Chen Ming himself. From his first babbling words to the awakening of his Martial Soul, Chen Tianyun had always treated him as his own flesh and blood.

To Chen Tianyun, Chen Ming was like his own son, far more important in his heart than his two children who had not yet been born.

In Chen Tianyun's eyes, even if Chen Ming was extraordinarily talented and truly had a ten percent chance of succeeding, there was still at least a ninety percent chance that he would die. This was something he simply could not accept.