Chu Chen's Second Spirit Ring! Traveling with Ye Lingling

"He really could absorb a thousand-year Spirit Ring as his second ring, and his aura was steady, without the slightest sign of energy overflow."

As evening gradually fell, Ye Lingling chose to light a campfire nearby. Throughout this time, she had been observing Chu Chen's absorption of the Spirit Ring. It seemed to be going frighteningly smoothly...

This was also the first Spirit Ring Chu Chen had truly absorbed on his own. In the eyes of ordinary people, this was absorbing a ring beyond his level. Thus, two hours had already passed since he began absorbing it.

"What unique Blue Silver Grass... It even has golden patterns..."

Ye Lingling noticed a Blue Silver Emperor growing beside Chu Chen and gently touched it.

It felt smooth and carried a trace of warmth, rather than the cool sensation of ordinary plants. Especially upon touching it, Ye Lingling could sense the surging Life Energy within it.

Her martial soul was the Nine Heart Begonia, also a Plant System martial soul. Thus, she could clearly feel that her Nine Heart Begonia was being suppressed by the Blue Silver Emperor!

Ye Lingling gently stroked the Blue Silver Emperor for a while before returning to the campfire to wait for Chu Chen.

"Absorbing a Spirit Ring independently for the first time really does take more time... If I hadn't constantly used the Blue Silver Emperor's special life conversion ability to strengthen my body and clear my meridians..."

"Next is the Final Step of fusion."

Chu Chen began gathering his Soul Power, instinctively entering the Final Step of fusing the Spirit Ring. By this stage, the most dangerous part of absorbing the Spirit Ring had passed.

Half an hour later.

As the Blue Silver Emperor in Chu Chen's hand blossomed with dazzling Blue-Gold Light, the surrounding plants sensed this aura as well and began growing rapidly.

"Why is my Nine Heart Begonia also...?"

Ye Lingling stared at the Nine Heart Begonia that had appeared uncontrollably in her hand, her beautiful eyes far from calm.

Her Nine Heart Begonia was considered a top-tier Support Type martial soul across the entire Douluo Continent. When had it ever been affected so greatly by another martial soul?

"His martial soul can actually suppress my Nine Heart Begonia. What kind of Blue Silver Grass is this?!"

Ye Lingling was too stunned for words.

At this moment, the second Spirit Ring Chu Chen had absorbed finally stabilized. Two thousand-year Spirit Rings quietly floated around him, emanating extraordinary power.

Chu Chen also stepped directly into the Soul Grandmaster realm, his strength rising in one leap to level twenty-three.

He opened his eyes and happened to see Ye Lingling sitting by the campfire, staring absentmindedly at him. He smiled faintly at her and said, "Thanks for standing guard for me."

Ye Lingling came back to her senses and paused slightly. "I didn't really help you with anything..."

Chu Chen smiled. "Keeping watch nearby still counts as guarding me. After all, if I truly lost control of the Spirit Ring's energy, I would still need your treatment."

By the firelight, Ye Lingling caught sight of Chu Chen's refined profile beside the campfire and was briefly lost in thought.

"You're far too bold. You actually dared to absorb a thousand-year Spirit Ring as your First Spirit Ring." Ye Lingling picked up a piece of firewood and tossed it into the campfire.

"It was merely a bold attempt within the limits of my ability. Of course, I paid a certain price for it as well."

Chu Chen smiled but did not reveal his secret. Still, this was indeed something difficult for Ye Lingling to comprehend.

The faint firelight seemed especially warm within the quiet forest at night. However, the Life Aura here was dense and could draw powerful Spirit Beasts at any time. After considering it, Chu Chen still felt that he and Ye Lingling should leave this place.

"Do you need to rest?" Chu Chen suddenly asked.

Ye Lingling paused before replying, "No. I simply thought you would need quite a long time to absorb a thousand-year Spirit Ring, so I roasted some food over the fire while I was waiting."

As she spoke, Ye Lingling took out two pieces of somewhat charred bread...

Well, not somewhat charred. They were nothing but black.

"This... Black Forest Bread?" Chu Chen raised his head with an odd expression, looking from the "charcoal" in front of him to Ye Lingling as they stared wide-eyed at each other.

"..."

Ye Lingling fell silent for a moment, then said softly, "It was my first time roasting bread. Then... I got distracted..."

"Hahaha." Chu Chen burst out laughing.

Ye Lingling was a little annoyed and was about to take the bread back when she saw Chu Chen accept a piece. He gently broke it open, revealing the soft, still-warm interior. Tearing off a piece, he tasted it. It was indeed quite delicious.

"Sometimes, the blackened surface may make people hesitate, but the inside can be warm, just like this bread."

Ye Lingling's heart trembled at Chu Chen's meaningful words. Yet she saw him rise to his feet, put out the campfire, and say, "We need to leave. The Life Aura here is dense. While the Undying Green Vine was here, perhaps not many Spirit Beasts dared approach."

"Now that the Undying Green Vine has been slain, this place will soon become territory contested by Spirit Beasts. If we stay here, we'll only become targets for all of them."

Ye Lingling also felt that Chu Chen's reasoning made sense, so the two quickly left. Before long, several fierce Spirit Beasts emerged from the darkness...

"Where did you get separated from your companions?"

After leaving their previous location, Chu Chen and Ye Lingling headed in the direction opposite from where Ye Lingling had chased the Mystic Fox during the day. This was also the route Ye Lingling had come from.

"You... are willing to help me?" Ye Lingling looked at Chu Chen in surprise. She had not expected that, despite only knowing each other for such a short time, he would still be willing to help her like this.

"Was I supposed to let a Nine Heart Begonia Spirit Master venture alone into the Star Dou Forest?" Chu Chen asked in return.

Ye Lingling did not refute him. As a Support Type Spirit Master, she truly possessed no offensive power. If that Mystic Fox had not lacked offensive power as well, she likely would not have been able to kill it with merely a dagger.

"Thank you." For the first time, the eyes beneath Ye Lingling's black veil looked directly at Chu Chen. Her tone also seemed a little gentler, no longer as cold as when they first met.

"At the time, we were scattered by a small herd of Iron Horn Rhinos. The herd also carried us into this area, so I no longer know the exact direction."

After searching for a while, Ye Lingling looked around in confusion. In a place like the Star Dou Forest, it was indeed easy to lose one's sense of direction, not to mention that it was nighttime.

"An Iron Horn Rhino herd? It seems you were fortunate. Though these Spirit Beasts sound fierce from their name, they are gentle by nature and do not harm people. Otherwise, you would not have been able to escape the herd unscathed."

Chu Chen searched the surroundings for traces that the rhino herd might have left behind. After identifying the hoofprints, he and Ye Lingling followed them forward.

"This Blue Silver Grass can guide us in the right direction." Chu Chen gestured ahead.