Absorbing the Spirit Ring

Tang Yu waved a hand. "Why wouldn't I let you get close to Tang San? Xiao Wu, if you like him, go ahead and pursue him. He definitely won't leave you just because you're a Soul Beast."→

"Really?" Xiao Wu asked, her eyes shining with a different light.

Tang Yu nodded, then put an arm around Tang Xiaomi's waist. "Look, my Xiaomi is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and we're still this close. And I'll tell you a secret even Tang San doesn't know: our mother is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast too. If he dares look down on Soul Beasts, Dad will be the first to take him to task!"

Hearing Tang Yu, Xiao Wu couldn't help laughing. Then she looked at Tang Xiaomi. "Xiaomi, so you're a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast too!"

Tang Xiaomi nodded. "But I don't remember anything from when I was a Soul Beast, and I didn't even know I was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Brother Tang Yu was the one who figured it out, and he taught me how to condense a Soul Ring, too."

Xiao Wu stared for a moment, then looked at Tang Yu in confusion. "You even know how to condense a Soul Ring!? Shouldn't you have to be a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to know that?"

"Uh, well, that is... give me a moment to make something up... I mean, to think of an answer." Tang Yu rubbed his chin, his eyes darting about.

Xiao Wu rolled her eyes at Tang Yu. "It's fine. You don't have to answer. I only need to know that Tang San won't leave me over this."→

"Don't worry, he won't. So, are you planning to tell him now that you're a rabbit?" Tang Yu asked.

Xiao Wu thought it over, her gaze fixed on Tang San as he fought. Then she shook her head. "I want to wait for Tang San to figure it out himself. I want to see if he'll blame me."

"Fine, then. You two can work out your own relationship." Tang Yu waved a hand.

While the three of them were chatting, Tang San had already dealt with the Man Faced Demon Spider. Naturally, he'd used Hidden Weapons; with his current strength, fighting without them would have been a struggle.

Tang Yu and the others came over to Tang San. "You can absorb the Soul Ring without worry, Tang San. I'll keep watch."

Tang San nodded slightly. The people he trusted most in the world were Tang Hao, Tang Yu, and Xiao Wu, so he sat down cross-legged and began absorbing the Soul Ring without a hint of concern.

Once Tang San had settled into the process, Xiao Wu and Tang Xiaomi sat down nearby as well and began condensing their Soul Rings.

The three of them had started at about the same time, but Tang Xiaomi finished first. Xiao Wu took nearly half an hour longer than her. Tang Xiaomi was done in ten minutes, while Tang San looked like he'd need two or three hours.

Xiao Wu and Tang Xiaomi were both Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, yet Tang Xiaomi had condensed her Soul Ring so much faster. Tang Yu wondered if it was because she was more powerful.

Tang Yu hadn't seen Tang Xiaomi make the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent lose its ability to fly with just a single snort. If he had, he'd have been even more astonished.

The three of them sat together in a circle. Suddenly, Tang Yu took a stack of very light, very thin metal sheets out of Infinite Space. There were fifty-four sheets in all. Tang Yu had asked Tang San to make them, and Tang San had assumed Tang Yu simply needed Hidden Weapons, so he'd made them without asking questions.

Tang Yu had also asked Tang San to inscribe the letters and numbers A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, and K on them, along with four different symbols. Two of the sheets had the words Big Joker and Small Joker engraved on them. Tang San had no idea what they meant, but he'd followed Tang Yu's instructions anyway.