Soul Ancestor Zhu Zhuqing

"Big sister-in-law, this is a three-thousand-year-old Ghost Leopard!"

After climbing down from Da Ming, Er Ming tossed the smaller of the two Ghost Leopards in his hands in front of Zhu Zhuqing.

The Ghost Leopard was still alive, but unconscious.

All Zhu Zhuqing needed to do was strike once, and she could end its life.

Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing gave a slight nod.

She took a dagger from her earring, walked up to the Ghost Leopard, and decisively plunged it into the creature's neck.

A purple Soul Ring appeared above the Ghost Leopard's corpse.

"Big sister-in-law, if you feel you can't hold on, please put your life first. Otherwise, we won't know how to explain this to big brother when we get back!"

"Even if you're seriously injured, big brother has the means to help you recover your strength!"

Just as Zhu Zhuqing was about to start absorbing the Soul Ring, Da Ming spoke up and reminded her again.

He didn't want Zhu Zhuqing to force herself to keep going when she couldn't withstand absorbing the Soul Ring, only to die from the strain.

Zhu Zhuqing couldn't die.

If Zhu Zhuqing stopped absorbing the Soul Ring at a critical moment, Da Ming believed Luo Yan would surely have a way to help her, even if she were badly injured or her Soul Power regressed.

"Mm!"

Zhu Zhuqing knew Da Ming was only concerned for her. After answering, she began absorbing the Soul Ring.

Hiss!

As soon as she began, the immense Soul Power within the Soul Ring surged into her meridians.

Fortunately, the Jiaolong Essence Blood had cleansed her body and greatly strengthened her meridians.

Otherwise, that impact alone would have been enough to burst them.

Although her meridians held, the pain made Zhu Zhuqing draw a sharp breath.

As the Soul Power in the ring continued to batter her limbs and organs, sweat began pouring down Zhu Zhuqing's forehead.

Her delicate body trembled uncontrollably.

"Da Ming, big sister-in-law should be all right, shouldn't she?" Er Ming asked, worried.

Though he wasn't very bright, he knew Zhu Zhuqing absolutely couldn't get hurt. Otherwise, they'd have no way to explain things when they got back.

"Since big brother said big sister-in-law can make it through, all we need to do is watch over her. There's nothing else we can do."

"Even if something goes wrong, big brother won't blame us. Don't worry!"

Da Ming shook his head, signaling for him to relax.

He didn't know much about humans, and there was nothing he could do about this sort of thing.

Hearing this, the simple-minded Er Ming quickly changed the subject.

He started telling Da Ming about how he'd taken down the Ghost Leopards with one punch each.

Even after breaking through to become a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, it would have been difficult for him to quickly deal with Ten Thousand Year Ghost Leopards.

After all, he didn't have much of an advantage when it came to speed.

But Er Ming had used the Breath Concealment Art Luo Yan taught him to hide his presence and take human form, so the Ghost Leopards hadn't recognized him at first.

When the Ghost Leopards surrounded them and attacked, he'd suddenly struck, breaking all four of their legs.

That was how he'd easily captured both Ghost Leopards.

Da Ming looked at the Ghost Leopards and found the whole thing rather amusing.

He hadn't expected Er Ming to have his clever moments, too.

The time it took to absorb a Soul Ring varied depending on factors such as its age and the Soul Master's constitution.

Zhu Zhuqing had broken through her limits to absorb a three-thousand-year third Soul Ring, so the process took quite a while.

The most dangerous part was at the very beginning, when the Soul Ring's frenzied Soul Power battered the Soul Master's meridians.

If they couldn't withstand it, their body would burst apart and they would die.

After surviving the Soul Power's assault, they also had to face the remnants of the Soul Beast's spirit within the ring.

If their spiritual power wasn't strong enough or their will wasn't firm, the Soul Beast could easily turn the tables on them.

Fortunately, Soul Beasts under ten thousand years old didn't leave much spiritual power behind in their Soul Rings.

After half an hour of struggle,

the outcome was just as Luo Yan had predicted: Zhu Zhuqing had managed to withstand it.

If the Ghost Leopard had been even a little stronger, she might not have made it.

Gradually, Zhu Zhuqing neutralized the Soul Power's assault. All that remained was to slowly absorb the Soul Power left in the ring.

Her body stopped trembling as violently as it had at first and gradually relaxed.

"Thank goodness. Big sister-in-law should have made it through!" Da Ming said, relieved as he noticed the change in Zhu Zhuqing.

Another half an hour passed before Zhu Zhuqing finally finished absorbing the Ghost Leopard's Soul Ring.

Hoo~

She opened her eyes and immediately let out a breath of stale air.

Absorbing this three-thousand-year Soul Ring had been far too risky. She'd come within a hair's breadth of bursting apart and dying.

Of course, the greater the risk, the more obvious the rewards.

After absorbing a three-thousand-year Soul Ring beyond her limits, Zhu Zhuqing could clearly feel that her Soul Power had broken through level forty.

Her constitution and spiritual power had also improved tremendously.

Next came the fourth Soul Ring.

But she wasn't ready to absorb it right away.

Absorbing the third Soul Ring had nearly drained her spiritual power, so she needed time to recover.

A Soul Ring over ten thousand years old contained the remnants of its Soul Beast's spirit. If her spiritual power hadn't recovered, things could still go wrong.

"I may need some time to recover before I can absorb the fourth Soul Ring..." Zhu Zhuqing said hesitantly, looking at Da Ming.

Da Ming understood what she meant and smiled as he nodded. "There's no need to worry about anything else, big sister-in-law. We'll keep watch nearby!"

Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing didn't hesitate any further and sat down cross-legged.

By the time she woke after recovering her spiritual power, the sun had risen in the east.

A whole day had passed since they'd set out from Suotuo City.

"Big sister-in-law, go ahead!"

When he saw Zhu Zhuqing awake, Da Ming tossed the Ten Thousand Year Ghost Leopard onto the ground.

While Zhu Zhuqing had been meditating, the Ghost Leopard had woken once, but Da Ming had knocked it unconscious again.

As for the three-thousand-year one, Da Ming and Er Ming had already roasted and eaten it.

Without wasting words, Zhu Zhuqing decisively killed the Ghost Leopard.

A pitch-black Soul Ring emerged from its corpse, and Zhu Zhuqing sat down in front of it to begin absorbing it.

Compared with the third Soul Ring, this process was far less dangerous.

She only had to spend some effort fighting the Ghost Leopard's lingering spirit.

Fortunately, her will was strong enough. She focused on defense and wore down the Ghost Leopard's remaining spiritual power.

This time, Zhu Zhuqing spent nearly two hours absorbing the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

She stood up and looked at the four Soul Rings beneath her feet. Her fourth Soul Ring was a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

"Luo Yan, I... did it! I've become a Soul Ancestor..." Zhu Zhuqing murmured, dazed.

She had always believed she would eventually break through to Soul Ancestor, but she hadn't expected the day to come so soon.

Only a few days ago, she'd been a level-twenty-seven Soul Grandmaster. With Luo Yan's help, she had now reached level forty-three.

And with Luo Yan having saved her life as well, Zhu Zhuqing didn't know how she could ever repay his kindness.

Could she really give herself to him...

Thinking of how Luo Yan had told her to give herself to him that day, Zhu Zhuqing's cheeks flushed despite herself.