God-Condensed Soul Ring Appears

The disciples nodded, a sense of warmth spreading through their hearts.

"Setting that aside for now, Zhuqing, do you wish to absorb the soul ring now, or would you prefer to wait until tomorrow?"

The time of day was actually perfect, and with no one else around, it was an ideal moment to absorb a soul ring.

Zhuqing was stunned for a moment. Absorb a soul ring? Right now?

Not just her; Ning Rongrong and Little Stone were also bewildered.

Where would a soul beast come from here? Where would a soul ring come from? They all looked at Chen An, wondering if their master was about to pull a soul ring out of his backpack.

"Why are you so surprised? Oh, right, you all don't know yet."

Chen An suddenly realized he had forgotten to explain how this worked.

He reached his right hand into the void and withdrew a dark-colored bead, which seemed even more inconspicuous in the night.

The aura emanating from it was extremely similar to the aura Zhuqing displayed during Martial Soul Possession.

"This is called a God-Condensed Soul Ring. It can help a cultivator obtain a soul ring when they reach a level bottleneck..."

Chen An briefly introduced the item. In truth, it had another name: the God-Bestowed Soul Bead.

There was no essential difference between the two; Chen An simply disliked the name God-Bestowed Soul Ring and had changed it to God-Condensed Soul Ring.

The biggest difference was that this item was easier to absorb than a God-Bestowed Soul Ring, and it adapted based on the user.

Afterward, Chen An explained that this was his latest research.

He wanted to prevent Little Stone from feeling that he was playing favorites, which might lead to friction between them.

But clearly, he had overthought it. Upon seeing the item, Little Stone's first thought was:

"Senior Sister can become stronger, I'm happy. I should work even harder and strive to reach level 30 quickly so I can use a God-Condensed Soul Ring too."

After explaining the effects, Chen An asked again whether she wanted to do it now or tomorrow.

"Master, I will absorb it tonight."

Faced with such a temptation, Zhuqing knew she couldn't resist, so she replied with serious intent.

Seeing Zhuqing's earnest expression, Chen An felt reassured, so he decided to be a bit more serious himself.

"Very well, then I shall guard you."

He pressed two medicinal pills and a bottle of spiritual liquid into Zhuqing's hands.

"Drink the spiritual liquid before you begin absorbing the soul ring. I will tell you when to take these pills, and once that is done, you will finish absorbing the ring."

Chen An intended to oversee the process personally to prevent any mishaps.

He had Ning Rongrong and Little Stone step back a few paces so they wouldn't interfere with the absorption.

There was no need to draw a spiritual array this time; it wasn't necessary, as he planned to guide the moonlight to bathe her body.

"Understood."

She found a relatively open area where she could draw in the moonlight and began to absorb the soul ring.

"Take the pills!"

Seeing that Zhuqing's transformation was sufficient, Chen An spoke up.

At the same time, the moonlight bathed Zhuqing perfectly.

Chen An continued to guide her. As this was the final step, he couldn't help but offer a reminder.

"Hold on. The quality of your soul ring depends on how long you can endure."

With two top-tier pills as a foundation and the spiritual liquid protecting her, as long as she didn't give up halfway, he could basically help Zhuqing reach the ten-thousand-year level.

He believed his disciple's willpower wouldn't be that fragile.

Once that was done, he stepped back a few paces, though his gaze remained fixed on Zhuqing.

After all, this was the first time he had used this item on someone else, so he felt a bit anxious and remained ready to intervene at any moment.

"Rest assured, you will all have God-Condensed Soul Rings in the future."

While watching Zhuqing, he spared a glance for the other two children and spoke.

This was his honest sentiment; if he had been capable of this back then, he would have used it for Little Stone's second soul ring.

The two nodded and then turned their attention back to Zhuqing.

"Hoo, hoo."

Zhuqing's breathing was steady now, the Nine Nether Profound Technique circulating continuously, seemingly competing with the soul ring.

With the aid of the spiritual pills and medicine, she remained in a state of equilibrium.

Her own consciousness was perfectly clear, even better than her usual state.

She couldn't quite describe the changes happening within her body, only that the efficiency of her cultivation technique in absorbing spiritual energy was constantly increasing.

"The spiritual energy is becoming dense. Mm, keep your mind focused."

Feeling the spiritual energy around her thicken, Zhuqing couldn't help but lose focus for a split second. The impact from within the soul ring had no consciousness; to it, there was no such thing as taking turns.

And so, a stinging sensation followed.

Zhu Zhuqing decisively cast aside all distracting thoughts, unifying her focus once more. At this moment, she could not afford to worry about the changes occurring within her own body.

Once a breach had been forced open, the difficulty of continuing the absorption process increased exponentially.

She was not as experienced or powerful as Chen An, so she could only resort to the most primitive, clumsy method—enduring it head-on.

"I cannot give up!"

She did not know how long she had been holding on, but whenever she reached such a point, the thought of giving up would always surface in her mind.

Yet, thinking of the matters within her family and the care her master had shown her, she continued to persist.

When she reached her limit and broke through it once again, she finally felt a surge of energy disperse the remaining power. Opening her eyes, she saw the sky was gray, with the first light of dawn about to break.

"Master, I can still hold on."

Before she could finish her sentence, she fainted.

Had Chen An not been watching, this girl would have, at best, damaged her foundation, and at worst, faced a life-threatening situation.

"This girl really is... sigh."

She had been able to endure far more than he had anticipated; he had miscalculated Zhu Zhuqing's resolve.

After checking to ensure there was nothing seriously wrong, he used his soul power to help the child regulate her breathing, then lifted her up in a bridal carry.

He called for Ning Rongrong, brought Zhu Zhuqing to the dormitory, prepared a barrel of medicinal bath, and then spoke.

"Rongrong, help your senior sister into the barrel. Remember to remove her clothes."

With that, he left the room.

To Chen An, while Zhu Zhuqing was a child, she was also a young woman.

She deserved her own privacy.

Ning Rongrong nodded, indicating she would certainly follow his instructions, and then proceeded to complete the task with somewhat clumsy hands.

Having not slept all night, she slumped against the edge of the barrel after finishing her work and dozed off for a while.

"Mm, eh, ah?"

After most of the day had passed, Zhu Zhuqing finally regained consciousness.

The medicinal herbs Chen An had used this time were all high-grade, with potent and rapid effects, and coupled with the fact that he had used his soul power to guide the chaotic spiritual energy within Zhu Zhuqing's body, she had woken up quite quickly.

"Senior sister, you're awake."

Ning Rongrong had woken up earlier and had even brought back some food, all of which were nutritious meals specially prepared by Chen An.

"What happened to me?"

Zhu Zhuqing's ears turned pink, her small face flushed red, and her mind remained hazy.

"Senior sister, it was like this..."

It was the first time Ning Rongrong had explained something with such patience, and the first time she had treated someone else with such care.

After a detailed explanation of the situation, Zhu Zhuqing's ears grew even redder, and she said in a soft, delicate voice.

"Junior sister, could you help me fetch my clothes?"

Having received a proper upbringing, she felt embarrassed to be seen in such a state, even by another girl.

At this moment, her sense of shame was at its peak.

"Um, could you turn around?"

As a straightforward girl, she found it psychologically difficult to accept getting dressed in front of others; of course, this had nothing to do with her orientation—it was simply uncomfortable for anyone.

Ning Rongrong obediently turned around, displaying good manners by not peeking.