"Crack, crack."
"Rumble!"
At a women's bathhouse in Yidefu City, Fasinuo Province, buckets and basins kept flying out the door.
A figure dashed out, and furious curses from several middle-aged women immediately rang out behind him.
"You little brat! Let me catch you again, and I'll beat you every time!"
"You disgusting pervert!"
"..."
With a broom over his shoulder, Tang San fled two streets away, his face blank. Scenes like this had happened countless times over the past month.
They could no longer stir the slightest emotion in him.
Now, he was a testing machine without feelings.
He entered an open bathhouse with a placid expression. Under the middle-aged women's bewildered stares, he swept the floor tiles and walls.
Once they came to their senses, he used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to dodge the pots, bowls, and basins flying at him.
Then he quickly left the scene and repeated the same routine somewhere else.
After more than half a month, Tang San had finished cleaning over forty bathhouses.
Seeing that they couldn't catch Tang San, the women could only curse as they returned to the baths.
Meanwhile, the curtain to the men's baths was quietly lifted. Yu Xiaogang walked out, steam rising from his body and his face just as blank.
Inside the bath, however, a different scene unfolded.
The once-clear water had turned green with a purplish tinge, and several men who had bathed alongside Gangzi floated on the surface.
Their faces were all purple and blue, clearly victims of some unknown gas.
Yu Xiaogang strolled to the gate of Yidefu City, where his disciple had been waiting for a long time.
"Let's go, Xiao San. We've visited every bathhouse here. We'll head to the neighboring province."
"So we're finally taking our reputation beyond the province?"
Tang San nodded glumly, then followed Gangzi.
Over the past half month, the master and disciple had earned the nicknames Male Bath Terminator and Female Bath Cleaner in Fasinuo Province.
When they were lucky, they could leave calmly. When they weren't, angry men and women chased them half a street.
Fortunately, the test was nearing its end. They only needed to strike a few times in the western part of the Balak Kingdom to complete the major test of visiting fifty bathhouses.
After arriving in a town in the Balak Kingdom, Tang San once again went ahead to scout the bathhouses.
Then the master and disciple picked the least crowded business hours to complete the test.
Three days later, Lu Xian, back in Suotuo City, smoothly received the notification that the master and disciple had completed their test.
[Wish Rank E, Executor Tang San's completion: 100%.]
[Reward: 400 days of cultivation, Soul Ring age increased by 150 years.]
[Reward: Luck Domain strength increased by 20%.]
[Wish Rank E, Executor Yu Xiaogang's completion: 100%.]
[Reward: 350 days of cultivation, Soul Ring age increased by 120 years.]
[Soul Power recovery speed increased by 20%.]
Ignoring the three hundred or so days of cultivation Gangzi had received, the rewards from this major test were undoubtedly generous.
He hadn't expected such a tedious test to be completed ten days ahead of schedule. They really were chosen workers.
After deducting most of the rewards, Lu Xian chose to claim the rest.
The bottleneck at level 46 loosened, and he reached level 47 with no effort.
Then, under the surge of Soul Power, he smoothly broke through the bottlenecks at levels 47 and 48 as well.
His level climbed all the way to 49 before finally slowing.
"Looks like if a few of my workers each complete one more test, I'll basically become a Soul King."
After getting used to his surging cultivation, Lu Xian summoned his Martial Soul.
With these rewards, his Second Soul Ring had successfully evolved into a thousand-year ring.
Ma Hongjun's test progress was even faster than Gangzi's, and his Third Soul Ring had also broken through to a thousand years.
Only the Soul Ring tied to Dugu Yan was still a hundred-year Yellow Soul Ring.
But a thousand years wasn't far off. If Dugu Yan put in a little more effort, he could accomplish the feat of having thousand-year rings for all his first four Soul Rings.
Aside from Soul Power and Soul Ring age, the stronger Luck Domain and faster Soul Power recovery were both extremely practical abilities.
Lu Xian was quite satisfied with this improvement.
As he gave his instructions, he didn't forget his two diligent workers.
Chased dozens of kilometers by angry men and women, Tang San and his master kept fleeing until they were finally outside the Balak Kingdom and could catch their breath.
"Jinx's 30th test: Men in the bathhouse—complete."
"Reward: 120 days of cultivation, all Soul Rings increased by 15 years."
"Reward: one God-Bestowed Soul Ring."
"Plague God's 20th test: Fish bombing—complete."
"Reward: 200 days of cultivation, all Soul Rings increased by 5 years."
"Reward: poison resistance increased by 10%."
Tang San and Gangzi, who had just escaped the men and women, immediately beamed when they heard the test completion notifications.
Tang San most of all. He was now on the verge of becoming a Soul Elder, and anyone could guess what this God-Bestowed Soul Ring was meant for.
Jinx was as thoughtful as ever.
Meanwhile, after receiving 200 days of cultivation, Gangzi finally broke through to level 32.
As long as he made progress, Gangzi would never lack motivation.
After claiming all the rewards, Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San expectantly.
"Xiao San, what did you get?"
"Teacher, I got a God-Bestowed Soul Ring this time. It should be able to directly give my Blue Silver Grass a suitable Soul Ring."
"Oh? There's such a thing?"
After Tang San explained, Yu Xiaogang was left utterly shocked.
Everyone on Douluo Continent had to hunt Soul Beasts to obtain Soul Rings. The appearance of God-Bestowed Soul Rings had quietly shattered that rule.
"Then what are we waiting for? Hurry and absorb it, Xiao San!"
"All right, Teacher. Please guard me!"
After the chase, the two had fled to a wooded area on the outskirts of the Balak Kingdom.
The surroundings were perfect for Tang San to absorb a Soul Ring.
After choosing to claim the reward, Tang San swiftly summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, and two Yellow Soul Rings appeared one after another.
At the same time, he crushed the milky-white orb representing the God-Bestowed Soul Ring.
The fragments of the orb turned into pure Soul Power and surged toward the Blue Silver Grass.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang summoned Luo Sanpao and began keeping watch over their surroundings.
There were no Soul Beasts around, but Gangzi still intended to be cautious. He couldn't let anything happen to his disciple.
Just as Gangzi took a few pieces of white radish from his Soul Tool, intending to feed them to Luo Sanpao in case of an emergency,
Tang San, who had sat down cross-legged for less than a minute, opened his eyes and stood up again.
Yu Xiaogang was deeply puzzled.
"What's wrong, Xiao San? Did you fail to absorb it?"
"No, Teacher. I've already absorbed it."
Tang San shook his head, just as confused as his teacher. Even absorbing his First Soul Ring had taken him nearly an hour.
Why had this God-Bestowed Soul Ring been so easy to absorb?
The master and disciple summoned the Blue Silver Grass again. When they saw the Ten-Year Soul Ring in the Third Soul Ring position, both fell silent.
"This..."
"How could this happen?"
Tang San's eyes were full of terror. He'd still been imagining what kind of Soul Skill Jinx would give him!
He hadn't expected this to be all he got.
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