"How was that?"
After Scarlet King transformed into a streak of crimson-gold light and entered his glabella,
Xia Ming turned his gaze back to the weakened Xiong Jun, a calm smile on his face.
"Do you want to become stronger than you are now?"
Xiong Jun's enormous body trembled slightly before he fell into a long silence.
For someone as violent and straightforward as him, this was exceedingly rare.
Time passed slowly beneath the oppressive atmosphere, broken only by his heavy breathing and the faint crackling of his burning wounds.
After a long while, he finally raised his dark-gold eyes. His voice was low and hoarse, carrying a trace of barely perceptible difficulty:
"With my foundation and cultivation, if I become your Soul Spirit, the power I gain should far surpass that three-headed dog's, shouldn't it?"
"Perhaps." Xia Ming's response was casual.
He neither confirmed nor denied it, leaving behind only an open possibility.
Yet Xiong Jun had already understood the implication behind that ambiguous answer.
The upper limit of his power depended on Xia Ming himself, not on how strong Xiong Jun had once been.
His massive brow furrowed tightly, as though he were engaged in a final inner struggle.
At last, he forced out a heavy syllable from deep in his throat:
"Do it!"
"Oh?" Xia Ming raised a brow, the smile on his face deepening. "So you agree?"
"Hmph! Of course!" Xiong Jun turned his face away, his voice muffled like rolling thunder, filled with unwillingness and humiliation.
"Though I disdain serving beneath another, I cannot stand being trampled underfoot forever by someone I once defeated!"
"A wise choice." A glint of satisfaction flashed through Xia Ming's eyes.
His objective had been perfectly achieved.
His eighth Soul Ring was now secured.
What kind of qualitative leap would