After weighing it over, he still decided to set the age at a little over a thousand years. The Power of Faith was precious to him right now; using it to raise his Soul Ring's age was far too extravagant. After all, energy conversion came with losses. Using his Godhood to convert power wasn't like using Ring Jade, which incurred no losses. At this critical juncture, the Power of Faith had to be used to repair his Godhood.
As for keeping it hidden, he didn't need to reveal his Soul Rings in public at this stage. Later, he could use a few tricks, a Simulation Skill, or an illusion skill to conceal their true age.
Soon, the Scarlet King brought him an elemental mass held firmly in the grip of Hell Demon Flame. For anyone who knew about this ability, the move was easy to counter. But in a normal fight, no one would expect their opponent to have such a trick up his sleeve. After all, Soul Masters who could control Martial Souls with multiple elements were rare on Douluo Continent. Most could control just one element, and their regular Soul Skills were already more than enough. Who would choose a Soul Beast like this for a Soul Ring?
"Thanks."
He instantly Ice Sealed the Elemental Sprite with Ultimate Ice, then shattered it with one punch, giving it a quick end.
Absorbing a thousand-year Soul Ring wasn't difficult for Su Qing now. He had grown up taking all sorts of medicinal herbs, and his physique was far stronger than other people's. On top of that, Ice and Fire Body Tempering had taken his body's strength to another level. Before long, he had finished absorbing the Soul Ring.
His Soul Power Level rose all the way to seventeen. Considering he was held back by two Ultimate Attributes, that rate of advancement was practically unbelievable. What's more, he could still feel the medicinal power of the two Immortal Herbs lingering in his body. Perhaps he would gain a few more levels the next time he obtained a Soul Ring. That was an unexpected bonus.
As for his Soul Skill, it was the Elemental Transformation he had been eagerly awaiting. It let him turn his body into an element to evade fatal attacks, and even erase external wounds by reassembling the elements. To him, it was nothing short of a divine skill.
After spending some time playing with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, he told the Ferocious Beasts he was leaving. After all, he was human and couldn't stay here forever. Now that he had obtained his First Soul Ring and Gu Yuena was still alive, he was beside himself with joy.
When he was about to leave, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion gazed at Su Qing reluctantly and eagerly asked when he would come back. He was her only playmate, and he hadn't stayed long before rushing off. She was very unhappy about it.
"Don't worry. I'll be back within two years at most."
He rested a hand on her fluffy, oversized head and stroked it to comfort her. He wasn't making an empty promise: in two years at most, he would break through to level twenty and hunt for his Second Soul Ring. The Third Soul Ring might take a little longer, given that he had two Ultimate Attributes.
"Great! Then I'll sneak out and find you. The Lord will probably be asleep by then. Heehee, I'll be able to carry you around wherever you want!"
At his words, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's sadness vanished in a flash. She affectionately rubbed her golden head against Su Qing. Hearing her, he smiled and nodded, saying he'd be glad to. Then he had the Scarlet King escort him out of the Star Dou Great Forest. He didn't want to cross the Land of Great Calamity alone. What if some clueless Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast ate him? Who could he complain to then?
"That little rascal!"
The Silver Dragon King, at the bottom of the lake, was a little annoyed. Why did that boy accept everyone's advances? And what was with the Auspicious Beast? Why was she always thinking about carrying people around? A thousand words rose to her lips, but she forced them back down. In the end, she could only grit her teeth and call him a little rascal.
For the most part, Su Qing spent the following months living in an abandoned village outside Heaven Dou City. From time to time, he went to the Tang Sect to play with Tang Ya. With a playmate, Tang Ya was happier than ever. She pointed at Su Qing whenever she met someone and told them he was her younger brother. But around a year and a half later, the Tang Sect hung up the Iron Blood Sect's signboard, and Tang Ya never appeared again. Su Qing returned empty-handed and let out a sigh.
All that time, nearly every time he went to the Tang Sect, he warned Tang Lin and Tang Rou. But they always refused to leave, saying their ancestors were all there. After entrusting Tang Ya to him and asking him to protect her so she could live in peace, they never spoke of the matter again.
After the Iron Blood Sect seized the Tang Sect, Su Qing threw himself into cultivation and stayed in the deserted village. During that time, Infernal Delicate Apricot and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass once shaped the spring water into human forms and came to visit him together. They even brought him a newly matured Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.
"Xiao Qing, back then Youyou was afraid you wouldn't bear to leave, so she teamed up with us to put on that little act. You can come back and visit us whenever you want. And here, that stinky chrysanthemum prepared this for you. He said he was worried you'd get hurt out there, so you could use it to forge an Indestructible Diamond body."
Su Qing accepted it with a smile. They had loudly plotted right in front of him back then. He'd have to be deaf and blind not to see through it.
"I know, Sister Jiaojiao, Sister Bajiao. I'll come back to visit before long. After that, I won't be staying around here anymore, and it might be a long time before I return. Don't miss me too much."
After Ice and Fire Body Tempering, Su Qing was no longer harmed by the spring water of the Yin-Yang Well, and the two Immortal Herbs no longer worried about hurting him. They promptly each smacked him on the head, laughing as they scolded him. "You little rascal, still got the nerve to run your mouth?"
"Hey, I was wrong! I won't say anything silly again!"
Su Qing hurriedly begged for mercy. Those two big sisters really did hit hard; even his body, tough as it was now, could barely take it. After he repeatedly promised he would absolutely return to visit all the Immortal Herbs, the two forest spirits finally left one after the other.
"Whew, that was terrifying. But it feels great to have people who care about me."
Su Qing patted his chest, still shaken. Then he thought of all the people who cared about him in this life, and warmth spread through his heart.
"Sister Xiao Ya probably hasn't forgotten me either. What will she say when we meet again...? And when she comes to Heaven Dou City for revenge, I have to go with her. I'll need to bring a helper, too. After all, we'll run into Scorpion Tiger Douluo."
At the thought of Evil Soul Masters, Su Qing's gaze sharpened. In his previous life, he had relied on killing Evil Soul Masters to gather the Power of Faith after becoming a god. Back then, he had practically wiped out every Evil Soul Master on the whole continent. In theory, nothing like that should exist anymore. But Gu Yuena had come back to life, so there was a good chance these Evil Soul Masters had, too.
"Then I'll do it all over again in this life."
Su Qing's gaze burned bright. In this era, nearly all Evil Soul Masters came from the Holy Spirit Cult. If he uprooted the cult, every problem would be solved. But he'd need to think it through carefully. The Holy Spirit Cult couldn't be eliminated too early, or the future would inevitably spiral out of control and Tang San's grand plan spanning ten thousand years would be thrown into disarray. Until he knew whether Tang San would personally intervene, Su Qing couldn't afford to act too boldly.
Though he was somewhat constrained in this era, he wasn't worried just because he couldn't see the road ahead. With his Godhood, Ring Jade, and the ability to control the elements that Gu Yuena had granted him, he couldn't even imagine how he might lose!
"My era is about to begin."