The Gloomy Path Gradually Appears, Chaos Begins

After much deliberation, he decided to cap the age of his soul ring at over a thousand years. Faith power was precious to him right now; using it to boost soul ring age was too extravagant. After all, energy conversion incurred losses, and unlike using ring jade, converting power via a god position wasn't lossless. At this critical juncture, faith power had to be reserved for repairing his god position.

As for keeping a low profile, he didn't need to reveal his soul rings to others at this stage. Later on, he could simply use some misdirection, simulation skills, or illusion techniques to mask the true age of his rings.

Soon, Scarlet King brought him a cluster of elements tightly controlled by Hell Demon Flame. To those who understood this ability, it was easy to counter, but in a normal fight, no one would expect the opponent to hide such a trick. After all, in Douluo Continent, soul masters capable of controlling multiple elemental martial souls were rare; most controlled only one. Normal soul skills were already taxing enough, so who would choose such a soul beast for a soul ring?

"Many thanks."

Using Ultimate Ice to instantly freeze the Elemental Sprite, he shattered it with a single punch, granting it a swift end.

Absorbing a thousand-year soul ring was not difficult for Su Qing now. Having grown up consuming various medicinal herbs, his physique was far stronger than others, and the ice-fire body tempering had pushed his physical strength to a new level. He finished absorbing the ring quickly.

His Soul Power Level had risen all the way to seventeen. Considering this was despite the drag of his dual ultimate attributes, such a leveling speed was simply inconceivable. Moreover, he felt the medicinal essence of the two immortal herbs still lingering in his body; perhaps he would gain a few more levels after obtaining his next soul ring. This was an unexpected bonus.

As for the soul skill, it was the elemental conversion he had been longing for. It allowed him to elementalize his body to evade fatal attacks and eliminate superficial wounds through elemental restructuring. To him, this was nothing short of a divine skill.

After spending some time playing with Three-Eyed Golden Lion, he bid farewell to the various fierce beasts. After all, as a human, he couldn't stay here forever. Having harvested his first soul ring and knowing Gu Yuena was still alive, he was overjoyed.

Upon leaving, Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked at Su Qing with reluctance, urgently asking when he would return. After all, he was her only playmate, and she was very unhappy that he was leaving so soon.

"Don't worry, I'll be back in two years at most."

Su Qing placed his hand on her furry head, stroking it to comfort her. He wasn't just making empty promises; he would be able to break through to level twenty and hunt for his second soul ring in two years at most. As for the third soul ring, it might take a bit longer, given his dual ultimate attributes.

"Okay! I'll sneak out to find you then. By that time, the Lord will probably be in deep slumber, hehe, and I can carry you around everywhere!"

Hearing this, the sadness in Three-Eyed Golden Lion vanished in a flash. Her golden head rubbed affectionately against Su Qing. Su Qing smiled, nodded, and agreed, then let Scarlet King escort him out of Star Dou Great Forest. He didn't want to traverse this land of great danger alone; if he were eaten by some blind Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, he wouldn't even have anyone to complain to.

"That bastard!"

Deep in the lake, Silver Dragon King felt somewhat depressed. Why was this kid so popular with everyone? And this auspicious beast, too—why was she always thinking about carrying others around? A thousand words reached her lips, only to be swallowed back down. In the end, she could only grit her teeth and curse him as a bastard.

For the following period, Su Qing lived in an abandoned village outside Tiandou City, occasionally visiting Tang Sect to play with Tang Ya. Tang Ya, having a playmate, was incredibly happy and would point at Su Qing to everyone, calling him her little brother. However, about a year and a half later, the Tang Sect sign was replaced by the Iron Blood Sect, and Tang Ya never appeared again. Su Qing, returning empty-handed, sighed.

During that long time, he had warned Tang Lin and Tang Rou repeatedly every time he visited the Tang Sect, but they always refused to leave, citing their ancestors. After entrusting Tang Ya to him and begging him to protect her and ensure her safe life in the future, they never spoke of the matter again.

After the Tang Sect was seized by the Iron Blood Sect, Su Qing immersed himself in cultivation, staying in the deserted village. During this time, Infernal Delicate Apricot and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass condensed the spring water into human forms to visit him, bringing him a newly matured Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.

"Little Qing, Youyou only conspired with us to stage that act because she was afraid you wouldn't want to leave. You can come back to see us anytime. Also, this is what that stinky chrysanthemum prepared for you. He said he was afraid you'd get hurt out there, so use it to temper a body that is indestructible."

Su Qing accepted it with a smile. They had conspired right in front of him; he would have to be deaf and blind not to have noticed.

"I know, Sister Jiaojiao, Sister Octagonal. I'll come back to visit in a while. After that, I won't be staying in this area anymore. It might be a long time before I return, so don't miss me too much."

Since Su Qing had undergone ice-fire body tempering, he was no longer harmed by the Yin-Yang Well spring water. The two immortal herbs no longer worried about hurting him, and they each tapped him on the head, laughing and scolding, "You stinky brat, still daring to be cheeky."

"Ah, my mistake, I won't talk nonsense anymore."

Su Qing quickly begged for mercy. These two sisters hit quite hard, and even his current physique couldn't quite handle it. After he promised repeatedly that he would return to visit the immortal herbs, the forest's ice-fire duo left one after another.

"Phew, that was terrifying, but it feels so good to be cared for by others."

Su Qing patted his chest, lingering fear still present, but feeling warmed by the thought of how many people in this life cared for him.

"I'm sure Sister Ya won't forget me. What will she say when we meet again... Also, when she comes to Tiandou City for revenge, I must follow her and bring a helper. After all, we'll encounter Scorpion Tiger Douluo."

Thinking of the evil soul masters, Su Qing's gaze sharpened. In his past life, he had relied on hunting evil soul masters to farm faith power for his godhood. Back then, he had nearly wiped them out across the entire continent. Theoretically, such things shouldn't exist anymore, but since Gu Yuena was alive, these evil soul masters likely were too.

"Then I'll just do it again in this life."

Su Qing's eyes were like torches. The evil soul masters of this era almost all belonged to the Holy Spirit Cult. As long as he pulled them up by the roots, all problems would be solved. However, this required careful planning; the Holy Spirit Cult couldn't be eradicated too early, or the future trajectory would spiral out of control. Tang San's ten-thousand-year plan must not be disrupted. Without knowing if Tang San would intervene personally, Su Qing didn't want to act too recklessly.

Although he felt somewhat constrained in this era, he didn't worry about not seeing the path ahead. With his god position, ring jade, and the elemental control granted by Gu Yuena, he didn't know how he could possibly lose!

"The era that belongs to me is about to arrive."