Outside Shrek Academy, Zhu Zhuqing watched Lin Chuan approaching, tense and afraid.
She had witnessed the entire thing herself. His personality and methods had left a deep impression on her, and her fear was only natural.
Coming to a stop in front of Zhu Zhuqing, Lin Chuan used his Soul Power to carry his voice in every direction.
"Ling Yuan, take her and leave first. I'll be back shortly."
The next moment, Ling Yuan appeared before them with a light step. Twirling a strand of hair around her finger, she looked both aggrieved and amused.
"Then I won't disturb you and this young lady's little outing."
She turned to Zhu Zhuqing and said,
"Are you really sure you want to join the Spirit Hall?"
"Even though the Holy Son personally invited you, you'll still have to compete fairly there. Those with ability rise to high positions, and strength is everything. You can't just pull strings to get ahead, you know~"
Zhu Zhuqing was more composed than Ling Yuan had expected. She remained unmoved by her words, and after a moment of silence, she nodded.
After one last glance at the figures still on the field, Ling Yuan left with Zhu Zhuqing.
Since Lin Chuan had told her to, she had to complete her task.
Besides, he really did have many secrets. Perhaps he wanted to get her out of the way.
She had seen it with her own eyes and felt it firsthand: Lin Chuan was powerful. He would be fine without her protection for the time being.
There was no need for her to stubbornly keep watch from the shadows. He'd be back soon anyway.
That was just how Ling Yuan was: decisive, straightforward, and carefree.
To put it bluntly, she could be rather thoughtless. But that was only sometimes; when it came to the agreement between the two of them, she was very attentive.
Only after Ling Yuan had taken Zhu Zhuqing completely out of sight
did Lin Chuan, carrying Xiao Wu—who had stopped resisting and now wore a despairing, lifeless expression—take to the air and fly away.
Flender, who had been secretly watching from the field, stared in the direction Lin Chuan had gone, his sharp eyes heavy with worry.
He could fly...?
Only after Lin Chuan had been gone for some time did the dead silence hanging over the area finally lift. It was as though even the air had come alive again.
The scattered gazes of Dai Mubai and the others suddenly snapped into focus. They gasped for breath, cold sweat soaking their backs.
Just moments ago, their souls had suddenly been dragged into a chaotic void.
It was dim and ashen, as if everything had been obliterated. Death lingered in their hearts.
There,
no matter how loudly they shouted, it was useless. It was like calling out in the universe, not a single sound reaching anyone.
They couldn't even hear the words they had just shouted themselves.
It felt as if he had spent a century there. He had been so alone that he could barely feel alive.
The terror of being all alone and unable to move was beyond words.
But when he came back to himself, the scene before him was so familiar.
Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar wore the same expression.
Even after returning to normal, they were still shaken to the core.
All three had experienced the same thing. In that boundless, chaotic world, they'd lost all sense of time. Panic churned within them, making every moment feel like a year.
They looked at the scene before them.
Flender stood with his brow furrowed, lost in thought. Zhao Wuji carried the unconscious Tang San out of the abandoned wooden hut, his face full of concern. Xiao Wu was nowhere to be seen...
And neither was his fiancée, Zhu Zhuqing.
Dai Mubai wanted to ask what had happened, but then memories of the earlier events returned to him.
He had seen Zhu Zhuqing leave with his own eyes. She had joined the Spirit Hall!
Thinking of how she hadn't even spared her fiancé a glance, instead going to stand beside another man, filled Dai Mubai with fury.
His eyes reddened again. He clenched his teeth, breathing like an ox!
"Damn it...!"
In a forest somewhere outside Suotuo City,
Lin Chuan had gone to a great deal of trouble before finding a cave in a mountain ravine.
Water trickled down, and sunlight was like a giant sword cleaving the mountain apart, striking into the ravine. Spray scattered through the air, and mist swirled around.
At the cave entrance,
Lin Chuan calmly watched Xiao Wu, whose eyes were hollow and whose expression was despairing. With a sigh, dark purple energy welled up in his right hand.
The energy enveloped Xiao Wu. In the blink of an eye, her pupils dulled completely, and she died.
No pain, and it was over in an instant!
Her body crumpled to the ground in a disorderly heap, revealing her true form at last: the Soft Bone Charm Rabbit.
Xiao Wu hadn't even had a chance to resist before Lin Chuan devoured her soul.
Then, streaks of crimson energy seeped out of her body and gathered above the corpse, condensing into a crimson Spirit Ring.
The instant the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring appeared, a powerful pressure burst forth, rippling Lin Chuan's robes and adding an inexplicable weight to his shoulders.
Even in death, the majesty of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast remained. It was just a shame she hadn't died with more dignity.
Feeling the pull of the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring firsthand, Lin Chuan was thrilled.
What incredible effects and improvements would his Seventh Soul Ring bring, being a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!
But absorbing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring was difficult. Lin Chuan quickly steadied himself, then swept out his right hand. Giratina appeared outside the cave to guard him.
Beneath his feet, six Spirit Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, and black—shimmered in an orderly rhythm.
Lin Chuan quickly sat cross-legged, drew the Spirit Ring toward him, and began to refine and absorb it.
Thanks to the nature of his Martial Soul, he didn't need to worry about anything like Soul Shock when absorbing a Spirit Ring.
The soul source hidden within the ring would be forcibly absorbed by him. With Giratina at his side, no soul energy could sneak up and attack him.
That would be like showing off an axe before Guan Yu—a fool's errand!
All he needed to worry about was whether his body could withstand the Spirit Ring's violent energy.
The violent energy of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring was several times more terrifying than that of a ring from a soul beast that had lived for over ninety thousand years.
There was only a slight difference between them, yet the tribulation the beast had endured made the two rings worlds apart.
Fierce energy surged into every inch of his body, rampaging through his meridians like a wild beast.
The pain made Lin Chuan knit his brows, but he continued to refine the energy bit by bit.
His exposed skin flushed red, like a shrimp slowly cooking, its original pale bluish-white hue turning into a vivid, cooked red.
It was undoubtedly a long process.
Fortunately, he had already absorbed the Blue Silver Emperor Spirit Bone, which had greatly strengthened his physique.
Absorbing the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring wasn't too difficult, though it was somewhat painful.
The red light shimmering over his skin was like countless glowing-hot spikes piercing into him, pricking him all over.
Lin Chuan felt as if his entire body were about to shatter.
Yet through the pain, he gradually found the rhythm. His breathing steadied, and the red glow on his skin slowly faded.
Cultivation knew no passage of time...
The morning breeze carried the forest's unique fragrance, bringing the dampness of dew on the leaves as it brushed across his face.
Lin Chuan rose from his meditation. As his eyes opened and closed, a deep purple gleam flashed across them, then vanished in an instant.
The dazzling crimson ring revolving around him was enough to leave anyone stunned.
That Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, so coveted by everyone in the world, floated quietly as his Seventh Soul Ring, a fixed distance above his Sixth Soul Ring.