After absorbing this Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, Lin Chuan felt as though his entire body was brimming with power.
The sensation of being filled with strength made him unable to resist swinging a fist at the stone wall beside him.
"Bam—"
A muffled thud rang out, and his fist left a clearly visible imprint in the craggy stone wall.
By now, his meridians were as strong as a Titled Douluo's, while his physique and mental strength were on par with a Soul Douluo's.
With a Soul Core in hand, fighting above his level was not impossible. At the very least, he was now the strongest person below Titled Douluo!
The Martial Soul Avatar granted by this Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring was called the Nether Avatar. (Its name came from the Underworld Dragon's nickname.)
Its effects were as follows: it greatly increased all of his attributes by 50%, granted him a Void effect that could nullify one full-powered attack from an opponent whose strength was less than twice his own,
and inflicted Pressure on his enemies, disrupting their minds and making them react half a beat slower in every clash.
If an opponent's strength far exceeded his own, the effect would be greatly diminished.
Conversely, the weaker the opponent, the more effective it was.
Those who could just barely withstand him within his domain at the same level
would be utterly defeated once he activated his Martial Soul Avatar!
Nearly half the effects of this Martial Soul Avatar were similar to one of Giratina's other abilities: Pressure.
Now he was truly invincible among those of the same level!
After absorbing this Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, Lin Chuan's Soul Power had also surged straight to level seventy-four.
After refining and absorbing it over these past few days, his Soul Power was solid. He only needed to stabilize it a little more.
What a pity that the Spirit Bone Xiao Wu had dropped was a right leg bone.
He had already absorbed the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor, so this Spirit Bone couldn't be paired with the Spirit Ring.
What a waste.
It really was impossible to have both a mother and a daughter-in-law!
Just then, Giratina's voice abruptly interrupted Lin Chuan's thoughts:
"Kid, you finally woke up. It's been seven days. I nearly thought you'd died sitting there."
Hearing Giratina's words, Lin Chuan paused in surprise.
"I spent seven days absorbing the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?"
He had come here seven days ago to absorb Xiao Wu's Spirit Ring.
He'd thought he could absorb it without much trouble, but he hadn't expected it to take so long.
Ling Yuan was probably still waiting at Spirit Hall.
He'd told her he'd be back shortly. It seemed "shortly" had turned into quite a while...
"That's right. But nothing went wrong in the meantime, so don't worry."
Understanding, Lin Chuan let out a long breath and recalled Giratina into his body.
He also put the Soft Bone Charm Rabbit's right leg Spirit Bone and the Soft Bone Charm Rabbit's corpse in front of him into his Storage Soul Tool.
Watching the first pale glimmer of dawn rise on the horizon,
he sprang into the air and sped toward Suotuo City once more.
Suotuo City.
In the rented courtyard.
The moment Lin Chuan arrived, a resentful female voice rang out from nearby:
"You little rascal, you're so unreliable. You said you'd be back shortly, so why did you take that little sister with you and never come back?"
"You left me waiting at Spirit Hall for days. When you didn't show up, I had to come back."
Ling Yuan's figure appeared beside the corner where the Blue Silver Emperor was planted.
Hearing her outrageous insinuation, Lin Chuan's mouth twitched.
He explained, "You've got the wrong idea. I just went to absorb my Seventh Soul Ring."
At this news, Ling Yuan froze, her expression blank for a moment.
Then, after carefully sensing his strength, she finally confirmed it. Her mature, bewitching face filled with confusion and surprise.
"Wow, you'd only just broken through to Spirit Emperor a few days ago, and now you've become a Spirit Saint in just a few months."
"Then what about your Seventh Soul Ring?"
"You've already reached level seventy-four. It must be at least eighty thousand years old, and from an exceptionally powerful Soul Beast, too."
"Did you hunt it yourself?"
For a moment, Ling Yuan was so surprised and curious that she forgot her current position.
She shouldn't have asked so many questions. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have.
But when she first realized Lin Chuan had truly broken through, her emotions had swung from surprise to shock and then curiosity, like a roller coaster. Those turbulent feelings had drowned out the warning in her heart.
Lin Chuan didn't take it to heart.
His Seventh Soul Ring, the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, would be revealed eventually.
But keeping it secret for now was the best choice. At least he could delay the moment his secret came out.
So he began making up a story on the spot:
"My master took me to hunt a Soul Beast that was almost ninety thousand years old."
Ghost Elder and Chrysanthemum Pass were Bibi Dong's right and left hands, and they obeyed only her commands.
Their strength might not have been particularly high, but among the elders, they held the highest positions.
Ghost Elder was rarely seen at Spirit Hall, and apart from Elder Chrysanthemum, he barely spoke with any of the other elders.
So using his cheap master as the subject of a tall tale was the perfect choice!
Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Ling Yuan believed him.
"I didn't realize Ghost Elder was so powerful. As expected, Titled Douluos are more than a little stronger than Soul Douluos."
"The Barrier to breaking through to Titled Douluo is too hard. I don't know when I'll be able to break through."
From her words, Lin Chuan sensed another meaning.
Back then, he'd promised that if she kept his situation secret and helped cover up his movements, he'd give her an opportunity to become a Super Douluo.
Now she'd brought up Titled Douluos in what seemed like an ordinary remark.
Lin Chuan trusted her character. She wasn't the sort to use official-sounding words behind his back to press him. That would have been disgusting.
Perhaps she was simply lamenting her situation, or even expressing a little hope of breaking through to Titled Douluo.
And giving her that opportunity would be the next step in fulfilling his own plans.
"That moment won't be far off."
After reassuring her, Lin Chuan changed the subject.
"What about Zhu Zhuqing? Where did you arrange for her to go?"
"Did His Holiness assign me any tasks, or ask where I am now?"
At Zhu Zhuqing's name, Ling Yuan rolled her eyes at Lin Chuan.
"Zhu Zhuqing has already been placed in the Martial Soul Academy. That girl is stubborn and tenacious—a good girl."
"I told the Pope you'd passed through Suotuo City and happened to spot a run-down academy that only took in geniuses."
"You came across a girl being hunted by the Star Luo Empire. She wanted to join the academy for shelter and a chance to grow, but you got to her first and casually added her to your harem."
Lin Chuan nodded with satisfaction at the story she'd concocted. But when he heard "harem," he froze.
"H-Harem? You told her that?"
Ling Yuan nodded firmly, smiling.
"Yeah. Was I wrong?"
"Oh, right, what about that girl named Xiao Wu? She's talented, too. She'd be a good addition to your harem, and she could give Spirit Hall a little more strength."
Lin Chuan stared at Ling Yuan, speechless, and opened his mouth as if to complain.
But in the end, he sighed deeply and said nothing.
He'd have to explain everything once he got back. Otherwise, his good name would be ruined.
He wasn't an emperor with three thousand beauties in his harem. Though it wasn't as if that would be entirely out of the question...
He'd certainly yearned for that sort of thing once. But now he had no interest in it at all. Only by growing stronger could he feel at ease!
"Giggle, all right, I won't tease you anymore. I didn't say anything about your so-called harem. I only said you'd casually brought her into Spirit Hall."
"But you didn't deny it just now! You really are a playboy after all."
Before Lin Chuan could say anything, Ling Yuan's expression suddenly turned serious.
"His Holiness asked me to remind you not to forget the Holy Son Investiture Ceremony six months from now."
"In six months, you'll appear in front of everyone. With your current strength, you already have a certain ability to protect yourself."
"Still, people will be assigned to protect you in secret. Keeping an eye on you as well is perfectly normal."
"But don't worry, Xiao Chuan. Your big sister will work hard to break through to Titled Douluo in the next six months. Maybe I'll even get the sole assignment of protecting you in secret."