Deep in the Soul Hunting Forest, shafts of dappled sunlight filtered through gaps in the dense canopy.
In the clearing, the enormous Mandala Snake had completely stopped breathing. Its massive body lay limp in the dirt.
Tang Wu sat cross-legged beside the Mandala Snake's corpse, her eyes tightly shut as she focused all her strength on absorbing the bright yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
The process of absorbing a Soul Ring was clearly no easy task.
Pain was written all over Tang Wu's delicate face, her fine brows drawn tightly together.
Tiny beads of sweat kept seeping from her forehead, sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto her collar.
Behind her, the translucent figure of the Mutated Blue Silver Grass, traced with golden patterns, swayed continuously.
Its vines thrashed wildly through the air, as if locked in a desperate struggle against some invisible force.
The Mandala Snake was dead, but as a fierce Soul Beast with nearly four hundred years of cultivation, it still harbored a violently raging will within its Soul Ring.
That will took the form of an invisible venomous serpent, rampaging through Tang Wu's meridians in an attempt to tear apart her frail human body.
Xiao Wu stood beside Su Yu with her arms crossed, worry in her eyes.
"Brother Yu, this is a Mandala Snake Soul Ring that's nearly four hundred years old, and the resentment inside it is incredibly fierce. She's only just awakened her Martial Soul, and she hasn't even fully stabilized at level ten. Can her body withstand absorbing a Soul Ring at its limit?" Xiao Wu asked quietly.
As a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast reincarnated into human form, she knew all too well how overbearing Soul Rings could be.
Ordinary Soul Masters absorbing their first Soul Ring usually chose gentler plant-type Soul Beasts or animals with milder temperaments.
With a venomous, violent snake like this, the slightest mistake could leave one's meridians shattered.
Su Yu rested his hands behind his head and calmly watched Tang Wu sitting cross-legged. "Just watch. She's far tougher than you think."
Su Yu's confidence wasn't unfounded.
Just a few days earlier, Tang Wu had taken an entire Top-Grade Marrow Cleansing Pill that he'd snatched from Zhao Dabao.
The pill had not only caused a beneficial mutation in her Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, but had also completely transformed her physical constitution.
The black impurities expelled as the pill cleansed her body had taken all her weaknesses and hidden ailments with them.
Though Tang Wu still looked like a soft, delicate little girl, her body was absolutely as strong as those of Beast Martial Soul Soul Masters who specialized in physical cultivation.
Sure enough, things went just as Su Yu had expected.
The constitution transformed by the Top-Grade Marrow Cleansing Pill proved immensely useful at this moment.
As the Mandala Snake's violent will crashed against her, Tang Wu's meridians displayed astonishing resilience.
The raging energy slammed into their walls, but instead of tearing them apart, it seemed to temper her body even further.
About the time it took to drink a cup of tea later, the furrow in Tang Wu's brow gradually relaxed.
She passed through the most painful stage of the Soul Ring's backlash with ease. Her previously rapid, uneven breathing grew steady and deep.
The swaying figure of the Mutated Blue Silver Grass behind her also steadied. Circles of gentle golden light spilled from it, gradually suppressing and devouring the raging energy.
Half an hour later, the yellow Soul Ring hovering in midair suddenly contracted, becoming a streak of light that merged completely into Tang Wu's body.
As the Soul Ring fused with her, the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul behind Tang Wu underwent a visibly dramatic change.
Its already translucent vines grew thicker and stronger, and the golden patterns on their surface shone brighter than before.
Even more strikingly, fine purplish-black markings appeared around the edges of its crystal-clear leaves.
That was the sign that the Mandala Snake's deadly venom had been perfectly absorbed.
The Mutated Blue Silver Grass now possessed not only terrifying toughness, but also a potent snake venom capable of paralyzing someone in an instant.
"She really did it—and her Martial Soul's quality has improved so much." Xiao Wu stared in astonishment, unable to stop herself from swallowing.
She found Su Yu's methods harder and harder to fathom. He'd only taken out a single pill, yet it had forged a constitution like a monster's.
Tang Wu slowly opened her eyes. A flash of violet-gold light passed through her deep-blue irises.
Feeling the Soul Power surging inside her, nearly overflowing, and the powerful quality of her Martial Soul, her face broke into an immensely excited smile.
"Brother Yu! I did it!"
Tang Wu cheered and sprang to her feet, light as a fledgling swallow, then threw herself straight into Su Yu's arms.
She had just absorbed a Soul Ring at the very limit, and her blood was still surging. Her body was noticeably hot.
Her already thin, coarse-cloth clothes were slightly damp with sweat and clung to her, so she quickly pulled back to catch her breath.
Tang Wu wrapped both arms around Su Yu's neck and clung to him.
Her delicate face was flushed with excitement and the rush of blood, like a ripe peach.
Her chest heaved as she caught her breath, and she leaned against Su Yu, still flushed and warm from the ordeal.
They stood close together. Tang Wu's warm breath brushed Su Yu's ear, carrying the faint scent of a girl as she breathed in little gasps.
"Brother Yu, I feel so strong now. I'll definitely be able to protect you from now on!" Tang Wu said, her soft voice slightly breathless. She fidgeted in his arms, completely unaware of how flustered she looked.
Su Yu felt her warmth and caught a faint, delicate fragrance. His expression darkened slightly.
He smiled and patted her sweat-dampened back.
Through the wet fabric, his palms could feel the smoothness of her back and the clear lines of her shoulders.
"You did very well. You didn't disappoint me." Su Yu's voice was gentle, full of unreserved praise.
Hearing Su Yu's approval, Tang Wu lifted her head and gazed straight into his face with wide, watery eyes.
Her gaze lingered on him, full of affection and trust, as if he were the only person in the world.
She wished she could stay close to him forever.
Watching the two of them embrace, Xiao Wu felt a sudden pang of jealousy.
She gave a cold snort and turned her head away, grinding her toe into the ground as she muttered, "What's so impressive? It's only a hundred-year Soul Ring. Why are you hugging so tightly?"
Just as the three of them were about to celebrate Tang Wu's success in obtaining her first Soul Ring, and the mood was at its warmest—
A piercing sound suddenly tore through the sky.
It came without warning, like some kind of sharp weapon ripping through the heavy clouds and air, its shriek making their eardrums ache.
Su Yu's eyes narrowed, and he immediately looked up at the sky, hidden behind the dense leaves overhead.
A streak of gray-gold light plunged down like a falling star, carrying an indescribably mysterious aura as it pierced through layer upon layer of treetops.
The leaves were instantly blasted into powder by its force and drifted down in a fluttering shower.
"Bang!"
The gray-gold streak landed with perfect accuracy on the grass less than half a meter from Su Yu's feet.
With a dull impact, it smashed a fist-sized crater into the hard earth. The edges were scorched black.
A strange wave of energy spread rapidly outward from the crater, bending the surrounding weeds in every direction.
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