In a clearing deep in Soul Hunting Forest, the frenzied Soul Power vortex finally subsided completely.
Su Yu slowly rose from the charred crater left by the impact.
He casually clenched his fist. A crisp series of pops, like beans crackling, came from his knuckles.
As he clenched his hand, he could clearly feel the power surging through him like the sea.
Under the System Origin Fragment's forced transformation, his originally narrow meridians had been widened to an incredible degree.
Innate Full Soul Power was no longer a trickling stream. It had become a surging river, coursing freely through every limb and bone.
Without the support of any Soul Ring, his Soul Power Level had forcibly broken through the shackles of Level Ten and settled firmly at a higher level.
What pleased him even more was the Advancement Permission for the Conceptual Eraser that had appeared in his mind.
Forcibly cutting off a system's connection for one second—that was practically a sword of Damocles hanging over the head of every system cheat.
On top of that, his Eraser Martial Soul had condensed a Yellow Soul Ring on its own to disguise itself.
Su Yu took a deep breath, thoroughly pleased with the unexpected gains from this Soul Hunting trip.
He had originally only brought Tang Wu to obtain her First Soul Ring. He never expected to pick up the ultimate spoils from Yu Xiaogang's ruin along the way.
He reined in the rule-bound pressure that had placed him above all things and turned to look at the two girls ten meters away.
Tang Wu withdrew the poisonous Mutated Blue Silver Grass, and Xiao Wu lightly leaped down from the treetops.
The two came over to Su Yu, their eyes filled with deep awe.
Just as the mood began to relax, Xiao Wu suddenly doubled over dramatically, clutching her flat stomach with both hands.
"Ow, ow, ow..." Xiao Wu's features scrunched together. Her expression looked a little unnatural, even tinged with guilt.
She rubbed her stomach and pressed her legs together, looking like she was having a hard time holding it in.
"What's wrong?" Tang Wu asked, puzzled.
"I... I think something I ate upset my stomach." Xiao Wu's eyes darted around, and she didn't dare look Su Yu in the eye. "The wind in this forest is so cold. It's making my stomach hurt. I can't hold it anymore. I need to go behind those bushes over there. Don't you dare come peeking!"
With that, Xiao Wu didn't give them time to react. Clutching her stomach, she dashed toward the densest thicket in the distance like a gust of wind and vanished in a flash.
Tang Wu stayed where she was, watching Xiao Wu's hurried retreat as her delicate brows furrowed in distaste.
She fanned the air in front of her nose with her pale little hand and shouted at Xiao Wu's back, annoyed, "You stupid rabbit, if you have to go, run farther away! Don't stink up the air over here. If you make Brother Yu smell it, I'll whip you with my vines!"
Standing nearby, Su Yu watched in the direction Xiao Wu had disappeared, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
That innocent girl, Tang Wu, might not have seen through it, but how could he not know what the Hundred-Thousand-Year Hooligan Rabbit was up to?
The greatest advantage of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast choosing to take human form and cultivate anew was that, unlike ordinary Soul Masters, she didn't need to hunt Soul Beasts to obtain a Soul Ring.
As long as her Soul Power reached a bottleneck, she could draw upon her own vast Origin Power to condense the Soul Ring best suited to her.
Xiao Wu's Soul Power had clearly already reached the peak of Level Ten, yet she had been holding back without doing anything. She was obviously reluctant to expose her secret of producing her own Soul Ring with Tang Wu present.
Now she was using an upset stomach as an excuse to go relieve herself. She was clearly hiding away to level up.
Su Yu folded his arms across his chest, and two dazzling golden lights instantly lit up in his eyes.
Eye of Truth, activate!
In his vision, the dense tree trunks and layers of leaves in the thicket ahead turned transparent in an instant.
His gaze pierced a hundred meters without obstruction, precisely locating Xiao Wu behind the bushes.
At that moment, Xiao Wu looked nothing like someone with a stomachache.
She sat upright on a patch of clean grass, legs crossed, hands forming a strange seal before her chest.
As the Soul Power in her body surged wildly, a terrifying pressure that made one's heart tremble spread from her petite frame.
It was the pure foundation of the ruler of Star Dou Forest, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Then, an unbearably bright red light flared around Xiao Wu.
The red light was viscous, almost tangible, carrying a savage aura like that of a primeval Ferocious Beast.
Through the Eye of Truth's microscopic view, Su Yu clearly saw countless intricate, profound runes within the red light. These were fragments of the rules accumulated over the long years of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's life.
If an ordinary person saw that red light, its pressure would likely scare them to their knees.
But Su Yu simply watched in silence.
Xiao Wu clenched her teeth and suddenly brought her hands together.
She compressed the dazzling red light filling the sky with brutal force.
The vast Hundred-Thousand-Year Origin Power was gradually sealed deep within her bloodline, leaving only a small portion of its gentlest energy to circle around her body.
That energy quickly intertwined and coiled through the air.
In just a few breaths, a perfect Hundred-Year Soul Ring radiating bright yellow light condensed from her body and settled firmly around her, pulsing up and down.
The entire process flowed smoothly, without any of the pain or struggle of absorbing a Soul Ring from an outside source.
"This talent for producing your own Soul Ring really is a gift beyond compare." Su Yu silently gave his verdict. Then the golden light in his eyes gradually faded, and he dismissed the Eye of Truth.
A moment later, the sound of rustling footsteps came from the distance.
Xiao Wu emerged from the bushes.
Patting her flat stomach, she let out a long breath and walked back as if nothing had happened.
"Ah, that feels so much better. I guess you really can't just eat wild fruit in this forest." As she walked, Xiao Wu stretched lazily, looking utterly carefree.
Tang Wu rolled her eyes and edged closer to Su Yu. "Did you wash your hands before coming over?"
Su Yu saw through Xiao Wu's clumsy act but didn't call her out.
With his hands in his pockets, he watched her with an amused smile and asked casually, "Did you somehow loosen up your meridians along with your bowels and break through your bottleneck in the process?"
Xiao Wu froze at Su Yu's words, her body visibly stiffening.
She sneaked a glance at Su Yu and saw his deep gaze, as if he could see straight through all her secrets.
But she quickly recovered and went along with his words, immediately putting on a smug expression.
"Of course! I'm a once-in-a-century genius!" Xiao Wu raised her delicate chin proudly, her rabbit ears springing upright with excitement.
Without hesitation, she urged the Soul Power in her body. A bright Yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath her feet and slowly revolved around her as pinkish-white light flickered.
"See that? This is the First Soul Ring I awakened just by taking a dump!" Xiao Wu planted her hands on her hips and deliberately leaned toward Tang Wu, her face brimming with triumph.
Seeing Xiao Wu's smug look, Tang Wu immediately refused to be outdone and summoned her Mutated Blue Silver Grass.
Vines marked with purple-black venomous patterns writhed through the air, and an equally bright Hundred-Year Soul Ring rose around her.
"What's so impressive about that? My Soul Ring came from a Mandala Snake nearly four hundred years old, right at the limit! And Brother Yu picked it out for me himself!" Tang Wu thrust out her chest and faced off against Xiao Wu without backing down.
Watching the two girls start their usual bickering again, Su Yu didn't intervene.
He surveyed the area.
Tang Wu now had a limit-breaking Hundred-Year Soul Ring, and her Martial Soul carried poison;
Xiao Wu had produced the Soul Ring best suited to herself;
And he had absorbed the Origin Fragment, greatly increased his Soul Power, and unlocked the Advancement Permission.
Now all three of them had obtained their First Soul Ring, and their overall strength had undergone a qualitative leap.
Within the borders of this little Nuoding City, no one could threaten them anymore.
"Enough. Put your Martial Souls away." Su Yu interrupted their argument, his voice calm and firm.
He turned toward the way they had come and swept out a hand, issuing the order. "This Soul Hunting mission is a complete success. Let's head back."
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