With the Thunder-Charging Beast taken care of, Qian Xunji told Ban Shu to hurry up and get to work.
Without hesitation, Ban Shu summoned the Painted Halberd and went to stand before the Thunder-Charging Beast.
To give it a quick death, Ban Shu used what he had learned to swiftly locate its heart and kill it with a single strike.
Before long, a purple Soul Ring slowly rose from the corpse. Ban Shu took a deep breath and steadied himself, then sat cross-legged and began absorbing it.
Nearby, Qian Xunji and Golden Crocodile Douluo stared intently at Ban Shu, their minds on high alert as they feared something might go wrong.
Qian Xunji was especially poised to act. If Ban Shu showed any sign of trouble or pain, he would immediately step in and interrupt the absorption.
Although forcibly interrupting the absorption of a Soul Ring would damage Ban Shu's foundations to some extent, in an emergency, that was still better than losing his life.
Bibi Dong clasped her hands together, praying as she kept her eyes fixed on Ban Shu, not daring to look away.
A Thousand-Year Soul Ring was only one stage above a Hundred-Year Soul Ring, but the energy it contained was entirely different.
If the power of a Hundred-Year Soul Ring was like a stream, then a Thousand-Year Soul Ring was already a river. As for Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings and above, they were like floods.
As soon as Ban Shu began drawing in the Soul Ring's energy, he felt a force ten times more violent than before surge into his body.
Caught off guard, Ban Shu let out a muffled groan, his face turning pale.
Bibi Dong's face went pale with fright. She instinctively covered her mouth, not daring to make a sound for fear of disturbing Ban Shu.
Qian Xunji hurriedly raised his hand to interrupt the absorption, but Golden Crocodile quickly grabbed him and shook his head, stopping him.
Golden Crocodile could tell what condition Ban Shu was in. The Thousand-Year Soul Ring hadn't caused any real harm; this was merely his reaction to being caught off guard.
Sure enough, after enduring the first wave of impact, Ban Shu had already adapted.
On top of that, a streak of purple lightning quietly appeared within the Painted Halberd. The Thunder-Charging Beast's power seemed to have spotted its superior and obediently followed Ban Shu's guidance, merging completely into the halberd.
Time ticked by, and the surrounding forest gradually fell quiet beneath the night sky, broken only by the occasional chirp of insects.
This time, Ban Shu took a very long time to fuse with the Soul Ring. It was a full two hours before he finally opened his eyes.
"Phew~"
Ban Shu let out a long breath, then stood and stretched his stiff body before smiling. "Teacher, I did it."
Hearing this, the three people nearby finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed there had been no problems.
Feeling the Soul Power within him, Ban Shu's face flashed with delight. "And that's not all. After absorbing this Thousand-Year Soul Ring, my Soul Power shot up to level twenty-five!"
"Level twenty-five!"
Everyone was stunned. Bibi Dong hurried forward. "Xiao Ban, you're already at level twenty-five?"
"That's right!"
Ban Shu chuckled. "Sister Dong'er, I'm about to catch up with you!"
"What a monster!"
At a loss for words, Bibi Dong could only exclaim in astonishment.
Ban Shu patted his chest. "All that Whale Rubber and training over the past six months wasn't for nothing."
Of course, his Martial Soul, the Painted Halberd, had also played a major role in his ability to absorb a Soul Ring of such a high age.
While absorbing the Soul Ring, he had felt an immensely powerful force of lightning suppressing the Thunder-Charging Beast's Soul Ring energy. That was why the absorption had gone so smoothly.
It couldn't help but make Ban Shu wonder: had that power come from the Divine Steed Ban itself, or was something else secretly helping him?
"Xiao Ban, hurry up and tell us—what exactly is your Thousand-Year Soul Skill?"
At that moment, Qian Xunji asked about Ban Shu's Soul Skill.
"My second Soul Skill is called God-Demon Body. It can greatly boost all my attributes for a short time."
Ban Shu explained, "Once I activate God-Demon Body, it greatly enhances my physical abilities for a certain amount of time. It also boosts the power of my Soul Skills by one hundred percent."
Just as Ban Shu had expected, the Thunder-Charging Beast had granted him a Soul Skill that enhanced his abilities—and it boosted them by one hundred percent.
That meant the Soul Skill would grow stronger along with him instead of becoming obsolete. That was exactly what he wanted.
Qian Xunji let out a quiet breath. Ban Shu had astonished him beyond belief. He truly had no idea how far Ban Shu would go in the future.
"All right, it's getting late. Xiao Ban and Dong'er are still children, so let's rest for the night. We can head home tomorrow."
Golden Crocodile Douluo spoke up from nearby.
"Okay."
Qian Xunji nodded and took several tents from his Soul Tool, setting them up with smooth, practiced movements.
When he was young, he and his father had often come here to obtain Soul Rings. Putting up a tent was no trouble at all.
While the tents were being set up, Ban Shu and Bibi Dong went to gather firewood so they could build a fire and prepare a meal.
The surrounding Soul Beasts had fled, frightened by Golden Crocodile's imposing aura. Besides, they were all only a few hundred or thousand years old and posed little danger, so Ban Shu and Bibi Dong collected the firewood with ease.
Just as the two were about to head back, Ban Shu suddenly felt his Martial Soul stir.
"Hmm?"
Ban Shu paused, then instinctively summoned his Martial Soul. He saw it trembling faintly and pointing in a certain direction.
Almost without thinking, Ban Shu started toward it, but he didn't forget that Bibi Dong was beside him.
"Sister Dong'er, tell Teacher and the others I'm going somewhere."
With that, Ban Shu swung his halberd to cut down some weeds as trail markers, then headed in the direction his Martial Soul had indicated.
"Eh? Xiao Ban, where are you going?"
Seeing that he had already gone far, Bibi Dong hurriedly turned and ran back toward the camp.
By then, Ban Shu had reached a thicket. The Painted Halberd had stopped stirring, so whatever it wanted him to see must be inside.
"Could there be danger?"
Ban Shu considered the question, but quickly dismissed it. The Painted Halberd wouldn't put him in danger. If that was the case, could there be a treasure inside?
With that thought in mind, Ban Shu curiously pushed the bushes aside. What he found made him freeze.
"Is this... a little foal?"
In the thicket, a small reddish-brown foal lay on the ground. It was covered in wounds of all sizes and looked badly hurt.
Ban Shu slowly reached out, hoping to touch the foal. But seeing it tremble all over, he stopped.
"Why is there a horse here?"
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