"Yes, thank you, Your Holiness."
Su Ming readily put the Immortal Herb back into his storage ring.
Bibi Dong continued, "Now that your Martial Soul has reached perfection, it's time to arrange for you to absorb your third Soul Ring."
Su Ming said, "That was exactly what I had in mind."
Bibi Dong nodded. "Evil-attribute Soul Beasts are relatively rare on the continent, but don't worry. I've already made preparations for you."
At this, Bibi Dong looked toward the hall entrance. "Yue Guan, come in."
As her voice fell, Chrysanthemum Douluo, clad in golden armor, entered the hall and bowed. "Your subordinate Yue Guan pays his respects to Your Holiness the Pope."
Bibi Dong instructed him, "Su Ming is about to absorb his third Soul Ring. I've laid plans in Star Dou Forest. Take him there and help him complete the absorption. Remember, there must be no mishaps!"
"Yes!" Chrysanthemum Douluo replied.
Listening to Bibi Dong, Su Ming felt a slight stir in his heart. This was the undeniable advantage of joining a superpower.
If he were at Shrek Academy, he would have to rely on a teacher to take him into the forest and hope to get lucky when looking for a Soul Ring. It would be inefficient and fraught with danger.
But with Spirit Hall, not only did he have the protection of its formidable strength, it could even tailor preparations to his needs in advance.
Fifty miles into the outer reaches of Star Dou Forest lay an area that had not seen sunlight in years.
Every tree here had withered and died. Gray-white trunks crisscrossed one another, and the air was thick with a chilly, oppressive aura.
On Spirit Hall's intelligence map, this area was called Dark Withered Forest.
Two figures darted swiftly between the dead branches without making a sound.
The one in front was Su Ming, dressed in simple black clothes. Close behind him, half a step back, followed Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan in golden armor.
"Rustle."
A figure suddenly appeared without warning behind a pile of rocks up ahead.
The moment the man landed, he dropped to one knee. "Your subordinate, a second-grade scout of Spirit Hall, pays his respects to Elder Chrysanthemum and Lord Su Ming!"
The two of them stopped.
Yue Guan spoke coolly. "At ease. Tell me, where is the evil-attribute Soul Beast we ordered you to watch half a year ago?"
The scout immediately turned and pointed toward a patch of low-lying bushes ahead. "Reporting to the elder, the target is currently in a swamp ten miles ahead."
"To avoid alerting it, we haven't approached too closely and have only followed it. Based on our close observations over the last few days, its condition is very stable."
"Lead the way," Yue Guan said curtly.
"Yes!"
With the scout leading them, the three traveled at full speed for about five minutes.
The view ahead gradually opened up, revealing a vast muddy swamp that bubbled with black froth.
At the very center of the swamp, perched on a dead giant tree, was a black Soul Beast about two meters long.
It was a bird, its entire body covered in gray-black feathers.
Strangely, the feathers on its face grew together in a way that seemed to form the outline of a human face, like a wailing demon.
With each breath it took, that face seemed to come alive, exuding an intensely sinister aura!
"The Nether Ghost-Faced Swallow."
Looking at the bird, Yue Guan's eyes showed a hint of satisfaction.
He turned to Su Ming and explained, "Little Su Ming, Spirit Hall's intelligence network spent no small amount of manpower finding this Soul Beast for you."
"This Nether Ghost-Faced Swallow is around two thousand years old. Under normal circumstances, the limit for absorbing a third Soul Ring is one thousand seven hundred and sixty years."
"But after carefully assessing your abilities, Your Holiness the Pope believes you can absorb this Soul Beast's Soul Ring."
"On top of that, this bird has an extremely strong evil attribute and is a flying Soul Beast. It'll give your Evil Phoenix a considerable boost to its attack power, making it an excellent fit for you."
Looking at the satisfaction on Chrysanthemum Douluo's face, Su Ming shook his head without hesitation.
Yue Guan's brow furrowed slightly. Somewhat surprised, he asked, "What, are you dissatisfied with this Soul Beast?"
Su Ming nodded. "Two thousand years is still too low."
"Too low?" Chrysanthemum Douluo exclaimed in shock.
Two thousand years was already a limit-breaking absorption. And he still thought it was too low?
"That's right. Too low." Su Ming reaffirmed.
If he had faced this Nether Ghost-Faced Swallow before going to Sunset Forest, he might have accepted without hesitation.
But now, absorbing it would only waste his talent.
His Martial Soul had evolved, and the positive feedback it gave his body had greatly raised the limit of the Soul Ring age he could absorb.
Besides that, he had undergone the tempering of ice and fire, and his body's toughness had already undergone a qualitative transformation.
On top of that, he had absorbed the medicinal power of the peerless Immortal Herb Narcissus Jade Bone, which had thoroughly cleansed and strengthened his body.
With all three factors combined, his foundation was now so formidable that absorbing a mere two-thousand-three-hundred-year Soul Ring would be a tremendous waste of both the Immortal Herb's medicinal power and his Ultimate Martial Soul.
"I need a Soul Beast at least five thousand years old," Su Ming said calmly.
"What?! Five thousand years?!"
At that number, Yue Guan nearly leaped into the air.
"Su Ming, have you lost your mind?!"
"A five-thousand-year Soul Ring is the upper limit one would consider when absorbing a fourth Soul Ring!"
"You've only just broken through level thirty. Absorbing a two-thousand-year Soul Ring is already pushing your limits, given your extraordinary talent. And you want to cross a whole three-thousand-year gap and go straight for a five-thousand-year Soul Ring?"
"It'll burst your body apart in an instant! I absolutely won't let you do something so reckless!"
Yue Guan wasn't the only one. The several Spirit Hall scouts hiding nearby were also badly startled by this. Cold sweat poured down their backs.
For a Soul Grandmaster to attempt absorbing a five-thousand-year Soul Ring was, in their eyes, no different from committing suicide.
Faced with Yue Guan's stern refusal, Su Ming instead wore an enigmatic smile.
"Elder Chrysanthemum, do you think I'm exceptional?"
Yue Guan froze, clearly not expecting Su Ming to ask such an unrelated question at a time like this.
Still, he answered honestly. "I've seen your talent and self-discipline with my own eyes. Across the entire continent, you're truly one of a kind. But what does that have to do with absorbing a Soul Ring?"
"If I'm really as exceptional as you say, then I'm more eager than anyone to stay alive. I wouldn't go looking for death for no reason."
Su Ming's smile faded, and absolute calm and confidence glimmered in his eyes. "I know better than anyone where the limits of my body lie."
"Elder Chrysanthemum, please trust me."
Looking at Su Ming's utterly resolute expression, Chrysanthemum Douluo thought of the absolute confidence he had shown in Sunset Forest.
The words on Yue Guan's lips caught in his throat.
He stared at Su Ming for a long while, then finally let out a deep sigh.
"Madman... You're a complete madman."
"Fine. Since you believe in yourself, I'll go mad with you just this once. But understand this: the moment anything seems wrong, I'll forcibly interrupt your absorption!"