Winning the Lottery, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring!

Before the four of them could even walk back to the Spirit Academy gates, Xiao Wu grabbed Bai Chenxiang by the wrist and pulled her into a narrow alleyway off the pedestrian street.

"Come on, come on, let's talk in here."

The alley was flanked by the rear walls of two shops, with a few empty wooden crates piled up against the base of the brickwork.

Sunlight only reached the mouth of the alley, leaving the interior dim and difficult to see clearly.

Xiao Wu glanced left and right twice to ensure no one else was around before releasing Bai Chenxiang's wrist and turning to face her.

"Chenxiang, what did you get? Tell us, quick!"

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing crowded around as well, the three of them cornering Bai Chenxiang in the depths of the alley.

Bai Chenxiang was forced back half a step, her spine pressing against the cool brick wall.

She kept her head lowered, her two braids dangling in front of her chest, her voice barely a whisper.

"I got a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring."

The alley fell silent for a beat.

Xiao Wu's eyes widened abruptly, her mouth hanging open. "What? A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?"

Ning Rongrong's breathing grew ragged, the belt of her blue skirt tightening slightly as her chest rose and fell.

Zhu Zhuqing, who had been leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, straightened up the moment she heard those words.

The three of them stared at each other, none of them speaking first.

The air remained frozen for two or three seconds.

Xiao Wu was the first to snap out of it; she lunged forward, grabbed Bai Chenxiang's sleeve, and gave it a vigorous tug.

"Oh my god, are you serious? A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring? Say that again!"

Bai Chenxiang's sleeve was pulled askew, but she nodded. "It's true."

Xiao Wu's heart hammered against her ribs like a drum, her ears ringing. She calculated rapidly in her mind.

What did a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring signify? That was something only legendary powerhouses at the Douluo level could possibly possess!

Looking across the entire Spirit Academy, perhaps only the Dean and the Vice Dean held such a thing.

And yet, Bai Chenxiang, a level 61 Soul Emperor, had caught a palm-sized Ragdoll Swallow and obtained a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?

Ning Rongrong took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

"Wait, Chenxiang. How are you going to absorb a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring? You're only level 61; according to standard theory, a level 61 body simply cannot withstand the energy impact of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring."

Zhu Zhuqing had reached the same conclusion and looked toward Bai Chenxiang.

Bai Chenxiang shook her head. "I don't need to digest or absorb it."

"What do you mean?"

"Because it's just a fake soul ring. It's decorative."

The three of them were stunned into silence.

Xiao Wu released Bai Chenxiang's sleeve. "A fake soul ring? Decorative?"

Bai Chenxiang nodded.

"Right. It isn't a real Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring; it won't provide me with any substantial soul power increase, nor will it come with a soul skill. But the prompt says that when I display it, the aura is real. The pressure, the soul power fluctuations, the visual effects—they are all exactly the same as a genuine Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring."

Ning Rongrong blinked, processing this for a few seconds.

"You mean that when others see you display your soul ring, they will think you truly possess a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?"

"Exactly."

Zhu Zhuqing's lips twitched.

Xiao Wu slapped her thigh, jumping with excitement. "Interesting! This is so interesting! Hurry, show us, let's see how it looks!"

Bai Chenxiang checked the alley once more to ensure no outsiders were present, then took a deep breath.

"Alright, I'm releasing it. Get ready—I'll control the aura so it doesn't exert any pressure on you."

Xiao Wu rubbed her hands together and stepped back half a pace. Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing also retreated a short distance.

Bai Chenxiang closed her eyes.

The next moment, soul rings lit up around her.

[Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black... Red!]

Six soul rings appeared in sequence, casting a soft glow in the dim alley. This was Bai Chenxiang's original soul ring configuration—standard, conventional, and typical for a level 61 Soul Emperor.

Then, the final ring, which had been [Black], transformed into an oversized red halo!

The red soul ring rose from beneath Bai Chenxiang's feet and expanded slowly, its radiance instantly filling the entire alley.

Although Bai Chenxiang had suppressed the aura to avoid releasing actual pressure, the light and texture radiating from that red soul ring left all three of them stunned.

A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

The red halo danced against the brick wall, casting Bai Chenxiang's shadow onto the surface behind her, stretching it long and large.

Xiao Wu stared with wide eyes, her mouth slightly agape.

Ning Rongrong instinctively covered her mouth with her hand.

Zhu Zhuqing's pupils constricted.

"This... this is convincing enough to pass for the real thing!" Xiao Wu murmured.

The luster, the patterns, and the fluctuation frequency of the red Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring were almost identical to the records of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring she had seen in the academy's archives.

If she hadn't known it was fake beforehand, she would have absolutely believed that Bai Chenxiang had suddenly awakened some heaven-defying inheritance.

Zhu Zhuqing stared at the red soul ring for two seconds before shifting her gaze to the spot where the original black soul ring had vanished.

"Wait, you had a black soul ring, didn't you?"

Bai Chenxiang retracted all her soul rings, the red light gradually fading until the alley grew dim once more.

"It was replaced by the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring," Bai Chenxiang explained. "When displayed, the black soul ring is hidden, and the red one appears in its place. However, the replacement only lasts for eight hours."

"And after eight hours?" Ning Rongrong asked.

"After that, the red soul ring disappears, and the black one returns to normal."

"Oh." Ning Rongrong did a quick calculation in her head. "Eight hours is enough. From morning until afternoon, that's an entire day."

Xiao Wu's brain had already started cooking up a scheme.

Her eyes darted around twice, and the corners of her mouth slowly curled into a particularly mischievous grin: "Hehehe."

Seeing Xiao Wu's expression, Ning Rongrong asked curiously: "What are you planning?"

Xiao Wu rubbed her hands together and lowered her voice: "What do you think would happen if we used this Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring to scare someone?"

The three of them exchanged glances.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Zhu Zhuqing's mouth.

Ning Rongrong thought for a moment and asked: "Scare who?"

"Ma Hongjun."

Xiao Wu spat out the two words, crisp and decisive.

Xiao Wu planted her hands on her hips, her Scorpion Braid swinging behind her.

"Think about it. Among the F4, Tang San has been beaten by me, Dai Mubai has been beaten by Zhuqing, and Oscar has been beaten by Rongrong. Out of the four, only Ma Hongjun hasn't been dealt with yet, and this guy has been pestering Chenxiang every single day."

When Bai Chenxiang heard the word "pestering," her expression shifted.

Ma Hongjun was indeed annoying. From the first week of school, he would come up every few days asking her to "be his girlfriend," and when rejected, he wouldn't just leave—he would change his tune and threaten her.

Once, in the classroom corridor when no one was around, Ma Hongjun had even grabbed her wrist with such force that she had to struggle several times to break free, only managing to escape thanks to a classmate's intervention.

That feeling made Bai Chenxiang extremely uncomfortable.

Xiao Wu continued: "So, while Chenxiang's Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring is still active, let's use it to scare him so he won't dare to bother Chenxiang ever again."

Ning Rongrong thought about it and felt the plan was quite sound.

"How do we execute it?"

"Simple." Xiao Wu held up a finger, twirling it as she spoke.

"After we return to the academy, the four of us will split up. Chenxiang will walk alone, pretending to be isolated. The three of us will go find Ma Hongjun, and once we do, we'll have Chenxiang walk past. When Ma Hongjun sees her alone, given his personality, he'll definitely try to stick to her."

"And then?" Ning Rongrong pressed.

"Then Chenxiang will pretend to be annoyed and activate her soul ring. Once a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring flashes, with Ma Hongjun's level of courage, he'll be scared witless on the spot, won't he?"

The more Xiao Wu talked, the more excited she became, her Scorpion Braid swaying like a rattle-drum.

"When he sees a level 61 Bai Chenxiang with a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring hanging over her head, how do you think he'll react?"