Extreme Soul Ring Absorption

In terms of pure cost-effectiveness, Beast Spirits definitely provide a greater boost than Tool Spirits in the early stages.

It is only in the later stages that Tool Spirits begin to catch up, but even at the same rank, they can at most only match the combat power of the former.

Furthermore, because dragon-type Soul Beasts are so precious, the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect has long since archived a vast amount of data on them.

Unlike the extreme attack or life-attribute Soul Beasts that Jade Dragon-Slayer requires, these could be sourced and utilized on the spot.

Wooo—

The chainsword in her hand emitted a grating, unpleasant noise.

Ning Tian gritted her teeth and brought the blade down, slaying a ten-year Wind Baboon.

Looking at the mangled carcass of the Wind Baboon below, Ning Tian felt no fear; instead, she felt an indescribable sense of excitement.

"Grandpa Cao, did you see that?" Ning Tian waved vigorously toward Cao Xin and Lin Yuan, who were standing not far away, her pretty face splattered with blood.

"I did it!"

The reason Ning Tian had come to the Star Dou Great Forest with Lin Yuan was that she, too, had reached level ten.

Thanks to the efficacy of the Mystic Water Pill, she had easily broken through to level ten soul power over the past three days.

In truth, the effectiveness of the Mystic Water Pill diminishes based on one's innate soul power. Ning Tian's innate soul power was at most 9.9, but it was indeed not far off from full innate soul power.

Cao Xin gave a helpless, wry smile and nodded at Ning Tian. Did this girl have the potential to be a berserker?

Meanwhile, Lin Yuan sat cross-legged on a rock beside Cao Xin, continuously compressing the aura within his body.

He had previously defeated a hundred-year Soul Beast using the swordsmanship he had learned over the past few days, but he lacked the strength to face a thousand-year Soul Beast.

Whenever he tried to release his Destruction Demon Dragon spirit to fight, the mere sensation of the destruction aura he radiated was enough to make many thousand-year Soul Beasts want to flee.

He couldn't train properly like this, so Lin Yuan's top priority was to learn to control his destruction aura.

For a long time to come, Lin Yuan would have to rely primarily on the Destruction Demon Dragon and secondarily on his Affectionate Sword techniques in battle.

If he were to unleash his aura recklessly without control, he would most likely be targeted by those with ulterior motives.

Of course, Lin Yuan had not dealt a killing blow to that hundred-year Soul Beast.

He understood the principle of not draining the pond to catch the fish; there was no need for meaningless slaughter.

"Not bad, your aura has become more refined." Cao Xin nodded slowly, praising Lin Yuan as he opened his eyes.

Although he hadn't reached the point of complete concealment, this was already sufficient.

"It's still lacking," Lin Yuan said helplessly, looking at his palms.

"You kid getting cocky after just a couple of compliments?" Cao Xin laughed and scolded.

"To reach this level of control in such a short time is already better than many geniuses, so don't be too greedy. Our primary goal for this trip is soul hunting; you'll have plenty of time to practice slowly when we get back."

"Understood, Master. How much further to our destination?" Lin Yuan asked.

Cao Xin pointed ahead. "Not far now. Another three miles and we'll be there."

As it happened, the data the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect had received included a pair of sub-dragon-type mates living together.

Lin Yuan's target was the nine-hundred-year Tyrannosaurus, while Ning Tian could absorb the other four-hundred-year Tyrannosaurus.

It was a bit hellish, but Lin Yuan couldn't help but think: even the soul rings have to be a couple?

Calling Ning Tian back, the three continued to advance in the direction Cao Xin had indicated.

Within a rocky beach area, the three discovered the lair of the two Tyrannosauruses.

Such high-level fierce beasts were clearly beyond the two youths' ability to handle; even a Tyrannosaurus under a thousand years old was more powerful than many thousand-year Soul Beasts.

Cao Xin flashed, disappearing from the two youths' side.

Just as they were looking around in confusion, two massive thuds echoed beside them, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

Cough, cough, cough— The two waved their hands to clear the air, choking on the dust.

After the dust settled, Lin Yuan finally saw the two giant beasts lying unconscious on the ground.

"Alright, hurry up and hunt them to absorb the rings." Cao Xin, standing on the larger Tyrannosaurus, tossed a short blade from its sheath to Ning Tian.

At this moment, Lin Yuan suddenly thought of something. "Master, isn't it said that the more you torture a Soul Beast, the higher the chance of producing a Soul Bone?"

Lin Yuan summoned Jade Dragon-Slayer and began preparing to absorb his soul ring.

"That is indeed the case. According to the conventions of the soul master world, it is better to torture a Soul Beast before absorbing its ring." Cao Xin jumped down from the Tyrannosaurus and came to Lin Yuan's side.

"But Xiao Yuan, not everything in this world is calculated solely by profit. If you get a Soul Bone, it is your good fortune; if you don't, it is your fate. Why torture a life for something that might not be destined for you? This is also the path of our Affectionate Sword cultivation. If you want Soul Bones, the sect treasury has plenty."

Lin Yuan nodded in realization, reasonably suspecting that the last sentence was the main point.

Indeed, the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect possessed many ten-thousand-year Soul Bone legacies left behind by previous sect-protecting Douluos.

There was truly no need for him to ruin his sword cultivation for the sake of a hundred-year Soul Bone.

Subsequently, Lin Yuan pointed his sword tip at the back of the Tyrannosaurus's head and ended its life with a single strike, allowing it to pass without pain.

A yellow soul ring with a hint of purple rose from the Tyrannosaurus's head and began to drift slowly in the air.

"Eh?" Cao Xin exclaimed in surprise.

"What's wrong, Master?" Lin Yuan asked Cao Xin.

"The intelligence was slightly off. I originally thought it was just a nine-hundred-year spirit ring, but this one is actually nearing the millennium mark," Cao Xin frowned.

"A millennium?" Lin Yuan's expression turned troubled as well.

Before they set out, Cao Xin had already tested the limit of the spirit ring age Lin Yuan could absorb.

It was just a little over a thousand years; absorbing right at the limit would be risky.

Although most spirit masters on the continent still followed the absorption guidelines in the Ten Great Competition Theories written by the Grandmaster, the major factions had already secretly discovered that spirit ring absorption was largely correlated with a spirit master's physical and mental state.

This was the reason why people like Mu En were able to have millennium spirit rings as their second spirit rings.

Dragon-type spirit beasts, even sub-dragon spirit beasts, were slightly harder to absorb than other spirit beasts.

This Tyrannosaurus spirit ring, nearing a thousand years, was essentially at or above Lin Yuan's absorption limit.

"So, is Lin Yuan going to give up?" Ning Tian asked, looking somewhat anxious.

"No, Xiao Yuan. Do you want to take a risk?" Cao Xin looked at Lin Yuan with a smile.

"Master, what are you planning?" Lin Yuan immediately realized that Cao Xin had some trick up his sleeve.

"Take out the Millennium Whale Glue I gave you that day. Do you want to try and see if you can absorb this near-millennium spirit ring with the support of the Whale Glue?"

Lin Yuan was stunned; it seemed he was being treated as a lab rat for an experiment.

"If you can absorb it this time, you will have a first spirit ring with a foundation nearing a millennium. This is a very good start."

"If you fail, it doesn't matter. With my cultivation, your only loss will be one level of spirit power. With the medicinal power of the Whale Glue as a buffer, your talent won't be damaged."

Just as Lin Yuan was deep in thought, the God of Destruction within him awoke and spoke: "Agree to him. I have a way to make your first spirit ring truly become a millennium one."