The next day.
Flender arranged for Zhao Wuji to lead the group, with Yu Xiaogang and the others accompanying them.
Their goal was to head to the Star Dou Great Forest and obtain Tang San's Second Soul Ring.
Also joining them were Gu Han, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and an "uncle" with a Sausage Martial Soul.
They had only just enrolled, yet were already being taken to the Star Dou Great Forest. Officially, it was to give them more combat experience.
In truth, Flender also wanted to rely on Gu Han and Zhao Wuji's strength to make sure the trip to hunt for a Soul Ring went more safely.
After they entered the Star Dou Great Forest, Yu Xiaogang was clearly acting strangely. He seemed to be thinking about all sorts of nonsense again.
The bloodshot veins in Yu Xiaogang's eyes were so prominent that anyone who didn't know better might have thought he had pinkeye.
As he walked in the middle of the group, Yu Xiaogang kept muttering to himself. His gaze toward Tang San was filled with a fervent, almost crazed anticipation.
"Xiao San, this time, you must prove it to everyone."
Yu Xiaogang grabbed Tang San by the shoulder. His grip made Tang San furrow his brow.
"Blue Silver Grass is absolutely not a Trash Martial Soul. Under my theoretical guidance, it can definitely surpass the Soul Ring absorption age limit. Your Second Soul Ring must be a Thousand-Year Soul Ring."
Tang San could only smile bitterly to himself. Hadn't he also wanted to obtain a more powerful Soul Ring?
But Soul Masters had to follow the rules of Soul Ring absorption. The consequences of exceeding a Soul Ring's limit were extremely serious, and Tang San was only a Soul Grandmaster at level twenty.
Still, when he saw the stubborn look on his teacher's face, he could only swallow his words and nod silently.
Zhao Wuji could barely stand watching from the side, but out of consideration for Flender, he didn't say anything.
Under the intimidation of Zhao Wuji's Soul Saint aura, Soul Beasts under a hundred years old fled far away.
After searching for a while, they finally found a suitable Soul Beast: a Ghost Vine with roughly thirteen hundred years of cultivation.
It wasn't exactly different from the second Soul Ring Tang San had absorbed before. In fact, it was exactly the same.
This kind of Soul Beast was extremely tough and carried paralyzing toxins, making it a good match for Tang San's Blue Silver Grass.
"That's the one. Thirteen hundred years, just about the limit for a Second Soul Ring. Gu Han can absorb it, so you definitely can too," Yu Xiaogang cried excitedly.
With Zhao Wuji suppressing it, and Ning Rongrong and the "uncle" providing support, the group worked together and managed to badly wound the Ghost Vine without much effort.
Tang San delivered the final blow.
A purple Soul Ring condensed above the Ghost Vine's corpse. Its strength had indeed reached the standard of an ordinary Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
"Quickly, Xiao San. Absorb it at once. With me here, you'll definitely succeed."
Yu Xiaogang urged Tang San on, as if he could already see the glorious moment when Tang San's successful absorption proved his theories correct.
Tang San took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and guided his Soul Power toward the Ghost Vine's Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
Just as he was about to begin absorbing it, Gu Han, who had been watching quietly, let a glimmer pass through his eyes.
He subtly circulated his Soul Power. The phantom of the Karma Scissors flashed in his palm and vanished.
"Karma Inversion."
A force of rules crossed space and enveloped the Ghost Vine's Soul Ring.
The effect of this Soul Skill was to temporarily reverse the cause and effect of something, along with its very nature.
Under everyone's expectant gaze—especially Yu Xiaogang's—Tang San began absorbing it.
Tang San had thought the absorption would be extremely difficult. But, unexpectedly, the process went smoothly. He hardly felt any violent surge of Soul Power.
The Soul Ring's energy flowed into him like a stream. In only a few breaths, he had absorbed it completely.
Tang San stood up joyfully, clearly surprised that it had gone so smoothly. A Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath his feet.
But the Soul Ring wasn't purple. The result was beyond anyone's expectations.
A Ten-Year Soul Ring!
"Th-this... how is this possible?!"
The anticipation and excitement on Yu Xiaogang's face froze. He stared blankly. "Impossible. It was definitely a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. I saw it with my own eyes. You all saw that it was a Thousand-Year Soul Ring too, didn't you?"
Tang San was stunned as well. He could feel the slight increase in his Soul Power, and the information the Soul Ring conveyed to his mind described an extremely ordinary Parasite effect, perfectly matching the quality of a Ten-Year Soul Beast.
The reason the absorption had gone so smoothly wasn't that his constitution was special. It was because the Soul Ring was only ten years old.
"Pfft..."
Ning Rongrong was the first to lose control and burst out laughing. She immediately covered her mouth, but the sound rang especially clearly through the forest.
The corner of Zhu Zhuqing's mouth twitched too. Xiao Wu was even less restrained and pulled a face, since she seemed to dislike Tang San now as well.
Zhao Wuji scratched his head and spoke at just the right moment.
"Grandmaster, did you mistake it? This is clearly a Ten-Year Ghost Vine. We all saw a Ten-Year Soul Ring."
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible."
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Yu Xiaogang sprang up, his face flushed with fury and humiliation.
His gaze swept sharply across everyone present. After looking each of them over, he still found nothing. He was about to say something, but the words never came.
He had paid attention throughout the entire process. No one present had—
The crushing humiliation and the shock of his beliefs collapsing made Yu Xiaogang tremble all over. He could barely stay on his feet.
Tang San looked at the white Soul Ring beneath his feet, then at his teacher on the verge of breaking down. He couldn't understand why, every time he absorbed a Soul Ring, he somehow ended up worse off.
Amid the awkward atmosphere, Gu Han suddenly felt the Karma threads around him tremble. He looked up.
The light across the entire Star Dou Great Forest dimmed abruptly for an instant. The sun, which had been hanging brightly in the sky, was now reduced to a tiny sliver.
At the same time, an indescribable, terrifying pressure descended from the sky, as tangible as a physical force.
Everyone felt their souls trembling, and not one of them could summon the slightest urge to resist.
Zhao Wuji's expression changed drastically. He instantly released his Martial Soul Avatar and shielded the others behind him. He could feel that an existence he had no hope of resisting was about to arrive.
Above the clouds, in the void, an eye formed from pure condensed laws abruptly appeared.
It calmly surveyed the Star Dou Great Forest below. Wherever its gaze fell, not a sound could be heard. Every Soul Beast lay prostrate on the ground, trembling, daring neither to flee nor move.
The eye seemed to be searching for something. It soon found its target. First, it glanced toward Xiao Wu, then it fixed its gaze on Gu Han.
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