Don't I Still Have You, Teacher?~

"..."

But Su Luoheng wasn't the least bit afraid. Beneath his calm gaze flashed a hint of coldness. Every reaction the Red Gold Bear had shown so far had been exactly as he'd expected.

"Rumble!"

The Red Gold Bear's sharp claws tore through the air, as if ripping it apart, stirring up dark-red ripples.

"Whoosh!"

At that critical moment, Su Luoheng's lithe figure flickered like Gui Mei's, then vanished from in front of the Red Gold Bear in an instant.

The Red Gold Bear's attack struck empty air. It pounded its chest in fury, raging helplessly.

Taking advantage of that brief opening, Su Luoheng closed in once more and swept his sword across the Red Gold Bear's thick hide. In the face of a Level 3 Soul Tool, even the thickest fur was as fragile as paper.

'Squelch!'

Blood sprayed at once, and the Red Gold Bear let out an endless stream of pained howls.

Su Luoheng raised his sword, and another spray of blood burst forth.

"Argh..."

Another cry of pain.

"Rumble—"

Su Luoheng pressed his advantage.

By now, the Red Gold Bear no longer had any of its earlier imposing presence. It was utterly helpless against Su Luoheng's attacks.

Before long, the Red Gold Bear let out a mournful cry and crashed to the ground.

Gushing scarlet blood soaked the earth, staining it crimson.

The Red Gold Bear was now on its last breath, completely unable to fight back.

"Phew! Finally got it!"

Su Luoheng let out a breath and smiled.

After nearly a month, he had finally managed to hunt down a suitable Soul Beast.

It hadn't been easy...

But now, the Second Soul Ring was practically waving at him!

Hearing soft footsteps behind him, Su Luoheng turned around as if sensing something. Teacher Ran was walking toward him, wearing a gentle, kindly smile.

"Teacher."

"Well done. Finish off this Soul Beast." Teacher Ran nodded with satisfaction. He had thought he would need to step in, but it seemed that wouldn't be necessary.

"Mm."

Su Luoheng nodded.

After a brief rest, he brought his sword down.

With a 'thunk,' the blade pierced the bear's neck. Blood spurted out, taking the last of the Red Gold Bear's life with it.

Then,

a deep-yellow light gradually gathered above its corpse.

Just as the Soul Ring was about to take shape, the circle faltered. A final streak of light suddenly shot out of the Red Gold Bear's corpse and merged into it.

This disrupted the Soul Ring's balance. A chain reaction followed, making the entire circle tremble violently.

But just as Su Luoheng was wondering what was happening,

the deep-yellow circle before him suddenly stopped shaking. A flash of purple appeared, quickly spreading throughout the Soul Ring. Then it condensed and continued to form.

In the blink of an eye, the Soul Ring finished taking shape.

The Hundred-Year Soul Ring that had been deep yellow was gone. In its place was a faint-purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring!

"..."

"A-a thousand years?"

Su Luoheng stood dumbfounded, his clear gaze filled with nothing but bewilderment.

He had no idea what had happened. The Hundred-Year Soul Ring had been about to form. Why had it suddenly turned into a Thousand-Year Soul Ring?

What was going on?

Where was his Second Soul Ring?

This was utterly unheard of!

Teacher Ran, standing nearby, furrowed his brows as well. It was his first time seeing a Soul Ring change color.

"..."

He looked at the Red Gold Bear's corpse on the ground.

A Red Gold Bear's fur changed color as it grew stronger. Once it reached the thousand-year level, its dark-red fur turned scarlet. At the ten-thousand-year level, it turned gold.

Although he didn't know this Red Gold Bear's exact age, its fur was still dark red. That proved it was definitely less than a thousand years old!

By all rights, it should have produced a Hundred-Year Soul Ring...

At this thought, Teacher Ran furrowed his brows, unable to make sense of it.

"What on earth happened..."

Teacher Ran murmured under his breath, his gaze moving over the Red Gold Bear's corpse as he examined it carefully.

Just then, his gaze sharpened as he seemed to notice something.

"Hmm?"

He crouched down, plucked a hair from the Red Gold Bear's neck, and rolled it between his fingers to wipe away the blood. Then he studied it intently.

It was subtle, but the hair was indeed scarlet.

But why...

Teacher Ran rose, his brow furrowed. His gaze happened to pass over the remnants of the honeycomb on the ground, and he suddenly froze. A spark of inspiration flashed through his mind as a possibility occurred to him.

Chapter 57: Don't I Still Have You, Teacher?~

Could it be...

Teacher Ran suddenly realized something.

He looked at the honeycomb on the ground. Understanding dawned in his eyes as he finally figured out why the Soul Ring had changed!

"So that's what happened~"

After a moment of silence, Teacher Ran sighed softly.

"..."

Hearing this, Su Luoheng turned around, still bewildered, and hurriedly asked, "Teacher, did you figure out the reason?"

"Mm."

Teacher Ran nodded, then looked at the remains of the honeycomb on the ground. A hint of regret crossed his face.

"Blood Flame Bee honey really is irresistible to Red Gold Bears. But I forgot that they're attracted to it because it can help them advance. This Red Gold Bear really was around nine hundred years old at first, but after eating that honeycomb, it broke through from nine hundred years to a thousand."

"Teacher, then why doesn't it have the traits of a thousand-year Soul Beast?"

Su Luoheng was even more confused. He knew a fair bit about Red Gold Bears.

"You killed it too quickly. It takes time for its appearance to change after it advances."

As he spoke, Teacher Ran pointed to the Red Gold Bear's neck. "Look, Luo Heng. The fur on its neck has already started turning scarlet. If you'd been a little later, it might have changed completely. Although its appearance still looked like that of a hundred-year Soul Beast, its Soul Power had already reached the thousand-year level when it died. That's why your Soul Ring changed at the last moment, turning from a Hundred-Year Soul Ring into a Thousand-Year Soul Ring."

"So that's what happened..."

Su Luoheng nodded in sudden realization.

Teacher Ran sighed and stepped forward to pat him on the shoulder. "Luo Heng, this was my fault. I didn't think things through and made you miss out on a pretty good Soul Ring."

"Teacher, it's not your fault."

Hearing that, Su Luoheng shook his head.

Neither he nor Teacher Ran could have guessed that this Red Gold Bear would advance at exactly the wrong moment. It had only eaten some honeycomb, and it had already crossed from a hundred-year level to a thousand-year one.

So Teacher Ran couldn't be blamed. They'd simply had bad luck.

His luck really was terrible!

First, he'd spent over half a month searching the Jingyang Mountain Range without finding anything. Now, just when he'd finally found a suitable Soul Beast, the thing had suddenly advanced. Something that might not happen even once in a hundred years had happened to him. His luck was truly abysmal.

"..."

"Luo Heng, wait until you've recovered your Soul Power, and then we'll look for another one. I still have plenty of options. I'll definitely find you a suitable Second Soul Ring."

As he spoke, Teacher Ran gazed regretfully at the Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

It was the most suitable Soul Ring they'd found in the past few days. It was such a pity to let it go to waste...

The Soul Ring produced by this Red Gold Bear had been of a very suitable age, but now it had become a Thousand-Year Soul Ring by the narrowest of margins. It might have been only a dozen years older than before, but the difference between a thousand years and a hundred years was a qualitative leap. The energy and impact it contained would be difficult for a Soul Grandmaster to withstand.

He could try it, but there was no need.

In any case, Teacher Ran didn't want his prized disciple to take the risk.

Besides, this wasn't his only chance. As long as they had honey, they'd eventually find a suitable one.

"..."

Teacher Ran shook his head and sighed regretfully. Just as he was about to turn and leave, Su Luoheng, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.

"Teacher, wait."

Teacher Ran's eyes shifted, and his brows drew together.

"Luo Heng, you're not planning to..."

"Teacher, you said that the Blood Flame Bee royal jelly you gave me could raise the limit of the Soul Ring I can withstand. And before that, you also bought me thousand-year Whale Rubber to take."

"So... I think my body should be strong enough."

After a brief pause, Su Luoheng raised his hand toward the faint-purple Soul Ring. His voice was firm and unusually earnest.

"I want to try absorbing this Thousand-Year Soul Ring."

"..."

Teacher Ran had already guessed what Su Luoheng was thinking. His tone turned especially stern. "Luo Heng, don't do anything reckless. There's more than a world of difference between a thousand-year Soul Ring and a hundred-year one. You might be able to absorb a nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine-year Soul Ring, but a thousand-year Soul Ring is too risky. I absolutely won't let you put yourself in danger."

"Teacher, don't I still have you?" Su Luoheng smiled brightly.

"What can I do—"

Before he could finish, Teacher Ran suddenly remembered something. His eyes narrowed slightly. "You... saw the structural plans for the Soul Ring Inhibitor?"

"Mm."

Su Luoheng gave a sly smile and nodded.

"I saw it while I was doing the usual cleaning in the lab that day. So, with your design, Teacher, if something goes wrong while I'm absorbing the Second Soul Ring, you can interrupt the process."

Teacher Ran's brows furrowed tightly. "That's still in the experimental stage!"

Su Luoheng smiled. "Teacher, I believe in you. Surely you don't doubt yourself?"

"Brat, don't try to provoke me!"

Teacher Ran snorted, unmoved. He'd seen through his intentions from the start.

When his provocation didn't work, Su Luoheng stopped smiling and spoke earnestly. "Teacher, I want to try."

"..."

One wanted to give it a try, while the other didn't want him taking the risk. Master and disciple met each other's gaze, and neither yielded an inch.

"You, you little rascal!"

"Ah, forget it. If you want to try, then go ahead..."