"Hahaha... It worked! I did it!!!"
Su Changge's wild laughter surged outward like rolling waves, sweeping in every direction.
Ten years trapped in a well, then one day soaring into the clouds.
At long last, his bad luck had run its course.
"Yu Xiaogang! Just you wait. It won't be long before I'm standing right in front of you, returning every last bit of humiliation... in full!!!"
Night had fallen by the time Su Changge finally calmed his restless heart and carefully sensed the many changes that had come after he obtained his First Soul Ring.
First, there was his Martial Soul.
A Goblin was the adult form of a Goblin Cub.
Strength! Stamina! A strengthened body! Compared to before, every aspect had increased more than tenfold.
If the Goblin Cub Martial Soul had previously failed to reach even the bottom rung of ordinary Beast Martial Souls,
then the adult Goblin Martial Soul now stood firmly on the lowest rung of Beast Martial Souls on the Douluo Continent.
Next was his Soul Master level.
After he absorbed the Titan Giant Ape's purple Soul Ring, its surging Soul Power had propelled him straight to level 12.
It had stabilized his Soul Master realm and saved him at least several months of refining his Soul Power.
Then there were his Soul Skills.
First Soul Skill: Titan Ape Demon Transformation.
Once released, it increased strength by 100%, attack power by 100%, and defense by 200%.
It also had a chance to randomly trigger increased effects of bloodlust, berserk fury, and confusion.
Most importantly, this wasn't the First Soul Skill's limit.
As the First Soul Ring's age continued to break through its limits, the upper limits of the various boosts from Titan Ape Demon Transformation would keep rising too.
It perfectly made up for the weaknesses of the Goblin Beast Martial Soul.
Finally...
Su Changge recalled the prompt that had flashed through his mind.
First Trait: Many Children, Many Blessings.
He hadn't tried this trait yet, but he knew exactly how it worked.
As long as he kept tilling the fields and fathering children, he could grow infinitely stronger.
And the trait's feedback wasn't limited to Soul Power. It also boosted his aptitude, fortune, constitution, strength... and all kinds of attributes across the board.
"This trait really does suit a Goblin's terrifying reproductive ability."
"Still, this trait would be better suited to the Goblin race or maybe a cultivation world... The main plot has already begun, and the protagonist group will become gods in less than twenty years. Even if I work myself to the bone, how many children could I possibly have?"
As he gathered his thoughts, Su Changge's gaze suddenly fell on Murong Ruyan in the distance.
The moonlight was alluring. Murong Ruyan looked quite striking now, both in face and figure.
She was at least eighty or ninety percent as stunning as Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing.
"You... Su Changge, what are you planning to do?"
"I'm warning you, don't do anything reckless."
Noticing Su Changge's increasingly heated gaze, Murong Ruyan instinctively squeezed her thighs together.
"Heh... Murong Ruyan, you just saw my biggest secret. Tell me, how am I supposed to keep from doing anything reckless?"
"Make your choice!"
Su Changge strode forward and lifted Murong Ruyan's delicate chin... His masculine hormones washed over her.
"Ah... mmm."
Murong Ruyan seemed to have forgotten.
Between her and Su Changge, she was the stronger one.
A Soul Elder!
The next day, dawn broke.
Morning dew glistened on their two naked bodies.
Su Changge and Murong Ruyan woke almost at the same time.
Even now, the tear tracks at the corners of Murong Ruyan's eyes were still clearly visible.
"Su Changge, you... you shameless jerk."
Murong Ruyan wrapped her arms around herself. Then she seemed to catch sight of something, and her legs jerked backward as if she'd remembered something terrifying.
"Hmm?"
"What did you call me?"
Su Changge grinned, reached over, and pulled Murong Ruyan into his arms, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
The Douluo Continent was in an era when strength reigned supreme.
After nearly a whole night of activity and less than two hours of sleep, Su Changge felt insatiable, as if he still hadn't had enough. Perhaps it was because he had only just been unsealed, or perhaps it was the influence of his Martial Soul.
"Looks like you still haven't figured out your situation."
Su Changge gave her a wicked smile,
but he was only saying it to tease her.
Though he was a little carried away, he still understood the situation they were in.
When the Titan Giant Ape and Red Gold Fire Python had just died, their lingering pressure had kept ordinary Soul Beasts away.
But now the two thousand-year Soul Beasts had been dead for a whole night, and that pressure was gradually fading.
The scent of blood in the air would sooner or later draw hordes of Soul Beasts.
"Changge... let me go, please. I really can't take any more."
"Please, okay???"
Murong Ruyan had clearly been frightened by that sensitive phrase being repeated several times. Her delicate body trembled, and she hurriedly lowered her head.
After sharing a little tenderness, the two quickly got dressed.
"If we could haul away the Titan Giant Ape and Red Gold Fire Python's corpses, they'd fetch a fortune. What a shame..."
Su Changge sighed as he led Murong Ruyan out. But as soon as they started moving, Murong Ruyan stopped him.
"Changge, um... I brought a storage-type Soul Tool, but I don't know if it can hold them."
"Why don't we try?"
As she spoke, Murong Ruyan took the ring from her hand and passed it to Su Changge.
Hearing that the ring was a rare storage-type Soul Tool, Su Changge didn't hesitate for a moment. He slipped it onto his ring finger.
"Not bad!"
"I'll take this ring as your token of love."
With that, Su Changge paid no heed to Murong Ruyan's flushed cheeks and used his Soul Power to store both thousand-year Soul Beasts' corpses inside the ring.
Mm! Packed full, and they fit just right.
"Let's go. It's time to leave. If we wait any longer, it'll be too late."
"Mm!"
Murong Ruyan followed close behind Su Changge as they retraced the route they'd taken to get there.
However, Murong Ruyan seemed to have forgotten that the mangled remains of the four young Soul Masters who had sacrificed themselves for her were still lying unburied atop the rubble...
After two days on the road, Su Changge and Murong Ruyan reached the safe area at the outer entrance of the Star Dou Great Forest.
During those two nights of intimate conversation, Su Changge had also figured out Murong Ruyan's background.
Why were four young Soul Masters by Murong Ruyan's side, ready to die for her?
Why could Murong Ruyan produce a rare item like a storage-type Soul Tool?
And why was Murong Ruyan so stunning, both in face and figure...
Ahem, that's beside the point.
Murong Ruyan came from the Murong Earldom in the Haagen-Dazs Kingdom.
Her ancestors had been fierce generals who fought alongside the founding emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire. They had been granted a hereditary earldom for their service.
Their territory lay in the northern part of the Star Dou Mountain Range.
However, by her generation, the Murong Earl's line had dwindled.
Her father, Murong Boda, had recently fought to the death while resisting a small-scale Soul Beast tide.
Now only Murong Ruyan remained of the line, along with the eighteen-year-old stepmother Murong Boda had married for her two years ago, and a little boy who had just turned one.
After Murong Boda, the leading figure of the Murong Earl's line, died in battle, many factions in the Haagen-Dazs Kingdom began coveting the Murong Earldom.
To face the pressure from outside and improve her strength, Murong Ruyan had ventured into the outer reaches of the Star Dou Great Forest. She'd even gone so far as to provoke the Red Gold Fire Python and kill its offspring.
As for the four retainers who had died for her, to be precise, they were nothing more than unrequited simps.
They had hoped to win Murong Ruyan's favor, marry into the Murong Earldom, and someday become the new Earl of Murong!