Soul Master Soul Ring Absorption Theory!

"Old Rhino, I can't swallow this insult!"

"We chased them for so long, and we clearly told them to stop!"

"But those bastards went way too far!"

Old Ape clenched his fists. He had truly been prepared to waste the soul ring rather than let Qin Qi and the others absorb it.

"Even if you can't swallow it, Old Ape, you still have to."

"That bespectacled one and that kid are both ruthless."

"Before we could even react, they had already taken a hostage."

"Now we have to do whatever they say, or your little ape's life won't be saved."

Old Rhino sighed helplessly. They had never expected that youth to be so decisive, so willing to take risks.

He had actually rushed in and taken a hostage. What they had not expected even more was that the Power Ape Martial Soul, known for its extreme strength, had had its bones shattered by a single punch.

That string of unexpected events had made them lose the initiative. Now, there was nothing they could do.

Shi Mo began absorbing the soul ring, while Shi Mo stood guard for him. Both of them knew time was tight.

Thus, they focused intently on absorbing the soul ring. Before long, the absorption was complete, and Shi Mo broke through Level 20, entering the realm of a Grand Soul Master!

"Boss Qin Qi, we're done absorbing it."

Shi Mo and Shi Mo instinctively walked over to Qin Qi, reporting the situation while asking what they should do next.

"Bro, I'm leaving the hostage to you. We'll run first. Meet up at the second marked location."

Qin Qi handed the little ape over to Qin Ming, then immediately fled with the Shi Mo brothers without hesitation.

"Kid!"

Seeing this, Old Ape wanted to chase after them.

"Don't move, you two!"

Qin Ming tightened his grip around the little ape's neck slightly, and the little ape immediately felt as though it were suffocating.

"Fine, we won't move, we won't move! Don't hurt my son!"

Old Ape hurriedly said.

"You two, I don't want to become mortal enemies with you. Once my students have gotten far enough away, I'll return this child to you."

"I also hope you won't continue chasing us. Think carefully about the forces backing you."

"Think about the consequences if you truly become enemies with our academy."

As Qin Ming spoke to stall for time, he also made the stakes clear to the two of them. There was a grievance between them now.

Such grievances were common among soul masters and did not count as becoming enemies. Once it passed, it passed.

But if someone truly died, then they would become real enemies, and things would become troublesome.

Meanwhile, on Qin Qi's side.

"Boss Qin Qi, isn't it kind of bad that we left Teacher Qin Ming behind alone?"

Shi Mo looked back. He felt somewhat sorry toward Qin Ming and a little guilty.

"You really need to study harder from now on."

"My bro is a Soul Emperor above Level 60. He's ridiculously fast."

"One of them is a defense-type, and the other is a strength-type. Do you think they can catch my bro?"

"As long as we get away first, there's no way they'll be able to do anything to my bro."

Qin Qi sighed helplessly. These two had good hearts, but their brains really were not that sharp.

"So that's how it is!"

Shi Mo revealed an enlightened expression. So there was another layer to it.

After the three of them had traveled for a little over twenty minutes.

"Gentlemen, farewell."

Qin Ming calculated that the timing was about right, then suddenly threw the little ape in his hand away.

At the same time, he released flames to surround the area, then charged directly into the fire and vanished.

"Damn it!"

Old Ape caught his son and immediately wanted to chase after him, but by the time the flames dispersed, Qin Ming had long since disappeared.

"You bastard! You shameless coward! If you've got the guts, fight me head-on!"

Old Ape punched the tree beside him, blasting a hole straight through the trunk, which was as thick as a person.

"That's enough, Old Ape. Let it go."

"We suffered a little and lost some face, but as long as no one got hurt, that's what matters."

Old Rhino patted Old Ape on the shoulder and spoke.

"I can't swallow this insult! Let's chase them down—I have to give them a couple of punches!"

Old Ape's face had turned red by then. He was so furious that his veins looked ready to burst. He had never been humiliated like this before.

"Don't chase them. What would you do if you caught up—actually kill them?"

"Although that glasses-wearing kid was trying to stall for time, he had a point."

"Right now, this is just a minor conflict between us."

"If you catch up and beat them to death, it'll become a conflict between two factions."

"Then things will get troublesome."

Old Rhino had a much steadier temper. Although that Four-Eyed Scale-Armored Beast had been meant for his son, Little Rhino, there were plenty of spirit beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. If this one was gone, they could just find another. There was no need to get so worked up.

"Damn it!"

Old Ape had nothing left to say. It seemed he could only swallow this anger.

"That boy... he'll definitely become someone extraordinary in the future."

Old Rhino looked toward the direction Qin Qi and the others had left, Qin Qi's decisive actions replaying in his mind.

He could not help but sigh inwardly. Then he looked at his own son, who seemed more and more foolish the longer he looked.

After entering the forest, Qin Qi and the others left markers along the way to avoid getting lost.

They were now waiting at the second marker point. Only a few minutes later, Qin Ming caught up with them.

"Big Brother, are you alright?"

Qin Qi was the first to step forward and check him over. Only after confirming that Qin Ming was uninjured did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"I'm fine."

"Shi Mo, Shi Mo, Qin Qi, the three of you took a big risk this time."

"Yet it was also a very wise decision. In the Star Dou Great Forest, the most dangerous things are not spirit beasts, but people."

"Many people kill one another for profit or hatred. It doesn't matter how powerful your background is outside."

"In this great forest, only the most primitive strength matters!"

Qin Ming looked at the three of them, his eyes carrying a hint of satisfaction. This practical training session had produced excellent results.

"Big Brother, is this really the time to be saying that? You seriously need to fix that habit of yours as a teacher."

Qin Qi complained.

"Hahaha!"

The two Shi Mo brothers looked at Qin Ming, who had returned safely, and listened to Qin Qi's complaint. They could not help but laugh.

For a moment, the atmosphere among the four of them became lively.

"Alright, next, we need to find a spirit beast for you. I've already helped you determine the type."

"But we haven't decided on the age yet. How many years of cultivation are you planning to absorb for your spirit ring this time?"

Qin Ming looked at Qin Qi. Normally, a second spirit ring would be around eight hundred years.

Depending on the martial soul and physical condition, it would generally fall between six hundred and eight hundred years.

But Qin Qi was different. His first spirit ring had already been a thousand-year one.

"Mm... directly absorbing a ten-thousand-year spirit ring is impossible. Based on the previous tests,"

"I can currently withstand the pressure of spirit power above level twenty-five. Adding in the physical test data and the unique load-sharing nature of an external beast martial soul,"

"I think I can absorb a spirit ring of around four thousand years."

Qin Qi thought seriously for about five minutes before giving a number.

"Between four thousand five hundred and four thousand six hundred years. That's the limit."

Qin Ming adjusted his glasses. He looked at Qin Qi, greatly surprised by how solid Qin Qi's knowledge of spirit masters was.

But he did not praise Qin Qi directly. Instead, he calmly gave a more precise figure.

PS: The figures above are not incorrect. Spirit power pressure cannot be directly converted into spirit power levels.

According to the original setting, under normal circumstances, a level-twenty-five spirit master simply could not withstand the pressure of level-twenty-five spirit power.