Thorn Dragon

"That's enough, you two!"

Xiao Hongchen protested,

"Honestly..."

Miss Meng clicked her tongue in displeasure, but she ultimately refrained from continuing to provoke her brother.

Letting go of Ming, the girl naturally stood at his side before continuing with a bright smile,

"By the way, Ming'an, haven't you chosen your First Soul Ring yet? It's been over a month already."

"No rush. We'll talk about it once my grandfather returns."

Kong Ming'an was in no hurry at all.

His old man had taken the matter of his First Soul Ring very seriously. Taking advantage of the fact that he had just emerged from seclusion, while everyone still believed he was in seclusion, he had gone out personally to find a Soul Beast for him.

Hmm... a Rank 98 existence with Twin Martial Souls, proficient in Explode Ring, and nearly a Rank 10 Soul Engineer, going out to find him the Soul Beast he wanted...

That feeling of security was absolutely real.

His old man really was the most reliable.

Rather than continuing the topic of his Soul Ring, Kong Ming'an kept chatting with the Hongchen Siblings, mainly about the use of the Ring Quenching Method.

Having successively broken through to two rings and developed physiques at the Soul Elder level, the two of them now had the foundation to begin practicing the Ring Quenching Method.

Kong Ming'an naturally had no intention of keeping anything from them, and began explaining the precautions involved in the Ring Quenching Method.

Just as Kong Ming'an was explaining it to them, the Laboratory's heavy Alloy Gate silently slid open.

Kong Ming'an was the first to realize something was happening. He quickly looked up and saw Kong Deming, dressed in a long robe and looking somewhat travel-worn.

"Grandfather?"

Kong Ming'an was pleasantly surprised. He had not expected his old man to return so quickly.

"Old Kong!" Xiao Hongchen greeted him respectfully from the side.

"Grandpa Kong, you're back!" Meng Hongchen was equally respectful, though her form of address was considerably more intimate than Xiao Hongchen's.

Kong Deming gave a slight nod. His expression was somewhat weary, but his eyes remained bright.

With a calm gaze, he made his way familiarly to the center of the Laboratory. Then, from the Storage Soul Tool he carried with him, he slowly took out a cylindrical container roughly half a person's height, made entirely of Silver White metal and engraved with countless intricate sealing runes.

"Is this... a Beast Sealing Platform?" Kong Ming'an asked tentatively.

Kong Deming nodded slightly, giving an affirmative answer.

Kong Ming'an was a little curious. As its name implied, a Beast Sealing Platform was used to seal Soul Beasts. In terms of rank, it counted as an eighth-rank Soul Tool.

This thing also had an advanced version: the God Sealing Platform that had sealed the Snow Empress.

Kong Deming steadily placed the Beast Sealing Platform onto the specially made platform in the center of the Laboratory. With a casual raise of his hand, he activated the surrounding Soul Tool formation, creating multiple energy confinement fields.

Meng Hongchen curiously stepped closer. Looking at the Silver White pillar emitting powerful sealing fluctuations, she unconsciously asked in a low voice,

"Grandpa Kong, what Soul Beast is sealed inside?"

Kong Deming's gaze swept over the Beast Sealing Platform as he calmly spoke three words: "Thorn Dragon."

Upon hearing that name, Kong Ming'an's previously calm eyes flickered slightly, and he quietly let out a breath of relief.

The Thorn Dragon was an extremely rare draconic Soul Beast with the Space Attribute.

They were born able to wield the power of space. Not only were their attacks bizarre and their speed unparalleled, but they could also Teleport over short distances. Their sharp tails could even lash space apart, giving them limitless potential.

Upon reaching an extremely high age, they could even open up their own spatial battlefield and control the Space Thorn Domain. Even among Soul Beasts with the Space Attribute, they were outstanding, perfectly matching his expectations for his First Soul Ring.

To ensure that his First Soul Ring would be satisfactory, he had previously devised several plans.

At first, he had set his sights on the depths of the Demonic Forest, hoping to capture a mutated Evil Eye Tyrant possessing the Space Attribute—or even the Time Attribute.

But in the end, considering that it was the Holy Spirit Cult's stronghold and Ye Xishui's territory, with the Evil Emperor slumbering even deeper within, the risk was simply too great.

For the sake of his old man's safety, he had ultimately decided to give up.

His core requirements had always been clear:

The Soul Beast's attribute had to be sufficiently high-level. His first choices were extraordinary attributes such as "time," "space," and "fate," while his second choices were other ultimate attributes, such as Soul Beasts like the Ice Jade Scorpion with the Extreme Ice attribute.

Beyond that, if possible, he could also choose a Silver Hero Beast.

If none of the above were available, then he would directly go to the Jingyang Mountain Range and capture that Silver Moon Wolf King with seven Element attributes. That was the worst fallback option.

Naturally, things had not turned out as badly as he had imagined. In fact, they had even exceeded his expectations somewhat!

His old man had actually brought back an exceptionally rare spatial Soul Beast—a Thorn Dragon!

This was undoubtedly an unexpected delight.

His research was progressing smoothly, his cultivation was going well, and now he had found a Soul Beast that suited his wishes as well... It seemed that everything had been going smoothly lately. His luck was pretty good...

At the side, Kong Deming watched the faint excitement in his grandson's eyes. However, he stared at him with an especially solemn tone,

"Ming'an, this Thorn Dragon has only just broken through ten thousand years and happened to be caught by me while it was still in its weakened period. But if it produces a Soul Ring, the energy contained within it will certainly far exceed that of an ordinary Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

"You... are you truly completely certain?"

Even though he had personally witnessed his grandson create miracles countless times, and even though he could sense the powerful physique within him that far surpassed those of his peers—and even many high-level Soul Masters—

Still... absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring at rank ten sounded like pure fantasy no matter how he looked at it...

If he had not understood his grandson's temperament, he would never have gone to find a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring that met his requirements.

Kong Ming'an raised his eyes to meet his old man's worried gaze. A relaxed smile appeared on his face as he spoke clearly and firmly,

"Don't worry, Grandfather. I can't say I have a hundred percent certainty... but I probably have ninety-eight percent."

As everyone knew, absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring required not only a powerful physique capable of enduring the immense energy impact, but also an invisible and far more dangerous hurdle—Soul Shock.

Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts already possessed considerable Soul Power. The resentment and lingering soul echoes produced upon their deaths would form an impact within the Soul Ring, directly affecting the absorber's Spiritual Sea. At best, it could damage the mind; at worst, it could turn the person into an idiot.

Under normal circumstances, only when a Soul Master reached the Soul King level would the strength of his mind and soul be sufficient to withstand Soul Shock.

But for Kong Ming'an, this was precisely the least problematic problem.

How could he deal with Soul Shock?

The answer was exceptionally simple: eliminate it at the source and completely purify the residual soul remnants left by the Soul Beast within the Soul Ring! Once the Soul Ring no longer contained the Soul Beast's soul, there naturally would be no shock to speak of.

"Elder Yi," Kong Ming'an called silently in his heart.

"Hehe... don't worry."

An aged voice carrying a hint of laughter sounded within Kong Ming'an's Spiritual Sea.

"...Over this past year or so, I have not been idling around. Leave the lingering resentment of a mere Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast to this old man."

Kong Ming'an relaxed slightly.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Elder Yi."

"It's nothing."