Preparing to Refine Pills

After absorbing the soul ring, Zhao Ming did not linger in the Star Dou Forest.

The commotion caused by a ten-thousand-year soul ring was no small matter. Better to avoid trouble when possible, so the two immediately left the Star Dou Forest, found a place nearby to stay, and rested for the night.

Early the next morning, Snake Spear Douluo set off on the return journey with him.

They had come filled with anticipation and returned with a full haul.

The carriage swayed along the official road for half a month. Zhao Ming sat inside, familiarizing himself with his newly acquired soul power and abilities throughout the journey.

Half a month later, the carriage slowly passed through the gates of Heaven Dou City.

The Crown Prince's Palace was as grand and imposing as ever. The moment Zhao Ming returned to his little courtyard, Xue Qinghe, disguised by Qian Renxue, came over. Snake Spear Douluo tactfully withdrew outside the courtyard to stand guard.

Golden light flashed around Qian Renxue, restoring her original appearance. Today, she wore a long golden dress, and her purple eyes held an urgency and concern she could not conceal.

She walked up to Zhao Ming and looked him over from head to toe. After confirming that he was unharmed, she impatiently asked, "Xiaoming, how did the soul ring absorption go? Was it smooth?"

Seeing that Qian Renxue was even more nervous than he was, Zhao Ming felt warmth rise in his heart. Without wasting words, he directly activated his soul power, summoned his martial soul, the steel whip, and revealed the soul rings beneath his feet.

Yellow, purple, black. Three soul rings slowly revolved beneath his feet. In particular, the pitch-black third ring, ten thousand years old, formed a stark and striking contrast with the first two.

Qian Renxue's gaze fell upon the black soul ring. Her purple eyes suddenly lit up, and sincere admiration appeared on her face.

She gently patted Zhao Ming's shoulder, her voice full of pride and relief. "Xiaoming, you've created another miracle."

Zhao Ming chuckled but said nothing.

A seven-and-a-half-year-old Soul Elder with a ten-thousand-year third ring—looking across the entire history of Douluo Continent, such an achievement was likely unprecedented.

Yet Qian Renxue's praise lasted only a moment. Soon, she could not help but furrow her brows.

Looking at the three distinctly colored soul rings beneath Zhao Ming's feet, she found them more and more inappropriate the longer she looked.

A purple second ring and a black third ring completely defied the common sense that had governed the soul master world of Douluo Continent for thousands of years.

According to the soul ring absorption limits for the vast majority of soul masters on the continent, the limit for a second soul ring was just over seven hundred years, while the limit for a third soul ring was around seventeen hundred years.

Zhao Ming's soul ring configuration had already exceeded a thousand years with his second ring, while his third ring had directly crossed the ten-thousand-year threshold. If such a configuration were exposed before outsiders, it would inevitably cause an enormous uproar.

What worried her even more was Zhao Ming's cultivation speed. He had become a Soul Elder at seven and a half, only slightly slower than she had been back then.

But she had possessed innate soul power at level twenty. Upon awakening her martial soul, she had directly reached level twenty, and after absorbing two soul rings, her soul power had immediately risen to level twenty-four and a half. Only then had she been able to reach level thirty shortly after turning seven.

Zhao Ming, meanwhile, had only possessed full innate soul power, yet he cultivated this quickly and had such heaven-defying soul rings. He would definitely attract attention.

The tallest tree in the forest was the first to be felled by the wind. Qian Renxue understood this principle better than anyone.

She herself had spent so many years infiltrating the Heaven Dou Empire, treading on thin ice as she climbed step by step to her current position.

Zhao Ming was far too dazzling. Once someone with ulterior motives set their sights on him, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Qian Renxue had even begun considering whether she should send Zhao Ming back to the Consecration Hall, where her grandfather, Qian Daoliu, could personally teach him.

The Consecration Hall was the very core of Spirit Hall. With a peerless level ninety-nine Douluo stationed there, nowhere on the entire continent was safer.

Though Zhao Ming would no longer be able to remain by her side and help her, at least his safety would be guaranteed.

Zhao Ming noticed Qian Renxue's hesitation.

Seeing her tightly furrowed brows and the way she seemed to want to speak but stopped herself, he immediately guessed what she was worried about.

His eyes rolled, and he adopted the tone of a child as he looked up at Qian Renxue. "Sister Xue'er, are you worried that my soul rings are too conspicuous? It's fine. My Treasure-Dropping Coin has a disguise effect that can change the colors of my soul rings."

With that, a thought crossed his mind, and the disguise ability of the Fortune-Gathering Domain quietly activated.

The colors of the three soul rings beneath his feet slowly began to change. The purple second ring gradually faded to yellow, while the pitch-black ten-thousand-year third ring also turned light purple.

In the end, the three rings became yellow, yellow, purple—a standard Soul Elder soul ring configuration that would not arouse anyone's suspicion.

But Zhao Ming was not finished. He activated the Fortune-Gathering Domain again and completely concealed the aura of his third soul ring.

The light-purple third ring flickered faintly in the air, then vanished completely as though it had never existed.

At the same time, the fluctuations of Zhao Ming's soul power changed as well, dropping from the Soul Elder level to that of a Great Soul Master in the twenties.

Qian Renxue stared at the sight before her. She was stunned at first, but then her eyes brightened. Her tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and a smile returned to her lips.

She circled Zhao Ming once and carefully sensed him. When she discovered that even she, a six-ring Soul Emperor, could not see through his disguise, she could not help clicking her tongue in amazement.

"Good, good, good." Qian Renxue said "good" three times in a row. The worry on her face vanished completely, replaced by the ease of a great weight being lifted. "With this disguise, I can finally rest easy."

She stopped before Zhao Ming again, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Xiaoming, since you can disguise your soul ring configuration, I want you to do something for me."

Zhao Ming raised his head and waited for her to continue.

"I want you to attend Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Heaven Dou Royal Academy is the highest institution in the Heaven Dou Empire, and nearly all the talented youths of the empire gather there. Enroll as an ordinary genius, help your sister win over those young talents, and lay the groundwork for the future."

Heaven Dou Royal Academy and Star Luo Royal Academy of the Star Luo Empire were known as the continent's two great royal academies.

The students who could enter Heaven Dou Royal Academy were either members of the royal family, children of nobles, or exceptionally gifted commoner talents recommended by nobles.

To Qian Renxue, these students were not merely students. They were the future pillars of the Heaven Dou Empire.

If she could win over these young talents, it would be equivalent to grasping the core strength of the Heaven Dou Empire's next generation.

Zhao Ming agreed without hesitation. "All right. I'll go."

He agreed so readily partly because he truly wanted to do something for Qian Renxue in return for the care and trust she had shown him over the past two years.

But he also had his own plans. He wanted to use the extensive collection of Heaven Dou Royal Academy to determine which plants on Douluo Continent could be used in refining medicine.

He had drawn the Supreme Clarity Lineage Alchemy Art, but because he had lacked both a source of medicinal ingredients and an understanding of the medicinal properties of this world's plants, he had never truly begun experimenting with it.

As the highest institution in the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou Royal Academy's library ranked among the greatest on the entire continent. It would certainly contain texts on medicinal herbs, plants, and alchemy.

If he could thoroughly read those books and integrate the herbal knowledge of the two worlds, he could officially begin trying to condense the Yin-Yang Pill Flame and refine pills.

Pills were almost completely uncharted territory on Douluo Continent.

This world had healing soul skills and food martial souls from auxiliary-type soul masters, but it alone lacked a systematic art of pill refinement.

If Zhao Ming could refine pills, then even the most basic pills for tempering the body or restoring soul power would possess immeasurable value.