Third Soul Ring, Ten Thousand Years!

"System, absorb—the System-Bestowed Soul Ring!"

Bzzz—!

A sphere of lawful light, impossible to describe with any color, its interior seeming to hold countless star vortices being born and dying, emerged from the void.

It hovered above Lin Jiang's head, then abruptly swelled in the next instant, transforming into a dazzling pillar of light that enveloped him!

Within the pillar, immense energy surged wildly into the level-thirty bottleneck he had just broken through, accelerating the process of condensing a soul ring without limit!

White! Yellow! Purple!

The soul ring's color shifted and leaped at an astonishing speed, breaking through the thousand-year boundary without the slightest pause.

The deep purple rapidly darkened and thickened, eventually becoming an abyss-like shade that made one's heart tremble—

Black!

A ten-thousand-year soul ring!

Fine beads of sweat seeped from Lin Jiang's forehead, and his body trembled slightly as the massive energy of the ten-thousand-year soul ring battered every inch of his meridians.

Yet his monstrous physique, strengthened by soul bones and several rounds of feedback improvements, was like the sturdiest dam, steadily withstanding the raging torrent before completely taming and absorbing it!

At last, a black soul ring with deep black light flowing along its edges, radiating suffocating pressure, hovered steadily beneath his feet, complementing his other two soul rings!

Third soul ring, ten thousand years!

The instant the soul ring finished condensing, the feedback energy once more sent his soul power level soaring—

Level thirty-one! Level thirty-two!

As the light faded, Lin Jiang slowly opened his eyes. A flicker of black lightning seemed to flash through the depths of his gaze.

He lightly clenched his fist, feeling the terrifying power surging through him, far beyond what it had been moments ago. A thrill of complete control rose naturally within him.

The next morning, faint dawn light filtered through the window lattice, casting mottled shadows across the room.

Xiao Wu was still deeply asleep, wrapped in exhaustion and some strange lingering afterglow. Curled up on Lin Jiang's bed, she breathed evenly and deeply.

She had no idea that the "sleeping" mission that had lasted the entire night had already been judged by the system as—completed beyond quota—as dawn broke.

Almost at the same moment, the cold, efficient notification sounded punctually within Lin Jiang's mind.

[ Ding!~ Detected that the subsystem-bound individual (Xiao Wu) has successfully completed the mission! ]

[ Mission reward feedback settlement in progress... ]

[ Congratulations to main controller Lin Jiang for obtaining the feedback reward: Soul Ring Age Upgrade Card (Ten Thousand Years) ×1! ]

Lin Jiang abruptly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam shining within them, without the slightest trace of waking grogginess.

Without even a moment's hesitation, a thought crossed his mind: System, use this ten-thousand-year upgrade card on my second soul ring!

Bzzz!

The ancient card stored in the system space, flowing with the aura of ten thousand years, shattered at his command.

It transformed into an incomparably pure, immense torrent condensed with the power of time, fiercely pouring into the second soul ring beneath his feet, which had originally flickered with deep purple light!

The purple deepened, settled, and underwent a qualitative transformation at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Light flowed across the soul ring's surface, as though countless ancient runes were being born and extinguished. It ultimately turned completely black, enough to make one's heart quiver, while its edges faintly glimmered with a weak red light!

11,580 years!

His second soul ring had officially stepped into the ten-thousand-year threshold!

Its power, toughness, and the cutting and storm forces contained within it underwent an earth-shaking transformation!

"Still not enough!" Feeling the reborn power of his second soul ring, Lin Jiang's lips curved into a sharp smile.

His thoughts moved again as he took out every Soul Ring Age Upgrade Card he had accumulated from Ma Hongjun, Yu Xiaogang, and the others' missions!

These cards turned into streams of light in varying colors and strengths, flowing like a hundred rivers returning to the sea as they all poured into his very first soul ring!

The originally 2,200-year purple soul ring flashed violently, its age skyrocketing at an unprecedented rate!

3,000 years! 5,000 years! 6,000 years!

At last, all the light receded, settling into a deep purple soul ring as profound as an abyss!

6,220 years!

His first soul ring had been forcibly raised to a terrifying age surpassing even the fourth or fifth soul rings of ordinary soul masters!

Its toughness and binding power had already reached an unimaginable level!

Lin Jiang slowly rose to his feet, and three soul rings ascended one after another beneath him—first ring: purple (6,220 years)!

Second ring: black (11,580 years)!

Third ring: black (the ten-thousand-year soul ring he had just absorbed)!

A soul ring configuration so terrifying it was suffocating!

The ages of the first two rings in particular were enough to completely shatter all the theories of the soul master world!

Feeling this power that far surpassed all common sense, Lin Jiang was filled with lofty pride. He could not help but chuckle softly.

"I'm invincible now!"

At that moment, Xiao Wu was awakened by the amusement in Lin Jiang's voice.

She suddenly opened her eyes. What entered her view was an unfamiliar bed canopy, along with Lin Jiang's face close at hand, wearing a teasing expression.

Fragments of last night's embarrassing memories instantly flooded into her mind!

"Ah!"

She gave a soft cry and sprang upright like a startled rabbit, her cheeks instantly flushing crimson as she hurriedly pulled the blanket over herself.

"W-Why am I sleeping here?!"

Lin Jiang calmly admired her flustered state, his tone lazy.

"Awake? You slept rather deeply last night, you know~"

"Y-You didn't see anything! Nothing happened!"

Xiao Wu was so embarrassed she nearly started steaming. She shouted incoherently, not daring to meet his eyes at all.

"Oh?" Lin Jiang raised an eyebrow and deliberately drew out his tone.

"Then last night, a certain young lady diligently massaged me, only to later herself..."

"Don't say it! You don't know anything!!"

Like someone whose tail had been stepped on, Xiao Wu shrieked and cut him off. No longer caring about anything else, she threw back the blanket and jumped out of bed, only for her legs to go weak and nearly send her tumbling.

Forcing herself to stand on her weak legs, she staggered out of the room without looking back.

At breakfast, the atmosphere was subtle.

Everyone gradually gathered in the hotel lobby.

Tang San lowered his eyelids as he secretly calculated, his cold gaze sweeping over the composed Lin Jiang.

Dai Mubai lost, but that doesn't mean I, Tang San, will lose! I have to find an opportunity—a wagered duel—to completely cripple this pretty boy who might lay a hand on Xiao Wu!

At that moment, Yu Xiaogang emerged with a sallow face, one hand tightly clutching below his lower back as he shuffled forward.

His lips trembled as though he wanted to say something, but his expression was one of pain too difficult to speak of.

Almost at the same time, Ma Hongjun suddenly let out an "Ow!" His round belly rumbled like thunder.

He clutched his stomach, his plump face twisting in pain.

"Damn! What's wrong with my stomach today?! It's acting up badly!"

Tang San caught sight of it from the corner of his eye, and the corners of his mouth could not help curling into a cold smile. He nearly laughed aloud—the powerful laxative he had secretly administered last night was taking effect!

However, before he could finish feeling pleased with himself, a sudden change occurred!

The pain on Ma Hongjun's face abruptly turned into extreme terror.

He tried to hold it in, but some barrier had clearly already failed—Pfft!!!

An extraordinarily indecent, explosive sound like escaping air suddenly rang out!

Yet what accompanied that sound was not the filth everyone expected, but—BOOM!!!

A violent mass of purplish-red Evil Fire Phoenix flames erupted uncontrollably from behind him like a burst dam!

It was as if the Evil Fire accumulated within his body had undergone some bizarre chemical reaction with the stimulation of the laxative, resulting in this earth-shaking leak of energy!