The First Thousand-Year Ring

The slumbering Blood Dragon seemed to have been enraged. A terrifying devouring force erupted from within Gu En.

When the violent spatial energy encountered the blood-red aura, it unexpectedly became as docile as lambs. It was swiftly filtered and purified before finally merging into Gu En's bones.

A faint layer of blood-red patterns emerged across Gu En's skin. It was the Blood Dragon martial soul forcibly strengthening his body.

Time passed second by second.

Ning Fengzhi and the other two held their breath. For two full hours, Gu En remained completely motionless.

At last, the dark yellow soul ring fully settled and pulsed steadily beneath Gu En's feet.

Gu En opened his eyes. A silver gleam flashed through them, followed by an oppressive presence far exceeding that of a level-ten soul master.

"Success!" Ning Fengzhi let out a long breath.

"Good lad! A nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine-year first soul ring—this is unheard of even in the history of Douluo Continent!" Chen Xin's eyes were full of approval.

Gu Rong asked eagerly, "En'er, what is your first soul skill?"

Gu En rose to his feet, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. With a light wave of his right hand, the phantom Bone Dragon behind him suddenly opened its enormous jaws.

"First soul skill: Bone Dragon Void Flash."

Before his words had even faded, Gu En vanished from where he stood. The next second, he had appeared behind a huge boulder a hundred meters away. Immediately afterward, the boulder silently split into countless neat fragments, shredded apart by the residual spatial force.

"Teleportation? No, it's teleportation with cutting damage!" Ning Fengzhi immediately saw through it. "And the distance and frequency of the teleportation..."

Gu En flashed back to his original position and added,

"Uncle Ning, this soul skill lets me perform three consecutive short-range spatial jumps. Any enemies along the path of the jumps will be cut apart by spatial force."

"More importantly, it carries the Bone Dragon martial soul's defensive attribute. The instant I teleport, I enter a brief incorporeal state and become immune to physical attacks."

"Attack, defense, and mobility all in one."

Chen Xin sighed. "Old Bones, your grandson may become even more troublesome than you."

"HAHAHAHA! Of course he will!"

Gu Rong laughed proudly.

"Come on, back to the sect! I'm going to let those old fellows see what a true genius looks like!"

Gu En felt the abundant soul power within his body.

After absorbing this nearly thousand-year-old soul ring, his soul power had not remained at level fifteen. Due to his immense foundation, it had surged directly to level seventeen.

That was right. Gu En's innate soul power had exceeded innate full soul power, but he had not reached the innate level twenty of Qian Renxue. Instead, he fell in between, possessing innate level fifteen soul power.

At the edge of Star Dou Great Forest, the absorption of the soul ring had entered its final stage.

The dark yellow soul ring beneath Gu En's feet pulsed faster and faster, its color deepening to a critical point.

At that moment, the dormant Blood Dragon martial soul within him seemed dissatisfied with this "quasi-thousand-year" soul ring.

"ROAR—!"

A dragon's roar that only Gu En could hear rang out in his sea of consciousness.

The blood-red pattern on his left palm suddenly erupted with blinding light. An incomparably pure aura of True Dragon Essence Blood poured through his meridians and into the yellow soul ring.

The soul ring, which had already stabilized, began to tremble violently. Under the forced infusion of that high-grade dragon blood, the yellow on its surface completely shattered, replaced by a noble yet sinister shade of purple!

"Buzz!"

The purple ring completely took shape, its deep violet radiance casting Gu En's face in an especially cold and stern light.

"Pur... purple?!"

Even the well-traveled Ning Fengzhi could not help crying out in shock. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in his hand even trembled slightly.

"A first soul ring... a thousand years old? That's impossible!"

Shock filled the normally tranquil eyes of Sword Douluo Chen Xin.

The ironclad law of the soul master world had been torn apart by Gu En at this moment.

Gu Rong teleported directly to Gu En's side, repeatedly confirming the purple glow before bursting into wild laughter:

"HAHAHAHA! Good! What an incredible Blood Dragon! It can forcibly raise a soul ring's age! En'er, the secret of your twin martial souls may be enough to make even gods jealous!"

Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the rear garden of the sect master's residence.

News of Gu En's return had yet to spread through the sect, but Ning Rongrong had already been waiting at the entrance.

When she saw Gu En return safely—especially the pulsing purple soul ring beneath his feet—she froze completely.

"Brother Gu En... you really absorbed a thousand-year soul ring?"

Ning Rongrong ran over, her large eyes filled with admiration and a hint of possessiveness that even she had not noticed.

Gu En withdrew his martial soul. Looking at the little girl before him, who had not yet reached his shoulder, he reached out and ruffled her hair.

"Mm. I got lucky. The Blood Dragon martial soul helped a little."

"It wasn't luck at all! Brother Gu En is the best!"

Ning Rongrong naturally wrapped herself around Gu En's arm, rubbing her little face against it like an affectionate kitten.

"Since you're already so amazing, let's see who in the sect still dares say I'm naughty. I'll tell them my fiancé is the genius with the first thousand-year soul ring and scare them to death!"

Seeing her adorable, swaggering expression, Gu En felt warmth rise in his heart.

He took an exquisite jade box from his robes. Inside was a Snowbone Ginseng he had casually picked in Star Dou Great Forest. Though it was not an immortal herb, it was extremely beneficial for foundation-building and restoring vitality in support-system soul masters.

"Here. A gift for you."

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up as she accepted the jade box. Yet instead of looking at the precious herb, she stared at Gu En.

"I'll accept the gift, but Brother Gu En, you have to promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

Ning Rongrong raised her head slightly. The setting sun fell across her delicate face, giving it a soft golden glow. She said seriously,

"When you become stronger, lots of girls will like you."

"But you're my, Ning Rongrong's, fiancé. Your first soul ring is mine, your second soul ring is mine too... your whole body has to be mine. You're not allowed to look at anyone else!"

Although her words carried the domineering air of a little witch, her clear, watery eyes held the purest affection.

Gu En paused slightly, then smiled. He held out his pinky. "All right. Pinky promise."

"Pinky promise—if you break it, you'll hang from a hook. No changing for a hundred years!"

Two little hands hooked together, leaving an eternal silhouette beneath the sunset.

Over the following days, Gu En's treatment within the sect reached unprecedented heights.

Ning Fengzhi directly declared that Gu En would enjoy the same authority as the sect master in allocating resources.

Meanwhile, Gu Rong and Chen Xin argued incessantly over who would get to teach Gu En.

"Old bastard, En'er's first martial soul is the Bone Dragon. Of course he should learn spatial control and combat techniques from me!"

"Old Bones, that's just your sneaky style! En'er's Blood Dragon martial soul is full of explosive power, perfectly suited for the attacking essence of my Seven Killings Sword. Learning swordsmanship from me is the proper path!"

Gu En, meanwhile, rapidly grew through the "hellish training" of the two Titled Douluo.