Three More Stunned! You Still Want to Absorb Ten More Soul Rings!

"What?!"

The smile froze on Ning Fengzhi's face, replaced by utter shock and confusion.

Thinking he had misheard, he repeated the words to make sure:

"Ten... Soul Rings?"

"Shenghe, do you know that a Soul Master can absorb only one Soul Ring at each major stage? That has been an ironclad law of the Douluo Continent since time immemorial."

"Even with Twin Martial Souls, only one of your Martial Souls has awakened so far. How could you absorb ten Soul Rings?"

The first thing that came to mind was that such a feat would break the rules. The request flew in the face of everything he knew about Soul Master cultivation.

Sword Douluo Chen Xin knitted his brows, his piercing gaze seeming to see straight through Xiao Shenghe.

"Boy, don't talk nonsense. Absorbing Soul Rings affects the very foundation of your cultivation. Rushing ahead out of greed is a grave mistake. Your gifts may be extraordinary and your Soul Ring unusual, but cultivation must proceed one step at a time."

He feared that the strange First Soul Ring had gone to Xiao Shenghe's head and given him unrealistic ideas.

Bone Douluo Gu Rong dropped his teasing manner and said gravely:

"Ten Soul Rings? You couldn't hold that many even if they burst you open! There's a limit to what a Soul Master's body and soul can bear. Your Soul Ring may be strange, but that's no reason to chase a wild dream."

Faced with the three elders' shock and doubts, Xiao Shenghe did not back down.

He had known his request would split the heavens and shake the earth. But the faint resonance and fragments of information coming from the Three Thousand Burning Flame within him told him this was no fantasy.

He gathered his thoughts and explained as clearly as he could:

"Uncle Ning, Grandpa Sword, Grandpa Bone, please hear me out. I'm not trying to break the rule that allows only one Main Soul Ring at each stage."

"It's just... my Martial Soul, or rather, this special way I cultivate, is a little different."

He pointed at the purple-black Soul Ring beneath his feet. "This is my First 'Main Soul Ring.'"

"It gave me my core Soul Skill. As I just showed you, it mainly strengthens my basic abilities, such as recovery and defense."

"But from the vague impressions passed down through my bloodline and Martial Soul, it seems that after gaining this 'Main Soul Ring,' I can..."

"Absorb up to ten additional 'Auxiliary Soul Rings' without advancing to the next Soul Power Level, such as level twenty."

"This..."

At his words, Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong fell into even deeper shock and silence. They exchanged a swift glance.

"Very well! I agree. We can try to find suitable Soul Beasts for you and put this path to the test."

Sword Douluo Chen Xin pondered for a moment, his keen eyes as though probing the limits of Xiao Shenghe's body.

He was stunned, but preferred to test the claim in practice.

He spoke in a deep voice, making his decision:

"But for safety's sake, your first Auxiliary Soul Ring should come from a hundred-year Soul Beast."

His concern was caution. The energy of a Hundred-Year Soul Ring was relatively mild. Even if something went wrong, he and Gu Rong were strong enough to bring the situation under control.

Xiao Shenghe, however, shook his head. Confidence shone in his eyes, born of a clear sense of his Martial Soul Origin's power.

"There's no need, Grandpa Sword."

He pointed to his purple-black Soul Ring.

"My 'Main Soul Ring' has an innate ability—or rather, a trait. When I absorb another Soul Ring, whether it's a Main Soul Ring or an Auxiliary Soul Ring, it greatly reduces the impact and harm of that ring's energy on my body and soul. It also helps me assimilate its power."

He paused, then made a startling declaration:

"If Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings weren't so rare, with what I can bear now and the protection of my Main Soul Ring, I'd want to absorb ten of them as Auxiliary Soul Rings straightaway."

"Hah! Dream on, boy."

Bone Douluo Gu Rong could not help laughing as he scolded him. Yet there was little reproach in his eyes, only wonder and curiosity.

"Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings? Those are treasures you can only hope to stumble upon, as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns across the entire continent, and you want ten? Still..."

He changed tack and looked at Chen Xin and Ning Fengzhi.

"We've all seen how strange his Main Soul Ring is."

"If he says it can protect him like that, perhaps we could aim a little higher?"

Chen Xin nodded. He agreed with Gu Rong.

If they were going to test this unprecedented path, and Xiao Shenghe had such a safeguard, starting with a sufficiently powerful Auxiliary Soul Ring would better reveal the potential and limits of this system.

He looked up at the sky. The last rays of the setting sun had stained it red.

"But it's getting late,"

Sword Douluo Chen Xin said, looking into the distance.

"Tomorrow, we'll try our luck in the Heaven Dou Great Forest. Perhaps we really will come across a Soul Beast nearing a hundred thousand years old... one of sixty or seventy thousand years, to serve as the sacrifice for your first 'Auxiliary Soul Ring.'"

"All right! Thank you, Grandpa Sword."

"Brother He!"

With that bright cry, full of affection, Ning Rongrong pattered across the clearing and threw herself into Xiao Shenghe's arms. He had just finished the serious conversation and was still a little dazed.

A seven-year-old girl could not hit very hard, but her embrace held complete trust and closeness.

Xiao Shenghe took half a step back from the impact and instinctively wrapped his arms around the little girl who had rushed against his chest. When he looked down, he met Ning Rongrong's upturned, doll-like face.

Her large eyes blinked. A trace of unease lingered in them from hearing the adults talk about "Soul Rings" and "danger," but there was far more relief and a desire to be doted on now that she had someone to cling to.

"Brother He,"

Ning Rongrong said in her sweet, soft child's voice, her little pale hands clutching the front of Xiao Shenghe's clothes.

"Rongrong didn't understand all that... But does it mean you're going to become really, really strong again?"

Young as she was, she had sensed the gravity in her father's and the two grandfathers' voices, and the mix of surprise and expectation in their eyes when they looked at Brother He.

Xiao Shenghe's heart softened. The tension of discussing his future path with three mighty figures quietly melted away in the warmth of the little girl nestled against him.

He reached out and gently rubbed Ning Rongrong's soft hair. His voice grew tender without his even noticing.

"Mm, something like that. But I'll have to work hard for a long, long time."

"Then... will it be dangerous?"

Ning Rongrong buried her face against his chest and nuzzled him. Her muffled voice drifted up.

"Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone, and Daddy too, all seemed really worried."

She remembered how frightened she had been when she heard about a "bad feeling" earlier.

"It won't be,"

Xiao Shenghe said, holding her tighter. His voice was firm, as much to reassure himself as her.

"Look how strong Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone are. They've promised to help me, and Uncle Ning is here too. I won't be in danger."

"Besides, I have to... become stronger so I can always protect Rongrong, right?"

In this unfamiliar yet warm world, that was one of his purest and firmest motivations.

Only then did Ning Rongrong lift her head. A bright smile bloomed on her little face again, and she nodded hard.

"Mm! Brother He is the strongest! You have to protect Rongrong from now on!" She held out her pinkie. "Pinkie promise!"