Big Brother Su, You'd Better Not Be All Talk

"Big Brother Su, you're even stronger than I imagined!" Ning Rongrong came up beside Su Ling and spoke with a hint of embarrassment.

She had already given up hope, certain she could no longer avoid a beating.

Who would have thought Su Ling could break free of the restraints so quickly and rush over to drive their opponent back?

Breaking free of an opponent's control was normal, but doing it as quickly as Su Ling had was exceptionally rare.

It required either a special Soul Skill or overwhelming strength, and Su Ling clearly belonged to the latter category.

Su Ling smiled. "It's nothing. You'll gradually discover just how amazing your big brother is."

"Then I'll have to see what else you're so amazing at, Big Brother Su. You'd better not be all talk," Ning Rongrong replied with a serious expression.

There was no denying that Ning Rongrong had a sharp tongue. She refused to give an inch in a war of words.

The two walked out together, and the others gathered around to congratulate Su Ling and Ning Rongrong.

"Big Brother Su, how did you break free of the restraints just now?" Xiao Wu asked curiously. Control-type Soul Masters gave most Soul Masters a headache.

"Yes, I didn't even see it happen," Ning Rongrong said, also looking at Su Ling.

Su Ling said, "It's simple. As long as your strength overwhelmingly surpasses your opponent's, even the strongest control won't work. Besides training your bodies and cultivating Soul Power, you should all put more effort into building your strength."

As he spoke, Flender walked over, his face wreathed in smiles. Clearly, he had made a profit this time.

"Su Ling, this is yours. After deducting what you owed me, there are over twenty-three hundred Gold Soul Coins here," Flender said.

Su Ling said, "Dean, didn't we agree that all the winnings would be yours?"

Flender said, "What's yours is yours. I only need to take back what belongs to me."

He was delighted. Su Ling was stronger than ever after recovering, and more importantly, Flender had already lost two thousand Gold Soul Coins. Through Su Ling's fight, he had not only won back his losses but also made a small profit.

Su Ling had never owed him that much to begin with. Perhaps his conscience pricked him for taking too much, so he returned some Gold Soul Coins to Su Ling.

"Boss Su, you're so rich. How about treating us to a meal? You all went out for a feast last night, and I missed it," Ma Hongjun complained.

Last night, he had enjoyed himself with the ten Gold Soul Coins Su Ling had given him and purged his evil fire. The thought of the feast Su Ling and the others had eaten left his heart itching with longing.

"Sure, it's my treat today. Xiao San, don't fight me for the bill," Su Ling said, glancing at Tang San.

Tang San replied awkwardly, "No, I won't."

"All right, let's go. We'll go to the same restaurant as yesterday," Su Ling said.

With two more people this time, the party of nine cost Su Ling two hundred Gold Soul Coins. After eating and drinking their fill, they did not return to the academy until midnight.

And that night was destined to be different from those before it.

Oscar, Xiao Wu, and Tang San all broke through to rank thirty. Su Ling learned the news when he got up that morning. According to the plot, it was about time.

According to the novel's plot, Flender would stay at the academy while Zhao Wuji led the group to the Star Dou Great Forest.

But with Su Ling present and his Soul Power also at rank forty, Flender went along this time, joining Zhao Wuji in protecting Su Ling and the others.

Su Ling had originally planned to search for his fourth Soul Ring later, but the others might be gone for a month or two.

Gaining benefits from binding goddesses required earning their affection, and only by staying near them would he have the chance. Thus, Su Ling joined the others early that morning as they set off for the Star Dou Great Forest.

Perhaps it was the flap of Su Ling's butterfly wings, but they encountered no trouble along the way this time, not even Canghui Academy. In just four days, they reached the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest without incident.

Over those four days, Su Ling also successfully gained some affection from the girls.

He gained three affection points from Xiao Wu, five from Ning Rongrong, and three from Zhu Zhuqing.

In total, he obtained five White Chests and two Yellow Chests!

The three girls' affection toward Su Ling now stood at 11 for Xiao Wu, 19 for Ning Rongrong, and 69 for Zhu Zhuqing!

Su Ling had not opened the chests yet, because he had learned something from the system over the past two days.

Ten White Chests could be upgraded into one Yellow Chest, and ten Yellow Chests could be combined and upgraded into one Purple Chest. This continued all the way up to gold chests.

In other words, as long as he accumulated enough chests, even the lowest-grade ones were useful, since they could be exchanged for the highest-grade gold chests.

After learning this, Su Ling decided not to open his current White Chests and Yellow Chests for now. Any chest he opened would have to be a Purple Chest or better.

Once they entered the Star Dou Great Forest, the task of clearing the path ahead still fell to Dai Mubai. After all, a beast Martial Soul was best suited to the job, whereas a Martial Soul like Su Ling's was not.

"Big Brother Su, are you going to absorb a Soul Ring this time?" Ning Rongrong asked, looking at him curiously.

Although Zhu Zhuqing's affection had already reached 69 points, her personality meant she rarely spoke. Ning Rongrong was much more talkative.

Su Ling said, "That depends on fate. If we come across a suitable one, then sure."

"Fate?"

Ning Rongrong was puzzled. Had his previous failure to absorb a Soul Ring frightened him?

But from what she had learned about Su Ling over the past few days, he was not that sort of person!

"Su Ling, are you still determined to absorb an earth-attribute Soul Ring?" Flender suddenly asked.

Su Ling said, "Dean, that's the only way I can go further. If I can't, I'd rather not absorb one at all."

That was what Su Ling meant by fate. With the Five Elements Breath Cultivation Method already in his possession, he could reduce the danger to a minimum.

His body's strength would certainly allow him to absorb an ordinary earth-attribute Soul Ring over four thousand years old. In fact, his body already met the requirements for absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

However, because of the Soul Ring's attribute, absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring would be far too dangerous for Su Ling.

Fortunately, the Five Elements Breath Cultivation Method rekindled his hope of absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

"I've tried to persuade you countless times. Since you're still making the same choice, I won't say any more," Flender said.

"Only you would let him absorb a Soul Ring like that," Zhao Wuji teased from beside him.

"He's a monster. It's only natural for him to be a little different, isn't it?" Flender said.

Their main purpose on this trip was to find third Soul Rings for Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Oscar.

On their third day in the Star Dou Great Forest, they found Oscar's Soul Ring.

Through a convergence of circumstances, his third Soul Ring still came from a thousand-year-old Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent.

After spending several hours absorbing it, Oscar became a Soul Elder.

His skill was still the high-speed Flying Mushroom Sausage. After his first and second Soul Skills had failed to help Dai Mubai in that Soul Fighting defeat, he had felt frustrated by how little use he was.

Now that he had this high-speed Flying Mushroom Sausage, his usefulness had clearly increased, and his confidence soared.