But the Soul Ring had already entered his body. It was too late for regrets; it had already begun merging with his Martial Soul.
High risk could also bring high rewards. As Su Ling let his Martial Soul merge with the Soul Ring, he also began using the Five Elements Breath Cultivation Method to transform the Soul Ring into five-element Soul Power.
As the Soul Ring merged with his Martial Soul, a tremendous surge of energy poured out of it and into Su Ling's body.
Normally, half the energy in a Soul Beast's Soul Ring would flow into the Soul Master's body. Absorbing that energy was the key to advancing, while the other half remained within the Soul Ring and transformed into a Soul Skill.
A Soul Master could not absorb all that energy at once after it entered their body, so a great deal would remain inside.
That was the key to absorbing a Soul Ring beyond one's level: a powerful body was needed to withstand that energy.
If the body could not withstand it, absorbing the Soul Ring might fail, or the Soul Master might even explode on the spot.
That was why every stage had a maximum age limit for absorption, drawing a boundary for the Soul Beasts at each stage.
If someone exceeded that limit and absorbed a Soul Ring beyond their level, their body might not be able to bear it.
Over the past few days, Su Ling had consumed his final portion of supreme ten-thousand-year whale glue, strengthening his body further.
Su Ling's body was probably strong enough. The crucial part was keeping the five elements balanced within him.
Besides that, he also had to guard against the spiritual assault of a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast.
But the ten-thousand-year Soul Beast's energy was still too abundant. Before long, it filled Su Ling's entire body. From the outside, his skin could even be seen bulging slightly at times.
That was a sign of too much energy gathering inside him, caused by Su Ling failing to absorb it quickly enough and the five elemental attributes remaining unbalanced. The slightest mistake could make his body burst.
Feeling the energies of various attributes inside him, Su Ling was thankful that he had previously obtained supreme ten-thousand-year whale glue, allowing him to strengthen his body once more.
As he absorbed the energy, Su Ling used the Five Elements Breath Cultivation Method to convert his Soul Power.
While absorbing the Soul Power, Su Ling suddenly recalled the inheritance in his memories: condensing the Five Elements War Bow with the power of the five elements.
With all five elemental powers gathered now, wasn't this the perfect opportunity? He would not even have to wait until he absorbed another Soul Ring.
With that thought, Su Ling followed the method in his memories, using the Five Elements Breath Cultivation Method to combine the energies of the five elements with the Water Moon Bow.
At that moment, Su Ling was no longer merely absorbing a Soul Ring. He was also transforming his Martial Soul, carrying out several steps at once.
While Su Ling absorbed his Soul Ring, those guarding him outside glanced his way from time to time before continuing to watch their surroundings. If a Soul Beast charged at them, they would be in trouble.
In the blink of an eye, a day passed, yet Su Ling's Soul Ring absorption showed no sign of ending.
The entire process looked perilous, and in reality, it was anything but safe.
Fortunately, Su Ling had weathered several dangerous moments thanks to his powerful body.
Just then, however, danger crept closer. The formerly quiet forest began to stir, and the disturbance grew louder and louder.
It seemed that some Soul Beasts were approaching.
"Everyone, be careful," Flender warned in a low voice.
Encountering danger like this was the greatest fear during Soul Ring absorption. Judging by the sound, it was coming from the direction Dai Mubai was guarding.
Tang San activated his Purple Demon Eye and said, his face filled with horror, "Dean, there-there are so many Soul Beasts heading our way!"
Flender's expression grew grave. He, too, had seen the approaching swarm of Soul Beasts.
"Bloodthirsty Demon Ants. The one leading them is over thirty thousand years old, and there are more than ten others over ten thousand years old. How strange. We already used a special method to keep the Golden-Armored Earth Dragon's bloody scent from spreading. How did these creatures still find us?"
"Oscar, make some Recovery Sausages first. This could be a drawn-out battle," Flender ordered.
"All right!" Oscar nodded and immediately began making Recovery Sausages.
Zhao Wuji said coldly, "These creatures again. Flender, I remember one of the academy's students died in a Bloodthirsty Demon Ant attack before, didn't they?"
"That's right, but that time, someone deliberately lured the Bloodthirsty Demon Ants over in a foul ambush," Flender replied. The thought stirred a fury in his heart that would not subside. After all, he had greatly admired and valued the student who had died.
"Ning Rongrong, support everyone and stay beside Su Ling with Oscar. Zhu Zhuqing, you stay too."
At that, Flender glanced at Ma Hongjun and said, "Your flames are the bane of the Bloodthirsty Demon Ants. I'm entrusting you with the important task of protecting Su Ling."
"All right! I won't let a single Bloodthirsty Demon Ant get near Boss Su. Don't worry, Dean," Ma Hongjun said with a nod.
"Tang San, Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, you're all Soul Elders. Guard the area fifty meters from Su Ling. Zhao Wuji and I will intercept these Bloodthirsty Demon Ants. If any break through our line, you'll move in and stop them," Flender said.
"All right!" the three answered together.
Flender and Zhao Wuji charged out, while everyone else stood ready for battle. Su Ling, still absorbing his Soul Ring, also heard the commotion outside.
Damn, don't I have the passive skill Luck?
If I can still run into something this dangerous, does that count as being lucky?
I have to speed up the absorption. I hope my body can hold out.
The task of guarding Su Ling at close range fell to Ma Hongjun and Zhu Zhuqing.
Ning Rongrong supported Dai Mubai, Tang San, and Xiao Wu. As for Flender and Zhao Wuji, her Soul Power was not sufficient.
Before long, the battle began up ahead.
Su Ling did not know what was happening outside. All he could do now was put everything into absorbing his Soul Ring and try to finish as soon as possible.
At that moment, the ground before Flender and Zhao Wuji was carpeted with densely packed Bloodthirsty Demon Ants.
Even the youngest were over a hundred years old and the size of a fist.
Those over ten thousand years old were the largest. Even without counting their legs and other parts, their bodies alone were roughly the size of a bucket.
The thirty-thousand-year-old Bloodthirsty Demon Ant was the largest of them all.
Zhao Wuji immediately activated Great Strength Vajra Palm and slammed his palm into the ground, killing dozens of Bloodthirsty Demon Ants with that single blow. Flender also used his Soul Skills to hold the ants back.
But there were simply too many Bloodthirsty Demon Ants to count.
At first, they could rely on their Soul Skills to stop all the Bloodthirsty Demon Ants. As their numbers kept growing, however, the two could no longer hold them all back and could only focus on the stronger ones.
"They're coming!" Tang San hurriedly warned, flying needle hidden weapons appearing in his hands.
Whoosh...
He hurled the hidden weapons, each needle killing a hundred-year-old Bloodthirsty Demon Ant. Dai Mubai and Xiao Wu simply drew daggers.
By comparison, weapons like daggers were enough to deal with hundred-year-old Bloodthirsty Demon Ants, and they conserved Soul Power as well.
Ning Rongrong also unleashed her Soul Skills, boosting the three's strength and agility.
But these Bloodthirsty Demon Ants were no fools. Once enough of them had gathered, some circled around from the sides.
"Let me." Zhu Zhuqing immediately struck, eliminating the threat.
At first, only one or two broke through to Su Ling. After an incense stick's worth of time, that number had grown to dozens.
Even Tang San had nearly exhausted his hidden weapons and began using a dagger to fight the Bloodthirsty Demon Ant swarm.
"Zhao Wuji, this isn't working. Stop trying to block these Bloodthirsty Demon Ants for now. Let's take a gamble. Back me up while I go straight for that thirty-thousand-year-old Bloodthirsty Demon Ant King and kill it."
Flender finally made his decision. The longer this dragged on, the worse their situation would become.
"All right. Let's hope they can hold out," Zhao Wuji said.
With that, seven Soul Rings lit up around each of them, and they activated their Martial Soul Avatars at the same time. They had to give it everything they had.
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