Second Spirit Ring

Actually, by all rights, he could have applied to graduate after absorbing his First Spirit Ring, because the graduation requirement of Striking Spirit Master Academy was simply to become a Spirit Master.

It was just that the timing had not been right then.

His circumstances were far too unusual. Rashly changing academies would only attract more attention. By staying at Notting Academy, he at least had the headmaster as a small source of backing, making everything much more convenient.

After weighing everything, he had not been suited to graduating early at the time.

Now, however, the timing was much more mature than before.

But before applying for early graduation, he still had many things to do. The first was to obtain his Second Spirit Ring!

Early the next morning, Shi Quan told Marde that he had broken through to Level 20.

After examining him in surprise, Marde sighed. "Your talent is now practically on par with Innate Full Soul Power."

Seeing that it was still early, Marde directly took Shi Quan to Spirit Hall to find Dawson.

Dawson was equally surprised to see that Shi Quan had reached Level 20 so quickly.

After confirming that there was no mistake, they did not delay.

The three of them once again boarded Spirit Hall's carriage and set off for the Beginner Soul Hunting Forest.

"What! You want to absorb a Thousand Year one?!"

Marde abruptly stood up. With a bang, his head slammed hard into the carriage roof. Yet he paid no attention to the pain, staring intently at Shi Quan as he said in a low voice, "No. A Thousand Year one is far too high. Your First Spirit Ring exceeded the limit by less than a hundred years, but a Thousand Year one exceeds the Second Spirit Ring's limit by more than two hundred years! And the gap between Thousand Year Spirit Beasts and Hundred Year Spirit Beasts is considerable. Their energy is far more violent. The difference from a Hundred Year Spirit Ring is no small matter."

Because they had departed in such haste, Shi Quan had not discussed the age limit of his Second Spirit Ring with Marde beforehand. That was why Marde reacted this way.

Dawson also looked at Shi Quan with alarm. Thousand Year and Hundred Year were separated by an entire rank. Though nine hundred and ninety-nine years and a thousand years differed by only a single year, the pressure one had to withstand increased severalfold.

Shi Quan smiled reassuringly. "If I want to perfect my theory, taking risks is inevitable. But I will not foolishly throw my life away. Don't worry, Teacher. Since I chose this, I must be confident."

"But this is still far too dangerous." Marde helplessly rubbed his head and sat back down. "Xiao Quan, I still suggest that you choose a plant over nine hundred years old. That should be enough."

"Let's take a look first."

Shi Quan smiled and lowered his head, shifting his attention to the booklet in his hands.

Dawson spoke up at just the right moment. "The booklet in your hand only records Hundred Year Spirit Beasts. For Thousand Year Spirit Beasts, you need to look at this one."

As he spoke, Dawson took out another booklet and handed it to Shi Quan. Compared to the booklet Shi Quan was holding, this one was clearly much thinner.

"Dawson, you..." Marde could only sigh helplessly at the sight.

Shi Quan had been wondering why he had not seen any Thousand Year Spirit Beasts. So that was the reason.

How could such a large Soul Beast Forest possibly not have even a single Thousand Year Spirit Beast?

Taking the booklet from Dawson, Shi Quan immediately began flipping through it.

Most of the Spirit Beasts listed in the booklet were low-age Thousand Year Spirit Beasts. The higher ones were only around fourteen hundred years old. After all, this was merely a Beginner Soul Hunting Forest. There were Thousand Year Spirit Beasts here, but their ages would not be too high.

Watching the eager Shi Quan, Dawson smiled and reminded him, "If you want a Thousand Year plant-type Spirit Beast, you can look at the plant-type Spirit Beast on the second-to-last page. Its age is right around a thousand years, and it is one of the rarer high-level Spirit Beasts."

"A high-level Thousand Year Spirit Beast?" Shi Quan's eyes lit up. He skipped straight past the earlier entries and flipped to the end.

"Ink Jade Bamboo!" Shi Quan's expression turned a little strange.

"Ink Jade Bamboo?"

Upon hearing the name, Marde immediately showed a look of understanding. Generally speaking, high-level Spirit Beasts rarely appeared in Soul Beast Forests. Even when they did, they tended to be particularly unusual high-level Spirit Beasts.

Ink Jade Bamboo was one such case. It possessed no offensive ability whatsoever. It had only one trait: hardness. Yet it had forcefully squeezed its way into the ranks of high-level Spirit Beasts with that single attribute.

The toughness of Ink Jade Bamboo far surpassed others of the same rank. A Hundred Year Ink Jade Bamboo could not be harmed in the slightest even by some ordinary Thousand Year Spirit Beasts. As for a Thousand Year Ink Jade Bamboo, almost nothing of the same rank could break through its defenses. Even high-level Spirit Beasts of the same rank were no exception.

It was the kind that had maxed out its defense while putting not a single point into speed, strength, or attack.

Logically, Ink Jade Bamboo, with its extraordinary toughness, should have been an invaluable find for plant-type Control System Spirit Masters pursuing toughness.

But the awkward part was that Ink Jade Bamboo's hardness and toughness were simply too great. After a plant-type Spirit Soul absorbed it, it would cause the plant Spirit Soul itself to harden, making it stiff and difficult to control. Over time, plant-type Control System Spirit Masters had become afraid to choose Ink Jade Bamboo as a Spirit Ring.

Defense System Spirit Masters with plant-type Spirit Souls were even rarer, while Beast Spirit Soul Masters would not choose plant-type Spirit Beast rings. As a result, Ink Jade Bamboo was an extremely unpopular Spirit Beast in the Spirit Master World.

"Ink Jade Bamboo may be powerful, but its drawbacks are far too great. Xiao Quan, surely you aren't..."

"It's this one!"

Before Marde could finish, Shi Quan had already made his decision.

"Xiao Quan, you should understand the drawbacks of an Ink Jade Bamboo Spirit Ring. Don't choose it just because it is a high-level Spirit Beast," Marde hurriedly urged.

"I have overcome so many difficulties already. Why would I fear a stiff Spirit Soul? Teacher, I believe I can solve it. Blue Silver Grass is naturally weak, and toughness has always been one of its greatest problems. With an Ink Jade Bamboo Spirit Ring, I believe the weakness in Blue Silver Grass's toughness can be greatly alleviated." Shi Quan looked seriously at Marde.

Marde shook his head. "Fine. It is just going to be hard on these old bones of mine."

Shi Quan said with a smile, "Teacher, you are still young and strong."

"I certainly hope so." Marde laughed as well.

Ink Jade Bamboo was incomparably tough. Though it had no offensive power, it was not something just anyone could handle. Ordinary attacks might leave it unharmed, but the attacker might not be so fortunate. Its hard bamboo body was like iron and stone, producing a powerful rebound force. A moment of carelessness could result in injury rather than a successful attack.

Because they had been delayed in the morning, by the time they reached Spirit Hall's outpost outside the Soul Beast Forest, it was already nearing sunset the following afternoon.

Ink Jade Bamboo was located deep within the Soul Beast Forest, and the journey was long. After discussing it, the three decided to set out early the next morning.

After all, this was a Soul Beast Forest. Though it was only a beginner-level one, rushing toward its deepest parts in the middle of the night was still extremely dangerous.

Early the next morning.

The three set out. After several more hours of travel, they finally spotted the tall, pitch-black bamboo amid a patch of shrubs close to noon.

It was easy to judge the age of Ink Jade Bamboo. Each segment represented a hundred years, and every additional segment on the bamboo body meant another hundred years of age.

The Ink Jade Bamboo before them had exactly ten segments, neither more nor less.

Shi Quan chose Ink Jade Bamboo not only because of its powerful toughness, but also because bamboo was a grass-type plant. It was a kind of grass, not a tree. Furthermore, bamboo-type Spirit Beasts possessed great vitality and were highly compatible with the Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul in every way.

As for the problem of Spirit Soul hardening, Shi Quan had already thought of a solution: the Immortal Herb Ink Jade Divine Bamboo.

Ink Jade Bamboo and Ink Jade Divine Bamboo differed by only one word, but they shared the same trait of rigidity. If he remembered correctly, Ink Jade Divine Bamboo enhanced firmness within flexibility, and would not make the Spirit Soul stiff.

Shi Quan guessed that Spirit Beasts like Ink Jade Bamboo might have originated from Immortal Herbs like Ink Jade Divine Bamboo.

As for Immortal Herbs, Shi Quan felt that with the special nature of the Nine Yin and Nine Yang Divine Art, he should be able to consume more than one. Ink Jade Divine Bamboo had originally only been a backup option, but if he absorbed the Ink Jade Bamboo Spirit Ring, then Ink Jade Divine Bamboo would become one of his top choices.

The specific follow-up arrangements would have to wait until he reached Heaven Dou City, where he could make a detailed plan.

While he was lost in thought, Marde had already swung his long staff and struck fiercely at the Ink Jade Bamboo. Violent impacts rang out without end.

Even Marde's powerful, heavy staff strikes could only barely leave shallow marks on the Ink Jade Bamboo. Fortunately, the Ink Jade Bamboo had no offensive ability and could only passively endure Marde's relentless attacks.

To kill the Ink Jade Bamboo, they had to break every joint between its bamboo segments.

The whole process was both time-consuming and exhausting.

Marde and Dawson could only take turns continuously attacking the Ink Jade Bamboo. Even so, they attacked for a full hour.

This was only a Thousand Year Ink Jade Bamboo, yet it had withstood a Soul Ancestor's attacks for an entire hour. Its toughness was truly absurd.

"Xiao Quan, it's your turn." Marde panted heavily, his hands trembling as he beckoned to Shi Quan.

"I'm coming." Shi Quan quickly stepped forward and picked up the Refined Iron Spear beside Marde.

The joints of the Ink Jade Bamboo were not as hard as its outer surface, but they could not be pierced by an ordinary dagger either. To hunt it, the two had specially prepared this Refined Iron Spear for Shi Quan when they entered the forest.

Shi Quan picked up the heavy spear and viciously drove it into the Ink Jade Bamboo's last remaining joint, then twisted it hard.

"It really is hard." Even though Shi Quan had been mentally prepared, the rebound force transmitted through the spear still numbed both his hands.

He set down the spear. Before long, a pale purple Spirit Ring floated out.

Shi Quan stopped moving and walked to an open patch of ground nearby, where he sat down.

"Good luck, Xiao Quan." Marde did not forget to encourage him from the side.

Shi Quan's expression was calm. Looking at the purple Spirit Ring in the distance, he summoned his Spirit Soul and began drawing it in to absorb it.

The familiar scene appeared again, but this time, the bracelet-sized yellow Spirit Ring had turned purple.

"Hiss!" As the violent energy entered his body, Shi Quan's body shuddered intensely. After sharply sucking in a breath, he began to tremble.

Compared to last time, the energy this time was far more explosive!

That was right—explosive. The surging energy was like clumps of frenzied gunpowder detonating within Shi Quan's body. Even Shi Quan could not help letting out muffled groans of pain.

The Yi Jing Cleansing Marrow Method began circulating rapidly. Fortunately, although the process was painful, everything remained within the limits Shi Quan could endure.

Time passed second by second.

Inner Vision.

Unlike last time, the flames this time were all black, dyeing the entire world black. Only the pale blue Blue Silver Grass swayed in the center, radiating a faint glow as if it were resisting the entire world.

Under the searing flames, the Blue Silver Grass began changing once more. Its leaves and vines, which had become thinner, grew longer and wider again. Its pale blue color deepened, while a black halo seemed to be dyeing the entire Blue Silver Grass black. At that moment, the profound dark gleam once again emerged from the depths of the Blue Silver Grass. It was a black even deeper than black, like an abyss capable of devouring everything.

In the end, the pale blue Blue Silver Grass settled into a deep blue shade. Compared to ordinary Blue Silver Grass, its color was now deeper, and its formerly slender vines and leaves had returned to their previous thickness. Its surface carried a jade-like luster, making it appear even more resilient.

Crack—

The explosive heat within his body gradually calmed, dispersed, then merged and was absorbed.

That familiar feeling of shattering brought joy to his heart as Inner Force rapidly fused with the power of the Spirit Ring.

Level 20, Breakthrough!

Spirit Ring absorption successful!

"Whew!" Marde let out a long breath from the side. Seeing the purple Spirit Ring gradually settle, he knew that Shi Quan had successfully absorbed the Spirit Beast's ring. His tightly clenched fists finally loosened.

Shi Quan, who had been sitting in meditation, slowly opened his eyes as well. The sky, which had been bright before, was now shrouded in darkness.

Time had passed directly from noon to night.

"Congratulations, Xiao Quan." Marde's voice held both delight and a measure of admiration. He would never have had the courage to attempt a Thousand Year Spirit Ring, but Shi Quan had not only tried it—he had succeeded. A true pioneer.

"I still have to thank Dawson Hall Master and Teacher for helping hunt it and standing guard for me." Shi Quan rose to his feet and said with a cheerful smile.

Marde waved his hand and laughed heartily. "Those are small matters. Hurry and tell us, how does it feel?"

"My soul power increase is similar to last time. It only rose by one level, and I am still some distance from Level 22." As Shi Quan spoke, he moved his body. "My physical strength has improved considerably as well."

"As for my Spirit Soul..." Shi Quan raised his hand and summoned it. Deep blue Blue Silver Grass appeared in his palm. Aside from its darker color, the Blue Silver Grass had grown a full size larger overall and gave off a faint sheen, looking extremely tough.

Marde said in surprise, "Xiao Quan, why does your Blue Silver Grass seem not to have become hardened at all?"

Shi Quan pondered for a moment before saying, "I think it is because Blue Silver Grass itself is too weak. Even with the toughness enhancement from the Ink Jade Bamboo, coupled with the unique Life Attribute of my Blue Silver Grass, it has an extremely strong ability to adapt. That is why hardening did not occur."

Shi Quan was somewhat surprised by this situation as well. The fundamental reason the Blue Silver Grass had not hardened was the Devouring Attribute hidden within it. It had devoured and absorbed the Ink Jade Bamboo's powerful Toughness Attribute, allowing the Blue Silver Grass to absorb the Ink Jade Bamboo Spirit Ring almost perfectly and undergo an earth-shaking transformation in toughness.