A contract appeared between the two of them.
With Zi JI's example before him, Xiong Jun signed the contract without much hesitation.
"Come on, little Jiuxiao."
Xiong Jun signaled that he could throw the Poké Ball now.
"All right. Uncle Xiong, don't resist. I'll be cultivating for a while afterward."
"No problem. I don't mind lying down inside for a bit. Take your time cultivating."
Jin Jiuxiao threw the Poké Ball, and when it flew above Xiong Jun's head, it drew him inside.
He caught the returning Poké Ball, sat cross-legged, and immediately began cultivating.
At the same time, a scarlet soul ring bearing four golden markings emerged above the Poké Ball.
I used most of the energy from Sister Zi JI's soul ring to strengthen my body.
Uncle Xiong's cultivation is more than twice Sister Zi JI's, so there's plenty of energy. Let's see how far it can take me.
Having made up his mind, Jin Jiuxiao immediately got to work.
His aura grew stronger, increasing little by little.
His physical strength rose alongside it.
Soul King level, Soul Emperor level-finally, his body broke past Soul Emperor and reached Soul Saint level!
His soul power level began climbing furiously.
Level twenty-one...
Level twenty-two...
Level twenty-three...
It only just stopped after soaring all the way to level twenty-nine!
Sensing that some energy remained, Jin Jiuxiao simply began compressing and purifying his soul power in preparation for soul core cultivation.
Generally speaking, beginning to compress and purify soul power before reaching Soul King would significantly slow one's leveling progress.
The benefit, however, was improvement across the board. Fighting above one's rank and taking on multiple opponents became as easy as drinking water.
That slower leveling progress only applied to ordinary Soul Masters.
Jin Jiuxiao, however, was not compressing and purifying a limited amount of soul power. He had so much that he could not absorb it all!
Even if he began compressing and purifying his soul power now, his advancement would not be affected in the slightest.
Yet the increasingly solid foundation and growing combat strength were very real benefits.
Moreover, his spiritual power already far exceeded that of ordinary people. Perhaps... he could start attempting to condense his first soul core at Soul King?
Jin Jiuxiao reined in his aura, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes. "Uncle Xiong's soul ring gave me this big a boost?"
With Zi JI's Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, he had allocated roughly eighty to ninety percent of its soul power to nourishing his body and strengthening his various basic attributes.
Only a little over ten percent of its soul power had gone toward raising his soul power level.
As a result, the enhancement from Zi JI's soul ring had forcibly raised his physical strength to Soul King level.
That was why his soul power level had only reached sixteen after absorbing Zi JI's soul ring.
This time, however, Xiong Jun's soul ring was a four-hundred-and-twenty-thousand-year ferocious beast soul ring.
Not only had it sent his soul power level leaping up nine levels, it had also pushed his physical strength to Soul Saint level!
After his breakthrough, Jin Jiuxiao released Xiong Jun.
The moment Xiong Jun appeared, he laughed heartily. "How was it, little Jiuxiao? Did your Uncle Xiong's soul ring pack a punch?"
"It sure did!" Jin Jiuxiao's face lit up with delight. "Once I get used to my current cultivation and stabilize it, I'll be able to break through to level thirty before long."
The boost from two soul rings exceeding a hundred thousand years was simply immense.
Even some weaker Soul Saints might not be his match.
"As long as it helps you. It's just that your Uncle Xiong can't stay with you in the Human World all the time." Xiong Jun knew his own temper.
Being pleasant to Jin Jiuxiao did not mean he could be pleasant to everyone else.
If he went to the Human World, he might start a fight the moment something rubbed him the wrong way.
That would only cause trouble for Jin Jiuxiao rather than help him.
"That's fine. Uncle Xiong, you probably wouldn't be able to sit still in the Human World anyway, and the cultivation environment there isn't as good as the Lake of Life."
"You'd be better off cultivating here at the Lake of Life."
"I'll stay home for a while before going back, too." Jin Jiuxiao planned to spend a few days at the Lake of Life before returning to the Human World.
Those few days would give him just enough time to get used to his explosively increased strength.
He would also deal with the issue in the Blue Silver Forest.
If he could settle it sooner, he would. There was no need to keep dragging it out.
Still, there was no need to trouble Di Tian over such a small matter.
He could simply take Xiong Jun along.
Xiong Jun nodded slightly. "Your Uncle Xiong can't go with you to the Human World, but if you run into any trouble, come straight home and tell me."
"And don't give me any of that nonsense about not wanting to trouble me. If it's something even you and Zi JI can't handle, I should at least get a good fight out of it."
Jin Jiuxiao smiled. "Mm, I will."
After taking a deep breath, he prepared to condense his second soul ring.
But... his choice of skills was truly limited.
Forget it. I'll pick the tallest of the short ones. You'll do.
Jin Jiuxiao closed his eyes again and resumed cultivating.
Xiong Jun did not disturb him any further, walking over to a rocking chair by the lake and lying down.
In the pavilion, Zi JI sensed Jin Jiuxiao's cultivation advancing by leaps and bounds. She glared "viciously" at Bi Ji. "Did you already guess that little brother Jiuxiao would break through to level thirty soon?"
Bi Ji chuckled. "Wasn't it obvious?"
"Your soul ring could have taken him to level nineteen in the first place. He simply used more of its soul power to strengthen his body, so his level only reached sixteen."
"Your cultivation is only two hundred thousand years, after all. The fact that you raised his physical strength from Soul Master to Soul King while also giving him six levels was all thanks to you being the Hell Demon Dragon King."
Her own cultivation stood at five hundred and fifty thousand years, while Xiong Jun's stood at four hundred and twenty thousand years.
Whether Jin Jiuxiao signed his second contract with her or Xiong Jun, that immense energy could push him to level twenty-nine even after completing his enhancements.
He would not have to wait long before signing his third contract.
With so many soul rings of exceptionally high ages stacked together, Jin Jiuxiao's strength would progress remarkably quickly.
In other words, even if she signed the third contract, what could Zi JI do?
It would only be a month or two either way. Surely Jin Jiuxiao could not grow into an adult in just a month or two?
Zi JI's eyes darted as an idea struck her. She leaned close to Bi Ji's ear and whispered.
Bi Ji's eyes suddenly widened. She jerked her head around and stared at Zi JI. "You..."
Zi JI chuckled, drew back, and reclined against her seat. "Ah~ Who told the Emerald Swan to have so little fighting ability that she couldn't be the first to go along?"
"Only a temporary lead." Bi Ji gave a soft huff, picked up a pastry from the table, and savored it in small bites.
After roughly twenty minutes, Jin Jiuxiao finished cultivating.
The age of his condensed second soul ring settled at forty-three thousand years.
Zi JI noticed his rather odd expression. "Little brother Jiuxiao, didn't you break through successfully? Why do you look like that?"
"Mm... something unexpected happened."
Hearing the words "something unexpected," Bi Ji, Zi JI, and Xiong Jun all gathered around.
Xiong Jun looked him up and down. "Your aura is stable. You don't look injured."
"I'm not injured."
Jin Jiuxiao took a deep breath and activated his martial soul possession. "Uncle Xiong, my first soul skill is Charge. The skill I chose earlier for my second soul ring was Thunder Sacrifice."
As he spoke, he demonstrated Thunder Sacrifice.
His second soul ring lit up, showing them that he had indeed made Thunder Sacrifice its soul skill.
Xiong Jun nodded. "So what unexpected thing happened? There's nothing wrong with either of those skills."
He knew Thunder Sacrifice's effect: once it hit, it had a hundred percent chance of paralyzing its target.
Even he would suffer the paralysis effect if it struck him.
There was nothing wrong with choosing that soul skill, was there?
The next moment, Jin Jiuxiao's second soul ring lit up again.
"Second soul skill-Instant Thunder Flash!"
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