Lin Kong had suffered superficial wounds during his earlier battle with the Ghost-Faced Netherworld Bamboo. The blood had already clotted, and the wounds had stopped bleeding.
Now, as his Soul Power surged, the wounds split open again. Blood slowly seeped out, then rose as a blood-colored mist, a horrifying sight!
Pfft-
Lin Kong spat out a mouthful of blood. His body swayed several times, and he nearly fell to the ground.
He realized something.
The upper limit for absorbing a Soul Ring depended not only on the type of Martial Soul, physical fitness, the compatibility between the Martial Soul and Soul Ring, and so on, but also on Innate Soul Power.
Innate Soul Power was related to the quality of a Martial Soul. A higher-quality Martial Soul helped one absorb older, better-quality Soul Rings.
His Dark Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, with its rank-one Innate Soul Power, was of terrible quality, trash among Trash Martial Souls. It was on the same level as Blue Silver Grass, and it did not even possess the life attribute, but rather the darkness attribute that everyone despised and avoided like the plague.
How could a Martial Soul like this withstand a Hundred-Year Soul Ring?
"The teacher never mentioned anything like this in class. Was it because he thought ordinary people like us had no hope of encountering a Hundred-Year Soul Ring?"
If they would never encounter a Hundred-Year Soul Ring they could absorb, naturally, there would be no danger.
But... I hunted down a Hundred-Year Soul Beast with my own strength, and one that had become even stronger after mutating, at that.
I'm this outstanding. How can I fail while absorbing a Soul Ring?
How can I!!!
Lin Kong nearly crushed his teeth with how hard he clenched them. He forcibly held back a second mouthful of blood, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed it back into his stomach.
Under the relentless wash of violent Soul Power, the Dark Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul in his hand teetered on the brink of collapse. Its leaves began to split, revealing streak after streak.
These were signs that his Martial Soul could no longer hold on and was about to collapse.
In this desperate situation, Lin Kong could keep going through sheer willpower.
But...
Did a Martial Soul possess sentience? Intelligence? A will?
Could it keep going?
If his Martial Soul collapsed and could not hold on, Lin Kong would fail as well. No, it would not merely be failure, but death!
Hold the fuck on! Lin Kong let out a ferocious roar of defiance in his heart.
Perhaps it had heard those words, for the Dark Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul reacted. Those cracked streaks twisted and changed, forming a ghostly face identical to the one on the Netherworld Bamboo's stalk. The difference was its color: scarlet. The scarlet ghostly face's expression gradually changed, as though it were a real human face, betraying a hint of sentience.
After that, Lin Kong abruptly discovered that the tremendous Soul Power, which had nearly burst his body and killed him, began flowing toward the Dark Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, as though a taotie were devouring it.
The remaining Soul Power reached his body's limit, damaging and repairing his body at the same time, achieving a peculiar balance.
At this point, the process of absorbing the Soul Ring entered a steady phase!
Lin Kong's heart finally settled!
Several hours later, everything had gone smoothly. The Ghost-Faced Netherworld Bamboo's Hundred-Year Soul Ring floated beside Lin Kong, revolving in a regular rhythm, proving that he had broken through to the Soul Master realm.
Hoo~
Lin Kong let out a long breath of stale air and opened his eyes, his ink-black pupils holding a profound look. He raised his right hand and looked at the Dark Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul in his palm. The corners of his mouth lifted, then lifted again, and again...
"Hahaha!"
"A Hundred-Year Soul Ring, a Hundred-Year Soul Ring! I got a Hundred-Year Soul Ring!"
Lin Kong could no longer suppress the wild joy in his heart. He roared with laughter, clutching his stomach as he laughed until tears flew from his eyes.
"A Hundred-Year Soul Ring, my Hundred-Year Soul Ring..."
Half a year ago, his Soul Power had reached rank ten, and he had a chance of cultivating to rank ten before graduation, so the school had begun offering the relevant courses and opening up the relevant books and materials, allowing him to choose a Ten-Year Soul Beast within reasonable limits.
He had set his sights on the hundred-year Netherworld Bamboo at first glance!
It was practically tailor-made for him.
To obtain the Soul Ring successfully, he had practiced his spear techniques even harder with a wooden stick and practiced throwing even harder with stones. He had also had to keep his secret buried in his heart, lest his teachers and classmates mock him for overestimating himself.
Without the money to prepare the various supplies, he had come up with the idea of buying on credit. He had rehearsed his wording over and over beforehand, adjusted his tone, and considered what he would do if the other party refused to extend him credit.
Even after making so many preparations, Lin Kong still could not feel at ease.
What if the hundred-year Netherworld Bamboo was gone?
What if he encountered another Hundred-Year Soul Beast?
What if he found the hundred-year Netherworld Bamboo but could not kill it?
What if someone or some Soul Beast interfered while he was absorbing the Soul Ring after killing it?
Every single one of those problems could lead to his death!
Every time, he would wake with a start from a nightmare.
In the end, determined to either succeed or die, he had resolutely taken this step.
After discovering that it was not a hundred-year Netherworld Bamboo but a Ghost-Faced Netherworld Bamboo, and that he could not fight it head-on, he had retreated in avoidance for only an instant. The next second, amid his pain, he had chosen to stake his life against it...
Now, the dust had finally settled!
"I got it. I got a Hundred-Year Soul Ring, a Hundred-Year Ghost-Faced Netherworld Bamboo Soul Ring many times stronger than what I'd planned!"
Lin Kong looked up at the sky and blinked hard several times. Once his vision cleared, he lowered his head and wiped his face a few times, then rose and left.
"To gain wealth and honor without returning home is like wearing embroidered robes through the night!"
Plunk!
A pebble landed in the stream. Ripples spread across the clear water before it settled again a few seconds later, reflecting Lin Kong's face.
After absorbing the Hundred-Year Ghost-Faced Netherworld Bamboo Soul Ring, he had undergone a complete transformation.
His hair was jet-black, smooth, and glossy, falling neatly into place with just a couple of casual passes of his hand, no longer dry and yellowish. His features were well-proportioned and defined, his cheeks chiseled rather than sunken from scrawniness. His skin was a light wheat color, making him look healthy and sunny. He had grown considerably taller and put on twenty or thirty jin of muscle, walking with the vigor of a tiger rather than looking as scrawny as a bamboo pole as he had before...
A boy, too, could transform eighteen times as he grew!
"My face and build have changed, and so has my voice!"
"If I go back like this, my teachers and classmates probably won't even recognize me. They'll get quite a fright!"
"Let's go. Time to head back!"
Lin Kong stood up, stretched, and walked toward the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest.
"Hello, officer!"
The officer guarding the Soul Hunting Forest stared blankly at the person who had just emerged from within and walked past him, his mind somewhat muddled.
He had never seen this person before, yet there was something familiar about his tone. How strange!
Most importantly, fluctuations of Soul Power were leaking uncontrollably from this person's body. He had clearly just obtained a Soul Ring and advanced to the next realm.
The officer had seen many people like this.
Even so, as he watched that departing figure, his eyes were filled with envy and respect, and he sighed inwardly with deep feeling. It's good to be a Soul Master! If only I were a Soul Master too, nothing could be better!