"Xiaoming! You're amazing!"
Ning Rongrong came pattering out from behind the big tree. She stood beside the Iron Armored Rhinoceros's corpse, grabbed Wang Xiaoming's sleeve, and bounced up and down.
Watching them, Chen Xin felt an inexplicable pang of sorrow.
It was as though a pig had rooted up his precious little cabbage...
No wonder that old bag of bones had looked so strange after coming back. Chen Xin had even mocked him for being jealous of a child.
Now it seemed he had been utterly wrong.
Especially because of the rhinoceros horn that had landed on his foot!
You damn brat, do you have any consideration for others!? Throwing your trash around like that!
"Rongrong, stop jumping for a moment. This Soul Ring..."
Wang Xiaoming gently held Ning Rongrong still, then looked at the yellow Soul Ring floating above the Iron Armored Rhinoceros's body.
This Soul Ring was much darker than the one from the Ghost Vine.
Besides, the Iron Armored Rhinoceros had both powerful attacks and strong defenses, making it an excellent choice for his First Soul Ring.
Ning Rongrong understood what he meant. Her eyes widened, and she immediately spread her arms to block his path.
"Y-you're not thinking of absorbing this Soul Ring, are you?
"No, no, absolutely not!
"Even if I can't tell for sure, this Soul Ring is definitely over four hundred years old. You can't absorb it! You'll die!"
Hearing Ning Rongrong's concerned words, Wang Xiaoming felt a warmth in his heart.
The girl genuinely cared about him.
Just as Wang Xiaoming was about to fool... persuade Ning Rongrong...
A voice reached their ears from not far away.
"Rongrong is right. This Iron Armored Rhinoceros is seven hundred and seventy years old.
"If you absorb it, you'll get off lightly with all your meridians severed. At worst, your body will explode and you'll die... Kid, don't be too greedy.
"If you want to become a powerhouse, the courage to challenge your limits is important, but what matters more is whether you can stay alive.
"Die doing something like this, and you'll only become a laughingstock for future generations."
Wang Xiaoming turned warily toward the voice and saw a middle-aged man with white hair and a white beard limping out of the woods.
When Ning Rongrong saw him, she happily threw herself at him.
"Grandpa Sword!"
Seeing Ning Rongrong rush over, Chen Xin immediately put on a smile and caught her, but then he began to scold her.
"Rongrong, did you miss Grandpa? But you snuck into the Soul Hunting Forest this time. Your father was furious when he found out. Do you know how worried everyone was about you?"
"Grandpa Sword, Rongrong knows she was wrong. Rongrong doesn't want to be scolded or confined..."
Ning Rongrong pouted and rubbed against Chen Xin's clothes, looking aggrieved. She even squeezed out two tears.
Chen Xin's heart immediately softened. He hurriedly wiped the tears from Ning Rongrong's eyes.
"All right, all right. It's good that you know you were wrong and will mend your ways. Grandpa will plead for you."
"Grandpa Sword, you're the best..."
Pah, what a granddaughter-obsessed old man...
Wang Xiaoming was speechless at the sight.
After seeing this today, he finally understood what it meant to be spoiled rotten.
You're the ones who spoiled her into that Little Demoness personality.
How could you surrender after just a couple of words? Is that any way to raise a child!?
Ning Rongrong was the sort who would dare do it again next time!
He felt like an outsider.
Then he looked once more at the dark yellow Soul Ring.
He was determined to absorb it today.
With that thought, Wang Xiaoming took a small iron box out of his Soul Tool. It felt hot in his hand.
Inside was Whale Rubber he had melted beforehand.
He had put it in this insulated lunchbox.
He could afford both hundred-year and thousand-year Whale Rubber anyway, so he simply melted a portion to carry with him every day.
If he had no chance to hunt a Soul Beast, he ate it as a snack to strengthen his body.
Ning Rongrong had seen him eating Whale Rubber before and had been curious to try some, but Wang Xiaoming had sternly refused.
If he let Ning Rongrong eat it... he didn't dare imagine the consequences.
He would have to wait at least until the day she could absorb a Soul Ring before telling her about it.
The melted Whale Rubber was like jelly, and Wang Xiaoming swallowed it all in one bite.
Although it tasted as disgusting as ever, he was used to it.
By the time Chen Xin noticed something was wrong, Wang Xiaoming had already drawn the Soul Ring toward himself. As soon as it settled around him, he sat down cross-legged.
"This brat!"
Chen Xin appeared in front of Wang Xiaoming in an instant, intending to interrupt him before he began absorbing it!
He couldn't just stand by and watch such a gifted young man cripple himself before his eyes!
"Don't! Senior Sword Douluo, don't hit me! If you land that slap, I really will be crippled! Trust me, I can definitely absorb it!"
Wang Xiaoming endured the pain of Soul Power entering his body and hurriedly shouted to Chen Xin.
He was genuinely afraid the old man would strike him and interrupt the process.
That was why he had wanted to absorb the Soul Ring while the people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were away...
"Kid, are you serious?"
Chen Xin looked at Wang Xiaoming solemnly, trying to read something from his face.
What on earth gave him such confidence?
"Don't worry... I value my life too much..."
After saying that, Wang Xiaoming completely logged off and became fully immersed in absorbing the Soul Ring.
In Chen Xin's arms, Ning Rongrong watched Wang Xiaoming with a worried expression.
Had she known he would act so recklessly, she would never have agreed to come to the Soul Hunting Forest with him for fun.
Chen Xin patted Ning Rongrong on the back and comforted her.
"Don't worry, Rongrong. At a time like this, all we can do is trust him."
"Mm..."
Ning Rongrong reluctantly murmured her assent, jumped down from Chen Xin's arms, and squatted beside Wang Xiaoming. Propping up her face, she stared at him without blinking.
Chen Xin, meanwhile, looked up at a spot in the sky.
Just as he had been about to interrupt Wang Xiaoming, an inexplicable hostility and pressure from the sky had locked onto him, as though ready to attack at any moment.
Chen Xin had thought Wang Xiaoming had some hidden protector, but when he saw the thing in the sky clearly, a flicker of surprise crossed his face.
It was a... red bug?
No, although it looked like a bug, it was more like some kind of mechanical creation.
It was still locked onto Chen Xin, remaining on guard.
Chen Xin also fixed his attention on it.
The bug and the man began a silent standoff.
Wang Xiaoming, however, was unaware of any of this.
At the moment, Wang Xiaoming felt as though his body were covered in IV needles, and the IV bottles had all been replaced with huge five-liter syringes, pumping water into him at the same time.
It was uncomfortable, but fortunately, still within what he could endure.
The Whale Rubber he had eaten before hadn't been for nothing.