The origin of the Soul Ring limit

Xiao Yao slowly nodded. There were some things he intended to talk through with Xiao Wu, or it would be too exhausting.

"I know, but I won't hurt you. I'll protect you, too. Perhaps that's why I appeared here."

Xiao Wu's eyes were red. "What if someone-no, everyone-wanted to take my life?"

Xiao Yao drew a deep breath and said with a smile, "They won't. They won't have a chance to appear before you."

"Brother Xiao Yao." Xiao Wu could no longer hold back her tears and threw herself into his arms.

[Intimacy +20]

This time, the conditions for triggering an intimacy reward had not been met, so no new pages were unlocked.

However, intimacy did more than that. It allowed the Martial Soul's owner and his contracted partner to share their cultivation speeds.

For example, Xiao Yao and Xiao Wu's intimacy was now 40, so Xiao Yao's cultivation speed was his original cultivation speed plus 40% of Xiao Wu's cultivation speed.

The same applied to Xiao Wu in reverse.

Xiao Wu cried in Xiao Yao's arms for a very, very long time, soaking the front of his clothes.

Seeing that Xiao Wu was no longer crying quite so hard, he patted her smooth, tender back.

"Stop crying. You should be happy to have such a wonderful big brother."

"I am happy. Apart from Mom, no one has ever treated me this well."

Xiao Wu still had her head buried in Xiao Yao's arms, her voice muffled.

Still, Xiao Yao's words had worked, and before long, Xiao Wu lifted herself out of his arms.

"Thank you, Brother. After soul beast transformation, we need contact with humans to cultivate and advance."

"I was afraid of running into a Titled Douluo before, but now that I have the shoes you gave me, I don't need to worry."

"Really? Then what's your soul power level now?" Xiao Yao asked.

"Level ten, but to condense a Soul Ring and advance further, I have to interact with humans. Otherwise, I wouldn't have risked leaving the Star Dou Great Forest."

"Oh?" Xiao Yao said with a smile.

"Aren't I human? You've been in contact with me for so long. You should be able to condense your first Soul Ring now, right?"

Realization dawned on Xiao Wu as well.

"Oh, right. Let me try."

After transforming into humans, soul beasts had to cultivate again from the beginning. However, unlike humans, who needed to hunt soul beasts to obtain Soul Rings, soul beasts could condense their first seven Soul Rings directly from their origin power.

Xiao Wu sat cross-legged on the ground, concentrating fully on condensing her first Soul Ring.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on her delicate nose. Clearly, condensing a Soul Ring was no small burden for her either.

A dozen or so minutes later, a yellow Soul Ring appeared around Xiao Wu. Its color was very rich, nothing like the pale yellow of one that had only just reached a hundred years.

Joy also appeared on Xiao Wu's pretty face.

"Five hundred years! It's actually five hundred years! That's already beyond the limit for normal humans."

Xiao Yao also remembered Yu Xiaogang saying in the original story that the limit for the first Soul Ring was four hundred and twenty-three years.

However, he had never understood where that limit came from.

Logically, the limit for absorbing Soul Rings should have varied with an individual's constitution and Martial Soul quality.

How could it be the same for all humanity?

He voiced this question.

Xiao Wu said solemnly, "That wasn't set by us or humans. It was set by..."

She pointed at the sky.

"They feared that humans would build too strong a foundation at the Soul Master stage and threaten their positions after breaking through, so they deliberately imposed this limit."

"Once you cross that limit, no matter how heaven-defying your talent, you'll be reduced to dust and ashes."

"This limit was never explicitly stated, but knowledge of it has always circulated among us soul beasts. Humans have probably figured it out through research, too."

Xiao Yao understood. No wonder he had never heard of anyone else surpassing the limit.

Even the other members of the protagonist's group had only managed slight breakthroughs after entering Sea God Island and encountering God-Given Soul Rings.

As for Tang San, he had been able to surpass the limit because the Asura God had already taken an interest in him from the moment he transmigrated.

"Wait, then why were you able to surpass the limit?"

Xiao Wu was puzzled too. She looked around before her gaze finally settled on her feet.

"The shoes! Brother Xiao Yao, it's the shoes you gave me! They resisted some of the pressure for me, allowing me to make a breakthrough in the Soul Ring I could condense."

Xiao Yao sucked in a cold breath. The items in the "Protective Gear Chapter" actually possessed such miraculous power?

Wait, just one page is already this powerful, and there are so many more pages in the Protective Gear Chapter. What would happen if they were all unlocked?

There's also the Weapons Chapter, the Spiritual Objects Chapter, and the Skills Chapter. They must all have incredible abilities.

As Xiao Wu condensed her Soul Ring, Xiao Yao's first Soul Ring also changed.

It gradually turned from white to the same deep yellow as Xiao Wu's.

Xiao Wu noticed this anomaly too and asked,

"Brother, what's going on? Why can your Soul Ring upgrade?"

With a mischievous smile, Xiao Yao told her about some of his Heavenly Book Martial Soul's abilities.

The clever Xiao Wu immediately spotted something wrong.

"So you were lying to me from the start? I was your target all along?"

"That's right. Are you happy that I tricked you?"

Xiao Wu pouted, her lips so red that one could not help wanting to kiss them.

"A little, yes, but..."

Xiao Yao really did kiss her.

"As long as you're happy. I promise you, this was the first and last time I'll ever lie to you."

"All right." The sudden sneak attack left Xiao Wu dazed.

However, she soon came back to her senses and discovered a fatal problem.

"You have nine Soul Rings. Doesn't that mean there'll be eight more little sisters after this?"

[Intimacy +10]

[Xiao Wu's intimacy has reached 50. Unlocked "Mind-Concentrating Rabbit Ears" in the Protective Gear Chapter. Please gift them to your contracted partner, Xiao Wu.]

[Xiao Wu's intimacy has reached 50. Unlocked "Earth Spirit Pill" in the Spiritual Objects Chapter.]

Mind-Concentrating Rabbit Ears: Greatly increased the wearer's spiritual power and hearing, allowing them to hear sounds ordinary people could not. When spiritual power reached its peak, they could even hear another person's thoughts. (Except those of the Martial Soul's owner.)

Earth Spirit Pill: An essential item for refining Fallen Heart Flame.

Those ten intimacy points had been gained when Xiao Yao's gift helped Xiao Wu surpass the limit.

Fortunately, losing intimacy would not lock the unlocked pages again, or Xiao Yao would have cried himself to death.

Xiao Yao coaxed Xiao Wu for a long time before finally soothing her, and he gave her the Mind-Concentrating Rabbit Ears as well.

Xiao Wu already had a rabbit-ear headpiece, which could perk up in excitement, droop, and make other movements according to her mood.

The Mind-Concentrating Rabbit Ears also had this function and could satisfy Xiao Wu's playful tastes, so she abandoned the old for the new without hesitation and put on the new rabbit ears.

Even so, Xiao Wu's anger had not subsided.

"Brother, what's your first Soul Skill? Let's have a match!"