The Fourth Soul Ring: Willow Tree

The group returned to the academy in high spirits. As soon as they entered the school gate, they saw a figure wearing a light blue dress.

Ning Rongrong is back.

Oscar's melancholy vanished instantly, and he rushed forward, his peach blossom eyes shining brightly. "Rongrong! You're back! I thought you weren't coming back. Let me tell you, I got my Fourth Soul Skill! I've got a pink sausage—"

Ning Rongrong looked at him, her lips twitching as if she wanted to say something, but she swallowed the words back. Her gaze passed over Oscar, lingering for a moment on Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Wang Xingyu, a slight blush rising on her cheeks.

Wang Xingyu saw this and recalled the rules of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in the original novel: the heir could not find Support System Soul Master as a partner. However, Ning Fengzhi later personally loosened the restriction—as long as Rongrong liked it, anything was fine. But Ning Rongrong probably didn't know about this yet.

He thought about it and decided not to say anything. This was Oscar's trial, and it was precisely because of this trial that Oscar desperately became stronger and finally obtained the Mirror Sausage. That thing could even replicate divine skills; it was simply beyond the limit.

The Grandmaster approached the crowd and began to outline the next steps of the plan.

With the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament in six months, he urged everyone to focus on leveling up, specifically looking at Dai Mubai: "Mubai, you're currently level 46, making you the most likely candidate to reach level 50."

Dai Mubai was silent for a moment. Level 50, reaching level 4 in half a year, was indeed difficult. But he still agreed.

In the days that followed, the Shrek Eight Monsters entered a state of rapid training, constantly striving to reach higher Soul Power Level.

During this time, Dugu Bo brought a girl with long, emerald-green hair—it was Dugu Yan.

Dugu Bo introduced his granddaughter to the three of them, his words full of regret that Tang San already had Xiao Wu. Then he looked at Wang Xingyu and asked him if he was interested in becoming his granddaughter's husband.

Dugu Yan snorted coldly, her gaze sweeping over Tang San and Xiao Wu with a hint of resentment. Then she looked at Wang Xingyu, sizing him up and down, and said, "Too weak."

Wang Xingyu waved his hand and said it wasn't necessary. Dugu Bo said it was a pity and before leaving, he specifically instructed that if they encountered the Heaven Dou Royal Academy in the competition, they should give way to them.

Dugu Yan raised an eyebrow and asked if she needed to let him pass. Then Dugu Bo said that Tang San and Xiao Wu were already level 40 and both had been at the fourth ring for millennia. Dugu Yan fell silent. A few days later, Dugu Bo came to say goodbye to the three of them, saying he had some personal matters to attend to.

Not long after, Ma Hongjun broke through Level 40 and obtained the Fourth Soul Skill, Phoenix Laughing Sky Strike.

After some time, Wang Xingyu, relying on the Triangle Cycle of cultivation and borrowing the speed of Tang San and Xiao Wu, successfully reached Level 40 in the fifth month.

But he couldn't think of a suitable target for his Fourth Soul Ring after thinking for a long time.

There can only be one Blue Silver Emperor; it's the Little San. You need to change your path. What else can Blue Silver Grass evolve into? Blue Silver King? That's just a branch below the Emperor level.

The end of grass isn't necessarily grass; it might evolve into a tree. Yes, a tree. Remember the Ancient Tree of Life in the original story?

Once the target is identified, the remaining task is to find the corresponding Soul Beast. His current Soul Skill configuration is sufficient, so he prioritizes pure Life System tree-like Soul Beast —those without any special skills, relying solely on their life force for growth.

willow.

Willow trees are not aggressive and rely entirely on their immense vitality to survive. In nature, they are mostly food for other Soul Beast, so it is extremely difficult for individuals of advanced age to survive.

Most of those that survived were mutated.

However, there just happened to be a nine-thousand-year-old willow tree in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Without any other means, it quietly cultivated for nine thousand years by relying on the spiritual energy of that precious land.

Nine thousand years is still a bit short. Ten thousand years would certainly be better.

Tang San came up with a solution—using Immortal Herb to prepare a nutrient solution.

This plan is extravagant, but it is indeed effective.

Nutrient solution was poured into the roots of the willow tree, pot after pot. After more than half a month, the willow tree's age was steadily fixed at 9,999 years.

But in this final year, I just couldn't break through. I felt like even if I had another month, I still wouldn't be able to.

The energy required is too great. If we keep feeding them, our supply of Immortal Herb will run out, and the Soul Master Tournament will begin soon.

Wang Xingyu squatted in front of the willow tree and sighed. It's too difficult for a plant-based Soul Beast that relies solely on its life force to grow to ten thousand years old on its own.

Moreover, hunting is not the best approach; sacrifice is the optimal method. Unfortunately, this willow tree is not Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, nor does it possess much intelligence.

They can only be hunted.

The hunt went smoothly. The 9,999-year-old willow tree still had no means of attack; the only problem was its enormous and terrifying vitality, which made its bark ridiculously thick.

The three formed Triangle Cycle, and it took them considerable effort to complete the hunt. Their Soul Ring rose, a deep purple, almost black.

Wang Xingyu sat cross-legged, with Tang San and Xiao Wu sitting on either side, Triangle Cycle to distribute the impact.

The three formed Triangle Cycle. Wang Xingyu closed his eyes and slowly guided the deep purple Soul Ring into his body. The instant the surge of Soul Power hit him, a thought flashed through his mind—nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years, not even ten thousand years yet, there shouldn't be any Soul Shock, right?

Then everything went black.

It was pitch black all around; nothing could be seen. There was no Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, no Tang San or Xiao Wu, only endless darkness.

"Xingyu."

There really was an illusion. Wang Xingyu turned his head. A person walked out of the darkness, a boy wearing a hoodie, holding a half-empty bottle of iced tea. It was his friend from another world, smiling at him, exactly the same as before.

Wang Xingyu remained silent for a long time, then forced a smile, "Long time no see."

Two more voices came from behind, one male and one female.

"Xingyu."

Wang Xingyu's shoulders tensed abruptly. He couldn't mistake those two voices—they were his parents from another world. He stood there, his fingers clenching and unclenching, knowing full well it was an illusion, yet still wanting to turn around and take a look.

He turned around.

A man and a woman stood a few steps away. Their figures were correct, and their clothes were the same two pieces I remembered. But their faces were just a blurry black mass, their features indistinct, like two crumpled photographs.

Wang Xingyu's lips twitched, probably because the willow tree wasn't ten thousand years old yet.

"Have you ever seen an illusion? Give me the good one!"

He raised his hand and slammed it to the ground. A bottle of cola appeared out of thin air in his hand, which he then smashed hard at his feet.

Wang Xingyu opened his eyes.

Beside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the remains of a willow tree still lay scattered on the ground. Tang San and Xiao Wu sat on either side of him, the connection of the Blue Silver Grass just broken. The deep purple Fourth Soul Ring was firmly attached to him.

Xiao Wu leaned over and said, "Xingyu, your expression was so strange just now. You looked like you were in pain."

Wang Xingyu looked down at his hand; the cola really did look real.

"It's nothing." He stood up and dusted off his trousers. "The illusion was too rough, I couldn't resist."

The Fourth Soul Ring sank into his body. The Blue Silver Grass sprouted from his palm—completely different from before. The vines were almost twice as thick as before, and the lush green on the surface was so rich it seemed to drip water, with liquid flowing through every vein. It was even thicker than Tang San's.

"What kind of Soul Skill?" Xiao Wu asked curiously.

With a thought, Wang Xingyu activated his Fourth Soul Ring. Centered on him, countless phantom images of willow branches and Blue Silver Grass intertwined suddenly appeared in the sky within a radius of thirty meters. Fine, dense emerald green light spots drifted down from the phantom images and landed on the three of them.

Warm and lingering, like being soaked in a pool of lukewarm water.

Unlike the rapid replenishment of Flying Fluff, this recovery is more lasting and more stable.

"The Willow Shade Shelter," Wang Xingyu said. "It continuously restores vitality and Soul Power within its range, lasting longer than Flying Fluff. It can also concentrate all of it on one person—"

He gathered all the illusory images around Tang San. All the willow branch images Entanglement him at the same time, and the emerald green light spots were so dense that Tang San's figure was almost invisible.

Tang San looked down at his hands. The bloodstains on his fingertips, which had been scratched by the willow bark, were healing at a visible speed, and the scars had disappeared in just a few breaths.

"If you concentrate all your Soul Power on one person, you can almost regrow a hand."

Xiao Wu stared wide-eyed and reached out to poke Tang San's perfectly intact finger.

Wang Xingyu retrieved the Blue Silver Grass again, and this time he was very satisfied with the effect. The Soul Skill was secondary; the main thing was the increase in vitality.

The three sensed something at the same time and released their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. The Son of Blue Silver reappeared, still the size of a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy.

However, when the three released their Soul Power again, the Son of Blue Silver rapidly grew larger.

A humanoid figure, nearly three meters tall, stood before the three. It was entirely emerald green with interwoven red and blue stripes. Its facial features were still limited to eyes, but the outline was more than twice as clear as before. It stood there like a silent tree.