Chapter 128: The Fourth Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, Tang San Breaks Down
That evening.
In an open clearing on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest,
The Shrek group sat around a campfire.
They were already close to the forest's edge, where powerful soul beasts rarely appeared, so everyone had relaxed considerably.
At that moment, everyone's attention was focused on Xiao Wu.
After the shocking encounter with the Titan Giant Ape earlier, everyone had a belly full of questions they had been holding back.
"Xiao Wu," Ning Rongrong was the first to speak. "Hurry and tell us, what exactly happened after the Titan Giant Ape took you away? It didn't hurt you, did it?"
She voiced what everyone wanted to ask.
Xiao Wu looked perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened at all. What exactly did that hundred-thousand-year soul beast do?
Xiao Wu had already prepared her explanation.
"Don't even mention it! I was scared to death!" she said, blinking her big eyes and pretending to look frightened, even patting her chest.
With a crisp, lively voice, she added, "That big guy carried me into the core area. I thought I was finished. But guess what happened?"
Since she was telling a story, she deliberately built suspense to make it sound more believable.
"What happened?" Ma Hongjun asked impatiently.
"Suddenly, a bull's roar echoed through the forest!" Xiao Wu gestured dramatically.
"The sound was so loud it felt like the entire forest was shaking! When the Titan Giant Ape heard it, it looked like it had seen a ghost. It immediately dropped me and ran away!"
As she spoke, she shrank her neck slightly, still acting like she was shaken.
"Xiao Wu, you're joking, right? That's a hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape. How could it possibly be scared off by some bull's roar?" Ma Hongjun expressed disbelief.
The others felt the same.
After all, in their minds, a hundred-thousand-year soul beast was the stuff of legends, an invincible existence.
"A bull's roar?"
However, Zhao Wuji fell into deep thought. He spoke seriously.
"No. This might actually be possible, the Sky Azure Bull Python. It must be that creature."
"Teacher Zhao, what is the Sky Azure Bull Python?" Ning Rongrong asked.
Zhao Wuji looked at everyone and explained solemnly.
"Legend says that the Star Dou Forest has two great kings. One is the Titan Giant Ape, and the other is the Sky Azure Bull Python."
"Once, a Titled Douluo ventured deep into the Star Dou Forest and was struck by a single bull's roar that caused blood to flow from all seven orifices. That roar came from the hundred-thousand-year Sky Azure Bull Python."
"Wow—" Ning Rongrong exclaimed. "Xiao Wu, your luck is unbelievable. You were actually saved by the Sky Azure Bull Python!"
Ma Hongjun was full of envy.
"That's a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. If I could see one even once in my life, it would already be worth it."
Oscar nodded repeatedly.
"To survive after encountering two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts… that kind of luck is simply heaven-defying."
Zhao Wuji glanced at them. "What? Do you want to be captured too?"
"No, no…" The two immediately shrank their heads.
That was something even Teacher Zhao could not handle. If they were captured, it would be a nine-in-ten chance of death.
Seeing that everyone believed her, Xiao Wu secretly let out a sigh of relief, though she still wore an embarrassed smile.
"Hehe, maybe I'm just lucky."
Lin Qingmo sat beside her. Listening to the girl lie so smoothly without changing her expression, he almost burst out laughing.
Saved by the Sky Azure Bull Python?
Clearly, it was Er Ming who got scolded by her.
But he did not expose her and simply went along.
"That really is good luck. The deterrence of the Sky Azure Bull Python is something very few soul beasts in the entire Star Dou Forest can withstand. I just wonder—does it have a big sister?"
He spoke with a completely serious expression.
Xiao Wu, however, understood that Ah Qing was referring to her. Embarrassed and annoyed, she secretly pinched his thigh.
Lin Qingmo calmly grabbed her hand instead, making Xiao Wu's face glow even redder in the firelight.
At that moment, Zhao Wuji suddenly remembered something. He put down the roasted meat in his hand and looked at Lin Qingmo.
"By the way, Qingmo. I remember you were already rank forty before coming out. Do you want to take this opportunity to obtain your fourth soul ring? With me here, any soul beast under ten thousand years can be handled."
He genuinely wanted to repay Lin Qingmo.
If Lin Qingmo had not intervened earlier, they would never have gotten past Dragon Duke and Serpent Lady.
That favor was enormous.
…
Everyone instantly fell silent.
All eyes turned toward Lin Qingmo.
That was right; this was a twelve-year-old Qusi-Soul Ancestor whose fourth soul ring had not yet been obtained.
Under everyone's gaze, Lin Qingmo slowly tore off a piece of meat and chewed it.
"Gulp…"
After swallowing, he finally spoke calmly.
"No need, Teacher Zhao. I've already absorbed my fourth soul ring."
"Ah?" Zhao Wuji stared at him with his mouth open, as if he had seen a ghost.
"Y-you… what did you just say?"
Not just him. Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and even Tang San all looked up and stared at Lin Qingmo.
Lin Qingmo had already obtained his fourth soul ring?
When did that happen?
Even Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, who were in the chat group with him, had no idea about this.
Lin Qingmo did not say anything.
His soul power slowly circulated as soul rings rose one after another beneath his feet.
Purple, purple, purple…
The familiar three thousand-year soul rings.
And then—
Black.
A deep black soul ring, capable of devouring everything, appeared.
The black was so dense it resembled ink that could never dissolve, and faint emerald light shimmered along its edges.
"!!!"
The moment the ten-thousand-year soul ring appeared, the entire clearing fell into deathly silence.
Everyone held their breath, their eyes wide.
Zhao Wuji's mouth opened and closed several times before he finally squeezed out two words.
"Ten thousand years?"
He felt that all the shocks he had experienced in his entire life combined were not as great as what he had experienced today.
How did a Soul Ancestor absorb a ten-thousand-year soul ring without dying?
How had Lin Qingmo resisted the soul shock?
No one here understood the risk of absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring better than him, a Soul Saint who had done it himself.
"B-Black?!"
Ma Hongjun jumped up from the rock he was sitting on. His eyes bulged, and his voice cracked.
"Lin Qingmo, your fourth soul ring is a ten-thousand-year one? Are you joking?!"
He pointed at the pitch-black ring beneath Lin Qingmo's feet, his finger trembling.
That color was impossible to ignore.
Under the firelight, it was so dark it seemed to swallow the light itself.
Tang San's face instantly turned pale.
He stared at the black soul ring, his lips trembling as he forced out dry words.
"Impossible… this is absolutely impossible."
He shook his head as if trying to convince himself.
"My teacher's theory states that the limit for the fourth soul ring is five thousand years. How could there be a ten-thousand-year one? This violates the rules… this is wrong."
As he spoke, his voice grew weaker, but every word trembled.
His eyes were filled with complicated emotions—shock, disbelief, and almost overflowing jealousy.
Why?
He had nearly risked his life to obtain a two-thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider soul ring.
Yet this guy's fourth soul ring was already ten thousand years old.
Wasn't the world a little too unfair?
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were also stunned.
The two girls exchanged glances and saw the same shock reflected in each other's eyes.
A ten-thousand-year soul ring.
What did that mean?
For ordinary soul masters, being able to absorb a slightly over ten-thousand-year soul ring as their fifth ring was already considered the limit.
But a ten-thousand-year fourth soul ring?
They had never even heard of such a thing.
Not in the ancient texts of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's library, nor in the soul master data published by Spirit Hall over the years.
Zhao Wuji took a deep breath.
As a Soul Saint who had experienced many storms, he was the first to recover.
But his voice still sounded somewhat unsteady, revealing that his heart was far from calm.
"Qingmo…"
He stared at Lin Qingmo and asked cautiously.
"How did you kill that ten-thousand-year soul beast?"
He had to know.
Ten-thousand-year soul beasts were completely different from the thousand-year ones.
The difference was not merely in soul power.
It was a crushing difference in life level.
The intelligence of a ten-thousand-year soul beast far surpassed that of a thousand-year one.
Even if a Soul Ancestor could fight above his level, killing a ten-thousand-year soul beast alone was nearly impossible.
End of Chapter