Seeing Ye Wen's dazed state, Xiao Wu's eyes curved into a smile before she suddenly lunged at him.
The next moment, a flurry of kisses rained down on Ye Wen like a storm!
For a moment, Ye Wen was utterly overwhelmed by the onslaught of affection.
Xiao Wu exclaimed excitedly, "Brother, this is amazing! My soul power really did increase by 10 levels in one go!
Oh wow, I'm finally stronger than you now~"
Ye Wen rolled his eyes. It wasn't because he was out of breath from the kisses but rather because of Xiao Wu's audacious boasting.
What good was her strength as a melee fighter? He was an elemental mage—could she even get close to him?
"Alright, stop fooling around, Xiao Wu. Now that you've broken through to level 40 as a Soul Ancestor, I'll take you outside the estate to form your soul ring. Otherwise, if Grandma enthusiastically tries to help you hunt for one later, and you don't use it, your secret will be exposed," Ye Wen said.
At this point, Xiao Wu calmed down and nodded repeatedly.
Though there were many experts in the Dugu residence, the aura of the immortal herb had masked her presence during consumption, so nothing was exposed.
However, directly forming a soul ring would cause abnormal fluctuations in soul power, attracting unwanted attention from those experts. Hence, Xiao Wu hadn't hastily formed her soul ring earlier.
At this time, Huo Yu'er was cultivating, while Dugu Yan and the other two girls had gone to attend classes at the Tian Dou Imperial Academy, so no one came to bother Ye Wen. Thus, Ye Wen and Xiao Wu quietly left the Dugu residence.
As for bringing bodyguards?
This was Tian Dou Imperial City, the safest place in the Tian Dou Empire.
Ye Wen was also a well-known figure in the city recently—who would dare lay a hand on him? Anyone foolish enough to do so would face the wrath of Dugu Bo and Chen Gang, who might just wipe out their entire family.
If some high-level soul master dared to harm Ye Wen, they'd likely find themselves begging on their knees for Ye Wen not to die after leaving him half-dead.
Out in the countryside, Ye Wen found a secluded spot and began guarding Xiao Wu as she formed her soul ring.
Originally, Dugu Bo and the others wanted to assign a protector to watch over Ye Wen when they weren't around, just in case.
But Ye Wen felt that simply mentioning their names in Tian Dou was enough to deter anyone from acting against him.
Moreover, Ye Wen had some secrets he didn't want exposed, so he politely declined their offer.
Xiao Wu's soul ring formation was swift because this power already belonged to her. She simply needed to channel it, and under the influence of the natural laws, it would form the highest possible tier her body could handle.
Upon seeing the black soul ring, Ye Wen smacked his forehead.
"Damn, I got careless."
In this era where standard soul rings consisted of two yellow, two purple, and five black rings, a ten-thousand-year soul ring for the fourth ring was far too conspicuous.
Only Tang San enjoyed such treatment in this era—not even Qian Renxue with her god-level martial soul could match it.
As for those abnormal soul ring configurations obtained through divine trials, Ye Wen didn't bother comparing them since they were essentially exploits.
Frowning slightly, Ye Wen asked, "Xiao Wu, don't soul beasts naturally form soul rings based on human standards?"
Xiao Wu, who had just exited her soul ring formation, was momentarily confused. Then, upon seeing her black fourth soul ring, she was equally surprised.
"Ah! Why did my fourth soul ring turn into a ten-thousand-year one?"
Ye Wen was speechless. Were you the one transformed from a soul beast, or was it me? And you're asking me this!?
Xiao Wu knew that Ye Wen wanted to form a team for group dueling battles, but her current soul ring configuration was too eye-catching, conflicting with Ye Wen's preference for subtlety.
Thus, Xiao Wu cautiously asked, "Brother, am I causing trouble for you?"
Ye Wen sighed. Xiao Wu's problem was both big and small, but with two Title Douluos backing him, he didn't need to worry too much.
Still, as the saying goes, "It's not the thief who steals that you fear, but the thief who covets." Ye Wen scratched his head and said, "It's fine—it's just a minor issue. For now, don't show your soul rings to outsiders. Once I resolve this matter, you can reveal them freely."
Xiao Wu, who had been cautious just moments ago, immediately brightened up. Her image of Ye Wen as someone capable of anything grew even larger in her heart. With another flying leap, she kissed him again, this time leaving Ye Wen genuinely short of breath.
As for how to resolve the issue of her soul ring being scrutinized, the solution was simple: publish the theory of absorbing higher-level soul rings.
Although Ye Wen hadn't studied the formula for soul masters' absorption of soul rings and instead relied on Yu Xiaogang's theory of soul ring limits, that didn't mean he couldn't summarize the underlying patterns.
For the first three soul rings before the ten-thousand-year mark, as long as the soul master could withstand the energy within the ring, they could absorb it.
Since soul rings were products of natural laws, disregarding residual soul shocks, identifying the cultivation level of the soul beast ensured minimal risk.
Even if the years exceeded the limit, it wouldn't be a problem—as long as one had profound techniques like Tang San's, they could slowly absorb the soul ring and even gain a boost in soul power as a result.
However, it was important to note that the year gap couldn't be too large. If the soul master exhausted all their energy without fully refining the ring, their only fate would be to explode.
Of course, wealthy soul masters with powerful elders supervising could forcibly interrupt the process. Though they'd suffer backlash from their meridians, it was better than exploding.
With the help of nearby Soul Douluos who could control their soul pressure, Ye Wen crudely linked a soul master's resistance to the number of years they could refine. Though not 100% accurate, it was close enough.
Naturally, this approach was far superior to Yu Xiaogang's theory of pushing soul rings to their limits.
Ye Wen was certain that Yu Xiaogang had copied these references based on top-tier genius soul masters.
But even a fool could see that auxiliary soul masters couldn't compare their physical constitution to battle or beast martial soul users.
While writing these theories, Ye Wen couldn't help but muse:
How had Yu Xiaogang, with such glaring flaws in his knowledge, managed to win over Bibi Dong's heart? Was she really so love-struck and blind?
Emmm…
Shaking his head in exasperation, Ye Wen decided not to dwell on Bibi Dong's eccentricities and instead completed the section on spiritual power.
Though the cultivation of spiritual power wasn't widespread in this era, it didn't stop Ye Wen from creating a chart categorizing the spiritual power of various soul masters based on their absorption of soul rings.
With this, the Soul Ring Absorption Guide 1.0 for the Douluo Continent was officially published.
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