Xu Jiujiu's absorption of the ten-thousand-year soul ring did indeed take a bit longer than expected. It began yesterday afternoon and only barely concluded by evening today. However, the rewards she gained were more than enough to justify the wait.
The residual soul power left behind from the previously absorbed seventy-thousand-year soul bone, combined with the amplification brought by the soul ring itself, directly pushed Xu Jiujiu's soul power up to Rank 45.
This was truly astonishing. In less than a week, her soul power had surged from Rank 38 to Rank 45—a leap so dramatic it was equivalent to skipping nearly an entire year of hard cultivation.
That said, such a situation would likely only happen this once. In future cultivation, even if she were to continue absorbing higher-than-recommended soul rings, the increase she gained would be nowhere near as significant as this time.
The reason for this was actually quite simple. The moment a soul master successfully absorbs a soul ring beyond their rank for the first time, it means that their physical strength, soul power quality, and overall capacity to withstand soul power have already far surpassed those of ordinary soul masters of the same level.
From that point onward, even if they continued to absorb higher-year soul rings, the resulting increase would essentially be no different from a normal soul master absorbing a soul ring of an appropriate age.
After all, your soul power quality and total capacity have their limits. What others see as "over-rank absorption" is, for you, merely absorbing a soul beast that already matches your own capabilities. Naturally, the boost would no longer be as terrifying or dramatic as the first time.
Even so, Xu Jiujiu was still extremely happy. As she herself explained, after this breakthrough, the speed at which her Star Crown Martial Soul absorbed starlight energy had increased by nearly thirty percent. On top of that, with the help of auxiliary soul tools to pre-absorb and store starlight energy, she would now be able to cultivate moderately even during the daytime.
While the overall increase in cultivation speed couldn't be called drastic, it was still a noticeable improvement compared to before.
Of course, before deciding to leave Star Luo City to search for opportunities across the continent, Shu Yan still had to go and "talk things through" with Xu Jiawei.
After all, this trip meant taking his younger sister along. No matter how composed he was as an emperor, a brother would always worry about his sister.
Shu Yan didn't have much to argue about. He could only repeatedly assure him that they would not take unnecessary risks. In the end, this finally put Xu Jiawei somewhat at ease.
As the departure drew near, Xu Jiujiu appeared genuinely excited. As a princess, she had been confined within Star Luo City for almost her entire life. Her days were filled with studies and obligations, leaving her with very few opportunities to travel—let alone venture across the continent.
Because of this, she took the journey extremely seriously, unable to hide her anticipation and excitement.
After wrapping up matters in Star Luo City, Shu Yan paid a visit to Qiangu Chaosheng and obtained an ancient parchment map from him. Before their departure, Xu Jiawei had initially intended to have Starcloud Douluo accompany them, but after glancing at the Ice and Snow Empresses nearby, he could only give up on the idea with a sigh.
Thus, under Xu Jiawei's personal send-off, Shu Yan and the others soon left the palace grounds and headed toward the bustling world beyond…
…
Just before leaving the city gates, the group finally reunited with Luo Qinghan, who had been waiting at a roadside beverage shop, pushed there by Tian Ling.
After briefly introducing the Ice Empress to her, Shu Yan said nothing more. Luo Qinghan was a smart woman—despite Shu Yan deliberately avoiding any sensitive details, she clearly understood what she should and shouldn't ask.
After greeting everyone in turn once she boarded the carriage, she quietly sat cross-legged in a corner and began meditating, not uttering a single unnecessary word.
Shu Yan did not disturb her. He held the ancient map he had obtained from Qiangu Chaosheng and began studying it carefully.
Due to massive continental plate collisions thousands of years ago, the current continent had undergone tremendous changes compared to ten thousand years prior.
Many iconic landmarks and cities had vanished into history, and even the once-mighty Heaven Dou Empire had long since fractured into the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Spirit Empire.
New cities had been built atop ancient ruins, and populations gradually migrated to newly formed lands. As a result, the modern continental map contained far more cities, along with newly formed mountain ranges and plains, than the ancient map in Shu Yan's hands.
Additionally, because of Tang Sect's former dominance and tyranny, many locations tied to its origins were forbidden from appearing on maps. According to legend, this was a divine decree left behind by the Sea God himself.
Although there were occasional complaints, most people could only accept it helplessly.
Over time, as Tang Sect gradually declined, many of its original inheritances faded into history. By the present day, most people had completely forgotten those mysterious locations that had vanished from maps for no apparent reason—and even those who remembered no longer bothered to search for them.
After all, in this era, Tang Sect's hidden weapons and its remaining inheritances were simply too outdated compared to the rapidly advancing soul tool systems, technology, and economy.
Tang Sect's former glory had long since perished amid its corruption and stubborn conservatism—an irreversible reality.
Of course, even if someone wished to revive it, Shu Yan would never agree.
Relics that had already been buried by the tides of history should stay quietly in the trash heap. Crawling back out would be rather impolite…
Along the journey, Shu Yan remained absorbed in studying the map and thinking. Xu Jiujiu sat beside him, gazing out at the scenery in a daze. Across from them, the Snow Empress rested her chin on her hand while dozing lightly, while the Ice Empress munched on snacks as she looked outside to pass the time.
The carriage was so quiet it felt oddly unnatural.
Shu Yan sighed helplessly, then closed his eyes and entered meditation as well.
Judging from the direction they had left the city, if they continued north along this road, they would reach Xuan-Yu City by evening. Around the imperial capital of Star Luo City, there were four small cities arranged in the order of Heaven, Earth, Dark, and Yellow.
These cities served as defensive bulwarks during wartime, protecting the capital from invasion. Each was stationed with powerful soul master teams and armored cavalry, making their combat strength far from insignificant.
As they moved farther away from Star Luo City, small villages and towns gradually appeared along the road.
Because of their proximity to the capital, these settlements looked relatively clean and orderly, without the extreme decay seen elsewhere. Still, the underlying problem was obvious—among villages of several hundred people, fewer than five possessed soul power, a disparity that was truly alarming.
Watching the scene outside, Xu Jiujiu couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
Shu Yan emerged from shallow meditation and, seeing the slight furrow in her brow, quickly understood the reason behind her mood.
After a moment of thought, he spoke gently:
"Jiujiu, don't think too much about it. This isn't something you should blame yourself for."
Xu Jiujiu raised her eyes, her emotions clearly subdued.
"The problem of civilians being unable to awaken martial souls has existed in the empire for a long time. Years ago, my brother proposed several solutions—such as following the old Spirit Hall model and recruiting low-rank soul masters to conduct awakenings."
"But do you know why it failed, A-Yan?"
Shu Yan gently rubbed her head and replied slowly,
"If I had to guess… the problem lay with the empire's upper echelon and the noble class."
Xu Jiujiu nodded.
"That's right. The moment my brother proposed it, nearly seventy percent of the old aristocracy opposed it. Because once such a policy was implemented, the lower classes—who had been oppressed by them for generations—would finally have a chance to rise."
"That would directly threaten their interests."
"On the other hand, there were financial issues. The continental situation has grown increasingly chaotic and dangerous. The Sun-Moon Empire to the west is restless, and since our empire stands on the front line against them, we need a powerful military capable of resisting foreign threats."
"As a result, the amount of gold soul coins spent on the military each year is an astronomical figure—far beyond imagination. Such enormous expenditures mean the empire simply cannot spare enough funds to support this plan."
"On top of that, the large-scale development of soul tools also requires massive investment. Although the empire's annual tax revenue rivals that of the other two empires combined, there are still countless parasites draining resources in the shadows…"
"The empire is in troubled times. For many of these issues, it truly lacks the strength to act. Sometimes, trying to balance the greater good is unbearably difficult…"
At this point, Xu Jiujiu leaned against Shu Yan's shoulder and let out a faintly self-mocking smile before continuing:
"In many cases, it's not that the empire doesn't want to act—it's that it simply can't. Or more bluntly, it doesn't dare."
"But with you, A-Yan… I believe all of this can change in the future."
Hearing this, Shu Yan could only smile helplessly, unsure of how to respond.