Chapter 173: Half a Year
Half a month later, Ning Rongrong successfully broke through to level 50. Ning Bei took his sister and the other two little ones to Sunset Forest.
They successfully helped them obtain their fifth soul ring, and the Seven Treasure Battle Team gained three more Soul Kings.
Rongrong's fifth soul skill was obtained from a nearly 20,000-year-old Red Flame Sword Tooth Tiger. It enhanced her attack power by 60%, which wasn't unexpected.
After absorbing the soul ring, her soul power level reached level 52.
Ah Bao's fifth soul ring came from a slightly over 20,000-year-old Demon God Tiger. His fifth soul skill, Shadow Demon Transformation, was a type of attribute enhancement skill, similar to Dai Mubai's third soul skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation.
However, Ah Bao's fifth soul skill was much stronger, as it could not only increase all attributes by 100% for a period of time, but also amplify the power of soul skills, which complemented Ning Rongrong's support abilities.
After absorbing the soul ring, his soul power level reached 53. He planned to absorb the 50,000-year soul bone Ning Bei had given him once they returned to the sect.
Ye Yin Zhu's soul ring came from a Demon Sound Ape and added a group attack sound wave skill called Shock Magic Sound. It could cause mental damage to a group while also having a control effect, which was very useful.
Ye Yin Zhu's soul power level also reached 53, the same as Ah Bao's. However, knowing that his teammates had received soul bone rewards, he couldn't help but feel a bit unwilling, though he didn't harbor any jealousy toward Ah Bao or Long Nianbing.
He decided to turn his dissatisfaction into motivation, working hard to help the team win the Soul Master Competition so that they could earn soul bone rewards.
At the sect, after hearing that the three of them had become Soul Kings, the little cat didn't stop her training for a moment.
According to Xiao Wu, this girl hadn't slept for several days.
Ning Bei understood her feelings. Among the teammates, aside from Nami, she was the only one still at the Soul Emperor level.
Nami's situation was special, as she had only been cultivating for two years.
The little cat, who was proud, forced herself to keep training in order to catch up with her teammates.
Ning Bei was worried that the little girl might overtrain and hurt her body. After several failed attempts to persuade her, he decided to talk to her alone in her room.
When Zhu Zhuqing arrived at Ning Bei's residence, she was somewhat nervous, with a hint of an emotion she herself hadn't noticed.
"Ning Bei Brother, did you call for me?"
Ning Bei waved at the little cat, and when she walked over, he gently flicked her smooth forehead.
"Ugh!"
Seeing her retreat with her hand on her forehead, Ning Bei gave her an annoyed look.
"Have you not slept for days? Are you trying to kill yourself?"
Zhu Zhuqing couldn't argue and awkwardly smiled to hide her guilt.
Not wanting to continue the charade, Ning Bei immediately took out two jade bottles and tossed them to her.
"These are the Three-patterned Blue Spirit Pill and the Purple Heart Breaking Pill. They'll probably help you increase your soul power by three levels."
Zhu Zhuqing had heard her sisters talk about the effects of these pills, but since Ning Bei hadn't given them to her, she hadn't thought to ask for them herself, feeling like she owed him enough already.
"Thank you, Ning Bei Brother, but..."
"Cut it out. You owe me so much already. You'd rather risk your health than accept my pills? Are you dumb?"
Before Zhu Zhuqing could refuse, Ning Bei rolled his eyes and interrupted her.
"But..."
"No buts. What's precious to you is just a bit of soul power for me. What's there to feel bad about?"
After hearing Ning Bei's words, Zhu Zhuqing thought for a moment and agreed, no longer refusing.
After taking the jade bottles, she looked at Ning Bei gratefully.
"Thank you, Ning Bei Brother!"
"Mm, come here!"
Ning Bei nodded and then waved at her again.
Zhu Zhuqing walked over with some confusion, and Ning Bei raised his hand to release the soul bone skill, Purification, placing his hand on her forehead.
The dazzling milky-white light caused the little cat to close her eyes, not afraid that Ning Bei would harm her.
While releasing the skill, Ning Bei felt her change. Just when he thought the effect wouldn't be significant, Zhu Zhuqing's brows suddenly furrowed, as though she was going through some pain.
Seeing this, Ning Bei's eyes lit up. The scene when Ah Bao's martial soul evolved was still fresh in his memory, and it seemed similar to what was happening with Zhu Zhuqing.
After a while, the Spectral Spirit Cat martial soul automatically appeared behind Zhu Zhuqing.
Ning Bei wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but it seemed like faint black smoke was swirling around the cat's limbs.
After some time, Zhu Zhuqing opened her beautiful eyes, her face filled with excitement.
"Ning Bei Brother, it seems my martial soul has undergone some changes, but I'm not sure what exactly happened."
Ning Bei nodded, affirming her guess.
"It should have evolved, though not significantly. Try releasing a soul skill, let me see."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded, then began looking around.
Understanding what she intended to do, Ning Bei directly created a soul power shield in front of him.
"Release it directly at me."
"Alright, First Soul Skill—Spectral Sting."
Zhu Zhuqing didn't hesitate and released her first soul skill at Ning Bei. She didn't expect it to deal any damage to a Title Douluo.
When the attack hit Ning Bei's soul power shield, it caused slight ripples.
After the aftershock dissipated, the two of them were surprised to find that there was actually a trace of corrosive power remaining on the shield.
"It seems your attacks will now carry this Spectral attribute."
"Mm!"
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes sparkled, excitedly nodding.
"Thank you, Ning Bei Brother!"
This was probably the umpteenth time the little cat had thanked him, but there was nothing she could do. At her current stage, all she could offer was her small gratitude.
Ning Bei waved his hand, signaling it wasn't a big deal.
"Go back to your regular training frequency. Leave a path for those two lazy girls!"
"Ha!"
Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but laugh at Ning Bei's teasing, quickly covering her mouth, but the smile in her eyes was unmistakable.
After taking the pills and training for another half a month, Zhu Zhuqing successfully broke through to level 50. Ning Bei helped her find a nearly 20,000-year-old Shadow Beast.
Zhu Zhuqing's fifth soul skill was called Shadow Kill, which allowed her to hide in shadows and strike her enemies unexpectedly. With her already decent attack power, she became a true glass cannon.
In the following days, they continued to progress through training and teamwork.
Before the competition began, Ning Bei's apprentice, Nami, also finally broke through the 40-level barrier.
Ning Bei took her to the sea and hunted a Furious Sea Shark.
The soul skill she obtained was as expected: a group attack skill named Roar of the Tide, which summoned huge waves to attack her opponents.
The current team setup was one quasi-Soul Saint, six Soul Kings, and one Soul Emperor.
The quasi-Soul Saint was Ning Bei's girlfriend, Dugu Yan, who had just broken through and planned to wait until the preliminaries were over to absorb her seventh soul ring.
Ning Bei actually thought it might be better to have her wait until after the competition to absorb the soul ring since a Soul Saint might be a bit overpowered.
But when Qian Renxue found out, she insisted that Dugu Yan absorb the soul ring as soon as possible. She wanted the Wuhun Temple team to feel despair!
(END CHAPTER)
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