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Ning Rongrong was perceptive.
She knew how to distinguish what mattered.
Su Wen could grant her combat ability, but that ability existed only because of Su Wen's aid. She herself possessed no real fighting strength. If she ostentatiously absorbed a higher-grade soul ring, she would only draw massive attention and attacks.
"Rongrong, you must understand—I do this for your own good," Ning Fengzhi said, his expression softening as he spoke kindly.
How could he not want to verify his hypothesis? Yet Ning Rongrong was his daughter.
If it were merely feeding her some rare heavenly materials to test things, he would have no hesitation: he would find them, test them for safety, and then insist she take them. But when it came to the risky method of absorbing a soul ring beyond one's level, he would rather not even have the hypothesis.
Even after over three months of theoretical verification, numerous conjectures, and closing the logic loop in his mind, he did not want his daughter to be the first to gamble her life on it.
"I won't force disciples of the sect to try this," Ning Fengzhi thought, "but I will record the theory in the sect's archives. If any disciple is willing to risk everything for a sliver of hope later, they may attempt it."
"Normally, the upper limit for a second ring is 764 years. Rongrong, while I won't allow you to try for a thousand-year ring, I don't oppose attempting eight or nine-hundred-year rings that exceed the usual limit."
Where does the difficulty in over-leveled soul ring absorption lie?
In the soul master world, there is a recognized answer: physical constitution.
Su Wen made that direction more concrete, and he proposed an efficient, effective technique to strengthen meridian intensity. His theory could even be presented on paper—which is why the Martial Soul Hall paid attention. It represented both a significant breakthrough and a low-waste approach worth attempting.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect didn't know the specifics of Su Wen's theory on over-level absorption, but Ning Fengzhi, inspired by Su Wen, began to deduce the possibility of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda evolving in theory.
Over-level absorption—there was hope.
For his daughter's sake he wouldn't let her take reckless risks, but for her he would invest heavily. Why hadn't anyone in the soul master world tried researching this method before? Because the consumption was too great.
But the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was wealthy.
Strengthen physical constitution? There were suitable herbs and elixirs—he had been collecting them for three months. During those three months Ning Rongrong had also been fed various treasures intended to boost her physique. Unfortunately, because of her stage of bodily development and her baseline constitution, the overall improvements weren't dramatic.
If Ning Rongrong truly had a one-hundred-percent chance to endure a thousand-year soul ring, would Ning Fengzhi still use muted excuses to persuade her otherwise? Of course not.
Every decision was a balance. Ning Fengzhi wanted to pursue the path of over-level absorption to promote his daughter's martial soul evolution, but he also had to guarantee her safety. Thus, eight or nine hundred years was the compromise he decided upon.
"Uncle Ning, I'll go with you," Su Wen offered.
During the three months Su Wen and Ning Fengzhi had exchanged theories repeatedly. They had even come to call each other brothers in their scholarly discussions. Ning Fengzhi had said more than once, "Su Wen's theoretical talent is unparalleled."
This talent was more than what a Book Martial Soul soul master might normally possess.
"If I go, it at least provides another layer of protection," Su Wen said. He wasn't sure whether his enhancement-type soul skill would help during the soul ring absorption, but since it improved the body and was integrative, he thought there was hope.
"Little Wen, this time we're searching for a soul beast—precise years matter. Even Swords-uncle personally taking part would require months to locate a beast with the exact needed age. You don't need to come." Ning Fengzhi shook his head and refused Su Wen.
He, too, had long contemplated Su Wen's ability. He knew how important such a power could be.
"Little Wen, try not to go. If it fails and you watch someone explode in battle, you would feel guilty forever," Ning Fengzhi gave his reason for rejecting Su Wen.
However, Su Wen felt the real reason for the refusal wasn't fear of failure and its consequences, but fear of success—and what success would bring. If it succeeded—
"Rest assured," Ning Fengzhi added, his confidence not unfounded, "for Rongrong's soul ring absorption, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is investing more heavily than you can imagine."
———
At the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
"Little Wen, you should be able to advance to the Gold Dou Soul Emblem on the Great Spirit Arena this month," Qin Ming told him.
Three months to reach the gold emblem wasn't especially fast. Su Wen wasn't obsessed with combat—he had interruptions, didn't participate much in the seven-person team fights, and his pair-training with Ning Rongrong wasn't frequent. So his Dou Spirit points hadn't accumulated monstrously.
Still, he had maintained a winning streak.
"Once you obtain the Gold Dou Soul Emblem, the Great Spirit Arena will hone you even more," Qin Ming said.
Among Soul Revered (Hun Zun), silver emblem holders could no longer defeat Su Wen. But those Soul Revered with gold emblems were among the very best; victory over them would be far tougher.
At his Grandmaster level, Su Wen was already regarded by Qin Ming as on par with Soul Revered.
"When Rongrong returns as a Grandmaster and teams with you, you can even attempt over-level challenges together."
Two Grandmasters challenging two Soul Revered—such matches would offer far stronger trials for Su Wen, especially since Ning Rongrong was primarily a support.
"All right, Teacher Qin." Su Wen responded.
At the Great Spirit Arena, the scoreboard tallied and the silver Dou emblem upgraded to a gold emblem. Su Wen signed up immediately to challenge a Soul Revered who held a gold emblem.
In the viewing box, a voluptuous woman wearing a cyan robe watched the ring intently.
"Aunt, with you like this I feel Little Wen will refuse to train with you," Yu Tianheng hesitated.
The cyan-robed, buxom woman was naturally Liu Erlong, who had come to watch Su Wen's first gold-emblem match. If his performance impressed, she would—per her agreement with Yu Luomian—teach Su Wen for a while. Yet Yu Tianheng worried that his aunt's manner might make Su Wen turn her down.
"Hmph. If he refuses, I wouldn't even want to teach," Liu Erlong snorted and glanced at Yu Tianheng.
Yu Tianheng sighed and fell silent.
"The Scholar Who Can Fight versus the Wild Ape—contestants, prepare."
"Eh!" Liu Erlong exclaimed in surprise.
Two figures appeared on the ring. One was Su Wen. The other—the "Wild Ape" opponent—was Tailong!
Facing an opponent whose muscles bulged and exuded feral aggression, Su Wen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Around level thirty-one?" he mused. This level had just gained the gold Dou emblem—so it should be a Grandmaster-stage result. He wondered how this opponent would compare with the Soul Revered he had previously fought.
(End of Chapter)