"By the way, Zhuqing—if that vixen really is Hu Liena, and I'm buffing you, can you beat her?"
As they were heading upstairs, Ning Rongrong suddenly thought of the key point and sent a voice transmission to Zhu Zhuqing.
They'd come to nab the "vixen." If they couldn't even subdue her, that'd be embarrassing.
"This…"
Zhu Zhuqing hesitated.
She knew a bit about Hu Liena's strength—she's a mind-control-type soul master and seems to have a head soul bone as well. Even though Zhu Zhuqing's mental power was no slouch after cultivating Eternal Thought, she still wasn't sure she could completely resist Hu Liena's mental control.
"Forget it, whatever. Even if the vixen is Hu Liena, I'm catching her tonight! We stand for justice—justice doesn't lose!"
Ning Rongrong raised a fist, face set with determination.
Zhu Zhuqing: "…"
Soon, the two followed the waiter up to the fifth floor and stopped at Room 506.
They waved the waiter away, exchanged a look, and Ning Rongrong pointed at herself—she'd go first.
Knock, knock, knock—
"Who is it?"
Inside the suite, Hu Liena was showering. Hearing the knock, her heart skipped with joy, but she still asked—just in case it wasn't Chu Chengzhou.
Outside, Ning Rongrong pinched her throat, ran Absolute Control, and imitated Chu Chengzhou's voice: "It's me."
Hearing the familiar voice, Hu Liena didn't doubt it. "Come in, I'm showering!"
As for the door being locked?
Please—slipping a latch is nothing to Chu Chengzhou. With a sweep of spiritual sense and a push of soul power on the cylinder, any regular lock would turn.
That was easy for Chu Chengzhou—but not for Ning Rongrong. She didn't have his lock-popping tricks and glanced, a little sheepish, at Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing lifted her right hand, channeled soul power, and slapped the door hard.
Bang—
A dull thud, wood chips flying. The lock area of the wooden door shattered into splinters; a few metal bits dangled there sadly.
Miss can't pick locks—but she can break doors.
"What are you—… No. Who is it?!"
Hearing the commotion, Hu Liena started to call out to Chu Chengzhou, but the next instant she caught two distinct sets of footsteps at the threshold.
She immediately sensed something was off, jumped up, pulled on clothes, and swept out her spiritual sense.
!!!
Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing?
Great—this Saint just got caught red-handed!
Three days later, Star Dou Great Forest, core region.
High in the air on the back of the Fire Phoenix familiar Xiaohong, Chu Chengzhou spread out his spiritual sense, scanning the beasts below.
By now, he himself had combat strength comparable to a newly entered Titled Douluo. His two familiars Xiong Da and Dahei could also match Titled Douluo. With power like that, he might not be strutting unchecked across the forest, but flying openly was no problem.
"Brother, that 80-thousand-year Three-Eyed Demon Fox we ran into earlier looked perfect. Why didn't you let me attach it?"
Xiao Wu asked, puzzled.
"If we can, your seventh ring should be over ninety thousand years," Chu Chengzhou said.
"Is there really that much difference between 80k and 90k?" Xiao Wu blinked.
"You'll see~."
Chu Chengzhou smiled and let it be.
Ring age isn't fixed forever. Apart from, well, 'cheat codes' like his, there are divine trials that can reward increases to ring age.
One certain deity is rich as the seas and absurdly generous—he doesn't just hike ring age; he boosts levels and even hands out god-bestowed rings.
Poseidon: I'm loaded (with believers). Pocket change!
As he recalled from the original timeline, after Ning Rongrong completed the Sea God's top-tier Seven Trials, her third ring—originally under 1,500 years—upgraded straight to a black ten-thousand-year ring.
Which means the reward there bumped ring age by at least 8,500 years.
If Xiao Wu's seventh ring starts at 91,500+ and she later goes to Sea God Island for trials of at least top-tier Seven, that seventh could be pushed up into a hundred-thousand-year ring.
The jump from 80k to 90k isn't huge—but 90k to 100k is night-and-day.
An 80-rank soul master can bear most sub-100k rings. Xiao Wu's only at 70, yes—but her physique and spiritual power both exceed most 80-ranks, so a 90k-plus seventh is well within reach.
Roar—
Far to the fore came a beast's dying bellow.
"Huh? Sounds like a big one."
Chu Chengzhou arched a brow and had Xiaohong bank toward the sound.
Before long, a battered battlefield came into view.
Down among the trees, the ground was cratered. Broken giants still smoldered. A crimson tiger more than ten meters long—its rings already popped—lay in a pool of blood.
Beside the corpse, a "rabbit" over three meters long—with narrow ears as long as its whole body, teal fur, and knife-edged claws—was happily munching away.
"An eighty-plus-thousand-year Flame Tiger? Xiao Wu, since when does the Star Dou have rabbits that eat tigers?"
Chu Chengzhou stared.
He knew the tiger. The rabbit that eats tigers? Not so much.
The continent's soul-beast species are too many to count; he recognized only the common ones. In his mind, rabbit-type beasts sat low on the food chain. Other than Xiao Wu and her mom, there were rabbits this ferocious?
Don't tell him this green-fur "rabbit" is the same strain as the never-seen "Dad Rabbit" from the original?
"That's not a bunny. Bunnies don't eat meat! That's a Fungus Hound."
Xiao Wu rolled her eyes and explained.
"A… hound? Where does that look like a dog?"
Chu Chengzhou studied it. Other than the extremely long ears, everything screamed "rabbit."
Xiao Wu shook her head. "Not 'dog'—Fungus Hound. Rare species. Wind attribute. Strong-attack type. It also has a clone-type innate soul skill.
"And this one looks past ninety thousand years—perfect for my seventh ring."
"Then we'll take it."
Chu Chengzhou nodded without hesitation. Golden light flashed; the Nine Heavens Mystic Spirit Armor manifested. Illusion art—Void Mirage Realm—engaged.
Age? Check. Innate clone skill? Check. Xiao Wu's seventh is also a clone—short of a god-bestowed ring, this is about as compatible as it gets.
Invisible spiritual power sank into the beast's sea of consciousness; the Void Mirage took hold. With its mind rewritten, the dining Fungus Hound instantly became a devout believer in a certain "Lord on High."
With spiritual power on par with a high-rank Soul Douluo, plus the head-piece of the soul-forged silver armor boosting that mental force, a non-mental 90k beast wasn't resisting Chu Chengzhou's domain.
"Not a bun—lost little doggo… Offer your ring to your Sister Xiao Wu."
Chu Chengzhou landed with Xiao Wu and, full conman mode, addressed the pious Fungus Hound.
Rumor has it, voluntary sacrifice means a guaranteed soul-bone drop. He wanted to test that. Even if it didn't work, maybe it would hike the drop rate.
"Woof… woof?"
The Fungus Hound opened its mouth, bewildered.
Hearing the bark, Chu Chengzhou thought: okay, so it is a dog.
He didn't dwell on the taxonomy. "Your Lord commands you—sacrifice your ring to Sister Xiao Wu. If she becomes a god someday, maybe you'll, y'know, rise with her."
He pointed at Xiao Wu to clarify, and also relayed the intent spiritually so there'd be no misunderstanding.
Sacrificed rings differ from hunted rings—they can preserve the beast's soul. Under 100k years won't preserve it whole, but a fragment should be possible. If a soul master ascends and is willing, resurrecting a ring-beast isn't out of the question.
"Pfft—"
Xiao Wu couldn't help laughing. "Brother, sacrifice is a unique ability of 100k beasts. Below that, except for a tiny handful of special species, most can't do it even if they want to."
"You couldn't say that earlier?"
Chu Chengzhou shot her a look, then yanked the hound's mind deeper into the illusion. He jerked his chin: "Go on. It can't resist right now."
Xiao Wu nodded, drew a soul-forged aurichalcum dagger from her storage guide, stepped to the hound, flooded the blade with soul power, and drove it straight into that dog-that-looked-like-a-rabbit's head.
Puff—
Like stabbing tofu, the razor-edged blade slid clean through.
Pierced brain; no immortality—down it went. The Void Mirage collapsed as the hound's consciousness vanished.
Since the hound died to Xiao Wu's killing thrust (the illusion was only control), there was no danger of the world's "last-hit" rule stealing the ring credit from her.
Soon, dense golden motes rose from the corpse—countless lights whirling together—and a ring of pitch black laced with faint crimson condensed.
That should be past ninety-one-five, right? Chu Chengzhou judged by eye.
Honestly, outside of the "status panel" only he had, no soul master can peg a ring's exact age. At best it's ballpark—lighting and surroundings alone shift shade and saturation.
So why did Yu Xiaogang claim a first ring's cap is exactly 423 years? Down to the ones digit?
Probably a wild guess. Unless he's running cheats and has a "scan" on ring age, even Titled Douluo can't read single-digit precision. How would a two-ring Great Soul Master nail that?
And because no one can measure precisely—and because almost no one's first ring obviously exceeds 423—no one bothered to refute him.
Time slipped by. The sun leaned west. After most of a day refining, Xiao Wu was nearing the end.
It was getting late; night would soon fall over the Star Dou. Chu Chengzhou started on dinner.
Conveniently, an eighty-plus-thousand Flame Tiger lay right there. Tiger steaks it was.
That glossy pelt? He'd skin it, have a craftsman tan it, and make a tiger-hide sofa.
"Ah—!"
Mid-skin, a cry of pain cut through the trees. Chu Chengzhou flashed to Xiao Wu's side.
Her face twisted in pain mid-refining, a violent burst of soul power flared above her head.
A surge of teal light—and the pair of bunny ears on Xiao Wu's crown shot longer. The pink-white fur shaded steadily to green.
"An… external soul bone?"
Chu Chengzhou's eyes widened. He glanced at the corpse—those extra-long teal ears on the Fungus Hound's head were a dead ringer.
Anything outside the six standard bone slots—torso, head, left/right arm, left/right leg—is an external soul bone.
For average talents, an external bone isn't as good as a 100k bone. For top talents, external bones are more precious—and the better the talent, the more valuable the bone.
Because external bones grow with the soul master's level—low starting year can be leveled up into a top-tier bone. Reach Titled Douluo, and an external bone will rise to 100k. Hit Peerless Douluo and the age won't stop at 100k, either.
Level 100 maps to million-year beasts; million-year beasts drop million-year bones. So a level-99 Peerless Douluo's external bone could, in theory, push into the nine-hundred-thousand-year range!
The protagonist's "golden kit," the very thing he'd dreamed of—just appeared on Xiao Wu.
For a heartbeat, Chu Chengzhou's mood pinched. Envy, yes.
But he settled quickly.
It's his girl getting an external bone during a hunt—pure win. He can't force it for himself. Maybe the reason he never popped bones—let alone an external one—was because all his lifetime luck was spent on awakening a cheat?
Bones are sweet; external bones sweeter. But stacked against his cheat? Eh.
Sour grapes, admitted.
External bones resemble the beast's anatomy; getting one is like reshaping your own body. It hurts, of course—but it's not life-threatening, so he relaxed.
Before long, Xiao Wu sat cross-legged while the new teal ear-bones, like two absurdly long ponytails, draped to the ground—easily over a meter and a half each.
Ears that long… like reins…
Xiao Wu, forgive me. My mind went there.
The sun set, the moon climbed. Three hours passed in a blink.
Xiao Wu finally finished refining the ring and the external bone. Her aura soared—her level jumped from 70 quasi-Soul Sage straight to level 72.
Even with a soul core making every level harder to push, a 90k-plus ring and a same-age bone still bumped her by more than two levels.
"Ah—Sister Xiao Wu's head finally doesn't hurt!"
The moment she woke, she sighed from the heart.
"Bad?"
Chu Chengzhou pulled her gently into his arms.
"Yeah. Felt like it was going to explode."
She nodded, still rattled.
"That's an external soul bone. Even your brother can't get one just by wanting it."
He tapped her forehead, half-exasperated, half-fond.
"Hehe~ Do you even know who Sister Xiao Wu is?"
She'd said it hurt, but inside she was giddy. External soul bone! Any soul master who knows what that is would be green with envy.
"Xiao Wu, what do those ears do?"
Chu Chengzhou stroked the long teal ears—great hand-feel, by the way.
They were called ears, but looked more like two long teal tails.
"I'm calling them the Clairaudient Ears. They come with a support-type soul-bone skill… and they can hit people!"
As she spoke, the ears snaked like twin vipers and whipped the hand he'd been using to pet them.
"Clairaudient Ears, huh? So the bone skill boosts hearing.
"But who goes around hitting with their ears? You can smack weaklings fine. Meet someone stronger, and they'll just yank them off."
"Hmph! No one dares yank Sister Xiao Wu's ears!"
Still, at his words, the image of having her ears grabbed flashed in her mind and made her shiver.
Glaring at him, she went on: "The soul-bone skill is called Hearing All Directions. I can hear everything within a certain range, and it renders as images in my mind—like I'm seeing it. The stronger my spiritual power, the wider and clearer the scan."
"A perception-type soul-bone skill?"
Chu Chengzhou raised a brow. Kind of like a radar satellite.
"How wide is the range?"
"It's a circle centered on me—up to four or five kilometers. The closer it is, the clearer it gets; at four or five km it's already pretty fuzzy."
Saying it out loud, Xiao Wu felt a little deflated.
Seemed… meh. Only four or five kilometers, and blurry at that. Not much better than a normal spiritual sweep.
"You silly rabbit—just collapse the field into a thin line and rotate it around yourself."
Chu Chengzhou face-palmed.
Xiao Wu blinked, then lit up and tried it his way.
Moments later her eyes flew wide—clearly surprised.
"How is it now?" he asked.
"The range got huge—more than thirty li away and it's still crisp. Max might be over a hundred li. I'm just a bit dizzy…"
She rubbed her temples.
He resumed petting the "Clairaudient Ears." "That's just overload—too much data too fast for your brain to process. Narrow the band and you'll be fine."
The boost from Hearing All Directions beats a raw attack-type bone skill, hands down. With a scan like that, how could he ever struggle to find 100k beasts—or even Ferocious Beasts?
Are 100k beasts common on land? Not really—rare, even very rare. But that's just the continent. The oceans even have million-year beasts; 100k and Ferocious counts out there aren't exactly small.
Also, his spiritual power outstrips Xiao Wu's, no question. Yet when she ran Hearing All Directions, he didn't sense any spiritual fluctuation—only the soul-power flare from activating the bone skill.
Clearly the mechanism isn't the same as ordinary spiritual perception.
Long reach, and the scan carries no spiritual ripple. Meaning, if Xiao Wu scans someone whose spiritual power dwarfs hers, they won't notice.
"Right—what about your seventh ring skill? How is it?"
If the external bone's skill was this good, her seventh from the Fungus Hound should be stronger than in the original—its age is thirty thousand higher, after all.
"Pretty good. Soft-Bone Rabbit Clone splits into seven clones, mind-linked, each at 90% of the original's stats. Except for the seventh-ring skill, the clones can use all the other skills as normal. Duration: half an hour.
"When I hit the eighth and ninth rings, the clone count rises to eight and nine. They still can't use soul-bone skills, though."
Chu Chengzhou's thoughts immediately went places—seven clones plus the original… eight times the happiness. Later, even ten times…
Ahem. Hopefully the duration gets longer in the future.
Xiao Wu: Heh—ptui!
T/N: For up to 30 chapters ahead on most of my translations, become a p@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle