"But...!"
Zhang Lexuan's face showed hesitation. In her heart, she hoped Lu Jingming would absorb this soul bone to enhance his strength.
"But what? You're already mine. It's just a 100,000-year soul bone. Be obedient and refine it. Perfect, I'm about to absorb the Mountain-Moving Ape's soul ring too." Lu Jingming affectionately reached out and gently pinched Zhang Lexuan's delicate nose, his tone carrying a hint of undeniable dominance.
"Mhm!"
Lu Jingming's slightly overbearing words and intimate gesture made Zhang Lexuan's pretty face instantly blush, making her even more beautiful. Especially sensing Jingliu silently watching from the side, a wave of shyness surged within her, like a fluttering deer.
Zhang Lexuan did not refute Lu Jingming's phrase "You're already mine," because in her heart, this had long been an undeniable fact. Looking at the grown-up Lu Jingming, whose height was almost catching up to hers, Zhang Lexuan's eyes gradually became a little hazy. She knew that Lu Jingming was still growing, and in a few more years, upon reaching adulthood, he would surely become even more mature, steady, handsome, and dashing.
Zhang Lexuan tightly held the Silvermoon Flood Dragon Emperor's torso bone, turned, and walked to the side to begin refining it. This was a 100,000-year soul bone, something many Title Douluo would fight tooth and nail for, even risking their lives, yet Lu Jingming had unhesitatingly given it to her. Such profound affection was enough for her, wasn't it?
"This girl, she can't leave you now!"
Jingliu quietly watched all this, speaking with a calm tone. Although she herself had never experienced love, she had, after all, gone through a thousand years of vicissitudes in the world, witnessing too many joys and sorrows, loves and hatreds.
With her experience, she could naturally tell at a glance that Zhang Lexuan's current state clearly indicated she was deeply immersed in love for Lu Jingming, unable to extricate herself. Perhaps even facing a life-and-death crisis, she would find it hard to let go of this deep affection.
"I never thought of letting her leave me either, Teacher. You should know me; I'm very greedy. What I desire, I will never easily give up."
Lu Jingming spread his arms, making a grasping motion as if to hold all the beauty in the world in his hands, his eyes sparkling with determined light, his tone calm.
Upon hearing this, Jingliu understood that Lu Jingming's words held deeper meaning. She couldn't help but chuckle softly, saying, "If you can do it, by all means, try, rebellious disciple!"
Seeing that Jingliu wasn't angry or about to draw her sword to strike him, Lu Jingming secretly rejoiced, a confident smile blooming on his face. He said, "Teacher, I have enough time to achieve my goals. If ten years aren't enough, then a hundred years. If a hundred years aren't enough, then a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand years, until the moment of success." His tone carried an unprecedented determination and persistence.
That conviction actually caused a subtle, imperceptible ripple to appear in Jingliu's usually unshakeable, ice-clear mind.
"Hurry and absorb the soul ring. With two 100,000-year soul beasts dead, the ruler here probably won't be able to sit still," Jingliu said calmly, subtly changing the subject.
"Alright." Lu Jingming understood that Jingliu was absolutely right.
When the Body Sect had entered the Star Dou Great Forest and hunted four 100,000-year soul beasts, Di Tian was completely enraged and launched a terrifying beast tide. If it weren't for the timely arrival of reinforcements from the Body Sect and the three great empires, Shrek Academy would probably have found it difficult to withstand the surging beast horde.
With two 100,000-year soul beasts falling at once this time, although Di Tian might not launch a beast tide like last time, his inner rage would surely be hard to quell. Fortunately, Jingliu had used her powerful strength to isolate the space and aura, so Di Tian wouldn't be able to detect the changes here for a short while.
By the time Di Tian discovered the anomaly, Lu Jingming and his two companions might have already left the Star Dou Great Forest, leaving Di Tian to helplessly suffer this unspoken loss.
Of course, absorbing a 100,000-year soul ring wasn't easy either. For Lu Jingming, who had just broken through to Level 50, it was also a challenge, especially since this Mountain-Moving Ape wasn't an ordinary 100,000-year soul beast.
However, the biggest obstacle in absorbing a 100,000-year soul ring—the remnant soul of the soul beast—was not the most difficult part for Lu Jingming. The Mountain-Moving Ape's remnant soul was extremely fierce, filled with resentment and unwillingness, attempting to create chaos in Lu Jingming's spiritual sea, hoping to usurp his body and be reborn. But in the face of the Black Abyss White Flower's powerful force, all struggles seemed so powerless.
The "Decay" authority of the Black Abyss White Flower was not just about decomposing matter; energy and souls were also within its scope of decomposition. As Lu Jingming's strength continuously increased, the Decay and Creation authorities of the Black Abyss White Flower also grew stronger.
When he absorbed his third soul ring, facing the remnant soul of the Holy Flame Sky Tiger, Lu Jingming's spiritual body still needed to personally wield the Black Abyss White Flower and engage in a fierce battle with it.
But now, when facing the Mountain-Moving Ape's remnant soul, Lu Jingming simply activated the Decay authority, and his entire spiritual sea instantly transformed into a deep black ocean, engulfing the Mountain-Moving Ape's remnant soul in an instant, causing it to completely decay in the endless darkness and transform into nourishment for Lu Jingming's spiritual power.
It must be said that Lu Jingming, at Level 50, had a world of difference in his control over the Black Abyss White Flower's power compared to when he was Level 30. It was precisely because of the Creation authority that Lu Jingming's soul ring absorption process became unusually "brutal." He forcefully refined the raging soul power, completely disregarding the immense damage his body sustained.
Under the impact of this raging soul power, his meridians continuously fractured, and blood oozed from the corners of his mouth. But quickly, the Power of Creation took effect, rapidly repairing the fractured meridians and making them even tougher, capable of holding more soul power. This unique absorption method allowed Lu Jingming to absorb soul rings even faster than Zhang Lexuan.
When Zhang Lexuan finally succeeded in refining the Silvermoon Flood Dragon Emperor's 100,000-year torso bone, Lu Jingming almost simultaneously completed the refining and absorption of the Mountain-Moving Ape's 100,000-year soul ring.
When Zhang Lexuan saw Lu Jingming's five soul rings—two purple, two black, and one red—her beautiful eyes instantly filled with admiration and pride. As someone who had also absorbed a 100,000-year soul ring, she deeply understood the difficulty involved.
How could she not feel proud that Lu Jingming, merely a Soul King, could successfully absorb a 100,000-year soul ring? After all, with her man being so excellent, what woman wouldn't be happy?
Lu Jingming felt the two newly acquired 100,000-year fifth soul skills, an expected expression on his face. The Mountain-Moving Ape was an earth-type and gravity-type soul beast, but the soul skills he obtained had no connection to these two attributes. The power of the Black Abyss White Flower was too domineering; the soul skills it granted would not be affected by the soul beast's original attributes.
However, soul bones were another matter. The Black Abyss White Flower, as a martial soul, would not affect the attributes and abilities of soul bones. Therefore, Lu Jingming still had a chance to obtain gravity-type or earth-type soul bone skills.